PROMOTING RECOVERY WORKING WITH COMPLEX NEEDS Essay

PROMOTING RECOVERY WORKING WITH COMPLEX NEEDS - Essay Example An increasing number of people in this group also have problems with substance misuse, often resulting in contact with the criminal justice system. These problems often interact and can appear intractable. Recent years have seen a paradigm shift in mental health, from a focus on illness and disability towards the promotion of recovery and social inclusion (Repper and Perkins, 2003). Underpinned by a stress vulnerability model of mental health problems (Zubin and Spring, 2004, 105; Nuechterlein, 2004, 300), a range of psychosocial interventions (PSI) can be used to enable service users to build on strengths and develop skills in order to manage their own mental health more effectively. This in turn can facilitate attainment by service users of socially valued roles and relationships taken for granted by most people. One of the available interventions is a structured approach to the prevention of relapse, developed by Birchwood and colleagues (Birchwood et al, 2000, 5), building on the early work of Herz and Melville (2006) and Birchwood himself (Birchwood et al, 2000, 652). This work had demonstrated that it was possible to predict relapse in psychosis on the basis of recognition of early warning signs. The intervention incorporates a strong educative element. This aims to increase understanding of the typically episodic nature of psychosis and to enhance service users' self-efficacy in relation to the management of their mental health. A Cochrane Review (Pekkala and Merinder, 2002) concluded that psychological education significantly reduces relapse rates, increases compliance with medication, and may have a positive effect on a person's well being. To deliver the relapse prevention intervention effectively calls for the use of a set of specialist knowledge and skills, in addition to general mental health nursing skills. Aims Our primary aim was to enhance the quality of service provided to users of the inpatient areas of the local mental health rehabilitation service by making the relapse prevention intervention available routinely and sustainably. An essential interim aim was to equip the multidisciplinary team with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to deliver the intervention effectively. To address these aims and evaluate whether they were achieved, we developed a project plan in six stages. In the event, workers from community settings also sought out the training, and so the original scope of the project was broadened to include all areas of the mental health rehabilitation service. This paper will focus on the aspects of the project relating to service users. Intervention The project was jointly led by the clinical nurse leader of the mental health rehabilitation services and a lecturer practitioner. At the outset we sought guidance from the Trust's research and development coordinator as to whether we should seek ethical approval for our planned project. The advice received was that the project represented service audi t/evaluation rather than research and, as such, ethical approval was not required. We began by attending clinical meetings at which we described our plans and encouraged discussion and questions by the multidisciplinary team. We refined a previously developed two-day training programme in order to meet the needs of a multidisciplinary group

Competition Energy Drinks Essay Example for Free

Competition Energy Drinks Essay The beverage industry, like most food service industries in these economic times, faces many challenges. Not one company is excluded from the challenges of economic conditions, demographics, social and global forces, and regulatory, political, and legal factors. The global economic conditions affect the energy drink industry in many ways. This industry depends highly on the disposable income of its customers. People are very cautious with their money these days and if additional income does not exist to purchase these items, then the companies suffer. In recent projections, however, this does not seem to be the case. The global industry factors show a projected growth of $20 trillion in sales between 2009 and 2014, and demand for these alternative beverages is expected to increase globally as customer purchasing power increases. Social factors play an important part in the industry’s strategy, as well. With customers concerned with healthy lifestyles and exercise, the alternative beverage industry has increased sales in the last decade. Customers demanding low calorie, energy vitamin-enhancing drinks turn to these types of beverages for their needs instead of carbonated soft drinks. Alternative drinks are consumed by a slim demographic. These products are generally used by young adults, college and high school students, athletes and exercise aficionados. Another branch of these drinks are the energy â€Å"shots,† which have become very popular in the last decade. With new legislation and changing regulations, it is very important for companies to stay abreast of all changes. There has been an increase in negative reports on what affects energy drinks have on people that use them, from high blood pressure to arrhythmia, which as forced some companies to include warning labels on their packaging. There is also a concern with the consumption of these drinks contributing to the obesity issue, many of these drinks contain high fructose corn syrup, and many additives that can contribute to weight gain if consumption is not limited. Competition is fierce in this industry; not only between the two biggest competitors, Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Inc., but also Red Bull GmbH, Hansen Natural Corporation and privately owned regional brands. The two major companies, Pepsi and Coca Cola, are strong competitors within the alternative beverage market and use both the introduction of new products as well as the introduction of existing products in new markets to increase sales. Pepsi has introduced several new products Charge, Rebuild, and Defend three new brands available to consumers interested in vitamin-enhanced drink alternatives. Pepsi has also recently agreed to distribute the â€Å"Rockstar† brand drinks in Canada and the United States. Coca-Cola Company’s strategy is to distribute their existing brands in the new markets of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and other Asia/Pacific countries. In order to compete with these two major companies, Red Bull relies on sponsorships and promotion as well as celebrity endorsements. By using advertising in this manner, Red Bull is able to use its slogans and logos in a variety of ways to get their name out into the public. Hansen Natural Corporation utilizes a different approach to boost sales. This company increased their package size and still maintained a competitive price compared to Red Bull. Like Red Bull, Hansen also uses celebrity promotion and sponsorship as a marketing tool. This is not to say that PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Company do not utilize this method of advertising, as they both spend billions on advertising promotions, celebrity, and sporting endorsements. The competitive edge in this case lies with PepsiCo Inc. , whose sales of energy and alternative beverages have surpassed its competitors in the past few years. New entrants are not a strong competitive pressure for this industry. The dominating companies are unsurpassed in their strong brand names and great distribution channels. The industry is fully saturated. These factors make it difficult for new companies to compete against them. Any new company wanting to get into this industry would face high capital start-up expenditures and would surely fail due to the high cost. Substitution of products is also an area where the competitive force is low. With brand loyalty, the market for substitution is very low. Consumers want the brands they are used and won’t accept substitution. Suppliers for the industry do not hold much competitive pressure either. Suppliers to this industry are bottling equipment manufactures and secondary packaging suppliers. The suppliers have little bargaining power, as the two major brands own their own bottling centers. As discussed earlier, changes in this industry’s long-term growth rate is a positive one. Growth is high in this market and is expected to continue to grow. One of the reasons for this is the increasing globalization. Coke is expanding its operations to be more global as are some of its competitors. The changing spectrum of the customer base is not really a factor here. Most of the demographic has not changed much since the introduction of these alternative beverages. Marketing and innovation has to continue to grow so that the company can grow. Regulatory influences and government policy changes are a huge factor in this industry. As the customers call for increased legislation and regulation of the ingredients, the companies have to make adjustments to their drink formulas, and this could prove costly if not monitored closely. Society is constantly changing and this industry needs to transition with these changes. By the introduction of new products and the re-tooling of existing products, all of the competitors can be successful. This industry has several success factors, product marketing, product differentiation, brand name, a strong distribution network and the ability to adapt to change. PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Company have strong aspects of all of these factors which is what has made both of them so successful. PepsiCo Inc.has branched into the food market as well as remaining in the soft drink and alternative beverage markets. Coke has had a similar strategy and relies heavily on their brand name and product recognition. All of the companies have unique and successful marketing techniques such as sponsorships, promotions, and celebrity endorsements. In order to achieve a successful strategic plan, a company needs to establish a group of people to discuss the goals and objectives of their company, sometimes called a task force. The task force should then decide what the company’s goals and objectives are. By drafting Mission and Vision statements, this task force can begin to convey their goals and objectives. Strategic planning is an on-going task for every company. When a plan is established the implementation and monitoring phases begin. To be successful a company should be constantly monitoring its goals and objectives and changing them when the need arises. With competition so high in this industry, a strong strategic plan is critical. In viewing these companies one can see that their plans are very strong. In order to continue to grow and compete in this market all companies need to look forward at the changing times, attitudes and cultures. All of the companies in this market, as with any market, need to maintain their competitive advantage and find new and different ways to achieve it. A comprehensive action plan needs to be put into place and reviewed often. By doing this all companies have a better chance at keeping their competitive advantage and enjoying better profits for their shareholders.

The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse Essay -- Adult Manifes

