Does Sex and Violence on Television Have a Negative Effect on Children?

Does sex and violence on television have negative effects on children? The issue that I am addressing is the effect of sex and violence in the media on children. As long as there has been television, there has been an association made between media and violence – children who repeated what they saw on cartoons leading to their death, teenagers injured while emulating a popular movie, and mass killings blamed on video games. Primarily this relationship has been assumed to be causal with television being the assumed central cause in violent or risky behavior.Once you begin delving into the roots of violent and risky behavior, however, the association between modeled violence and expressed violence becomes less and less obvious. Violence in society in general is complicated and requires unpacking so that each aspect of the roots of violence can be analyzed and ultimately discussed in a meaningful way, including acknowledging that the origins are just as layered and complex as the solutions. Summary of Internet Information I began looking into various studies and articles about violence in media to see what kind of information was already available on the subject.There were a number of points of view represented, however, none of them outright dismissed that there was some relationship between sex and violence in the media and violent behavior. The studies also generally agreed that the complexities of violent behavior may potentially be ultimately unknowable because of that complexity. What may drive one person to violence may have little to no effect on another or the level of exposure to images of sex and violence in combination with other influences, including parental and peer attitudes towards sex and violence, may be a stronger relationship than media influence alone.The article â€Å"It’s not all sex and violence† by Agustin Fuentes set the tone for how I came to look at my research because it brought up the important point that sex and violence are over emphasized in modern culture and can give the false impression that sex and violence are at the very center of every human motivation rather than showing the reality that sex and violence are merely two aspects of the human experience, rather than central or common. The topics are scintillating and therefore more discussed.I also included research done to determine the effect of three safe sex campaigns run on Netherlands television during the mid-1990’s in order to see if there were positive messages that were also being sent on television about sex and sexual behavior (â€Å"Can public campaigns effectively change psychological determinants of safer sex? †), an evaluation of three Dutch campaigns that determined that the campaigns were successful in their goals of increasing safe sex practices in the Netherlands.I wanted to see if positive messages about sex and sexual behavior also had an effect on teenagers and young adults as this could be assoc iated back to imitating modeled behavior in general. The determination in the case of the Dutch safe sex campaigns was that effectiveness of the televised messages was related not only to the message itself, but also to the amount of exposure the subject had to the message.Those who were more exposed to the messages were more likely to engage in safe sex than those who were less exposed or not exposed at all. In â€Å"Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior† by Richard Felson discussed in detail the difficulties of studying the effects of media violence on children because it’s difficult to measure intent and the inherent issues present in building experiments that have the greatest possibility of delivering reasonable results.It was the most comprehensive and inclusive article that I read as it looked at a number of different methods of measuring media effects on children – ultimately demonstrating that there is a provable corollary between exposure to violence seen on television and later violent behavior, however, the media input was shown to be part of a greater set of environmental concerns.What I could determine from my sources was that the greatest issue faced by researchers interested in studying the possible corollary between seeing sex and violence on television and that exposure being the driving force for later acts of violence by the subject is that there is no consensus in the data. Replicating a real world experience in the laboratory requires introducing controls that may cause the subject or subjects to feel freer to engage in extreme behavior as the environment created in the experiment can lack the third-party controls that exist in the real world.There is also some difficulty in repeating the results regardless of the conclusions drawn from the data. Additionally, there are complications where the studies are not necessarily using the same metrics in their research so their conclusions may be similar or even confirm the findings of other research but not using the same methodology. The scientific method relies primarily on replication of results when executing the same experiment and that doesn’t seem to be happening in the research done on this topic.The shared determinations between each of my sources all acknowledged the shortcomings in the research; however, this did not prevent them from coming to some kind of conclusion. The most common conclusion was that there was a relationship, however, that relationship was not a direct one to one corollary. This was true for both negative and positive messages. The general acknowledgements is that while there is an association between exposure to messages in sex and violence in the media, that these messages were not necessarily a driving force in later acts of violence, but were certainly a factor in later acts of violence.Summary of a Research Study The research study that