Coca-Cola Management Strategy

Assessment 1 Case Study Report of Coca Cola Company Hang LU S81293 Executive Summary The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:  KO) is the world's largest beverage company, largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world and is one of the largest corporations in the United States. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves 1. 6 billion servings each day. [4] The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory. The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of DJIA and S 500. Its current chairman and CEO is Muhtar Kent. CONTENTS Introduction Company Background Mission and Vision Goals The Competitive Advantage of Coca-Cola Brands Five Forces Analysis Intensity of the Competitive Forces Generic Business Strategy Conclusion Introduction Coca-Cola has sold more than one billion servings every day. More than 10,450 beverages are consumed every second. It is present on all seven continents and is recognized by 94% of the world population. Coca-Cola grow from its humble roots as a home-brewed Georgia-based patent medicine to be the international soft drink powerhouse today. Coca-Cola used many technologies to achieve its rise to the top of the soft drink industry, defining new technologies and establishing paradigms that popped the status quo like a cap from a soda bottle. Through technology, Coca-Cola perfected Coke as a beverage and spread it throughout the world. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized on this principle. â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company† is now the largest soft drink company in the world with products that include Coca- Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta etc.. It is employing about 71,000 people worldwide in over 200 countries. Coke produces about 400 brands consisting of over 2. 600 beverage products, such as water, juice and juice drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, teas, and coffees. Coke products are distributed though restaurants, grocery market, street vendors, and others, all of which sell to the end users: consumers, who consume in excess of 1. 4 billion servings daily. Company Background The Coca-Cola Company is now the largest soft drink company in the world. Coca- Cola became the largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups which operate in more than 200 countries. Coca- Cola was invented on May 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. The name Coca-Cola was suggested by Pemberton's book-keeper, Frank Robinson. He penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing script that is famous today. Vision & Mission Coca-Cola has been marketed with catching marketing themes such as â€Å"Drink Coca- Cola† and â€Å"Delicious and Refreshing†. After years of globalization and brand building, Coca-Cola proudly pronounces its Mission Statement â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone who is touched by our business†. And their goals: The basic proposition of our business is simple, solid and timeless. When we bring refreshment, value, joy and fun to our stakeholders, then we successfully nurture and protect our brands, particularly Coca-Cola. That is the key to fulfilling our ultimate obligation to provide consistently attractive returns to the owners of our business. Indeed, it was! Coca-cola's mission â€Å"our people and our promise† mainly focuses in Coca-Cola world is to celebrate, refresh, strengthen and protect. Coca-Cola feels that they should offer a soft-drink to the entire global community, which is environmentally safe and accepted. The company's mission is directed towards its soft drink business and the strategy management changes that will be forthcoming. Coca-Cola appeals to the long term interests of stakeholders particularly shareowners, employees and customers. This helps to support the local populations by offering job opportunities, and it also helps out the local and global economies in which the employees live. Woodruff's vision that coca-cola to be placed within â€Å"arm's reach of desire† came true from the mid 1940s until 1960, the number of countries with bottling operations nearly doubled. It is so feasible that the company can reasonably expect to achieve in due time. Coca-Cola strives to find new innovations to better its products and to stay a step ahead of its competitors as what is mentioned in the mission â€Å"the action we will take†. This is a key element in the company's drive to be number one in the industry. Also it is constantly looking for improvements in everything that it does, both in the production and the manner in which the company is run daily. Goals â€Å"That combination infuses all the elements of the strategy that we are implementing to deliver value to our share owners in the year to come, and well into the future: a) Accelerate carbonated soft-drink growth, led by Coca-Cola; b) Selectively broaden our family of beverage brands to drive profitable growth; c) Grow system profitability and capability together with our bottling partners; ) Serve customers with creativity and consistency to generate growth across all channels; e) Direct investments to highest potential areas across markets; and f) Drive efficiency and cost-effectiveness everywhere. † The Competitive Advantage of Coca-Cola Brands The company's sharp focus on its business also gives it a cost advantage. Although Coke earned less than five cents per 8oz serving last year, it did manage to sell about 380 bil lion servings! That kind of volume has advantages. The Coca-Cola Company has invested in building its trademark for over 113 years. Consumers worldwide recognize the Coca-Cola trademark and icons as symbols of quality and refreshment. Because Coca-Cola is the â€Å"ideal† soft drink that sets the benchmark for consumers' expectations, businesses that display and associate with the trademark immediately signal that they are committed to serving the most preferred soft drinks in the industry. The advantages of coca cola in adopting globalization trends are first of all with the economic scale that is bigger (talking about the whole entire world instead of one country, as mass marketing) it help coca cola to actually reduce the cost of producing adjusting to the country where the product is manufactured and price (cutting the cost of transportation, export and import cost as well as tax). It also helps coca cola to gain competitive advantages of a high quality product. The localize system or management help the company to expand the local network with the value creation functions and also established in low c ost markets, instead of the country of origins. They also can have a tight bound of long term contract with the low cost supplier in each country. Five Forces Analysis Today, soft drink industry is a very competitive industry to be in. Porter's five forces model shows us that there is already a strong barrier to entry established by the traditional concentrate producers such as Coca-Cola, suppliers' bargaining power is strong, buyers' power is weak, substitutes for beverage products are easy to produce, and the intensity of rivalry is strong since the industry is already facing a slow growth and high industry concentration. †¢ Suppliers' Bargaining Power Suppliers' bargaining power in this beverage industry is strong. For example, the soft drink ingredient producer – NutraSweet who specializes in producing concentrate sweeteners. Since there is a rising concern in health and safety issues in the soft drink drinking within the consumer market, the healthier sweetener, aspartame, that NutraSweet markets allowed it to have a high impact and input on costs of each bottler's product costs. Since NutraSweet was the only marketer that marketed the standard aspartame the costs of using NutraSweet's aspartame is relatively high compare to other substitutes such as sugar. Buyers' Bargaining Power The Buyers of the soft drink industry are the concentrate bottlers. Bottlers of the soft drink industry have a low bargaining power since they form the largest base (the greatest number) of all the elements of Porter's five forces. Most of the bottlers are Coca-Cola owned before 1980, and almost all of them are under some sort of contractual agreement stating that bottlers must accommodate the programs set u p by the concentrate producers' for the products that they have franchised. High fees are required of the bottlers re such as high start-up costs ranging from $100,000 to several million dollars, paying for two-third of promotional costs, while costs were typically split fifty/fifty for doing consumer promotion and trade. It is also hard for bottlers to identify their own brand identity since their products are made of concentrates and the names that they use are the names of the concentrate manufacturer . Coca-Cola, hence discouraging their own product differentiation. †¢ Rivalry Among Competing Sellers There is a strong barrier setup by the traditional concentrate producers. For new rivalry to enter into the market is extremely difficult since the two soft drink giants such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have already created a soft drink tradition and branding. Also since the soft drink giants have already created their bottler network and also owned majority of them, it is even harder for new entrants to be gain an absolute cost and competitive advantage. Governmental policies also create obstacles to the new entrants in the cola industry since the word â€Å"Coke† is strictly mean Coca-cola. Current rivalry within the soft drink industry is mainly evolved around the two giants who are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The two giants owned most of the spacing for the vending machines, developed most the flavors for the popular products within the market, and occupied most of the soft drink market shares within the industry. They are able to utilize and plane well ahead of other smaller companies within the industry. Other smaller firms are mainly there for competition between the two firms. One example would be PepsiCo's purchase of Seven-Up's to expand its product line. Once Coca-Cola is aware of PepsiCo's expansion, readily they are also willing to purchase Dr Pepper. However since the buyout of Seven-Up's domestic operations was blocked by the Federal Trade, Coca- Cola also dropped its pursuit on Dr Pepper. In the current soft drink industry, there is a constant battle between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. †¢ Substitute Products Threats of substitutes are high since soft drink industry is a highly unstable industry. Switching costs for the consumers are extremely low since the pricing of soft drinks is cheap and consumer's taste is ever changing. There is no tradeoff for the consumers to switch to other products so it is easy for consumers to change their loyalties. One example would be the Pepsi Challenge rose by PepsiCo over the states. The challenged had blinded people over the states tasted different brands of soft drinks and found out that majority of them liked Pepsi over Coke, thus PepsiCo's Pepsi-Cola was able to gain market share and attracted a larger market share. †¢ Potential New Entrants The soft drink industry is an extremely difficult industry to get into. The existing soft drink industry is already dominated by experienced dominant players with over century-long experience, new entrants would have to be truly unique to be able to gain an absolute competitive advantage within this industry. If their products are unique, they would not have to worry about the fear of product substitution. Once the new entrants have gained an absolute advantage within the industry, they would have to deal with the suppliers who may have a strong bargaining power over pricing on the ingredients they need. Apart from that, they would need buyers, which are bottlers in this case. Once they have a base of bottlers with them, then only they have a chance of success in this industry. Intensity of the Competitive Forces Coca-Cola created a very strong barrier to entry for its competitors. New entry into the market is extremely difficult. The two soft drink giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo controlled the whole market. In addition, Coca-Cola has already created its bottler network and also owned majority of them, it is even harder for new entrants to gain an absolute cost and competitive advantage. The threats of substitutes are high since soft drink industry is a highly unstable industry. Switching costs for the consumers are extremely low and there is no trade-off for the consumers to switch to other products so it is easy for consumers to change their loyalties. Generic Business Strategy In order to gain competitive edge in the consumer market, other than responding quickly to the external forces and its internal environment, Coca-cola also looks into its position within the industry. The generic competitive strategies pursued by Coca-Cola are: Low Cost Strategy & Broad Differentiation Strategy Coca-Cola is seen to have employed these two competitive strategies: Focused Low Cost and Broad Differentiation. The company has chosen to serve the consumer drink market and achieved cost savings by means of: ) Achieving economies of scale in the mass production of all Coca-Cola products lowers its unit cost. ii) Long learning, knowledge and experience in production and process, as the company existed more than a century. iii) Efficiency and effectiveness in manufacturing and distribution network. iv) Sharing of research and development, advertising and promotions cost among the brands carried by Coca-Cola has enabled to achieve economies of scope. C oca-Cola uses Broad Differentiation strategy on the basis of: i) Offering of wide range of its drink products . round 230 brands are currently being offered in the global market. ii) High brand image and recognition have resulted in superior product perception among consumers. iii) Packaging and bottling . The use of contoured shape bottle and the slim curly font have made Coca-Cola an easily recognized symbol. Conclusion Nowadays, Coca-Cola is not just a brand. It’s already a part of people’s life. It leads carbonated soft-drink industry growth. The company is monopolize the beverage market over a century. However, People are becoming increasingly health conscious, this has led to a decrease in the consumption of soft drink. It is the big challenge for coca-cola company in the future. References 1. ^ â€Å"Board of Directors Elects Muhtar Kent Chairman†. The Coca-Cola Company. April 23, 2009. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/presscenter/nr_20090423_muhtar_kent. html. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 2. ^ Coca-Cola Products: New Coca-Cola Products, Brands of Beverages & More 3. ^ â€Å"2009 Form 10-K Annual Report†. Form 10-K. The Coca-Cola Company. 2009. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/investors/form_10K_2008. html. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 4. Cola Wars : Five Forces  Analysis October 18, 2007

