Kingfisher

Visa Malay inducted professional management and implement different methods and theories to develop the company to globalize the company. Since then Kingfisher has gone on to become the undisputed ‘king' in the Indian beer market. Kingfisher today has impressive spread of manufacturing facilities throughout the whole country. Quality and hygiene are the key elements for its marketing philosophy success. Its flagship brand ‘Kingfisher', has achieved international recognition consistently, and has won many awards in International Beer Festivals. KingfisherPremium Lager beer is currently available in 52 countries and leads the way amongst Indian beers in the International market. It has been ranked amongst the top 10 fastest growing brands in the I-J. Today each one of the 32,000 Beer outlets in India sells one brand or the other from United Breweries. United Breweries limited has a 48% share in the Indian beer market. S. W. O. T (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Thre ats) Analysis A SOOT analysis is a structured approach to evaluating the strategic position of a business by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.It provides a simple method of synthesizing the results of the marketing audit. Strength Kingfisher is a true global Indian icon and is also known today as a premium worldwide brand. It has the strongest worldwide distribution system and is available in 52 countries worldwide. It is a worldwide known brand with sponsorship in Formulae, Indian Premier League and title sponsors of England and Wales Cricket Board's National Championship knock out competition due to this it has excellent brand visibility. It also has huge financial backing from PUB Group. WeaknessKingfisher usually focuses on strong beer market as it is mostly favored in India but not in other countries and thus market growth is slow. Due to the current high demand and worldwide distribution system many opportunities are lost as there is less availa bility. Opportunity Due to the current trend of beer among the young people Kingfisher has a lot of benefit by global market expansion. The changing culture and lifestyle of Indian people has also increased the beer consumption. Threats The alcohol industry is highly taxed and has certain regulations thus has a lot of impact on Kingfisher.Advertising for alcohol has been banned in India as it is considered to be a taboo. Negative perceptions about alcoholic beverages are widely common. Kingfisher faces huge competition from international companies like Heinlein, Scrabbles and Budweiser. P. E. S. T. L. E Analysts 2 PESTLE stands for political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental. PESTLE analysis is a process, to help understand the overall market environment for a particular industry, business, product, or project. It is often a key part of strategic marketing and business planning.PESTLE allows an organization to go in depth into heir current status and weakness es. Political factors:- Minimum drinking age The minimum drinking age in India is 21 years whereas in European countries is 18 thus minimum drinking age affects the alcohol business in an important way. People below the permitted age cannot consume alcohol even if they want to. Kingfisher beer is adversely affected in terms of sales. Banned advertisements India is a youth country thus advertising of alcohol products has been a subject of continuous debate between the government, the alcohol industry, health groups, policy makers and the public.Advertising in alcohol industry is done for brand choice and also it is a fair tool but banning advertising reduces market entry of new firms and thus also reduces awareness among the consumers about the product. Economic factors:- Taxation and Policies India has a very large youth population and strong beer is mostly favored but still growth of beer has some restrictions and complications which are in the form of taxes and policies implemente d by the state governments.Taxes and policies are different from state to state and some states do not allow alcoholic products brewed and manufactured from other states. The highest taxes are mostly levied by northern states such as Attar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharajah's and Delhi. All of this has a great impact on the sales of United Breweries and other brands but there are also many obstacles such as the government has banned the advertisements of any sorts for alcoholic products. Economic growth and per capita income With more than 60% of Indians younger than age 25 consumption of alcohol is likely to increase in the coming years.Due to continuous growth rate and growing economy people are getting richer day by day and also are their preferences as more people re drinking beers and spirits which is a very good sign for the growing alcohol industry. With the growing middle class and modern retail formats, taxation policies adopted by the state governments will act in favor of the gro wing beer industry in the coming future which will help united breweries and other brands in achieving their desired goals. Socio-cultural factors:- Cultural restriction India is a country with many religions and some of the religions prohibit drinking alcohol.This has a huge impact on the sales of alcohol brands. Violence through alcohol There is strong association between violence and drinking. Violent behavior is occurred in all communities it is caused mainly due to over consumption of alcohol. Alcohol abuse and violence is caused mainly due to poor parental modeling and mental stress. Drunken driving cases are some of the main causes of highway accidents. But through proper social norms and public education, violence and alcohol abuse can be tackled. Individual factors also play a very important role.Population India is the second largest country in terms of population and PUB group has a unique rand name thus people tend to consume their products. PUB group has a 48% share in the beer market that's why it is known as the king of beer market in India. Technological factors:- Scientific studies In a recent scientific research it has been confirmed that people who drink moderately have a lower risk of premature death as compared to people who do not drink at all. Consumption of alcohol moderately leads to a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases and obesity whereas people who drink in excess have a negative impact on their health. Distillery effluent treatment Compared to western countries where concentration of spent wash and its usage as an animal additive is a common practice, this process is not followed in India because Indian spent wash contains a higher level of inorganic substances which are found to produce a laxative effect if the consumption of feed is not monitored. Environmental factors:- Pollution A lot of water pollution is caused when the beer is made, the manufacturing of beer consists of three processes namely preparation of malt, beer wo rth and fermentation.These processes involve a lot of rinsing and cleaning as beer is made of barley and alt is prepared from it for brewing. The wastewater contains a lot of solids, detergents, soluble and insoluble organic materials. The wastewater is almost three times more concentrated than sewage but there are no toxic contaminants and most of the water is biodegradable. To meet the quality of discharge standards anaerobic biological treatment is done so that the organic concentration of wastewater is reduced.Legal environment:- Age factor In most European countries the age of drinking is 18 but in India where people are allowed to vote at this age are not permitted to drink. In India the alcohol consumption is allowed after 21 years but in some states it is 25. Despite the number of people who are below the ages of 25 years the beer industry has a huge potential if the current drinking age is lowered. Alcohol is considered a taboo in India as the culture and traditions are dif ferent than that of western countries. 5 Market Analysis:- The beer industry is still growing in India and it is estimated to be over 30 billion (in rupees).Overall annual consumption of beer is around 23000 million elites (fugues of 2011) the beer industry is growing at a yearly rate of 7% to 9%. The major players of beer industry are Gabrielle and United Breweries. The beer industry is likely to face more competition from foreign brands such as Scrabbles, Heinlein, Budweiser and Corona. Beer markets like USA and Europe have seen a flat growth whereas consumption in the Indian market has increased tremendously. In India beer sales have seen a rapid increase as compared to other alcoholic drinks.International beer companies like Budweiser, Scrabbles and Heinlein are well established in western countries but are still facing tough competition from Kingfisher which is the king in he beer industry of India with a 48% share. With more than 80% of market controlled by united breweries an d Gabrielle, foreign brands are yet to find their feet on the ground. Kingfisher posted a profit before tax of RSI. 1475 million in the first quarter of this year ending on 30th June 2012. Strong beer continued to dominate with a growth of 23% in sales volume.Intensity of rivalry The intensity of rivalry competitors is quite moderate as in case there is quite a rise in regulatory and legal burdens, manufacturers get together so that competition between them is lowered as they have to ensure their profit. Threat of new competitors The Indian beer industry is currently growing thus it is attractive for new players but with the dominant force of United breweries and Gabrielle already established it has been very difficult for foreign brewers to expand and overthrow Kingfisher which is currently leading in beer consumption.Threat of substitute Brands like Kingfisher face further competition from substitutes like wine, vodka and whiskey, which are mostly favored in India as beer industry is still developing, it still has to get a bigger consumer base which spirits do have but due to the changing rend and growing Indian youth population beer industry best is yet to come.Suppliers bargaining power Barley which is the most important product for brewing is quite cheaper and available in plenty and other inputs used to brew are also cheaper as there is a huge number of suppliers thus suppliers have less bargaining power. 6 Customers bargaining power It has been seen that customers are more powerful when their purchases form a large portion of seller's sales but if there are less number of players in the market people don't look at the quality but the product and thus they have less control over rice.Classification of beer Lager Ale Stout Creamy Ale Malt Plainer Porter Age Kingfisher mild For young people Just for fun People who drink for the first time mainly for experience Kingfisher strong People who drink regularly Those who want beer to be stronger mostly favored by people 25 and above ‘THE KING OF GOOD TIMES' As the punch line suggests Kingfisher has positioned its brand for people who want to socialize, party or have fun. 7 Customer Analysis:- The beer industry in India has a wide consumer base and people rink alcoholic beverages mostly for celebrating an event or socializing.Unlike western countries people in India are allowed to consume alcohol after the age of 21 in most states and spirits are given more preference. United breweries have a strong base in spirit and beer industries. Kingfisher is at the top of the list in consumption of beer. Consumer behavior India is a developing country with a large population of middle-class people thus people tend to consume beer occasionally. Whiskey, vodka and wine were given more preference but the beer industry is yet to reach its potential and is growing at a very cast rate.Products like Kingfisher and Harvard's 5000 have shown excellent progress so far as they are already established in th e beer industry. International brands like Budweiser, Heinlein and Scrabbles are still struggling to establish their brand among the people as they are expensive than Kingfisher and Harvard's products, this is mainly due to taxes and regulations by the state governments which usually are hard on alcoholic companies. In a recent survey it was shown that one in three beers drunk in India were of Kingfisher's. Consumers always prefer the cheapest product ND good value which Kingfisher effectively delivers.Recommendations:- Kingfisher is famous for its marketing and sponsorships in major sporting events and spends a lot of money on it per year. It should concentrate on innovation and development of new products which will help it increase its brand value in other western countries where there is even a larger market for its product and there are no restrictions on advertising. Retailing its beers with more number of large departmental stores. Advertising its brand ‘Kingfisher' by entering into different industries like water, soda of which advertising is allowed. This will lead to more brand awareness.Developing innovative and new packaging for its beer. It should concentrate on innovation of a new product which has elements of a spirit and a beer. 8 Conclusion:- Kingfisher has a huge potential of expanding the beer market in India as the per capita income of the people is rising and so is the consumption. Kingfisher also has a kind of monopoly over other brands as it is already well established and sells its product at a cheaper rate than the new competitors entering the Indian beer industry. The negative perceptions about alcohol consumption have gone down and he beer industry will definitely show a lot of growth in the coming years.