Child abuse is a serious issue in today's society. There are many victims of child abuse. There are three kinds of child abuse: emotional, sexual, and physical. Many researchers believe that sexual abuse is the most detrimental of the three. A middle-aged adult who is feeling depressed will probably not relate it back to his childhood, but maybe he should. The short-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have been proven valid, but now the question is, do the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse affect middle-aged adults? Many contradicting views arise from the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers and psychologists argue on this issue. Childhood sexual abuse has the possibility to damage a child physically, emotionally, and behaviorally for the rest of his or her childhood, and the affects have been connected to lasting into middle-aged adulthood. The Victims Research has been conducted on what type of children are the most at risk of being sexually abused. Childhood abuse has a greater chance of happening to children of certain backgrounds. One researcher states that Child sexual abuse occurs more frequently in children from socially deprived and disorganized family backgrounds. Marital dysfunction, as evidenced by parental separation and domestic violence, is associated with higher risks of child sexual abuse (Mullen 4). Mullen also states that "The possibility has been raised that characteristics such as physical attractiveness, temperament, or physical maturity might increase the risks of children being sexually abused" (4). Behavioral Problems Many researchers link behavioral problems in adultho... ...essed Memories of Child Abuse may be Valid." Child Sexual Abuse. Ed. Bruno Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998. 27-34 Kasner, Shane. "The Relationship Between Adult Psychological Adjustments and Childhood Sexual Abuse." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 15:12 (Dec 2000): 1243-1267 Kliest, George A. "Research on Long-term Effects of Child Abuse." Family Journal 7 (Apr 1999): 154-163. Galileo. 11 Nov 2001 McKeown, L.A. "Research Reveals Changes in the Brain Years After Abuse." Aug 2000. Online Posting. WebMD Medical News. {http://webmd.lycos.com/content/articles/1728.599557} Mullen, Paul E. "Long-term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse" Issues in Child Abuse Prevention 9 (Aug 1998): 989-1011 Whiffen, Valerie E. "Mediators of the Link Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Depressive Symptoms." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 15:10 (Oct 2000): 1100-1121 The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse Essay -- Adult Manifes Child abuse is a serious issue in today's society. There are many victims of child abuse. There are three kinds of child abuse: emotional, sexual, and physical. Many researchers believe that sexual abuse is the most detrimental of the three. A middle-aged adult who is feeling depressed will probably not relate it back to his childhood, but maybe he should. The short-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have been proven valid, but now the question is, do the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse affect middle-aged adults? Many contradicting views arise from the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers and psychologists argue on this issue. Childhood sexual abuse has the possibility to damage a child physically, emotionally, and behaviorally for the rest of his or her childhood, and the affects have been connected to lasting into middle-aged adulthood. The Victims Research has been conducted on what type of children are the most at risk of being sexually abused. Childhood abuse has a greater chance of happening to children of certain backgrounds. One researcher states that Child sexual abuse occurs more frequently in children from socially deprived and disorganized family backgrounds. Marital dysfunction, as evidenced by parental separation and domestic violence, is associated with higher risks of child sexual abuse (Mullen 4). Mullen also states that "The possibility has been raised that characteristics such as physical attractiveness, temperament, or physical maturity might increase the risks of children being sexually abused" (4). Behavioral Problems Many researchers link behavioral problems in adultho... ...essed Memories of Child Abuse may be Valid." Child Sexual Abuse. Ed. Bruno Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998. 27-34 Kasner, Shane. "The Relationship Between Adult Psychological Adjustments and Childhood Sexual Abuse." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 15:12 (Dec 2000): 1243-1267 Kliest, George A. "Research on Long-term Effects of Child Abuse." Family Journal 7 (Apr 1999): 154-163. Galileo. 11 Nov 2001 McKeown, L.A. "Research Reveals Changes in the Brain Years After Abuse." Aug 2000. Online Posting. WebMD Medical News. {http://webmd.lycos.com/content/articles/1728.599557} Mullen, Paul E. "Long-term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse" Issues in Child Abuse Prevention 9 (Aug 1998): 989-1011 Whiffen, Valerie E. "Mediators of the Link Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Depressive Symptoms." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 15:10 (Oct 2000): 1100-1121

Proposing a Solution: Bullying Essay

Bullying among American elementary, middle and high school students is a growing problem. Bullying has been defined many ways, by many people. One definition is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power. (stopbullying.org). Bullying is a very negative act and honestly needs to be stopped. This essay will provide my solution for the growing bullying problem in our schools. Over the years, bullying has become more and more of a problem. More children are becoming victims of this often tragic problem today than ever before. Honestly, anyone can become a victim of bullying but there has been a rise in bullying among LGTB, lesbian-gay-transgendered-bi-sexual, students, as well as children who are considered to be of special needs. (Bullying statistics). There are many causes for bullying, which in order to be able to handle and fix the problem, must be dealt with before a solution can take effect. These causes may include: poverty, problems or abuse within the home, a feeling of power from age or body size, provocative or â€Å"annoying† victims, and a need to feel better about themselves as a person. (Cheever, Jenny). Bullying, especially in schools is a serious problem that occurs almost on a daily basis. Bullying can happen anywhere and at any time. In schools it can happen on the playground, the cafeteria, hallways, buses and even in the classroom. Bullying is serious and can lead to many often tragic problems. Sadly, bullying happens more than people really want to believe. According to studies shown on Bullying Statistics.org, at least 60% of middle school children say they have been bullied, only 16% of their teachers actually believe students are bullied, and 160,000 students who have been or are bullied stay at home each day because of bullying. (Bullying statistics.org). Bullying is becoming more and more extreme. More students are taking drastic measures because they feel they have no one to turn to. According to the center for disease control, suicide is the third leading cause of death among school aged children today. (Bullying statistics.org). In fact, according to several studies, 20% of high school students have seriously considered suicide in the last year as an option alternate to being bullied, almost 7% have actually attempted it, and suicide results in about 4,400 deaths per year among young people. (Burns, Tim). The need for bullying to be stopped is strong, and the only way this can be achieved is if parents, students, and educators as a whole begin working together. Students can help solve the bullying problem by banding together and reporting any incidents of bullying they see, including kids who seem like outcasts into their friendship circles, also using the acronym â€Å"steer clear†: Stick up for one another, Travel in a group, Empathize, Explore your choices, Resist using fists, Calm down, Leave, Enlist the help of others, Assert yourself, and Report incidents could help tremendously. Parents can help by: talking to their children, keeping lines of communication between themselves, their kids and the schools open, developing a personal safety plan and empowering their kids to openly talk about bullying with teachers and administrators. Schools can ultimately eradicate bullying by: promoting tolerance within the school and community, create anti-bullying policies in both the classroom and the school, teach students how to handle bullying the right way, and what I believe to be the most important solution; teaching students and teachers alike the importance of stopping and reporting bullying immediately. (Thinkquest.org). Bullying is extremely negative and honestly needs to be stopped as soon as possible, I think if we all band together and do what we can to implement these solutions we can end this problem immediately.

