The Battle for the Campaign Agenda in Britain

The 1997 election was a struggle, not just for votes, but also to control the campaign agenda. Significant, but contradictory, challenges faced the media, parties and the public. For journalists, the problem was how to engender any zip into the campaign. Ever since Black Wednesday, in September 1992, Labour had seemed assured of victory while Conservative support floundered in the doldrums. For five years, perhaps it just seemed like longer, pundits had been writing of the end of the Conservative era, bolstered by all the accumulated evidence from opinion polls, by-elections and local elections. By the start of the six-week official campaign, the horse-race story was almost lifeless. Moreover, to the dismay of leader-writers, commentators and columnists, Blair's strategic shift towards the centre-left had removed much of the drama of serious policy conflicts between the major parties. Few issues remained where one could discern clear blue water between Labour and the Conservatives – devolution and constitutional reform, perhaps the faint ghost of trade union rights and spending priorities – but on so much the contest was a classic case of an echo not a choice. Lastly, at the outset the campaign promised tight party control, in as gaffe-free an environment as could be humanly managed. At the start the Labour party seemed insecure and sweaty despite its enormous lead in the polls, and the professional andelson machine at Millbank Tower left almost nothing to chance, as though the souffle of support might suddenly collapse. Based on their formidable track-record during the 1980s, the Conservatives had a reputation for running highly professional campaigns. Given the palpable sense of public boredom and impatience, a feeling of oh-do-lets-get-on-with-it, the challenge for journalists was to find something fresh and interesting to hold the attention of their readers and viewers. During the six week campaign there was, on average, about ten hours of regular BBC and ITN television news and current affairs programmes every weekday1, not including election specials, nor Sky News, CNN, Radio 4, Five Live, newspapers and magazines, the internet election web pages, and all the other plethora of media outlets. Something had to fill the ravenous news hole. For the public, the primary urge seemed to be to get it all over with. But voters also needed to make sense of the choice before them, when policy differences between the parties had shaded from the red-and-blue days of Thatcher v. Foot to a middle of the road wishy-washy mauve. Many issues confronting voters were complex, technical and subtle, with no easy answers: what will happen to the economy if Britain enters, or stays out, of the ERM? How can the peace process move ahead in Northern Ireland, given the intractability of all sides? Can Britain afford an effective and comprehensive health service, given ever-increasing demands on the system and spending limits accepted by all parties? These, and related, issues facing Britain have critical consequences for the lives of citizens, but they admit of no simple sound-bite panaceas. The needs of the news media and the public were at odds with those of the parties. Given their lead, the primary challenge for Labour was to manage their media environment against unexpected crises, in play-safe reactive mode. The watchword was control. Memories of the polling fiasco in 1992, and Neil Kinnock's false expectation of victory in that campaign (â€Å"We're allright! â€Å"), dominated strategy in 1997. The challenge for the Conservatives was to staunch grassroots morale, and even build momentum, by emphasising the positive economic performance of the government, by reassuring voters to trust Prime Minister John Major against the inexperienced and unknown Tony Blair, and by attacking Labour on the old bugaboos of taxes and trade unions. To gain traction the Conservatives had to take more risks than Labour. The challenge facing all the minor parties, but particularly the Liberal Democrats, was to avoid being squeezed by Labour's smothering slither centre-left. Who won? The aim of this chapter is to examine this battle and evaluate the outcome. The first section sets out the long-term context by considering how campaigning has been transformed in the post-war era. The 1997 election represented another critical step, it can be argued, in the transition to the post-modern campaign in Britain, — characterised by partisan dealignment in the press, growing fragmentation in the electronic media, and strategic communications in parties. The second section goes on to analyse what was covered in the national press and television during the campaign, and whether this suggests Labour won the battle of the campaign agenda, as well as the election. Lastly, we consider how the public reacted to the coverage, whether they felt that journalists generated interesting, fair and informative coverage, and the implications of this analysis for the struggle over campaign communications. The Evolution of the Post-Modern Campaign Modernisation theory suggests that during the post-war era the political communication process has been transformed by the decline of direct linkages between citizens and parties, and the rise of mediated relationships. Swanson and Mancini argue that similar, although not identical, developments are recognisable across industrialised democracies2. In the earliest stage, the premodern campaign in Britain was characterised by the predominance of the partisan press; a loose organizational network of grassroots party volunteers in local constituencies; and a short, ad-hoc national campaign run by the party leader with a few close advisers. This period of campaigning gradually evolved in the mid-nineteenth century following the development of mass party organizations registering and mobilising the newly enfranchised electorate. Despite the introduction of wireless broadcasting in 1922, this pattern was maintained in largely identifiable form until the late fifties3. The critical watershed came in 1959, with the first television coverage of a British general election, symbolising the transition to the next stage. The evolution of the modern campaign was marked by a shift in the central location of election communications, from newspapers towards television, from the constituency grassroots to the party leadership, and from amateurs towards professionals. The press entered an era of long-term decline: circulation of national newspapers peaked in the late fifties and sales have subsequently dropped by one-third (see Figure 1). The fall was sharpest among tabloids, pushing these further downmarket in the search for readers4. This fierce competition transformed the nature of the British press, producing growing sensationalism, and more journalism with attitude, while changes in ownership ratcheted the partisan balance further in the Conservative direction. One major factor contributing towards declining circulation was the rise of television. The political effects of this new technology were strongly mediated by the regulations governing broadcasting in each country. In Britain the legal framework for the BBC/ITV duopoly was suffused by a strong public service ethos which required broadcasters to maintain ‘party balance' and impartiality in news coverage, to ‘inform, educate and entertain' according to high standards, and to provide an agreed allocation of unpaid airtime to arty political broadcasts5. Within this familiar context, television centralised the campaign, and thereby increased the influence of the party leaders: what appeared on BBC1's flagship 9 O'clock News and ITN's News at Ten, and related news and current affairs studios, was the principle means by which politicians reached the vast majority of voters. To work effectively within this environment parties developed a coordinated national campaign with professional communications by specialists skilled in advertising, marketing, and polling. The ‘long campaign' in the year or so before polling day became as important strategically as the short ‘official' campaign. These changes did not occur overnight, nor did they displace grassroots constituency activity, as the timeless ritual of canvassing and leafletting continued. A few trusted experts in polling and political marketing became influential during the campaign in each party, such as Maurice Saatchi, Tim Bell and Gordon Reece in Conservative Central Office, but this role remained as part-time outside advisors, not integral to the process of government, nor even to campaigning which was still run by politicians. Unlike in the United States, no political marketing industry developed, in large part because the only major clients were the Labour and Conservative party leaderships: the minor parties had limited resources, while parliamentary candidates ran retail campaigns based on shoe-leather and grassroots helpers. But the net effect of television during the era of modernisation was to shift the primary focus of the campaign from the ad-hoccery of unpaid volunteers and local candidates towards the central party leadership flanked by paid, although not necessarily full-time, professionals6. Lastly in the late twentieth century Britain seems to have been experiencing the rise of the post-modern campaign, although there remains room for dispute in the interpretation of the central features of this development and its consequences. The most identifiable characteristics, evident in the 1997 campaign, include the emergence of a more autonomous, and less partisan, press following its own ‘media logic'; the growing fragmentation and diversification of electronic media outlets, programmes and audiences; and, in reaction to these developments, the attempt by parties to reassert control through strategic communications and media management during the permanent campaign. Partisan Dealignment in the Press In the post-war period parties have had long-standing and stable links with the press. In 1945 there was a rough partisan balance with about 6. 7 million readers of pro-Conservative papers and 4. 4 million readers of pro-Labour papers. This balance shifted decisively in the early 1970s, with the transformation of the left-leaning Daily Herald into the pro-Conservative Sun, and the more aggressively right-wing tone of The Times, both under Rupert Murdoch's ownership. By 1992 the cards had become overwhelmingly stacked against the left, since the circulation of the Conservative-leaning press had risen to about 8. 7 million compared with only 3. million for Labour-leaning papers (see Figure 1). Throughout the 1980s Mrs Thatcher could campaign assured of a largely sympathetic press, which provided a loyal platform to get her message across7. One of the most striking developments of recent years has been the crumbling of these traditional press-party loyalties. The evidence comes partly from editorial policy. The Conservative press had started to turn against Mrs Thatcher in 1989-90, when the economy was in recession and her leadership became deeply unpopular, and this constant barrage of criticism probably contributed towards her eventual demise8. During the 1992 election, while the Sun and the Daily Express continued to beat the Tory drum, comment from some of the other pro-Conservative press like the Mail and The Sunday Times was more muted, and four out of eleven daily papers failed to endorse a single party9. The new government enjoyed a brief respite on returning to office but press criticism of John Major's leadership deepened following the ERM debacle on 16th September 1992, with only the Daily Express staying loyal. Journalists continued to highlight the government's difficulties over Europe, and internal splits over the debate on the Maastricht Treaty. By the winter of 1993, a succession of scandals involving Conservative politicians created headline news while editorials regularly denunciated the government, and particularly the Prime Minister. By the time of the July 1995 leadership challenge only the Daily Express backed John Major solidly, while the Sun, the Mail, The Times and the Telegraph all argued that it was time for him to be replaced10, an embarrassment for their leader writers given the outcome. The question, in the long run-up to the election, was whether the Tory press would return home, once the future of the Conservative government was under real threat. In the event, the 1997 election represents a historic watershed. In a major break with tradition, six out of ten national dailies, and five out of nine Sundays, endorsed the Labour party in their final editorials (see Table 1). This was twice the highest number previously, and it reversed the long-standing pro-Conservative leanings in the national press. With impeccable timing, the Sun led the way on the first day of the campaign, (THE SUN BACKS BLAIR), with a frontpage claiming Blair is a â€Å"breath of fresh air† while the Conservatives were â€Å"tired, divided and rudderless†, and its defection stole the headlines and damaged Tory morale. This change of heart came after assiduous efforts by Labour to court press support, including meetings between Blair and Rupert Murdoch, especially Blair's visit to Australia in 1995. roughout the campaign the Sun, with ten million readers a day, provided largely unswerving support for Blair, although opposing Labour policy on Europe and the unions, and many commentators predicted that the switch, based on Murdoch's commercial considerations rather than political affinities, would not last long11. Labour's traditional tabloid, the Daily Mirror, with six million readers, continued its brand of centre-left journalism (â€Å"the paper for Labour's TRUE supporters†). On the las t Sunday of the campaign, influenced by Murdoch, The News of the World decided to follow the lead of its sister paper, the Sun, and backed Labour. Among the broadsheets The Guardian called for tactical voting for the Liberal Democrats in seats where it made sense, but broadly endorsed Labour. The Independent was more restrained in its backing, casting its editorial vote for Labour â€Å"with a degree of optimism that is not entirely justified by the evidence†. The paper was clearly more anti-Tory than pro-anything. The Times advised their readers to back Eurosceptic candidates from whatever party, although, in practice, nearly all were Conservatives. Only leads in the Daily Telegraph, and the Daily Mail (â€Å"Labour bully boys are back† â€Å"Labour's broken promises†) remained strongly in the Tory camp. Even the Daily Express was more neutral than in the past: a double-page spread was divided between Lord Hollick, its chief executive, arguing for Labour and its chairman, Lord Stevens, arguing for the Conservatives. The front-page of the election-eve Mail carried a colourful Union Jack border and the apocalyptic warning that a Labour victory could â€Å"undo 1,000 years of our nation's history†. Yet any comparison of editorial policy probably under-estimates the balance of partisanship in news coverage during the overall campaign. For example, the Mail ostensibly endorsed the Conservatives during the campaign, but in practice it probably deeply damaged the government by headlining sexual scandals in the party, and reinforcing images of disunity with leading articles highlighting the number of Tory Eurosceptics. With friends like this, the Conservatives did not need opponents. To understand this we need to go beyond the leaders, which are rarely read, and even less heeded, to examine the broader pattern of front-page stories. The most plausible evidence for dealignment is that certain papers like the Sun, traditionally pro-Conservative, switched camps, but also that front-page stories were often so similar across all the press, driven by news values irrespective of the paper's ostensible partisanship. Since the early 1970s fierce competition for readers has encouraged far more sensational coverage in the popular press, fuelling an endless diet of stories about ‘scandals', (mostly sexual but also financial), infotainment, and the Royals, preferably all three. This process started when Rupert Murdoch bought the News of the World in 1968, and the Sun a year later. It accelerated in the cut-throat competition produced by the launch of the Daily Star in 1978, which sought to out-do the Sun in its relentless search for sex, investigative ‘exclusives' about celebrities, violent crime, and graphic coverage of the bizzare. Those who thought British newspapers had reached their nadir at this point had under-estimated the soft-porn Sunday Sport, launched in 198612. The tackiness of the popular press, such as their exhaustive gossip about the goings-on of the younger Royals, gradually infected and corroded the news culture of the broadsheets as well. By the mid-1990s, the journalism of scandal trumped party loyalties, hands down. This fuelled the series of sleaze stories about senior Conservative politicians hroughout John Major's years in government, and there was no let-up during the campaign. As documented in detail later, the first two weeks of the election were dominated by a succession of stories about corruption in public life and sexual ‘scandals', providing a steady diet of negative news for the government which swamped their message about the economy.

