tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18590581575257525712024-03-08T09:04:55.139-08:00Write me an essay online9Th Grade English Essay TopicsCecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-65048744779188579422020-08-24T11:39:00.001-07:002020-08-24T11:39:06.099-07:00Consumer Behavior of Czech Republican Market â⬠MyAssignmenthelpQuestion: Examine aout the Consumer Behavior of Czech Republican Market. Answer: Presentation The change in the working of the organization helps in deciding the various parts of the upgrades. The organizations present new items dependent on the comprehension of the adjustment in the necessities of the purchasers to which the item is being advertised. The assurance of the requirements of the individuals helps the association in delivering enhancements. The report centers around the comprehension of the circumstance of the association Metro AG in the Czech Republic. The report will assist with understanding the client portions of the association for presenting another item. The primary reason for the report is to comprehend the possibilities of the organization, Metro AG to attempt ventures for presenting another item in Czech Republic. It depends on the comprehension of the market sections and the qualities and the shortcomings of presenting the item, which helps in deciding the interest of the clients in the market. Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe, which is circumscribed by Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. The country is considered as a part of the created economies, which has thrived because of the foundations in the modern areas. It has helped in empowering the occupants to be productive according to the prerequisites of the economy (Annualreports.com. 2018). Then again, the district is portrayed by the development of organizations, which has achieved changes dependent on the advancement and the maintainability of the undertakings. As indicated by the enumeration 2016 the GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of the country is gauge to be some $368.659billion. It has helped in the development of the associations in the Czech market (Annualreports.com. 2018). Be that as it may, the associations face issues identifying with the assessment installments and the expense of setting up the associations in the market. The general social insurance choices and the educational cost free advanced degree have helped in deciding the development of the individuals through the effect on the pay of the individuals living in the country. Foundation of Metro AG Metro AG is a German based all inclusive expanded retail and discount selling association found inDsseldorf. Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck set up the organization in the year 1964 (Annualreports.com. 2018). Since its initiation, the association has confronted its nonstop development in the markets.As per a few reports, it is one of the four biggest retailers on the planet dependent on its income structure and the total compensation of the association. The association offers a scope of items and administrations at the most ideal cost for holding fast to the necessities of the center pay families. The significant parts of the food of the association is because of its cautious determination of wares and selling the equivalent dependent on the examination of the necessities of the purchasers and the objective market division (Annualreports.com. 2018). In the year 2016, the organization chose to part its working into global distributer food authority and shopper gadgets. It has helped the association in understanding the requirements of the individuals and sticking to their necessities so as to predefine the targets of development and manageability of the association in the worldwide markets (Annualreports.com. 2018). Cost 16.05 EUR Income per share 1.15 EUR Value per share 8.39 EUR Net Profit (mn) 414 EUR All out Equity (mn) 3,020 EUR ROE 13.70% The table depicts the arrival on the value of the association, which is described by the fall in their cost by - 3.60%. It has influenced the development of the association in the market (Annualreports.com. 2018). Then again, the association offered a yearly return of 0.00%, which was lower than other retailing organizations in the market that have offered an arrival of 7.45% (AG 2018). SWOT of the organization while working in Czech Republic Qualities Biggest retail chain on the planet Differed number of stores dependent on the prerequisites of the clients Alternative of retail activities through the working of the money and convey stores Brand value of the association in the market coming about to expanded brand devotion among the clients Shortcomings Increment in the operational expenses because of the expanded need of confinement of its stores in the market Lower ventures made by the association for improving the IT offices in the retail locations (Annualreports.com. 2018) Openings Development and extension in the worldwide markets (Annualreports.com. 2018) Wide scale notices and advancement exercises so as to make the individuals mindful of the circumstance of the association in the market Dangers Rising work costs in the universal markets (Annualreports.com. 2018) Dubious monetary condition in the worldwide markets Parts of the SWOT The SWOT examination of the association will help the advancement of the methodologies so as to help the development of the association while working in the business sectors of the Czech Republic. The identification of the shortcomings and the dangers will assist the association with building on to the parts of the change that must be engaged by the association so as to make enhancements in the market of its tasks (Businessculture.org 2018). The best possible comprehension of the necessities of the clients helps in deciding the adjustment in the structure and the working of the association. Then again, the organization must find a way to build up the IT administrations for encouraging the necessities of the clients (Annualreports.com. 2018). The expanding operational expenses of an association influence the development of the equivalent in the market. In this way, the organization must present another scope of items so as to do the trick to the necessities of the buyers and along the se lines helps in adapting up to the operational costs that are brought about by the association in the market. Then again, the chances of the association to develop in the business sectors is encouraged through the endeavor of the special exercises that helps in making the clients and the objective gatherings mindful of the presence and the circumstance of the association. It likewise helps in keeping the shoppers mindful of the item contributions of the association, which will help the association in boosting its deals in the universal markets and especially in the Czech Republican markets. STP examination of the market Division Geographic-the association must make arrangements to help the requirements of both the urban and the country clients of the Czech Republican markets Segment Age-18-25 years old Sexual orientation female clients Pay the total compensation toward the year's end begins from the 2000 CZK Family size-the organization must arrangement to help gigantic family estimates in order to grow their extents of business in the business sectors Training the higher instructive capability of the occupants of the district will be useful for the association while advancing their items. It influences the individual decisions of the clients in the economy. Psychographic Way of life the assurance of the high way of life of the individuals will support the association while planning their items according to the requirements of the clients. The assurance of the necessities of the clients will help the association in delivering enhancements in the working of the business in the Czech markets. Character the character of the female clients will decide the kind of items that are being favored by the clients in the market. Conduct Client conduct the assurance of the market patterns will help the association in understanding the client conduct towards purchasing the items. The interest for the product depends on the need of the clients. Thusly, the organization must embrace steps so as to distinguish the requirement for encouraging the interest of the female clients. Focusing on The clients that may be focused by the association are the female clients dependent on their inclinations of the styling choices. The correct distinguishing proof of the way of life and the inclinations of the female clients have helped n deciding the various parts of the adjustment in the alterations in the structure and the working of the business. Situating The situating of the items will be founded on the openness of the items in the market. The significant parts of the situating depends on the assurance of the focuses and the retails which achieves the majority of the female clients. The organization must embrace steps so as to get to the channels as that will help the association in connecting their item offering to the female clients in the market. TOWS network Interior variables Outside components Qualities Biggest retail chain on the planet Differed number of stores dependent on the necessities of the clients Alternative of retail tasks through the working of the money and convey stores Brand value of the association in the market coming about to expanded brand devotion among the clients Shortcomings Increment in the operational expenses because of the expanded need of confinement of its stores in the market Lower ventures made by the association for improving the IT offices in the retail locations (Annualreports.com. 2018) Openings Development and extension in the worldwide markets (Annualreports.com. 2018) Wide scale ads and advancement exercises so as to make the individuals mindful of the circumstance of the association in the market (SO) Wide scale showcasing of the items to advance deals of the association in the Czech markets (WO) To make a decline in the number one spot time t Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-29067048683390019812020-08-22T01:15:00.001-07:002020-08-22T01:15:10.837-07:00Financial Management assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 wordsBudgetary Management task 2 - Essay Example The organization doesn't appear to be money rich as it right now has an overdraft office. In spite of the fact that the organization has been working effectively, taking on the undertaking will place the organization in a horrible income position. The Internal Rate of Return where the Net Present Value is zero is vague as there is no markdown rate that is sufficiently little to make the Net Present Value zero. The organization has just brought about an extensive aggregate of GBP 750,000 on innovative work of this new range. Maybe, the organization can think about elective methods of assembling this item, for example, redistributing or haggling for better material expenses without settling on its quality. The underlying exploration cost of the undertaking has just been acquired by the organization and is considered as sunk expense. This is on the grounds that whether Paddle Your Own Canoe Plc takes up the task, or not, the underlying exploration cost will at present be considered as being spent. In investigating the income that will be produced from the venture, sunk costs must be disregarded. Accordingly, the treatment of the underlying examination cost is to bar from the income count. In like manner, deterioration of the plant and hardware is excluded from the computation of the income since this is a non income thing, while the venture examination centers around incomes. Deterioration is a bookkeeping technique for perceiving the decrease of the organization's fixed resources in its salary articulation after some time and doesn't influence money by any stretch of the imagination. Hence, this thing has additionally been prohibited. The extra working capital that the organization needs to put resources into is intended for different purposes toward the finish of the venture. Actually, this may be discharged for use toward the finish of the task. Despite the fact that the organization needs to focus on this a lot prior, the thing has additionally been barred in the estimations. This is on the grounds that the working capital isn't identified with the undertaking and won't influence the venture by any means. In any case, if the working capital is looked for with the end goal of the undertaking, at that point this should be considered in deciding the attainability of the task. Question 1c The recompense time frame count takes a gander at the briefest number of years to recoup the expense of the task. In spite of the fact that the estimation is straightforward and basic, it despite everything has its constraints. It disregards the advantages that happen after the compensation time frame and all the more critically, the strategy overlooks the time estimation of cash. The Net Present Value is a pointer of how much worth a venture or undertaking adds to the organization. The Net Present Value is an increasingly dependable strategy for ascertaining the profits anticipated from speculations as the technique considers the time estimation of cash. The Net Present Value looks at the estimation of a dollar today to the estimation of that equivalent dollar later on, considering both expansion and returns. A positive Net Present Value created from an imminent venture is a decent sign and ought to be acknowledged unexpectedly, a negative Net Present Value coming about because of tasks ought to be dismissed in light of the fact that the incomes will likewise be negative. The Internal Rate of Return is the rebate rate that conveys a Net Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-84559475029201159882020-07-20T09:03:00.001-07:002020-07-20T09:03:03.706-07:00Productivity vs Efficiency and How to Balance Both Productivity vs Efficiency and How to Balance Both What if I told you that you could strike a balance for your business that enables you to optimize your business to produce large volumes of high quality products from your current resources? Imagine how that would change the columns on your income statement. The good news is that you can achieve that with minimal struggle. The secret lies in two simple words: productivity, and efficiency.Many people are under the impression that productivity is the same thing as efficiency. This is understandable, especially considering the fact that they are two things that every business owner would want to achieve in business.Today, we are going to look at these two words and how you can revolutionize your business using both concepts. However, before we can go too deep into how you can balance these two for maximum effect, letâs take a step back and try to understand what each of these concepts mean. Letâs start with productivity.WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY?In most industries, productivity is measured by the output in a specific period. For example, if you produce 500 units in a week, and 700 in the next week, you were more productive in the second week than you were in the first one. Itâs all about how much you are able to produce.Of course, this depends on your industry. If you are a salesman, your productivity will be measured by the sales volume you are able to generate. For a service provider, productivitywill be measured by the number of clients they are able to serve and so on. You get the picture.We have all had one of those days when we felt totally useless. No matter how much you try, you just canât seem to get yourself to do any meaningful work. Even if you force yourself to work, the creative juices are just not flowing. You go back home feeling down and worthless.Have you ever had one of those days?Imagine a journalist who spends hours on a story she knows will do wel l, only to have it thrown to the trash by the boss. She would most likely start questioning her competence as a journalist. The result is that she wonât feel the motivation to work on more stories because she is not even sure if she is cut out for the job. A part of her feels that she might spend a lot of time on a piece and still not have it published.What this journalist lacks, is productivity. Sheâs not able to produce what is expected of her as a journalist.Letâs flip the coin.You wake up early feeling energetic and alive. You have enough time to make your bed, take a nice warm shower and have a healthy breakfast. You get to work 15 minutes early and have time some to get things in order before you start your workday.Everything just seems to work for you and when you are required to do some creative work, ideas seem to flow to you naturally. You end up producing impeccable results that you are proud to be associated with. Somehow, it doesnât even feel like you struggled to get these good results so you leave the office feeling happy and in control. When you look back at your day, you can see tangible results.On this day, you were productive and with it came many good emotions. More productivity means getting more output.We all want to be productive in our day to day activities. When we are productive, our superiors are happy and we leave with a good sense of achievement. We are therefore happier and more confident in ourselves.Now that we understand what productivity is, letâs take a look at efficiency.WHAT IS EFFICIENCY?While productivity is about the quantity of the results that we are able to produce, efficiency is about the quality. It looks at the production process, how resources were utilized in the production and the quality of the end products of the production process. Simply put, efficiency is about achieving maximum productivity with minimum waste.So if your job involves processing of raw materials, your efficiency will be determined by your output, but also by the resources that you use in the production process.Letâs look at an example. Two salesmen, Dan and Victor work for an insurance company. They both sell life insurance packages but each salesman has a different approach to selling. In April, Victor brought business worth $10,000 but spent $3,000 on travelling. Dan on the other hand, did all his selling on the phone and was able to sell $9,000. His phone bill was $50. When we consider the two salesmen, we find that Victor is less efficient than Dan because although the total volume of sales is higher, he uses more resources thus creating a smaller profit for the company.Victor is more productive because he was able to bring in more, but Dan is more efficient because he used fewer resources.There are several ways that you can increase your efficiencyand still achieve positive results. The first one is seen in the above example. You can decide to reduce your resource utilization. If your method of getting the job done involves large expenses, you can choose to look for a way to get the same work done without having to incur the expense like what Dan did.The other method of increasing efficiency is reducing wastage. For example, if Victor analyzed his method and found that he visited an average of three clients per day, he can plan the visits in a way that allows him to talk to more people every day. For example, he can schedule appointments with all the clients in a specific area, say, a five block radius,on one day to minimize the time wasted getting from one client to the other.This way, although his travel expenses will not go down, he will be able to meet more clients and as a result, he will stand a chance of increasing the volume of business he brings in a month.If you work in a factory where your primary objective is to process raw materials, you can do this by reducing any wastage of raw materials or time during the processing. For example, measures can be taken to reduce sp illages during transport. Another measure that can help is sending operators to another station when their machine breaks down.Letâs now take a look at how you can improve each of these in your business by looking at the factors affecting productivity and efficiency.FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCTIVITYManagement: Itâs a well-known fact that management plays a big role in determining productivity. Good management often leads to good performance. Studies have shown that the training, development and encouragement managers give their employees will determine to a great extent how productive the employees become. Managers should keep their promises to employees and they should focus on encouraging the workforce.Office Design: Studies have shown that there is a direct link between productivity and the design of the office. One study showed that improving the physical environment in the office could improve productivity by up to 22%. In the same study, 89% of respondents blamed the office e nvironment for their dissatisfaction with their job. Some of the important things to consider about the office environment include the furniture, lighting, temperature and noise.Breaks: If you are the kind of person who sits at your desk in the morning and work non-stop until evening, you are not getting the most out of your time at work. There are numerous studies that show a positive effect on your productivity from taking breaks. So take a break. You will not lose momentum. If anything, that break will help you stay focused for longer hence your performance on the task will be improved.Man Power: To be able to get the best results, then you need to make the best selection. You need to give the job to the right man. Donât ask a doctor to do an engineerâs work or vice versa. The other important thing is training. You need to ensure that your workforce is properly trained for the job. Finally, you need to ensure that there are enough people to do the work.Technology: Although t echnology is often seen as a distraction, when properly it will significantly enhance office productivity. However, you need to also make sure that you pick the right tool for the job. You need to check to make sure that the new technology you are buying will integrate with your existing systems.Input Materials: This comes into play where there are raw materials used in the process. As the popular saying goes, garbage in, garbage out. When you donât monitor the quality of materials going in, you can easily find yourself with too many defects. As a result, you will have fewer usable products from your raw materials.Vision and Strategy: Employees are generally more productive when they are in an environment where they are motivated to succeed. Having a clear vision for the company and a strategy for getting there makes employees feel involved in helping the company succeed and with that they are also inspired to achieve their personal goals. Involving employees in setting company go als will not only motivate them to be more productive, but it will also encourage innovation that will help the company adapt to changes in the markets.Incentives: When employees feel that the company has made a commitment to making them achieve their goals, they will work harder towards achieving these goals. Think about it. Where are you likely to perform better between a company that offers bonuses when you hit your targets and another one where there are no rewards for good performance? Incentives can be in form of bonuses, promotions or direct involvement in decision making.Employee Evaluations: Regular evaluation of performance is beneficial to both the employees and management. Evaluations should be interactive where the manager gives feedback â" both positive and negative â" on the employeeâs performance and the employee gets a chance to talk about the lessons learned since the last evaluation and also to suggest improvements that they would like to see moving forward. Taking suggestions alone is not enough. Where possible, you should incorporate these suggestions in the decisions you make as a manager. This will make them feel happy, needed and as a result, they will be more productive.Stress: Stress also affects productivity but on the other side of the scale. If robs you of your concentration hence you are not able to focus on the tasks that you are supposed to be focusing on. When you are distracted, you are not able to make appropriate decisions at the right time and that will be seen in your output.Job Security: This is a very common cause of uncertainty in workers. This uncertainty is a big reason behind the lack of productivity in employees. Put yourself in an employeeâs boots. How would you work if you feel that you can be sent home any minute? Chances are that you will not work to your full potential. Most of your time will be spent worrying because you are not sure when you will be sent packing. You will also second guess every decisi on that you make because who knows? It could be the one that causes your boss to send you home. Managers should avoid firings and layoffs unless they are absolutely necessary. If something like a layoff does occur, managers need to meet with the remaining employees and explain the circumstances and also to give them an assurance that no further layoffs are anticipated in the future.Heavy Workloads: Have you ever found yourself with so much to do that you end up doing nothing? If you are like most people, it becomes very difficult to focus and most of the time you find yourself worrying about the work on your to-do list. That is the same thing that will happen to your employees. In addition to reducing their productivity, it will leave them stressed out, demoralized, and also take a toll on their health.Inadequate Resources: When assigning a task to someone, you should ensure that you provide sufficient time and material resources for the task. This will encourage them to perform to the best of their ability and as a result, they will be proud of their achievements.Poor Health Conditions: An employee with deteriorating health condition will not be productive in the workplace. Every time this employee misses work, someone else