Impact of festivals on environment Essay

Introduction India is a land where the life of its people is beautified with festivals. Festival is acelebration of the changing seasons, harvest, reconciliation and the birth anniversaries of saints, gurus and prophets and honours the gods and goddesses. History of festivals Epigraphical evidences prove that festivals have been celebrated in India since Vedictimes. The Aryans conquered India around 1500 B.C. and cultural integration with thelocal population took place. 1. Religious Festivals A large number of festivals being celebrated in India have a religious outlook. Thesefestivals are being celebrated in commemoration of some saints, gurus and prophets, thegods and goddesses or events celebrating their victories. 2. Temple Festivals No festival in India is complete without a feast, and the Hindu temple provides feastsduring the temple festivals. The attendees spend all day at the temple, enjoyingthemselves 3. Fairs or Melas Melas or Fairs are extremely popular not just in India but all over the world. Mela servesa very important role as most of the festivals are celebrated in individual homes. Melasthat are normally celebrated for a week to over a month help to bring the communitytogether and share greetings. 4. National Festivals Independence Day, August 15, commemorates the day in 1947 when India achievedfreedom from British rule. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth of the world`s biggest democracy as a national festival. 5. Regional Festivals India presents a cultural potpourri of number of religions with their festivals andcelebrations but the four major religions followed in India are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism in the descending order. There are a number of regionalfestivals that are celebrated in particular areas only 6. New Year Festivals Baisakhi or Vaisakhi is the first day of the month of Vaisakha, the beginning of theHindu year in some parts of the country. For the Sikhs in Punjab and other parts of thecountry, this day has a particular significance, as it was on this day in 1699 that GuruGobind Singh founded the Khalsa. Here are few festivals with their impact on environment GANESH CHATURTHI Rebirth of Lord Ganesh. Lokmanya Tilak – The Founder Of Ganesh Festival Serves as a meeting ground for people. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Contamination Of Water bodies. Noise pollution – An unfortunate outcome of this joyous festival. Soil pollution due to dumping of ‘Nirmalya’. DIWALI To celebrate return of Ram & Sita. Signifies the end of darkness . ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DIWALI Air Pollution through Firecrackers Excessive Consumerism. High Energy Consumption. HOLI The symbol of victory overevilness. To celebrate the arrival of Spring. Reflection of the various colorsof spring season. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS ABOUT HOLI The use of toxic chemical colours. The use of wood for burning Holi fires. The wasteful use of water during Holi. NAG PANCHAMI Celebrates the victory of Lord Krishna over the mythical Kaliya. Worship of Snakes. To express Gratitude towards snakes. IMPACTS Hunting of snakes. Torture to snakes. Unnecessary feeding of milk. Impact of Festivals on Environment Festivals are becoming significant contributors to air pollution in India. We have so manyfestivals and increasing commercialization – a growing economy is turning everycelebration into grand occasions to splurge. Are we aware of what this is doing to our environment? Here’s a look at how all those festivities affect the air quality.Air pollution levels in big cities are appalling at the best of times and are a growingcause for concern. The Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) – dust, fumes,smoke, and gases – is way above permissible limits in many of our big cities. This levelsees a quantum jump during festivals, the main culprits being crackers, inflammablesubstances, and artificial colors. Pollution due to festivals Air Pollution due to smoke of crackers. Water Pollution due to immerging statues of God and Goddess made of artificialor synthetic harmful chemicals into rivers,ponds and dams. Noise Pollution due to loudness of music system. Water Pollution The practice of immersion of Ganesh idols after the Ganesh festival invarious cities is causing severe water pollution which leads to the death of tonnes of fishand many aquatic creatures. Gone are the days when the idols are made with clay,nowadays idols are made with Plaster Of Paris and chemical dyes. The repeated cautions and warnings of ecologists and environmental scientists towardsthe possible hazards inflicted by the Plaster Of Paris are falling into the deaf ears of theidol makers and buyers. According to scientists, Plaster Of Paris does not get dissolved or disintegrated fast. Moreover, the chemical dyes and colours being used to colour the idolscontain poisonous elements. Particularly, Red, Blue, Orange and Green colours containMercury, Zinc oxide, Chromium and Lead, the potential causes of developing cancer.According to one estimate, 7500 idols of Ganesh are  weighing about 20,000 kg or inother words, 20 tons. The sea-shore of Mumbai absorbs the immersion of about 1.5 lakhidols every year. The very calculation of the accumulation of clay, Plaster Of Paris,dangerous Chemicals from the paints and colours will shatter the thinking faculty of any brain. The immersion of Durga Statutes during the Durga pooja is also a cause of concern for environmentalists. In Orissa alone 5,000 Durga pooja idols are made, most of them using harmful paints. Heavy metals like lead and chrome are not easily assimilated in an aquatic environmentand can lead to the massive hurt of flora and fauna of the river, pond, lake and coastalareas. As the same river, pond and lake water is used for bathing and drinking purposehigh levels of lead can damage the heart, kidneys, liver, circulatory system and centralnervous system, the environmentalist warned. Impact of air pollution on health Air pollution can lead to lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratorydiseases, and allergies in adults. It can also cause acute respiratory infections in children.Suspended particulate matter can cause asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseaseSulfur dioxide can damage lungs and lead to lung disorders like wheezing and shortnessof breath.Oxides of Nitrogen can cause skin problems, eye irritation, and cause respiratory problems in children.Chemicals used in crackers like lead, magnesium, cadmium, nitrate, sodium, and otherscan have various harmful effects. Noise Pollution Loudspeakers, fire crackers and loud musical instruments, appear to be one of the biggest culprits of noise pollution during festivals in our country. With the advent of urbanisation, people in the metros had to grapple with the problem of noise pollution in everyday living, and any kind of public celebration only aggravates this lurking issue. A study by World Health Organisation (WHO) asserts that noise pollution is not only a nuisance to the environment but it also poses considerable threat to public health. In residential neighbourhoods, the Supreme Court limits the noise levels to 55 decibels in the day and 45 decibels at night. The local authorities are here to maintain decorum during festivals but we as citizens should also be responsible enough to keep noise within permissible limits. Time and again  people have violated these levels during Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali and the list goes on. Despite being worldly-wise, we ignore the health impacts of incessant exposure to such high-decibel sounds. Besides affecting toddlers and children, they bring health issues in adults like hypertension, sleep disturbance, tinnitus and acute hearing loss. Water Pollution Ganpati celebrations shortly followed by Durga Puja this year saw immersion areas littered with flowers and parts of idols. The mess created by bursting of crackers cannot be ignored as well. The materials such as plaster of Paris used in making idols add to the water pollution. Paints used for decorating the idols, loaded with high levels of mercury and lead, increases the toxin levels of water bodies after immersion days. These toxins eventually enter the food chain after affecting the marine ecosystem and its biodiversity. The highly contaminated Ganga is now saturated with litres of paint, bulks of plaster of Paris, toxic synthetic materials and non-biodegradable wastes like plastic flowers, plunged into the holy river. Every year, in the aftermath of Ganpati celebrations, newspapers publish images of Girgaum Chowpatty and other immersion areas littered with huge parts of idols. The main culprit is, of course, the plaster of Paris (PoP) that is used to make majority of the idols. PoP takes several months to completely dissolve. Also, the paints used for colouring and decorating the idols contain high levels of mercury and lead, which adds to the pollution. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has found significantly higher levels of toxins in water bodies after immersion days. These pose a great danger to the marine ecosystem and its biodiversity. These toxins also eventually enter the food chain. Air Pollution Apart from releasing toxic gases, bursting of crackers also leads to pollution of air. Diwali, every year leads to an alarming rise in the level of Respirable Suspended Particulate Material (RSPM) in the air, due to bursting of fire crackers. RSPM are minute particles and can contribute to various health issues including asthma and bronchitis. On the Ganpati  immersion days in 2012, the MPCB found an alarming rise in the level of respirable suspended particulate material (RSPM) across Mumbai and in other cities in the state. RSPM are suspended particles in the air due to bursting of fire crackers and large number of heavy vehicles plying on the roads taking idols for immersion. Since RSPM are small enough to be breathed in, they can contribute to various health issues such as asthma, bronchitis and reduced lung function. These are chronic ailments and persist long after the direct source of pollution is removed. Dry Waste Festivals also generate a humongous amount of dry waste. With firecrackers being the main ingredient to Diwali celebrations, the problem of dry waste increases by leaps and bounds due to lack of dumping space and other neglected constraints. Diwali being round the corner, local government bodies should take a meticulous approach towards guidance notes for municipal solid waste disposal. Garbage that can easily be recycled or reused also ends up in mounting landfills. And heaps of garbage including fruits, flowers, incenses and camphor coming out of puja pandals cannot be ignored either. Relentless social activism is essential to educate people to switch to eco-friendly methods of celebration. In several parts of the country, craftsmen have started using eco-friendly materials and organic paints to make idols. For instance, the idol makers in Kumartuli, the nerve centre of idol makers in Kolkata, took steps this year to check toxic waste levels by using paints devoid of lead, mercury and chromium to embellish the idols. Clay idols instead of the PoP ones are also getting their share of popularity. Spreading the message of civic sense this Diwali might help to curb or at least limit the pollution levels. We must get our social act together before blaming it on local administrators and civic amenities. Today one can easily find sustainable ways of adding to the glory of the festivals and we as ‘law abiding citizens’ should also take initiatives to cooperate with the government. If you have better ways of protecting the environment and saving our Mother Earth, you are most welcome to go ahead and spread the message. There are several ways to do so and Google will definitely come to your rescue. My Opinion about festivals of India Our country India is a very big country and every day of a year is a festival and it can becelebrated here with great joy and happiness. â€Å"India a country Where Everyday Is A Celebration.† Every festival takes an important part in the life of different peoples from differentcommunities of India. There are many festivals can be celebrated on different religiousoccasions. Indian Festivals are celebrated across the world because the Indian people areeverywhere in the world. some of them are doing jobs abroad or some of them are good big businessmen But no one can left Indian culture and festival celebrating. festivals colours our life in anew way. Every festival In India have different colors, prayers, sweets and old uniquerituals Many types of festivals are celebrated here in India like national, regional, local, religiousor seasonal festivals. In every months many festival comes and fill colors in our lives CONCLUSION We should contribute equally towards society for controlling pollution. Lets make festivals more joyful & meaningful in eco- friendly manner. Use of natural clay idols . Immersion of idols in a bucket or artificial tank of water. Deposit all the floral offerings into Nirmalaya pots. Celebrate the Ganesh Procession in traditional way. Lighting lamps the green way. â€Å"Say No to Fire crackers and Yes to life!â€Å" Light Diyas instead of electrical light. Usage of eco-friendly colors. Celebrating bonfire in unity. A Dry Holi. Use of frames & idols Careful handling of snakes. Avoidance of use of milk. Biblography http://www.yowoto.com/posts/the-impact-of-festivals-on-the-environment http://www.scribd.com/doc/160418855/Festivals-of-India-Impact-of-Festivals-on -Environment http://www.skymetweather.com/content/2013/10/lifestyle-and-culture/dangerous-relationship-of-environment-and-festivals/ http://www.slideshare.net/ketakishinde/indian-festivals-and-environment

Protest Movements essays

Protest Movements essays Inequality based on race and class appears to be elements of capitalist democracy common to American society throughout its history. Various womens and philanthropic organizations engaged in protest during the Great Depression and afterward, lobbying for reforms to aid the impoverished, children, and laborers. However, protest movements demonstrated a growing radicalism as the twentieth century unfolded. Labor protests often turned violent as unions and their representatives clashed with strikebreakers and even thugs paid by companies. The same was true with the Civil Rights protests that erupted during the 1960s. Militant groups like the Black Panthers and black leaders like Malcolm X promoted any means necessary to bring about justice and equality for African Americans, even if it meant violence. In contrast to these more violent and radical forms of protest, however, Martin Luther King Jr. adopted a form of non-violent protest modeled on Gandhis passive resistance that had h elped free India from British rule. In Why We Cant Wait, Martin Luther King Jr. provides an explanation of the origins of nonviolent protest and how it offers those who adhere to it in significant numbers the tools necessary to bring about social change. As King (12) asserts, the form of nonviolent protest that helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act was one that was honed through various protests, Tested in Montgomery during the winter of 1955-56, and toughened throughout the South in the eight ensuing years, nonviolent resistance had become, by 1963, the logical force in the greatest mass-action crusade for freedom that has ever occurred. The Birmingham campaign resulted in King being sent to jail at one point, demonstrating that nonviolent resistance asks for sacrifice and commitment from those who adhere to it if it is to be effective. In contrast to Kings peaceful methods of protest, others like Ma...

How We Could Have Prevented Pearl Harbor essays

How We Could Have Prevented Pearl Harbor essays On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese air force relentlessly. On that horrible day over 2400 Americans died because of that attack, and even more were injured. This cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor angered the U.S.A. and immediately brought us into the war. The U.S.A. would be determined to bring down the axis powers all over the earth. This was the start of World War II. But could the attack on Pearl Harbor been prevented and stopped before any real damage was done? There were many factors that played a great part in the destruction of Pearl Harbor that could have been prevented with a simple order. Little or no precautions were made in case there was an attack. Even though the U.S.A. was expecting an attack on Pearl Harbor. Simple negotiations were turned down by the U.S.A., which enraged the Japanese government. Also safety precautions were not used because of lack of funds. This essay is about how the U.S.A. with a few simple common sense decisions, prec autionary measures, and no expenses spared, could of saved 2400 lives and the devastation of many more (Slackman, 107-108). Before that dreaded day on December 7th, 1941 the allied forces were already fighting the axis powers. The U.S.A. refused to get involved in the war. But sent pilots, supplies, and equipment to the allied forces so that they could keep up with the axis forces that were much powerful and stronger. The axis could easily destroy the allied powers without the aid of the U.S.A. economy. The axis powers didn't like this at all. Many countries on the axis side tried to agree with the U.S.A. government to stop supplying the other countries if the U.S.A. wasn't in the war. The U.S.A. denied their compromises and continued to support allied troops. This angered the Japanese extremely, and the U.S.A. knew it. The Japanese were going to take out a naval base that was the only major threat to the Japanese, Pearl Harbor. Both sides knew that it w...