Financial Structuring at Euro Disney

Financial structuring at euro Disney 1984-85 Disney negotiates with Spain and France to create a European theme park. Chooses France as the site. 1987Disney signs letter of intent with the French government. 1988 Selects lead commercial bank lenders for the senior portion of the project. Forms the (SNC). Beings planning for the equity offering of 51% of Euro Disneyland as required in the letter of intent. 1989 European press and stock analysts visit Walt Disney World in Orlando. Being extensive news and television campaign. Stock stars trading at 20-25 percent premium from the issue price.The layout of Euro Disneyland Euro Disneyland is determinedly American in its theme. There was an alcohol ban in the park despite the attitude amoung the French that wine with a meal is God-given right. Designers presented a plan for a Main Street USA, based on scenes of America in the 1920S. Eisner decreed that images of gangsters and speakeasies were too negative. Thiug made more ornate and Victor ian than Walt Disney’s idealized Midwestern small town. Main Street remained Main Street. Steamships leave from Main Street the Grand Canyou Diorama en riunte to Frontierland.It was replaced by a gleaming brass and wood complex called Discoverland, which was based on themes of Jules Verne and Leonardo da Vinci. Eisner ordered $8 or $10 million in extras ti the â€Å" Visionarium ’’, exhibit, a360-degree movie about French culture which was required by the French in their original contract. With the American Wild West being so frequently captured on film, Europeans have their own idea if what life was like back then. In Fantasyland, designers strived to avoid competing with the nearby European reality of actual medieval towns, cathedrals, and chateaux.The park is criss-crossed with covered walkways. Eisner personally ordered the installation of 35 fireplaces in hotels and restaurants. Children all over Europe were primed to consume. Even one of the intellectuals who contributed to Disney-bashing broadsheet was forced to admit with resignation that his 10year-old son † swears by Michael Jackson † At Euro Disneyland, under the name † Capital Eo,† Disney just so happened to have a Michael Jackson attracting him. Disney expected to serve 15000 to 17000 meals per hour, excluding snake. Menus and service system were developed so that they varied both in style and price.There is a 400 seat buffet, 6 table service restaurant, 12 counter service units, 10 snack bars, 1 Discovery food court seating 850, 9 popcorn wagons, 15 ice-cream carts, 14 specialty food carts, and 2 employee cafeterias. Food service will reflect the fable's country of origin: Pinocchio's facility having German food; Cinderella's French; Bella Notte's, Italian and so on. Many Europeans don't care much for very spicy food, Tex-Mex recipes were toned down. A special coffee blend had to be developed which would have universal appeal. Hot dog cart would refle ct the regionalism of American tastes.

Differences between Leadership and Management and Three Assignment

Differences between Leadership and Management and Three Characteristics of Each Concept - Assignment Example The paper tells that three main characteristics that go, to sum up, the position of manager are that they are impersonal, efficient and focus their attention and energy on the short-term results for the organization besides being efficient, orderly and open to taking risks. On the leadership front, the three chief characteristics they possess would be are flexibility, innovation and their objectives and strategies would focus on long-term goals. Though their goals may be the same, the marked difference is that leaders concern themselves with what things mean to people, while managers concern themselves about how to get people to make them perform better to achieve their goals. In the managerial cadre, there are different levels and the skills and responsibilities that go with it. Each level has its own purpose and goals to achieve or satisfy a particular level. However, all managers share common ground on certain things such as understanding their position and what is expected of the m, networking, keeping good interpersonal relationships and managing the time, demands and constraints of the activities going on in their level. Managers do play a very vital and pivotal role in the organization as they are the main link that ropes together the different people and their departments and holds it together as an integral whole. In today’s organizations, the post of manager is critical because each level needs skills and capacity to satisfy this position. Some of the different managerial levels include Supervising, Decision making and Planning, Monitoring, Controlling, Coordinating, Consulting, and Administering. Each of these levels comes with a job responsibility and accountability and unless their skills and capabilities are adequate enough for a particular level, it is not possible to make a success of it. ideas for making progress as a whole.

Healthcare Ethics Discussion Forum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Ethics Discussion Forum - Essay Example Performing an abortion in respect of the patient’s autonomy would be legally wrong for the reason that abortion is against the law, situation that will amount to professional misconduct as indicated by Botes. According to the nursing code of ethics, a patient has a right to make decisions on the choice of treatment, medical procedures and any form of care to be provided. It is the duty of every nurse to respect that right, hence, in this case disregarding the patient’s autonomy (wish to have an abortion done) may be regarded as unethical as stipulated in the nursing code of practice. Turning her away is no better than negligence in case she ends up executing her plans in the backstreet. Supposing the nurse was to turn away the patient and the patient then goes ahead to have the abortion unprofessionally done from illegal centers, then the nurse can be charged with negligence or medical malpractice if the patient suffers any harm.

Asian Culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Asian Culture - Assignment Example In China for example, there is extensive application of Chinese traditional medicine which comes in various forms like balms, powders, tincture, pills together with raw herbs. The Chinese medical practice is majorly used as protective mechanisms to common bodily disorders; it extends to countries like Japan and Tibet. More over, the application of Chinese medicine has also been widely adapted in the Western Countries especially the USA where a good number of the population currently considers the use of Chinese medicine (Carteret 2011). The other common traditional Asian culture is the aspect of martial arts which is considered to be an imperative stage that every member of the population has to undergo. Martial art is practiced in countries like China, Korea, Japan and even Tibet. In China, there is the practice of Karate, Taekwondo and Judo; they are means that ensure a person maintains good health through constant practice and also develop personal defense mechanisms in the process of physical attacks. Such kind martial art has not only been adapted in the Western Region but also in other parts of the world for military purposes, health purposes and for leisure. Consequently, there is also the dimension of religious beliefs; each of the Asian countries practices unique religious practices however; some religious activities are shared among some of these nations. In India, there is Hinduism as the dominant religious practice; although there are other religious practices such as Buddhism, Hellenism and Brahmanism. Some of these religious beliefs such as Buddhism are shared among the Asian countries like in China and Tibet. The practice of such religious beliefs has also been extended to the Western Region where a good number of the population tends to resort to the Asian religious practices in periods of psychological

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

English - Essay Example Correct dressing needs sufficient time to prepare and the knowledge of correct kind of clothes that fit a particular occasion, event, or situation depending on the persons that one would communicate with or interact with. Another reason why good dressing indicates good personality is that a balanced personality would indicate that a person has enough knowledge on physical appearance. Important aspects in one’s life that need to be developed and developed to prepare one in interacting with other people, through different situations. Preparations therefore, to develop one’s character include the development of intellectual skills, emotional skills, as well as skills in good grooming to make one presentable at all times. Third reason that supports good dressing indicates good personality is that by knowing how to dress correctly, people will give due respect. It would totally be improper to show excellence in mental skills but be sloppy in physical appearance by dressing i n ill-fitted or inappropriate clothes. A businessman or head of a corporation would look bad in presenting the proposals or strategies in a business meeting, for example, if he is seen to be dressed in shorts and t-shirts.