Film and Photographic Equipment Essay

As of the time of the case, 2007, although IMAX was involved in three different industries, the case suggests that it was primarily in Photographic Equipment and Supplier industry primarily because about 51 per cent of its total revenue of IMAX was system sale. Therefore, the following analysis will focus on that industry. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Major suppliers of photographic equipment and supplier industry may include manufacturers producing relevant components of any kind of equipment, contractors making the complete equipment, and so forth. From my viewpoint, the suppliers’ bargaining power is low because of several reasons. First, along with the development of photographically relevant equipment, although the products firms provide are technically concentrated, there are certain standards recognized and adopted, such as film size of 35 mm or certain sizes of lens filter, in the industry. Therefore, the switching cost for their buyers is low. Second, photographic equipment and supplier industry is an important customer to its supplier group. Specifically, the usage of the products that the supplier group provides is limited to machinery or equipment in other industries. Besides, although there are few substitute products, which situation generally increases supplier group’s bargaining power, firms in photographic equipment and supplier industry still can easily find other manufacturers with lower cost. Bargaining Power of Buyers The buyer group of photographic equipment and supplier industry is enormous, ranging from B2B buyers like motion picture production firms to B2C buyers like customers who purchase digital single lens cameras. Considering the difference of consuming difference of buyers and following reasons, the bargaining power of buyers is medium. First, sales volume varies among different segments. For example, motion movie production studios or chain multiplexes may have high bargaining power because of high purchasing volumes; on the other hand, customers who go to Staple to purchase a copy machine have little or no bargaining power. Second, the products in photographic equipment and supplier industry are generally undifferentiated because of aforementioned regular standard existing, and therefore bargaining power increases. However, exception could be that once new products are launched with attracting feature and highly accepted by buyers, such as IMAX format, the bargaining power decreases. Moreover, because of the great scope of photographic equipment, switching cost varies extremely, taking the difference between cameras shooting in IMAX digital format and little digital cameras from all brands in the market as example. Besides, backward integrations are less likely to happen compared to forward integrations from supplier group. Threat of Substitute Products In photographic equipment and supplier industry, treat of substitute is low primarily because products from this industry has been evolving for decades and has become essential goods. For instance, copy machine, also provided from the industry, has become essential equipment in firms and institutions. Although the substitute products to this example could be pens and paper, few people really would do that for efficiency concern, and therefore the switching cost is high. Intensity of Rivalry Competition in photographic equipment and supplier industry is intense for reasons. Because of the specialized nature of the products, generally exist barrier is high for big companies like Cannon, Nikon, and Xerox, and those major competitors are highly committed to the industry by providing products with advanced technology and competing against each other intensively. Although some products in the industry can differentiate themselves from others and protected by patents for a period of time, new film format from IMAX for example, once competitors foresee the great potential profitability, it is not difficult for them to produce products with similar features to split the market share. Threat of Entry From my viewpoint, the threat of entry in the industry is medium. Take multi-business electronics suppliers such as Sony and Samsung as example, they supply various lines of products and compete against each other. Even photographic equipment is not their primary selling product, supported by strong capital and experienced R&D departments, those companies are able to enter photographic equipment and supplier industry and split a piece of market share, primarily because of their existing reputation from relevant electronics industry. To deal with new coming competitors, current suppliers are less likely to have continuous price cutting battles because of high fixed costs; instead, it is more likely to increase investments, like R&D, and product lines to keep market share in every targeted segment. An obvious example is that when Sony entered digital single lens camera market with cheaper price, other major suppliers like Nikon and Cannon did not cut price on existing premium products but expanded product lines to launch cheaper products competing directly to Sony. In short, the barrier is not so high for certain new competitors to come into the industry, but because of the intense reaction from existing players, the impact and threat new comings bring in is moderate. Competitive Advantages Advanced Technology One of the competitive advantages of IMAX and the most distinguishing characteristics that differentiate the company from its competitors is its advanced and unique technology that brings new formats, and other associated system equipment like screen and projector into the industry. The key element contributes to this advantage is that the company was committed to invest in R&D. In return, the company was granted many patents that would keep the company in a unique position and from direct competition in the industry. Products Quality Control and Relationship Another IMAX’s competitive advantage is its quality control of products and system implementation. With its distinguishing technology, IMAX had been implementing the system into multiple locations, including multiplexes and education institutions, and because of its strict quality control and maintenance service, the company could maintain good relationship with diverse customers. The agreement of theatrical system implementation and service is an advantage for IMX to generate revenue not only from one-time transactions but long term profit splitting. Brand image and Product Distribution Diversity IMAX has built a unique brand image both from hardware and software perspectives and that also remains the company competitive. First, people would recognize IMAX as a prestigious theatrical system supplier based on their experience from multiple locations. Especially when major multiplex brands and education institutions carry its system, it’s very likely that people would naturally feel IMAX credible. The consequence is beneficial for IMX to expand business later, such as entering home theater system market. From the software perspective, especially the company’s educational entertainment production, not only create revenue other than just from commercial production but catch the trend of increased consumption of educational entertainment. The situation help IMAX build up a unique brand image that its production is not only commercial but educational so that people would have more trust in the company’s future motion picture production. To sum up, although IMAX has several competitive advantages, not all of them will last for too long. For instance, competitors could match up with its advances technology by inventing other formats and once they are accepted by end consumers, it will become a big threat for the company; On the other hand, some advantages could last for a long time once IMAX take good care of them. For example, the brand image being as a well motion picture production supplier is one that can remain in consumers’ minds for a long time and that’s not what new competitors can achieve in a short time. Corporate Advantages From my viewpoint, IMAX has corporate advantages because of its diverse productions from equipment supplier, motion picture production, and distribution industry. However, the most important issue is how to leverage those segments to increase the company’s growth. Business & Resources  IMAX’s core business, photographic equipment and supplier, provides capabilities to enhance all its business. The company has created competitive advantages as mentioned and those advantages enhance the company’s business across industries. For instance, for its motion picture production business, all the films are shot in new IMAX formats, film or digital, by the equipment its own supplier segment produces, it reduce huge cost for format conversion compared to other films shot in different formats y other studios. Organization Because of the narrow scope of the business, coordination among different sectors in the organization is critical for IMX. For instance, the vertical integration of the business allows the company to share resources such as instant feedbacks for its R&D department from motion picture production sector. By sharing these experience and information, the company will have the ability to forecast and adapt to new opportunities shortly in the future for every sectors in its value chain. In short, IMAX’s corporate advantages come from its competitive advantages and vertical integration. Because its business is based on unique technology and coordinated the whole value chain, it is not easy for competitors to imitate and therefore time for its corporate advantages is expected to last. Recommendations Keep Diversity of Production To answer the question that if IMAX would lose its differentiation because of numerous Hollywood films, my recommendation is that IMAX should keep doing converting Hollywood films and at the same time producing educational films. One reason is that format conversion brings good revenue for IMAX and people would be able to tell the difference between Hollywood movies in IMAX format and its own production. On the other hand, IMAX should keep catching on the trend of the increasing consumption of educational entertainment, because the company has been building up a good image distributing films in educational institutions and such would also prevent the erosion of its brand image. Not Sold to Larger Studios  Another recommendation for IMAX is that it should not be sold to a larger studio, and the main reason is that IMAX has already created its own competitive and corporate advantages and they are not easy to imitate. What IMAX should do is properly exploiting its assets, both tangible and intangible. Although the company in motion picture production industry is small and face competitors like Pixar, it should still stay on the track catching the trend by coordination and support from its other business ectors. Expanding Market & Production Diversity IMAX’s new technology is standing in a niche market without sustainable growth. Even though the company is able to keep generate great revenue from equipment sales, saturation in USA will become an issue someday. To deal with that, IMAX has to make a short term strategy doing business in USA and expand to global market, because from Exhibit 11, we can see that films generated revenue approximately two tim es overseas more as those in USA. However, for long term strategy, IMAX has to find a way to expand its business in a slow-growing market. For instance, the company can expand its product lines into home theater system because the case indicates a high usage rate of DVD, and the system is still highly relevant equipment to the current product lines. By doing so, IMAX can benefit from creating potential revenue from new sources and from keeping its brand image as a innovating company in the equipment supplier industry.