I am summarizing is â€Å"Can public campaigns effectively change psych ological determinants of safer sex? An evaluation of three Dutch campaigns† by M. C. Yzer, F. W. Siero, and B. P. Buunk. The research was designed to establish the effectiveness of Dutch safe sex campaigns that were run between 1994 and 1996. There were several metrics being measured, â€Å"improved attitudes, perceived social norms, self-efficacy and intentions regarding safer sex (Yzer, Siero & Buunk, 1999)The methodology of the study was to use a representative sample of the Dutch population and then ask them to answer electronic questionnaires where you could not advance through to the next question without answering previous questions in order to minimize missing data. Each participant was issued a unique PIN number in order to further identify the participants. There were also five waves of questionnaires, and an individual participant could be eligible for more than one of these waves, however, they could only participate in one wave.The PIN numbers were also used to e nsure that there were no duplicate participants from wave to wave. These methods were also employed to exclude testing effects, history effects, cultural changes and sample differences as alternative explanations for the data collected. (Yzer, Siero & Buunk, 1999) The questionnaires measured attitudes towards safe sex practices, social norms , â€Å"self-efficacy† (Yzer, Siero & Buunk, 1999), and whether or not the participant intended to engage in safe sex practices in the future.The key results in this study were that while the initial levels of positive attitudes and practices of safe sex, there was indeed room for an increase in those metrics. The increases were the most steep immediately after a campaign aired, but that uptick did not dip below the previous level but maintained over time. It was also shown that increases were not always across the board in every category during every campaign. There were different effects that depended on which campaign was aired.When sp lit out into separate categories, â€Å"self-efficacy was enhanced by the 1994 campaign, and that intentions were enhanced by the 1994 and 1995 campaigns. To summarize, all target variables were generally more positive with respect to safer sex after a campaign than before. † (Yzer, Siero & Buunk, 1999) The thesis of the experiment was the following: 1. Attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy and intentions would become more favorable towards safer sex in response to each of the 1994, 1995 and 1996 campaigns. 2.In the period of time after the 1996 campaign when no campaign was conducted (but in a similar time interval as between the 1994 but in a similar time interval as between the 1995 and 1996 campaigns), attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy and intentions would become less favorable towards safer sex. (Yzer, Siero & Buunk, 1999) The data showed that after the campaigns were aired, that all of the measured areas showed an increase both short-term and long-term. They also noticed that there was a quick uptick in positive feelings shortly after a campaign was aired.Overall, the campaigns served to uphold and enhance already present social norms and attitudes towards safe sex and safe sex practices. The conclusions of this study also confirmed the conclusions of a study done in Germany that evaluated German safer sex campaigns. How this relates to the issue of what effect sex and violence on television effects children is that there is here a strong relationship between media messages and future behavior and that this relationship is related to amount of exposure to the message.It was already well established that there was an agreed upon corollary between violence seen on television and violent behavior, however, this study shows that the relationship is also built on frequency of exposure to the medium. Additionally, there can be changes in different areas over time, which shows the diversity of how media messages influence people and how that influe nce can be different while still present. Critical Analysis of Internet Information and Research Study In â€Å"It’s not all sex and violence† by Agustin Fuentes, the information provided by Dr.Fuentes is factual and points out that human beings are diverse and complex beings driven by a variety of things. The overemphasis on sex and violence in media is pervasive and dangerous to how we see ourselves as human beings. The amount of cooperation, joy, sharing, etc. that human beings do far outweigh the amount of violence we engage in as a species. However, we as a species are also fascinated with sex and violence and seek out that information – drawing focus towards it, rather than acknowledging their purpose and role in life and placing it among everything else in life, maintaining perspective.The evidence that is used is a walk through the development of human societies and what scientists know about the behavior of our ancestors and the results of primatologica l research with social behavior of primates. He shows that the majority of the behavior that we engage in is positive and helping behaviors, rather than negative behaviors. The strength of the evidence is weak, but the piece is intended to be an emotional appeal that includes appeals to the intellect. Because of the rhetorical mode of the piece, this is to be expected and does not immediately remove it from consideration as a good source of information.In â€Å"Can public campaigns effectively change psychological determinants of safer sex? † there is a great deal of factual evidence supported by strong evidence with a reasonable and intelligent analysis of the data gathered from their research. The strength of the evidence is significant, especially in light of the inclusion of the information that a German study came to similar conclusions. â€Å"Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior† is