Global Warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Global Warming - Research Paper Example Solar radiation enter the blanket due to shortwave nature but unable to escape trough the blanket due to long water nature after reflecting through the surface of earth. However, as the concentration of the green house gases in the atmosphere increased due to the immense usage of fossil fuel resources, the part of the solar radiation that makes a safe escape to the space is unable to escape to the space. Thus, the temperature of the planet is increasing continuously. The phenomenon is often termed as global warming. It is estimated that estimated that between 1906 and 2005, the average temperature of the earth’s surface rose by about 0.74 °C (Hoyt & Schatten, 1993). Global warming was a term that was first used in 1975 by an American scientist â€Å"Wallace Smith Broecker† who discovered the climate of the earth is warming consistently due to various human caused problems. He published a paper in a magazine that he named â€Å"Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming?† where he first coined the term. In 1979, the term is used to depict the physical phenomenon that is heating up the planet. The article was published by National academy of Science and titles it as, â€Å"The Charney Report† (Yukozimo, 2014). Ozone Layer is a region of dense gases is the stratosphere of the earth that is capable of blocking most of the harmful solar Ultra violet radiations. Ozone layer has higher concentration of ozone as compared to the earth’s surface. More than 90% of ozone is present in the stratosphere of earth. Other atmospheric gases are also there in the earth’s stratosphere. Due to the increasing concentration of the refrigerants, solvents and propellants in the atmosphere, the ozone layer is under depletion with the rate of 4% per decade. Man made chemicals like halocarbons, CFCs, HCFCs, freons,  halons are influencing the ozone depletion. The depletion of the ozone layer is promoting the global

Embrace the attributes of the diversity wk8 Essay

Embrace the attributes of the diversity wk8 - Essay Example In an organization, levels of conflict are common when team members do not commit themselves in an organization process. When the organization’s management limits finances to support diversity programs, especially in women management, there will be an increased likelihood that levels of conflict may come into existence (Cox & Beale, 1997). The management can understand that the limits in the input and output resources of the company are negatively affected by the diminished consumer demand. Intergroup and intragroup levels of conflict will be considered in this discussion. An intergroup conflict refers to the disagreement among groups of teams while intragroup conflict is the disagreements that occur among the members within an organization (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007). Women in management can experience an intergroup and intragroup conflict with teams of management, and request an organization meeting to address various problems, such as an absence of trust and the limits in funds allocation to diversity programs (Cox & Beale, 1997). Women can respond in a negative manner to conflicts with late work completion and absenteeism. There will be limited communication between the women in management and managers who refuse to support diversity programs by disapproving the management goals (Cox & Beale, 1997). However, it can be possible for women in management to work with the management in conflict to encourage and support diversity programs, which can increase the revenue of the company (Cox & Beale, 1997). Therefore, the increased revenue can support diversity programs and lead to the retention of women in

The price of diamonds is too high Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The price of diamonds is too high - Essay Example Before the 19th century, diamond minerals were known to be rare as it was found in India and Brazil. During 1870 large mines for diamond deposits were discovered in South Africa at place near orange. Such became a threat to the few diamond producers despite the large supply thus made the commodity a luxury instead of a commodity. At the year 1888, a body was formed known as De Beers Consolidated mines in South Africa by suppliers in order to secure a high market for diamond prices. Initially, diamond cartel controlled successfully the supply worldwide regulation done at mine output and purchase of the exclusive right to mining nations across Africa. At the onset of 20th century, DE beers dominated around 90 percent trade for diamond internationally. In 1930, there was a decline in the diamond demand, causing the son of De beers to initiate an advertising agency that incorporated an advertising strategy to target young men in order to purchase a ring for engagement in order to become a form of acceptance during courtship declaration. Through such strategy, diamond price rose, unlike other minerals. Currently, the cartel dominates in approximately two thirds of the diamond (Diamond, 1971). According to pricing theory consideration, is on economic activity due to creation and transfer of value. That covers the trading of goods and services on economic agents that are distinctive. Such explains the high cost of the diamond in comparison with water .this depends on the utility of particular purpose and purchasing power of goods that the object possesses. Such is known as the value exchange and uses in value. Minerals such as diamond derive its value due to scarcity nature and labour intensity required to extract such minerals. The labour involved forms a basic unit the exchange process of value of goods. That will be of great significance to determine overall prices. Thus, the nominal price according to Bagweel & Riordan (1991) has a

The Madding Crowd Essay Example for Free

The Madding Crowd Essay Far From the Madding Crowd was written by Thomas Hardy in 1874. It was his fourth novel and first appeared as a monthly serial in Cornhill magazine. It received critical reviews but mostly positive notes too. Hardy continued to add to his texts extensively and made further changes for the 1901 edition. Hardy stresses in his text the happiness of the time period in which the story was set. He did this in order to gain the audiences interests and to make sure the story line held a permanent place in the monthly magazine. He achieved this by using the audiences imagination to such an extent as they were to imagine a life in the country side, which was regarded peaceful and tranquil. His targeted audience were people living in cities who wanted to hear about the rural paradise that he so successfully describes. Whilst Hardys Dorset was only partially reality and partially fictional, it was still the life of the 17th century which he displayed in his novel. In some way, hardy makes the reader oblivious to the reality of life in the country in that period of time, which was in fact a time of hardship, starvation and squallier conditions. The Story is based mainly around the timid and unstable love shared between the two main characters Gabrielle Oak and Bathsheba Everdene. It is love at first sight for Gabriel from the very first moment he sets eyes on this dark haired beauty sat stationary on a mound of goods. Although clearly taken aback by her clear display of vanity as she, seemingly for no understandable reason, took a looking glass to survey herself attentively, he looks back on the experience fondly, which just proves how enthralled he is by her. I find this unique quality Bathsheba posses extraordinary; she seems to have Gabriel enticed even before being properly acquainted with him. Bathshebas vain, independent and certainly wild personality is very eccentric and unusual for that time period. Also considering her ranking in social status is at first not very high but yet she accomplishes to not only mix with higher status members but also tease and be rather cheeky towards them too. She was quoted wild before she was rich! This just confirms how much of a misfit she is for that era. Hardy sets it like a mad game of cat and mouse between them, where Gabriel is persistently jumping through hoops and bending over backwards to satisfy Bathsheba, and sticks by her and stays loyal to her by everything they go through. She dangles herself in front of him at every opportunity, showing herself off as his prize, but however hard Gabriel works he never seems to get any closer to his most desired possession; Bathsheba. The audience is made to travel alongside Gabrielle and Bathshebas journey of love which suffers tremendous ups and downs and misconceptions. Hardy makes clear at the beginning of their relationship who is superior and most dominant. Bathshebas first encounter with Gabriel is very brief but momentous. When Gabriel generously steps in to pay the twopence toll that Bathsheba so stubbornly refuses to part with, he receives in return no more than a backward glance. she carelessly glanced over him, and told her man to drive on. How she passes without showing the slightest bit of gratitude makes it seem like such acts are standard procedure and nothing deviant to Bathsheba. Having set out to satisfy her and possibly earn a fragment of compassion, Gabriel actually achieves the reverse and irritates her if anything. By paying her toll he had taken away the point Bathsheba had been fighting for and given in to the miser. The way she glanced over Gabriel not stared or gawped over him gives a sense of flirtatiousness which is very alluring. Also how she looked over him illustrates control and power. A few nights later Gabriel is encapsulated by an unexpected performance in which he witnesses secretly in his hut. It is evident that the instant he catches Bathsheba riding hard, in the manner hardly expected of a woman, whilst avoiding the low hanging branches and in the very revealing position she rides in, that his self control shatters to the point that he falls for the books heroine. Soon after, when Gabriel naively admits to having witnessed this incident, Bathsheba shows to be exceedingly irritated and fractious, but presumably above all embarrassed. Just to think that Gabriel would be awoken a few nights to come by the succulent lips of Bathsheba, not in the way that he so longingly yearned for, but in the course of saving him from the jaws of death. For that era it would have been a great act to have carried out, as their accustomed ways then where that men tended for everything and women played no major role. Even in this day it would be seen as a grand undertaking, for we seldom hear about female saviours, normally they are all heroes (MEN). Gabriel achieves to wind up Bathsheba once again as a result of his juvenile behaviour. Just as they finally manage to accept a slight level of intimacy with each other, Gabriel, being his usual untactful self, succeeds into stepping straight into the next puddle of misfortune. Instead of holding her hand when she permits him to, he held it but an instant before returning to her. This shows how shy any timid Gabriel is in the presence of Bathsheba. On the other hand reveals how playful and cheeky Bathsheba likes to be. I think that although the whole time Gabriel has been fighting and waiting for the time that he can share intimate moments with her, now it is actually here and his chance lies in front of him, he doesnt know how to act and suddenly turns shy and becomes slightly reserved. In the Victorian days, such behaviour would not be expectable, for a woman (especially not of her social class) to be cheeky and play games with a man. As then women were to respect men and do as they were told. Whereas nowadays we are much more open about things like this and would not be atypical behaviour at all but just ordinary flirtatiousness between two people.

