Claudia – Cause & Effect

What are the main factors that threaten the brazilian’ savings?

Earn money is not an easy task. Manage it well and make it multiply over the years is still more complicated. According Mauro Halfeld, professor and financial consultant, the main factors that reducing the possibilities of savings are: spend more that you earn, the need to be constantly buying the expensive nature of the consumer society and the fear of investing.

Not spend more that you earn is already the first step to start savings, because you avoid paying one account more – the account of high interest rates, whether the overdraft, credit card or loan. Second, Halfeld shows us that we can spend less money making better options by changing our diary choices. Have you ever thought about reduce your expenses by choosing a low cost restaurant, hotel, trip, mobile and so one? You should prefer a new hotel than a well know and established one, for instance. Probably this new hotel could offer better prices because, yet, they don’t have enough guests. Therefore, you should try it and hope to see, at the end of the month, your bills become thinner.

Most of people don’t be aware about their truly needs and follow the consumer society buying goods that they, in fact, don’t need it. The advertisement tell us, all the time, that we deserve all kind of comfort or if we would buy deter products we will be smarter, more successful and beautiful. That’s why people like my neighborhood Vinícius, spend his hole salarie to buy a new car every year and it doesn’t matter how much it will be coast. The car is a great villain in the finances of a family. It’s correct to looking for safety, comfort and durability when people buying a new car, however, we should be careful to not fall down into the trap of advertising that seek to make us believe that our goods are an extension of our personality.

The third reason pointed is the fear the Brazilians feel to invest. In the past, Brazilians faced a hyperinflation, in which people just bought food and others basically items for their immediate subsistence. Besides this, there are lacks of personal financial education and accessible economics information that makes people to invest in a confident way. According the Halfeld’s last book, the fear of investing involves emotions as the fear of regret; have to sell stocks for a lower price than it cost and the overconfidence in some kind of successful investments in the past, such as real state, which make people more conservative and not diversify the investments portfolio. Therefore, just the positive and trustful economic brazilian scenario would change, little by little, the face of the new brazilian’s investors.

According all above mentioned, those are the main factors that threaten the brazilian’ savings and in the middle of so many risks, we wish that people may know what are the risks that actually worth.

Claudia – Cause and Effect – First Draft

What are the main factors that threaten the brazilian savings?

According Mauro Halfeld, professor and financial consultant, the main factors that reducing the possibilities of saving is the need to be constantly bying the expensive nature of their purchases of the consumer society, the fear of investiment and the expenses with the leisure time.

Claudia – Midterm Correction

Call the Major

What about the traffic in a big city?  Do you believe it could be possible to find easy solution for so many kind of troubles that a big city has involved? In a city like São Paulo, for instance,where lack alternatives in terms of public transportation and sustainable plans to development roads and high ways, and also, the number of vehicles increases more and more, what we are supposed to think about? In my opinion, I wouln’t be the major of the city.

The first point that I would stress is the absence of a plan to enlarger the highway “Tietê’s Marginal” ends with a great division of the public opinion; some defend this new project to develop more three lanes in each side of highway and on the other hand, people believe that this not a sustainable project for the environment.

Moreover, there are few alternatives of public transportation and the subway lines don’t cover the main areas of the city. Nowadays, the subway covers part of the east and north side. The south area is poorly covered.

As a consequence, the number of vehicles in the city is increasing a lot,  specially when the citzens are motivated to purchase a new car, as the corrent police from the governor incentives, with  the reduction of IPI taxes, for instance.

Therefore, after all the reasons above, I strongly believe that is quite impossible to find a simple solution for all this troubles that the traffic in a big cities is involving.

In my opinion, a joined efforts between the public power and the public opinion would promote some discussions to debate this great problem.  Afterwords were’s the major of São Paulo?

Bia Midterm

Gym and supermarket at midnight. Why not? São Paulo is a city that never sleeps and it has a reason: people have different lifestyles and not everyone is able to to the supermarket in the afternoon or exercise at the gym early night. That situation created a new market to be explored, since people were demanding services to be offered until late. It´s how 24 hours services have changed life and the reasons are: it makes useful (??) the whole day and not only commercial hours from 10am to 6pm, it provides an option to go out of rush hours and not spend (??) much time in the traffic jam (?) and it gives people an opportunity to still go, even whey they leave their work after commercial time.