5 Terrible Tattoo Typos

5 Terrible Tattoo Typos 5 Terrible Tattoo Typos 5 Terrible Tattoo Typos By Mark Nichol It’s one thing to introduce a spelling or punctuation error when icing a message on a birthday cake or a similar confection such mistakes are easily disposed of but when it comes to getting a tattoo, think before you ink, because it’s difficult to render a correction. These tattoo typos are the responsibility of the tattoo artist, not the human canvases, but if you choose to have words printed on your body, you might want to hand the artist a neatly printed transcription and to monitor the inscription of the tracing draft and revise the draft as necessary. (My daughter, normally the sensible sort except, of course, for the whole tattoo thing was prevented from possible inclusion in this Hall of Shame when her best friend, fortunately in attendance during an inking procedure, pointed out the omission of a letter in a word the artist had preliminarily inscribed on her arm with a pen.) The Internet-o-sphere abounds with images of tattoo tragedies, and it was difficult to pare the possibilities to a manageable number for this post. But here, in order of egregiousness, are the five most boneheaded blunders: No, you’re not. Oh, it’s not a misspelling of handsome? It’s supposed to be awesome. No, you’re not. But you would be if you returned to the tattoo artist and free of charge, of course had a red caret and a matching e inscribed. What an honor is must have been for the person bearing this tattoo to be a bearer of the Oylmpic torch though that’s not as memorable as being a torchbearer for the Olympics. As is probably true in many such cases, she reportedly didn’t know about the error until someone pointed it out to her. Even then, she turned down the tattoo artist’s offer to correct it. She says it’s unique like she is. Yes, that’s one word for it. Um, the biblical verse, as usually translated into English, is, â€Å"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die† the statement elegantly terminates with the key word. This fellow’s artistic license in altering the wording and word order is excusable, but the misspelling of fore not likely a pun on forearm is not. I would have recommended the standard version, broken after drink but â€Å"broken after drink† is probably the reason for the mistake in the first place. This isn’t the only tragedy tattoo typo one can find (and you might be surprised by how many ways tattoo artists can render regret/regrets), but it’s the most prominent and therefore the most tragic. This misbegotten masterpiece wins the prize for sheer spectacle, and for lasting significance. My surmise is that this fellow has a spot in his heart for his alma mater. Unfortunately, there’s no Clemons University it’s Clemson. (I hope he got his money back that looks like a four-figure flub.) Image credits: YTMND.com, BBC.com, HuffingtonPost.com, EnglishFailBlog.org Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About Hands50 Nautical Terms in General Useâ€Å"Least,† â€Å"Less,† â€Å"More,† and â€Å"Most†

Ron Banks - Bullying in School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ron Banks - Bullying in School - Essay Example Banks offers an authoritative claim about the existence of bullying and accompanies it with substantive evidence. His approach to the issue that involves comparison with the Scandinavian nation’s research emphasizes the severity of the case and relates the present and long-term effects of bullying. He asserts his claims in a clear pattern to offer the audience the broad picture about the issues. Therefore, his choice of words, sentence structuring, and data depict an explicit knowledge that corresponds to the writers' questions. A clear presentation and breakdown of the issues give the audience visualization of bullying and the adverse consequences. The writer stamps the approach by offering distinctive data and percentages of the affected parties. First, he provides an elaborate answer that explains the effect of bullying on students overall development. Second, he highlights the social challenges that the bullies encounter in their future lives. The approach is unique and shows the breadth of the research. However, Bank fails to give a detailed coverage of bullies’ consequences. He only provides a brief about their future social life and emphasizes on the effects on victims. The style depicts his impartiality about the issues. Besides, it might represent the writer’s displeasure with the bullies and desire for a prompt action. Overall, Bank achieves his mission of informing the public about bullying in schools. The selective words arranged in short paragraphs and the data gives his presentation significant breadth. Therefore, he covers the concerns of the writers by offering substantive responses. Education is a process. Therefore, I appreciate your efforts and highly anticipate the transition to college. It is in this regards that I take the chance to prepare you for the next level of your college life. College presents opportunities and challenges in equal measure.

Person's Prior Experiences And Formulating Ideas Essay

Person's Prior Experiences And Formulating Ideas - Essay Example By associating prior experiences with what formulates ideas, Hume assumes that people only can formulate thoughts and ideas based only on the association. This undercuts that mindset by creating the assumption that new experiences cannot also change human thinking and behavior. He assumes that people are already predetermining concepts based on prior experiences rather than learning from new experiences. He states that man is a reasonable being and goes on to say that the â€Å"bounds of human understanding, that little satisfaction can be hoped for in this particular, either from the extent of security or his acquisitions,† (Hume 7) which is again a cut to humans as if that during his analysis that his thought is the only method of thinking but yet he cannot even explain why he is thinking and reasoning this way. Some of the ideas that Hume maintains is that people are unable to justify any inferences that are causal and are based only on unobserved causes. Through past observations, Hume expects for the human mind to only be able to work in a one-way direction. If a person knows one thing is certain than if a similar experience arises, then that person would expect the same outcome. This is not necessarily true because people can, in fact, learn from prior experiences and react differently. This would insinuate that anything that a person has done in the past would cause them to have the same reaction to a similar situation. However, it seems that many people often learn from prior mistakes and do in fact react differently on some occasions based on their prior experiences too. Hume states that He hints that people have certain reactions based only on prior reasoning and that those scenarios lead people to create a truth that is based only on that single instance. Judgment and morals are based only on those circumstances.

Respite Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Respite Services - Essay Example The Canadian occupational performance Measure is one respite programme that has been developed to help care givers in sustaining and enhancing their occupation. This program is abbreviated as COPM and it was developed in Canada in 1991 for the purpose of care givers. The COPM was specifically made for therapists. It measures a person's outcome in terms of perception of his/her work over a period of time. In doing this sit can detect any changes in the care givers perception of his/her occupation with the main objective of improving it. The methodological approach of this respite service instrument involves the administration of a semi-structured interview which is accompanied by a structure scoring method. In its ability to enhance performance, continuous tests are done and the scores recorded. In a series of assessments, a trend is developed that can be use to evaluate the performance of the client. The COPM instrument was used on about 170 children in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Recruitment of these children took place in between 2002 and 2003. Occupational output, quality of life and expenses were determined at baseline level and at the study completion. Perception of care was quantified at the end of the investigation. The COPM assessed the client's thought of performance in daily routines. (Kiresuk, Smith, Cardillo, 1994) Scores derived from the COPM inclined by an average of 2... Occupational performance outcomes Scores derived from the COPM inclined by an average of 2.6 over the span of the research. Satisfaction scores on the COPM increased by 2.4. These outcomes were both statistically significant (p

TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO SPANISH SPEAKERS Research Paper

TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO SPANISH SPEAKERS - Research Paper Example There is no doubt that English speaking requires good amount of understanding of consonants and vowels along with dedication and motivation. The research aims to examine what sorts of difficulties are experienced by Spanish speakers while speaking English and how pronunciation difficulties can be assessed and examined resulting in better pronunciation. Spanish language is a part of Indo-European Language family and is spoken by more than 400 million people across the world mainly in Spain, Latin America and the US. On the other hand, English is spoken in almost every country Ladefoged, 2000). However, when Spanish individuals especially students travel to other countries; they face pronunciation issues while speaking and communication in English. For this purpose, a systematic and logical approach of conducting a research will be taken that will help in investigating pronunciation problems of Spanish students along with identifying ways through which these problems can be assessed re sulting in better pronunciation and understanding of English Language. There is no doubt that incorrect pronunciation leads to little understanding of the meaning of sentences and thus creating confusion and doubts (Ladefoged, 2006). At the same time, conversing requires good understanding of English Language in order to facilitate personal and professional growth in English speaking nations. The next part of the discussion presents theoretical issues related to the research topic. Theoretical Issues Related to the Research Topic In order to investigate how English pronunciation can be taught to Spanish speakers, the researcher will focus on understanding of phonetics, production of speech sounds and difference between English and Spanish speakers by referring to a number of academic books, journals and articles. Jenkins (2002) stated that words are pronounced differently in different countries majorly because of the understanding of vowels and consonants. Coe (1988) stated that the re is a great similarity between English and Spanish language that makes learning motivational and easy. Coe (1988) further believed that both English and Spanish languages have originated from different culture and thus it is quite obvious to have pronunciation differences. Spanish language has only five vowels while English has fourteen vowels. The difference in vowels creates pronunciation issues as Spanish speakers often fail to differentiate between English Vowels. Compernolle (2001) stated that Spanish is syllable times language and English is stress timed language. Spanish speakers face difficulties in recognizing end consonants that create pronunciation issues. Moreover, the verb-grammar agreement is also dissimilar in two languages that often affect the correct pronunciation. Spanish speakers have logical association with the sound and spelling of words that lacks in English language. There are very limited double letters word in Spanish while in English, there are a number of double letter words. All these issues create confusion for Spanish speakers while speaking in English. Avexy, Ehrlich (1992) believed that the role of teeth, jaws, lips and tongue is of great importance considering the fact that correct use of lips, jaws and tongue helps in correct pronunciation of words. For this purpose, it is important to understand the role of phonetics in pronunciation of