Business Environment Assessment Of Bisleri Marketing Essay

Business Environment Assessment Of Bisleri Marketing Essay A study of business environment is very useful to anticipate opportunities and to plan resources to exploit these opportunities successfully. It can also be used as an early warning system to prevent threats or to turn obstacles into opportunities. Business environment is a sum total of all those factors, conditions, situations or surroundings which directly affect the working of business. It is a comprehensive term and covers factors like consumer behavior, economic policies, competition in the market, technology and so on. ABSTRACT: Water is one of the basic necessities for human life to survive on this planet today getting pure water is not an easy task with so much harmful chemical being disposed into the water by various industries is making the water harmful for drinking. 71% of the earth is made of water out of which only 1% of water can be used by living beings. Among this 1% of water 50% of water is polluted. This is an analysis report of one of the premium, recognized trusted brand in the Indian bottled water market named BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD. This is enjoying the huge share in the market both in bulk segment in small packs. HISTORY OF BISLERI: WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT JUST A LITTLE THAT IS CLEAN The origin of BISLERI lies in Italy and the brand owes its name to its founder MR.FELICE BISLERI, an Italian entrepreneur. In 1967, BISLERI set up a plant in Bombay for bottling and marketing actual mineral water, which did not quite work. By 1969, BISLERI wanted to exit the business and to help him out the Chauhans bought the brand, intending to turn it into a soda brand. Since then it has come a long way. Now, it owns a large percentage of shares in the Indian market and also it has its presence in International Water Market. WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT JUST A LITTLE THAT IS CLEAN JOURNEY OF BISLERI OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS: 1969: Buys BISLERI bottled water from an Italian company, Felice Bisleri. It was bottled in glass bottles then. Early-1980s: Shifts to PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles. Sales surge Mid-1980s: Switches to PET bottles, which meant more transparency and life for water. 1993: Sells carbonated drink brands like ThumsUp, Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs. 400 crore. 1995: BISLERI launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent. 2000: Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs. 10 a litre to Rs. 2 a litre. 1998: Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal. 2000: BIS cancels BISLERIS license of water bottling in Delhi since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label; the license is restored one-and-a-half months later. 2002: KINLEY overtakes BISLERI. The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinsleys market share at 35.1 per cent compared to BISLERIS 34.4 per cent. 2003: BISLERI ventured out into Europe and America to sell bottled water. THE GROWTH OF BISLERI OVER THE YEARS: 1. HOW THE QUALITY STANDARD IS IMPROVED:- Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi stage purification processes which includes micron filtration and ozonisation. It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose. Good manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in religiously monitored at every stage. 2. THE TRUST FOR BRAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONSISTENT :- More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI. They buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name for mineral water. For example: When people go to buy the mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI, even though they get other brand. 3. LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS OFFERED:- BISLERI offers a large range of products which attracts consumer of all categories. For example: 1 litre or 500 ml pack is useful for individual buyers, 12 litres or 20 litres is useful for organization. Therefore it attracts large number of customer. 4. MARKETING STRATEGY:- BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print TV. TV is backed by a Hoarding point of sale material. Every interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce. For example: All vehicles used for supply have been painted in light green, bears the BISLERI logo sport catchy baseline likes drink and drive. 5. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. With little belief in the distributor system, the company leverage its large fleet to truck to supply bottled water directly goes to retailers through a system called Route Selling where the driver of truck are trained to be the service person. This ensures that water supplied are fresh and bottles are in the good shape. BISLERI has more than 80,000 outlets in the country. 6. BULK SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO:- Households in certain parts of the country spend a huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water. They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have to spend money to purify it. For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of money to buy water and still more to purify it. The 12 litre product is hit in various cities of south. 7. GROWING POPULARITY:- The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly day by day. People in the market when it comes to mineral water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as his/her first preference. BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50% per year. With the small pack being popular among individuals user its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is capturing the market for BISLERI. Today 60-70 % of total income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the company is planning to increase it up to 80%. 8. THE BREAK AWAY SEAL:- Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize a genuine product that cannot be tempered with. The unique cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated. This technical strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe product when they will drink BISLERI. MISSION STATEMENT To provide the highest quality product, keeping in mind all aspect including freshness purity and safety and making it easy available to the consumer at very affordable price. MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH Market share 2005 Bisleri 53% Yes 13% Bailey 23% Others 11% Bisleri Yes Bailey Others Market share 2007 Bisleri 51% Yes 11% Bailley 17% Aquafina 4% Kinley 10% others 7% Bisleri Yes Bailley Aquafina Kinley Others market share feb 2008 Bisleri 38% Kinley 28% Aqua pure 11% Bailey 6% Others 17% Bisleri Kinley Aqua pure Bailey Others The Bisleri in the mineral water market is still maintaining the pace at which it has been growing over past few years. The brand has been witnessing launch of a number of player with every passing day. Presently the market is skewed towards regional players and has more than 250 players in the fray. Besides these there are a number of fly-by-night operators who enter the market in summers, reap benefits by packaging tap water and selling as pure mineral water, and then leave once the season is over. The problem in the market is not with the players but with the consumers. Poverty levels, illiteracy has led these players to take full advantage of consumers by selling even the tap water as mineral water. Total bottled market has a size of Rs11-12bn of this around Rs7bn is in the hands of organized sector and rest is with unorganized sector. In the organized sector Bisleri is the market leader with 45% market share followed by Bailey with 23-24% market share. The Rs 1,000 crore branded packaged water market has always been synonymous with the desi Bisleri. Market Share of players among users The brand is a product of Parle International and presently is the market leader with more than 45% market share. The company pioneered the concept of bottled water in the Indian market as early as 1967. The company is also credited with SKUs of 500ml, 1.2 lts, 1.5 lts and 2 lts in the Indian market The relaunch of Bisleri in 1993, however was a success due to growing awareness and high consciousness of health and hygiene among people. In 1993, when Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman, Parle Bisleri sold his right to market Bisleri brand to Coca-Cola, Bisleri, which underwent the new management for a period of 5 years, remained largely neglected. On getting the rights back, he started building Bisleri as a mineral water brand. Bisleri had a brand name, a product, the brand building of Bisleri started in a small way in 1998, which bore fruit in 1999-2000 when it grew by 140%. Positioning : Playing Safe Target audience : Health and hygiene conscious people Personality : Guardian, Authoritative, Reliable Punch Line : Play Safe USP : Pioneer advantage in bottled water industry, old player with lot of experience Bisleri, which enjoys 65 per cent market share in the branded water segment, is also eyeing a sharp growth in sales during the present year 2010. The company, that recently launched its premium brand with medical values Vedica, is expecting a 50 per cent growth in sales from this brand With so many brands launched and to meet the growing demand in the bottled-water segment that is growing at 40 per cent year on year, the company plans to scale-up its production units. It would be opening 10-15 bottling units in the next six months. In this year so far, Bisleri has set up 5 plants .At present, the company has 52 bottling plants across the country. On Bisleris overseas plans, company is in talks with local beverage-makers in Sri Lanka, the UAE, Bangladesh and Oman to set up units and franchise the Bisleri brand. The company also plans to expand its global footprint this fiscal. Currently, it exports its products to Singapore. The bottled water brand leader is opening 35 new plants in smaller towns and entering the high-margin segments Bottled water brand leader, Bisleris new plants are ready to meet the summer demand. And over the next six months, the company will start operating more plants in the remaining parts of the country. This is part of the companys plans to open as many as 35 new plants across the country to tap the fast-growing market for packaged water (at Rs 2,400 crore now) in Indias hinterlands. The growth will come, Parle Bisleri says, as there is an increasing consciousness even in villages to the fact that over 1,600 Indians are dying every day because of waterborne diseases and almost four million people in India are affected by water-borne diseases every year. Theres another reason for Bisleris ambitious plans. It will help the company shave costs. Typically, in this business, transporting water to a distance of 200 km costs the company Rs 30 per case freight. But with distances cut, the company will now spend only Rs 4-5 per case freight. But Bisleri invariably starts selling the product in a given location before the plant comes up. There was a point in the early 90s the sales and the market value of the bisleri were going down. No doubt, that was tough to take for Bisleri. The first thing it did was to change the look and feel of its brand. From the earlier conical shaped bottle, Bisleri took on a streamlined, round shape, replacing the erstwhile blue logo with an aqua green one. The move paid off Bisleri is also doing several other things as well to open up the higher margin market. For one, it is in talks with beverage makers and bottlers in countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman and the United Arab Emirates to franchise its brand name. Exports to Singapore have already started. It also launched Vedica, its first mineral water, in January 2010 and is test marketing flavoured water across the country. The company is also setting up a new manufacturing facility for its enhanced water brands, which will be fortified with vitamins and minerals. These are brands that will tap the top end of this market, which now account for just 10 per cent of the packaged water market, and bring in substantial profits. Vedica will take on Himalayan and foreign brands like Evian and Perrier in a category that is willing to shell out that extra buck. Enthused by its 35% growth in 2008-09, Parle Bisleri is targeting 40% growth this year. With a 60% market share, they are the market leaders in this segment.. The company has already geared up to foray into the flavored water segment in October 2009. Currently, the company has 52 bottling plants across the country. July 26 2009 Bisleri International Pvt Ltd, the packaged water brand grew at 78 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of increasing capacity. They always had an aggressive growth plan in place. Not only they developed the brand further through several marketing initiatives, they also planned on setting up more manufacturing facilities in the country. The television campaign for Bisleri has worked wonders for the brand giving it a big boost. The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of the population and problems of water quality and water supplies. Until 1992, the demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists, corporate meetings, conferences, etc. The introduction of bulk packaging extended the market to new and numerous consumers. Bottled water is a particularly competitive market, hence companies need to develop diverse marketing strategies, such as accessing new markets by owning or developing partnership with regional brands, developing new products (such as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services (home and office delivery of water). WEAKNESS 1. METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION:- THE ROUTESELLING policy adopted by BISLERI for distribution is more expensive than more commonly followed method of appointing distributors in different towns. This reduces the profit of company. The dealer margin is reduced due to this .therefore not many dealer keeps BISLERI in many areas. Indirectly this is reducing the coverage of BISLERI. 2. REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS:- Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles. Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations. This deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI. For example: local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low quality. In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected. 3. FAULTS IN PRODUCTION:- Tests conducted by various authorities shows that it contains pesticides. In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found in the bottle of BISLERI. This has affected its sales and reputation. The license of its two factories one at Noida and other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in production. 4. PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY:- After insect was found in the bottles, FDA (Food Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI. Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its customer were moved towards other products. It is constantly under check by various authorities. 5. NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER:- In certain parts of south in our country big bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is unable to meet the demand of the consumers. This is affecting the demand for the product. So People are forced to use other brands of mineral water. OPPORTUNITY 1. FAST GROWING FIELD:- The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water. In recent years, the bottled drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level of activity, with a host of new entrants. The bottled water market which worth Rs. 1000 crore is expected to be Rs. 5000 crore by 2010. This will increase a lot of scope for bottled water market. 2. BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN:- With BISLERI becoming a generic name for bottled drinking water. If company can manage the distribution chain of the product to make it available where the consumer needs it the most, the company may well succeed in his gamble with water. For this the company can connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market the products for them all around the world. 3. EXPANSION IN EUROPE:- The launch of BISLERI in the European market on 4th September, 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI in the field. This will also compensate the deterioration of image; BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the bottle. It will silence the critics and it will also increase the faith of the customer for the brand. It will create an international brand image and the quality will increase. 4. LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK:- The company also has its premium product range. This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other premium customer. This pack will be sold at Rs. 20 per litre. This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN, the biggest player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre water at a hefty of Rs.85 per litre. 5. CHANGE OF IMAGE:- The company has changed the colour of the product. It has changed from blue to green. By changing the colour, the company has provided a new product to the consumers; they will be getting a new and a refreshing product. 6. INCREASE IN PRODUCTION:- BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants adding to its 23plants. This will increase the production capacity of the company. THREAT 1. MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS:- The growth of the market indicates the need for the mineral water. Due to this the heavy weights are eyeing the market. Coke, Pepsi, Britannia, Nestle, Auswater-is keen on raising their stakes in this market. With the cut throat competition between Coke and Pepsi, BISLERI is not safe. 2. ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS:- To get some share in the market many new players are entering in the market. Among them major names are Godrej, which is launching its product AQUA-PURE and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan, this will increase the competition. Also Britannia which is distributing EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand. There are also new entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water, DS FOODS with CATCH are also coming. Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into the market. This is give a tough competition to the current water brands including BISLERI. 3. WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS:- BISLERI is not only getting competition from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough competition from various water filter manufacturers such as Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard). They have been marketing there purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled water supply to homely customers. 4. ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS:- Company is facing a tough competition from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas. The illegal manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the branded manufacturers. There are 1000s of illegal manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper rate. This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers. This companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water i.e. BISLERI and supply their products in the market. 5. STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER MANUFACTURERS:- Analysts feel that BISLERIS break away seal will not at all be effective the company having strong distribution channel will only survive. This rings the warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke and Pepsi. Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution network. Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper network. For example: A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not sell the 20 litre pack. This could disturb the network.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Essay -- environment, pollution, global war

Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, particularly from industrial production, to combat global climate change is one of the biggest sustainable development challenge for the international community. Countries are adopting Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), low carbon development strategies and climate change policies to tackle issues of climate change and at the same time meet their development goals. At the global level, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol, have paved ways for voluntary GHG emission reduction targets. To facilitate the mitigation actions, carbon intensities of production process are tracked and GHG inventories are developed. Such accounting of GHGs is a common practice in developed countries and is increasingly being adopted in developing countries as well. However, need for an internationally acceptable standardized and comparable GHG accounting and reporting was felt necessary that lead to the e stablishment of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), which has developed protocols, standards and guidelines for the objective. What is the GHG Protocol? The GHG Protocol is the most widely used and international accepted accounting tool or methodology to quantify, and manage GHG emissions. It serves as the foundation for nearly every GHG standard and program in the world - from the International Standards Organization (ISO) to The Climate Registry - as well as hundreds of GHG inventories prepared by individual companies. The GHG Protocol also offers developing countries an internationally accepted management tool to help their businesses to compete in the global marketplace and their governments to make informed decisions about climate chang... ...hed in India. More information about GHG Protocol Initiative can be accessed from http://www.ghgprotocol.org/ Works Cited CDP. 2011. CDP India 200 Report 2011: Accelerating Low Carbon Growth. London: Carbon Disclosure Project. Also available at: https://www.cdproject.net/CDPResults/CDP-2011-India-200-Report.pdf accessed on 27 March 2012. CorporateRegister.com Ltd.. 2007. The Corporate Climate Communications Report 2007. London: CorporateRegister.com Ltd. Also available at http://www.corporateregister.com/pdf/CCCReport_07.pdf accessed on 27 March 2012. WRI and WBCSD. 2007. Measuring to Manage: A Guide to Designing GHG Accounting and Reporting Programs. Washington, DC and Geneva: World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Also available at: http://www.wri.org/publication/measuring-to-manage accessed on 26 March 2012.

Free College Admissions Essays: I Can Make a Difference through Social Work :: College Admissions Essays

Social Work: I Can Make a Difference I am applying to (Name of School) for the Masters of Social Work program. My career goal is to work with underprivileged adolescents, especially those with a history of behavioral and emotional problems. I have significant background in this area; in addition to a full-time position with a recruitment firm, I am a relief counselor for this target group in a residential treatment setting. I want to complement this practical experience with specialized training in order to best serve these individuals. My desire for this profession springs from the troubles of my childhood. In my youth, I was a ward of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts--in essence, a foster child. Both of my birth parents abused me physically and emotionally, prompting the courts to permanently remove me from their power. I subsequently moved through a succession of foster homes and adolescent shelters. My high school years were therefore highly traumatic; I could not have survived them without the aid of the counselors and social workers that were so kind to me. Yet my problems did not end at the emotional level. I constantly battled financial difficulties in order to graduate high school and embark on a college career. I was essentially paying my way through college on minimum wage--a monumental task. My first two years of college proved quite difficult because of this. But I persevered, and achieved an overall G.P.A. of 3.5 during my final two years at school. I also dedicated much time to campus activities, in which I held a number of leadership positions. Today, I work with an international recruitment firm that allows me to travel through the United States and Europe. This has given me a sense of accomplishment and maturity, yet I feel a deep void in my life. I need to give back to the community that helped me so much. I know what it is like to be on the " receiving end" of social work--I was the one who stayed with foster families after the social workers had gone home. I am thus in a unique position to understand the conflicts within the hearts of troubled adolescents. I comprehend, for instance, the importance of such issues as trust.

American Indians Essay -- essays research papers

“’Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History';, an essay written by Jane Tompkins, a professor of English at Duke University, outlines Tompkins dissatisfaction on how American Indians are portrayed throughout history. As children, we are taught that in “1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue';, and that Peter Minuet bought all of Manhattan Island from the Indians for only twenty-four dollars worth of trinkets. In high school, we were taught that in World War II, the Germans were all heartless savages, and that the best course of action to end the war was to use the atomic bomb on Japan. It is seen that “the victor writes the history books.'; In other words, the dominant cultures and societies that conquer and overshadow lesser societies have the privilege of writing history. For example, if Germany won World War II, would the history books have mentioned the holocaust of the Jews? The problem with history is that history is defined in terms of the author’s point of view. There is no scientific process by which history is written; therefore we must discern what is the real truth versus someone’s biases and point of view. “The problem is that if all accounts of events are determined through and through by the observer’s frame of reference, then one will never know, in any given case, what really happened,'; (Tompkins, 410).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tompkins researched s...