Development in Durban

Here at USAID, our mission is to provide economic development and humanitarian assistance to people located all around the world. At USAID we ave a strong sector focused on Sub-Saharan African development. We notice that Durban is an up-and-coming city, with the potential to be a thriving seven million- person city by the turn of the century. We are contacting you about your future sustainable urban development.There are rural areas located around your city which are extremely agricultural, but these farms are in need of exporting their goods in order to make money, and a high poverty level still arises in South Africa. We want to stimulate both Durban and the surrounding rural cities' economic development and growth through implementing sustainable agricultural evelopment programs throughout the area. Much attention has been raised towards sustainable economic development and growth as barriers are taken down and globalization continues to expand to the most rural parts of the world .We believe that Durban, as a booming city of more than three million people, is a perfect place to implement sustainable urban agriculture and a city where the benefits will be fully reaped. Once these plans have taken shape, countries throughout Africa will take notice of the efficient resource use and city-wide positive development that has taken place. This paper will lay out three advantages that will stem from adding agriculture into urban life: the involvement of women and children in societal development, environmental benefits, and a benefit in food security.As the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Conference on Climate Change in Durban is around the corner (l am sure you know but as a reminder the 28th of November), now is a perfect time to seriously consider the benefits of sustainable urban agriculture as a means towards bettering the society, economy, and environment. Why does Durban, South Africa need to involve urban agriculture within its city nd surrounding a reas? A r ca, Latin America, and Asia, by the year 2 home to 75% of urban dwellers world-wide.This same study conducted by the Resource Centres for Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) predicted that by 2020, 40-45% of the poor in Africa will be concentrated in towns and cities (â€Å"Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security†). After taking a look at these statistics, one can comprehend the magnitude of the effects on cities that the global population increase will cause. I am going to give you some examples of urban gricultural projects from other cities worldwide before I delve into the positive effects of implementing such projects into your city.Essentially, an urban farm can be found in window sills, abandoned warehouses, and old parking lots. The magazine Farming the City highlights several examples of urban agriculture. One such community-boosting project is under way in Berlin, Germany. Here, the community has come together to convert the unused s pace of a half-century-old wasteland into an area suitable for growing vegetation and fruits. Activists and community members were the main people involved in the project.The article notes that such spaces would promote community development through the sharing of knowledge, a â€Å"mini utopia† where people enjoy fresh foods and relax (Stipo 7). Architectural design has aimed at building fixtures in the urban sectors of cities, such as in the OosteliJk havengebeid district of Amsterdam. Here, a greenhouse† plan has been undertaken. This greenhouse will feature shops on the ground floor, restaurants on the top and effective uses of window-placement that allow maximum sunlight for the cultivation of crops.The area outside of the greenhouse will be used as a locally- rown vegetable garden. (Stipo 6). Examples such as these show how community development can be achieved through organized gardens run by civilians and new building designs where sustainable practices are enfo rced. Let me start out with giving a detailed overview of why sustainable agricultural development will be implemented into Durban and the surrounding rural areas.Sustainable development, without the added agricultural term, is defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†l . Why have humans even come to this point where there is an extremely viable chance that future generations will not be able to survive on this planet? The answer can be boiled down to misuse of natural resources and humans' inability to be environmental stewards, taking care of the land which they rely on for food and water.I Just want to include some data on Africa's deforestation and poor land use so as to drill home the point of the need for sustainable agricultural methods to be implemented. South Africa, as a growing developing country, should heed warming of the harmful effects that deforestation as to lled upon Earth and its people in recent history. For one, deforestation causes soil erosion, which eventually leads to desertification and the pollution of waterways. Sub-Saharan Africa does not need dry, infertile land.Land needs to remain fertile in order for the production of food to take place. South Africa's climate does not provide for much indigenous forest, as only 0. 5% of its surface area is covered by it (Collins). Urban agriculture will relieve deforestation, as it provides food to be produced within a city and not on large-scale farms. Much care should be put towards preserving hese forests. Urban agriculture aims at using less resources and the creativity of the human mind to create organic toods which nave the ability to keep the relationship between man and the world a healthy one.The fact that up to 75 percent of the population in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries was constituted as malnourished in 2004, is alarming. Most of these individuals farm for a living, not m aking much money or providing food for their families or even their selves. Malnourishment and poverty essentially go hand in hand. In fact, in the year 2000, 59 percent of people lived below the poverty line of US 1 [day (United Nations Environment). Urban agricultural development can be used to benefit the society of African areas.The fact that children and women are forced to work long hours on their farms and are still hungry is mainly due to the fact that they have no money to support themselves. They are not making enough money selling their crops and therefore do not have enough money to buy their own food. As a solution to this problem, Alex Colletta, a columnist for the University of California, Santa Barbara's daily newspaper, Daily Nexus, writes that by implementing self- ustaining farms into vacant lots and backyards, children and women can â€Å"promote community spirit†¦ rovide fresh vegetables and fruits to several businesses and homeless shelters and also help feed a dying economy by helping small restaurants get the best food for cheap prices† (Colletta 4). As urban farmers no longer have to worry about paying for food, they can make a profit to live on. While the organic farming that Alex Colletta talks about in her article is coming from Detroit, a city in northern Michigan, USA, there is no doubt that the poor in South Africa can use it as form of both a societal community booster and a form of economic development.Detroit has many abandoned factories, and these are what are being used for the new urban farms; Durban can build greenhouses and buildings in non-developed areas in order to promote the citys poor to become urban famers. Bill McKibben writes in his magazine article entitled A Special Moment in History that â€Å"Growing too fast may mean that they [poor people in slums] run short of cropland to feed themselves, of firewood to cook their food, of school desks and hospital beds† (McKibben, 400). He explains in t his part of his article how population growth akes it difficult for the poor members of society to sustain their livelihoods.One key pressure in the wake of rising African populations is food security. One major dilemma the poor face in the growing world, food security, centers on individuals' abilities to have healthy food when they need it. In Amy N. Lerner's article about food security and food production in the global south, she states that â€Å"research in Africa has found that economic and caloric needs are the primary motivations for populations in urban and pert-urban areas to pursue agriculture† (Lerner, 6).With ising population densities, there is a rise in resource necessities; while this is the case, available labor and land remains low. Urban agriculture has the ability to provide organic fresh vegetables and fruits to a growing population within Durban. Families will be working within the community in order to provide food for community-run farmers markets and for their own families. With the smart use of land-planning, which is a major part of urban agriculture, along with having more people work, smarter, less resource-intensive urban areas will bloom.Three advantages of organic farming are centralized on the society, the economy nd the environment; urban agriculture, as an organic form of farming, brings about all three ot these advantages. The advantage that organic urban farming poses towards cities and its population (society) revolves around the development of women and the alleviation of poverty, which brings about greater food security. Organic public markets, commonly known as farmers' markets, provide a place where members of society can convene and purchase locally-grown foods.So, by promoting local food production for local needs, global policy should move away from subsidizing corporate food exports and opening p to foreign food imports, which drives small-scale farmers off of their land, and towards a policy that promotes s mall-scale, environmentally sound farming that provides for local markets (Brecher, Costello, Smith 316). Due to the fact that 59 percent of people worldwide lived below the poverty line of IJS$I ‘day in the year 2000, new forms of aid for those who suffer from wages not able to sustain a healthy livelihood are pivotal in development (United Nations Environment Programme ).With development strategies in place, women and children will learn how to grow vegetables and fruits, therefore being able to feed hemselves and sell food in local farmers markets. An increasing role in women's livelihoods has an extremely positive benefit for communities. Mayra Buvinic notes in her article Women in Poverty: A New Global Underclass manors in which national and international policies can change and improve to yield great benefits for poor women and the developing world. Two implementations Ms.Buvinic recommends are to â€Å"Increase rural women's access to agricultural extension servicesâ⠂¬  and â€Å"adopt labor- intensive ‘pro-poor' economic growth policies that expand employment opportunities† (Buvinic 161). Examples of agricultural extension services include access to current news via internet and television broadcasts as well as agricultural production information and technologies (â€Å"Rural Extension and Advisory Services†). With these services, poor women in urban South Africa will become more knowledgeable as to ways they can improve their livelihoods while still being considered farmers.Urban farmers are realizing that food markets where they can share their products with other members of their community are great places to make money, socialize, and learn new ways to efficiently grow crops. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization's â€Å"The State of Food and Agriculture, 2010-2011- Women in Agriculture† report, if women had the same access as men to productive resources, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30 percent. This increase would cause for a 2. 5-4. percent increase in Africa's agricultural output (â€Å"State of Food and Agriculture: Women in Agriculture† 3). The message essentially being conveyed here is that women who are given equal access to resources as men are will generate more food and be able to deal with food scarcity and poverty throughout their respective countries. As the Center for American Progress points out, 26. 5 percent of African women are poor compared to 22. 3 percent of African males (Cawthorne ). The societal benefits of poverty alleviation with integration of urban agriculture are great.Giving women the opportunity to work in a community- run garden where they can consume and sell foods gives them an occupation that empowers and insights them with knowledge. These women and children realize that they are helping the environment while improving their ownlivelihoods. Recreation provides physical and/or psychological relaxation, as well as act ivities where the poor an become educated about ecology, mentions an article on the reasons urban agriculture is important by the Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (â€Å"Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security†) Foundation.The social impacts that revolve around women and children's participation in urban agriculture are a positive reason to enforce policies that will give them land for the creation of their own urban farms. The environmental benefits of urban agriculture are the alleviation of the costs surrounding transporting foods over long distances, ater-saving irrigation (reclaimed water), and composting materials to use as fertilizers instead of synthetic chemical fertilizers. Even with the amount of deforestation that has taken place worldwide, land is no longer suitable for agriculture.Of the 11 percent of our planet Earth that is suitable for agriculture, humans have destroyed 38 percent of it through poor natural resource mana gement practices (â€Å"Sustainable Agriculture†). Becoming good environmental stewards presents itself as humanities' last option. There is no longer enough land to provide food for the growing worldwide population. Cities will need to make use of urban agriculture to make up for this discrepancy. An overall adaptation towards organic rather than conventional methods of farming is the future of food production.With less conventional and more organic farming methods, the use of pesticides will decrease dramatically. Pesticides create harm both for wildlife and humans, as toxins seep into waterways and onto vegetation. â€Å"Overall public health and ecological integrity could be improved† through the adoption of organic, pesticide-free, farming practices, says David Pimentel, who is part of the Cornell Department of Entomology. Pimentel 573). Composting can be seen as an environmental benefit in urban green spaces because it provides the soil fertility that otherwise i s not present on old construction sites where growing operations are under way.The main benefit that composting brings to urban agriculture, according to Arne Saebo, is that â€Å"high-quality compost consists of many compounds that influence the biological processes in the soil positively, thus improving the physical and chemical soil characteristics (Saebo, and Ferrini 160). Reclaimed water – coming from treated waste water – will be an ffective way to rid of urban waste water and will save water that can be used for other reasons, such as drinking. 2 Local governmental policies need to implement these sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices into Durban's urban agriculture system, and enforce them.Urban agriculture is economically viable for civilians of South Africa for some key reasons. For one, urban agriculture in Nairobi consists of only one-third private residential land; this means that the other two-thirds of land where crops are grown in the city co nsists of â€Å"roadsides, riverbanks, and other publicly owned lands† (Romanik, 18). Clare T. Romanik, who works for the think tank Urban Institute, also notes in her article, An Urban-Rural Focus on the Food Markets in Africa, that urban agriculture has less means for the packaging, transportation, and storage of food (18).As noted in the social benefits of urban agriculture stated earlier, food security is a great benefit of growing food that can be both consumed and grown by the consumer; this is also an economically important benefit due to its aid against poverty. According to RUAF, Africa city-dwellers spend 50-70 percent of their income on food (â€Å"Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security†). Growing one's own vegetables in vacant lots or other creative places within Durban will allow tarmers to botn provide valuable vegetables tor their own consumption as well as for profit sales.People who oppose or are speculative of the implementation of ur ban agricultural practices contend that available land is decreasing as populations in cities rise. As these populations rise, people are taking the land in informal ways and purchasing rights are not easy to obtain (Romanik 35). Also, some people may be speculative of how organic and healthy the vegetables and fruits coming from these urban farmers truly are. These speculations can be resolved through strict legislative policies. One other concern regarding urban agriculture is the question surrounding if it will support growing cities with enough food.Mr. Pimentel observed a study of both organically-grown and conventionally-grown soybeans between 1981 and 2001. Respectively, the crops produced were 2461 and 2546 kilograms per hectare (Pimentel). As we see here, it is evident that growing food the organic way without powerful pesticides still provides close to the same yield as conventional farming. Investments in sustainable development need to occur, and uickly. Population press ures are continuously throwing wood on the fire that drives legislature and human minds to create new policies and ideas which are necessary to sustain life on earth for all its inhabitants.Investments should be made that incorporate money into the public sector to meet human and environmental needs. Urban agriculture will provide locally-grown, healthy food for members of Durban. A vast sum of money will be saved from paying for food imports if city-dwellers purchase their food from farmers markets and consume food from their own organic arms. For women and children, and society as a whole, urban agriculture will expedite development through invigorating a sense of community and education of ecological processes.Currently, the state of global trade is making life very difficult for those who do not earn a living wage. Locally-grown foods will bring food and money to those who are impoverished. Essentially, I write this as an alert, an invigoration of awareness, that there is a prob lem of people suffering in South Africa who need food. Solutions to food security and hunger are available: it is within egislatures hands to create policies that allow for city-wide composting, the management of public green spaces, and the development of self-sufficient ways of life for all.