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

International Business - Essay Example Globalization has led to integration of global production (global sourcing and coordination between the diverse locations) and integration of global markets (the rise of global brands and international distributors). Ultimately, globalization yields to increasing: culture convergences; interdependence among states economic integration; trade liberation; and, global capital markets (Hill 2012, p.4). Globalization of markets Globalization of markets delineates the progression witnessed in the assimilation and amalgamation of different world markets into a shared market. This means that national markets are increasingly amalgamating into one vast marketplace. This process eventually yields to the adoption of common products or services propelled by the resultant cultural shift. ... The growth of national companies such as Coca Cola and MacDonald’s into larger global organizations has drawn attention to the fact that global companies can now be able to synchronize their operations across continents, yielding to enhanced efficiency and attainment of economies of scale. One of the paradoxes of globalization that can be highlighted details that technology has fostered the efficient delivery of standardized products, as well as promoting diverse forms of tailored products for various markets; however, the registered growth of global markets has been highly prevalent within sectors that depend on standardized products for all clients. Markets for consumer products, on the other hand, have not been homogenized as anticipated (Reinert 2000, p.42). The positioning numerous markets, especially within advanced economies have increasingly been reversed as imports of standard products are frequently cheaper compared to the local equivalent. Hence, domestic manufactur ing companies are increasingly struggling to match the multinationals that enjoy economies of scale, in addition to, massive resources. Globalization of production The factors that impact on the situating of an entity’s manufacturing infrastructure usually vary between countries, and may be complementary in a foreign country relative to the host country. This means that entities are persistently placing their individual productive operations at highly rewarding global locations (Hill and Jones 2007, p.265). As such, it is becoming immaterial to label various products as ‘Japanese,’ ‘American,’ German,’ or ‘British.’ This derives from the breaking down of the manufacturing process into separate stages in which each phase takes place within the most

TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO SPANISH SPEAKERS Research Paper

TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO SPANISH SPEAKERS - Research Paper Example There is no doubt that English speaking requires good amount of understanding of consonants and vowels along with dedication and motivation. The research aims to examine what sorts of difficulties are experienced by Spanish speakers while speaking English and how pronunciation difficulties can be assessed and examined resulting in better pronunciation. Spanish language is a part of Indo-European Language family and is spoken by more than 400 million people across the world mainly in Spain, Latin America and the US. On the other hand, English is spoken in almost every country Ladefoged, 2000). However, when Spanish individuals especially students travel to other countries; they face pronunciation issues while speaking and communication in English. For this purpose, a systematic and logical approach of conducting a research will be taken that will help in investigating pronunciation problems of Spanish students along with identifying ways through which these problems can be assessed re sulting in better pronunciation and understanding of English Language. There is no doubt that incorrect pronunciation leads to little understanding of the meaning of sentences and thus creating confusion and doubts (Ladefoged, 2006). At the same time, conversing requires good understanding of English Language in order to facilitate personal and professional growth in English speaking nations. The next part of the discussion presents theoretical issues related to the research topic. Theoretical Issues Related to the Research Topic In order to investigate how English pronunciation can be taught to Spanish speakers, the researcher will focus on understanding of phonetics, production of speech sounds and difference between English and Spanish speakers by referring to a number of academic books, journals and articles. Jenkins (2002) stated that words are pronounced differently in different countries majorly because of the understanding of vowels and consonants. Coe (1988) stated that the re is a great similarity between English and Spanish language that makes learning motivational and easy. Coe (1988) further believed that both English and Spanish languages have originated from different culture and thus it is quite obvious to have pronunciation differences. Spanish language has only five vowels while English has fourteen vowels. The difference in vowels creates pronunciation issues as Spanish speakers often fail to differentiate between English Vowels. Compernolle (2001) stated that Spanish is syllable times language and English is stress timed language. Spanish speakers face difficulties in recognizing end consonants that create pronunciation issues. Moreover, the verb-grammar agreement is also dissimilar in two languages that often affect the correct pronunciation. Spanish speakers have logical association with the sound and spelling of words that lacks in English language. There are very limited double letters word in Spanish while in English, there are a number of double letter words. All these issues create confusion for Spanish speakers while speaking in English. Avexy, Ehrlich (1992) believed that the role of teeth, jaws, lips and tongue is of great importance considering the fact that correct use of lips, jaws and tongue helps in correct pronunciation of words. For this purpose, it is important to understand the role of phonetics in pronunciation of

Primary Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Primary Nursing - Essay Example Thompson ET all introduces the concept of primary nursing right from the beginning of its start in the 60’s. The sprouting of this particular type of healthcare all through the globe and its major influence to patient care is critically discussed. In this article, the author mainly insists on the influence of technology on this field and how hard it was for nurses back when everything was manual. Since the nurse has to work for 24 hours taking care of her patients, this field is thought provoking and in the early days of its invention, most of the primary nurses took care of fewer patients due to the nature of the work that was involved in the monitoring of the patients. The nurse had to manually move to each patient, take care of them and move to the next one. This was tedious and in most cases, the patients never got that right kind of care that they needed. However, due to technological changes in the medical industry, primary nursing has been on the increase and most insti tutions of higher learning have included the field in part of their study.Bowman ET all has similar opinions and insists that there has been improvements in primary nursing ever since its invention. The author compares the current situation of nursing and how it was in its early days and some of the changes that have been seen in the area. Comparing the way primary nursing was in the 60’s and now, it is pretty obvious that the field has undergone a lot of changes. First is the various means that nurses use to monitor patients.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay Example for Free