will have to carry the workload and the end result is worse for everyone. To counteract this, invest in your employeesâ health by providing health coverage for them. Investing in gym memberships and other holistic clubs for employees will promote your employees health and that will have positive results on the companyâs performance in the long run.Letâs now look at how you can improve efficiency.FACTORS AFFECTING EFFICIENCYWorking Hours: Long working hours with no breaks will quickly wear you down. After a few hours of continuous work, you will find yourself tired and mentally drained and as a result it will be hard to concentrate on your work. Thatâs where the problems start coming in. Your attention to detail will not be as sharp as it should be and as a result, you will miss details that will cause the quality of the output to drop.Compensation: Highly paid workers who receive their dues in full and on time will usually do a better job than their counterparts who are poorly paid. Workers who are poorly paid wonât feel appreciated by the company and in return, they will not put their hearts into the tasks they are assigned. They will always be grumbling since they will be trying to do only what they have to do. Anything thatâs not their responsibility is none of their business so you canât rely on them.Incentives: Just like it is with productivity, incentives can also encourage employees to work efficiently. This time, instead of rewarding high productivity, you focus more on efficiency. For example, rewarding the department with minimum wastes will encourage everyone to try and make the best use of the available resources. You just need to make sure that the method used to determine the department to award is fair and clear enough for everyone to understand.Relationship between employer and employees: There are cases where employers oppress their employees simply because they are in power and nothing can be done to them. In such cases, employees will usually feel that they are too weak to confront the employer. For that reason, the employees might resort to fighting back using other methods that donât leave them exposed. Most of these methods affect the quality of output hence resources are wasted. For example, a machine operator can loosen a fastener deliberately so that the machine breaks down so that he can be allowed to rest as the machine is being fixed.Competence: Picking the right worker for the job is more beneficial to the employer. This is because the quality will be top-notch and they will usually not need to work under strict supervision. Defective outputs will also be at a minimum. So invest in training your employees and they will thank you with higher efficienc y.Health: Healthy individuals are always more efficient than their counterparts with health problems. If the job environment exposes your employees to hazardous materials, make sure you invest in sufficient protective equipment to show that you are concerned about their well-being. There is nothing scarier than being sent to work on a station where the previous colleague left due to work related illnesses.Technology: Modern technology enables us to achieve much more than what we would have been able to achieve when working using conventional methods. Machines are able to produce a higher quality of output faster when compared to men working using their bare hands. Invest in new technology to save on labor and also to improve the quality of your outputs.Distractions: Every time you are distracted from your work, it can take you up to 15 minutes before your brain can go back to full concentration on the task. This back and forth switching between several tasks overloads your brain and as a result, you will get tired faster. Multitasking can reduce your efficiency by up to 40% so itâs important that you avoid distractions at all costs if your goal is to maximize efficiency.Work floor Layout: Sometimes we lose a lot of time moving back and forth around the work floor. This is time that can be put to good use and help increase out output. With this in mind, it is important to design the work floor in an organized and efficient manner. If it is a factory, the floor should be designed in the systematic flow of processes so that there will be no need to move materials long distances from one machine to the next one.Goals and Targets: Picture this: Employee A goes to work at 9 in the morning and knowing that she will be there until 5 in the evening. She knows her duties, but she doesnât have specific goals or targets for the day. Employee B on the other hand knows that before the end of the day, she will need to have finished and handed in the report about last wee kâs activity. Which of the two employees will be more efficient? More likely than not, Employee B will achieve more. This is because she is well motivated towards achieving her goal for the day.Encourage employees to ask questions: Somebody once said that prevention is better than cure. It certainly is more efficient to prevent than to cure a problem. In most cases, employees are very reluctant to ask for guidance. Some of them donât want to appear like they lack specific knowledge and others are just scared. Make sure you hammer the point home that it is okay to ask questions whenever someone is stuck. This will help you avoid costs associated with employees failing after trying to do something they are not conversant with.HOW TO MAXIMIZE BOTH EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITYSince both these things are beneficial to the business, the million dollar question is whether it is possible to maximize both in the same business. Maximizing efficiency requires deliberate focus on every singl e detail of your work and that will usually eat up more time. As a result, you will not be able to produce as much hence your productivity can be reduced.With this in mind, it is important to strike a balance between the two that works best for your company. Here are some things that you can do strike this balance:Regularly assess your process to make sure that you are using the most effective methods for achieving the various tasks. Where possible, make improvements that will either improve product quality or reduce the turnaround time.Listen to your employees and identify any common obstacles that they encounter as they go about their duties. These common obstacles will be your starting point when looking for a way to improve your process. Instead of only tracking changes in output, you can also track improvements such as time saved on tasks like searching for documents.Identify the most profitable balance between productivity and efficiency and communicate the same to your employ ees. For example, having a quality check after each processing station in the manufacturing process will help identify defects early so no resources are going to be spent processing defective products that will eventually end up in the recycle bin. However, doing this will also cost you valuable time and valuable man hours. You therefore need to make a compromise and pick a few critical stations â" depending on the length of your manufacturing process â" where you will do the quality check. This way, you will still identify defects reasonably early without having to pay the full price of doing a quality check per station.Understand your market and build products for them. If your target market is looking for high end products and they are willing to pay a premium for it, then youâll need to focus more on efficiency and quality. If on the other hand they are looking for the cheapest product, you can cut some corners and focus more on getting more output without incurring a high p roduction cost. An example would be the luxury car market where a lot of attention is paid on the details sometimes to the extent of hand-making most of the components of the car vis-à -vis the other mass produced cars.No matter the line of business that you are in, there will always be a benefit of working more efficiently and striving to improve your productivity. With the current trend, the business that will survive will be the one that makes the most out of the resources that are available to it. So make sure that you carefully analyze your processes and identify ways that you can improve the efficiency of your processes. Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-90250537244766512962020-05-21T22:36:00.001-07:002020-05-21T22:36:06.409-07:00China And Africa Term Paper Africa is a continent with vast untapped and unexploited natural resources, and China due to its growing economy; has a demand for these resources. China has therefore helped Africa to re-establish it self as source of valuable commodities for the Global market and also assisted to put a focus on Africaââ¬â¢s politics and why it remains poor (Snow 1998, 64). Chinaââ¬â¢s interest in Africa is empirical and obvious; it needs to secure oil for its fast growing economy and Africa is open to the idea, in inference to the opportunity of foreign investment. Chinese industries rely heavily on imported raw materials, for example, Zambia abundantly supplies copper and the Democratic Republic of Congo supplies cobalt and precious metals like diamonds. For China, Africa is a safety value for its growing population. In the past India merchants have prospered for long in Africa and today Chinese migrant traders are increasingly concerning the markets. There are Chinatowns increasingly popping up in various parts of the African continent, where cheap commodities like shoes, house-hold wares and cloths are being dumped (Dan 2009, 121). The Chinese investor has targeted oil rich countries, constructing infrastructure for them, with the fallacy of dishing out big loans, while the labor and equipments are been imported from China. China presents it self as a poor nation so as to gain alliances with the 50 plus African nations in the global summits- what a personal contradiction. These alliances ensure that China gets votes in the UN General assembly, consistently making Africa very useful both economically and politically. Because the votes could help China in the future, if ever there would arise a row over Taiwan and many other sanctions. In return Africa gets booming trade with China, export of raw materials and this helps the African economies to grow. The intellectual autonomy China has over Africa is that, Africa continues to export unprocessed goods and its industries continue to diminish, leaving a lot of locals unemployed. For example the collapse of various textile industries, factories and local manufactures, while Chinaââ¬â¢s industries flourish because they have both supply of raw material and market for their goods in Africa (Alden 2007, 56). But in comparison to the western companies, that have been known for their corrupt practices and undermining the Africans, the Chinese companies have been well received even though it is based on a fallacy that is not automatically visible to them. The Pros China has increasingly become a role model for Africa, because of its phenomenal economic growth. It has given inspiration to small African economies that they too can become important economic players in the global scene. The key lessons China offers Africa are as follows: China has a large domestic market which has served as a major stimulus for its innovations and economic growth. With that kind of inference, African countries are now focused on promoting regional integration, for example The East Africa Corporation, so as to expand their internal markets. Africa is also learning from China that to experience economic growth, it must invest heavily in infrastructure as a foundation for economic renewal. And the positive attribute to this is that China is providing resources, in form of infrastructure, to support Africa. There has been increased investment in Science and Technology that has vastly assisted China experience an economic transformation. China has therefore given it self the mandate to strengthen the scientific infrastructure of the African continent, as well as increasing the admission of African students to its universities. For example, recently there was a launch of a postdoctoral program for African students and the study entails a package of $22000 worth of scientific equipments after the completion of the study. Africa is also learning from China that good governance can lead to consistency on economic growth. Africa took up multi-party democracy, because the world views western style of democracy as a prerequisite for economic growth. But it is empirical to state that it is inconclusive making it a fallacy. It takes concerted collective effort to foster any kind of growth. Western industrialized countries have therefore been offered new opportunities to engage with Africa on terms that are without prejudice, as they did before. Countries like the United Kingdom are responding with intuition to the challenge by seeking renewed relations, through regional integration bodies. The issues involved go beyond interest in natural resources and market for commodity, because the centre of global stability and security is fast emerging to be the African continent (Taylor 1998, 23). The Cons In another perspective, Chinaââ¬â¢s involvement in Africa is being viewed as predatory, odious and brutish. Some African leaders like the former president of South Africa, Thambo Mbeki, have warned against Chinaââ¬â¢s persistence in pushing for raw materials, they feel it is a new form of neo-colonialist adventure. That in exchange for its raw materials, Africa gets low quality imports and little attention to developing an impoverished continent. Human right groups in the 1980 had lobbied for certain ethical standards for western companies who were doing business in Africa. There was also a foreign corrupt practices Act which prohibited the United States companies from paying bribes to corrupt African government officials. Contrary to that effect, Chinese enterprises operate in Africa with no morals and ethical constraints. Based on the inferences like the relationship between Sudan and China, it is empirical to state that, China can deal with any rogue regime in Africa so long as its quest for raw materials is met and there is market for its commodities. This is because a state like Sudan has been in war and many of its Southerners displaced because of the civil war that has been in the country for several decades. Yet China supplies military arms to them so that it can have access to the oil that is available in Sudan. It also supplies arms to Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and other repressive governments, while using its veto power i n the UN, to block sanctions against the same tyrannical regimes (ââ¬Å"The Economistâ⬠2011). China secures its contracts through outright bribery. They offer to build presidential palaces (as was the case in Zimbabwe, Angola and Sudan) and sport stadiums in exchange for a major contract. To say that Chinaââ¬â¢s deals are transparent is nothing but a theory which can be discounted by the facts against it: The deals are based on barter terms that are dictated by them. In such a case, there arise contradictions to the Sino- African agreement of 2006, where they stated a win-win situation for both parties. A good inference, is the exploration of oil in Nigeria, and in exchange China rebuilds its dilapidated railway system, while supplying all the necessary equipment and importing personnel from China at a price that they will determine. In such a case, there arise a great opportunity for exploitation and plunder of African rich resources. This is an outright contradiction to the agreement. Further more, the influx of Chinese products in to the African market has evidently led to the devastation of local industries, consequently leading to loss of employment for the African locals as factories closedown throughout the continent. One of the most affected areas is the textile industry, where Chinese synthetic fabrics flood the market replacing cotton that is readily available in Africa. These being the case, anti-Chinese sentiment are arising in different parts of Africa, a good example, in South Africa traders threatened not to sell Chinese manufactured goods, else where some Chinese workers in Africa have been attacked and even killed by local Africans. This is definitely a valid reason to question on the positive implications of the relationship between Africa and China. Intellectual autonomy is a matter of great concern in the increased engagement of China and Africa as it halts steps towards democratic accountability and better governance. The West may have extreme prejudice when dealing with nations that do not progress on these fronts, but China seeââ¬â¢s that as an opportunity to strike a deal. In 2003, the IMF suspended a pledge of aid to Angola amounting to $ 2 billion, because of rampant corruption. China saw it as great opportunity to strike an oil deal with the Angolaââ¬â¢s government, and as an incentive, they also offered the $ 2 billion for the aid that Angola required. The world views Chinaââ¬â¢s intentions in Africa as noble, but its real intentions are known; to elbow out Western companies, to get access to resources at a cheaper price, seek untapped markets for the Chinese manufactured goods and dump its surplus population in Africa. The sheer acceptance of the Chinese workers and experts as part of the development package for the African nations is causing a spring up of Chinese communes across Africa. In Zambia the expatriates from China have reached a disturbing number of 100000, with Nigeria having a total of about 120000 and Namibia 40000, not forgetting that these numbers are increasing by the day. But the apparent thing is that the Chinese government has a secret plan called Chongqing Experiment, and it aim is to resettle over 12 million Chinese farmers on African soil; whether this is a mere theory is yet to be proven but the facts are overwhelming that such an experiment may exist. China has surely experienced rapid economic growth, but this has come with an immeasurable cost on the environment. So if Africa does not adopt low-carbon growth strategies, the economic transformation will not be realized. This is because development that impacts negatively on the environment is short lived as within no time the natural resources will be depleted leaving industries with no raw materials (Freeman 1975, 104). It is evident that China has assisted in propelling Africaââ¬â¢s economic growth rate, being the second largest trading partner, after United States. It is importing 1/3 of Africans crude oil and Africa needs the infrastructure being provided by China to rebuild its dilapidated infrastructure to increaser its economic productivity. But as China deepens its forays into Africa, the continent should be careful not to come from neo-colonialism, into a new form of neo-colonialism being offered by China. Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-43841973903303828472020-05-06T23:54:00.001-07:002020-05-06T23:54:31.124-07:00Modern Man In Search Of A Soul by C.G. Jung Essay examples Modern Man In Search Of A Soul by C.G. Jung In his book, Modern Man In Search Of A Soul, C.G. Jung gives a layperson insight into his ideas on dream analysis. Jungs primary objective in this book is to educate the reader as to what a psychoanalyst does when analyzing a patients dreams. The principal message in the section of the book centered on dream analysis is that dreams should never stand alone. Dreams are meaningless in a vacuum, but on the other hand when put against a strict set of rules, they are oftentimes misunderstood. The unconscious is a fluid entity and cannot be handled either in isolation or with a static set of guidelines. Dreams are reflections of the unconscious and can represent many different things inside ofâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Her dreams would be more and more open with different therapists until she reached Jung and her initial dreams embraced him and they subsequently had a productive analysis. The cause of this patients neurosis came to light later, but was in no way present in her initial dreams. Dreams can often be anticipatory and are misleading if looked at in merely causalistic ways. When a doctor understands a patient completely and the patient seems to have no understanding of himself, an analyst will frequently accuse the patient of resistance. It is recommended that if an analyst holds all of the understanding, then he should stress where he lacks understanding of the patient. Even if an analyst comes to a sound conclusion of the meaning of a dream, but the patient is reluctant to agree, the therapist should not push this understanding on the patient. In this case the analyst should work with the patient to come to a mutually gratifying conclusion. This will result in an understanding not only in the brain, as in the first case, but also in the heart which will eventually help cure the patient of his neurosis. Analysts who derive their interpretations of dreams on preconceived notions or a one-sided theory and then proceed to push these interpretations onto their patients have to do so by suggestion. Suggestion is a valuable tool for short-term small fixes. When an analyst uses suggestion as the basis of the analysis itShow MoreRelatedModern Man In Search Of A Soul Essay1695 Words à |à 7 Pages In his book, Modern Man In Search Of A Soul, C.G. Jung gives a layman knowledge into his thoughts on dream investigation. Jung s essential goal in this book is to instruct the peruser in the matter of what a psychoanalyst does while breaking down a patient s fantasies. The vital message in the book focused on dream investigation is that fantasies ought to never remain solitary. Dreams are inane in a vacuum, however then again when set against a strict arrangement of guidelines, they are generallyRead MoreEssay on Bram Stokers Dracula as a Romantic Myth4296 Words à |à 18 PagesChristianity. Christ dies for the sins of humanity and rises from his own death so that humanity may achieve life after death. Dracula dies for the sin of his brides (Elisabetas) suicide and rises from his own death so that their souls may again be linked in soul-love one day. In the Catholic mass, worshippers continually feast upon the blood and body of Christ in order to maintain their mortal link with the immortal life of the divine. Dracula feasts upon the blood and body of mortal lifeRead MoreEssay on Jungian Psychology and Joseph Conradââ¬â¢s Heart of Darkness6193 Words à |à 25 Pagesentangling metaphoric realities of the serpentine Congo. Conradââ¬â¢s novella descends into the unknowable darkness at the heart of Africa, taking its narrator, Marlow, on an underworld journey of individuation, a modern odyssey toward the center of the Self and the center of the Earth. Ego dissolves into soul as, in the interior, Marlow encounters his double in the powerful image of ivory-obsessed Kurtz, the dark shadow of European imperialism. The dark meditation is graced by personifications of anima in Kurtzââ¬â¢Read MoreThe Origins of Dream Interpretation4085 Words à |à 16 Pagesdream interpretation began or how long dream analysis has been carried o ut. It is probably a good bet that the interpretation and analysis of peoples dreams has been part of society in one form or another as long as we have been having dreams. Early man must have found dreams to be both frightening and fascinating and must have been confused by this bizarre manner of consciousness. It is clear that many ancient civilizations placed great significance on the events occurring in dreams as well as the Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-73205134760174095282020-05-06T08:47:00.001-07:002020-05-06T08:47:52.699-07:00Miltonââ¬â¢s Satan in Paradise Lost Free Essays Critics abroad have argued about who the hero is of John Miltonââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Paradise Lost:â⬠Satan, Adam or Christ, the Son? Since Miltonââ¬â¢s overall theme stated in the opening lines of Book I is to relate ââ¬ËManââ¬â¢s first disobedienceââ¬â¢ and to ââ¬Ëjustify the ways of God to menââ¬â¢, Adam must be regarded as the main hero. John M. Steadman supports this view in an essay on ââ¬Å"Paradise Lost:â⬠ââ¬Å"It is Adamââ¬â¢s action which constitutes the argument of the epic. We will write a custom essay sample on Miltonââ¬â¢s Satan in Paradise Lost or any similar topic only for you Order Now Steadman continues: The Son and Satan embody heroic archetypes and that, through the interplay of the infernal and celestial strategies, Milton represents Satanââ¬â¢s plot against man and Christââ¬â¢s resolution to save him as heroic enterprises. Christ and Satan are therefore epic machines. (268-272) Although Satan may be an epic machine, he is best portrayed as the tragic anti-hero of ââ¬Å"Paradise Lostâ⬠or, at the very least, a main character who possesses the stature and attributes which enable him to achieve tragic status. In the Greek tradition, the essential components of tragedy are admiration, fear and pity for the ââ¬Ëheroââ¬â¢, who has to display a tragic weakness or flaw in his character, which will lead to his downfall. It might be argued that the flaws in Satanââ¬â¢s character are such that we should feel no admiration, fear or pity for him, yet he can be seen to inspire these emotions. Satanââ¬â¢s tragic flaws are pointed out in Book I. They are envy, pride, and ambition towards self-glorification. Satanââ¬â¢s pride, in particular, is stressed throughout Paradise Lost. In accordance with epic convention, Satan is frequently qualified by Miltonââ¬â¢s use of the word ââ¬Ëproudââ¬â¢. Virgil used the same device in his epic the Aeneid, in which the name of Aeneas rarely appears without being preceded by ââ¬Ëpiousââ¬â¢. The most striking visual example of Satanââ¬â¢s main weaknesses appears in Book IV (89-90) during Raphaelââ¬â¢s narrative to Adam regarding the battles in Heaven, Raphael refers to Satan as ââ¬Ëthe proud/Aspirerââ¬â¢. Proudââ¬â¢ at the end of one line and ââ¬ËAspirerââ¬â¢ at the