Model and Incidence Reduction Formula

Today, we have many youth that have decided to come out of the closet, and have been shunned by their families and peers. Many have turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with their feelings of rejection. On the other hand, many of our youth indulge in risky sexual behaviors that put them at a great risk for sexuality transmitted diseases and even suicide ideation. Community Needs The proposed prevention program will address discrimination projected at youth's who identify with being gay or lesbian in their communities.When discrimination occurs in the community, it produces stress, physical and psychological issues. Lewis, Delegated, Clarke, & Kiang (2006) article addressed how discrimination of on?s sexual identity is categorization toward their social status. Discrimination of gay or lesbian youth can also produce substance use problems, suicidal acts, violent factorization along with risky sexual behaviors that put them at risk for HIVE infection, and significant rates of school dro pout (Kernighan, Sheathes, & Abacus, 2014).In communities, there are five factors that prohibit resilience within the lesbian or gay youth. Russell, Bona, Macaroon, & Smith (201 1) stated that the Sebastian or gay youth often experience homophobia, divisions' within their own communities; inability to make sense of danger; family failure of support for sexual identity; and their internalizing of negative information about lesbian or gay youth intentions on society as a whole. Many youth are therefore left feeling alone and unaccepted by their communities in which they live in.Desired Results Outputs: The overall achievement for participating in the program â€Å"Yes I Can† will be the following components. 1 . Parental/caretaker acceptance Of youth's sexual orientation. 2. Stability of emotional, physical and psychological health. . Cessation of risky sexual and addictive behaviors. 4. Parental/caretaker active participation in therapy. 5. Production of positive relationships in families, peers, and school. 6. Ability to relinquish prior offenses that caused tremendous psychological and emotional pain, 7. Ability to live a life free from shame and guilt.Impacts The expected goals of the program ‘Yes Can† will seek to foster self- acceptance of the youth's sexual identity, promote positive self-image; emotional and psychological stability; acknowledgement of guilt producing behaviors that affect cognitive abilities while wanting to achieve positive hanged. Influential Factors The program will utilize three modalities that have been shown to provide significant reduction capabilities for the lesbian or gay youth. Cognitive behavioral therapy postulates cessation of negative behavior and substance usage.The triangular theory of love will explain the concept of what love is, while forgiveness therapy will help the youth to understand how forgiveness can benefit them emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically once they make the conscious choic e to forgive individuals who have wronged them. Parents and caretakers can empower their children to be who they are by encouraging them attend school regardless of what others say or do as long as they are not harmed. Strategies The following strategies will be utilized in the prevention program â€Å"Yes I Can†. 1.Community leaders and organizations to provide stringent policies for anti-gay harassment and violence in the schools. 2. Encouragement from parent/caretaker, community leaders and organizations. 3. Encouragement to stay in school. 4. Therapist/counselor understands how biases can damage the therapeutic relationship. 5. Utilization of competent providers in the assessment and counseling sectors. 6. Cultural competence. . Ethical guidelines adherence. 8. Journaling by participant's of their needs and Concerns. 9. Assess the prospect of suicide ideation through the Beck Scale. 10. Random drug screenings. 11.Explain the informed consent. 12. Obtain an active measurem ent of confidence by using the self-efficacy scale. Assumptions The prevention program goals will be to empower the youths toward self- acceptance, positive self-worth, freedom from their negative past experiences; production of positive coping mechanisms; understanding of the risk of substance abuse on their health. The program will utilize donated reverie for assessments and counseling services. Referrals will be made to area hospitals with the recommendation for evaluation of the participant in a crisis stabilization unit for suicide ideation.Incidence Reduction Formula Incidence Reduction= Decrease: Maladaptive coping, stress reduction, depression, risky sexual of anger from prior offenses, shame Guilt. Behaviors, alleviation Increase: Acceptance of sexual identity, parental/caretaker Communication, self-esteem, self-worth. Logic Model Resources Activities Outputs Short & Long Terms Outcomes Staff Trained in forgiveness therapy. Provide understanding of love for self. Trained st aff in cognitive behavioral therapy. Participant's secured from area schools, churches, & parental referrals.Community agency referrals. Parental/caretaker participation Group therapy sessions. Workbooks on discriminatory practices. Journals to write own thoughts & feelings to be addressed in therapy Drug testing Parental/caretaker involvement. Parental/caretaker acceptance of youth's sexual orientation. Developed positive self-esteem. Substance abuse alleviated. Positive support from selected peers/family Of choice. Alleviate depression & suicidal ideation. Positive cognitive and decision making skills. Positive attitude toward school and peers.Positive parental/caretaker relationships sustained. Develop and utilize voice against discrimination. Positive identity. Ability to function daily without drugs and alcohol. Healthy attitude toward life. Ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships. Ability to encourage others of the lesbian and gay community. Formative The program will use the concept of targeted mediator validation which recommends researchers to select social, psychological, and demographic variables that would be used in mediating and moderating such variables for he intervention.There will be three modalities used to advance and achieve the allocated intervention procedures. Attention will be focused on logged parental/caretaker and community participations. Relationship qualities will be viewed to assess whether they are conducive for the participant's. Conformity will be completed between the influences on the participants willingness to change negative behaviors that have caused them harm. Us m native The program â€Å"Yes I Can† was designed to empower the lesbian and gay youth in communities to change damaging behaviors that have stagnated heir joy in life from discrimination.

Terrible death of Abraham Lincoln

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman expresses the terrible death of   Abraham Lincoln. â€Å"And the great star early droop’d †¦. † taken from the second line of the poem demonstrates the reference to President Abraham Lincoln with â€Å"Great Star† as the representation being the 16th president of the United States. Whitman’s yearly reminder of Lincoln’s death is symbolizes by the blooming of the lilacs in April which justify the same month in which Lincoln was assassinated. Whitman makes use the imagery of lilacs to successfully convey the vigor of the poem.Lilacs here emphasize the things about the death and elegy of Lincoln. The first one is that the lilacs symbolize sorrow in the beginning but currently represent closure. It means the death of the president brought them sadness but the lilacs place on the coffin gives them hope because it is a symbolic gesture of honor and respect. It also signifies that even though the flower is rotten, again and again there will be new lilacs when spring comes. Just like Lincoln, through his elegy his memories will be revived. The turning point of this poem which was written by Whitman deals with death and acceptance of it.This line explains it â€Å"I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves; I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring†. He proves his optimistic outlook here. Lilacs also indicate the repeated sequence of life. Whitman perceives from the lilacs, that passing away is an unavoidable factor of this cycle. The images of the lilac represent love, hope, life, despair, and rebirth. They also serve as a channel that leads Whitman to understand death. Through this poem, Whitman honors Lincoln as a magnificent leader and a noble person. Aside from this, it is also important because it provides end for the nation in bereavement.Above all, the poem of lamentation efficiently shows that Lincoln's heritage will alway s be reborn among the blossoming lilacs when spring returns. In my own opinion, Whitman changes poetry forever by having a concrete representation of his feeling about the person whom he adores and respects too much. The way he delivers the details of his poem, it shows that the whole nation involves here and he tries to comfort all of them even himself. In that aspect, it’s very hard for a poet or writer to address wholeheartedly the entire story of the person being emphasized.Because it may lead him to the wrong motives and implications, it can be a big issue to the readers or listeners, it maybe biased and more on criticism. But as he connects one line of the poem to the other, we will notice the strong feeling of Whitman that he is affected by the tragedy happened to the president. And he tries his best to put the details into figures of speech so that the true essence of poetry will not be erased. I do believe that Whitman change poetry forever by simply putting his hear t in his poem, his true feeling and the lesson that he learns after making the whole poem.

Why did Charles V Abdicate?