Coffee and Starbucks Essay Transnational corporations have had a tremendous impact on the interconnectivity that between countries, corporations, and people on a global landscape. Fueled by capitalistic ideals of increasing profits numerous corporations have expanded there operations into the global marketplace, some with much more success than others. One such transnational corporation that has embodied this pursuit of expansion in domestic and foreign markets for profit is the Starbucks Coffee Company. This company, which finds its roots in the opening of a single retail location in Pike place Market of Downtown Seattle in 1971, has been able to infiltrate into countless foreign domains and grow into a global powerhouse of the food and beverage industry with over nine thousand stores across the globe today in thirty-four countries outside of the Unites States. (Business Wire, 2005) Starbucks serves is an excellent specimen of a company that follows continual patterns of expansion directly correlating to increased access to foreign markets, and also the ability to nurture growth within these markets as well as gain access to new markets through the Market merging. In my research of this company and its path to globalization, I found that information about certain aspects of the company were more readily available than others. For example, I found that I had more difficulty finding scholarly articles that dealt with the distinct business strategies that Starbucks employed in order to globalize, in that it became apparent that much of the information about the terms of their mergers and acquisitions were not released or that the companies and business groups that they did so with had websites that contained no information in English. Interestingly enough, I found more of an abundance of scholarly material on the homogeneous cultural impacts that Starbucks has had and how the spread of the companys locations worldwide has been received by some cultures as the spread of American values. A bulk of my research findings came from business reports and releases about the company, which were useful in keeping accounts of how the company was able to infiltrate global markets and expand. The Website was a good starting point for my research in that it provided points of interest about the company that I could research into greater detail in order to root out the bigger picture. In order for one to have a more complete understanding of how this company operates and how it has come to succeed at a global level, I will outline the companys geographic expansion in terms of its operations and production; second, I will explain the companys main motivation for global expansion as well as factors that had an effect on the expansion; lastly I will detail the methods of expansion and production employed by the company. These will all be discussed within the time frame from present day back to 1996, when Starbucks first became a global corporation. (Starbucks. com) Of the nine thousand locations Starbucks has worldwide, over two thousand of those are outside of the United States in thirty four different countries. (Sowa, June 2004) The expansion of retail stores into foreign countries began with a joint venture with Sazabay Inc. in Japan in 1995, and then the eventual opening of retail locations within the country during the following year. (starbucks. com) This was the first time Starbucks ever set up operations outside of the US, and it was in the form of construction of the Starbuck brand retail store locations operated by a foreign company. Starbucks entered the East Asian Market first, in countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and China, and concentrated on growth in these markets mainly for the first few years of entering the foreign market. Eventually, Starbucks was able to break into other markets as well, such as Australia, London, and New Zealand amongst others year after year until its present standing of 34 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim with retail locations that exists today in 2005. (Business Wire, Feb 2005) Within these countries, retail operations were set up at first just primarily in areas with the densest population. (Ramsey, Mar. 1997) However, as the market for the Starbucks Brand continually increased, the locations throughout the countries would increase and fan out from the city centers. This can be seen in the example of Japan, whom after 5 years operations had opened 300 stores by the year 2000. (starbucks.com) The primary raw material that Starbucks purchases and uses in terms of production is coffee beans. Coffee beans grow in regions near the equator, where the climate is suitable to sustain their growth. It follows that Starbucks purchases all of its beans from countries in South America, Africa, and Asia. Coffee beans that Starbucks import come from regions near the equator, such as South America, Africa, and Asia (Starbucks. com). Basically, the beans that are grown in these countries are purchased by the company to be roasted or packaged in all of its 9000 locations worldwide. However, Starbucks is not the only buyer when it comes to the bean supply as numerous other coffee retail companies rely on these farms as well, which places Starbucks as part a modular model commodity chain. The production of a generic commodity such as coffee beans allows for that commodity to be purchased by numerous companies without any affiliation or necessary interconnectivity between them. Starbucks reasoning for their initial expansion domestically in the United States as well as into the foreign Market place was centered on the basic capitalistic need for increase in profits, as well as the promotion of free trade from a neo-liberalist standpoint. Looking back to Starbucks early domestic expansion, it can be noted that just prior to addition of retail operations in Japan in 1996, there had been signs of a retraction of sales and growth, even with the addition of new retail locations domestically in the United States. There were signs of slowing in the US, one such being that comparable store sales, up 9 percent in 1995, were up 7 percent in 1996 and 5 percent approaching the following year. (Ramsey, Mar. 1997) These numbers indicate that it was becoming evident that in order to further sustain growth and high profit margins; Starbucks could achieve gains and benefit from free trade by setting up operations abroad. There are certain social contexts which provide commentary on the manner in which Starbucks was able to globalize. Especially that of the companys abilities to access markets from cultural and political standpoints. In order to bridge the culture gap between markets, Starbucks must follow three basic steps; first, it must engage in prospecting the local culture and its nuances; second, it must access the market conditions and the potential response to their presence; and lastly they make or dont make the decision to mobilize (Santos 2004). All this is considered with the fact that they are marketing a product in not only the coffee but in the retail location itself, in that Starbucks attempts to blend an Italian style beverage with a highly European influenced coffee house setting (Santos 2004), which is something that has to be marketed correctly in order to effectively find its niche in a foreign market setting. This marketing schematic sheds light on the purpose in placing global operations in East Asia in the late 90s before breaking into the European market due to a feared negative response to an American global presence in what had always been a highly saturated European local market. There was also a strong potential that the War in Afghanistan and later Iraq would have a devastating effect on growth and sales in the foreign market. There were some signs of this seen in April of 2003, when Starbucks was being heavily protested and boycotted in Lebanon and New Zealand, and was forced to pull operations out of Israel for fear of terrorist attacks. Despite these setbacks, however, it remained that Starbucks International persevered in revenues, according to Greg Schroeder, a research analyst with Fulcrum Global Partners LLC, who stated Starbucks popularity persists even in an economic downturn and during the war is an undeniably impressive feat as other retailers are struggling. (Jung, 2003) Starbucks maintained strong development during this period, and continued to open stores and form partnerships in Turkey, Chile, and Peru (Starbucks.com) despite facing political tensions created by Starbucks national affiliation with the United States. Market access brought Starbucks to the foreign domain but how they were actually able to break into these markets came in the form of some key business strategies. Starbucks used a few basic strategies in order to gain access to a particular foreign market which was joint ventures, acquisitions, and licensing. Two specific examples include Starbucks acquisition of the Seattle Coffee Company in the United Kingdom with more than 60 retail locations in 1998(Starbucks.com) , and the joint venture Starbucks formed with Sazaby Inc in 1995. The acquisition of the Seattle Coffee company basically allowed Starbucks to renovate each retail location previously owned by the company and to put the Starbucks name on each location as well. Another different but successful strategy employed in Japan was that of the joint venture with Sazaby Inc. This partnership gave Sazaby Inc. the right to develop and operate coffeehouses throughout a defined region. The rationale behind both of these types of partnerships is explained by Peter Maslen, president of Starbucks Coffee International, who states, The idea is that an experienced local partner can help identify locations, sift through tax issues, and give Starbucks stores more community appeal. (Jung, Apr. 2003 p. E1) This allows Starbucks to continue to expand into other markets knowing that operations elsewhere are in the hands of carefully chosen partners and business groups who are able effectively read and access the climate of their targeted regions market. The employees, CEOs, and other workers all have an integral part in this corporations ability to globalize. Starting at the level of both full as well as part time employees which facilitate the day-to-day functions of the retail locations in each of the 34 countries that Starbucks operates in, we can see that they receive a fair amount of benefits; including above-average hourly-wages, a comprehensive health benefit plan, and stock options. (Sancovich, 2002) Increased development and growth will fair well for those with stock in the company, including employees at the retail level. If the scope is broadened however, a very large gap exists between employees at the corporate level and those who produce the raw materials(coffee beans) that the company modulates into packaged or roasted coffee sales. It should be noted that Starbucks prides itself on the sale of Fair Trade Coffee in its stores to benefit the farmers that supply their coffee beans, which certifies that growers and farmers would receive a premium price above the prevailing market price for the sale of the coffee beans they produce (Starbucks. com). It should also then be noted that, according to an author in the ecologist, Starbucks advertises the fact that it bought 1. 1 million pounds of coffee last year at fair trade prices ($1. 27 per pound). This represents less than 0. 5 per cent of the coffee Starbucks buys each year. Fair trade is also highly profitable. While Starbucks pays $1. 27 per pound for fair-trade coffee, one pound of that coffee sells for $11. 45. Thats a 90 per cent mark-up (The Ecologist, Vol. 33, p. 22, 2003) The fact that Starbucks buys Fair Trade coffee in actuality does little to benefit the farmers who grow their beans. Another notable feature of the relationship between the owners, employees, and farmers is the overall disparity between employees at the corporate level and those employed to grow coffee beans, Millions of coffee farmers survive on less than $2 a week. Orin C Smith, Starbucks president and CEO, was paid $1,088,269 in 2002, and received a bonus of L1,362,500. Exercising share options in the company made him a further $36,321,643. He stands to make around $8. 5m more on share options granted in 2002. (The Ecologist, Vol. 33, p. 22, 2003) The economic disparity between wages is a direct result of the practices Starbucks engages in, such as markups. The farmers, as well as the retail employees would gain from the continued global development of the company, in that higher demand for coffee would increase the price of coffee for farmers and stock options would benefit regular employees, but would do so to an exponentially smaller degree than the employees at the corporate level of operations.

LEADING CHANGE: Analysing The Change Agents Role

LEADING CHANGE: Analysing The Change Agents Role This essay focuses on introducing change in the organization. It looks into the change agents role; the positives and negatives on the personal front. It also critically analyses how much power lies in the hands of the senior management in implementing change in an organization. A case study has been incorporated into the report to understand how managers implement changes or imbibe them into the organization in real life. CHANGE AGENT According to the Oxford Dictionary, Change is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to make or become differentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Recently, multinational corporations (MNCs) have been facing a lot of changes in their strategic direction as well as their day to day activities. (Stone, 2008) Generally, corporations have experienced a lot of resistance to change from their employees. In order to ensure that the change is incorporated smoothly into the organization, the recognition of a Change Agents role becomes essential. A change agent, by definition is, A person who acts as a catalyst for change. (Stone, 2008) There is a deep connection between leading and changing the organization. As Ahn rightly put it; The avoidance of change has been described as the opposite of leadership. (Jick et al, 2003) Leadership involves motivating a group of people and aligning their interests towards a common goal in the aim of achieving it. Change agents could be anyone in the organization who is the driving force behind the change. For Instance, the CEO of the company would be recognized as a change agent on several occasions or a consultant may be hired; who acts as the agent as well. (Jick et al, 2003). The change agents competitive advantage lies at his/her ability to act in response to the change. There are three general types of responses one can expect from a change agent. (Ulrich et al, 1997) Initiative Changes, whereby the change agent responds by bringing into the organization; new procedures or projects. This is basically done at the strategic level. The second type of response is Process Change. This occurs more at the operational level; where the change agent focuses on how the task is being carried out; and whether the work can be simplified or distributed; based on the organizational structure. The last type of response is the Cultural Change. It transforms the organizations way of thinking. (Ulrich et al, 1997) POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF A CHANGE AGENTS JOB Change agents are most susceptible to change themselves. (Jick et al, 2003) The agents go through a variety of positive and negative emotions and issues while dealing with implementing change in the organization. Firstly, the most obvious issue change agents face will be the resistance to change by the employees. This occurs irrespective of how well/not the agent handles his job. Someone, somewhere, at some point in time during the implementation will have a thought process which does not align to that of the others. This leads us to the secondary issue, which is frustration. In case the change introduced by the agent backfires, he would be the first person the organization will blame. The agent would feel isolated and might even get de-motivated at the thought that the plan he introduced did not work out. (Jick et al, 2003) Though the negative issues do seem to give an impression that the change agents job is always dreary, its often counteracted by positive challenges and emotions. The adrenaline rush of having transformed an organization successfully because of that change is a huge plus point. Change cannot be decided by one person; hence requiring the agent to involve himself in a lot of interaction with his employees by which new relationships develop. Often, when the agents look in retrospect, they find that they have gone a long way, and the factor of self fulfillment shows up. With every step, the agents would have utilized their strengths, opportunities and overcome their weaknesses and threats. (Jick et al, 2003) POWER AND CHANGE Power is defined as; The ability to influence various outcomes. (Bowditch and Buono, 2005: 195). This statement makes it clearer there is a close relationship between power and change in the organization. French and Raven (1959) came with a power base table which can be applied to change management. (Graetz et al 2002: 242-3) This basically deals with power and change in terms of top down approach. There are five types of powers of which one or two of them might lie with the management responsible for the change. Reward Power, whereby the managers reward the employees for their co-operation; Coercive Power, which means the employees get punished for non compliance; Referent Power, where personal relationships are used against them to follow the change; Expert Power, where specialist knowledge is required to understand the change procedures and reason for attempting them. The last power is the Legitimate Power, where change is decided by the senior staff and seems necessary for success. (Jick et al, 2003) This approach lays emphasis on implementation, and is a lot faster. The major disadvantage here is that resistance will arise from employees and middle level managers. Organizations generally rely on internal managers or external consultants to introduce change. Consultants are preferred since they have a neutral attitude towards the situation; and may be a lot more skilled and knowledgeable in the area. It would be a good idea to combine both of them i.e.; have internal managers as well as external consultants. (Stone, 2008) In contrast to the French and Raven power base, another strategy might be to hand over the power to the employees. This is the bottom up approach. While it encourages employee participation and reduces uncertainty on their part; it is very time consuming. (Stone, 2008) CASE STUDY Dennis Hightower was Disneys newly elected vice president for Europe. He was required to develop a different business strategy that was something totally different than what had been done in the past. He was given a time limit of three months. Walt Disney started off as a small company in the entertainment industry and emerged as one of the top most in recent times. They reported overall revenue of $3 billion dollars. A particular division in the company; Disney Consumer Products (DCP) reported $167 million of division revenue. Soon after, this division was involved in international licensing. The market was very diverse with complex environments. Hightower had formulated a certain strategy in mind. This report focuses more on the way he implemented it across the organization. He followed the Squeaky Wheelchair Theory; which meant he got involved into the situation only when there was a problem. Rather than ordering his team members on how its done; he persuaded them to see the logic and how each of their contributions added value to it. Loyalty was a key factor in his method. He trusted his team enough to let them make their own decisions to a great extent. This helped him ensure he had his teams support and all their goals were on the same track. Disney underwent a radical change, where fundamental changes were produced in the organization. Its generally more threatening than an incremental change. (Where the changes involved are on a small scale; for example, modifications in the day to day operations, etc.) This change was planned as well; which meant the change was implemented in an organized manner by the change agent. In essence, Hightower was the change agent; who tackled the above stated issue in a way which led to higher profits for the company. (Jick et al, 2003) CONCLUSION A change agent is thus very important in the introduction, leading and managing the change in the organization. Its very important to find the right person at the right time as it can make or break the situation. Positive and negative issues occur in every job and the change agent is no exception. Its important for the change agent to take up challenges such as resistance and try and make them work in his/her favor. The relationship between power and change is debatable, but finally, what counts is what exact change the organization is planning to undertake; if its a situation which is of strategic importance, its better for the top management to decide. The case study showed us one of the real life examples of change management.