a research study that gathers a number of different research studies and provid es that data along with the conclusions of the author.The information is good and because of the amount of provided data, the reader can see where the author’s conclusions came from. Because of this article’s appearance in a peer-reviewed journal, it can be assumed to be a trustworthy source of information with strong evidence supporting its conclusions. Conclusion In answer to the specific question as to whether or not sex and violence on television is harmful to children – there is no simple answer. Through looking at the evidence, there is an undeniable effect of what people see on television and their future behavior, but that link is not causal.The factors that exist in order to drive an individual to violence are difficult to measure due to basic problems with creating appropriate test trials, the complexity of human nature, and the overwhelming amount of input that everyone has on a regular basis. A worthwhile avenue for research would be to measure expos ure to specific stimuli in media messages and whether or not it’s the amount of sex and violence that someone is exposed to that is the deciding factor in future behavior. Another avenue would be to do a longitudinal study of children of ifferent socio-economic backgrounds to see what other factors exist (exposure to violence in daily life, attitudes about sex, etc. ) along with measuring how the child is interpreting the media messages that it is exposed to along with the frequency of that exposure. It would be holistic, but perhaps prohibitively complex and long term to execute. What remains unknown is what the full impact of media messages on children is, there is an effect, that’s undeniable, but that effect is clearly influenced by a variety of factors and may only be a reflection of what the child has already learned elsewhere.References Bushman, B. (2013). Why do people deny violent media effects?. Psychology Today, Retrieved from http://www. psychologytoday. co m/blog/get-psyched/201302/why-do people-deny-violent-media-effects Felson, R. (1996) Mass media effects on violent behavior. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 103-128 . Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org. libproxy. uml. edu/stable/2083426 Fuentes, A. (2013). Busting myths about human nature. Psychology Today, Retrieved from http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/busting-myths-about-human- nature/201302/it-s-not-all-sex-and-violenceWalker, M. (1983). Some problems in interpreting statistics relating to crime. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 146(3), 281-293 . Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org. libproxy. uml. edu/stable/2981656 Yzer, M. C. , Siero, F. W. & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Can public campaigns effectively change psychological determinants of safer sex? An evaluation of three Dutch campaigns. Health Education Research, 15(3), 339-352. Retrieved from http://her. oxfordjournals. org/content/15/3/339. full

Activity Essay

Another strength of mine is knowing my audience. When reading to say an older crowd they probably wouldn’t like a lot of loud sound effects like a fire truck or a police car. When reading to a younger crowd say for example â€Å"the car came to a screeching holt† making a sound of a car coming to a sudden stop would not be bad at all and It will keep your young listeners entertained. Critical thinking can be a hard concept to grasp because your just not letting your pen or pencil flow freely you have to think and analyze your answer. One of my strengths in critical thinking is to be able to take notes while reading so when it comes to the questions at the end I can tell myself that the answer is in my notes somewhere so I know I should find it. A weakness of mine is that I get lazy and I wont turn back to my notes to actually find the answer I might just fill in whatever I feel is correct. Another one of my weaknesses is sometimes I may not read the question all the way through and because of that I wont get the exact answer that I need and I wind up not caring anymore. The writing process in my opinion is the most important part of writing without it your paper would probably make no sense and have a lot of mistakes. Strength of mine in the writing process is that I like to plan my writing carefully before just jumping into a paper. A weakness in this area is that I hate the revising and editing portion and I know its something that I need to work on if I want to have a great paper. Another strength is when I write the paper I try to get it exactly how I want it the 1st time so the second time through I just have to add a couple words or periods here or there. Spelling and grammar everyone’s favorite part of a paper without it nobody would ever understand what you were trying to say. If you leave your paper with a lot of sentence fragments and run-ons nobody will bother to pick up anything you have written. Strength of mine in this area is I typically read over a sentence aloud twice to make sure it makes sense and it’s not a run-on. A weakness of mine is that I am not a very good speller without word and spell check all my teachers would probably look at me like I was crazy and its something that I have got to work on. Another weakness is sometimes I may forget a comma or a period or put a period where a question mark should go and if you give that paper to a newspaper or magazine they will hand it right back to you. Writing has a lot of components and some of the most important ones are rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, reading and writing; writing processes; and knowledge of conventions. Even though every one has there own strengths and weaknesses you can always get your strengths stronger and your weaknesses stronger also.