The first reason why 24 hours services have changed life is due to the fact that it turns out the day to be more useful. In the pastm gyms, supermarkets and other services were offered until 10pm and after that time people had the option either to go home or(??) go out to clubs and bars, meaning that after 10 pm it was a moment of leisure and productive activities were not longer availabe. A survey made by IBGE showed that due to 24 services that have been recent offered, there was noticed an increase of productivity of 30%, since people could work more time and not be concerned about making use of services at restricted hours. In conclusion, it´s a gain of life quality when more services are offered and people can make their day more productive.

The second reason why 24 hours services have made such an impact in life nowadays is explained by the fact that is provides more options of what time to go and, consequently, avoiding periods of rush. São Paulo is a city with one of the most chaotic traffic of the workd and people usually spend a lot of time inside their cars or public transportation, moving from one place to the other. Services which are offered 34 hours are helpful regardinf the fact that people cuold avoid spending their precious time in traffic and making use of services outside rush hours, like after 10pm. Globo News showed

Essay # 2

Acting versus Feeling

Is a good actor supposed to cry when simply asked to do it? No. A good actor has to convey specific emotions to the spectators. He or she has to go on stage to act, to relate to the other characters and to the story, to believe in the circumstances in the story, but not necessarily to feel the emotions that the character is supposedly feeling. For an actor, having feelings during an act is a consequence that can happen or not, but a consequence that he or she should never anticipate during an act. In his studies, Constantin Stanislavski, who was a Russian actor and theater director in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, realized that recalling a memory to express an emotion realistically during an act (emotional memory technique) as an instrument for an actor constantly lead actors to hysteria. “Don’t use your conscious past,” said the American actress and acclaimed acting teacher Stella Adler. “Use your creative imagination to create a past that belongs to your character.” On the other hand, some actors prep professionals such as Fatima Toledo, prefer to work with non actors and believe that an actor doesn’t have to build a character to relate to the story, he or she has to find the character in themselves, not knowing in advance what is going to happen to the character during the story.

Stanislavski never discarded completely his theory on Emotional Memory, but later in his life he would advise actors to use it only as a rehearsal tool or as a technique for researching a specific character. Later, he developed The Method of Physical Action, through which an actor, as much as he or she has to believe in the circumstances given by the story and the relations between the characters, has likewise to always stay one step behind complete belief. When the Brazilian actress Camila Morgado played the character of the German communist militant Olga Benario Prestes in the movie “Olga”, she believed so deeply in the circumstances, that she had problems to “get out” of character when the movie was finished. On the her character’s birthday, she called her friends asking them if they would congratulate her for that date. It is unsafe and risky to believe intensely that a story is real, and a part of your life. An actor should always know how to distinguish reality from fiction.

Stella Adler believed that actors should not conjure up emotions by using their personal memories, but by using the act’s given environment. Adler’s techniques consist on carrying through tasks, wants, needs and objectives, as opposed to remembering an emotion. It also aspires to stimulate the actor’s imagination through the use of “as ifs.” The Australian actor Heath Ledger told a journalist of “The New York Times” that the roles he played in the movies “I’m Not There” and “The Dark Night” took his ability to sleep. “Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. … I couldn’t stop thinking,” said Ledger. “My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” If an actor doesn’t make good use of his or hers imagination and doesn’t discern what’s real and what’s not, a character as complex as the Joker in “The Dark Night” can be extremely disturbing.

Some actors, prep professionals and directors don’t agree with Stanislavski and Adler’s concept of acting and think that to make an actor play its part realistically, it is indispensable to disrupt him or her mentally and psychologically. Fatima Toledo is a prep professional that claims that actors have to experience the same sensations that the character experiences during the story. “This is a painful method because people have to get rid of their vanity and explore their darker side” says Fatima Toledo. “I do not worship anyone. I destroy actors.” To prepare the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura to play Captain Nascimento in the movie “Tropa de Elite”, Fatima Toledo called the ex-BOPE policeman Paulo Storani, who appealed to Moura´s weakest point, i.e. his family. Moura ended up breaking Storani’s nose and almost quitting the job. Acting is a profession like any other, actors must be able to go out with friends, girlfriends or boyfriends after a play or after a recording day, as any professionals of other areas do.