Four decision issues managers faced when filling up their performance Essay

Four decision issues managers faced when filling up their performance review forms - Essay Example In order to minimize this problem, managers should be required to give their specific reason for the grades and evaluation. Through this, managers will be able to see that performance reviews should generally give an accurate overall performance of the employee. This will also enable them to see that their interaction with the employee is far outweighed by the way these customers deliver value for the organization. One of the most prevalent dilemmas in performance reviews are the managers perception of that this is a one-time annual reporting of how the employees fare. This hinders the management to give an accurate assessment of the employee under consideration as the manager may only note how the worker performs for the past month of two. In order to avoid this, managers should "invest time to give a day-to-day scorecard on individual qualitative and quantitative performance feedback impressions to employees on a day to day basis" (Heskett, 2006). Managers will be required to maintain a record of how their subordinates perform daily. This will be tallied every month in order to make it easier for employs to give a generalized assessment at the end of the year. Managers don't often recognize that the

Compare the films dead Poets Society and Stand and Deliver from two Essay

Compare the films dead Poets Society and Stand and Deliver from two perspectives a) Educational Theories discussed in the course b) Mass Media Theories Studied in the book Four Theories of the Press - Essay Example â€Å"Literature uses the normal means of communication – language images, symbols, codes, stories – but uses them with more complexity and subtlety than is normal in everyday communication† (Lye, 2003). Films are able to employ more than mere words, however, as they also use sound, music, light and motion to make the story come to life. Responsible film makers have used films as a means of raising the social consciousness regarding a variety of issues, adopting a libertarian stance to the use of media. By studying films such as Dead Poet’s Society (1989) and Stand and Deliver (1988), one can begin to understand and appreciate the libertarian media and its benefits as it is applied to the question of educational reform. At its most basic level, the concept of the libertarian media as it is demonstrated through these two films is a concept based on the philosophy that the media should serve as a ‘check’ on the power structures of society. Although much attention in this regard is given to the media of newspapers or printed material, the theories and approaches are recognized in most arenas as being equally applicable to the other forms of mass communication, such as films. According to Siebert (1956), the libertarian philosophy is founded on the assumption that man is an end in himself. â€Å"The happiness and well-being of the individual is the goal of society, and man as a thinking organism is capable of organizing the world around him and of making decisions which will advance his interests† (Siebert 40). From this stance, the role of the government was established to be as the representative of the people with the primary duty of securing a space in which the individual could fully explore his or her own happiness and well-being. However, the individual must be aware of what the government is doing in order to make sure that it