A letter to the editor of Wall Street Journal Assignment

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Freedom and Equaity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

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Globalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Globalization - Research Paper Example It would be useful to try and analyze the problem of globalization from the viewpoint of different scientific currents that may enable us to better understand the thing. In this essay, three theoretical approaches will be used and compared: Symbolic Interaction theory, functionalism, and conflict theory. The preference should be given to the one of them which may allow better grasp of the problems of globalization. A Symbolic Interaction theory is a sociological approach based on the principle of the primacy of semiotic interactions between individuals and their groups in an analysis of social relations. Symbolic interactionists usually claim that it is semiotics (i.e. the ability to form symbolic images of surrounding reality) that really distinguishes human beings from other animals, and that it is the specific ways of creating such symbolic meanings that define both human conscience and social order at large (Plummer 195). That said, symbolic interactionists aim to use as much emp irical data for their scholarly arguments as possible, because the supporters of this approach believe that an analysis of social life should be grounded in strong empirical foundations (Blumer 47). With respect to globalization, the symbolic interactionist approach to this phenomenon rests on the assumption that globalization is the direct result of growing rates of social interaction across cultures. The globalized world is held together by the natural tendency of humans to communicate and share information with each other, so that the results of these interactions gradually come to shape their participants’ cultural conventions themselves (Dolgon and Baker 376). Thus globalization is a final result of the millennia-old process of growth in inter-community ties that led firstly to the emergence of different nations, and then to the gradual blurring of most important distinctions among them. The symbolic interactionist perspective allows for deeper understanding of socio-psy chological aspects of globalization and their consequences. If one takes into account the impact globalization had on collective action networks and symbolic structures in general, one may observe that a globalizing world enabled the emergence of vastly different networks of meaning and action – from the development of a type of a ‘globalized’ consumer as a new point of reference to the steady growth of movements and attitudes that proceed from typically ‘global’ point of view. It does not matter whether such movements are pro- or anti-globalization and which symbolic structures they use to refer to themselves – all of them operate within the structure of meanings that was formed in the course of globalization processes. A functionalist approach to globalization is fundamentally political, in a sense that its supporters pay the closest attention to the functional aspects of interactions between different political actors that comprise an inter national political scene. The core idea beyond functionalist framework is that a growth in complexity of various functions executed by the state gradually gives rise to a need to cooperate with the other similar states, so that the execution of these functions may be more effective. The spheres of cooperation need not be ‘political’ in the narrow sense of the term; they might include purely technical or cultural interaction.