beginning of the next gives equal emphasis and impact to Satanââ¬â¢s pride and ambition and it is implied that, in Satan, the two characters are inseparable and of equal importance. Milton, in fact, defended his use of blank verse as a suitable vehicle for epic poetry, as opposed to the frequently favored heroic couplet. How then, does Satan inspire t he feelings of admiration, fear and pity necessary to a tragic figure? Milton was, undoubtedly, conscious that he was in danger of portraying Satan as too much of a heroic figure and made efforts to belittle im through the use of unflattering imagery, and by highlighting his less complimentary characteristics. Nonetheless, our emotions are still fired. Our first encounter with Satan and his rebel hosts occurs in Book I when they are recovering from the shock of having been expelled from heaven by the Son after three days of fighting the angels of God. Despite the defeat he has suffered, Satan gains our admiration by displaying resilience in quickly coming to terms with the change in his circumstances, in remustering his forces and organizing the building of his palace, Pandemonium. At the same time he demonstrates his determination not to be defeated and shows true qualities of leadership, persuasively arguing that there is still hope for battle and victory. Satan is convincing in his first speech to Beelzebub, his chief partner in crime, as he declares: What though the field be lost? All is not lost; the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield: And what is else not to be overcome? That glory never shall his wrath or might Extort from me. (I. 105-111) The language here is particularly powerful and the lines are extremely weighted, underlining Satanââ¬â¢s resolution. He similarly instills renewed resolve in his followers to challenge God and hope of regaining their former state, claiming that they are now better placed to contend because there is not fear of division in their own ranks (II. 11-42). He then gives his supporters the opportunity to speak their minds as to whether to engage in open warfare or in guile to achieve their end; although ultimately they agree the course of action he has pre-planned ââ¬â that is, to introduce evil on Earth. Through Satanââ¬â¢s speech at the beginning of Book I, Milton emphasizes Satanââ¬â¢s self-glorification. Satan has no dread of being challenged in hell because he sees himself in the most dangerous position and the one to be most severely reprimanded by God. Satan is daring, which is best demonstrated when the resolve to send someone to investigate Earth has been taken and Satan offers to undertake the task. Milton diminishes Satanââ¬â¢s courage by points out that Satan stands forward with bravado and purely to gain personal glory for any success he might win. Yet, Satan does not volunteer immediately but is only undertaking what his followers are afraid to attempt. Miltonââ¬â¢s suggestion is, however, supported by Satanââ¬â¢s speech itself, in which he states that he will go to Earth alone and defies any of his followers to accompany him in case they detract any of the hoped for acclaim from him. Satanââ¬â¢s courage is restored during Miltonââ¬â¢s description of Satanââ¬â¢s journey through Chaos to Earth ââ¬â in fact, the poet dedicates over 400 lines to such ââ¬â (II. 629-1055) ââ¬â and Satanââ¬â¢s exaggerated claims to his peers of the danger and difficulty of his enterprise when he returns to Hell in Book X after the seduction of Adam and Eve are not without some justification (X. 460-80). In Book IV (917-23) when the angels guarding Paradise confront Satan, Gabriel also belittles Satan by accusing him of being less valiant than his peers and less able to endure the pain of hell. There appears to be some inconsistency during this confrontation between Satan and the angels towards the end of Book IV. Having become even more steadfast in his determination to seduce Adam and Eve against Godââ¬â¢s will and now directing his hatred against man also as a result of his envy of their happy state (IV. 502-35), it seems inconsistent that the next time he speaks, he is so sensitive to the taunts uttered by Zephon, Ithuriel and Gabriel. Although Satanââ¬â¢s scorn for the angels is still apparent, he stands ââ¬Ëabashedââ¬â¢ and provides Gabriel with the means by which to insult him (IV. 888-90): ââ¬Å"Lives there who loves his pain? Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell, Though thither doomed? â⬠It is important that we believe in the Satan as portrayed in Books I and II: Miltonââ¬â¢s argument depends upon that belief. Satan must be seen as being of sufficient stature to attempt Godââ¬â¢s overthrow. If Satan is considered too weak, he can pose no threat to God or to Man and there would be no reason for Milton to ââ¬Ëjustify the ways of God to menââ¬â¢. Therefore, while making allowances for Satanââ¬â¢s arrogance in the opening Books of Paradise Lost, he does give the impression that he is ruling hell and it is not expedient to deliberate to what extent it is possible for Satan to succeed in his quest to corrupt Godââ¬â¢s good works with evil. The very structure of Paradise Lost assists in creating the illusion of Satanââ¬â¢s power, since we first learn of the expulsion of Satan and his followers through the rebels themselves and it is not until much later when Raphael tells Adam of the wars in heaven in Books V and VI that we hear the ââ¬Ëofficialââ¬â¢ version in which Satan emerges in a less favorable light. Stanley Fish in his essay, ââ¬ËThe Harassed Reader in Paradise Lost,â⬠argues that Satan possesses a form of heroism which is easy to admire because it is visible and flamboyant and that, on that basis, Satanââ¬â¢s attractiveness is only initial (Fish 189-190). B Rajan, on the other hand, writes: The heroic qualities which Satan brings to his mission, the fortitude, the steadfast hate, the implacable resolution, which is founded on despair, are qualities not to be imitated or admired. They are defiled by the evil to which they are consecratedââ¬â¢ (Rajan 190). Nonetheless, it is often Satanââ¬â¢s despair, which comes through more potently than his evil intentions. Satanââ¬â¢s bravado is most clearly evident in Books I and II when he is able to flaunt before his followers; by Book IV, his feeling of confidence and resolution shows signs of cracking, with Satan talking to himself he is revealing much about his inner torment and self-doubts. As his steadfastness wavers, some of his initial charisma also diminishes, as we become more aware of his ability to fall. This argument is reinforced by Miltonââ¬â¢s physical description of Satan. In Books I and II, Satan appears an impressive figure, ââ¬Å"In bulk as huge/As whom the fables name of monstrous sizeâ⬠(I. 196-7). He is conspicuous amongst his followers because of his size and his lustre, which, although faded, outshines that of his peers (I. 589-604). On closer examination, however, it emerges that, even in Book I, Milton has been careful to downgrade Satan. Milton states that Satan ââ¬Å"stood like a towââ¬â¢rââ¬â¢ and that his lustre was like the sunââ¬â¢s through mist. The first simile is bare and unqualified and, in essence, tells us nothing about Satanââ¬â¢s dimensions or his stance. A tower may be any size and of too wide a variety of constructions for the simile to be of any significance. The reference to Satanââ¬â¢s reduced brightness is a symbol of his fall from glory and failing strength; and is mentioned by Ithuriel and Zephon in Book IV when while maki ng fun of they suggest to Satan that his lack of lustre has made him almost unrecognizable. Our fear and pity for Satan can be considered together since they stem from the same cause. On one level, Satan can be regarded as pitiful as much as pitiable. Although it is undoubtedly not Miltonââ¬â¢s intention, it is almost possible to view Satan throughout in the light of sympathetic pity, especially if we accept that Satan cannot be something other than what he is no matter how much he wrestles with hons constantly shifting and mounting in intensity, the dramatic individual grows, expands, developes to the point where, at the end of the drama, he looms upon the mind as a titanic personality infinitely richer that at the beginning. This dramatic personality in its manifold stages of actuation in as artistic creation. In essence Macbeth, like all other men, is inevitably bound to his humanity; the reason of order, as we have seen, determines his inescapable relationship to the natural and eternal law, compels inclination toward his proper act and end but provides him with a will capable of free choice, and obliges his discernment of good and evil. How to cite Miltonââ¬â¢s Satan in Paradise Lost, Papers Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-22448982875357105582020-04-26T15:48:00.001-07:002020-04-26T15:48:03.037-07:00Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s Essay ExampleMcdonaldââ¬â¢s Essay McDonaldââ¬â¢s, based in California, USA, has become the most famous and successful fast-food restaurants all over the world. Since the first McDonaldââ¬â¢s opened in 1955, till now, McDonaldââ¬â¢s has established more than 32,000 chain stores over 100 countries, serving more than 60 million people each day, and gaining around 15 billions incomes per year. In addition, McDonaldââ¬â¢s keeps enhancing its brand imagine through different social activities and the sponsorship of special events and sports. (www. McDonalds. com. au) Why McDonaldââ¬â¢s is so successful? How can it achieve this? The reason why McDonaldââ¬â¢s is so successful is it well implements several business strategies. This essay is going to analyze the recipe of success of McDonalââ¬â¢s and argues that how business strategy influence the staffing strategy. The business strategy of McDonaldââ¬â¢s is to deliver outstanding service to its customers, that is to provide its customers quality, cleanliness, quick service and value. Poterââ¬â¢s specialization strategy can help better understand McDonalââ¬â¢s business strategy. Poter (as cited in Phillips and Gully,2011, pp. 31) stated that firms using specialization strategy can be either cost leaders or differentiators. Such a strategy ââ¬Å"focus on a narrow market segment or niche-a single product, a particular end use, or buyers with special needsâ⬠. Companies pursue specialization strategy can focus on a particular buyer group, either through a low price or differentiated products or services that other competitors cannot imitate. The nature of McDonalds product is food which everybody needs this makes the idea of a narrow focus strategy a little less likely for McDonalds. The specialization strategy is a combine of cost-leadership strategy or differentiation strategy. We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Businesses adopt such a strategy often try to develop a competitive advantage through customer intimacy and try to gain and increase customersââ¬â¢ loyalty through meeting their customersââ¬â¢ needs by delivering unique products or services. When hiring empolyees, it is very important that employers should focus on employeesââ¬â¢ good people skills. McDonalââ¬â¢s competitive advantage is to provide its customers quality, cleanliness, quick service and value. In such a situation, hiring people with experience and good interpersonal skills can help Mcdonalââ¬â¢s to implement its business strategy However, many of its restaurant employees re teenagers without any work experience. Why is that? As Bechet( 2002, p. 167)stated, business strategy can influence staffing strategy. McDonalââ¬â¢s specialization strategy can be either cost leadership strategy or differentiation strategy. The main focus of cost leadership strategy is to keep costs and prices low. Organizations th at adopt such a business strategy are try to build up a competitive advantage based on operational excellence that is to maximize the efficiency of the product development to minimize costs(Phillips and Gully 2011, pp. 0). Such an operational excellence requires companies to employ employees trainable and flexible, and have the ability to fulfill short-term production objectives by avoiding waste and lowering the companyââ¬â¢s production coasts. Consequentially, it is not desirable to hire people who have experience and have high salary expectation because by adopting this strategy, employees require to work as team with a tight margin. It is not effectively for teamwork considering that employees pay disparity(Phillips and Gully 2011, pp. 31). In addition, McDonalââ¬â¢s is chain restaurants and views its employees as most important asset, which means that when hiring employess, it is necessary and significant to manage costs and control the asset, like managing other asset such as equipment or steel. As a result, the acquisition and deployment of the cheaper and the quicker the labor the better. By knowing this, McDonalââ¬â¢s turns to working hard at hiring employees without experience, but want to excel in delivering its outstanding service rather than their experienced counterparts. When business strategy formulate, it is important to find the right people to execute it. So staff is very important in that it is employeesââ¬â¢ willingness and ability to implement the organizational business strategy (Bechet 2002, p. 168). Whether a company hiring long-term careers or short-term workers, or hiring people with related experience or people without experience, these are relate to staffing strategy. Staffing strategy according to Phillips and (Gully 2011, pp. 33), can reflect its business strategy, human resource strategy and talent philosophy. In the field of strategic human resource, Arthur found that Poretrââ¬â¢s generic strategies have association with human resource activities. In well managed companies, human resource activities have both long and short-term focus(Becker amp; Gerhart 1996, p. 783). On the short-term side, immediate staffing including recruiting and development are defined annually, often as integral part of the budgeting process. On the long-term part, directional plans of action, such as training and development programs, are supporting business strategies. Whatââ¬â¢s more, organizations should meet their staffââ¬â¢s needs. Thus, how to retain employees is the organizationsââ¬â¢ top agenda (Becker amp; Gerhart 1996, p. 788). McDonaldââ¬â¢s has refocused its efforts and realized the importance of providing customers with quality food in a clean and organized environment with quick service at an affordable price. In order to sustain its competitive advantage, from short-term perspective, McDonalââ¬â¢s need employees to deliver its service. Such work does not need highly skills and knowledge. From budget perspective, it is less costly to employ teenagers instead of experienced employees. However, from long-term perspective, McDonalââ¬â¢s try to retain its employees by providing them ongoing training and then promote from within to fill its managerial positions. Besides, for McDonalââ¬â¢s, the best way to hire quality people is to advertise inside the restaurant and aim at attract local people or through employee referral. Ullman (as cited in Shinnar, Youngamp; Meana 2004, P. 273) stated that applicants referred by current employees should prescreened these applicants and then decide to recommend. As screeners, current employees can know both the job and the individual. They know who has the ability to do this job. Moreover, current employees connect referral with their reputation. Therefore, they will only refer quality applicants. In the service industry, especially service of food, few managers would deny that employee turnover is not a problem. A major reason why employee turnover in food servers is such high is that the service work itself has the negative image: people have a bad impression when speak to jobs of such type, thinking it is a physical job with long hours, low pay, lack of benefits and hard work (DiPietro amp; Merwyn 2006, p. 73). The foodservice industry now is the number one private sector employer in the world and still presents a continuing growth. Due to this growth, how to recruit and retain hourly employees remain primary challenges to restaurant managers (National Restaurant Association as cited in DiPietro amp; Merwyn 2006, p. 178 ). The demographics of the world have changed so much that aging problems become businesses main challenge. There is a shortage of younger workers because of decades of low birth rates, who are traditionally main workforce in service restaurant industry. With the increasing shortage of available younger workers, it is recommended that companies such as McDonlââ¬â¢s turn to use older workers. Past attitudes towards older workers by employers are hard to train, lack creativity, have physically problems and be inflexible (Sargeant 2001, p. 146). However, they are not the whole truth. In fact, because of rapid development of medical knowledge and technology, along with healthy diets and lifestyles, there are increased physically older people (Barth amp; McNaught 1991, p. 423). Studies(DiPietro amp; Milman 2004, p. 5 ) showed that most older workers are more dependable, have less accidents, fewer absences, lower turnover than the younger counterparts. In addition, older workers have the ability to help to mentor the younger workers in problem solving. Furthermore, it is turned out to be that older workers can build a better rapport with customers by using their interpersonal skills. In conclusion, the recipe of success of McDonalââ¬â ¢s is to well implement business strategy it choose, However, how to manage and retain its employees is very important, because it is employees who have the motivation and ability to execute the business strategy. By knowing this, McDonalââ¬â¢s works hard to hire the right people and retain then by providing them ongoing training and promote from within for its managerial positions. Reference list Arthur, JB 1992, ââ¬Ë The link between business strategy and industrial relations systems in American steel minimills. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol45, pp. 488-506. Barth, MC amp; McNaught, W 1991, ââ¬ËThe impact of future demographic shifts on the employment of older workersââ¬â¢. Human Resource Management, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 420-434. Bechet, TP 2002, ââ¬ËStaffing strategy: A practical toolkit for workforce planning. Amacom, USA. Becker, B amp; Gerhart, B 1996, ââ¬ËThe impact of human resource management on organizational performance: progress and prospectsââ¬â¢ . Academy of Management Journal, vol. 39, pp. 779-801. DiPietro, RB amp; Merwyn LS 2006, ââ¬ËManagement Perceptions of older employees in the U. S. quick service restaurant industryââ¬â¢, Human Resources in the Foodservice Industry, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 169-185. DiPietro, RB amp; Milman, A 2004 ââ¬ËHourly employee retention factors in the quick service restaurant industryââ¬â¢, International Journal of Hospitaity amp; Tourism Administration, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 31-51. Glasgow, KM 2001, A strategic model of temporary staffing, Routledge, New York. Olian, JD amp; Rynes, SL 1984, ââ¬ËOrganizational staffing: integrating practice with strategyââ¬â¢, Industrial relations, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 170-183. Phillips, J and Gully, S 2011, Strategic Staffing, Pearson Education limited, London. Sargeant, M 2001 ââ¬ËLifelong learning and age discrimination in employmentââ¬â¢, Educa- tion and the Law, vol13, no. 2, pp. 141-155. Shinnar, RS, Young, CA amp; Meana, M 2004, ââ¬ËThe motivations for and outcomes of employee rederralsââ¬â¢, Journal of Business and Psychology, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 271-283. Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s Essay Example Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s Essay McDonaldââ¬â¢s, based in California, USA, has become the most famous and successful fast-food restaurants all over the world. Since the first McDonaldââ¬â¢s opened in 1955, till now, McDonaldââ¬â¢s has established more than 32,000 chain stores over 100 countries, serving more than 60 million people each day, and gaining around 15 billions incomes per year. In addition, McDonaldââ¬â¢s keeps enhancing its brand imagine through different social activities and the sponsorship of special events and sports. (www. McDonalds. com. au) Why McDonaldââ¬â¢s is so successful? How can it achieve this?The reason why McDonaldââ¬â¢s is so successful is it well implements several business strategies. This essay is going to analyze the recipe of success of McDonalââ¬â¢s and argues that how business strategy influence the staffing strategy. The business strategy of McDonaldââ¬â¢s is to deliver outstanding service to its customers, that is to provide its customers quality, cleanliness, quick service and value. Poterââ¬â¢s specialization strategy can help better understand McDonalââ¬â¢s business strategy. Poter (as cited in Phillips and Gully,2011, pp. 31) stated that firms using specialization strategy can be either cost leaders or differentiators.Such a strategy focus on a narrow market segment or niche-a single product, a particular end use, or buyers with special needs. We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonaldââ¬â¢s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Companies pursue specialization strategy can focus on a particular buyer group, either through a low price or differentiated products or services that other competitors cannot imitate. The nature of McDonalds product is food which everybody needs this makes the idea of a narrow focus strategy a little less likely for McDonalds. The specialization strategy is a combine of cost-leadership strategy or differentiation strategy.Businesses adopt such a strategy often try to develop a competitive advantage through customer intimacy and try to gain and increase customersââ¬â¢ loyalty through meeting their customersââ¬â¢ needs by delivering unique products or services. When hiring empolyees, it is very important that employers should focus on employeesââ¬â¢ good people skills. McDonalââ¬â¢s competitive advantage is to provide its customers quality, cleanliness, quick service and value. In such a situation, hiring people with experience and good interpersonal skills can help Mcdonalââ¬â¢s to implement its business strategy However, many of its restaurant employees re teenagers without any work experience. Why is that? As Bechet( 2002, p. 167)stated, business strategy can influence staffing strategy. McDonalââ¬â¢s specialization strategy can be either cost leadership strategy or differentiation strategy. The main focus of cost leadership strategy is to keep costs and prices low. Organizations that adopt such a business strategy are try to build up a competitive advantage based on operational excellence that is to maximize the efficiency of the product development to minimize costs(Phillips and Gully 2011, pp. 0). Such an operational excellence requires companies to employ employees trainable and flexible, and have the ability to fulfill short-term production objectives by avoiding waste and lowering the companyââ¬â¢s production coasts. Consequentially, it is not desirable to hire people who have experience and have high salary expectation because by adopting this strategy, employees require to work as team with a tight margin. It is not effectively for teamwork considering that employees pay disparity(Phillips and Gully 2011, pp. 31).In addition, McDonalââ¬â¢s is chain restaurants and views its employees as most important asset, which means that when hiring employess, it is necessary and significant to manage costs and control the asset, like managing other asset such as equipment or steel. As a result, the acquisition and deployment of the cheaper and the quicker the labor the better. By knowing this, McDonalââ¬â¢s turns to working hard at hiring employees without experience, but want to excel in delivering its outstanding service rather than their experienced counterparts.When business strategy formulate, it is important to find the right people to execute it. So staff is very important in that it is employeesââ¬â¢ willingness and ability to implement the organizational business strategy (Bechet 2002, p. 168). Whether a company hiring long-term careers or short-term workers, or hiring people with related experience or people without experience, these are relate to staffing strategy. Staffing strategy according to Phillips and (Gully 2011, pp. 33), can reflect its business strategy, human resource strategy and talent philosophy.In the field of strategic human resource, Arthur found that Poretrââ¬â¢s generic strategies have association with human resource activities. In well managed companies, human resource activities have both long and short-term focus(Becker amp; Gerhart 1996, p. 783). On the short-term side, immediate staffing including recruiting and development are defined annually, often as integral part of the budgeting process. On the long-term part, directional plans of action, such as training and development programs, are supporting business strategies. Whatââ¬â¢s more, organizations should meet their staffââ¬â¢s needs.Thus, how to retain employees is the organizationsââ¬â¢ top agenda (Becker amp; Gerhart 1996, p. 788). McDonaldââ¬â¢s has refocused its efforts and realized the importance of providing customers with quality food in a clean and organized environment with quick service at an affordable price. In order to sustain its competitive advantage, from short-term perspective, McDonalââ¬â¢s need employees to deliver its service. Such work does not need highly skills and knowledge. From budget perspective, it is less costly to employ teenagers instead of experienced employees.However, from long-term perspective, McDonalââ¬â¢s try to retain its employees by providing them ongoing training and then promote from within to fill its managerial positions. Besides, for McDonalââ¬â¢s, the best way to hire quality people is to advertise inside the restaurant and aim at attract local people or through employee referral. Ullman (as cited in Shinnar, Youngamp; Meana 2004, P. 273) stated that applicants referred by current employees should prescreened these applicants and then decide to recommend. As screeners, current employees can know both the job and the individual.They know who has the ability to do this job. Moreover, current employees connect referral with their reputation. Therefore, they will only refer quality applicants. In the service industry, especially service of food, few managers would deny that employee turnover is not a problem. A major reason why employee turnover in food servers is such high is that the service work itself has the negative image: people have a bad impression when speak to jobs of such type, thinking it is a physical job with long hours, low pay, lack of benefits and hard work (DiPietro amp; Merwyn 200 6, p. 73). The foodservice industry now is the number one private sector employer in the world and still presents a continuing growth. Due to this growth, how to recruit and retain hourly employees remain primary challenges to restaurant managers (National Restaurant Association as cited in DiPietro amp; Merwyn 2006, p. 178 ). The demographics of the world have changed so much that aging problems become businesses main challenge. There is a shortage of younger workers because of decades of low birth rates, who are traditionally main workforce in service restaurant industry.With the increasing shortage of available younger workers, it is recommended that companies such as McDonlââ¬â¢s turn to use older workers. Past attitudes towards older workers by employers are hard to train, lack creativity, have physically problems and be inflexible (Sargeant 2001, p. 146). However, they are not the whole truth. In fact, because of rapid development of medical knowledge and technology, along with healthy diets and lifestyles, there are increased physically older people (Barth amp; McNaught 1991, p. 423). Studies(DiPietro amp; Milman 2004, p. 5 ) showed that most older workers are more dependable, have less accidents, fewer absences, lower turnover than the younger counterparts. In addition, older workers have the ability to help to mentor the younger workers in problem solving. Furthermore, it is turned out to be that older workers can build a better rapport with customers by using their interpersonal skills. In conclusion, the recipe of success of McDonalââ¬â¢s is to well implement business strategy it choose, However, how to manage and retain its employees is very important, because it is employees who have the motivation and ability to execute the business strategy.By knowing this, McDonalââ¬â¢s works hard to hire the right people and retain then by providing them ongoing training and promote from within for its managerial positions. Reference list Arthur, JB 1 992, The link between business strategy and industrial relations systems in American steel minimills. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol45, pp. 488-506. Barth, MC amp; McNaught, W 1991, The impact of future demographic shifts on the employment of older workersââ¬â¢. Human Resource Management, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 420-434. Bechet, TP 2002, Staffing strategy: A practical toolkit for workforce planning.Amacom, USA. Becker, B amp; Gerhart, B 1996, The impact of human resource management on organizational performance: progress and prospectsââ¬â¢ . Academy of Management Journal, vol. 39, pp. 779-801. DiPietro, RB amp; Merwyn LS 2006, Management Perceptions of older employees in the U. S. quick service restaurant industryââ¬â¢, Human Resources in the Foodservice Industry, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 169-185. DiPietro, RB amp; Milman, A 2004 Hourly employee retention factors in the quick service restaurant industryââ¬â¢, International Journal of Hospitaity amp; Tourism Administra tion, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 31-51.Glasgow, KM 2001, A strategic model of temporary staffing, Routledge, New York. Olian, JD amp; Rynes, SL 1984, Organizational staffing: integrating practice with strategyââ¬â¢, Industrial relations, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 170-183. Phillips, J and Gully, S 2011, Strategic Staffing, Pearson Education limited, London. Sargeant, M 2001 Lifelong learning and age discrimination in employmentââ¬â¢, Educa- tion and the Law, vol13, no. 2, pp. 141-155. Shinnar, RS, Young, CA amp; Meana, M 2004, The motivations for and outcomes of employee rederralsââ¬â¢, Journal of Business and Psychology, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 271-283. Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-8540674080411586112020-03-18T23:07:00.001-07:002020-03-18T23:07:03.046-07:00How to Write a Response Essay to an ArticleHow to Write a Response Essay to an Article How to Write a Response Essay to an Article Essays are mainly done in schools. They begin in the junior schools. Per level of education, different essays are done from the simplest to the complex ones depending on the level that one is in. Different essays are written for different reasons or are normally given under different instructions. Some of them are merely about creative writing while in others one has to do a research. This is where one does a research then after that they draft the essay depending on the research that they came up with. There are other essays that are done however. Essays that tend to respond to a certain article. The teacher gives the students an article then they are asked to answer the question asked in the article in an essay form. Such essays are response essays. The students will just read the article and they will answer according to how they feel mostly it is written in first person. Some of the students are not familiar to the essays so the teachers have to teach the students even if in college how to write a response essay to an article. The teachers mainly insist on the first part of the introduction that the students should read the article and understand it. They should read it at first for the first understanding. This is because this is where their response will be based. They will answer the question depending on how they will understand the article. The second thing that they should do is that they should now read the article thoroughly. Therefore to ensure that they understand the article and they will give the right response, they should read the article a number of times. As they read the article they should be able to make some notes that will help them in their response. They should be able to get some impressions as they tread the article and they should be able to put them in a way that they will help them in their response. Write as many points as you can depending on the impressions that you will get. Then after that, write an outline of those impressions. This will help you know whether you have the right impression or not. After writing the outlines then explain them on the basis of the article that you have. This way you will have the evidence that supports your work. After you have all this work then go ahead and draft your response essay. Whatever you will write then is the best that you could have therefore do not feel ashamed of what you have written. After the writing now you can submit the response. At writing company you can get professional response essay writing help from experts. Custom response essays written from scratch! Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-70000725614596779432020-03-02T14:53:00.001-08:002020-03-02T14:53:02.423-08:00The Components of an Intriguing BiographyThe Components of an Intriguing Biography A biography is a story of a persons life, written by another author. The writer of a biography is called a biographer while the person written about is known as the subject or biographee. Biographies usually take the form of a narrative, proceeding chronologically through the stages of a persons life. American authorà Cynthia Ozick notes in her essay Justice (Again) to Edith Wharton that a good biography is like a novel, wherein it believes in the idea of a life as a triumphal or tragic story with a shape, a story that begins at birth, moves on to a middle part, and ends with the death of the protagonist. A biographical essay is a comparatively short work of nonfictionà about certain aspects of a persons life. By necessity, thisà sort of essayà is muchà more selective than a full-length biography, usually focusing only on key experiences and events in the subjectsà life. Between History and Fiction Perhaps because of this novel-like form, biographies fit squarely between written history and fiction, wherein the author often uses personal flairs and must invent details filling in the gaps of the story of a persons life that cant be gleaned from first-hand or available documentation like home movies, photographs, and written accounts. Some critics of the form argue it does a disservice to both history and fiction, going so far as to call them unwanted offspring, which has brought a great embarrassment to them both, as Michael Holroyd puts it in his book Works on Paper: The Craft of Biography and Autobiography. Nabokov even called biographers psycho-plagiarists, meaning that they steal the psychology of a person and transcribe it to the written form. Biographies are distinct from creative non-fiction such as memoir in that biographies are specifically about one persons full life story from birth to death while creative non-fiction is allowed to focus on a variety of subjects, or in the case of memoirs certain aspects of an individuals life. Writing a Biography For writers who want to pen another persons life story, there are a few ways to spot potential weaknesses, starting with making sure proper and ample research has been conducted à pulling resources such as newspaper clippings, other academic publications, and recovered documents and found footage. à First and foremost, it is the duty of biographers to avoid misrepresenting the subject as well as acknowledging the research sources they used. Writers should, therefore, avoid presenting a personal bias for or against the subject as being objective is key to conveying the persons life story in full detail. Perhaps because of this, John F. Parker observes in his essay Writing: Process to Product that some people find writing a biographical essay easier than writing anà autobiographicalà essay. Often it takes less effort to write about others than to reveal ourselves. In other words, in order to tell the full story, even the bad decisions and scandals have to make the page in order to truly be authentic. Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-27828661925756518142020-02-15T06:20:00.001-08:002020-02-15T06:20:02.918-08:00The Lost Television Series Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 wordsThe Lost Television Series - Essay Example The pilot excels in the introduction of characters, addressing the genre of the show, which is mysterious to the audience, and in using exciting storyline and great visual effects in making the viewers amazed (Roberts 41). The Lost writers made no fault in naming the first episode of Lost as the pilot. The naming was not through accident. As illustrated in the show, the naming was not done for the sake of doing it. It was named purposefully. This can be illustrated by the fact that as one goes through the show, he or she will discover that every little information that the writers give to lost fans has a particular meaning connected to the storyline earlier or later on in the Lostââ¬â¢s mysterious plot. In this case, it is wise getting the meaning of name the Pilot. The episode is about the search for the cockpit of the oceanic 815 airliners. The pilot of the airliner is in the cockpit. Therefore, the Lost writers chose the name the Pilot intentionally to create a play on words since the pilot was in the cockpit, which was being searched. This name choice was a subtle hint given to the audience by the writers. In other words, they were revealing to the audience the sign of what to expect. It should be, however, noted that nothing has been put straightforward in the Lost show (Douglas 27). The introduction of the main character in the Pilot has been done quite nicely in the first season of the show. Consequently, it is Matthew Fox, Doctor Jack Shephard who has been introduced as the first character in the showââ¬â¢s first scene. A golden lab sprinting through the jungle awakes him. On waking up Jack there is a very exciting overhead shot of his eyes. Among most of the characters found throughout the season, we find many shots. The shots are meant to perhaps bring a reflection of the notion the eyes constitute the windows for accessing the soul.à à Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-66322427876380112452020-02-02T05:31:00.001-08:002020-02-02T05:31:03.072-08:00Ethics concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 wordsEthics concepts - Essay Example "Modern fertility treatments became the focus of much media attention in 1993 after the widely publicised case in which a 59 year old woman was enabled to give birth to twins by means of in vitro fertilisation with donated eggs and her partner's sperm. Fertility treatments raise a wide range of ethical and social issues" (Koch, 1993, p.143). Such factors as the potential child's welfare and interests are critical reasons for refusing to provide a couple with fertility treatment. In spite of the fact that the issue of conception is foremost in the present discussion, I would like to exemplify the situation with the process of child adoption. Even though it differs from conception, because the child already exists, authorities have established a number of criteria for adoption: parents' welfare, their personal qualities, health status and other information should be taken into account. These criteria are partially determined by supply and demand: for instance, potential parents are forced to compete with each other, because the number of infertile families is larger that the number of orphans who are to be adopted. Similarly, in vitro fertilization, associated with conception, poses following question: (bluntly speaking) will the child benefit from being born to these parents or would it be better if he/she never existed The likelihood of the particular potential child being born to another couple simply does not exist, and conception therefore is dissimilar to adoption in this sense. Naturally, it is hard to determine when it would be more preferable if the potential child didn't exist; the fundamental worth of an individual's life cannot be either measured or quantified, least of all if this life hasn't been started yet. It is possible to say, however, that the level of parents' responsibility would be rather low for it to be more favorable not to be born. Society's unwillingness to take care of a child excepting the most traumatic circumstances of horrible parenting proves this (Koch, 1993). Using the example of the 59-year old woman who gave birth to twins, a most important obstruction is that the mother will probably die when they are still at the stage of childhood, i.e. not having brought them up. "No doubt, other things being equal, it is preferable to have a mother who survives well into one's own adulthood. But to put this forward as a sufficient reason for denying fertility treatment is tantamount to claiming that it is better never to have existed than for one's mother to have died when one is still quite young" (Brindsen, 1992,p.280). In addition, in the case of in vitro fertilization, the interests of society are masqueraded as the potential child's interests. The procedure of selecting couples for the fertilization itself looks like the other official procedures that involve difficulties in distributing resources. There are two major hazards in failing to differentiate between the interests of the certain potential child and those of the potential children who might be born if resources were used to help other prospective parents instead. The first risk is that medical specialists may wrongly withhold the fertilization of the certain couple even if refusal to help them is not likely to bring benefit to other couples. The second hazard is that society may fail to support the process of Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-79545073177467063182020-01-25T01:55:00.001-08:002020-01-25T01:55:02.589-08:00Problems With the ACT and SAT Essay -- Standardized Testing Essays Throughout high school and college we will go through a vast amount of testing but why? Testing is used to show a personââ¬â¢s amount of knowledge on a particular subject. Usually itââ¬â¢s for one specific subject and not a majority of them, the standardized tests include all testable subjects as in English, math, science, writing, and reading. However, before we can all begin our college careers we have to take one of two tests, the ACT or the SAT. These two tests determine the college you get into, the amount of scholarships you will receive, and even whether or not your will be accepted into any college. These standardized tests are used by schools because they find that it is an easy way to test a studentââ¬â¢s ability. However, the issue in doing this is for example, the ACT is all multiple choice. Exams such as these do not give the option to include worded feedback to show that you at least know something about the subject. Multiple choice exams have this problem, they canââ¬â¢t test the information that a person fully knows, it only tests whether they chose the right answer or possibly just guessed it. With only a slew of multiple choice questions it can be easy to get a ââ¬Å"goodâ⬠score or a ââ¬Å"badâ⬠score. Thatââ¬â¢s why these tests are flawed, the results they show donââ¬â¢t prove anything or really show anything for that matter. So, using these long multiple choice exams are what collegeââ¬â¢s consider to be a reflection of a studentââ¬â¢s grades during their first year at college. The test maker itself explains that grade point averages during high school paint a better picture than their tests ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused" 1). Collegeââ¬â¢s use these standardized tests as a quick measure of ability. However, a test cannot explo... ...Mar. 2014. Kohn, Alfie. N.p.. Web. 25 Mar 2014. . (Kohn) "The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused." Fair Test. FairTest, 20 Aug 2007. Web. 25 Mar 2014. . ("The ACT: Biased, Inaccurate, and Misused") Meaghan, Diane, and Francois Casas. Bias in standardized testing and the misuse of test scores: Exposing the Achilles heel of education reform. Canadian Centre Policy Alternatives, 2004. 35-50. eBook. (Meaghan and Casas 35-50) Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-72457860666885427482020-01-16T22:17:00.001-08:002020-01-16T22:17:03.428-08:00Swot Analysis of Railway Transportation1. 1 Study objective * To fulfil the requirement of this module, Introduction to Land Transportation and Railways mode * The objective of this study is concerned with identifying Analysis of Railways Transport. * To gain extra knowledge on Land transportation that will help me now and in the future. 1. 2 Scope The first step concerns of introducing Land transport and Railways mode. Second step is showing the Strength and Weakness Analysis of Railways then discuss in details on Strength and Weakness points. 1. 3 Introduction We use various products in our daily life.But do we know where are they produced? Many of them are produced at different places far away from our locality. So how do we get them? These are carried on from all those places through rail, road or air and are made available to us at our locality. You must have seen trucks, tempo, bullock carts; etc. Those would be carrying products and raw materials from a place to another. Similarly, you also must have seen people tr avelling from one place to another by buses, trains, cars, scooters, rickshaws, cycles, etc. This movement of goods and individuals is very important in business.Because of this, raw materials reach the place of manufacture, finished products reach the place of sale or consumption, individuals move around to manage the business, etc. In this lesson, let us learn how goods and passengers move from one place to another. 2. 1 Mode of Transport Basically transport is possible through land, air or water, which is called the different modes of transport. On land we use trucks, tractors, etc. , to carry goods; train, bus, cars etc. to carry passengers. In air, we find aeroplanes, helicopters to carry passengers as well as goods.Similarly in water we find ships, steamers, etc. , to carry goods and passengers. All these are known as various means of transport. Let us discuss about various modes of transport. The modes of transport can be broadly divided into three categories: Land transport, Water transport and Air transport. 2. 2 Land Transport: Land transport refers to activities of physical movement of goods and passengers on land. This movement takes place on road, rail, rope or pipe. So land transport may further be divided into Road transport, Rail transport, Ropeway transport, pipeline transport.Let us know the details about Rail Transport. 2. 3 Rail transport Transportation of goods and passengers on rail lines through trains is called rail transport. It occupies an important place in land transport system of our country and is the most dependable mode of transport to carry goods and passengers over a long distance. Besides long distance, local transport of passengers is also provided by local trains or metro-rail in some metropolitan cities. Rail transport is available throughout the country except some hilly or mountainous regions. In India two types of trains are found.One is passenger train and other is goods train. While passenger trains carry both human b eings and a limited quantity of goods, the goods trains are exclusively used for carrying goods from one place to another. These trains are driven by rail engines and they use steam, diesel or electric power to move. Let us now discuss the SWOT Analysis of Rail Transport. Figure 1: SWOT Analysis of Rail Transport 3. 1 SWOT Analysis of Rail Transport in Malaysia There is some strength, weakness, opportunities and threats have been found in the rail transport system of Malaysia.Malaysia main rail system was mange by Kereta Api Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) since the 1940ââ¬â¢s, the railway company manage a total of 1,699km of tracks in the Peninsular Malaysia. Below are the SWOT analyses for KTMB 3. 1. 1 Strength * Cheap The fares offer by KTMB are relatively low price, therefore it is affordable by the public in Kuala Lumpur. Fares from 1 station to another are below 5 Ringgit Malaysia, example Station Tasik Selatan to Mid Valley Station only cost about RM2. 40 for an adult. * Eco-Fr iendly Since most of the train operated by Malaysian Railway was powered by overhead electric wire, no carbon emission was produce.Therefore by using the train, air pollution was minimizes. * Large Capacity Since train can be long by adding wagon or carriage and will have a huge capacity, it is possible to handle a large amount of freight transportation and also passengers to one place to another. In KTMB, trains are capable to handle large amount of cargoes and up to 300 passengers per trip. * Long Distance Trains are design for either short or long distance of travelling. From one point to another, modern train can be faster than cars to reach a destination.Since KTMB has a long track of 1699km, it is easy for traveller from the north of Perlis to travel to the south of Johor with ease. Thus without wasting time, effort and cost, traveller can relax by travelling on train. * No Road Congestion Road congestion is a major issue in every city around the world, spending time on road c ongestion are often frustrating and waste of time. Since rail transport can travel on its single track without much obstacle, it is free from road congestion. Publics in Kuala Lumpur often take KTM Commuter to work as a mode of transport to avoid the heavy traffic in pick hours of Kuala Lumpur. . 1. 2 Weakness * Crowded Although train are free from road congestion, it is impossible for people to avoid the crowded situation in the carriage during peak hour. It is worst when the air-conditioning system was failing or the people around are sweating or dirty. In Malaysia, during the morning when people are reporting to work or schools, noon during lunch hour and evening when everyone is rushing home will be the worst time to be on board on a commuter train. * Delays Rail transport can cover and reach many cities, therefore proper time management must be enforce to prevent delays or late arrivals.Unfortunately for KTMB, delays are the most common sight in their stations, sometimes it can delay up to an hour or more. This delays often packing the station and also the carriage even more crowded, KTMB users often need to wait for few train to pass by before they even can get into a crowded train. * High Maintenance Cost One of the weaknesses that can be found in every railway company will be the high maintenance cost. Railways Company has to spend a lot of cash during train overhaul, track maintenance, electric cable replacement and many more.While in the case of Malaysian Railway, cash was spend on maintenance of the track and refurbishment in most of their old carriers while importing for the new electrical train to arrive from Mitsubishi Electric and Rotem. * Low Flexibility Train are design to run only on steel tracks, therefore the train destination and pit-stop are fixed reducing the flexibility of choice of destination. With the limited choice of destination it will be hard to fulfill the demands in certain areas. Thus, it is important for the company to decide where to build a station to fulfil the demands and not building it for a waste.KTMB stations in certain area are old and sometimes too close to another station, worst the number of people getting down the station was less. While in certain areas the demand was high but the users might need to walk or take bus to reach the nearest station. * Sound Pollution Sound was produce from the engines sound (diesel power engines), the steel wheels running friction and also the horning sound. While the tracks for the train to run on were often near to the housing area, this often irritates the resident in the areas.The track for KTM some were build just few meters away from their backyard, therefore the sound of every train pass by can be loud and annoying during rest hour. 3. 