Black Civil Rights and Feminist Rights

During the twentieth century, both the Civil Rights and the Women’s Rights movements had a comparable ambition in mind. They both wanted to gain the rights and opportunities that others had. In this research paper my goal is to compare and contrast both movements and how they went about chasing each of their goals, and at the same time express some of my viewpoints.The Black Civil Rights was a movement that began right when â€Å"Reconstruction† ended in the late 1870’s which granted all Americans to equal treatment under the law, as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment (Sidlow & Henschen, 99) I will be discussing certain examples that marked this movement significantly. For example, in the landmark of Plessey vs. Ferguson decision in 1896, the Supreme Court upheld the racist policy of segregation by legalizing â€Å"separate but equal† facilities for blacks and whites (Sidlow & Henschen, 101).The court then sentenced blacks to more than half a century of social inequality. Along with this certain act, came many more prominent movements that shaped the world today. The Selma to Montgomery March, for example, was a movement that both MLK Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership (SCLC) helped organized after the renowned Rosa Parks refused to move to the â€Å"colored section†. After being arrested and fined, many African Americans were spurred and began to organize a nine-year boycott (Sidlow & Henschen, 103).Through years of struggle the government proved unable to secure civil rights for Black people, and so activists started to take matters into their own hands in the early 1960s. The Black Civil Rights Movement initially fueled the Liberal Feminism Movement or also known as the Women’s Liberation. This movement refers to a series of campaigns promoting gender equality and at the same time, opposing the perpetuation of gender discrimination in all economic, political, legal and social structures.In 1966 the National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded by liberal feminists based on the NAACP with the aim of bringing civil rights to women where the legislation wasn’t being honored ( Sidlow & Henschen, 107). Furthermore, in 1969 the media caught on to the movement and brought a wider audience into it that in turn created more momentum to get their goals met alongside the goals of blacks. The movement, fueled by these successes, renewed a push for an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution (Sidlow & Henschen, 107).The amendment was then adopted in 1972 and states began adopting it, but adoption abruptly halted two years down the road and ultimately failed. The work of the Liberal Feminism Movement started to merge with the work of the Civil Rights Movement, as both were movements seeking similar rights for their respective minority groups. Blacks were largely the group violently pushed back against, and the group for which Affirmative Action was initially formed, but both movem ents were met with similar opposition as they played out at the same time.These movements both had a goal as extensive as racial equality since gender equality with skin of the same color felt like a task of the same size to the feminists and although the Civil Rights Movement accomplished this goal in manageable steps, the ultimate goal was equality with whites and equality with all women. The Feminism Movement used many of the same strategies and methods as the Civil Rights Movement, Nonviolence, for example, was known to be the best tactic at the time (Sidlow & Henschen, 103). Although anger would have been detrimental, nonviolence was still the tool of choice.For the Liberal Feminism Movement there was some room for angered nonviolence, but to be on par with the Civil Rights Movement they used nonviolence like the tool of the minority as well. Both the women of the Liberal Feminism Movement and blacks were minorities, but blacks were by far considered a definite minority due to skin color. Feminist fall into the majority white population and are therefore protected to some extent from undue harm by authorities. In conclusion, The Black Civil Rights were fighting with people not of color, while the Feminist movement was fighting against men.They both used nonviolence methods to best achieve their goals and were ultimately willing to do anything possible to reach them. Sex and race have both been an issue for many years and both are still factors in the political spectrum now a days that determine what â€Å"side† you belong to. Cases like, Plessey vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education, and Rosa Parks, are all examples that these two movements brought about, both aiming for the same thing. As well as school integration, busing, abortion, and wage discrimination were all issues that they had to fight through for so long, to ultimately get what they wanted which was equality.

Osama Bin Laden’s Strategy Essay

What were Osama bin Laden’s intended strategies in response to the â€Å"Arab Spring and why did he consider it a formidable event?† In response to the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protest (both non-violent and violent) throughout the Arab world, Osama Bin Laden wanted to reevaluate how Al-Qaida as a whole conducted their operations within the Muslim world. Osama Bin Laden viewed Al Qaeda’s in ability to attract followers as a weakness, â€Å"He believed that a media campaign should be launched to incite people who have not yet revolted and exhort them to rebel against the rulers†, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 3). By avoiding joining political parties and focusing on combat operations, for example in Afghanistan the Taliban were â€Å"weakening† the United States which had a negative effect on the United States ability to assist leaders in the Muslim world with combating the Arab Spring, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 3). Osama Bin Laden viewed the Arab s pring, which was sweeping across the Muslim World causing riots and protest as a time filled with great opportunity because of the effect it was having on Governments such as Tunisia and Egypt. â€Å"At the time he was writing, the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, Zein al-`Abidin bin `Ali and Husni Mubarak had fallen. Bin Laden was convinced that their fall was bound to trigger a domino effect, and â€Å"the fall of the remaining tyrants in the region was inevitable†, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 48). Explain Osama bin Laden’s relationship with regional jihadi groups at the time of his death. Senior Al Qaeda leadership held mixed feelings in regards to how to deal with regional jihadi groups. These regional groups were likely attracted to Al Qaeda after its much successful attack on September 11, 2009. While some Al Qaeda leadership felt that regional Jihadis should not be accepted into Al Qaeda, other leadership felt that only be including regional insurgents could Al Qaeda grow it’s numbers. â€Å"Bin Laden represented a third position, as he wanted to maintain communication, through his own pen or that of his inner circle, with â€Å"brothers† everywhere, to urge restraint and provide advice, without granting them formal unity with al-Qa`ida†, (Lahoud et al. 2012, 11- 12). Explain how King and Taylor describe the radicalization process for the purposes of their study, and why their study focused on the radicalization of â€Å"homegrown† jihadists. King and Taylor describe the radicalization process as one, which requires more than point of view to  understand. This is why King and Taylor conducted analysis of all five radicalization models at one time in order to understand the process of radicalization. By comparing each method King and Taylor were able to note similarities and difference amongst the methods. The study focused on â€Å"homegrown Jihadists† because of the current threat towards the west as a result of radical ideology produced by terrorist organization such as Al Qaeda, (King and Taylor, 2011). Why do King and Taylor take the position that basing counter-terrorism or counter-radicalization strategies on models that have not been empirically validated can be misleading and risky? In addition, why do King and Taylor take the position that the narrative promoted by jihadists is amenable to empirical research? King and Taylor believe the understanding and process of radicalization cannot be narrowed down to one method because the reason behind one individuals path towards terrorism may differ from another, (King and Taylor 2011, 616). Also, King and Taylor believe insurgents use propaganda to their benefit. For example, by leading Muslims to believe the West is attacking not only Muslim countries but also Islam itself they are able to instill into Muslim that they must defend their fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. This is one method that is used in describing the early stages of the Radicalization, as described by the NYPD, (King and Taylor 2011, 617). What conclusions do King and Taylor reach, regarding their study of radicalization of homegrown jihadists and what recommendations do they make regarding future research? At the conclusion of their research, King and Taylor decided that each method provided important information in regards to their own respected method. â€Å"When brought together, however, the commonalities and discrepancies between these models offered even greater insights, which may be used as a guiding framework for future research concerning homegrown jihadi radicalization†, (King and Taylor 2011, 617). The conclusion primarily focused on three factors which King and Taylor label as â€Å"contributing factors† to the radicalization process, reaction to group relative deprivation, management of identities and lastly personality characteristics, (King and Taylor 2011, 617-618). Along with these three factors King and Taylor suggest further research also focused on the internet and how it leads to ra dicalization and also the Jihadi narrative and its ability to influence homegrown jihadists, (King and Taylor 2011, 618)