Host resistance and immunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Host resistance and immunity - Essay Example A detrimental colonization of the pathogen in the host body results in an infection. Variables that determine the outcome of a host body encounter with a pathogen include the infectivity, pathogenicity, virulence, toxigenicity, resistance, and antigenicity of the pathogens (Qureshi, S. 1999). Pathogenicity of an infection involves a mechanism that leads to the initiation of signs and symptoms of the bacterial or viral infections. An environment that favours the growth of the agent in the host body and its ability to damage the host determines the resultant outcome of the association between disease causing agent and the host body. High pathogenicity levels increases the risk of acquiring an infection. Therefore, once an individual gets exposed to a disease, the pathogenicity of the disease causing agent determines the possibility of the infection. On the other hand, if the bacteria or parasite turns out to be non-pathogenic, the risks of getting infection are low (Qureshi, S. 1999). Virulence refers to the severity of an infection and therefore a highly virulent strain produces severe infections. High virulent strains utilize resources from the host body and leads to tissue damage in host bodies. This increases the possibility of an infection and may lead to death of the host. Virulent strains speed up their growth in order to obtain transmission to new hosts. These strains struggle to gain subsequent transmission before killing the former host. Therefore, once an individual gets exposed to a disease, the virulence of the disease determines the level of damage. To counter an infection, one need to consider immediate treatment before multiplication of a strain that may be detrimental to one or more individuals (Sansonetti, P 2010). Toxigenicity refers to the ability of the agent to produce a toxin, which forms the main disease-causing element in a virus or bacteria. There are two types of toxins produced by disease causing parasites. They

The Developing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Developing Manager - Assignment Example This essay discusses that delegation involves assigning duties to workers so that they can complete them on behalf of the manager. Delegation enables managers to assign duties to employees who have the right skills; this enables companies to achieve their targets because workers complete numerous duties simultaneously. The author of the report has the skills of determining the workers who are suitable to complete certain tasks because he matches their skills with those required to carry out certain duties. If the organization lacks workers who can complete certain tasks efficiently, he organizes for them on the job trainings that fill their skills gaps.From the report it is clear that  leadership involves showing individuals the right way to follow when they are completing their tasks. Managers should possess this skill because they cannot manage successfully if they are not efficient leaders.  Problem-solving skills enable managers to solve conflicts that arise in their organiza tions successfully. The author uses his problem-solving skills to resolve conflicts among workers and departmental managers in the organization. He finds solutions that end the conflicts in a way that satisfies all the parties who are involved in the problem. This increases the satisfaction of workers and it motivates them to work hard for the organization.  Team management is a skill that enables leaders to organize various players in a company so that they can work in union. The author manages teams by first determining the workers who should work in a team.

Commodities Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Commodities Marketing - Essay Example Commodity products such as metals, fuel, and agricultural products have a much higher risk in this regard (Damodaran 2008). This is why any manager running an agricultural business should be able to manage these risk in order to help he business to navigate all the seasons in a year without being brought done by the changing prices. Nature of risks for an agriculture business The kind of risk that an agribusiness faces is not just tied to the prices of the commodity it sells. It is also related to the price changes in the farm inputs (Damodaran 2008). If the farm inputs increase in price in a dramatically short time, the business will have to receive this shock and may not be able to sell its products at a price that will return its costs of production and give the business a profit margin. One thing that is most necessary to understand about agriculture products is that they have at least two main characteristic that expose them to the risk of price change. These are as follows; Aff ected by weather and seasons The seasonal nature of agricultural commodities is something that affects the way the products navigate through the market during the calendar year. For instance, during the time when there are too many tomatoes in the market, prices of the tomatoes will go down and this can affect the farmer because the famer (agribusiness man) may not be able to recover their cost of production. ... If the farmer is farming vegetables and fruits, the farmer can use green houses and be able to deliver the goods to the market during the time those particular goods are out of the season and thus be able to have an upper hand in demand and supply equation. There are on the other hand various issues in regard to this. To begin with, not all the agribusiness products can be cushioned from risk in this way. Secondly, even for those products which can be headed in this way, they would still need more hedging because this does not guarantee that the markets will be stable. This therefore means that the farmer may still need to hedge their business farther using more formidable means of risk management tools. Perishable goods Most agricultural goods are perishable and therefore have no long shelf life in which to wait for the products to wait for the price shock to pass. For instance, once vegetables reach their time to be harvested, they have to be harvested as soon as possible, or they will go bad. At the same time, once they are harvested, they have to be moved immediately before they expire. This leaves the farmer at a disadvantage and may make them to be vulnerable to the forces of demand and supply. Substitute products To add to the risk of the perish-ability, most of the agricultural goods have substitute products in the market and agricultural products can be replaced by so many other products. This leaves the consumers with a choice to choose the substitute product with the lowest price tag on it. From the side of the farmer, though this is not ideal because it leaves the farmer in a position where they are not able to negotiate for a better price. This makes

Cisco Australia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cisco Australia - Case Study Example The company could well be on its way to wearing Australia's best employer crown. So what is Cisco all about Cisco, which was founded in 1984 by two computer scientists from Stanford University, began life as a manufacturer of routing systems. Since it sold its first router in 1986, the company has more than lived up to its vision of 'Changing the Way We Live, Work, Play and Learn'. Apart from its core development areas of routing and switching, Cisco has now branched into various technology-related fields like IP communications, wireless LAN, home networking, application networking services, network security, storage area networking and video systems. The company, which has its corporate headquarters in San Jose, California, soon became one of the leaders in the global networking industry with a presence in over 115 countries. Today, it has a 47,000-strong employee base. Using the acquisition-partnership route, Cisco managed to make inroads into multiple fields. Today, Cisco's products provide solutions to a wide range of customers from business enterprises like corporations and government agencies to educational and research institutions. In 1994 Cisco set up base in Sydney, Australia, which was one of the company's first operations outside the United States. Today, Cisco Australia operates from around six cities and has over 600 employees on its payrolls. Australia is home to the company's Asia Pacific Technical Assistance Centre and Customer Assurance Group. Here's a list of the awards that the decade-old Cisco Australia won: Prime Minister's Award for Community Business Partnerships in August 2001. No 1 in the Hewitt Associates survey "Best Employers to Work for in Australia" in the under 1,000 employees category in 2002 and 2003 MAS National Award for Corporate Citizenship at the 2005 Australian HR Awards. [B(1.1)] Does Cisco Fit The New Workplace One of the main reasons for Cisco's almost meteorical rise to success was its ability to adapt to the new work order. Around 15 years ago, the same time that Cisco began operations; the new workplace became an important word in management parlance. Computers and the Internet were changing the way the world worked. Managers realized they needed to implement solid workplace strategies, to provide the infrastructure for enabling global, 24x7 work processes and remote collaboration "anytime, anyplace." (Aperture Technologies 2006, online ) This 'anytime, anyplace' strategy proved extremely beneficial for both organizations and their employees. It gave them considerable freedom, as they could now be mobile and work from just about anywhere. Freed from geographical and time constraints, an organization's managers could employ qualified people from just about anywhere in the world. A look at Cisco's growth graph during the past 20 years shows that in just over a decade, the company had spread its wings across continents. It managed to get the best in terms of qualified employees and a bigger customer base. A downside of this new workplace was that it put a strain on the companies' infrastructure and also affected workplace dynamics. This meant that enabling and empowering employees with a superior workplace was of paramount importance to the