1. 3 Opportunity * Development of Public Transport Thereââ¬â¢s huge area available for development in public transport in Malaysia. Public transport system in Malaysia are serving the public around an average score on ly, therefore, it is undeniable that rail transport can be prospect or to be a key saviour to improve and develop the public transport system. For KTMB, it is under discussion of building a railway line for high performance bullet train to serve the public.With this, it will be an advantage for traveller from neighbouring countryââ¬â¢s to reach Kuala Lumpur in a matter of hours. * Advertisement (Income) Carriage or wagon often had spacing on the exterior available for paint works or advertising purposes. Therefore, by renting this spacing out to the market for business purpose will be an advantage to earn additional income for the company and reduce the time to time painting cost for the carriage or wagon. KTMB can rent out more spacing for advertising instead of just maintaining it with the yellow, blue and red colour. * Social ServicesPeople with disability often had a hard time travelling with other mode of transport such as getting on a bus or a taxi. Therefore, with rail tra nsport, Railway Company can design their station for disability friendly and prepare a special section for the disability to enter the train. KTMB can build slopes and blind guideââ¬â¢s floor for the local OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) in every station. The company can also employ a instructor on the ground to guide this people into the train. * Increase Employment Rate Managing a railway company requires many workers to make it a success.Therefore, railway companies such as KTMB can employ people to manage the railway track, locomotive, power lines, scheduling of train and many more job placement. * Technology Improvement Since technology around the world are improving, it can also help to improve the technology apply on the train. Train in some countries has started to run on magnet force. Therefore, it has a huge gap of technology in Malaysia to be improved. KTMB should start to change and improve their technology not only on tracks but also their station and ticketing system. 3. 1 . 4 Threat * Losing Market ShareWith the rise of air and sea transport industry, it is getting harder and harder for rail transport to gain a place in the market. This is because other mode of transportation is providing better services than rail. Therefore in order for KTMB to survive in the market of freight transportation, the company should provide more services such as delivering to door step and at the same to time for additional revenue. * Political Interference Since rail transport is partly subsidized by the government on helm, the government will tend to interfere with the management of the firm.These delays some strategic decision of KTMB, such as what kind of train should be bought and when will it be bought. Thus, this limited the performance and improvement of KTMB. * Changing Technology Change of technology can be a huge threat for the railway transport. The rapid improvement in the world of technology might be a disaster for some railway company as they are short of capital to follow up the trend of technology. Slowing down of improvement will pay some price to the environment (pollution) and customer (uncomfortable). The technology use by KTMB is still falling behind other country railway system.Therefore, it is important for them to improve it as soon as possible before it irritates the consumer. * Competition In urban areas, there are many other mode of public transport such as taxi and busses. It is a huge competition to stay on top of the others. While in long distance travel competitors such as airlines and busses can be found too. Therefore, in order for KTMB to have a lead against others, it is important to improve their services in every aspect and also to improve their current technology. * Private Transport Since the government are promoting their local made cars.It has become a trend for most of the household to have at least 2 cars and drive to work daily. Thus, this reduced the number of people using public transport and private t ransport is more flexible and more comfortable. Therefore, KTMB should build station in strategic places, control the number of people in a train and market the goodââ¬â¢s of using a train. 4. 1 Conclusion As we apply this ââ¬ËSWOTââ¬â¢Ã conception Railways we see that there is a solid strength of Railways in itself as well as weaknesses of it. It has great opportunities in its circle as well as threats from other private sector efforts.In other words we can say that Railways is a widely used term in Economy. References * http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Freight_rail_transport * http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_are_Disadvantages_of_rail_transport * http://www. publishyourarticles. org/knowledge-hub/business-studies/what-are-the-advantages-a-disadvantages-of-railway-transport. html * http://www. saudirailways. org/portal/page/portal/PRTS/root/Home/01_About_Us/02Establishment_Advantages/02AdvantagesofRailwayTransport * http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Rail_transport * http://en . wikipedia. org/wiki/Rail * http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bulk_cargo Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-76510203405700872972020-01-08T18:40:00.001-08:002020-01-08T18:40:03.345-08:00The Life Of Saint Philomena - 1716 Words Saint Philomena was the daughter of a Prince who governed one of the states in Greece and her Mother too was from the royal family. Unfortunately, her parents had no children, but they worshiped idols. However, they continue to offer sacrifices and prayers to their false gods. Certainly, there was a doctor from Rome named Publius, who lived next to them in order to check up her father. Publius was a Christian; seeing the suffering of her parents, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he spoke to them about Christianity and promised to pray for them when they accept Baptism. Clearly, the burning zeal of grace accompanied his words and enlightened they are perceptive and triumphed over their will. They became Christians and obtained their long desired contentment that Publius had assured them as the reward of their conversion. Eventually, Philomena was born; they gave her the name of Luminous, an allusion to the light of Faith of which she had been, as it were, the fruit. The day of her Baptism her parents called her Filumena, or Daughter of Light, that means she was intuitive into the Faith. In addition, the love which her parents had for her was so great that they had her always with them. Philomena assured Jesus Christ that her virginity belongs to him. Meanwhile, her family had to go to Rome because her father had a problem with the Emperor concerning his province. Consequently, when Diocletian saw Philomena, he loved her and he wanted Philomena to be his wife. He seemed toShow MoreRelatedBiography: Saint Philomena1007 Words à |à 5 PagesSt. Philomena was born on January 10th, 291 in Greece. St. Philomenaââ¬â¢s name in latin is Filialuminis which means daughter of light. St. Philomenaââ¬â¢s parents were both royal from a small state in Greece. St. Philomena did not have any siblings. When she was thirteen years old, Philomena was forced in marriage with Emperor Diocletian. ââ¬Å"My virginity, which I have vowed to God, comes before everything, before you, b efore my country. My kingdom is Heaven.â⬠St. Philomena rejected the emperor because sheRead MoreSt. Philomena Loved God with All Her Heart Essays570 Words à |à 3 Pages St. Philomena was born on January 10th, 291 in Greece. St. Philomenaââ¬â¢s name in latin is Filialuminis which means daughter of light. St. Philomenaââ¬â¢s parents were both royal from a small state in Greece. Her father was forced to have his daughter marry emperor Diocletian. ââ¬Å"My virginity, which I have vowed to God, comes before everything, before you, before my country. My kingdom is Heaven.â⬠St. Philomena rejected the emperor because she made a promise to herself that her virginity belonged to GodRead MoreThe Mother Of A Prince Essay1531 Words à |à 7 Pagesher parents bore her was so great that they had her always with them. She made a promise to Jesus Christ of her virginity belongs to him. Philomenaââ¬â¢s parents did all they could to convince her to surrender to Diocletianââ¬â¢s wishes and theirs too. Philomena answered her parents that she cannot do their wish, for the love of a man to break the promise that she had made to Jesus Christ. Her virginity belongs to him. She can no longer dispose of it. But her father answered she was young then, too youngRead MoreI Was A Single Mom Raising Two Young Children1691 Words à |à 7 Pageswhere I would not have to worry about where our next meal was coming from. Those within the grip of difficult times may not know how they will feed their children. Feeding the hungry, especially children, is the purpose of my organization, The Saint Philomena Breakfast Kitchen, Inc. Prior to forming a board of directors or applying for tax exempt status I must first determine if there is a need for my organization within my community. According to in.gov the population of Vigo County is 107,848Read MoreTracks by Louise Erdrich Essay1260 Words à |à 6 PagesNapoleon. Pauline notes that they are well off, mixed-bloods who have acquired land. Napoleon is single, but has a drinking problem; however, he is admired as a good Catholic for taking in his sister and her three children, Clarence, Sophie, and Philomena. Pauline lies to Bernadette and tells them she is abused at Reginas and has to do rough chores. Bernadette tells her that she will have to work hard in her home, but she will not be abused. Pauline thinks God will reward Bernadette. BernadetteRead MoreAngela S Ashes SG DF5613 Words à |à 23 Pageschildhood? 2. Why do Delia and Philomena visit Malachy in the speakeasy? 3. What is Malachyââ¬â¢s escape plan, and how does it fail? 4. What is Frankââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"story,â⬠and why can nobody else take ownership? 5. How is life for the McCourts when Malachy brings home his wages? How do things change when he doesnââ¬â¢t? 6. Who helps the McCourt family get by in their time of need? What do they do? 7. What does Malachy do after Margaret dies? 8. How do Delia and Philomena help Angela after MargaretRead MoreSummary on Father Damien of Molokaià ¡Ã ¦S Life3565 Words à |à 15 PagesSummary on Father Damien of Molokaià ¡Ã ¦s Life Who was Father Damien? Ãâà « Father Damien was formally known as Joseph de Veuster Ãâà « He was born on January 3rd 1840 Ãâà « Damien was born to a farming couple on Tremeloo Belgium. Ãâà « He attended college at Brine-le-Comte. Ãâà « He entered the congregation of the sacred Hearts of Jesus. Ãâà « He Became a Picpus Brother on October the 7th 1860. Ãâà « Damien followed his brothers dream, now his as well and went into a mission aboard Ãâà « On the 19th of march 1864, he Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-8379800870593710532019-12-31T15:06:00.001-08:002019-12-31T15:06:03.041-08:00Euthanasia! First referred to by physicians in the 17th... Euthanasia! First referred to by physicians in the 17th century as an easy, painless, happy death, during which it was the physiciansââ¬â¢ responsibility to alleviate the physical sufferings of the body. Nowadays there are different definitions of euthanasia, varying from each countries jurisdiction. At present the law in the United Kingdom refers to euthanasia, regardless of whether it is at the patients request a criminal act and under current legislation can be treated as either murder or manslaughter, which in some cases carry a conviction of life imprisonment. In November 2013 Margo Macdonald, MSP put forward a new bill for assisted suicide in Scotland citing terminally ill people have the right to choose assisted suicide. This isâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦That life is a gift from God and we must respect it and as a Christian you have a duty to help people who are suffering, not kill them. With the pain killers that are available today, no person should have to suffer in their final days and palliative care can help a person die with dignity, in a way that suits the patient and their family. Christian organisations also argue that all lives are equal, should euthanasia become legal it would devalue the lives of the disabled, terminally ill and even the elderly, who in turn may feel they have a duty to choose euthanasia rather than be a burden on their families. Although a callous argument, it is said that euthanasia could be beneficial for the NHS and help keep costs low and free up hospital beds for patients on long waiting lis ts for treatment. Patients who are terminally ill and near end of life cost the NHS a lot of money, not only with pain relief but by providing staff, beds etc. The option to euthanise people in these circumstances would save money in the long term and this money could be put to good use elsewhere by the NHS, which would be the best choice from a business point of view. Who would regulate the euthanasia in the NHS? Giving this type of power to doctors could lead to unlawful killings with families and possibly even the patient having no legal right in choosing to die. A recent Dutch government investigation found someShow MoreRelatedEuthanasia Essay : Euthanasia And Euthanasia863 Words à |à 4 PagesThis is why Euthanasia is important and summarizing the research that I found on Euthanasia. Euthanasia is important because there is a lot of arguments about Euthanasia. Some people support it and some people do not support Euthanasia (Euthanasia and assisted suicide- Arguments). Euthanasia allows people to be free from physical pain. It is the hastening of death of a patient to prevent further sufferings (Euthanasia Revisited). The religious argument states God chooses when human life ends. EuthanasiaRead MoreEuthanasia Essays : Euthanasia And Euthanasia1432 Words à |à 6 PagesDoes euthanasia assists patients to die with dignity? From fresh to dying, is the humanity multiplies the development natural law. Along with medicine progress and life enhancement, the people besides pay attention to eugenics, simultaneous starts to pay attention to the euthanasia. Since this century 50 ages, regarding euthanasia, many countriesââ¬â¢ medical arenas, educational world, and ethical groups have been arguing about the euthanasia argument for many years, although many person of ideas haveRead MoreThe Debate Of Euthanasia And Euthanasia1429 Words à |à 6 PagesINTRODUCTION: The debate of euthanasia is an ongoing one thatââ¬â¢s shrouded with much controversy and ambiguity regarding the ethics of it in contemporary Australian society. However, the frequency of this topic being debated by physicians, influential figures and the media has become more prominent now than ever. In particular, in association with its impending legislation within Australian states. (The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists,2012) Various types of euthanasia are recognised,Read MoreEuthanasia Essay : Euthanasia And Euthanasia Essay1223 Words à |à 5 Pages Euthanasia James Dudley Euthanasia continues to be an ongoing issue in modern society. Over the course of history, there has been a multitude of debates that have tried to justify assisted suicide, or euthanasia. Gallupââ¬â¢s study in 2013 openly shows this statistic by showing that over 75 percent of Americans trust that euthanasia should be acceptable. However, what Americans donââ¬â¢t comprehend is that making any form of euthanasia legal infringes upon the right to life as stated in the constitutionRead MoreThe Issue Of Euthanasia And Euthanasia2073 Words à |à 9 Pageslife is beyond toleration or they feel as though there is no point to living, the issue of euthanasia often arises. Euthanasia is technically defined as ââ¬Å"the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more sufferingâ⬠. In america people have the right to end their life. The topic of euthanasia is one that is highly disputed among people over the world.â⬠Euthanasia means killing someone who is very sick to prevent more sufferingâ⬠(Weaver 1). An example ofRead MoreEuthanasi Euthanasia And Euthanasia1515 Words à |à 7 Pagesetymology of the word ââ¬Ëeuthanasiaââ¬â¢ originates from the Greek language which has a literal meaning of ââ¬Å"good deathâ⬠. Other names for euthanasia are ââ¬Ëassisted suicideââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëmercy killingââ¬â¢. Euthanasia is done when the person is suffering from a terminal illness such as cancer, and then steps are taken to end the personââ¬â¢s life so that they no longer have to suffer. [Helga Kuhse. July 1992. Bioethics News. The World Federation of Right to Die Societies. http://www.worldrtd.net/euthanasia-fact-sheet. AccessedRead MoreEuthanasia And The Death Of Euthanasia1351 Words à |à 6 Pagesfor the dying who request euthanasia to be able to end their suffering. Euthanasia is con sidered a ââ¬Å"gentle and easy deathâ⬠because it comes from the Greek words, Eu meaning good and Thanatosis meaning death. Euthanasia is illegal in most of the United States. However, assisted suicide, is legal in six different states. The states that assisted suicide is legal in are California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington DC, Vermont and Washington. The key difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is whoRead MoreEuthanasia Essay : The Euthanasia989 Words à |à 4 Pagesthe euthanasia process and what to expect. The euthanasia can take place in the privacy of your own home or you may choose to have it done at your veterinarianââ¬â¢s office. Your veterinarian may offer at home euthanasia or you may be able to locate a veterinary service that does at home euthanasia such as Home To Heaven. This is a personal choice and should be made with you and your petââ¬â¢s comfort in mind. Additionally, you may want to decide if you wish to be present during the eu thanasia. SomeRead MoreEuthanasi Euthanasia And Euthanasia861 Words à |à 4 PagesEuthanasia, the practice of medically terminating life in order to relieve pain and suffering of a patient, has been a complex and controversial topic since its conception. In ancient Greece and Rome attitudes toward active euthanasia, and suicide had tended to be tolerant. However, the rise of the Christian faith reinforced the views of the Hippocratic Oath, a swearing of ethical conduct historically taken by physicians. This shift concluded a medical consensus in opposition of euthanasia. IssuesRead MoreThe Debate About Euthanasia And Euthanasia1631 Words à |à 7 PagesThe debates about euthanasia date all the way back to the 12th century. During this time, Christian values increased the publicââ¬â¢s opinion against euthanasia. The church taught its followers that euthanasia not only injured individual people and their communities, but also violated Godââ¬â¢s authority over life. This idea spread far and wide throughout the public until the 18th century when the renaissance and reformation writers attacked the church and its teachings. However, the public did not pay much Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-50082419319479985732019-12-23T10:52:00.001-08:002019-12-23T10:52:04.180-08:00Addiction - 1674 Words The Cause of Addiction COM/156 Each year, there are more deaths and disabilities in the U.S. from substance abuse than from any other cause. In the United States alone, it is reported that roughly 18 million Americans have alcohol problems; 5 to 6 million have drug problems, and more than 9 million children live with a parent addicted to alcohol or illicit drugs. Drug addiction continues to be a growing concern, prompting medical and scientific research on a global scale into the possible causes of addiction and the various levels to which people become drug-dependent. This global issue continues to grow, prompting a rush to determine the cause in an effort to find a cure. Through research, doctors are learningâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦In fact, the occurrence of actual addiction to marijuana is quite low, despite surveys conducted at local high school where as many as 50% of those polled reported frequent use of the substance. Of those 50%, only 3% reported they ââ¬Å"neededâ⬠it. This information sugg ests that those 3% may have been genetically predisposed to addiction. At the same time, the popularity of the substance suggests that use may also be attributable to a need to fit in with peer groups. Considered the second most likely cause of addiction is social dislocation. Feeling unconnected with oneââ¬â¢s physical or social environment has proven to be a key link in those with addiction. Studies have shown that individuals whom have been displaced are at higher risk for addiction that an individual with a stable environment. Often times, there is significant social pressure to ââ¬Å"fit inâ⬠out of fear of rejection. In an article written by Simon Fraser University of Canada Professor Bruce Alexandar, Addiction in the modern world can be best understood as a compulsive lifestyle that people adopt when they are dislocated from the myriad intimate ties between people and groups - from the family to the spiritual community - that are essential for every person in every t ype of society. (Luntz, Issues 74, pg. six 2006). This lends to understanding why some are coping with social pressures through use of addictiveShow MoreRelatedAddiction : Addiction And Addiction985 Words à |à 4 PagesAddiction is an illness that changes the way the brain processes information. To understand addiction, you first have to learn its languageââ¬âhow addiction develops and why addicts continue to use despite the harm it inevitably causes. Addiction is a mysterious illness because it seems to make such little sense to the onlooker and at times even to the addict. Addicts are prone to repeating their poor choices because they do not process information correctly. All addicts have poor insight and poorRead MoreThe Problem Of Addiction And Addiction1387 Words à |à 6 Pageshave an addiction. The feeling of always wanting more just to be satisfied. Addiction is the result of a person who is consumed by a substance involved in an activity that is pleasurable. Drinking and shopping are two types of severe addictions and people do not realize it until it is too late. Addiction comes in various forms and it takes a while to realize what type of addiction a person could have. It tends to affect a person either physically or emotionally. A physical addiction causesRead MoreAdolescence And Addictions : Addiction And Addiction894 Words à |à 4 PagesAdolescence and Addictions Adolescence that are faced with drug addictions are considered addicts with undeniable habits of drug use and little to no concerns of long term effects on the brain. Most drug additions whether prescription, narcotic, or alcohol, causes detrimental effect on the brain that impacts ones behaviors and thought process in making precise decisions in daily activities. Brain diseases are rapid among drug users for long periods of time that in turn can destroy the ones opportunityRead MoreAddiction and Addictions Internet Addictions1321 Words à |à 6 Pagesdamaging today s society. Addictions are a fast growing concern, it has branched off and caused many problems whether it be related to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, Internet, or eating. Addictions are something society faces everyday. Although there are many reasons behind why addiction are growing, and where they stemmed from, today s society has focused primarily on how someone with an addictions problem can seek help. Also the many Gaps and Barriers around addictions are enabling people who wishRead MoreAddiction2651 Words à |à 11 Pages Addiction Addiction ââ¬Æ' Abstract Addiction knows no prejudice; it does not care what race, religion, sex or orientation. You can be addicted to drugs, gambling, x-box, shopping and eating. Addiction is an illness that requires, for most, professional help and that once you are an addict you are always an addict. ââ¬Æ' Addiction is everywhere, from celebrity tabloids, to television, and possibly to a family member or close friend. There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and gamblingRead MoreAddiction : The Problem Of Addiction Essay1198 Words à |à 5 PagesAddiction Students stroll in to class, their Venti iced soy vanilla lattes in hand rather than a notebook and pen. Keurig coffeemakers are commonplace in college dorm rooms. Colleges boast the number of Starbucks shops they have on campus. Just a month into the school year, and already many studentsââ¬â¢ bodies are becoming tolerant to caffeine, needing more and more of it to achieve the desired boost of energy, and if not given their fix, rebelling by causing headaches and irritability. Could itRead MoreAddiction : The Problem With Addiction1222 Words à |à 5 Pagesto treat addiction, it is important to first understand why addiction occurs. Often, there is a misconception on what steps need to be taken to deal with addiction, and what factors increase the propensity of addiction in the first place. The different models of addiction aim to clarify and justify reasons why addiction occurs both physiologically and psychologically, as well as provide plausible solutions to stop addiction. Although the models all