How does globalisation impact on the management of Chinese firms Essay

How does globalisation impact on the management of Chinese firms - Essay Example The role of globalization in the competitive economic scenario and the environment cannot be underestimated. The firms have to advance themselves with the ever rising challenges in the market and accordingly build up their strategies. It is here the role of globalization plays the prime effect. The foreign policies practiced by China as well as the economic situation across the globe are all factors for a firm to sustain in the market. The focus of the paper will lay upon the needful to be done by the management to be in line with the impacts of globalization. In fact this is the reason behind inclusion of both and negative aspects of globalization. Introduction Globalization and its impact on the management of firms have attracted an effective attention of the international business’ scholars in the past decades. Small family run private owned business organizations have been at the middle of various international discussions on the how the globalization impacts the managemen t of the organizations. Liberalisation of markets, services, standardization and integration of economies are considered as the hallmark of the globalization. Opening of economy and increased interdependence on global market has contributed effectively to the economies of both developing and developed countries. China is considered as one of the emerging economies around the globe. The small family run private owned hospitality firms are achieving significant growth rate due to China’s open economy policy and globalization. On the other hand, it is quite challenging for an organization within this sector to manage the workforce and business performance inside or outside of the country. Recently china achieved potential economic growth rate due to globalization, open door policy and economic reformation. It is true that the business environment in China is becoming highly potential as well as competitive. Several organizations within the small family run private owned hospital ity organizations are adopting different strategies in global market place in order to develop potential client base and gain significant competitive advantages. Despite the financial advantages, the management of these Chinese firms faces several issues in foreign market places due to globalization. Several Chinese small family run private owned hospitality firms are trying to aiming on global expansion strategy. However, globalization has several advantages and disadvantages on the management of these firms that will be discussed in the discussion part. This essay will determine the impact of globalization on the management of small family run private owned hospitality firms outside China. Discussion It s true that globalization and open door policy of China is motivating several small family run private owned hospitality firms to adopt and implement global expansion strategy. These organizations are considered as one of the important contributor of the economic growth of China. C hina is highly focusing on the growth of these business firms due to high potentiality and strong market demand. Therefore, the government of China is supporting these organizations to adopt and implement global expansion strategy. There are several negative and positive consequences of globalization on the management of these firms that are discusses below. Positive Impacts of Globalization Several leading organizations are trying to capitalize on the opportunities that are developed due to

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Personal Educational Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Principles of Banking and Finance Essay Example for Free

Principles of Banking and Finance Essay What does Sub-Prime Crisis means? Sub Prime lending which is also known as near-prime, non-prime and second chance lending, means lending to people who might have trouble repaying the loan due to income ability or credit ratings which previously would not have been available to them. Credit ratings that might be not favorable to them with the standards set up initially by Financial Institutions slowly dwindle to less strict under-writing of loans. which could also due to an influx of foreign capital making lending easier to these group of people, the investment banks that sold the repackage mortgages to the consumers which is one of the way to fund for capital, and the Housing Urban Development of America policy to ensure that its citizens has access to mortgage loans easily. The cheaper interest rate packaged by the Financial Institutions which seems more affordable for the consumer for the first 1 to 5 years and the thereafter interest rate would have jumped significantly. The loans here generally referred to mortgage loans. The Crisis started or snowball into what it was in 2007 in my opinion was due to greed. Greed into thinking that the property boom would continue in perpetuity so that the borrowers could cash out more from their current property market valuation, with this cash out in terms of personal loan they could fund or finance their lifestyle be it buying a new property for investment purposes, to flip or for rental. For the luxury in life they choose to enjoy now, spending future money. As the economy slowed, jobs are being taken away from corporation in