Actors, therefore, cannot aim at feeling the same emotions that their characters go through, even though this may happen. They have to believe in the circumstances depicted, but they have to bear in mind that there is a distinct line between real and fictional. It is clear that there are several different ways in which an actor can approach a given character. As a professional, an actor has to think twice before crying simply because he is asked to do it.

Claudia – Second Essay

Should the authorities banish the traffic of motorcycle in some of avenues and highways in São Paulo?  The number of accidents involving motorcyclists in São Paulo has increased a lot in the last six months. As opposed of the ideas which affirm that the use of motorcycle as alternative to reduce the traffic and make quite better the quality of life from people that lives in the city, the numbers of CET are alarming.

The motorcyclists are responsible for most than 60% of accidents that happens in whole city. Every morning CET registers, at least, five cases of motorcycle accidents. 99% of the cases occurs at the marginal and at May, 23th   Avenue, bringing to the traffic a chaotic situation.   The reasons of the accidents, according CET recently research, are focused in three points; the motorcyclists are not ready to drive, lacks of an effective control of the drivers by the authorities and lacks of a specific banner for motorcycle in which they would drive in a safety way.

 According the Brazilian Motorcycle Association, 80% of motorcyclists are in a great danger. Actually, they are not able to drive because they don’t renew its licenses and not up to date its knowledge by doing a course of defensive direction. Rafael Mendes, the president of this association tells us there is two kind of drivers – the professional drivers whom rarely are involved in accidents and the second group compound by people who just drive and are used to disrespect the rules and the others.

 Moreover, there is not an effective control of the motorcyclists. Every people can drive a motorcycle. For instance of what I am saying, there is the history of John Furtado, a waiter who worked to me at the Grand Mercure Hotel. Two years ago, he lost his job and started to work informally as a motoboy, without have had a single motorcycle driver license in his life.

 Finally, there isn’t a specific path of motorcycle in the avenues and highways. The motorcyclists used to drive between the cars, most of time in a high speed. In some avenues the major of SP enlarges the banners but it has been enough to solve the problem and guarantee that they would drive safety between the cars.     

 Therefore, in the light of the above mentioned, the free traffic of the motorcycles in the highways in São Paulo should be much more controlled or even prohibited in some avenues and highways. Authorities must not deny the urgency of the problem and should establish the rules to find a feasible solution for the motorcycle traffic.

Claudia – Writting #1

Growing up

In 2007 I had settled completely down in my profession. I had been working at a French hotel chain for five years as sales manager and I thought I was part of the team and that my job definitely made all the difference to the corporation’s results.

 Since I was approved for this position, I had been quite successful. I still remember my first challenge of improving the relationship between the hotel managers and the corporative central team. It was not easy, but I did it. Months later, we were working together in a specific project of sales.

 I have always seen myself as a very committed individual, devoting all my efforts in reaching the targets of company. My attitude and skills made me think that I was a respectable professional. I will never forget the admission’s interview with my first boss, where I was considered a fighter, a feature the company was looking for.

 However, I was completely wrong. Out of the blue, my boss told me the company was streamlining and that they didn’t need a person with a lot of experience, to whom they would need to pay high salaries and benefits. Therefore, they did not need me anymore.

 I couldn’t believe my ears. I had poured years of my life on that job. I felt as if I had been sleeping with enemy all along. I used to admire the company because of its values and beliefs, especially their career plan and the importance the company used to put on the employees. I have lost the number of the courses that the company let me take. In addition, I trusted in my work and my team and I would never expect to be fired in that moment.

 Fortunately, in less than two weeks, I got a new job at another hotel chain. The memory of this sad experience has allowed me to get more than just a new job. I was able to find a new profession that not only makes me happy but also provides me with the stability I am looking for.

Since 2007 my feelings have changed.  Although I am still working in the tourism area, I started to study and I found a new career, where all my experience and abilities may be employed in a much more stable scenario. In other words, the whole experience was definitely worth it.

Clear Divergence

       Living, walking, sleeping only in function of a group of religion or followers without having the opportunity to opine or criticize. This is a strong characteristic of Muslim religion, which has persisted since old times. However, Catholics have other and different kinds of life perspective. They increase the value of personality and democracy. Because of these and lots of other factors, Muslims and Catholics don’t mix up and fuse. The differences between Muslims e and Catholics that standout are:  that the Muslims have male oriented behavior and have the strong bonding among themselves.