Managerial and Cost Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managerial and Cost Accounting - Assignment Example This is because managerial accounting provides information and reports that may be used by organizations to identify areas within the organization that needs additional investigation and examination. Managers use information provided by managerial accounting such as budgets to make decisions and plans. The information provided by managerial accounting can be used by managers to solve problems. Therefore, managers can use such information to develop alternatives to issues arising from budgets and production changes. Managerial accounting information is used by managers to make estimations of product and service costs and profitability. In addition, managers understand customer orientation through managerial accounting. Managers are able to evaluate the business from the cross-functional perspective by use of managerial accounting information. Managerial accounting also provides information that is useful in improving total quality by an organization (Rich and Jones 667). Through manag erial accounting, managers can formulate and implement an organization’s strategic activities. It also enables managers to do their work efficiently and effectively, adding value to the organization. This is because managerial accounting creates organizational alignment throughout the organization and facilitates continuous learning and improvement (Davis and Davis 4). This paper investigates the application of management accounting practices in one of the Saudi organizations, SABIC. In the analysis, the use of both financial and managerial information in decision making are evaluated. This analysis is done in comparison with the application of MAPS by UK companies that produce foods and drinks. The study also analyses the financial and nonfinancial benefits of using MAPs to an organization. This study fills the gap that exists between literature and practice. The information of this study can also be used in the educational sector. Literature Review In 1993, Altamira and Maj bour carried out a research on management accounting in Saudi Arabia. This study was a comparative analysis of Saudi and Western approaches, which investigated the differences and similarities in management accounting practices between companies owned and managed by Saudis and joint venture companies in Saudi (Altamira and Majbour). In the investigation, the managerial use of accounting, a sophistication of management accounting systems and the role of accountants in decision making and control were investigated. Similarities and differences between the researched companies in terms of accounting system sophistication and managerial use of accounting and the accountants’ role of in decision making and control were also studied (Altamira and Majbour). The study was only descriptive. It was established from the study that Western joint venture companies based in Saudi Arabia have sophisticated accounting systems, compared to Saudi owned and managed companies (Altamira and Majbo ur). Also, accountants of Western joint venture companies based in Saudi Arabia play a greater role in decision making and control, compared to Saudi owned and managed companies. In addition to the aforementioned findings, it was found out, in the study, that managers of Western joint venture companies based in Saudi Arabia fully depend on accounting information in decision making and control (Altamira and Majbour).

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media - Essay Example This paper is about the menace posed by the inter-linkage of politics and media and the power of wealth in dictating the national agenda. As Al Gore succinctly puts it, â€Å"As long as individual citizens are not able to use logic and reason as the instruments with which they can dissect and meticulously examine ideas, opinions, policies and laws, corrupt forces will shape those policies and laws instead. It is the public’s lack of participation that empowers its abusers† (Gore 77). As Gore puts it, it is the thirty second commercial that goes a long way in shaping the attitudes of the electorate towards the presidential candidates. And these commercials are paid for by the elite that have a vested interest in propagating their point of view. As John Mcquaid puts it, â€Å"The media are constantly on the lookout for the odd moment that might capture some revealing truth about a candidate--and, ideally, create a feeding frenzy that consumes the campaign. In 2000, Al Go res exaggerated sighing during a debate, his TV makeup, and even the colour of his clothing became media obsessions. In 2004, it was John Kerrys supposed cultural elitism: the windsurfing, the request for Swiss on his Philly cheese steak. The problem is, such issues are almost always essentially trivial, having little to do with substantive issues or how a candidate might actually behave once in office†. Thus, what we have is a trivialization of public discourse by a media that is increasingly caught in â€Å"feeding frenzies† that have little to do with the larger issues that face the nation. I start off by describing the structure of media ownership and its relation to control in a globalised world. The iron grip of the global corporations over the media outlets operating as transnational entities has given rise to oligarchic tendencies and blatant misuse of the media apparatus. The subsequent sections detail the

IT-LMS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

IT-LMS - Essay Example The researcher discussed the possible frameworks for introducing LMS for the first time at an institution or for migrating from one LMS system to another. This research paper also highlighted the way this technology can negatively affect pedagogy at institutions as instructors are forced to teach in certain ways. The researcher discussed this challenge in depth within the context of modern distance education programs that incorporate blended learning. Today’s education system still largely resembles the industrial age despite of the society’s shift to the so-called Information Age. In the industrial age, education placed the onus for learning on teachers and kept students passive. All students were treated as being the same with all expected to grasp and do the same tasks in the same amount of time (W. Watson & S. Watson, 2007). In today’s world, education stakeholders are demanding a more learner-centered education system to support the customized pace of instruction. It is difficult to see how it will be possible to achieve these new customized learning processes for individual learners without technology playing a central role. For this reason, over the past decade, there has been increased use of computers in education (W. Watson & S. Watson, 2007). This increased use of computers in education has resulted in literature that has an array of non-standardized terms and acronyms. The three more popular technologies often cited in the literature are Course Management Systems (CMS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) (Coates, James, & Baldwin, 2005; W. Watson & S. Watson, 2007). LMS and these related technologies have the potential to meet these needs of today’s learners. This research will be focused on the integrated computer systems known as Learning Management Systems (LMS). It is therefore important to understand LMS, its merits and demerits, the way to implement it in institutions of

Lisbon Treaty for the Working of the European Union (EU) Essay

Lisbon Treaty for the Working of the European Union (EU) - Essay Example This growth in the number of members is primarily attributed to reasons that vary from being conducive in nature, to security issues, while some scholars have even suggested standardised or digressive reasons for the rise in the number of member states of EU (McAllister, 2010). To enhance understanding, trust, and collaboration amongst the members, various treaties have been devised from time to time related to regional policies on economy and trade, immigration policies, social policies, defence polices, and home and justice affairs. Some such treaties were Treaty of Rome (1957), Treaty of Maastricht (1992), Treaties of Nice (2001), the treaty that tried establishing a European Constitution and failed in 2004, and lastly the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007 (made effective in 2009). The 2004 and 2007 treaties created a great deal of controversies, and many experts claimed that the last two treaties were aimed primarily at creating a collaborative European superpower. However, the supporters for these treaties contended that these were aiming at making way for a larger EU in the 21st  century (Church and Phinnemore, 2010). ... The critics point out the body’s lack of power within the arena of global or regional politics, and for this reason the body has been often labelled as ‘soft power’ (Fioramonti, and Lucarelli, 2008, 193-210). In the context of security issues, EU as a body is often perceived as being irresolute, ineffective, and inconsistent (ibid). Even though there is no doubt that a war between the any of the members of EU is unthinkable, the body’s response during an on-going war in the neighbourhood, in terms of ‘crisis management,’ has not been very effective, and the Union is still perceived as weak, in terms ‘unity’ amongst its members (Gilbert 2008, 641-658). In this context, to understand whether the Lisbon Treaty (LT) would really work towards creating a stronger union amongst the member states, it is necessary to examine the treaty from close quarters. The representatives from the 27 EU member states signed the Treaty of Lisbon on 18th December 2007, which modified the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) and the Treaty on European Union (TEU). There are seven Articles under the Treaty of Lisbon, where the modifications to TEC and TEU are listed under Articles 1 and 2 (Amendments to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty Establishing the European Community, 2007). Under Articles 3-7, we find that there are provisions for treaty duration, the process of ratification, and article renumbering (ibid). This is unlike the 2004 Treaty, which attempted to establish a European Constitution, and remained ineffective owing to negative referendum votes cast by Netherlands and France. The Lisbon Treaty however retrains itself from trying to replace any of the treaties

Health and Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Health and Safety - Essay Example release of harmful substances or petroleum products into structures on the site, the ground, underground water or surface water in the property (Hughes & Ferrett, 2008). ISA encompasses the following aspects: analyzing relevant and existing documents and maps explaining local geological and hydrogeological conditions. It also evaluates existing aerial photographs of the site in order to determine prior activities and developments that will give a hint of the potential existence of harmful substances. ISA will also focus on the terrain of the site in order to determine if the project to be established will not pose a health or safety risk if constructed on the site. The topography is also critical in projects that will require the pumping of water or waste which is in liquid form as it will require pressure. Examples include water and sewerage projects. Access and exit routes to the site will also be addressed by the initial assessment report. These two factors are important in that it will determine efficiency of entry into the site. Such considerations are also important in cases of accidents and emergencies as knowledge of exit routes will ensure fast evacuation of the site (Hughes & Ferrett, 2008). The boundaries of the site are also important in the initial site assessment because if the project will entail the emission of hazardous waste, it is important that the boundaries are clearly defined to avoid contamination of adjacent surrounding areas. Such acts can result in healthy concerns for the nearing environs and costly law suits. Site controls are important in ensuring that health and safety concerns are addressed before the actual project is started. Planning is critical in ensuring that health and safety is integrated into the project from the initial stages of the project to avoid future complications that may arise in installing safety measures in the site. Some of the considerations that must be factored in include installation of fire exits,