contain differing view on why addiction occurs, andRead MoreAddiction : The Problem Of Addiction939 Words à |à 4 PagesThe amount of damage that addiction brings into peopleââ¬â¢s lives can be staggering. Societyââ¬â¢s perspective of addiction can either help or hinder the problem. Some addictions are seen negatively by society while others are not recognized as harmful. Some perspectives view the issue moralistically, creating shame regarding the problem. This approach is rarely helpful when dealing with the problem of addiction. Psychology, through a biopsychosocial model, attempts to offer a scientific perspective. ThisRead MoreThe Problem Of Addiction And Addiction764 Words à |à 4 PagesThis ted talk was phenomenal it made me really think of how we react to addicts, addiction issues, and related topics. Johann Hari, did a great job of explaining the current methods of handling addiction from many perspectives, such as political and societal. His journey within his own family took him all over the world to find the answers he wanted to know for himself and I think this was an inspiring investigation. I believe it is important to investigate as much as possible when you are lookingRead MoreAlcoholism Addiction And An Addiction Essay1356 Words à |à 6 PagesTraditionally speaking, alcoholism is an addiction to consuming alcohol. There are some organizations and people out there that would combat that widely accepted thought, and consider it a disease over an addiction. What is the difference between a disease and an addiction? To determine the appropriate label, both definitions and the actions that give them that specific definition must be examined. There is a line that separates what is a disease and what is an addiction and there are many different forms Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-36416451303449309862019-12-15T07:22:00.001-08:002019-12-15T07:22:04.614-08:00A Synopsis of the Kennedy Family Free Essays string(120) " After they were married on May 6, 1944, Billy offered Kick another compromise regarding the rearing of their children\." The Kennedy family has long been plagued by tragedy and scandal. The patriarch of the Kennedyââ¬â¢s, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, outlived five of his own children. Many Kennedy offspring grew up not knowing their father. We will write a custom essay sample on A Synopsis of the Kennedy Family or any similar topic only for you Order Now Kennedy administrations have long been wracked with scandal. Despite all of this, the Kennedyââ¬â¢s have long been thought of as Americaââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"royal familyâ⬠. What is it about the many misdeeds and tragedies of this particular family that has drawn America towards them? Why it is that America has been fascinated by the royal status of the Kennedy, and just what is it about this beleaguered dynasty that has mesmerized generations? The patriarch of the Kennedy political dynasty, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, better known as Joe, came from very humble beginnings. His father, Patrick Joseph Kennedy, came to America during the great potato famine in Ireland. He was in the U. S. only nine years when he died of tuberculosis. After the death of his father, Josephââ¬â¢s mother Bridget began working at a saloon and was eventually able to earn enough money to buy her own saloon, which was quite prosperous. The money from this saloon went to support Josephââ¬â¢s education at Harvard. After graduating from Harvard, Joe went into the liquor business, and from the liquor business he got into the movie business, all the while racking up large sums of money and making himself a very rich man. On October 7, 1914, Joe married Rose Fitzgerald and began the greatest political dynasty in American history. Joe used his fabulous wealth to further his own ambitious political career. He was able to earn favors from powerful politicians, and even formed a relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt by being one of his major supporters during his first bid for president. After FDR was in office Joe expected to be rewarded for his large contributions by being nominated for either Secretary of Treasury or Ambassador to England. Although it was the Secretary of Treasury position that he really wanted, he was barely able to finagle the Ambassador position out of Roosevelt, and he only managed this by using his powerful influence in the media. Joe was a horrible politician, and many of the comments he made prior to World War II prevented him from ever holding a high public office, (The Kennedy Curse; page 43) including the one that was his ultimate goal, president. While ambassador to England, Joe made comments indicating that he sympathized with Nazi Germany and supported their extermination of the Jewish people. He also said that democratic countries should bribe dictator countries in order to avoid war, and also made many other statements that indicated that he did not support democracy. Soon after the war started Joe returned to the United States where he was relieved of his title and banished from all aspects of going-onsââ¬â¢ in Washington, D. C. After his aspirations of holding high office were dashed, Joe Kennedy placed all his expectations on his eldest son, Joseph Kennedy Jr. Born on July 15, 1915, Joe Jr. received all the benefits of coming from a wealthy and influential family. He graduated from the best schools, and was almost through with law school when World War II broke out, which prompted him to drop out, join the navy and become a pilot. He was awarded his wings in May of 1942, and was sent to England in September of 1943. He flew many missions and collected many accolades. He was on the verge of being offered leave when his younger brother, John F. Kennedy won a heroic battle in the Pacific and stole his limelight. This upset Joe Jr. more than many people realized (The Kennedy Curse; page 36). Instead of accepting his offered leave and going home, Joe Jr. stayed in Europe and continued to fly, often taking more and more risks. In 1944 he volunteered for a top-secret mission, in which the odds of him living were only 50-50. His mission was to take a bomber loaded with 21,170 pounds of explosives and fly over England to Normandy and crash-dive on a German V-2 rocket-launching site. Shortly after take-off on August 12, 1944, his plane exploded killing both Joe Jr. and his co-pilot. Joe was awarded the Navy Cross and the Air Medal posthumously (countrystudies. us). While World War II was raging in Europe, another Kennedy was frolicking in England. Kathleen (Kick) Kennedy was prominent in London society during Englandââ¬â¢s war era. She had succeeded in capturing the heart of William Robert John Cavendish, who was the son of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, who was the present Duke of Devonshire. By marrying William Cavendish, better known as Billy Hartington, Kick would secure a place at the top of British society and become a duchess in the process. Even though Billy was engaged to Sally Norton for a while, Kick was able to use her charm to win Billyââ¬â¢s heart. The only problem that seemed to exist was the fact that Billy was a member of the Angelican Church of England, which had a reputation for being notoriously anti-Catholic. However, Kick was a Kennedy and therefore everything would work out in her favor, because thatââ¬â¢s what happened to Kennedyââ¬â¢s. Normally the Cavendishââ¬â¢s would never have allowed the marriage, but because of the fact that while the war raged on and taxes were increased and the fortune that was once the inheritance of Billy was slowly trickling away, the Cavendishââ¬â¢s were willing to allow the marriage due to the fact that Kickââ¬â¢s father was named the fourth wealthiest man in America. So even though Kick would be able to marry Billy, she would break many Catholic laws, and would be condemned to eternal purgatory. Billy made several compromises, such as getting married in a civil ceremony instead of an Angelican Church. However, one of Billyââ¬â¢s major stipulations was that his children would not be raised Catholic. After they were married on May 6, 1944, Billy offered Kick another compromise regarding the rearing of their children. You read "A Synopsis of the Kennedy Family" in category "Papers" He said that if Britainââ¬â¢s rigid class structure survived the war, then their children would have to be part of the Angelican Church; but if the class structure was gone then their children could be raised in the Catholic faith. Despite all these agreements, Kickââ¬â¢s entire family except for Joe Jr. condemned her decision, especially her mother Rose. Shortly after Kick and Billy married, Billy was called off to fight while Kick was left to her own devices. A few months after her wedding she received bad news; her favorite brother had been killed in a plane accident. She flew to the U. S. for Joeââ¬â¢s memorial service and remained there for several weeks. Subsequently, she was still in the U. S. when she received news that Billy had been killed in action on September 9, 1944. She immediately flew to England for the memorial service. She remained there even after his service, and was still prominent in British affairs. Even though she was no longer married to the future Duke of Devonshire, she still had several responsibilities, including planning balls and dances. It was at one of these dances that she first met Peter Fitzwilliam, a returning war hero and eighth earl. Pretty much everything Billy had been, but more exciting. For Kick and Peter it was considered love at first sight, although there were several obstacles, such as the ever-present problem of religion, and more importantly the fact that Fitzwilliam was married to Olive Dorothea. Even though Fitzwilliam was in the process of seeking a divorce when he first met Kick, he pursued a relationship with her while still being married to Olive. Kickââ¬â¢s relationship with Fitzwilliam, deemed a ââ¬Ëscandalous affairââ¬â¢ by most prominent people, was violently condemned by her mother. Her mother threatened to cut off Kickââ¬â¢s allowance and pretty much kick her out of the family. Kick decided to seek her fatherââ¬â¢s support and arranged to meet him in Paris. During their trip they ran into several delays, which caused them to run into bad weather. It was on May 13, 1947, that the plane carrying Kick, Peter, and two pilots crashed in the French countryside, killing all people on board (The Kennedy Curse; page 55). Even though he had lost two children already, Joe Kennedy still harbored aspirations of having one of his sons in the White House. Since his oldest son had died, the mantel fell on his next oldest son, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. After returning to the United States, John Kennedy, also known as Jack, used his war hero title as a springboard to get into politics. His first victory was in 1946 when he was elected into the U. S. House of Representatives, into which he was reelected in 1948 and 1950. In 1956 he unsuccessfully tried for vice president on the democratic ticket, but was successful in winning the primary for the democratic presidential nomination in 1960. In campaigning for the presidency, he used his New Frontier Program to garner support. The New Frontier promised an extension of economic benefits, an increase in federal aid for education, better health insurance for the elderly, a new department of urban affairs, an end to recession and a restoration of growth, a tax cut to stimulate the economy, and also funding for the space program. Due to the fact that JFK had a narrow victory over Richard Nixon, he often faced opposition in congress, especially from conservative southern democrats (Encarta. msn. com). Even though he is today viewed by many people as an influential figure in American history, JFKââ¬â¢s administration was far from ideal. When he first took office he inherited a problematic situation with Cuba and its dictator, Fidel Castro. His failed attempt to overthrow Castro is known as the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The Bay of Pigs is actually the place where U. S. acked Cuban exiles unsuccessfully tried to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. The exiles were quickly defeated by Castroââ¬â¢s forces, resulting in a very public embarrassment for the Kennedy administration. The Bay of Pigs fiasco almost in turn led to the Cuban missile crisis, which was a confrontation between the then U. S. S. R. and the United States, the closest the world has ever come to seeing nuclear war (Encarta. msn. com). The confrontation started when U. S. intelligence learned that the Soviet Union was supplying Cuba with long-range nuclear weapons, capable of hitting several U. S. targets. JFK was able to negotiate with the Soviet president, Khrushchev, and convinced him to take back the weapons from Cuba in exchange for the removal of several nuclear weapons located in Turkey that belonged to the U. S. Even though JFK was able to avoid nuclear war, one of his greatest legacies was his penchant for womanizing. This supposedly left him with chronic venereal disease, which is blamed for the death of his infant son, Patrick. JFK was able to cover up all his affairs because he had a close trusting relationship with most members of his secret service. This close relationship with his bodyguards was more of a hindrance than anything else because it prevented the agents from performing at their best. Security was very relaxed during JFKââ¬â¢s administration, which may have been one of the contributing factors to his assassination in 1963 (The Kennedy Curse; page 106). JFK originally went to Dallas in order to secure votes from this crucial state for his reelection. His approval rate in Texas was at an all time low, and JFK hoped a visit there would up his public opinion. Preparation work for his parade was sloppy; very few of the buildings along the parade route were inspected or secured. The night before his planned parade several of his secret service members went to a club where they drank and didnââ¬â¢t come back to the hotel until three or four oââ¬â¢clock in the morning (The Kennedy Curse; page 112). The next day, November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot in the head by Lee Harvey Oswald as his open car made its way down the parade route. The assassination of JFK has long been disputed as a conspiracy involving almost all of Washington and even the Mafia rather than just a mad act by a lone gunman. Evidence to support the conspiracy theory includes the trajectory of Oswaldââ¬â¢sââ¬â¢ bullets. Many people say that the number of bullets and the directions of the wounds inflicted to JFK indicate another gunman (How Did It Really Happen? ; page 270). All these conspiracy theories sprang up after the murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby, which prevented Oswald from ever being questioned. Even though the family was still reeling from the death of the young president, life went on and there was still the push to have a Kennedy in the White House again. This time the mantel fell on the next brother, the former attorney general under JFK himself, Robert Kennedy, better known as Bobby. Bobby had begun his career much as his older brothers had, graduating from prestigious colleges including Harvard and the University of Virginia. After completing his education he was made an attorney in the U. S. Department of Justice, where he worked for a year before leaving his post to become the manager of his older brotherââ¬â¢s presidential campaign. After the election was over he was appointed to the position of attorney general where he gained prominence for his determination to crack down on organized crime. He is especially remembered for his investigation of teamsters David Beck and James Hoffa, as well as his activism for civil rights (Encarta. msn. com). After the assassination of JFK he resigned his post but remained active in politics, representing New York in the United States Senate. He continued working on civil equality and trying to improve the lives of the poor. In 1968 he began his campaign to be elected as the democratic candidate for president. His campaign was going well and many people thought that he would be the next president and carry on the Kennedy name in the White House. However, when walking through the pantry in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 1968 he was fatally shot by Sirham Bishara Sirham, an Islamic extremist (Encarta. msn. com). He left behind ten children and a pregnant wife. As with the assassination of JFK many people suspected that there was a large complicated conspiracy behind the murder of Bobby Kennedy. Many witnesses say that there were more than one gunman in the pantry at the time that shots went off, and others say that they saw a couple running out of the hotel yelling, ââ¬Å"We shot him, we shot him! â⬠(homepages. com. cp. co. uk/~dlewis/crime. htm). However, as with the assassination of his older brother, we may never know the whole truth of the murder of Bobby Kennedy. One would think that after so many tragedies, the Kennedyââ¬â¢s would give up having their name in the White House. However, they still had one hope that lay in the youngest brother, Edward Kennedy, better known as Ted. Ted followed the same path as his brothers before him, graduating from the best schools and getting straight into politics. His career started off when he became district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts in 1960 (Encarta. sn. com). In 1962 he was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by his older brother, JFK. In 1969 after his two older brothers had been assassinated, he made plans to begin campaigning for the democratic nomination for president. However, his plans were cut short, not because of another tragedy but because of a scandal that happened at Chappaquiddick Island. Ted Kennedy was driving to a rented beach house on the island with a young woman that had worked on Bobbyââ¬â¢s campaign, Mary Jo Kopechne. The only way to the island was over a bridge that connected Marthaââ¬â¢s Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island. No one is sure if he was drunk or just inattentive, but either way he drove off the bridge, killing Kopechne in the process. Instead of sticking around and waiting for someone he left the scene. Not only did he leave, but he also failed to report the crime until his car was found in the water several days later. He was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license, and reckless driving, as well as having to pay $90,000 to Kopechneââ¬â¢s family. Many people think that he should have received a harsher punishment, such as manslaughter charges, and that the only reason he was able to avoid these harges was the power and influence of the Kennedy name. Even though his aspirations for president were extinguished, Ted remained in the Senate, representing Massachusetts even to this day. The people discussed are only a small majority of the Kennedy family, and the incidents only a small portion of the numerous scandals and tragedies that plague the Kennedyââ¬â ¢s. Even through so many tragedies, the Kennedy name remains an influential sound in politics, and the remaining members of the clan part of a royalty all their own. Bibliography â⬠¢Readerââ¬â¢s Digest How Did It Really Happen? Copyright 2000 â⬠¢Klein, Edward The Kennedy Curse oSt. Martinââ¬â¢s Press, NY, copyright 2003 â⬠¢http://www.countrystudies.us/united-states/history-120.htm â⬠¢http://www.sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/jfk.html â⬠¢http://www.jpkf.org/BIOG.HTML â⬠¢http://www.pbs.org/wgbn/amex/kennedys/peopleevents/p_joe.html â⬠¢http://www.who2.com/josephkennedysr.html â⬠¢http://www.encarta.msn.com â⬠¢http://www.homepages.tcp.co.uk/~dlewis/crime.htm â⬠¢http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-chappaquiddick-incident.htm How to cite A Synopsis of the Kennedy Family, Papers Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-22975596506000112472019-12-07T04:06:00.001-08:002019-12-07T04:06:03.315-08:00Agricultural Industry Reforms in Australia Question: Discuss about the Report for Agricultural Industry Reforms in Australia. Answer: Introduction The economist believes that there is a need to grow the agricultural productivity of a nation in a sustainable manner to seek the long-term welfare of the rural regions. It is important to note that the government of Australia has undergone various economic reforms to improve the current status of industrial production on which the GDP of the nation depends (Lee and Heshmati, 2009). It is important to note that the Australian agriculture industry has sought decline in the production due to various natural uncertainties. The paper has been developed to analyse the current microeconomic reforms in the Australian agricultural industry made by the government to improve the productivity of the economy. The study presents the overview of the agriculture industry of Australia and the policy reforms faced by the industry in the recent years. According to Kingwell (2013), the climate change in Australia has emerged to be the major challenge for the agriculture industry (Kingwell, 2013). A fall in the productivity has been evident in the recent years that must be checked to control the economic balance of the country. The implementation of innovative technology in agricultural production and legislation has been identified as major micro-economic reforms for the Australian agriculture industry. Furthermore, the government has introduced low-cost input strategy that minimises the cost of production and increases profitability of the farmers. Analysis of economic reform in agriculture industry The agriculture industry of Australia is one of the major contributors to the real GDP of the nation. It is important to note that around 60% of the agricultural products are exported to other countries that increased to 75% in 2012 (Salim and Islam, 2010). Hence, the economy seeks a comparative advantage in the excess production of the agriculture industry that helps it to earn foreign income. The Broadacre Farms cover around 54% of the total production of the agriculture industry that makes up 53% of the total agriculture business in the nation (ODonnell, 2010). On the other hand, horticulture industry makes up around 16 percent of the total agricultural production. A figure has been given below that presents the contribution of sub-industries in terms of the gross value production in the Australian agriculture industry. Figure: Share of gross value of Australia's agricultural production, by industry (2015) Source: (Connolly and Gustafsson, 2015) Climate change and decline in rainfall has been identified as major challenge for the agriculture industry. It is important to note that the production of the agriculture industry fell during the draught years (ODonnell, 2010). On the other hand, the excess production of the industry on other years using economic reforms has helped the country sustain the deficit of agricultural supplies during the draught years. A diagram has been presented below for better understanding. Figure: Impact of drought on the gross value of agricultural production Source: (Fuglie, Wang and Ball, 2012) It has been found that the contribution of the agriculture industry has increased from $14 billion in 1980 to $30 billion in the year 2012. Hence, several economic reforms have been introduced by the government of Australia that supports the growth of agriculture industry in the country (Salim and Islam, 2010). The Australian government has identified the prospects in agricultural industry over the past couple of decades or so the agriculture industry has been significantly contributed to the increase in Real GDP of the country. Hence, in order to improve the current status of agricultural sector in Australia, the government has enforced some crucial macro-economical as well as micro-economical reforms (Foster, 2015). Understandably, the primary aim of the agricultural reforms is to control the cost of production contributing to the growth of the sector. Furthermore, the government of the country has figured out effective cost-efficient and productive agricultural reforms so that the margin of profitability can be increased supporting to the farmers and people attached to the sector. Moreover, economy-wide agricultural reforms have been launched to construct improved agricultural structure (Anderson and Strutt, 2014). The economy-wide reforms have cut down the prices of transportation system, technology, electricity and new water irrigation facilities so that the farmers can utilise the necessary facilities at a reasonable cost. Apart from that, deregulation of significant financial services sector has delivered efficient credit policies for the farmers to strengthen the financial position of the agriculture sector. On the other hand, primary agricultural reforms include the low the cost of farming machinery, farming labours and efficient training programmes for the farming people to improve the knowledge, skills and productivity of the farmers associated with agricultural sector (Kingwell, 2013). In order to deliver the most sufficient financial, technological and business development within the farming industry, the Australian government has implemented economic reforms protecting the margin of production cost of the farmers. Meanwhile, contemporary industrial development and increasing growth in the industrial sector have somehow overshadowed the contribution of agricultural industry. Hence, the government has delivered suitable credit policy to the farmers so that the growth structure of the farming industry will be linked up with the reform deliverable. In addition to that, latest technology and innovation tactics have been influenced within the agricultural industry to support the productivity of the farmers (Connolly and Gustafsson, 2013). Significant changes have been made in the existing agricultural reforms to improve the current set of supply and demand model. Through the identification of the crucial productivity determinants, the economic reform policies have been directed towards agricultural sustainability improving the present status of the farming people. Nevertheless, the reforms have significantly participated in the improving condition of rural economy creating jobs in the agricultural market (Sheng, Jackson and Gooday, 2015). Through such reform measures, the government has also promoted agricultural industry and its contribution in front of the Australian society. Conclusion Though the agricultural industry of Australia has shown massive improvements in the past couple of decades, few issues and challenges have to be resolved providing support to the people attached to the same. Meanwhile, the identified reforms and policy measures have significantly contributed to the farming industry to say the least. By providing new technological assistance and training facilities, the government has improved the agricultural knowledge resources among the contemporary farmers. Furthermore, low prices of effective infrastructural facilities and product subsidies have helped to maintain significant production margins for farmers attached to the farming industry. Moreover, the changes in agricultural taxation through reform policies have added extra leverage to the farmers to secure improved profit margins. References Anderson, K. and Strutt, A. (2014). Emerging economies, productivity growth and trade with resource-rich economies by 2030.Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 58(4), pp.590-606. Connolly, E. and Gustafsson, L. (2015). Australian Productivity Growth: Trends and Determinants.Australian Economic Review, 46(4), pp.473-482. Foster, J. (2015). The Australian Multi-Factor Productivity Growth Illusion.Australian Economic Review, 48(1), pp.33-42. Fuglie, K., Wang, S. and Ball, V. (2012).Productivity growth in agriculture. Wallingford Oxfordshire, UK: CABI. Kingwell, R. (2013).Australias farming future: Western Australia. [online] Theconversation.com. Available at: https://theconversation.com/australias-farming-future-western-australia-14150 [Accessed Aug. 2016]. Lee, J. and Heshmati, A. (2009).Productivity, efficiency, and economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Heidelberg: Physica. ODonnell, C. (2010). Measuring and decomposing agricultural productivity and profitability change*.Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 54(4), pp.527-560. Salim, R. and Islam, N. (2010). Exploring the impact of RD and climate change on agricultural productivity growth: the case of Western Australia*.Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 54(4), pp.561-582. Sheng, Y., Jackson, T. and Gooday, P. (2015). Resource reallocation and its contribution to productivity growth in Australian broadacre agriculture.Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, p.n/a-n/a. Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-75490754181753169092019-11-29T15:47:00.001-08:002019-11-29T15:47:03.508-08:00Christian Elements In Beowulf Essays - Beowulf, Geats, Christian Elements In Beowulf Christian Elements in Beowulf The praised epic poem, Beowulf, is the first great heroic poem in English literature. The epic follows a courageous warrior named Beowulf throughout his young, adult life and into his old age. As a young man, Beowulf becomes a legendary hero when he saves the land of the Danes from the hellish creatures, Grendel and his mother. Later, after fifty years pass, Beowulf is an old man and a great king of the Geats. A monstrous dragon soon invades his peaceful kingdom and he defends his people courageously, dying in the process. His body is burned and his ashes are placed in a cave by the sea. By placing his ashes in the seaside cave, people passing by will always remember the legendary hero and king, Beowulf. In this recognized epic, Beowulf, is abound in supernatural elements of pagan associations; however, the poem is the opposite of pagan barbarism. The presentation of the story telling moves fluidly within Christian surroundings as well as pagan ideals. Beowulf was a recited pagan folklore where the people of that time period believed in gods, goddesses, and monsters. It's significance lies in an oral history where people memorized long, dense lines of tedious verse. Later, when a written tradition was introduced they began to write the story down on tablets. The old tale was not first told or invented by the commonly known, Beowulf poet. This is clear from investigations of the folk lore analogues. The manuscript was written by two scribes around AD 1000 in late West Saxon, the literary dialect of that period. It is believed that the scribes who put the old materials together into their present form were Christians and that his poem reflects a Christian tradition. The first scribe copied three prose pieces and the first 1,939 lines of Beowulf while the second scribe copied the rest of Beowulf and Judith. In 1731, a fire swept through the Cottonian Library, damaging many books and scorching the Beowulf codex. In 1786-87, after the manuscript had been deposited in the British Museum the Icelander, Grinur Jonsson Thorkelin, made two transcriptions of the poem for what was to be the first edition, in 1815 (Clark, 112-15). Beowulf is a mixture of pagan and Christian attitudes. Heathen practices are mentioned in several places, such as vowing of sacrifices at idol fanes, the observing of omens, the burning of the dead, which was frowned upon by the church. The frequent allusions to the power of fate, the motive of blood revenge, and the praise of worldly glory bear testimony to the ancient background of pagan conceptions and ideals. However, the general tone of the epic and its ethical viewpoint are predominantly Christian . There is no longer a genuine pagan atmosphere. The sentiment has been softened and purified. The virtues of moderation, unselfishness, consideration for others are practiced and appreciated. Beowulf is a Christian reworking of a pagan poem with ?a string of pagan lays edited by monks; it is the work of a learned but inaccurate Christian antiquarian? (Clark, 112). The author has fairly exhaulted the fights with Grendel, his mother, and the dragon into a conflict between powers of good and evil. The figure of Grendel, while originally an ordinary Scandinavian troll is conceived as an impersonation of evil and darkness, even an incarnation of the Christian devil. Grendel is a member of the race of Cain, from whom all ?misshapen and unnatural things were spawned? (Kermode, 42) such as ogres and elves. He is a creature dwelling in the outer darkness, a giant and cannibal. When he crawls off to die, he is said to join the route of devils in hell. The story of a race of demonic monsters and giants descended from Cain. It came form a tradition established by the apocryphal Book of Enoch and early Jewish and Christian interpretations of Genesis 6:4, ?There were giants in the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men, who bore children to them? (Holland Crossley, 15). Many of Grendel's appellations are unquestionable epithets of Satan such as ?enemy of mankind,? ?God's adversary,? ?the devil in hell,? and ?the hell slave.? His actions are represented in a manner suggesting the conduct of the evil one, and he dwells with his mother in a mere which conjures visions of hell. The depiction of the mere is the most remarkable because it is a conceptual landscape made fearsomely realistic Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-41729256397009726592019-11-25T18:07:00.001-08:002019-11-25T18:07:02.571-08:00It could happen to us...It could happen to us... "When you talk with a couple that had divorced, what question might come into your mind at once?" The researcher believes that the first question that might popped-out in your mind is "why did they divorce?" The answers for that question are varied; every couple that takes a step to divorce has different reasons why they want to divorce. A financial difficulty is one of the problems that might cause divorce. Changing personalities in both or either wife and husband can also cause divorce. It is very hard, because every human being changes in time; to avoid divorce by this reason, a couple needs to understand one another to avoid misunderstanding in personalities. "Are there many other reasons?" Yes there are many other reasons, such as abusive action on either wife or husband or even children. In this case, the victim should tell the police for their own safety.Marriage and divorce rates in New ZealandThe researcher put a question on this, and 54.5% of the respondents think that the main reason which causes a person to feel tired of her or his marriage are arguments between wife and husband. Seventeen out of twenty two respondents agree that the tiredness, which caused by too much arguments between the husband and wife, makes either or both parties fall into a love affair. And what is the result an affair? It often leads to a divorce."Now we know that an affair is the main reason that causes divorce, but what is the definition for it?" Most people know what an affair is, but they don't know what the exact definition for it is. Affairs are devastating to the trust that is the foundation of relationships. In Letter to Karen, the author clarified that "It's not about gender. It's all about that assumption; I can do... Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-64274266453646733962019-11-22T01:31:00.001-08:002019-11-22T01:31:02.720-08:00Film Reviews Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 wordsFilm Reviews - Research Paper Example The documentary is also punctuated by various statistics that detail Americans diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the epidemicââ¬â¢s earlier years. The documentary relates and narrates the lives of Dr. Tom Waddell, who founded Gay Games, a young hemophiliac David Mandell, Robert Perryman who got AIDS by injecting drugs, Jeffrey Sevcik who was gay, and David Campbell who was a veteran in the US Navy. As well as their personal stories, the film documents the delayed response to AIDS by the Reagan administration using archival footage of government officials (Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt), reactions by medical practitioners, and the initial attempts by gay men to use the AIDS issue to organize the community. The documentary clearly brings into focus the AIDS era, although it does not break any new ground that has not already been covered. However, what makes this film important is that it creates and documents a historical era during which hysteria on AIDS and its relation to the g ay community was starting to turn to compassion for those who were infected. It seems to tell that this only occurred at the end of the Reagan administration, which, from the film, considered the disease to be a moral issue and not a public healthcare issue. The film narrates how AIDS broke barriers between middle class families of heterosexual leaning and the gay community in finding a common ground. One touching moment was when the Mandell family asserted they were middle-class Americans who, when it came to AIDS, found out that there was no Middle America as everyone who was affected clung to one another. Every story in this documentary is well narrated by those who survived the victims and who are on the quilt. The film draws sympathy as Sally Perryman talks about Robert, her husband, and the way he struggled to end his drug addiction until he died of AIDS. There is heartbreak when the Mandell family takes the viewer through the pictures and videos of their son, as he became sic ker, while their struggle with prejudice from their community shows how stigmatizing the disease still was in the 80s. The film also discusses the life of Vito Russo, who originally wrote The Celluloid Closet prior to his death from AIDS in his prime. However, the story, which is most revealing is Tracy Torreyââ¬â¢s, whose partner David Campbell died, as he also is. He is shown on his bed dying with lesions and unable to rise from his bed. This film is a chilling look into how AIDS affected the entire country without discrimination. Silverlake Life: The View from Here (1993) This film documents the experiences that TOM Joslin, a film professor at UCLA, and his partner Mark Massi after Tomââ¬â¢s AIDS diagnosis (Silverlake Life: The View from Here). The film traces his struggles as he tries to cope with an AIDS diagnosis, especially their trip to New Hampshire for a Christmas celebration that Joslin believes is the last with his family, which has refused to accept his partner fo r the last 22 years. As the documentary progresses, the filmmaker makes it clear that the love between the two partners is what has made the disease bearable for Joslin. The filming continues after Tomââ¬â¢s demise, showing the manner in which the undertakers and other people handle his body through the filming work of Peter Friedman, his friend, who chronicles Massiââ¬â¢s acceptance by the family following Joslinââ¬â¢s demise. This documentary does not have overt political statements and acts only as a record of the experiences of two lovers as one of them dies from an incurable disease. The first-person diary style used to shoot the film enables the viewer to see the intensity of Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-55410354346297097562019-11-20T19:06:00.001-08:002019-11-20T19:06:04.418-08:00To what extent should pupils become fully competent in the various EssayTo what extent should pupils become fully competent in the various aspects of science process skills before being introduced to ICT as a means of performing lab - Essay Example much exposure and competence the pupils must have on certain science principles before they are exposed to ICT as a means of performing labourious, repetitive or more complex tasks is a challenge for educators of today. The schools and all education stakeholders must however understand that the use of ICT tools are advantageous both to teachers and pupils. Results of several studies conducted throughout the world revealed that the use of ICT greatly increased the level of learning and understanding of the pupils on the scientific principles being studied (Betts, 2003, Mistler-Jackson & Songer, 2000, Hogarth et. al, 2006). In fact the ICT tools can even be use to demonstrate science principles in a safer way. For instance, teaching electricity principles to pupils can be both interesting and dangerous. But the advent of computer hardwares and softwares has made it more motivating and rewarding minus the hazards. Primary knowledge and skills about how electrical circuits work, how much power is required for certain types of lights, and others can be learned through simulation and not in actual exposure to real electrical circuits. To determine if ICT is really needed for primary science education and understand when is the proper timing of its introduction into the learning process it is proper to understand first what ICT applications are necessary and how can they be integrated into the learning systems? What are the advantages and disadvantages of its applications? The use of ICT in teaching science for primary education came in various forms. Review of schoolsââ¬â¢ science teaching modules show the use of ICT hardwares and softwares to obtain and use science information, encoding of data, and creating presentations. Science information materials can be obtained from CD-ROM based encyclopedia and other e-books, journals, and articles, through a wide variety of Internet locations, and through local and international electronic library networks. There are a lot Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-73321074067072649082019-11-18T20:33:00.001-08:002019-11-18T20:33:02.481-08:00Making an out line of essay.(Cinema studies) EssayMaking an out line of .(Cinema studies) - Essay Example Thus the inner emotions and desires of a lesbian spectator can be made visible to the audience through the movies. The main concept underlying the idea of cinephilia is fetishism. The author discusses a number of video artists, photographers and filmmakers who utilizes glamour photography, film clips and stories and myths from the stars. The essay highlights the idea of fetishism, lesbian culture, cross-dressing and composite portrait, all of which contributes towards making the lesbianism in cinema more vivid. The exploration of the idea of lesbian spectatorship unfolds several sensitive facts that usually do not come out to the forefront but the artists mind can read into all kinds of perversion, which is not confined, only to the gays. The idea here is to emphasize upon the fact that the heroine Bette Davis would prefer something special and not the usual heterosexual intimacy, which is apparently rejected. Ultimately it is desire that the Hollywood relies upon. The celebrities came out in the 1990s self-identifying themselves with the lesbian audience and previously it was thought of losing their credibility in the process. However time has proved that many lesbian audiences do buy tickets. The female homosexuality has contributed to the appeal of the star system mainly to women. However, the lesbians in the society were not really conspicuous but the lesbian fandom has been extensively documented. Works on spectatorships emphasizes on the need for privileged relationship between the women audience and the female stars. The works also focus on the crushes on female stars and how they represent their relationship with the stars, which goes beyond imagination. The lesbian audience identifies their desires through the stars in the movies. This section discusses about the works that explore lesbian adolescentsââ¬â¢ views on their favorite stars. The teenager lesbians are interviewed and the idea is mainly to deal with the adolescent awakening rather Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-68927722197625313912019-11-16T09:05:00.001-08:002019-11-16T09:05:14.892-08:00National identity in music: The BeatlesNational identity in music: The Beatles Evaluate depictions of Britishness in the songs of the Beatles and 1990s Brit pop groups and discuss the relation between politics and music. A feature that is evident in the music of the Beatles from 1966 on wards is the way in which they use representations of everyday British cultural life. Such representations are not contained to the latter of the Beatles work but do take on a much more important role in the way the music is formed and words are written. Tracks like Eleanor Rigby, A Day in the Life, Penny Lane and Polythene Pam are all connected by their distinctive British sound and context. The Small Faces and the Kinks were also bands that had a keen eye for writing about different aspects of the lower to middle-class British peoples lives in the 1960s. A resurgence of this type of writing appeared in the 1990s with such Brit pop groups as Blur, Pulp and Oasis portraying an ever-changing view of Britain. I will begin my discussion by briefly looking at what it means to be British and discuss the connections between music and national identity. I will then analyse how the Beatles developed a distinctly British sound by looking at their influences and then give examples of this sound by referencing the bands music. National Identity in music and what it means to be British What does it mean to be British? Freedom? Democracy? Trial by jury? Freedom of speech? Acceptance? Tolerance? White? It would seem that politicians were unaware of what it meant until it started to fall away from us and deteriorate. The national flag, the Union Jack or Union Flag, is not a proud flag that we as one nation unite under as the Americans do with the Star-Spangled Banner. A regulation was previously in place across government that meant the Union Jack could only be flown 18 fixed days a year on government buildings (The governance of Britain green paper 2007). A regulation now waved. The government for specific forms of the military reserves the flag. It is used by the Royal Navy and as a way to display the rank of admiral of the fleet, which is the reason why it is still illegal for a civilian ship to fly it. In war time Britain we were defined by our one nation joining together to fight for a common purpose. The common man was out fighting against an evil dictatorship. We had one of the most advanced Naval forces in the world bringing technology in Britain to the forefront and an outs tanding air force, which repelled an overwhelming German attack at the Battle of Britain. But in the 64 years since the end of world war two Britain has seen many changes in its cultural make up. America has had a very powerful influence over the music we listen to, the way we dress and eat and we seek to replicate their dominant cultural traditions (Mundy 1999). We have seen an influx in the number of immigrants coming to Britain to live and work. Injecting a little of their culture into our own. Furthermore, the industries such as the ship building in Glasgow and Liverpool, the shoe factories in Northampton and the steal works in Scunthorpe and Sheffield have all but disappeared. The traditions that shaped the country and gave it international acclaim and recognition have been lost to overseas countries that have the technology to produce it cheaper. I will revise the sociological aspects of our changing culture later and analyse whether British society has changed over the years and if this has made Brit Pop differ from music of the 1960s. For now I will touch upon music and national identity and the reasons for national patriotism. Music has long been a fundamental tool in the study and assembly of national identities. Its intricate framework has been studied in great depth. Possibly one of the most obvious ways in which music is amalgamated with national identity is the national anthem. It provides an opportunity for people to obtain a state of deep heart felt emotion towards their country and is used in Britain before various sporting events, before the Queens Christmas Message and in the event of a royal announcement or death. Perhaps the oldest form of national pride is found in folk music, commonly described as an accurate look at a way of life as it was or a life about to fade away. Richard Middleton explains the real meaning of folk music well. The Romantics, who originated the concept, often thought of the people in the sense of a national essence. Or and this later became more common they thought of a particular part of the people, a lower layer, or even class. Middletons thoughts therefore could be applied to Brit Pop. With the eighties at an end, Margaret Thatchers government leaving record unemployment rates of 3 million unemployed, factories closed and there were cuts in spending. Things looked bleak and it was hard for young people to get a job. In the nineties Brit Pop, backed by this 60s inspired form of pop/rock with the qualities of folk music, exploded onto the scene. Artists such as Damon Albarn from Blur were writing songs that echoed issues regarding the lower classes and once again music was recognizable as being British. It is vital to understand what this British sound consists of and more importantly where it came from and who pioneered it. I will now go on to discuss the Beatles development as British artists and their everlasting footprint on music. The Beatles developing a British sound The Beatles were the first of a selection of bands from the 1960s to start a movement called the British Invasion. The name British Invasion was invented by the press to describe British bands that travelled to America and made a name for themselves. This all began in 1964 with the appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show but was continually used to describe many British bands who made a huge impact on the American music market. Namely the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Small Faces, The Yardbirds and The Kinks with the Beatles making the largest impact. The Beatles cannot be so neatly categorised as the archetypal British band, as their style is so eclectic and borrows from many different cultures. Early on in their career, the band had been mainly focused on writing songs about love and the loss of a love with not much indication of Britishness in the lyrics but there were a few facts that made their style stand out from their American competitors. One such fact is the accent the group sang with. In the early 1960s, radio was populated with simple two-minute pop songs from American artists like Elvis Presley and British artists who sounded American like Cliff Richard and the Shadows. However, Lennon and McCartney were singing songs like I Wanna Hold Your Hand with a British accent. The Beatles were different, fusing exciting melodies with classical harmonies and a guitar sound that was full bodied and dominant. This brand new sound was one that defined the British sound of the sixties. When one says sound of the sixties it really m eans the period from 1963-1970, the Beatles era. Between 1955 and 1963 would be described as the sound of the fifties (Zarecki 2007). The Beatles changed music to a point that a child growing up in the 60s would call the records of the 50s oldies, a word still used today to describe the same records (Wald 2009). The musical education the Beatles received can be traced back as far as the mid 1930s when Robert Johnson, kindly named the Grandfather of Rock n Roll, was recording the blues/rock tracks which would be an inspiration for artists like the Memphis born B.B. King who in turn was greatly admired by another king, Elvis Presley. Elvis forged the rock n roll sound of the fifties that the Beatles loved. They covered many songs by Chuck Berry and Little Richard during their time in Hamburg in the early 1960s. John Lennon is famously quoted as saying, Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadnt been Elvis, there would not have been The Beatles But there was more to the Beatles sound. Although most of their influences came from America, they