America to other countries which have a cheaper source of overhead expenses and manpower. People are being retrenched thus causing them to start defaulting on their loan repayments. A statistic done has shown that the American households do not have any savings but was laden with debt instead. The housing bubble burst, the market does not have that much capital as it used to have to continue to push property prices up anymore, thus causing the market to slow overall, foreclosures of their properties was happening. Consumers was also unable to obtain a refinancing which they had planned previously to lower their interest rate again when it went up, as financial institutions feel the pinched and controlled its lending. How did the Financial Institutions played a part in this? In the past banks have financed their mortgage lending activities through the deposits they receive from their customers. This has confined the amount of mortgage lending they could do. In recent years, banks have designed a new model where they repackage these mortgages to be sold to the bond markets. This has made it a lot easier to fund additional borrowing from the investors and interest rate was low. But it has also led to abuses as banks no longer have the incentive to check carefully the mortgages they issue to the lenders. The failure to check and curb lending in return for the possibility of profit was one of the causes. The first sign of the sub-prime crisis was as early as 2007 when HSBC Finance which is part of the banks north American subsidiary has to write off 880 million in sub-prime lending. The business has become unsustainable as borrowers started to default. The new model which we have come to know is known either as Mortgaged backed Assets or Collateral Debts Obl igations. The repackage mortgages are being sold to the bond markets, before they can be sold, credit rating agency will determine and give the model a rating. A credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness example its ability to pay back a loan, and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued. These MBS or CDOs as it has come to know are usually marketed to countries which has a surplus in its balance sheet as it was generally known that Asians believe in savings rather than spending future money thus the products were usually marketed in Asia, It is allege that the rating agencies experienced from conflicts of interest, as they were paid by investment banks and other firms that organize and sell these structured securities to investors. If there are not to give favorable ratings to these products they risk the underwriter of these securities to another rating agency. It would be hard to sell these products if they are not being given a rating to begin with. Once they are sold the banks have in a way diverted part of the risk to the consumers. Investors should not rely too heavily on these ratings agencies opinions but instead carry out their own homework in the safeness of debt level as well as others related securities. Probably the opinions of the agencies enable them to get a conclusion, however based on past decade of event, it can only be consider as off base when it comes to the risk of credit event. Investors should try to put themselves in the shoes of the product pushers, asking themselves very important points like, why do you need to sell these products? Do you own any of these products yourself? If it is as good as you mention have the private investors bought and participated a substantial amount of their savings in it? Perhaps there need to be some form of intermediaries whereby no conflict of interest will affect their opinion and report of these products. A case study in Singapore itself which has made headlines during this crisis was the minibond saga which was being sold in Singapore by a couple of Financial Institutions. The originator of this series of structured products was the now defunct Lehman Brothers. The Minibond was being illustrated to the local consumer as a bond which is not the case it is actually a Collateral Debts Obligations. The relationship managers in banks are eager to sell the product because of the high commission and the consumer who are eager to buy because the returns are much higher than the fixed deposit being offered by the banks. An estimated of 500 million Singapore dollars was purchased for the Minibonds by consumers. It stirred a series of conflicts with the Financial Institutions that sold these products, the consumers cried fouled into being mis-sold of it, some of the consumers managed to get back part of their investment and vowed not to touch these structured products ever again. We can take a look back into the 1990s where one of the policy set up and enforce by the Housing and Urban Development of America, was one of the cause of the sub prime crisis. With the support of the government, HUD has less mortgage restriction requirements on its borrowers. The mandate was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which was regulated by HUD, was to generate up to 8 million more homeowners in America. It was known as the â€Å"National Homeownership Strategy†. No down payment was required, 100% financing for the property was the norm. This was partly possible due to the influx of cheap money in the market, wit h this cheap money consumers speculated with the market, they kept buying new homes thus the good years of