Real EstateFinance and Investment Research summary and market report Paper

Real EstateFinance and Investment summary and market report - Research Paper Example This model is quantified using plausible assumptions about rational appraisal behaviour in additional to knowledge of how the appraisal-based indices are constructed. This model can be inverted and applied to reported index returns to recover implied market returns. This alternative Geltner (1993) suggests is useful because the unsecuritized property markets may not be able to produce information on a timely basis and may have returns that can be predicted based on the information gathered from a review of previous research in the area. In accounting for the nature of the appraised-based indices Geltner (1993) indicates that RNI and EAI share a few similarities. However, there are also some differences in their base year; how they carry out their valuation; and the type and geographic location of the properties they value. Geltner (1993) then looks at appraisal smoothing at the disaggregate level. In order to obtain an optimal appraise current market values Geltner (1993) uses what h e describes as a simple Bayesian rule to estimate the property value at each point in time and outlines a â€Å"rational appraisal† model that can be used for that purpose. The model indicates the relationship between property-appraised values and market value. Geltner (1993) also presents a model to define the relationship between the reported index annual return to the underlying market annual return. This Geltner (1993) points out allows for the observation of index returns caused by the three behavioral events previously mentioned. In recovering the underlying market returns from the reported index returns that the closeness of the model the models used in observing behavioral phenomenon was taken as an indication of whether unsecuritized market returns are predictable. Geltner’s (1993) findings are not statistically significant to draw any conclusions. However, the overall impression from the graphs and other statistical data indicates that it may be possible to p redict unsecuritized market returns. Summary Article: Strategies of Focus Opportunity: Trends in Public-Market Commercial Real Estate Penetration from 1998 to 2003 Hess and Liang in their article entitled: â€Å"Strategies of Focus and Opportunity†, which was published in the Pramerica Real Estate Investors Research Report dated August 2004 indicated that during 2003 public real estate investment companies reduced their holdings in apartments and hotel properties in order to benefit from an increase in the demand for those properties. In the mean time they took advantage of the falling values of retail properties while maintaining their holdings in warehouses. This enabled them to strategically position themselves to gain from future increases in the market values for retail properties. Their strategies involved looking at the market for short term gains by buying when prices are at their lowest and selling when prices are approaching their highest point, at a time when inves tors were able to access loans to purchase such properties. These public real estate investment companies, consists of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs) which must be publicly held and traded on one of the major stock exchanges in the US and Canada. Hess and Liang (2004) points out that in 2002 REITs took advantage of

Consumer behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Consumer behavior - Essay Example The main branch of Nintendo Company, Limited (NCL) is located in Kyoto, Japan. Over the years, Nintendo managed to establish its global offices in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, China, and Korea. (Nintendo - The Official Magazine, 2007) Nintendo DS, also known as NDS or DS which stands for ‘Dual Screen and Developers’ System (Nintendo DS, 2007a), is a handheld game console that is manufactured by Nintendo back in 2004. Similar to Game Boy Advance SP, NDS has a two LCD screens with a sensitive touch screen, built-in microphone, and is Wi-Fi capable in order to enhance the gaming experience of the players. In China, NDS or DS is known as iQue DS. The development and promotional activities of NDS is incredibly a success. After the first week of launching the new product, the company managed to sell 500,000 or more than 90% of its available Nintendo DS units. (Becker, 2004) During the same year, Nintendo DS successfully defeated Sony’s sales of PlayStation Portable or PSP with only 200,000 sold in Japan by mid-December. As of end of September 2006, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite have sold more than 26.82 million units. The purpose of this study is to enable the researcher to have a better insight on how to conduct a marketing audit on Nintendo DS. In order to successfully analyze the market segment of Nintendo DS, it is necessary for the all the Nintendo for the researcher to carefully study the product mix or the 4 P’s of NDS known as product, pricing, promotional activities, and place (market distribution). The market for Nintendo’s Game Boy has already reached its peak. In order to maintain the company’s current position on being able to grab the biggest market share on handheld gaming, it is crucial for the company to constantly develop and launch a more high-tech handheld console in the global market. There is a

RENAL COMPONENT ASSESSMENT (IN ITU) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

RENAL COMPONENT ASSESSMENT (IN ITU) - Essay Example This notwithstanding, some people develop a medical condition where the kidneys are almost incapacitated or fail to adequately perform this role of filtration of waste products from the bloodstream. Once this situation is diagnosed, the person is said to be suffering from renal dysfunction, kidney failure, or renal insufficiency. The situation described above is only the end result of the health problem as it involves several complex component aspects that bring about this medical condition. This paper therefore aims to critically assesses and analyse renal dysfunction from a medical point of view, where emphasis is placed on renal anatomy and physiology, effect of renal system on cardiovascular and respiratory systems, clinical plans for renal dysfunction, and the treatment of various components of renal dysfunctional situations such as hyperkalaemia. Case Study Analysis This is a case of 90 year old Mrs. X (name withdrawn for ethical purposes of anonymity). Mrs. X has medical histo ry that includes hypertension, cataracts and previous rectal prolapse. Three days before her admission to the ITU, she had been presented to the Accident and Emergency Unit with abdominal pain. She was then treated for urinary tract infection using Trimethoprim and then sent home. On the day of admission to the ITU, which was three days after she left the Accident and Emergency Unit, Mrs. X was found with nausea, distended abdomen and suffering anuria for 3 days. Through an Electrocardiography, Mrs. X was identified to be showing ventricular ectopic beats with the following readings: blood creatinine 984, urea 54:8, potassium 8.7, CK 227, and CRP (c-reactive protein) 177. Indeed this case gives a multi-variant indication of possible complications that Mrs. X may be suffering from. But more significantly, it would be noted that most of the situational conditions of the patient are highly related, and for that matter, related to the functioning of her renal systems (UK Renal Associati on, 2012, p. 86). According to UK Renal Association (2012, p. 87), there are three major groups of renal failure, with each of these having their own causes based on their location within the renal system. These types are prerenal renal failure, postrenal renal failure and intrinsic renal failure. For patients with prerenal renal failure, they are diagnosed to have perfusion of the kidney, which signals that there is lack of proper cleaning in the blood (Web MD, 2010). This may be caused by dehydration, continual blood loss or heart failure. Postrenal renal failure on the other hand involves an inhibited flow of urine out of the two kidneys, leading to amassed pressure in the renal nephrons (Watts, Harri and Shaw, 2010, p. 98). This is often caused by factors including bladder stone, kidney stones, and neurogenic bladder. Intrinsic renal failure is however a damage to both kidneys and is not associated or caused by either prerenal or postrenal renal failures. Intrinsic renal failure is however caused by vascular diseases, diseases of tubules, and acute tubular necrosis. By comparison, it will be noted that Mrs. X is currently suffering from a postrenla renal failure as she shows symptoms directly related to her renal nephron functioning. Quite apart from these renal related issues, her experience with cataracts and hypertension could be said to be highly isolated for her current symptoms,

Public Policy Essay Example for Free

Public Policy Essay Public policies are tools of governments used satisfy certain wants and needs of the citizenry that they cannot effectively satisfy individually or that are better served through collective action. Public Policy is governmental laws, rules and regulation, funding and courses of actions that are measured by the government. Public policies can be complex and can rapidly change under most circumstances. According to Medical University of South Carolina, Individuals and groups often attempt to shape public policy through education, advocacy, or mobilization of interest groups ( MUSC, 2012). The study of public policies is the examination of the creation, by the government, of the rules, laws, and goals, and standards that determine what government does or does not do to create resources, benefits, costs, and burdens. There are many different areas related to Public policy that affect every one individual by way of education, economic development, health care, housing, employment income, and immigration just to name a few. There are also international policies as well that affect the US such as importing and exporting goods that go out into the economy, weapons, and terrorism. any level of government, whether federal, state, or local may be involved in a particular policy effort because social problems, and the public demand for action on them, manifest themselves from the local to the national level. All areas of public policies are important and should be addressed as top priority because some policies such as education are just not a top priority. Schools, recreational centers, and teachers are being closed and laid off daily due to public policies and politicians trying to figured out ways to cut cost and meet budget requirements. Without parks and recreational centers for our children, crime is more likely to increase among our youth as well as the unemployment rate increasing among our teachers and without teachers, how are our youth going to grow and learn what is needed to become tax paying cit izens in society? Public policy is defined by Websters as the The basic policy or set of policies forming the foundation of public laws, especially such policy not yet formally enunciated. The United States Government has many policies in the area of the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970 to help identify environmental problems in our nation, and to set policy on how to deal with those problems. Yet, with so much money spent by the government to deal with problems with the environment, it must be noted that problems still exist, even within the bureaucracy that was meant to help in the first place. During the presidential campaign of the last election, an issue arose concerning the energy crisis that was driving gasoline and oil prices up throughout our country. Vice President Al Gore supported President Clintons ideology of waiting for the proper legislative initiatives to pass through Congress, and when the situation merited, provide some limited releases of oil from the national oil reserve. Candidate George W. Bush, on the other had, favored drilling in the government protected lands of Alaska to find future oil reserves so that America would no longer be so dependent on foreign oil. The problem with Bushs plan, according to Gore, was that this could be devastating to the environment of the scarcely populated Alaskan wilderness. Regardless of the political, legal or moral implications of such drilling, there are problems dealing with multiple types of rationality in this issue. Others have noted the growing evidence that the increase in recent years in the frequency of such mega-hurricanes as Katrina is a result of global warming. A checklist of environmental policy failures must also include the administrations head-in-the-sand approach to global warming. The Bush administration has aggressively undermined international efforts to forcefully address such potentially catastrophic changes in the worlds climate as a result of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and other industrialized nations. It is impossible to say whether even a responsible approach to climate change would have lessened Katrinas fury. But the fact remains that scientists believe global warming will make future hurricanes more severe. The presidents policy of blocking meaningful efforts to reduce global warming emissions no doubt means that future storms will do greater damage than they would otherwise. Huffington Post reported that Bush was heavily criticized at the time for the governments response to Katrina, a storm that caused 1,833 fatalities, damaged an estimated $81 billion in property, and ranks among the five deadliest hurricanes in United States history. He remained on vacation in Texas as the hurricane rocked the Gulf Coast, before belatedly cutting his trip short and returning to Washington (Huffington Post, 2013). References A Third Of Louisiana Republicans Blame Obama For Hurricane Katrina Response Under Bush. (2013). Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/obama-hurricane-katrina_n_3790612.html Definitions of Public Policy and the Law. (2012). Welcome to the Medical University of South Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy/definition.shtml Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. (2013). Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/