After a nearly forty year rule over an empire of unprecedented size and complexity, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire abdicated his throne in 1555-6. His rein saw much adversity yet he had great success and during his rein, the empire grew and prospered. However, a series of political, militaristic and health problems culminated in Charles’s retirement. To explore these problems and to fully comprehend why Charles relinquished his power is the topic of this essay. By and large, Charles V was the most powerful leader in Europe during his rein (Cavendish 2006). His realm was described as â€Å"an empire which the sun never set on† and it encompassed about 1,500,000 square miles. A Habsburg in his teens, in 1516 he inherited Spain, which had been unified by his grandparents Isabella and Ferdinand. In 1519 he succeeded his paternal grandfather Maximilian I as Holy Roman Emperor (Cavendish 2006). He was Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria and he also ruled the Netherlands, Bohemia, Hungary, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia. Ruling Spain meant ruling Spanish America and in Charles’s time Cortes took Mexico and Pizarro conquered Peru (Cavendish 2006). The wealth of Spain paid for his efforts to control Western Europe. Despite sizeable incomes from parts of the empire, Charles’s rein encountered monetary difficulties attributing to military defeats. Encircled by the Holy Roman Empire, France existed as the empires great rival and had three major conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire during Charles’s rein. The first began in 1521 against Charles’s nemesis Francis I of France and was highly successful, driving the French out of Milan and defeating and capturing Francis at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. There were three later conflicts where the outcome was less conclusive and France acted as a constant oppose to the empire. Another great rival of Charles’s were the Ottomans, who put pressure of the Holy Roman Empire’s Hungarian border and from piracy in the Mediterranean, especially in the 1530s. The predominately Islamic Ottoman Empire had a longstanding feud with the H. R. E. who was seen as the defender of Christendom (Claydon 2009). Charles the V is among the many rulers since ancient times who desired to create a neo-roman empire and as a Catholic, Charles hoped to unite all of Europe in a Christian empire of which he would be ruler. Unsurprisingly, the notion was met with fierce opposition. Not only did the French and the English prove resistant to the idea, but in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his theses to the church door at Wittenberg: Charles’s ambitions deteriorated on the Protestant Reformation. Not only a factor for political defeat, his staunch religious belief also be attributed to his decision to abdicate. When something went right he attributed it to God, his failure to unite Europe made Charles V feel unworthy and that God must surely want another ruler to extend the empire and destroy Protestantism and Islam. In addition to the great stress of battling a multitude of enemies, Charles had to bear loyalty problems from within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1520, the Comuneros in Castile demanded lower taxes, an end to Burgandian dominion of Castile. They would have preferred Charles’s mum, Joanna the Mad to rule (Claydon 2009). Charles’s brother Ferdinand, archduke of Austria and king of Bohemia and Hungary placed higher priority on defeating the Ottomans than on France and getting rid of Protestantism which were Charles’s goals. Charles failed to control Germany and the Princes saw Ferdinand as their actual ruler (Claydon 2009). In 1529, the Diet of Speyer saw the Lutheran princes protest Charles’s catholic policy in direct defiance of the empire. The princes of Germany also largely adopted protestantism which Charles abhorred and considered heresy. Another factor for his abdication is that by the 1550s that Protestantism in Germany would have to be tolerated. The Holy Roman Empire saw major finance problems during Charles’s rein. The cost of training and maintaining the armies of the H. R. E. were vast and Charles struggled to find the money (Claydon 2009). Charles had to cancel a successful campaign against France where victory was near due to funding problems. A large portion of the empire’s income was through taxes but in certain areas people highly resented taxes due to feelings of localism, for example, the Spanish resented paying for Charles’s efforts on the other side of Europe whilst the German states saw Charles as a ‘foreigner’ and resented his rule over them and considered their own Princes as supreme (Claydon 2009). A similar situation existed in Burgundy where the Flanders estates rejected a 1534 plan to be organised into an imperial ‘circle’ to provide regular taxes and troops. Also, Charles’s claim of Italy was not profitable because Italy was financially dependant and contributed little to the empire monetarily (Claydon 2009). After a series of unfortunate militaristic failures and chronic finance and loyalty problems, in about his mid-forties, Charles was afflicted by severe health issues, most notably agonising gout, as well as epilepsy and chronic indigestion which was caused by his Hapsburg jaw, a condition where the jaw is deformed and creates difficulty eating. It was common to his family line due to aristocratic inbreeding. Tests have been conducted on a finger of Charles’s (which was preserved separately from his body) by researchers at the University of Barcelona who have concluded that severe gout was the main cause of Charles’s abdication (Emery 2006). They concluded that anyone with a condition that severe could not work. Historically, gout is seen as a ailment of the very wealthy due to food that increase risk are red meat. Such lavish food was not available in great quanities to people of medium to little wealth. He suffered from a particular severe gout and many scholars think Charles V decided to abdicate after a gout attack in 1552 forced him to postpone an attempt to recapture the city of Metz, where he was later defeated. This incident appears to have acted as the straw that broke the camel’s back in Charles’s decision to exit power. By now, Charles faced a great variety of tribulations. The implications from Charles’s failed was efforts, money and loyalty problems suggest he lacked full control of his empire. He felt that if God wanted him as ruler, he would have had an easier time. Overall, despite numerous reasons that probably influenced his decision, like failed military efforts, loyalty issues and his unwillingness to tolerate Protestantism in the empire, Charles’s health afflictions causing increasing inability to meets the demands of being Emperor, appears to be the key factor in his abdication. His epilepsy, gout and chronic indigestion (caused by his Habsburg jaw) surely made an already stressful and life dominating role of ruling a vast empire overwhelming and the various problems he faced culminated in his abdication. Despite being only fifty-eight at the time of his death, Charles must have appeared a frail and crippled old man who could barely walk (in his later years, he was carried around in a sedan chair) or use his hands (Emery 2006). Not a desirable public image for a mighty Emperor. Peaceful retirement to holy surroundings must have seemed a welcome change to a life of constant travel, warfare and turmoil. Charles V’s abdication has been interpreted differently. While many condemned it an unsuccessful man’s admission of failure and escape from the world, contemporaries of the time thought differently. There is evidence that Charles himself had been considering the idea even in his prime. In 1532 his secretary, Alfonso de Valdes, suggested to him the thought that a ruler who was incapable of preserving the peace and, indeed, who had to consider himself an obstacle to its establishment was obliged to retire from affairs of state. Upon the finalisation of the abdication, St. Ignatius of Loyola had this to say: â€Å"The emperor gave a rare example to his successors . . . he proved himself to be a true Christian prince . . may the Lord in all His goodness now grant the emperor freedom. † By today’s standards, Charles’s abdication would be nothing extraordinary considering his ailments and the stressful job requirements of emperor. Charles abdicated as Emperor in 1556 in favour of his brother Ferdinand; however, due to lengthy debate and bureaucratic procedure, the Imperial Diet did not accept the abdication (and thus make it legally valid) until May 3, 1558. Up to that date, Charles continued to use the title of Emperor. Charles gave Burgundy, Spain and the American colonies to his son Philip II. He retired to the Monastery of Yuste, near Cuacos de Yuste. The monastery was expanded in 1556 to make room for the emperor and the fifty to sixty members of his entourage. Charles was occasionally visited by notable people, including his illegitimate son Don Juan de Austria, as well as his heir Philip II of Spain. Like many former men of power in history, Charles was deeply interested in politics and was routinely posted on the news of the empire in his retirement. Probably hoping for news that his successors had created a miraculous Christian unification of Europe! He lived his few remaining months on earth amid works of art, of which he had a keen appreciation (Titian was his favourite painter), amid the books which, as a cultured man, he studied and took pleasure in enjoying the music (Knight 2009). His health afflictions worsened and he died of malaria on September 21, 1558 (de Zulueta 2007, 107-9). He was buried in the monastery church, though his remains were transferred twenty-six years later to San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Introduction of Green Building Material Essay

Materials are the stuff of economic life in our industrial world. They include the resource inputs and the product outputs of industrial production. How we handle them is a major determinant of real economic efficiency, and also has a major impact on our health and the health of the natural environment The built-environment is also a strategic realm of social, economic and environmental change. Various writers have stated that spatial redesign of the landscape and built-environment may be the single most effective means of achieving new levels of efficiency and sustainability (Lyle, 1994; Mollison, 1983; Alexander, 1977; Van der Ryn & Cowan, 1996). Building materials are also quite important. They have been estimated that building materials make up forty percent of material through-put of entire economy (Milani, 2001). In the book â€Å"Green Building: Project Planning and Cost Estimating†, Keenan and Georges (2002) identified some key characteristics of green building materials. As regards green building materials, they should be healthy for the internal environment, healthy for the natural environment, minimize building energy use, have low embodied energy, be reusable, recyclable and/or biodegradable, and be locally obtained. Embodied energy is a concept that takes into account several factors to determine the energy needed to produce a product and can be used as a comparison between different materials. There is some controversy surrounding embodied energy as there is no internationally agreed method for calculating this value and many times it is not known what has been accounted for (Woolley and Kimmins, 2005). For example, cement has an embodied energy of 7. 8 MJ/kg, while virgin steel is 32. 0, and recycled steel is 10. 1 MJ/kg (Keenan and Georges, 2002). In these values however, consideration is not given to transportation, durability, reuse and recycling. These factors could significantly alter the original values. Building materials are also the stuff of our personal environments. They are all around us, and literally part of the air we breathe. They can damage the biosphere: VOCs from paints alone are responsible for perhaps 9 percent of the damage to the ozone layer. They can also damage us: the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for example, estimates that indoor pollution—caused by materials like paints, plastics and particleboards—is responsible for more than 11,000 deaths each year from cancer, kidney failure, and respiratory collapse (Ligon, 2001). The fact that buildings are all around us means not only that they immediately impact us, but that we can potentially affect them. The building industry is a decentralized one that exists in virtually every community. Not surprisingly, the built-environment is a major venue for ecological and community development alternatives, with materials being an increasing focus of concern over the past decade. The first is the section on Materials and Resources. This section consists of one prerequisite and eight credits. The eight credits focus on reuse and management of construction and demolition waste; using refurbished or reused materials and materials with a recycled content; using regional and rapidly renewing materials; and lastly if new wood must be used, using products certified accordance with the Forest Stewardship Councils principles and criteria The second section which pertains to building materials is Indoor Environmental Quality. The important credit is number four: Low Emitting Materials. For this credit, the Volatile Organic Carbon (VOC) content of adhesives and sealants must be less than the VOC content limits of the State of California South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) rule number 1168 from October 2003. For paints, the VOC content must be less than the VOC and chemical component limits of the Green Seals Standard GS-11 from January 1997. Composite wood and laminate adhesives must contain no added urea formaldehyde resins. Concrete is a strong and durable material with a high heat storage capacity (Keenan and Georges, 2002). It is good from an indoor air quality standpoint as it is inert. The problems associated with concrete are washout water at concrete plants which can have a high pH, and the use of cement as a binding agent in concrete. Cement is very energy intensive and is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. To counteract this, up to 70% of cement in concrete can be replaced with fly ash. Fly ash is a waste product from coal fired plants. Brick, block and stone have a low embodied energy and are therefore environmentally friendly materials (Keenan and Georges, 2002). To avoid added impacts of transportation, local masonry should be used where available. STRUCTURAL FRAMING An ongoing environmental debate is wood versus steel as components for framing. Both materials have been destructive to the environment and both have advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of wood is that it is a natural insulator while steel is a conductor. Steel is 400 times more conductive than wood (Keenan and Georges, 2002). One of the disadvantages of wood is that it needs to be treated with preservatives which can be toxic and render the wood non-biodegradable. Steel on the other hand offers resistance to insects and water rot. Steel is also recyclable. The choice between steel and wood should depend on the application they are being used for. Wood may be more environmentally friendly if you can use non-treated and certified wood. The production process is less energy intensive than for steel, and creates less pollution and environmental degradation than the mining and processing of steel (Keenan, A. , and Georges, D. , 2002). INSULATION Some of the considerations which need to be taken in account when choosing an insulation material are: 1) does it retard airflow, 2) which type will provide the best Rvalue within a reasonable thickness, 3) does it pose health risks, and 4) does it contain ozone depleting chemicals (Keenan and Georges, 2002). In the Green Building Handbook, the authors offered their choices for â€Å"best buys†. Their top three choices were wool, cellulose fiber, and cork. These choices are thermally as good as conventional insulators (Woolley and Kimmins, 2005). Cellulose Fiber is made from processed waste paper, with added borates for fire and pest resistance. It is made into a fluff that can either be placed by hand or sprayed (Woolley and Kimmins, 2005). Insulation corkboard is produced by cooking cork granules at high temperature and pressure. The granules bond themselves together with their own resins (Woolley and Kimmins, 2005). ROOFING For materials used in roofing, durability is critical. One option for materials is metals, such as copper, steel and aluminium. Metal roofs are good because they can be made of recycled material and can be recycled at the end of their life cycle. They also last longer than asphalt (Frej, 2005). Cool roofs are an option that can be useful in both mild and hot climates. The roof material is covered with a reflective coating. This coating prevents the building from getting hot, reduces heat island effects and prolongs the life of a roof (Keenan and Georges, 2002). A non-petroleum based coating should be used. Living â€Å"green† roofs are another option. Green roofs are roofs that are partially or completely covered with soil and vegetation. These roofs provide environmental cooling, habitat, added insulation, storm water management, natural beauty, cleaner air and can extend the life of a roof (Keenan and Georges, 2002). One source suggested two to three times longer than a conventional roof (Frej, 2005) while another suggested they can extend the life up to 100% (Keenan and Georges, 2002). Planted roofs can require more maintenance and require a system to prevent root penetration and water seepage.