The Tunnel Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

The Tunnel My unforgettable senior football season was coming to a close. The whole team knew that this was the last game of football we would ever play together. After this game, it would never be the same. I had been waiting my whole life to experience what I was about to face in the next few hours. To me, and to the rest of my hometown, high school football isn’t just a game; it is a lifelong passion. I grew up watching my role models play the same game I was about to play where the football-frenzied town of Mahnomen won four state championships in a row. Since the seventh grade, my team was expected to make it to the state play-offs our senior year, and now we were playing for the state tittle. We didn’t have anybody extremely fast, strong, or even smart on our team. In fact, no senior would go on to participate in college football. We were just a few guys that would never give up no matter what the circumstances. Those guys were my team, like I was the one leading them all into a battle field, even though that was the feeling of half the other guys. My team had been nicknamed â€Å"The Cardiac Kids† because of our ability to pull out a victory by one point, which we had done in six games that season. Critics thought a team that could only squeak out so many victories by one point was bound to lose their composure in the play-offs. Throughout the season we had worked towards becoming the team we now were. We were proud of how far we had gotten. The only thing left to do was to play our hardest and to see how well we matched up against the best team in the state. All of this led up to the moment of the State Championship Game. From the locker room, we walked into the dark tunnel leading to the nervous light of The M... ...at is he didn’t like how he wrote about things he didn’t know about, when he could have been writing about important things that were happening to him because he did know about them. This makes me see the importance of my paper better. I also changed some things around in the paper. As you can imagine, when Dr. Morgan criticized writing about â€Å"The Big Game† I was like, â€Å"Oh Crap, now I have to write it all over again.† As you can see, I decided to stay with my original idea, but just focus on it at a different point. Instead of telling what happened, I focus more on why it affected me. Like when I wrote, †Because of what I learned that moment, I will be able to see when teamwork is needed and how to pursue it. You might not think that this is such an important quality, but this connects with me every day of my life.† I think this helps fit the assignment better.

Jewish Culture in Nursing

1. The Jewish culture has many concepts of taboo. One of the biggest items found was the importance of remembering the past. Past is a very important aspect in the Jewish community, even the breaking of a glass at the end of a wedding, symbolizes the destruction of a temple during an invasion from the Roman Army. (Giger and Davidhizar, 2008, p. 598) During childbirth, a husband may be in the room with his wife but may not participate other than coaching. He is not allowed to view or see the vaginal area or touch his wife.After the delivery, he may lean over to his wife, careful not to touch, and say â€Å"Mazal tov† or good luck, congratulations. (Giger and Davidhizar, 2008, p. 596) After delivery it is important to be careful around the baby. Jewish people believe that is the nipple is pulled to fast from the child, falling on the head, or failing to place a cap on the head of the infant are all causes of fallen fontanel. The symptoms of this include crying, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea; but modern practice shows us that the causes of these symptoms are from dehydration.The evil eye, or mal ojo, is a feared illness that is caused from someone admiring a child and that person has a frustrated wish to hold the child, but for a reason unknown, the person is unable to fulfill the wish. Hours later the child has fever, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite. Also, it suggests the child’s eyes will roll in the back of the head, and will become listless. This is probably the result of dehydration, but this is one perceived cause of a chronic illness. (Andrews and Boyle, 2008, p. 132) 2.If a follower of Judaism becomes ill, it is a common trend for the entire family to pull together and take care of the person. When the dying process starts a nurse should know that there is a strong need for a confessional. (Giger and Davidhizar, 2008, p. 606) If a person of Jewish faith passes away, the body must not be touched by a person of opposite sex. If this happen s the body will be considered contaminated. All articles of clothing and any personal items that have come into contact with blood must be left with the body and not be touched.Blood is sacred and must be buried along with the body. The body is removed to a sacred temple where the body is washed from head to toe in warm water, being careful not to turn the face towards the ground. The body will be dressed in white burial shrouds, tachrichim, and will be buried in a simple pine wood box. This is done so no one can distinguish wealth. (Klug, 2013, p. 1) This is all a part in a traditional ritual of the Jewish faith. 2B. This writer doesn’t believe in the above mentioned taboos.Reading this information has sparked an interest in the cultural beliefs held by Judaism. Current beliefs are influenced by religion and basic humanity procedures for the dying and deceased. Religion has influenced death as a passing of one person to heaven or hell. Humanity procedures that are followed a re the cleansing of a body, the placement in a casket, visitation and burial, and grieving by family and friends. 2C. Influence in practice is based off of the religions of the patients request or family beliefs.As a hospice nurse, personal beliefs do not affect work habits. There are many different patient rights that are noted and followed. Giger, J. N. , & Davidhizar, R. E. (2008). Transcultural nursing: Assessment and intervention (5th ed. ). St. Louis, MO: Mosby. Andrews, M. M. , & Boyle, J. S. (2008). Transcultural concepts in nursing care (5thed. ). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Klug, L. A. (2013). Jewish Life. Jewish Funeral Customs: Saying Goodbye to a Loved One. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2013, from http://www. jewishfederations. org/funeral-customs. aspx? print=1

Ocean carrier Essay

The purpose of this report is to evaluate whether Ocean Carriers Inc. should immediately commission a new capesize carrier that would cost $39 million, and would be completed two years hence, in order to finalize a lease of the ship for a three-year period with a potential charterer in very good faith. The contrasting tax regulations between the two countries where the company locates its office, and the different cost-benefit circumstances under different length of time in service are considered in the analysis. Taking all available information into consideration, we highly recommend that the company should purchase the new capesize carrier, have it registered under the Hong Kong office, and put it on a scheme for a 25-year service. Industry Prospects Capesize carriers are mainly used to carry iron ore and coal worldwide. The daily hire rates are therefore determined by the total exports of iron ore and coal, the distance between the exporting countries and the destinations, and the fleet size of capesizes in service. According to the market trends, in the next few years, Australian production in iron ore is expected to be strong and Indian iron ore exports are expected to take off. However, imports of iron ore and coal are expected to be stagnant in next two years. Therefore, total exports of iron ore and coal will be flat in the coming two years, and will rise remarkably in the following few years. Besides, as East Asia countries absorb the largest portion of the iron ore imports, the joining of India to the iron ore exporting won’t significantly increase travel distance because Australia is almost the same distance away by water. Moreover, in 2001 and 2002, 63 and 33 new capesize vessels would be delivered adding up to about 17% of total capesizes currently in service. Consequently, in the first two years, the supply of capesizes would be greater than the demand, the daily hire rates are expected to decrease. But in the mid-to-long run, the daily hire rates are expected to increase continuously. Revenues and Costs – Intuitions Before going into the numbers, we want to discuss some intuitions of this project that support the decision of purchasing the capesize. First, the increasing mid-to-long run daily hire rates will provide basis for promising future cash flows. Secondly, although the daily hire rate for the first two years are expected to be low, the charterer had already offered a rate higher than expected to compensate the company. Thirdly, a great portion of the expenditures come from the preparation for special surveys which should be renewed every five years if the ship needs to stay in the business. The high escalation of costs between the second and third surveys, and the fourth and fifth surveys, indicates that maximum net present value of the project would be achieved when the carrier serves for either 15 years or 25 years. Free Cash Flows In this part, we will discuss the detailed numbers. Some assumptions are made based on the economic outlook and company characteristics when calculating free cash flows. We assume that inflation rate is 3% per annual, and that operation cost would increase 1% above inflation rate per annual. We assume that discount rate is 9%, and will discuss the impact of a rate change later. Provided that the scrape value is estimated to be $5 million at the end of the fifteenth year, we estimate that the value would decrease to $4 million due to more wear in the steel. Please refer to Exhibits 1 to 4 for the calculations of estimated free cash flows and NPVs. We can see that if the company chooses to purchase the capesize, have it registered in Hong Kong instead of USA, and runs it for 25 years, the NPV will be the highest compared to other alternatives. Besides, the Hong Kong option (have the vessel registered in Hong Kong) dominates the USA option (have the vessel registered in USA) because no tax is required in Hong Kong in these operations. Also, the 25-year option dominates the 15-year option because, even if the scrap value is reduced to zero after 25 years, the NPVs for options that keep the capesize for 25 years are still higher than for 15 years. Sensitivity Analysis In the above calculations for the NPVs, we assume discount rate to be 9%. If the discount rate is higher, the NPVs for the projects will be reduced because the benefits from recording depreciation and tax deferring will increase. For example, we found that the USA-25-year option will produce a positive NPV if the discount rate is lowered to 6.67%. However, even if the discount rate is as low as 0.1%, the HK option still dominates the US option, and the 25-year option still dominates the 15-year option. Conclusion To sum up, if Ocean Carriers Inc. purchase a $39 million capesize carrier immediately, register it in Hong Kong, sign the three-year contract with the charterer, and keep the vessel in business for 25 years, based on estimations, it would acquire the largest possible NPV of $3.89 million on the project.