International Business Between Japan And Germany Management Essay

International Business Between Japan And Germany Management Essay Our firm is globalizing to create more unified production and marketing organizations which more effectively utilizes the comparatively advantages and taking over of our competitor in the German market. However, to capitalize on the rapid expanding markets that the company has just possessed in the German market, there is the need for us to manage the cultural diversity between our Japanese managers and the German workforce environment. There is the need for the company to give a keen concern to this issue as in many cases, the inability to manage cultural differences often result to a serious impediment to business success. Managing a company of different cultural diversity is, in fact, a prerequisite to taking full advantage of firm and its host country strength. I am to use two general approaches which are the communication mode (cultural distance) and Blaus theory of social integration (social contact in the three core departments). This is to assess how staffing practices would improve the firms performance by increasing their interpersonal contact nationalities at various department levels. Culture is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions and all other products of human work and thought, (the free Dictionary, 2010). Culture is what helps us to organize our world and to know how to respond to it in return both in our lives, social groups and work place. This can be done by learning from friends and relatives, teachers, and by ourselves (observation). People who are from different cultures have lived in a different part of the world and have experienced different societies or participated in different institutions (corporations, schools and others), this is applicable to the Japanese managers who will be managing the German company, they have learnt from different values, beliefs, behaviors, expectations and norms compared to the German workforce. Cultural Differences between Japan and Germany in Their Workforce The forms of leadership and personality are many and are different, but the core values and directions to be used are: Power Distance: This is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede, 1998). The inequality distribution of power is manifested in certain administrative policies and procedures engaged in different organizations and working environments and in the assessment of the accuracy or aptness of such decisions in terms of their organizational goals. This is the degree of inequality that the population of a country considers as normal. The Japanese are known to have a medium (54%) power distance, they are deeply entrenched into culture and tradition and they also adopt a passive work culture. Their workers are expected to respect and obey their boss. These leaders tend to respond to their subordinates with highly paternalistic attitudes that lead to an extremely hierarchical and rigid organizational environment. The superlative model is traced to come from their early village leaders who were skillfully unassertive, led by implicit compromise, nonverbal communication and indirect discussions. This is the same with their organizational leaders today, where the subordinates are meant to be at work before their boss and leave after their boss; they are even apologetic when they leave the work place before their co-workers (Buzzle.com, 2010). The Germans are known to have the lowest power distance of 36%. This measures the extent to which the less powerful members accept that power is distributed unequally in the German institutions and organizations. This implies that Germany is a decentralized society, relatively flatter organizational structures and a comparatively smaller proportion of superiors. Their workers are remarkably loyal to their companies in the sense of organizational confidentiality. The Individualism Collectivism: This is the measurement of the ability to live in groups or to choose an individual path, not minding what the group or the community would be thinking or doing. In this value, the individual achievement is highly esteemed. The Japaneses Individualism is rated to be at a medium range of (46%) due to the sempai-kohai mentor relationship between the managers and their subordinates. The managers are expected to be part of and involved in the personal life of their subordinates, this will be as a result of their close personal bond relationship. Importance on equality of all group members also supports group harmony. This is usually considered more important than overall productivity. Individuals are not singled out for appraisal or criticism, but it is usually directed at the groups. The German individualism is measured to be 67% which is higher than that of Japan. It is all about the tendency of people looking after themselves and their immediate families only and not allowing other peoples faring to be their priority. They prefer to shoulder their personal responsibility by themselves (independent). At work place, the Germans prefer to achieve their job goals with a joint effort and negotiation decisions are often referred to committees. In business situations, shaking hands at the beginning of the meeting and at the end is seen to be necessary. The handshake is to be accompanied with a slight bow with eye contact reciprocal nodding to make a good impression especially with a superior, as failure to do that would result to a bad start. Masculinity: This is seen as the degree to which tough values like boldness performance, success and competition prevails over quality of life while maintaining a warm personal relationship, service and caring for the weak and solidarity. The Japanese are known to be the most masculine society in the world; they are rated to be 95%. They believe in achievement, expansion, wealth and survival of the fittest. They see manufacturing and business to be more important than arts and healing. They give priority to successive entrepreneur, and longer working hours than holidays. Their business culture is known to be men oriented and workplaces are often autocratic. The Germans are known to rate 66% on masculinity, the characteristics of their cultural success are known to be money and material possession from the dominant values in the society. From the Hofstedes model, the Germans place a greater value on their earnings, recognition, advancement and challenges. Uncertainty Avoidance: This is the degree to which the people in a county prefer structure over unstructured situations. Long-term against short-term orientation: the long-term values are oriented towards the future, like prudence and diligence. The short-term values oriented towards the past and present, like respect for institution and social obligations. Issues that are Bound to Arise for the Japanese Managers in the Acquired in Germany As foreign managers that would be responsible for the coordinating of the human resources, finance and marketing departments, there are bound to be some issues that would arise in the managing process. Amongst these issues are: Managing Cultural Differences in the Human Resources Department The Role and Status of the HR Managers: there will be the possibilities of experiencing a social hierarchy which can cause communication bumps in the department. For example, the Japanese managers would think it is alright to place the women as subordinate to men by giving the men a superior role. This would be seen as a bias treatment by the women as it is not done that way in the German workforce. However, the German subordinate staff might be expecting the Japanese managers to maintain eye contacts while addressing or communicating with them as it is their way of life to communicate while looking at each others eyes and nodding their heads to indicate an agreement to the discussion. This is as in the case of Individualism versus collectivism theory which centers on individual rights and values being dominant or subordinate to those of the collective society (international Business assignment slide, 2010). Another example is the manager cracking jokes during interviews, inductions, and meetings as they may feel it is an eye breaker to ease tension and to keep their subordinates relaxed, but the Germans take their meetings very serious and would take the Japanese managers to be unserious and insulting for a mere joke during periods. Emotional Culture versus Neutral Culture: which is a culture where emotions are expressed openly and naturally. An instance is when the men innocently try to interact with the women in the workplace, such women can feel uncomfortable or violated in some way. In contrast, the German men who their emotions are being held in-check may not adapt well to working equally with the Japanese female staff or having female as their manager due to their (Japanese) openly emotional expression. Understanding the interaction between sexes and the roles assigned in various cultures is important. Personal Space during Interviews and Meetings: Germans typically prefer to stand about six inch apart when conversing, though this might not be a very big issue for the foreign managers, but there is the need for the nuances in personal space to be emphasized as it can help communication tremendously. Remuneration differences: the Germans get better pay package to the Japanese, this could be a big bonus for the Japanese managers as their wages would be better than their initial take home packages and they would be treated as expatriates which would make them feel encouraged due to the benefits that would be attached to their position. Managing Cultural Differences in the Marketing Department The Role and Status of the Marketing Managers: it is the duty of the marketing manager to sort for different strategies on how to attract more customers through advertising, pricing and branding as can be seen in the appendix A. However, the choices that would be offered to the customers would depend on the marketing manager of the firm as in the appendix B. The cultural differences may ruin the marketing process as the Japanese managers may apply their own marketing cultural system in the areas of product attributes knowing that products only sell well when their attributes matches the consumers needs and the distribution strategy as this might not yield to the expected result of the company. Communication Strategy: the means through the company ideas would be communicated to their targeted markets might have some huddles as this would include body language, speech and pictures speaks a lot, but it can also be interpreted differently especially having to do with two different cultures. Averted eyes are a sign of respect to the Japanese which the managers might be using; the Germans may misinterpret it to be something else. However, the Germans uses handshakes to bond agreements which the Japanese managers may not feel comfortable with, but rather they would prefer bowing and the Germans might find that to be funny. The Japanese manager may view this as lack of respect or ignorance. Economic Development: the marketing managers may apply a lower product standard to the manufactured cars which might have a negative response from the consumers knowing that consumer behavior is highly influenced by the economic development (high technological standard). However, consumers in highly developed countries like Germany tend to demand extra performance attributes in their cars not regarding the pricing factors. In this case, product reliability is highly recommended for the German market. Personal Appearance: The Japanese might want to remain true to their beliefs by dressing in their traditional attire to work. The Germans may view this as inappropriate or unprofessional for a business environment. Religion: Religion dominates life in a way that is often difficult for the Germans to understand. The Japanese celebrates their new year (shogatsu or oshogatsu) in a very big way. Most businesses are usually shut down for almost a week during this period which the Germans may view it to be mixing pleasure with business. These differences need to be respected, where possible, and not ignored (Japan-guide.com, 2010). Managing Cultural Differences in the Finance Department The Role and Status of the Finance Managers: Accounting has its own business communication language which varies from country to country. The use of the Japanese financial standard may result to confusion in the finance department during auditing as it is possible for countries with a lower uncertainty avoidance cultures to depend on the professionalism of auditing system of another country with a better experience. However, it is the introduction of the International Accounting Standard Board that would be suitable for the management to use in order to prevent cultural financial differences. The Lack of Comparability of Financial Report: Due to the national differences in the accounting and auditing standard, the Japanese managers may find it difficult to interpret and understand the Germans financial standard and it is the introduction of transnational investment and the transnational financial report that would be suitable for the finance depart that would be made up of two or more different cultural backgrounds. Investment Decisions in the Finance Department: The cultural differences in the department can result to the manager using the Japanese ideas to strategize the different sectors to invest on. This might back-fire as the German market is different from that of the Japaneses and what is working their economy might not work for the German market. However, the use of capital budgeting with the assistance of a local staff would be a solution to this issue as it can be complicated when it comes to international differences. Currencies Differences: This will give the foreign managers a tough time for a while to know the different denominations of the German currencies and would be time taking during the conversion of the currencies. Another issue might be the use of the debt financing method which is mostly common in the Japanese financial institution and this is not common in the German financial system. However, it is quite impossible to identify all of the potential cultural differences. Therefore, many resources are available to help the both parties learn more about each others cultures if they are so inclined. Workers might act like they understand what the managers would say, but in fact, may not know. This can be dangerous. An example is a business journal article on the rising number of Hispanic workers in Charlotte-Mecklenburgs construction industry. It points out how workers who speaks little English were at risk of having accident on their job because of not having enough grasp of safety standards. In the case of this issue, on-site training can be organize with the help of interpreters to ensure that a clear and complete understanding is achieved at the industry in Germany. Recommendations on How to Deal With the Potential Issues that Are Likely to Arise Between the Japanese Managers and the German Workers Clearly, it is the responsibility of the Japanese manager to learn German language and adapt to their cultural norms in their workplace. However, this can be for longer time duration. In return, the German worker should not just expect the foreign managers to figure out things by themselves as this can be a setback in workplace. The human resources department in Japan can be of help by offering tips and suggestions on how these issues can be bridged. The area of suggestions can be as follows: Learn as much as you can about the culture of the Germans as cross-cultural literacy is critical to the success of every international business. Recognize the broad ethics diversity that exists within the different groups in the German workforce. There are different cultural groups in Germany (Danes, North Frisians, Sater Frisians, Sorbs, Sinti and Roma (Culturalpolicies.net, 2010). Therefore, there is the need for the managers to learn about these groups in order to recognize their ethnic diversities. Respect the staff differences, abilities and personalities. The managers should not just assume the Germans share common language or culture as that may not mean they are the same or alike. Stereotyping discounts individuals and can limit options for them in workplace. As getting to know the workers culture would be the first step to getting to know them as individuals. Consider having co-workers who will serve as mentors and coaches to help the managers adapt to the culture and vocabulary of the workplace. Feedbacks should be asked for and demonstrations should be used to ensure that complete understanding is achieved. Helping people to learn your language is another way to build trust and loyalty. Co-workers should be of help to prevent feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment when their superiors and co-workers cannot express themselves clearly and this can be done by being patient.