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay â€Å"It takes one step at a time. Small changes eventually add up to huge results.† Life lessons are important in the way life is understood. Without life lessons to teach the importance of life there would be much suffering and unhappiness. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. It was written in the early 1960’s about a young girl named Scout and her family about the racism that was provoked in the town. Harper Lee, in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrates three main lessons with the Tom Robinson trial: Stand up for what you believe in, racism is painful and avoid mob mentalities. One of the most important lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird is to stand up for your beliefs. The character Atticus is a promonate example Harper Lee used to express the importance of standing up for your beliefs. â€Å"Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her moth and screamed.† (Lee 323). Atticus throughout the novel displays the courageous and daring act of standing up for his beliefs. Atticus presented a strong defence for the coloured man, even though he knew that there was nothing he could really do. Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson in his case. Atticus took the case seriously and took it upon himself to take all evidence into close examination. â€Å"This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience-Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship god if I didn’t try to help that man.† ( ). Atticus strongly defends Tom Robinson for his own personal beliefs and took this case ‘white vs. Black’ seriously and he has taken all odds against society to justify this man. Standing up for what you believe in is a strong way to under mind authorities and prove a strongly arguable point. Atticus did not end up winning the case, but he still stood up for what he believed was right and held on to those beliefs until the end. Roberts 2 Racism causes pain to so many coloured people in the 1930’s, still to this day racism affects the lives of many. The Tom Robinson case is a prime example of how racism can negatively affect the lives of many. Maycomb the town in To Kill a Mockingbird is very racial. The town folk locked Tom Robinson up for a crime he simply did not do. The men in Maycomb did not care if this man did it or not, they just wanted him to be imprisoned because of the colour of his skin. â€Å"To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a niger to cut and run. Typical if a niggers mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw. Atticus Finch might’ve got him off scot free, but wait-Hell no. You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneers mighty thin. Nigger always comes out in ‘em.’’ ( ). Tom died because he was convicted of a crime committed by a white man. Tom was sent to jail, and first chance at free dome so he ran, ending himself with 17 bullet shots in him. Anger when associated with racism can drive a man insane. Bob Ewell let both of them get to him. â€Å"Mr. Finch-wasn’t crazy, mean as hell. Low-down skunk with enough liquor in him to make him brave enough to kill children. He’d never have met you face to face.† ( ). All just because Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson in his case, Bob Ewell got angry. Bob Ewell was furious with modem to kill because in the trail, Atticus’ defence for Tom Robison was rather embarrassing for Bob Ewell. Atticus made an embarrassment of Bob Ewell by presenting the jury and the courtroom to the evidence that clearly indicates that Bob Ewell was the one who abused Mayella. Bob Ewell being mad he had enough modem to go after Atticus’ children just because he did his job and defended a black man. Racism is still painful to many today. Harper Lee expresses the real pain behind racism in To Kill a Mockingbird. The white men of Maycomb posses mob mentalities which Harper Lee presents as despicable. All of Maycomb County think that black people are so different, but in reality no one is here to tell everyone who can be better or not. â€Å"A quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has to put his word against two white people’s. Need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand-you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the Sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negros lie, that all Negros are basically immortal beings, that all negro man are not to be trusted around women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.† (273). Maycomb judges coloured people on the colour of their skin and not what really matters. Tom Robinson was brutally exposed to racism and never got the chance to live it down. Atticus is very well to avoid mob mentalities. Atticus makes a point of making what he wants to be heard, heard. Atticus is very courageous in Roberts 4 the way that he will stand up for and defend his beliefs and not follow in the same corrupt path that others are on. â€Å"I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant, To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.† (271) Atticus actually took the time to consider all the evidence in the Tom Robinson case. Atticus presented his evidence before the jury and he strongly believed that it was not Tom Robinson. Atticus did not follow in the ways of others with no just assuming that because he is black he did it. Atticus took into all the consideration the evidence he had pulled together to treat Tom as an equal and give him a fair defence against a white man. Mob mentalities are everywhere. People believe in anything they hear and go along with it, but it takes one person to stand up and represent those who cannot. Standing up for what you believe in, racism is painful and avoiding mob mentalities are really important life lessons that Harper Lee expresses throughout the novel, epically in the Tom Robinson trial. Harper Lee incorporated life lessons into her novel to teach the reader the importance in knowing right from wrong and to teach you things you may not learn in schooling. History is full of examples of people that kept making the same mistakes because they fail to learn the first time. Life lessons are everywhere, you learn something new every day that builds your character and defines who you are as a person.

The red scare and the crucible

The red scare and the crucible The term Red Scare indicates two marked periods of strong and great anti-Communism in the United States of America. The first Red Scare took place from the year 1919 to 1920, and the second Red Scare, occurred between 1947 and 1957. The first Red Scare related to worker or socialist, political and radicalism revolution, while the second Red Scare focused on issues relating to foreign and national communists who infiltrated the society or influenced the federal government. The beginning of the first Red Scare was due to the Bolshevik Russian Revolution of 1917 and the greatly patriotic World War I year, as the left-wing political violence, anarchist and social agitation worsen national political and social. Mr. Murray B. Levin a former member of the Communist Party and a political scientist noted that the Red Scare was a national wide rebellion against radical hysteria, which was provoked by a buildup of fear, anxiety and intimidation that Bolshevik revolution was forth coming in America was forth coming. The revolution would give a new look to the home, civility, Church, home, marriage, and the entire American Lifestyle (Burnett).The media and Newspapers translated the political anxiety and fears into xenophobia, solely because an array of radical anarchism were seen to be the answers to poverty. Recent European immigrants were often the advocates and, the World Industrial Workers supported several strikes, organized by labor in 1916 and 1917. The pre ss portrayed the strikes as radical threats to US society and as being instigated by some foreign agents provocateurs, and the left wing. The press media misrepresented genuine labor strikes as being Communism establishment plots, crimes against society, and anti-government conspiracies. Transformations in public views and opinion lead to the loosing of many members by the left-wing organizations like the Industrial Workers of the World, communist and the Communist Party America. Several American states enacted a law known as the criminal syndicalism laws, which outlawed advocating of unrest and violence between the years 1919 and 1920. This was done in an effort to secure and effect social change in the states. The restrictions and regulations in the law included limitation of free speech. Aggressive investigation by police took root after the passing of these laws. Irrespective of ideological gradation, Red Scare failed to distinguish between socialism communism, and social democracy. The Second Red Scare took place after World War II, and coincided with the increased fear of communist espionage consequent, the Chinese Civil War, the Korean War, the acknowledgment of intelligence work for the Soviet Union given by several high-ranking American government officials, the Berlin Blockade, and Soviet Eastern Europe. The occurrences of the late 1940s, the court trial of Julius Rosenberg, and Ethel, the Iron Curtain between 1945 to 1991 around Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Unions nuclear weapon creation surprised the American public (Miller). The influencing popular opinion about America national security, in turn, connected to fear of the ability of the Soviet Union, carrying out an atomic-bombing on its territories, and fear of the United States of America Party of Communist contributed largely to the Red Scare. Whittaker Chambers, Elizabeth Bentley, former CPUSA members and NKVD spies, testified at the House Un-American Activities Committee, that communist sympathiz ers and Soviet spies had made penetration into the government of the United States and this happened prior to and even after World War II. Out of pride, other United States American citizen spies confessed, to their activities of espionage in instances where the statute of limitations on their prosecution had run. In the year 1949, fear of American traitors and anti communist, was mounted by the winning of the Chinese Civil War by the Chinese Communists against the Western supported Kuomintang, one of the founders of the Peoples Republic of China, and later the intervention of the Chinese in the Korean War against American ally nation of South Korea (Eaklor 87). The Second Red Scare greatly changed and aggravated the temper of U.S society. The societys later identification as anti-intellectual may be have been seen as a contributed by factors such as escalating popularity of anti-communist espionage like â€Å"My Son John† and science fiction movies such as â€Å"The Thing from another World† of 1951. Such resources contained themes and stories of the invasion, infiltration, destruction, and subversion, of United States society by non-American sentiments and inhuman individuals. The animosity even lead to a baseball team, originally known as Cincinnati Reds to , temporarily change their   name to Cincinnati Red legs to avoid the loose of money and their career ruining legacy consistent in being ball playing Reds. As an indication of the ability of the American government to curry out intelligence gathering, it released details of the Venona Project for the Soviet Union from 1940 through 1980 in 1995. In the duration of the McCarthy era, many Americans were accused of being members of the Communists movement or of being communist sympathizers and therefore becoming the objects and subject of aggressive interrogations and questioning by the private industry panels, or government, committees and special agencies. Government employees, individuals in the showbiz and entertainment industry, teachers, union activists and instructors, were the primary targets of such victimization and suspicions (Bowers 19). Despite questionable evidence or inconclusive findings, the suspicions continued to be given credence. There was also a great exaggeration of level of threat presented by a persons real or supposed leftist interactions or beliefs. A great number of people went through the pain of losing employment, career destruction, and even long-term imprisonment. Most of the punishments issued were because of trial verdicts and convictions based on laws that would be later declared unconstitutio nal. The most famous and well-known examples of McCarthyism during the Red Scare are Sen. McCarthys own personal trial hearings, speeches, and communists investigations. The Hollywood blacklist, associated with the House Committee on Non-American Activities hearings, and a range of anti-communist behavior of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are key examples of McCarthyism. The cultural and social widespread phenomenon had an immense effect on all levels of society. Furthermore, it was seen as the source of a great debatable issues and conflict in the United States of America. The Crucible is known to be a tale of the Salem witch-hunts that was practiced during the preceding days before the institution and founding of the United States (Bloom 197). Arthur Miller, a play writer, wrote that story. It is an allegorical presentation of Joseph McCarthy and the hunt for Communists in the 1950s during the Red Scare. The intention of the play was to depict that McCarthy, as being the wit ch hunters, and that he was making profits from public hysteria by persecuting innocent people. The soviet archives along with the data of the Venona Project released by the U.S intelligence, later suggested that some of McCarthys targets were actually guilty of becoming enemy agents. During the Red Scare and the Crucible United States citizens, were in apprehension of communism in the same manner in which people were in witchcraft trepidation in the Salem witch trials. Distinguishing attributes of the two occurrences are can be compared between that of Arthur Millers Crucible narrative and the Red Scare occurrences that took place in American history. During the time when the witch trials were conducted in The Crucible, people were forced to either agreeing or confessing to having committed the witchery crime or direct the blame towards another suspect or a different person. Part of the crucible story, records that trouble in The Crucible started when Abigail Williams blamed Tituba for the actions of the girls who used to dance among the trees or woods. She replied that, she made him not to do it, but instead made Betty to do it. The statement given against another person generated the emergence of pandemonium in Salem. Such quotes are perfect example that leader s like Miller presented in his dialog relating to the way people conducted themselves during the duration of the Red Scare. Another example of an instance of how people behaved during the Red Scare is Mary Warren story. She states that John Proctor is worked in the company and together with the devil. Arthur Millers vividly illustrated the thought that everyone must agree to confess or face death, and that being against the court meant also being against the church in The Crucible narration. The achievements by Sen. McCarthy to United States are undeniable to the historians and those who look at history with impartial eye. At a time when agents of the most murderous empire in human history were infiltrating America, McCarthy was the only voice that stood against victimization and tyranny (Senator McCarthy Inc.). He managed to expose hundreds of agents who were determined to destroy Unite States. If Sen. McCarthy never got the nerve to express what he knew, the possibilities that the USSR might still have been in existence today would be true. Senator Joseph McCarthy is on record as having been the first one who indicated that communism had come over to the United States of America and their spies were letting out Americans secret intelligence information. Lies seemed to be the grounds upon which America was governed, from its very commencement of Salem with trial to the Sen. McCarthy occurrences. A considerable number of people of the Eastern Europeans descent, who once lived under the ruler ship of the Soviet, owe their freedom to Senator McCarthy today. The patriotism of Sen. McCarthy did not fail to come with a price. It cost him his work and finally his life. Having determinate his willingness to protect and defend United States freedom, Senator Joseph McCarthy is without a doubt an American patriot and hero. Although he ruined several lives and led to the downfall of many careers, McCarthy is the man who changed the landscape of American politics. His speech proved that America adhered to the tenets of the constitution of freedom of expression and speech. His acts of free speech, hunting for communist proposers and liberals who were thought to be pro-communist led to the downfall of President Harry S.S. Truman and several other Democrats from the Congress and the White House. His actions also led to the fanning of the cold war hatred embers that went on for several years up until the early 90s. McCarthy also changed the atomic bomb focus of the world through the Red Scare. He broke through the ranks of communism, ensured that the formulae for making atomic bombs has not been spread by Communist spies in the U.S. This somehow contributed to the curtailing of the number of countries and people who can make bombs that are of a powerful nature. McCarthy is a man who reduced the communist stance and existence around America and in the Globe!