where the appreciation of the property keep going up. Financial Institutions dare to lend due to the market confidence that it can only keep going up, borrowers confidence that the market too can only keep going up. A check with HUD official website, apparently the US government is still supporting home ownership program without first addressing a stable income issue. Only with a stable income can a person make regular commitment to his or her housing loan commitment. Kudos to the Singapore government for taking appropriate actions during the last few years when their economy was recovering, the measures taken to prevent over speculation of the property market in Singapore. Homebuyers with the extra cash were snapping up properties, either for owner’s occupation or for investment purposes. The government either learned from the Sub-prime crisis or foreseen that if it continues the way it is going, a market crash might be imminent or the crash will be too fast and hard, no soft landing for the consumers. As they knew that property market have its up and down. Steps was taken, it used to be 90/10. Whereby the buyer have to come up with 10% cash and the remaining 90% can be financed through a financial institutions regardless of the number of property they currently owned. It was changed to 80/20 rule, 20% of which is the owner’s own cash an 80% through financing. Surprisingly it did not deter the consumers, the market still kept soaring. The next rule implemented was the 80/20 rule for first time buyers, meaning buyers without any current mortgage loan, for buyers with an existing mortgage which was not yet paid up; they are only eligible for 60/40. 60% financing for their new property and an increased in the stamp duty to be paid for to the government if it was their 3rd property for Singaporean. The hardest hit was the foreigners who are seeking to invest their money in Singapore properties as they have to pay additional 10% stamp duty which is likely to deter most of them. P rices still kept going up, the latest ruling was much more complex than the previous few. If one is looking at 80% financing one can only borrow up to the age of 65 years old and tenure of not more than 30 years. Which was not the case previously, in previous scenario it was dependent on different Banks guideline in Singapore, they could lend up to the age of 70, 75 or 80. They stepped in and put a cap at 65 as they believe that is the retirement age. If you want to extend your loan tenure your financing amount will drop to either 60% or 40%. I believe the government did this as they knew that the US is going ahead with Quantitative Easing 3, they want to prevent too much hot money from landing in Singapore shore. To sum up, we learned from our mistakes and grow not to make the same mistake twice. A healthy economy is based on real economic goods with value. Hopefully US can still continue to create innovative products like Apple and keep their manufacturing production in US soil, get employment rate up. The citizens have to maintain their expectations in terms of salary wise and spend within their means. Tighten up their way of lending and controlling Banks to a certain extent, a culture that is profit driven but with ethnics. Can heed the investment guru jim roger’s advice to focus on farming as there will be a food shortage in time to come. Induce good saving habits in everyone to save up for a rainy day. http://www.ethicalquote.com/docs/SubprimeMortgageCrisis.pdf http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7073131.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_policies_and_the_subprime_mortgage_crisis http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/09/AR2008060902626.html http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/mortgages-with-no-money-down/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2816291/HSBC-hit-by-sub-prime-crisis.html

Training of Airline Pilots Essay Example for Free

Training of Airline Pilots Essay This motto goes: â€Å"One mile of runway can take you anywhere†. Through my little time of being an aviator this has proven to be true. Aviation is an incredibly exciting field of interest that has no limits as to how far an individual can take it. Flying airplanes for a living can be very challenging, fun, and exciting; however looking past the outer shell, aviation is a main component of what makes the global economy work. According to Airsaftey.Aero, the aviation industry supplies 4. 5 million jobs directly related to airports and has a multiplier of 1.7, meaning that for every 100 jobs in aviation their are 170 jobs in associated industries. They also state that the total global value is US $880 billion. The industry allows faster, cheaper, and more efficient ways to travel for business, tourism, cargo, and mail. As you can see aviation is a huge power in the development and success of the global economy. The companies can make big profits and the economy is obviously better off with this industry. One item that is in direct correlation with the revenue of these companies is safety. Some people say that a pilot will make his whole life’s earnings in one flight and that may or may not be true, but the fact that the training of these pilots is crucial cannot be denied. This paper will discuss the attitude needed to become a pilot, the medical requirements to become a pilot, the beginning steps of becoming a pilot, the