The concept of national identity

The concept of national identity In recent years, due to the expansion of modernism and modernisation on a global scale, there have been developments at cultural and structural levels, resulting in a change in national identity and making the study of nationalism and national identity an important topic in social science. These studies are often concerned with the complex and contradictory nature of cultural identities and the role of communications media in the development and reconfiguration of those identities. This essay will attempt to define the terms nation and national identity and discuss how far these concepts relate directly to geographical location and/or political boundaries. It will look at the relationship between the media and national identity and explore its extensiveness and what it means for the concept of national identity itself. Additionally, the issue of whether national identities are real or perceived will be addressed as well as whether the concept, or indeed, the experience of national identity is a media-dependent phenomenon. Other issues that will be discusses include the elements that may contribute to an individuals sense of national identity and what an absence of (national) media would mean for the concept of national identity and the sense of belonging to a particular nation. Many scholars would agree that the concepts of nation, nationality and nationalism have all proved difficult to define and analyse. Anderson (1991) notes that while nationalism has had significant influence on the modern world, plausible theory about it is conspicuously meagre (p.54). Seton-Watson (1997) concludes that while no scientific definition of the nation can be devised, the phenomenon has existed and exists (p.5). Even Nairn (1975) remarks that the theory of nationalism represents Marxisms great historical failure. But even this confession is somewhat misleading, in so far as it can be taken to imply the regrettable outcome of a long, self-conscious search for theoretical clarity (p. 3). Although there is little consensus regarding the forces responsible for its manifestation, most theorists on nationalism believe it to be an essentially modern phenomenon, appearing in the late eighteenth century in Europe and North America. Three theorists stand out in the genealogical debate over nationalism. Hobsbawm (1990) defined nationalism as the popular realisation of political rights in a sovereign state. A populace linked itself to a limited national territory and was embodied through a centralised government, an event he believed first occurred during the French Revolution. If nationalism was a modern invention, so were nations: the nation-state was the result, rather than the origin, of a nationalist discourse (Hobsbawm, 1990, p.28). Gellner (1983) adopted an economically reductionist approach, deeming nationalism a necessary function of industrialisation. He argued that because industry required skilled labour, a common vernacular, and high rates of literacy, the need developed for a national high culture promoted by a state run educational system. Simultaneously, the old agrarian order faded away and societal anonymity replaced provincial distinctness, facilitating the creation of a homogeneous national cul ture. Like Hobsbawm, Gellner sought to dispel teleological notions of the nation as eternal and reiterated that national was a modern invention, created in response to the needs of a new economic system, even it represented itself as a natural, historical phenomenon. The theory of the nation as invention was taken further by Anderson (1983), who saw nationalism as a process of imagining communities. Nation-states are imagined because members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each live the image of their communion (Anderson, 1983, p.15). He argued that the decline of universal religious paradigms and the rise in print capitalism allowed for this cultural construction to flourish in eighteenth century. The mass consumption of newspapers and novels enforced a common vernacular, linked a populace to urban centres, and encouraged common participation in a shared imagined culture. Anderson (1983) implied that the reformation of the printing press did more to encourage nationalism than did the advent of industrialisation. Despite their differences, all three of these prominent theoreticians identified nationalism, and by association the nation-state, as a phenomenon of the last few centuries. It has therefore been suggested that time, is not the most useful tool for categorising nationalism or national identity. While nationalism is dependent on a variety of historical factors, it has been noted that national identity cannot be labelled as embryonic nationalism because not all national identities function within nations. Estel (2002) describes national identity as a special case of collective identity: This does not mean an objective, i.e. systemic, connection built by human beings, but its interpretation by the members of that collective hence it must be socially shared, the binding knowledge being the key factor. National identity then means a socially shared and binding knowledge in the form of an officially prevailing conception of itself in a certain nation being imparted through certain institutions (p.108). As many have asserted to, the concept of national identity is complex, and its intensity, character and origins vary with time and place. Smith (1991) argues that identity operates on two levels, the individual and the collective which are often confused in discussions of ethnic and national identity. Collective identities are composed of individual members they are not reducible to an aggregate of individuals sharing a particular cultural trait. Similarly, from a description of the elements one cannot read off the probable actions and dispositions of individual members, only the kinds of contexts and constraints within which they operate (p.130). He adds that the broadest subtype of collective cultural identities is the ethnie or ethnic community. Connor (1993) agrees: If we look at todays countries, many of them seem to build their perceived internal similarity on a premise of shared ethnicity. A subconscious belief in the groups separate origin and evolution is an important ingredient of national psychology. This belief in the groups separate origin and evolution is the basis of ethnic identity, and ethnic identity seems to constitute the core of nations (p.377). Ethnic communities are characterised by a perception of similarity among members, stemming from a perception of kinship (a blood relationship), and a simultaneous perception of difference from other ethnic communities (Eriksen, 1993, p.12). They have a common collective name, a collective historical memory, common cultural traits, a homeland, a myth of common descent, and a strong sense of internal solidarity. This element of fictive kinship, which is at the heart of ethnic affiliation, is also at the heart of feelings of nationhood (Smith, 1991, pp. 21-22). As Connor (1993) suggests, it is not what is but what people perceive as is which determines the extent of national feeling. The nation-as-a-family metaphor is not a rational feeling, but rather an emotive one; it is a bond beyond reason appealing not to the brain but to the blood (Connor, 1993, p.384). Das and Harindranath (2006) suggests that even in the absence of an ethnically homogenous population, nations rely on the idea o f an over arching ethnic bond to emphasise the difference from non-members and to join all members into a national community (p.11). National identity, to whatever degree it exists, is constituted by the interlacing forces of history and collective choice (Parekh, 1994). It is a dynamic structure of affiliation, with strong foundations in the past but susceptible to change in the future. Nations base their claim to statehood on assumptions of a shared cultural heritage, which are in turn most often based on assumptions of shared ethnicity. The latter assumption has less to do with a reality of common ethnicity than with a myth of common ethnicity which is cast over multi-ethnic communities to turn them into politicised national communities (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.12). Most modern nation states are multi-ethic, making it difficult to define one unified conception of national identity among all members. Throughout the early modern period, the character and intensity of national identity varied widely from place to place. The idea of the unity of a nation-state could come either from its cultural or political unity. Sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe was the location of the formation of nation states. In England, France, Spain and Sweden, the dominant ethnic community incorporated outlaying regions and ethnicities into a dominant ethnic culture through the use of bureaucratic, centralised state machinery. Employing fiscal, judicial, military and administrative processes it welded together often disparate populations into a single ethnic community based on the cultural heritage of the dominant core (Smith, 1991, p.68). This is what Smith (1991) identifies the dominant ethnie model which is present in countries like Burma where the dominant Burmese ethnic community has heavily influenced the formation and the nature of the state of Burma (now known as Myanmar), rather than the Ka ren, Shan or Mon ethnic groups. Other cultures continue to flourish but the identity of the emerging political community is shaped by the historic culture of its dominant ethnie. The construction of the nation here becomes a process of reconstructing the ethnic core and integrating the culture with the requirements of the modern state and with the aspirations of minority communities. Non-dominant cultures are then relegated to the position of minority cultures (Smith, 1991, pp.110-111). Smith (1991) also notes that there are some multi-ethnic states where discrepancy in inter-ethnic power is marginal enough to allow for a state along the lines of the supra-ethnic model, where the emphasis is on political rather cultural unity (p. 112). However, Das and Harindranath (2006) states the success of this model is debatable as representative examples are few and far between (p.13). Such cases might include the Nigerian case, where the attempt to build a supra-ethnic state resulted in the concentration of power in the hands of three major ethic groups (out of the existing 250 groups) rather than any one. As Connor (1993, p.375) argues, a people who are politically and culturally pre-eminent in a state (even though other groups are present in significant numbers) tend to equate the entire country with their own ethnic homeland, and to perceive the state as an extension of their particular ethnic group. Oommen (1990) suggests that once a multi-ethnic or poly-ethnic state emer ges it becomes a reality-in-itself. The coexistence and interaction between the different nations or ethnic groups produce certain emergent properties which give a new meaning and a collective self-identification to the constituent units (p.35). This collective self-identification of a people with a nation-state according to Das and Harindranath (2006) is their national identity. Tying a nation together is a deep network of common institutions: a military, a common economy, a common legal system, a common administrative infrastructure, and a variety of shared institutions transport, communications, public utilities and banks among others. At a more visible level are the overt makers of national identity, the political symbols that set one nation-state apart from others: a name, flag, national emblem, national language, common currency (p. 16). These are invented traditions which soon acquire the feel of antiquity but are in fact usually of recent origin (Hobsbawn and Ranger, 1983). The formation of such identification involves dimensions of unity and permanence (Melucci, in Schlesinger, 1991, p.154). The latter suggests that the nation has to be seen as persisting through time, well into the past and future; it has to be seen as beyond time (Connor, 1993, p.382). Such an imagining of the nation as beyond time, according to Das and Harindranath (2006) takes national identity partly into the realm of