Role of Clinical Psychologists in Valuing People

Role of Clinical Psychologists in Valuing People What role should clinical psychologists play in implementing the recommendation of â€Å"Valuing People†? Clinical psychologists, in general, work in various settings diagnosing, through assessment and treating mental health disorders. In 2001 the ‘Valuing people’ project started as a governmental initiative and strategy with certain performance indicators in order to address the needs of people with learning disabilities by improving the quality of their lives and that of their families and carers. According to the (2001) white paper on valuing people, although it is difficult to provide accurate statistics on the number of people with learning disabilities in England, in 1999 it was estimated that about 210,000 people have ‘severe and profound’ learning disabilities and 1.2 million people have ‘mild / moderate’ learning disabilities. Further, amongst the 210,000 people with severe and profound learning disabilities the majority (i.e. 120,000) is working age adults; 65,000 are youth and 25,000 are elderly people (available on: www.archive.officiald ocuments.co.uk/document/cm50/5086/5086.pdf). Clinical psychologists are mentioned in this white paper alongside other learning disability specialists engaged with the project towards improving the health of people with learning disabilities. This essay focuses on the roles of clinical psychologists in terms of acheiving the following project objectives: (1) disabled children and young people; (2) transition into adult life; (3) more choice and control; (4) supporting carers and (5) good health. These five objectives contribute to the overall aims of valuing people to protect the rights of those with learning difficulties as citizens, to ensure their full inclusion in their local communities, to expand the range of life-options available and to increase their independence. Children and people with severe learning disabilities might be unable to describe complicated internal feelings and a diagnosis can only be reached by behavioural observation and functional analysis, which the clinical psychologist can provide. In general there is a high rate of behavioural problems among people with a learning disability (Debb et al., 2001). Emerson (1995) postulates that between 30%-50% of people with a learning disability tend to demonstrate a variety of challenging behaviours. Nevertheless, challenging behaviour is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis, but rather a broad social construction (Emerson, 1998). It can, however, be taken as a sign of a mental illness – or it can mask i t. Clinical psychologists can assess challenging behaviours, understand their causes and then offer appropriate interventions (including the services of other health care specialists such as social workers) in order to eliminate them. In terms of the first objective about disabled people and young adults, clinical psychologists play a key role in identifying and accurately diagnosing their disability. A person with a learning disability is from early years likely to experience stressful and adverse life events that will create vulnerability for mental health problems (Bouras et al., 2000). That is so because in addition to cognitive problems and psychosocial stressors, genetic and biochemical factors tend to increase the probability for both challenging behaviour and mental illness (Bouras et al., 2000). The possible combination of these factors can make assessments and diagnosis extremely difficult. Correct diagnosis of disability is crucial for providing appropriate health and social care to the person with disability; while clinical psychologists work in a multi-disciplinary team of learning disability specialists who inform both the disabled person and their family about all support services available to them. Clinical psychologists are important in monitoring the progress that young people with disability make, when receiving health treatment alongside suitable family support services, in order to modify their treatment and the provision of support services to address any changes in their needs. This implies that clinical psychologists need to assess regularly the quality of health care these people receive and to ensure that disabled children and young people are getting appropriate health care in order that they are and feel included in education, family life and their local community. In the second objective of ‘transition into adult life’ again clinical psychologists have a key role working in multidisciplinary teams of learning disability specialists (e.g. in settings such as the Connexions partnership) towards providing appropriate and continuous health and social care support to young people, who are becoming adults, and their families in order that adults with disability can be included in education, training, employment and their local community. Clinical psychologists can help young people with disability to understand their growth into adulthood and its psychological and practical implications. In this it is useful having consistency in attending the same person with disability from their youth into adulthood because then the disabled person will tend to trust more the clinical psychologist and his interventions. The development of young people with disability into adults is associated with the third objective of the valuing people project which is about providing more choice and control. Mental health problems can be a major factor in limiting not only quality of life but also successful community interaction and adaptation (Reiss, 1994). There is a general consensus regarding the prevalence of mental disorder in adults with a learning disability (Turner Moss, 1996). A review of relevant research revealed a prevalence range of mental disorder in adults with a learning disability from 14.3 % to 67.3 % (Campell Malone, 1991). Clinical psychologists with their person-centred approach have a valuable contribution to make in enriching the choices disabled people have through involving these people in the planning of suitable services for them and increasing public awareness of what these people can do and their rights in our society. In addition, clinical psychologists are significant contributors in the achievement of objectives (4) ‘supporting carers’ and (5) ‘good health’ because of their knowledge, skills and experience as health care specialists they can assess the needs of carers providing appropriate solutions to support them and their disabled people to access good health care services regardless of their ethnic background. Therefore, clinical psychologists should work to reduce health care inequalities and increase access for all carers and disabled people to health care. Moreover, clinical psychologists have to support and encourage the development of NHS’s services and provisions of specialist learning disability services that address holistically the needs of disabled people through the work of multi-disciplinary teams of disability specialists. To summarise, clinical psychologists can play several and important roles in implementing the recommendations of the valuing people project, especially in order to achieve its first five project objectives. Furthermore, in collaboration with other professionals in multidisciplinary teams of disability specialists clinical psychologists need to get involved in more proactive work. Having knowledge of human development, learning theories and aetiology of mental health illnesses clinical psychologist could play also an important role in preventive work on individual basis as well as in service development suitable for proactive adaptation and assimilation of people with disabilities in education, employment, their community and in the society. References: Campbell, M., Malone, R.P. (1991). Mental retardation and psychiatric disorders. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 42, 4. Department of Health. (2000). Valuing People: a new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century. (Retrieved 05/11/06 and it is available on www.archive.officialdocuments.co.uk/document/cm50/5086/5086.pdf>). Emerson, E., Moss, S. C. Kiernan, C. K. (2000). The relationship between challenging behaviour and psychiatric disorders in people with severe intellectual disabilities. In Psychiatric and Behavioural Disorders in Mental Retardation (ed. N. Bouras), 38-48. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Emerson, E. (1995). Challenging behaviour: analysis and intervention in people with learning disabilities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Emerson, E. (1998). Clinical psychology and people with intellectual disabilities. London: Wiley Sons. Thomas, D. M. Bright, C. (2001). Mental disorder in adults with intellectual disability. The Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 25, Part 6, 506-514. Turner, S. Moss, S. (1996). The health needs of adults with learning disabilities and the Health of the Nation strategy. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 40,  438-450.