Causes of the Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The fall of the Roman Empire was inevitable by A. D. 476. Christianity had weakened the bonds that had held it together, the people became corrupt, and it got too big. It was also because of the barbarian attacks. All empires eventually fall and Rome’s time had come to an end. When discussing the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire one has to see that this occurred over many years and had many different facets. Each issue has to be addressed independently with the understanding that they simultaneously combined to the dissension within the Empire and the falling of the borders that had been established during its height. By the end of the second century AD, the empire encompassed most of the Mediterranean, including Spain, France, most of Britain, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Egypt, and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Roman Empire was a calamity; it leads to the Dark (Middle) Ages. Seeing all the bad that came of it, the destruction of art, the collapse of great cities, the deterioration of the system of roads, the ruin of the Mediterranean trade, and the loss of European unity–it's difficult to imagine any good came of it. But some good did result. The break up of the empire led to the abolition of slavery in Europe. Of course, this, in turn, led to more poverty and the increase of latifundia because the poor people lost their land to the aristocrats. But the slaves were better off as peasants than as slaves. Christianity was a major cause of the fall of Rome. Although Rome had religious tolerance, Romans, especially Jews, didn’t accept Christianity. A lot of people converted to Christianity because they lost faith in the Romans. At first most Christians were Jews but less strict. Many values were different but they still followed Jewish dietary laws and shared many beliefs with the Jews. The early Christians also got circumcised. Even Jesus got circumcised because he was born a Jew. Then he thought he was God’s messenger but many other people during that time also thought that so most people started off not believing him. The Christians started adopting the values that they have today during the time that Saul/Paul was alive. At first he started off as a Jew who hated Jesus and hated the Christians but then he converted and traveled around spreading the thoughts of Christians but he said that Christians didn’t need to follow the Jewish dietary laws and they didn’t need to get circumcised. The Romans and the Jews didn’t like the message that Jesus was spreading so they crucified him. One impact that Jesus had was that more people didn’t want to join the military and they didn’t want to participate in the community. Since the people stopped participating in government and they didn’t join the army, the Roman army composed of the Barbarians from Germany. These Barbarians lead disorganized attacks and even attacked other Roman Barbarian groups. Because of these sloppy attacks, Rome’s army fell and it was no longer the military superpower it was before. Also, many of the lands that Rome had conquered wanted independence and broke free of the Roman Empire. Herbert J. Muller argues in his book Uses of the Past that Rome got rich by conquering new lands and because of trade with new markets and when the Barbarian attacks went unsuccessful they got no more land therefore losing their source of wealth. Edward Gibbon argues the opposite in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He says that the Roman Empire fell because it was too widespread. He says that there was too much land for the government to govern and because of that the government lost money. By the end of the Roman Empire it was widespread and had many land. By conquering these lands they got many slaves from war and from these new lands. The abundance of slaves lead to the growth of latifundia, large estates owned by the rich. These slaves were willing to work hard for little pay so the rich got richer and the poor grew poorer. The poor coloni [farmers] lost their lands and the aristocrats bought them out. Then the poor farmers went to the city and became dependent on handouts from the government such as free grain. There were many causes for the fall of the Roman Empire. Some causes were the rise of Christianity, the fall of the army, the abundance of slaves and the size of the empire. Because of all these reasons and many more Rome couldn’t survive which lead to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman empire survived and became the Byzantine Empire. Rome’s fall lead to the Dark Ages but Rome has an impact in our everyday culture because they influenced the Greeks of whose culture we have copied in order to build our own culture.

Comprehending As Well As Critiquing and Valuing Evidence Article

Comprehending As Well As Critiquing and Valuing Evidence - Article Example For proper creation of digital stories, Choi indicates some principles that should be followed. These includes thinking about the purpose of using digital storytelling, analyzing the reading content, making a storyboard, and finding the best image to provide visual background information (Choi, 2012). Key problems of digital story telling includes lack of assessing the computers, lack of technical expertise for teachers and students, and long time spent in creating stories. Choi concludes that ESL/EFL teachers who want to incorporate digital storytelling in classrooms should have the ability to develop appropriate and context digital stories. One of the positive aspects of this article is that Dongseok Choi clearly describes the importance of using the latest technology in storytelling. The author uses literature from other sources such as Jessica, Beatham, and Roney among other to show comparison. However, the comparison among the major contributors could be done in a better way by use of graphs which lacks in the article. This article provides clear picture of how teachers should be computer literate for them to be productive especially when dealing with students. In order for teachers to prepare their ESL/EFL students to appropriately communicate, it is vital to be prepared just as the way the teachers require the scheme of work for any other lesson. The article Web 2.0-Assisted Language Learning: Using Technology to Enhance Reading Comprehension, by Fatemeh Behjat, Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri, Mortaza Yamini was written in Islamic Azad University. The article that involved 113 male and female participants majoring in English in Islamic Azad University, indicates the extent to which web 2.0 is useful to improve EFL students’ reading comprehension (Fatemeh, Mohammad and Mortaza, 2012). The article research question was which of the web2.0 tools, weblogs or wikis

Two sides on branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Two sides on branding - Essay Example Naomi Klein's book,as it title implies is a criticism to the proliferation of branding strategies launched by business organisations in order to capture customers.The selection lifted from her book outlined the evolution of branding-from its earliest beginning, downfall, recovery, and recent expansion.The concept of branding, according to Klein, began with the company's recognition that production is not the main core of their operations but marketing. The earliest proponents of marketing like Nike and Microsoft stated that manufacturing is only an "incidental" part of their operations and that they are not selling "products" but "images of their brands." This early beginnings started a new age of branding previously homogenous, mass-produced commodities replacing the old shopkeeper who traditionally scoops out generic products like sugar, flour, and cereal in barrels. The popularity of Dr. Brown, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Old Grand Dad became synonymous with the ascent of branded generic commodities.However, the death of branding came one Marlboro Friday as Phillip Morris is threatened by the intense competition from lower priced unbranded competitors. With this happening, a dramatic shift in customers' buying behavior was illustrated-from prestige to price consciousness.The article concluded with the "rebirth" and expansion of branding. This phenomenon was lead by established companies like Body Shop and Starbucks which were able to safeguard and even expand their market share by investing in their brand images. These, together with other successful companies like Nike, began the more rapid proliferation of branded products which does not only market the attributes of the product by created a "concept" to establish an "emotional connection" with its clients. Naomi Klein concluded that with this age of branding, customers are easily manipulated by branding tactics as marketers can establish a good brand even with the lowliest products. She argued that instead of focusing on production and improving products, companies are embarking and spending time, effort, and money in creating a good brand for which they ask customers for a premium. The Economist-Who's Wearing the Trousers The article lifted from the Economist, hold an antagonistic position on Naomi Klein's book. Though it also recognizes the good arguments raced by Klein, the Economist offer a very different view on what the first author referred to as "brand bullies." Basically, the article presented in the Economist can be summed up into two points-the first one being the exaggeration of Naomi Klein's argument on the power of brands, and the second one on the manipulation of the customers by the branding strategies of the large corporations. The Economist recognizes the importance of brands in selling a company's products. However, it claims that Klien's article exaggerated the role of branding in the strategies of the large business organizations. The article proved this by citing the case of the companies who spent bulk of financial resources in creating a good brand only to fail. As the company treats a "brand" as one of its primary assets, a brand can also be regarded as liability as it makes a company highly responsible in the damages which it can give to customers. Customer loyalty is not only rooted on their perception on brand. This is evidenced by the recent research which shows that customers of all ages shift from brand to brand. This also strengthens the claim of the Economist claim that customers are not highly manipulated by company's branding tactics. It is also irrefutable that companies' are spending a lot of money to retain their customers and develop their products to safeguard their brand. Between the Two Articles Naomi Klein and the Economist hold two seemingly different arguments about branding, company's performance, and customers. The two articles summarized above show some same