non-rational, making it an emotional identification rather than an intellectual one. The issue of creating certain uniformity within nation-states and the process of nation-building then comes to the forefront and most nations look to the media to play its part in the construct of a national culture and a national community. Why the media? Das and Harindranath (2006) explains that considering how much of our knowledge of the world comes from mediated communication, either through people or through the mass media, this is likely to be a primary source of influence on our structures of identification since we cannot accomplish very abstract levels of identification (as with a nation-state) by exclusive reliance on our own direct lived experience or face to face communication of others (p.18). Media have typically been institutional products of nations and, as such, play a fundamental role in their maintenance (Anderson, 1983, pp. 24-25). In most countries national broadcasting in the early forms (especially before its commercialisation, when it could not afford the str atification of its audience), has made possible the transformations of individual activities (dramas, performances, etc) into fictions of collective national life for millions of individuals who may never interact with one another. It is a fact that nation-states must have a measure of common culture and civic ideology, a set of common understandings and aspirations, sentiments and ideas that bind the population together in their homeland. The major agencies through which this socialisation is carried out are the mass education system and the mass media (Smith, 1991, p.11). Das and Harindranath (2006) notes: National identity has been an underlying theme in communications research since the 1950s, when new technologies were linking the world with their ever-increasing reach into diverse global populations. At that time, these technologies were held up as a panacea for the ills of underdevelopment researchers such as Schramm and Lerner eagerly endorsed the view that judicious deployment of Western media products in the Third World would help bring to them the benefits of western progress and development (p.18). Sreberny (2008) points out, this idea and model of development was criticised for equating development with the West. The media/cultural imperialism theory, which gained impetus from such criticism, argues that the excessive flow of media products from West to East of from North to South leads to the erosion of national cultures in the non-Western world, resulting eventually in a homogenised world in the image of the west. Melucci (1989) disagreed with this theory as well: To simply be aware of something is not to identify with it; identification comes from the making of an emotional investment, an investment which enables a group of people to recognise themselves in each other, and to feel a similarity with other members of a group. In addition to being aware of the existence of nation-states therefore, I must also be aware that there are many of them, that the one I live in is different from the others, and that I belong to a particular one because of my similarity with others of that nation-state. I can then be said to possess a national identity. My identity is therefore not just Indian but equally not French, not Thai (p.17). Today, national media are participating in the two processes of national identity building. Firstly, as tellers of national myths, (especially in times of crises, rapid social change or external threat), as engravers of national symbols upon the nations memory, and presenters of national rituals (elections, celebrations, etc), they work in the direction of emphasising the similarities among the group members. For media producers, the prominence of national identity in the media content is encouraged by the knowledge that they are constructing news for a national audience with which they share national membership (Entman, 1991; Rivenburgh, 1999). Secondly, as a primary domain of the public sphere, the media produce and reinforce the relational opposition of us and the others. One of the areas of media content to which such nationalist discourse today is very high, is news and especially the coverage of foreign affairs. Comparative international news research shows the significant role of the media in perpetuating a world view that consistently favours the home nation perspective on world affairs (Rivenburgh, 1999). Discrepant perceptions of world affairs largely emanate from different cultural and political values held by groups with different national identities enhanced by national media coverage (Rivenburgh, 1991, p.1). The media play a significant role in collapsing the experience of distance by creating a global simultaneity, rendering events across the world into nightly news broadcast into our living rooms. Media coverage of crisis events may not only affect public opinion but may increasingly provide policy makers with vital information to determine lines of foreign policy and diplomatic initiatives (Sreberny, 2008). Additionally, At the start of the 21st century, more and more people lived in mediatised societies where our understanding of local, national and international political, economic and cultural issues is framed by and through the media and other cultural industries. While we need to be wary of collapsing cultural issues into technological developments, it is nonetheless true that the global spread of media has raised a host of new questions about our identities, about our relations with others and about our understanding of the world (Sreberny, 2008, p.10). One prominent pattern that emerges in the images of nationhood is the definition of national and anti-national by the media, the normal and abnormal, the good and the bad. Such delineation is important especially in nation states characterised by diversity (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.19). Scannell and Cardiff (1991) illustrate such a definition in the British case showing how the BBC treated British music as essentially synonymous with English music while the music of Scotland, Wales and Ireland was marginalised. This case clearly illustrated how the media contribute to the articulation of the identity of the dominant ethnic group in a multi-ethnic nation-state. New forms of communications and media such as the internet have made it possible for those individuals living outside of their respective nations to still maintain a sense of national identity. The internet can be a very important vehicle for the transmission of ideas concerning a national identity, particularly for those people who have lost or left their homeland. The internet provides a special type of community with a very strong common feeling national communities without a nation. People scattered all over the world regardless of they are from still have succeeded in maintaining a national identity without a nation state. While this used to take place in physical places, the internet and other forms of new media offers different possibilities for these communities, for they can now organise worldwide, reach new members and communicate with these members more often. The websites visited and used by these communities form more than a virtual nation. Their aim is to construct a true nation and it is done by presenting users with sites that are as complete and historic as possible as all varieties of news and information can be found on the internet. The mass media thus engender a we-feeling, a feeling of family, among the community, providing continual opportunities for identification with the na tion. The media enable entire populations to participate in the everyday life of a country-wide community, uniting individual members of the national family into a shared political and cultural rubric (Chaney, 1998, p. 249). It is equally important to note that agencies of socialisation such as the media can also be harnessed to divisive purposes which might have the consequence of impeding the construction of a national identity or of undermining the force of one or more elements of the symbolic repertoire of nationalistic ideology (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.19). In some cases, nationalist views and provocative views have provoked some of the worlds worst massacres. One such example is when RTLM (the Hutu radio/television station in Rwanda) played an inciting and aggravating role in the massacre of the Tutsis by repeatedly broadcasting messages in which Tutsis were slandered and ridiculed and depicted as despicable. On another continent, media in former Yugoslavia have played a significant role in creating an environment of ethnic hate and xenophobia that contributed towards the pre-conditions for savage ethnic wars. While these may be extreme cases, the simple fact of establishing the homogenising tendency of national media is not an adequate base from which to conclude that audiences are homogenised and that advocacy does not always med acceptance. In cases where the national image promoted by the media is not accepted it does meet with resistance from sections of the populations. While some resistance is severe as in the cases of Rwanda and Yugoslavia other populations use organised forms of resistance where the groups in a nation state who are not part of mainstream culture find peaceful ways of asserting their own identities. One such example is the Ernabella Video and Television (EVTV) project in Australia. It was established by leaders of the Ernabella aboriginal community in 1983 as a video project intended to record the local culture, which was fading away with the decline of their previously nomadic lifestyle. It was also a reaction to outside media which local leaders saw as a negative influence on their community. EVTV developed into a television channel by which aboriginals recorded and rediscovered their culture, and it simultaneously enabled them to construct a pan-aboriginal identity among the dispersed aboriginal populations of Australia. It was the discovery and assertion of ethnic aboriginal identity which they actively used to reduce the pote ntial homogenisation influence of mainstream Australian culture depicted on national television (Batty, 1993). Another form of resistance is through readings where the argument here is that media audiences interact with media texts in extremely complex ways. Studies have uncovered significant differences in the way audiences from different backgrounds produce diverse readings of an episode of a soap opera, suggesting that social identities affect interpretation of media messages (Ang, 1990). Media texts can therefore no longer be thought of as binding each member of the audience evenly into a particular interpretation; the meaning of the text, rather, is open to negotiation between the text and the viewer. Differences in interpretation are not, however, the result of a failure of communication, but are rather the results of differences in the lived experiences and mental words of audiences. Where cultural realities are different, there is a likelihood of different interpretations (Jensen, 1987, p.31). In conclusion, although the established literature lacks firm evidence of individual level media effects it nevertheless suggests with some confidence that there is a strong, positive tie between media consumption and individual level national belonging. Drawing largely on historical and textual analysis methods, the claim has been established that the media have been foundational over the past three centuries in the shaping, distribution and institutionalisation of identities. The classic texts on nationalism repeatedly argue that the media have played a key role in nation building and that the idea of a one-culture-for-all does not work and attempts at enculturation of diverse people into a mainstream culture are inevitably resisted through social movements at the peripheries of the mainstream (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.21). Martin- Barbero (1993) further suggests that communication is a field in which these battles over identity are fought out. The media is therefore the site where states explore routes to uniformity within their nations and are simultaneously the site which assists non-mainstream groups to explore and announce their distinctiveness.