 

    The first reason why Muslim differs from Catholicism is the male oriented behavior. Since old times, the Muslims have had the power and the authority over the women, who don’t make any movement of protestation, since is a matter of culture. An example that shows that is the polygamy. For instance, Mohamed Mahasen, is married to 20 women and as a consequence have 140 children. His wives are happy and treat each other as old friends. On the other hand, in Catholicism man and women are treated equally. In Catholic Church, couples are supposed to be married to each other until their entire lives. In addition, having more than one partner is inconceivable, since it is an act of disrespect and unfaith. For example, nowadays 60% of the Old Catholic couples are still married to the same first partner. Therefore, the number of wives that a man is supposed to marry is a notable difference between Catholics and Muslims.

 

    The second reason that differ Catholicism from Muslim is the strong bonding among the Muslim’s groups. The fanatic passion for the religion, trigger Muslims to live only in function of their religion, idolatrizing it. Because of this aspect, they are all united and never tearing away, because the unique person who they trust and believe is someone of their religion, since the culture, the principles and future expectations are the same. For example, in case of marriage, Muslims must only marry to Muslims and according to the statistics, 90% of these marriages are chosen by the groom’s and bride’s family, without any consult of their opinions. On the contrast, in Catholicism these fanatic passion isn’t so common and visible. Catholic Church believes that the personality, honesty and character, is not found in the religion, but in people’s heart. For instance, each catholic person has her/his opinion, choice, future principles, and finally is not swayed by a religion or a group of it. In conclusion, the strong necessity of the Muslims to live in a united group, is a difference between Catholics and Muslims.

 

    In conclusion, inside the clear divergence between Catholicism and Muslim, there are two aspects that show up, the fact of the number of wives that a man is supposed to marry, and the strong chain among Muslims groups.

GPS The New Generation

GPS: an atempt to get rid of the traffic. With technology being part of our lives, a new gadjet is launched on montly basis. The GPS, known as Global Positioning System has hit ourselfs not too long ago, providing directions facilities. GPS are becoming more common nowadays because it’s easier, more precise and faster.

     GPS are more practical to use because it’s only necessary to type the destination wanted. It takes only about five minutes to get the root drawn, while the Tomas Guide takes a lot longer just to find the page with the adress. Besides that, it’s smaller and fits inside purses, which makes it useful also when going on foot or visiting other countries. That’s why using the GPS is considered easier.

(jessica) The GPS device is faster because it makes your life dynamic. When someone use it, doesn’t have the oportunity to get lost and consequently don’t have the oportunity to get late. Not getting late makes your life better and organized.

CONCLUSION: Global Positioning System are being more used than before due to it’s facility, precision and speed. People are now shunning from Tomas Guide and running to GPS because it’s starting to be handier in our society. Therefore, GPS is an alternative to avoid the traffic.

Headphone usage damages hearing

Overusing headphones can deeply affect people`s personal life. The majority of teenagers nowadays are listening to music for more than 4 hours a day, 80% of that quantity using headphones, usually in the maximum volume. Using headphones on inappropriate situations may cause accidents, overusing it can interferes negatively on social interaction, and also can cause hearing loss.

Many traffic accidents are caused by drivers, or cyclists, who use headphones to listen to music while driving. The headphones obstruct drivrer’s and cyclist’s attention, in a way that they can miss traffick signs, horns, pedestrians crossing the road. The use can also impedes drivers from listening to sirens from police, fire engine, ambulance,  preventing them from reaching or helping someone by not moving over. Australian ad agency DDB Sydney, for instance, did an ad campaign for the New South Wales Police “to raise awareness of the fact that the number of teenagers dying as a result of listening to ipods while they drive, or ride bicycles is beginning to reach “epidemic proportions”. In Brazil, according to the national traffic code, the use of phones to listen to music while driving is forbidden. The penalty for the driver who disobeys it is R$ 85, 13, plus 4 points on his/her driver’s licence. Only a few people is aware about the consequences from matching music listened by phones and cars. Traffic authorities should increase the dissemination of informations related to traffic accidents caused by phones usage, as well as penalties for drivers who dismiss the law.

The oversuse of headphones can also prejudice a teenager’s social life. Many of them due to shyness, insecurity, lack of self-confidence, rather listen to music on their ipods, than interact with friends, becoming away from sociability.