Education Sector Best Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education Sector Best Practices - Essay Example Curriculum entails more than an ordinary definition; it is a key issue in the process of education. The scope of career development is so large that it affects every person involved in learning and teaching. Inclusive education practices entail  making the students feel welcomed and valued in the school, and therefore the students are effectively able to undertake all school activities entail rams. Diversity is accepted and respected; students’ different cultures, backgrounds, skills interests and needs; are taken into consideration in school practices and programs. To achieve thi9s end, there exists inclusive practices tools like; student survey, community survey, staff survey, school review profile, inclusive practices and survey reports. Inclusive practices tools are applied in supporting primary, intermediate or schools in engaging in the review process. The main purpose of the review process entails supporting schools in the journey towards developing and implementing inclusive processes for learners, including learners requiring special attention and consideration. Continuous personal development entails; learning by participating in the continuing professional development process; and from the experience and even the feedback. Competent professionals; look for opportunities and challenges in personal learning and development; identify mistakes and use them for learning opportunities; continuously participate in professional development programs; change behavior towards the positive through feedback and reflection. (Booth, 2011 15).Opportunities for learning and development include, pursuing management development training program.

Atlas of an Ingredient Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Atlas of an Ingredient - Assignment Example It is the world’s third highest agricultural production, Sugarcane and maize are the first and second. Most rice fields are first filled with a half foot of water and then small rice plants are grown in rows. It is mostly produced on yearly production basis. Some rice types do not require immense amount of water to grow; these can be harvested on normal fields without water dispense (Juliano & Hicks, 1996). Rice is characterized according to color, size of rice grain and specific taste and texture. A rice grain contains about 90% of carbohydrate, 8% proteins and only 2% fats as macro nutrients; while it also contains magnesium, folic, calcium, iron and vitamin A as the micro nutrients in different amounts according to the type of rice. The following nutritional chart for a serving of one cup or 158 grams of rice illustrates the macro and micro nutrients. Various beer brands utilize the rice to make beer. It is due to the fact that rice is packed with 90% of the carbohydrate (Smith, 1998). Rice porridge is made in the similar way as that of the wheat porridge. â€Å"Chelo† is a rice dish in Persia that is famous due to golden rice. Rice is used in various sweets dishes also. Paella is the Spain’s national dish that makes use of rice as the major ingredient. Per capita rice consumption is some counties exceed more than 200 kg annually. Countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Japan consume rice at massive level. China, India and Indonesia are the three biggest rice producers in the world. The three major rice exporters are Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan with exporting capacity of about 8500, 6500 and 3800 thousand metric tons accordingly (Juliano & Hicks, 1996). Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming it at low or high flame. The amount of water to boil rice depends on the type and amount of rice. In risotto, rice is first glossed first in oil

U.S. Perspectives and Foreign Policy in Latin America Essay

U.S. Perspectives and Foreign Policy in Latin America - Essay Example The BBC asserted that while the U.S. government has been busy implementing its war against terrorism in Iran and Afghanistan, its relations with Latin America turned sour, from Mexico down to Peru. Strong anti-American feelings, or what one Peruvian leader called "the neo-liberal economic model that has failed to benefit our nation", converted into a string of electoral victories by what the West perceives as left-leaning governments. 2 A "leftward" drift is apparent in Latin America's southern hemisphere since the start of the decade. In Venezuela, leftist Hugo Chavez garnered 56.93% of the votes in 30 July 2000. In Brazil, center-Left Luis Inacio LULA da Silva won 61.27% in the second round of elections in October 27, 2002. In Argentina, left-leaning Nestor Kirchner was sworn in as president on May 25, 2003 to a four-year term of office after his rival, Carlos Menem, decided to stand down. In Uruguay, Tabar Ramn Vzquez Rosas of the Frente Amplio garnered 51.94% in the October 31, 2004 elections. In Bolivia, left-wing Evo Morales won a historic 54% of the vote in 18 December 2005. In Chile, center-Left Michelle Bachelet's second round votes of 53.49% beat Michelle Bachelet in 15 January 2006. In Peru, center-Left Alan Garcia beat Ollanta Humala in 4 June 2006. 3 Lula is again expected to win in the upcoming run-off elections this 29 October 2006. On December 3, Venezuela's Chavez will face liberal democrat Manuel Rosales. Elsewhere in the region, leftward shifts that are not necessarily anti-U.S. have also been observed in Honduras, Haiti, and Costa Rica. Former Nicaraguan Sandinista Party Chief Daniel Ortega will make another presidential re-election bid in November 2006. II. Independence, Regional Integration and Petroleum Politics Noam Chomsky, the renowned linguist and political analyst, noted in June 2006 that for the first time since the Spanish colonization, many countries in the hemisphere are "moving towards a degree of independence and towards a degree of integration." Petroleum-oil and gas-is a key issue. Chomsky adds that the United states is "terrified" considering that the largest energy producer in the hemisphere is Venezuela, which is one of the five founding members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Bolivia, with its vast gas reserves, is second to Venezuela. 4 Last February, U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice accused Chavez of "Latin brand of populism that has taken countries down the drain," and that Venezuela's relationship with Cuba is "particularly dangerous." 5 A controversial figure next to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is Evo Morales of Bolivia. Last March 2006, Noam Chomsky said of Evo Morales's victory: "Morales' election reflects the entry of the indigenous population into the political arena throughout the continent. Along with other popular forces, indigenous people are demanding control over their own resources, a serious threat to Washington's plans to rely on resources from the Western hemisphere, particularly energy." 6 Otto Reich, former assistant secretary of state for the Western hemisphere and adviser to President George Bush, presents a different view however. In the same BBC interview with Noam Chomsky regarding Evo Morales challenge to the

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Project Management - Essay Example Earliest Finish Time (EFT) = Earliest Start Time (EST) + Duration Latest Start Time (LST) is calculated by adding float to LST of the critical activity in the group. Latest Start Time (LFT) = Latest Start Time (EST) of critical activity + total float Latest Finish Time (LFT) is calculated by adding duration to LST of the activity. Latest Finish Time (LFT) = Latest Start Time (LST) + Duration Total Float is calculated by subtracting The Earliest Start time (EST) and duration from Latest Finish Time (LFT). Total float = LFT - EST - duration 2) Explain how you determined the project duration and the critical path In order to calculate the project duration, we first need to identify critical path. A critical path is the one that holds series of dependable activities which as whole gives the longest time to complete the project and these activities within critical path are called critical activities. In other words, it is series of activities with â€Å"Zero total Float† (Newell, 2 005). ... Time Required Immediate Predecessor Activities EST EFT LFT LST (days) A 4 - 0 4 4 0 B 5 A 4 9 12 7 C 4 A 4 8 12 8 D 8 A 4 12 12 4 E 6 A 4 10 12 6 F 2 A 4 6 12 10 G 13 B,C,D,E,F 12 25 25 12 H 8 G 25 33 33 25 I 7 H 33 40 40 33 J 6 H 33 39 40 34 K 8 I,J 40 48 48 40 L 13 K 48 61 61 48 M 9 L 61 70 70 61 N 4 M 70 74 74 70 O 5 B 9 14 86 81 P 12 N 74 86 86 74 Q 2 O,P 86 88 88 86 PROJECT DURACTION 88 DAYS    Critical Path 3) If the project starts on the Monday 7 January 2013, what is the earliest date it can be completed using a 5 working day week? Assume no holidays. If the project starts on the Monday 7 January 2013 On the basis of 88 days of total project duration, the earliest date when the project can be completed is the 8th of May, 2013. The date is calculated by counting 88 days from 7 January, 2013 excluding Saturday and Sunday. 4) If the following happened what would be the effect on the duration of the whole project? a) Activity B is delayed 1 day. Activity B is not a critical act ivity and has total float of 3 days, 1 day delay during activity B will not affect the duration of the whole project. b) Activity P is delayed 1 day. As activity P it is a critical activity, a 1 day delay during activity P will increase the duration of the whole project by 1 day, thereby making it to 89 days. c) Activity O is delayed 2 day. Activity B is not a critical activity and has a total float of 72 days, 1 day delay during activity B will not affect the duration of the whole project. 5) Limitations of network diagrams The main limitation of a Network diagram is: do not clearly show time line for a project, it is difficult to update, do not lead to easy distribution and the tools can be expensive to acquire. TASK 2 Abstract The project management main goal is delivering a project