Media opinions on free speech and censorship :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Media Opinions Have you seen today’s headlines? Yesterday’s paper looked more like an opinion page than news. Nicholas Von Hoffman wrote, â€Å"Butchers make sausage. Newspapers make public affairs. Has that hunger driven the media out of control?† (Nachman 26). The media manipulates the facts of the news to fit their own agendas and I think it needs to stop.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning ages of our country, the people of our nation made laws that they thought would be just and good for the nation. Of the press they made the familiar and oh so controversial: â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (United States Constitution 1789). But where do we cut the line? There our newspapers, television shows, and radio broadcasts constantly molding the facts and telling one side stories so they can get the attention of the people and manipulate them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The media simply does what it wants to do. They do not have to tell the exact facts, and misquoting a person is not uncommon. John Silber, a critic of the media in 1988 said: â€Å"The reporter’s work should be like a pane of glass, perfectly clear and unspotted, through which the reader might view the important events of the day. Today, the practice of â€Å"personal† journalism in news reporting has persistently sacrificed objectivity for entertainment and the personal gratification and presumably the greater popularity of the reporter. The pane of glass is dirtied and distorted.† â€Å"Too often we see and read, not what happened or what was said, but the personal views of the fourth estate† (Orr 66).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that if the media does not stop reporting their wonderful, biased, and profit motivated opinion in our news, we will soon have to initiate a censorship program. A good definition of Censorship is â€Å"[The] Policy of restricting the public expression of ideas, opinions, conceptions, and impulses, which are believed to have the capacity to undermine the governing authority or the social and moral order which authority considers itself bound to protect† (Abraham 357).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We shouldn’t have to censor; the media should be able to just put out the facts, right? But so far we still hang in the limbo between fact and opinion. The Idea is for the media to police the government, but as Lisa Orr said, â€Å"Nobody checks the checker† (63).

cancer :: essays research papers

Topic: Cancer General End: To Persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that cancer is bad and they should eat a healthy diet. Central Idea: Cancer can be caused by smoking, drinking, sunburns, ect... and there are foods that can help stop cancer. I. What we eat really affects our risk of cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. 35% of all cancers have a nutritional connection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. When lifestyle factors such as smoking and sunbathing are included the risk can   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  be as high as 85%.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. What we eat makes a big difference in our energy levels, our mood and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and even our self esteem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. Foods rich in protective factors such as fruits and vegetables, we are   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  doing something positive for our health and well being.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Antioxidants, anticarcinogens, and bioflavonoids repair damaged cells   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. The cells that are ruined by bad habits can be repaired by the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  antioxidants, anticarcinogens, and bioflavonoids.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. If too many cells are damaged and form a clump then cancer is formed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and these botanical factors will not be effective. II. Foods that are important for our health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Foods that come from plant kingdom rather than the animal kingdom have many   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  protective botanical factors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Many of the plant kingdom foods act as antioxidants, anticarcinogens, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  bioflavonoids.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. Some foods rich in botanical factors are classified as phytonutrients.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. Some phytonutrients include berries, dark green leafy vegetables, citrus,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  fruits, legumes, and whole grains. B. Dietary fiber is important in cancer prevention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. The dietary fiber provides bulk to our diet and helps maintain a healthy colon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. Most Americans eat about 10 grams each day but this is half of what is ideal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. Dietary fiber is found in whole grain cereal, breads, pastas, beans, leafy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. C. Fish can be protective against cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Oily fish such as salmon, herring, mackeral, halibut, and tuna contain oils rich in

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Introduction of the topic: 1. Significance of topic a. GM Foods are those derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in such a way that it does not occur naturally in the environment i. http://www.who.int/topics/food_genetically_modified/en/ b. Also ties into 2. Scientific background a. Commercialized in 1992; Monsanto was one of the first firms to take advantage of biotechnology in commercial farming; Green Revolution, i. APA: Mclure J. BACKGROUND. CQ Researcher [serial online]. August 31, 2012;22(30):726-732. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 13, 2013. ii. MLA: Mclure, Jason. "Background." CQ Researcher 22.30 (2012): 726-732. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. 1. This article also has: issues, background, chronology, current situation, outlook, next step b. Genes are copied via PCR and inserted into target plant tissue to create new plants i. AMA: GM foods: the real story. Australasian Biotechnology [serial online]. March 2012;22(1):41-44. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 13, 2013. ii. MLA: "GM Foods: The Real Story." Australasian Biotechnology 22.1 (2012): 41-44. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. 3. Scientific and societal issues a. Controversial: concerns of negative environmental and health effects, corporatization of agriculture, unethical to manipulate life in the laboratory i. AMA: Bennett A, Chi-Ham C, Barrows G, Sexton S, Zilberman D. Agricultural Biotechnology: Economics, Environment, Ethics, and the Future. Annual Review Of Environment & Resources [serial online]. November 2013;38(1):249-279. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 13, 2013. ii. MLA: Bennett, Ala... ...y modified (GM) foods: the importance of an holistic, integrative approach. Journal Of Biotechnology [serial online]. September 11, 2002;98(1):79. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 13, 2013. ii. MLA: Cockburn, Andrew. "Assuring The Safety Of Genetically Modified (GM) Foods: The Importance Of An Holistic, Integrative Approach." Journal Of Biotechnology 98.1 (2002): 79. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Other Interesting Things 1. http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=21274652&site=ehost-live 2. http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/20questions/en/ 3. http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=11501712&site=ehost-live 4. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-genetically-modified-food-products.htm