were not a band trying to replicate the American sound. Harmonies that the band integrated into songs were reminiscent of early Motown records and the Everly Brothers provided a strong influence when it came to producing close harmonies, a technique where the notes of a chord are sang within a narrow range. Influences of the Beatles were not confined to what had come before them. Throughout their career they continued to remain open to new influences. Paul McCartney sites one of his favourite albums as the 1966 album Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and talks about its importance over the idea for creating the Beatles 1967 album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. I love the album so muchthat, I think, was probably the big influence that set me thinking when we recorded Pepper The Beatles were at the vanguard from 1966 onwards when music began to progress from the pop/rock love songs into something altogether more experimental and risky. Looking at the memoirs of Kate Paul (2000) makes it clear the significance art school training had on new artists, fashion and music. It was becoming more common for teenagers to attend Art School and this training is said to have shifted the thinking behind the writing of many bands and change British music forever. As musical ideas were changing so was the way people were thinking about art. Music and art were becoming more abstract and new and radical thinking was being poured into both. In 1961, a group of artists graduated from the Royal College of Art including David Hockey and Patrick Caulfield. This pair along with other young artists put the Pop Art style on the map. The style quickly became very popular and the artists involved in its production became fashionable celebrities receiving much notification in the pr ess. By 1968 for the very first time in the Twentieth Century, London had risen to become the world focus in art and Britain the focus for new and innovative art and music. Pop Art was not solely the reason for the popularity of the art scene in London. It was very diverse, and more artists were turning their hand to abstraction, which involved more gestural marks, block colours and interesting shapes. Sculpture also went through a great transformation in the sixties with sculptors such as Anthony Caro, whose interest in shape and colour came straight from America. Gone were the days of bronzed statues on plinths, now it was all about sheet metal and plastic arranged on the floor in amazing shapes. This environment of such an eclectic mix of artists and so much competition would have forced students to think in an original way. Just as artists were using new materials to create their work, musicians like the Beatles were using new instruments such as the Indian Sitar and using new t echniques like playing tape recordings in reverse to create never before heard sounds. George Martin often said that John Lennon would enter the studio every morning with the intent of sounding different to yesterday. John Lennon attended Liverpool Art College with friend and short term fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe. John was always a disruptive pupil and continued to be through art school. Although John failed an annual exam and eventually dropped out of art school before his final year the impact it made would stay with him, encouraging him to push the boundaries and keep his music inspirational and contemporary. John always had a devoted interest in the art world, even deep into the Beatles experimental career. Their use of orchestral scores accompanied only by voice, three part harmonies and psychedelic arrangements would stand to become a major influence to Brit Pop bands. This entwined with the shifting context of the Beatles lyrics would shape the music of the late 60s and pr ove to be the very essence of what Brit Pop came to embody. The most noticeable example of this experimental and contemporary writing is found in the album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Released in June 1967 Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was a groundbreaking album that combined revolutionary engineering and musical techniques. It is believed to be the first concept album and also the first album to print the lyrics to the songs on the sleeve. All the songs on the album except possibly George Harrisons experimental Within you without you either lyrically or musically express a sense of British culture. Sgt Peppers is steeped in images of brass bands playing in bandstands, Punch and Judy, cream teas, donkey rides and naughty postcards. In When Im Sixty four, Paul McCartney gives us a description of what life can be like growing old in Britain. He talks of going for a drive on a Sunday, doing some gardening and renting a cottage in the Isle of Wight, If its not too dear. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite arouses clear images of the great British past time of the circus and also creates a joyous atmosphere with the merry go round sound playing along with the main organ melody. This effect was created when producer George Martin told engineer Geoff Emerick to splice up old Victorian tapes of organ music and throw them into the air. He was then ordered to piece the tapes back together in a completely random order to create an energetic looping sound (Martin 2008). The images Lennon and McCartney present in a lot of their songs make it hard for the listener to fully understand the content. Their writing would often stumble into the surreal, and perplexing words would be used to compliment the music. Some of their music however, seems to be more clear in the way it comments and often ridicules observations of ordinary British cultural life. In the final track on the Sgt Pepper album, A Day in the Life, this trait seems to be evident. The lyrics were inspired by two newspaper articles and contain many haunting but also some quite comical images. Within the song Lennon mentions three distinct British places, The House of Commons, Blackburn in Lancashire and the Royal Albert Hall. In the first verse John talks loosely about the death of Tara Browne the Guinness heir who died in a car crash. Lennon said, I didnt copy the accident. Tara didnt blow his mind out, but it was in my mind when I was writing that verse. The Line Theyd seen his face before/N obody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords refers to the British public turning what should be a solemn moment into some cheap excitement. Some people in the crowd may know the individual involved in the car crash as a face on television or in a newspaper but he is no more than that. The second verse came from a newspaper article concerning the state of the roads in Blackburn which Lennon jokes could fill the Albert Hall. This type of ironic and sarcastic view of Britain was commonly found in John Lennons writing. Andy Bennett writes, Tracks like A Day in the Life, are clearly meant to be seen, in part at least, as satirical commentaries on aspects of British society. Lennons descriptions of the slavish counting of the holes in the streets of Blackburn, andto the double life led by politicianswould appear not merely to poke fun at British society but also to criticize it. On the other hand, the song Penny Lane doesnt appear to criticize British culture but instead runs like a commentary of what can be seen. Penny Lane was written by Paul McCartney and released alongside Strawberry Fields Forever as a double-A side single in 1967. It was common practice to release singles that were not on the album at the time. George Martin always believed it wasnt fair to the public that singles should come from the album. The title Penny Lane came from a street in the bands hometown of Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney would often meet at Penny Lane Junction to catch a bus into the centre of town and had met up with friends around the area as teenagers. Penny lane is a study of the humdrum lives of people, evoking feelings of blissful memories and describing the ordinary sights and sounds of a suburban British neighbourhood. Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes/There beneath the blue suburban skies. During this line a brass section plays a small musical fill couple d together with McCartneys quaint English tone to create an altogether exultant sound. This song, different from A Day in the Life, has a strong feeling today of harking back to a happier and simpler Britain now lost and forgotten. The man who has popped into the barbers for a shave, the fireman who carries a picture of the queen in his pocket and the standard procedure of carrying an hourglass now seem long-gone. Its a song that takes the listener on a ride and brings up various emotions ranging from nostalgia to a pride of Britain during the piccolo trumpet solo and to laughter at the sexual slang of the time A four of fish and finger pie. The qualities found in both these Beatles songs can also be found in songs from other British bands from the 1960s. The Small Faces song Rene tells the unpleasant tale of a woman parading the quayside every night to welcome sailors from Kuala Lumpur who have docked with plenty of readies (ready money) to spend at the pub having a good time. Whil e Lazy Sunday rebels against the neighbours that complain when Steve Marriott and his friends play their music loud. The Small faces songs Rene and Lazy Sunday are both sung in ridiculously thick Cockney accents and seem almost to make fun of their London ancestry. The same examination can be made in the music of The Kinks who gave us their keenly observed satires A Well Respected Man and Dedicated Follower of Fashion (which lampooned the characters of Carnaby Street in swinging London). The contrast of Britpop In the early 1990s Britpop emerged fusing new British ideals with the pop music of the 1960s. The two main aims of Britpop were to drown out the electronic sound of the eighties and to react against the grunge sound of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Britpop made British alternative rock mainstream and formed the foundations for a larger British cultural movement called Cool Britannia. This phrase, a pun on the patriotic song Rule, Britannia, was first used as a song title by the Bonzo dog Doo Dah Band in 1967. It emerged in the 1990s as the name of one of the company Ben and Jerrys ice cream flavours. The name came about through a competition the company were running. An American lawyer living in London named Sarah Moynihan-Williams won with her suggestion and recipe for Cool Britannia, which was in relation to the New Labour era. The media quickly picked up on this term, and seeing a young Prime minister in power and the fashionable nature of London at the time gave the idea new scope. Looking now at the representations of Britishness in the music of Britpop bands from the 1990s presents a different argument. The Beatles and other bands from the same era such as The Kinks and The Small Faces heavily influenced Brit Pop. Musical pioneers of the nineties such as Blur, Pulp and Oasis completely dropped the synthesizers and the electric drums of the eighties and began creating music with full guitars and raw drumming. The orchestral and brass band instruments were introduced once again to achieve the complete British sound of the 1960s. An example of this resurrection can be established through the Blur song Sunday Sunday. The song featured on the apt 1993 album Modern Life is Rubbish, features a trumpet solo that could easily have been found on any later Beatles track. The lyrics in the first verse read much like a social commentary with lines such as You read the colour supplement, the T.V. guide and Together the family round the table. Both bring to mind visions of a quiet ordinary Sunday at home with the family. The second verse however mentions a walk in the park where the writer meets a soldier who fought in both world wars and says, The England he knew is no more. Quite unlike the interpretation of a British Sunday morning the second verse takes a nostalgic look back with a conceivable chance of the soldier appearing as a metaphor for a Britain that used to be. Britpop resonated with a sound of the past. Singers and back up singers were producing exciting harmonies like the ones found on the Oasis record Cast no shadow. Artists were being commended for their song writing abilities and musical talent unlike the dry and dreary song-writing period of the eighties, which featured Duran Duran, Gary Newman and Depeche mode. The mod subculture of the 60s also became popular again. People began growing their hair with the Beatles various styles in mind. Jarvis Cocker from the band Pulp used to wear suits which echoed the mod style. The Whos manag er Pete Meaden famously described modism saying, Modism, mod living, is an aphorism for clean living under difficult circumstances Not everyone believed that Britpop reminisced of a past idea of Britishness. Some suggested that bands crafted an entirely new image altogether, focusing on an attitude based not on a nostalgic Carry On Mr Kipling Britain, but a Britain that you will recognise as the one you live in (Jones 1994). Undoubtedly the song Girls and Boys which is performed in front of a club 18-30s holiday backdrop with its subject matter of casual sex is one which is more contemporary rather than the wistful longing for old England found in Sunday Sunday. Also, Oasiss accounts of throwing up on a Sunday and their wild views that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs are a remedy for a dull, ordinary life may have appealed to the young generation of the 1990s but it was miles apart from the Beatles idealized and glamorized version of Britain. It appears that this type of topical writing is in the minority and more songs relate to similar representations conjured up by the Beatles in the 1960s. There is another are a that is imperative to study when analysing depictions of Britain and that is the view created through the music video. The Beatles and the Birth of the Music Video One main important difference in the way in which music is presented in the 1990s is the availability of the music video, which further enhances depictions of Britishness. The Birth of the music video may to some be credited to the band Queen. In November 1975 due to tour commitments they could not appear on Top of The Pops and so produced a video to promote their new single Bohemian Rhapsody. But as much as a decade before, the Beatles were generating videos to be broadcast on television shows all over the world. In 1996, with the release of the Beatles Anthology film box set, George Harrison received an interview and in relation to the promotional video made for the song Rain he made the statement: So I suppose, in a way, we invented MTV Now that the music video is fast becoming an art form in itself it is interesting to analyze how Lennon and McCartneys influence on the British social commentary style of writing transposed into video format. I will begin by analysing the reflection of Britain the Beatles achieved through their use of video and the reasons for them depicting society in this way, then I will compare this to the music videos in the 1990s. The first Beatles film was released in 1964 entitled A Hard Days Night. With prospects of an accompanying soundtrack album, the film was released as a way to make more money from the bands growing success. As Bob Neaverson said: The project was initially envisaged by the American-owned company as little more than another low budget exploitation picture which would capitalize on the groups fleeting success with the teenage market No matter which way it is looked at, the decision to release a Beatles film came about because of a money making business deal. Although it turned out much more was achieved than simply money. Director Richard Lester broke rules that had been associated with the pop music format since the 1950s. To begin, one of the opening scenes is filmed in an unconventional train carriage, a setting with no musical connection. His use of free hand documentary filming not only added excitement and energy but also made the viewer feel as if he or she were in the film closely interacting with the band. This made the Beatles able to be shown as the guys next-door, seemingly unaffected by fame, instead of fictional characters. Whereas realism had already been established in British films through the working class genre known as kitchen sink drama with films like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and A Taste of Honey (1961), A Hard Days Night was the first music video to incorporate thi s into its style and content. This working class image was an important factor that shone through the films of the Beatles. In a time when all well-known artists were predominantly imported, any British act doing significantly well was a joy. The bands natural working class attitudes coupled together with their down to earth, oblivious out look on fame only endeared them to the British public who Neaverson says, upheld them as symbols of the new social mobility and classlessness of sixties Britain. In this sense, this approach broke down barriers and was vital to the modernization of British national identity in the 1960s. Having looked at how the Beatles became symbols for a cultural shift I will now investigate how music videos in the 1990s adapted the skills that Richard Lester put into practice and decide if the substance of the video is similar to that of Lennon and McCartneys writing. One such video that involves strong British connotations is Park Life by Blur. It is a song that lyrically documents parts of British life with examples including being wakened by the dustmen, cups of tea and feeding the pigeons. Although these are very banal actions the visuals found in the video take on a different, more contemporary feel. In the video actor Phil Daniels plays a creepy door-to-door double-glazing salesman driving around in his Ford Granada Coupe Mk1. It seems at times that the video is not related to the song until the rapid images of British life the row of terraced houses, the red post boxes, the arrival of the ice cream van and the playful nature of the band meeting up with friends in 90s style attire spinning each other in a trolley crop up. In many ways the video resonates with a feeling not to dissimilar from Penny Lane, which I mentioned earlier. This parallel is continued through the use of characters in the video the man with the four King Charles dogs, the fat man in the shirt and braces, the jogger and the couple sprawled across their sports car with their names printed above the drivers and passengers window. These are visually very interesting characters and like McCartneys fireman; banker and nurse could easily be fantastic characters in a book of British cultural life. The Park Life music video is obviously based around actual everyday encounters experienced by Damon Albarn that have been tweaked to appear more surreal much the same format as the lyrics take on in the song. Using Pop Music to Promote Political Interests Popular music has long been associated with showing dissatisfaction or opposition with the government and the government has always shown an interest in securing for itself a stake in the management of powerful bands. Conversely, today in China, leader Hu Jintao has spoken out frequently about building a harmonious society. He has great power and influence over the media, mainly monitoring everything that is broadcast on the radio. The governments ideas to create harmony are through censorship of the media. All music heard on Chinese radio consists of love songs or upbeat ballads. These gentle songs are not damaging to Chinas image of a stable and harmonious country. Pop and Pop/Rock songs where politics, rebellion and casual sex are the themes are disregarded for fear of a revolution. The state cannot completely censor music they find harmful, although they do have complete ownership of all broadcasting media giving them a loophole through which they can have the majority rule. Chin ese people believe the popular music they hear on the radio all sounds the same and if youve heard one song you know them all. Even musicians asked to submit songs for the Olympic games in Beijing were too worried to write anything with fear of going against the state policies. In this example the state is controlling the music. They are keeping a lid on the pot of society to prevent the revolution inside over spilling. In addition something that is so carefully prohibited may incite curiosity within youths of any culture and a notion to rebel will ensue. An example of this use of music to revolt was apparent in Germany during world war two. If music can be said to be associated with nationalism and national identity then it can also be criticized for supposed destabilization of the nations culture. During world war two, young German music fans sought after the British and American way of life and defined themselves through the music of Swing. Although they were not an organised political opposition group, they refused the culture of National Socialism. The group made such an impact in 1941 that the Gestapo violently repressed them and police ordered anyone under the age of 21 to stay out of dance bars (Whiteley, Bennett and Hawkins 2005). Whether a connection is made as a shared goal for public popularity or a way to manipulate or even to revolt, music and politics have a bond. Throughout the 1960s and again in the 1990s political groups created a connection with pop stars of the time. In 1965, current Prime Minister Harold Wilson showed he was in touch with the younger generation by awarding the Beatles with the honour of an MBE. It proved a popular move with young people. This move did however spark some controversy. Protestors and picketers who had received the award for military service showed their displeasure towards Harold Wilson but there were too few of them to make any real impact. Attackers thought it a clever and crafty plan to solicit votes for the next years general election but defenders argued the fan base of the Beatles were generally under the age of 21, too young to vote at the time. In any case, bestowing an MBE on the Beatles showed that Harold Wilson was a modern leader willing to embrace new ideas and be part of a contemporary Britain that culturally, the Beatles were helping to shape. A year later George Harrison would write the song Taxman as a retort to the 95% super taxes introduced by Harold Wilson and even included a harmony within the song incorporating his name. John Blacking argues that, Cultural politics, the use of culture and the arts to promote political interests, invariably exploits and contains the power of music to restrict political argument. It diverts attention from the real political issues or simply asserts the hegemony of its promoters (Blacking) On the other hand, not all people would agree with John Blackings statement. Some believe that in the right hands music can open up avenues and make people pay attention to various issues. Khaver Siddiqi would argue that, In an era where politics uses as many avenues it can to reach the people, it is ultimately the words of song and rhyme that will attract the attention more, than speeches ever will. (Siddiqi 2009) This thought can be put into practice if we look at the issues of race in the 1960s. In 1968 James Brown wrote a song called Say it Loud (Im Black and Im Proud) that become a very successful black power anthem. It was a racially chaotic period during the 1960s and this song filled black Americans with pride. This elevated Brown to the status of icon and also made him the face for a movement that shaped the 1960s. In 1997, after a period of predominantly conservative power in Britain, a new Prime Minister was elected, Tony Bl Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859058157525752571.post-60627882343539570572019-11-13T21:36:00.001-08:002019-11-13T21:36:04.207-08:00harry potter :: essays research papers Book Report 1.à à à à à My book report is on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.2. The setting of this book takes place at Hogwarts, a magical school for wizards that Harry Potter attended the previous year. The story doesnââ¬â¢t exactly have a date in which the story takes place but itââ¬â¢s in modern times.3. The plot of the story is about Harry and his adventure in trying to find out the mystery of the chamber of secrets hidden somewhere in Hogwarts. 4. A.Harry Potter is the main character of the story. Heââ¬â¢s a twelve year old boy with messy hair and glasses who became famous within the wizard community. He often finds himself in dangerous adventures but always lives to tell about it. B. Ron is Harryââ¬â¢s best friend at Hogwarts. Heââ¬â¢s tall with red hair and is from a respected but poor family. Ron uses experience and a process of trial and error to solve most mysteries. 5. A. One major conflict that had happen in the story was how Harry thought he couldnââ¬â¢t go to Hogwarts because his aunt and uncle wouldnââ¬â¢t let him out of his room. This conflict was solved however because Harryââ¬â¢s friend Ron came in a flying car and picked him up out of his window. B. Another conflict that happened in the story was how Ronââ¬â¢s sister started acting strangely weird and kept being put under these trances. She somehow disappears and is missing. This conflict was resolved by Harry finding the chamber of secrets and looked for her. He eventually found her. C. One more conflict that happened was who was causing all the mischief at Hogwarts. This conflict was resolved when Harry found the chamber of secrets and fought Tom Riddle. 6. The story ends by Harry going into the chamber of secrets and finding Tom Riddle there with Ginnyââ¬â¢s still body. Tom summons a giant snake. Harry fights the snake and defeats it. Harry then sticks one of the snakesââ¬â¢ fangs into the diary and defeats Tom. Cecil Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916172197416805629noreply@blogger.com0