Camera Techniques Used in Hitchcock’s Thriller Movie, Vertigo Essay

Camera Techniques Used in Hitchcock’s Thriller Movie, Vertigo A thriller is a type of film that usually instills excitement and suspense into the audience. A thriller is commonly described as a tense edge of the seat environment. The movie, Vertigo, is one of the most famous thrillers ever made. However, Vertigo does not fit into the stereotypical genre of thriller. Vertigo, often viewed as an experimental film because it was one of the first major thrillers of that time that used many different and innovative camera techniques. These techniques used in this film are different types of lighting, montage, intense music, etc. Vertigo is known to be one of Hitchcock’s best movies because of his unique sense of style and his famous â€Å"Hitchcock signature† The movie Vertigo is about a detective who is hired to follow his friend’s wife Madeline. In actuality, however, he is being tricked to participate in a murder. Throughout the movie the detective, Scottie, ends up falling for Madeline while she is stringing him along her hi dden agenda. Even though at the forefront of the movie Madeline...

Isolation Through Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

Isolation Through Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A symbol is an object used to stand for something else. Symbolism has a hidden meaning lying within it; these meanings unite to form a more detailed theme. Symbolism is widely used in The Scarlet Letter to help the reader better understand the deep meanings Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays throughout his novel. He shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. Hawthorne also shows this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, two symbols in the town show how sin isolate people. In the first chapter there is a plant that stands out, â€Å"But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rosebush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems† (46). It stands out as wild and different among the grass and weeds as Hester does in the Puritan town. She wears her scarlet letter as the rosebush wears its scarlet blossoms. Later in the book Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth (Hester’s unknown husband) discuss a strange dark plant that Chillingworth discovered. â€Å"I found them growing on a grave that bore no tombstone, nor other memorial of the dead man, save these ugly weeds that have taken upon themselves to keep him in remembrance. They grew out of his heart, and typify, it maybe, some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime† (127). Here there is a man whos e sin was not publicly discovered while he was alive. This person tried to keep wrongdoing a secret by hiding it within himself. Yet the sin was too strong to hide and later reveled after his death. There remains nothing honorable about the place where this person lies, but the weed that grew out of the blackness of this person’s heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next area is a symbol in the heavens. This occurs during the second famous scaffold scene. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are on the scaffold when, â€Å"a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky. It was doubtless caused by one of those meteors† (150). â€Å"The minister looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter-the letter ‘A’- marked out in lines of dull red light† (152).

Hinduism and Festival

Many festivals are celebrated in India. Diwali Is the most Important festival of India. It is a festival of Hindus but everyone participates in it. It is called Deepawali also. This festival falls in October or in the first week of November. When Lord Rama killed the Ravana-symbol of sin-and returned to Ayodhya, people expressed their Joy and welcomed Lord Rama's return by lightening their houses. On this day everyone looks happy and they greet one another. Children buy toys and crackers.Shops and houses are white washed. At night people worship Lakshmi- Goodess of wealth. Tasty dishes are cooked. Some people gamble and drink too much on this festival which Is a social evil. Diwali is a nice festival and such bad things- should not be attached with it. It should bring happiness, prosperity and progress to all of us. We should send our good wishes to our friends on this day. Many festivals are celebrated In India. Diwali Is the most Important festival of India.It he Ravana-symbol of s in-and returned to Ayodhya, people expressed their joy and Many festivals are celebrated in India. Diwali is the most important festival of India. It Is a festival of Hindus but everyone participates In It. It Is called Deepawall also. This festival falls In October or In the first week of November. When Lord Rama killed 1 OF2 crackers. snops ana nouses are wnlte wasnea At nlgnt people worsnlp La Some people gamble and drink too much on this festival which is a social evil. Diwali

Plato Defends Rationalism

Plato Defends Rationalism Plato was a highly educated Athenian Philosopher. He lived from 428-348 B. C. Plato spent the early portion of his life as a disciple to Socrates, which undoubtedly helped shape his philosophical theories. One topic that he explored was epistemology. Epistemology is the area of philosophy that deals with questions concerning knowledge, and that considers various theories of knowledge (Lawhead 52). Plato had extremely distinct rationalistic viewpoints. Rationalism is the claim that reason, or intellect, is the primary source of our fundamental knowledge about reality (55).By examining Plato’s philosophical position on the three basic epistemological questions, as well as analyzing his ability to justify the three anchor points of rationalism, it is clear to see that Plato was successful in defending rationalism. There are three basic questions that are the basis for determining the difference between each of the epistemological viewpoints. The first of these is: Is knowledge possible? In order to understand exactly what is being asked here, it is important to consider the agreed definition of knowledge as being a â€Å"true justified belief† (53).Plato believed that yes, it is possible to have knowledge. He claimed that as long as one has the ability to recognize something as false, they are capable of having knowledge. The second question is: Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? Plato would also answer yes to this question as well. Many objected to this, believing that knowledge was a result of sense experience rather than reason. Plato examined this theory (empiricism); he argued that, because the physical world is subject to change, there can be no real truth in knowledge that is based solely on one’s senses.He then used the examples Justice, Goodness, and Equality to justify his argument that there are some things that we cannot come to know through experience alone, th us casting doubt on the empiricist theory. Plato expands on the teachings of Socrates, and acknowledges the concept that we already have ideas or principles that are contained in our mind prior to experience, called innate ideas (73). The third and final question is: Does our knowledge represent reality as it really is? To this question, he would answer yes. Plato’s distinction between innate ideas and sense experience bring us to understand his true sense of reality.Our innate ideas are the foundation from which we are able to possess rational knowledge. Rational knowledge, as Plato explains, gives us the ability to differentiate between invariable â€Å"Forms† (Universals) and the ever changing characteristics that are recognized through sense experiences. Plato believes that knowledge of Universals provide us with knowledge of the fundamental features of reality, which are nonphysical, eternal, and unchanging (81). The three anchor points of Rationalism expand on th e question discussed above, Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience?The first anchor point is: Reason is the primary or most superior source of knowledge about reality (72). Plato proves this point to be true by determining that it is through unchanging, Universal knowledge, that we come to find reality. The second anchor point is: Sense experience is an unreliable and inadequate route to knowledge (73). Plato questions the reliability and adequacy of sense experience, due to the fact that there are things that we are simply unable to experience in the physical world. If knowledge comes strictly from experience, and we are unable to experience some things, how is it that we come to find such knowledge?Plato also argues that sense experiences are subject to individual interpretation, and are ever changing. Knowledge cannot be based on inconstant perception. The final anchor point of rationalism is: The fundamental truths about the world can be k nown a priori (independently of, or prior to, experience): They are either innate or self-evident to our minds (73). Plato believed that knowledge was contained in our soul from preexistence, and was independent of human experiences. He came to the conclusion that it is from these innate ideas that we are able to recognize reality.Plato’s view on epistemology is extremely consistent with that of rationalism. He was able to successfully justify his beliefs, not only by proving his theory, but also by disproving alternative theories. Plato recognized the fact that knowledge is possible. He believed that the ability to identify something as false can only come from knowing truth. This was the first step in his philosophical journey. In his quest to determine the source, and explore the characteristics of knowledge, he made several valid arguments.Plato’s strongest argument was that we cannot base our knowledge directly on experience, because there are circumstances in whi ch our senses do not provide us with reliable truths. Not only did this make it apparent that experience is not concrete enough to act as a basis for knowledge, thus disproving the imperialistic theory, but it also helped justify his theory of Universals. Plato was able to prove that reason, by way of innate ideas, leads us to knowledge, as it was defined above, a true justified belief.This rational knowledge, in turn, leads us to the knowledge of reality. Plato spent much of his life studying philosophy, and the concept of knowledge. After finding fault in other epistemological theories, he was led to develop a philosophy of his own. Plato’s approach toward epistemology was considerably different from that of other philosophers in his day. His rationalistic viewpoints were extremely influential. He brought light to the concept of Universals, which had a great impact on the work of philosophers after him.Plato was able to explain knowledge from all aspects, which set him apar t from others. Plato was not only able to conclude that knowledge is possible, he was also able to explain how knowledge is obtained. By examining Plato’s philosophical position on the three basic epistemological questions, as well as analyzing his ability to justify the three anchor points of rationalism, it is clear to see that Plato was successful in defending rationalism.Works Cited Lawhead, William F. The Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 52-81. Print