three main routes to become a professional pilot, and the continuing training required to maintain a professional pilot’s license. Attitude of Becoming a Pilot A pilot’s attitude can be the most important and valuable asset he has, yet it can also be the most dangerous. Decision-making is what separates a good pilot from a bad pilot. Every decision is a reflection of the attitude that a pilot has. Human factors are the number one cause of all aircraft accidents, and most of these stem from undesirable attitudes. It does not take an outstanding set of physical talents to become a pilot. Most people need to understand that the skills are within themselves to become a professional pilot. Aviation is very unforgiving to those who push the limits. There have been five hazardous attitudes identified that can be most detrimental to becoming a successful pilot. These attitudes have been classified as: Anti-Authority, Impulsive, Invulnerability, Macho, and Resignation. (Haz) The Anti-authority attitude is found in pilots who do not like anyone telling them what to do. This pilot may disregard rules, regulations, and procedures as silly or unnecessary. They have a â€Å"Don’t tell me† type of attitude and the proper antidote would be to say, â€Å"Follow the rules: they’re usually right†. The Impulsive attitude is displayed when the pilot feels the need to make decisions without fully thinking through the situation. Instead of saying â€Å"do something quickly,† this pilot should be saying, â€Å"Not so fast, think first†. Pilots who tell themselves that accidents and malfunctions cannot happen to them face the invulnerability attitude. Instead of â€Å"It can’t happen to me† pilots need to think, â€Å"It can happen to me†. Another undesirable attitude is described as macho. This is when the pilot has the attitude that he can take risks and that he is invincible. Instead of saying â€Å"I can do it,† pilots with a macho attitude need to train themselves to say, â€Å"Taking a chance is foolish†. The fifth category of undesirable attitudes is resignation. Pilots have no room for blaming occurrences on bad luck and that is what this attitude is. The pilot blames an undesired situation on luck and gives in. Someone with this attitude usually says, â€Å"What’s the use,† when they should have the attitude that â€Å"I can make a difference.† Pilots need to be committed to keeping a positive, levelheaded attitude. A good way to do this is to review human factors before every flight, recognizing the outside factors such as stress, money, commitments, etc. that will effect the decisions they make (Haz). Obtaining a Medical Certificate Obtaining an FAA medical certificate is required of every aviator, whether he will be at the controls as a student pilot or an Air Transport pilot. In this process a certified AME (aviation medical examiner) will perform what seems to be a basic physical examination on the patient. The examiner will check the patient’s eyes for distant visual acuity of 20/20 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses, near vision of 20/40 or better, the ability to perceive colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties, and normal fields of vision. Next he will check the ears, nose, and throat of the patient making sure a certain decibel level can be heard, and that no preexisting issues can be identified within the nose and throat. Those are some of the main things that the examiner will be looking for in the physical components of the exam; however the rest of the examination will also include mental health, neurologic health, cardiovascular strength, and anything left that falls under general medical condition. It is recommended that if one wants to become an airline pilot that he obtain an FAA First Class Medical Certificate rather than the required Third Class Medical rating before beginning training as he cannot and will not be hired without one. The FAA does have an option to give waivers to those who may be on the border of passing one of these sections of the medical exam; however with the costs of training being very high it would be wise to make sure to meet all job qualifications prior to training (Con). Beginning Steps Now that the attitude required to be a professional aviator as well as the medical requirements have been discussed, the next step is to ask oneself some very important questions before beginning the actual training. The first question should be, â€Å"how much will this all cost?† There is no concrete number, but expect non-military training to cost somewhere around $60,000 for all the ratings. The next question to ask is, â€Å"how long will it take?† Again, there is no set time frame on this as some might learn faster or slower than others. From personal experience, expect two to four years to obtain all of the ratings unless doing military training, which is an accelerated program. Another question to ask would be, â€Å"what topics will you need to learn?† Most professional aviators did not just wake up one day and decide that they were going to try to be pilots. They have a passion for what they do and that is what makes them stand out in the fierce competition of the industry. This leads to the desire to learn many different aviation subjects such as Aircraft systems, Aerodynamics, Navigation, Weather, Aircraft operations, and Regulations. The last question one should ask is, â€Å"where should I go for flight training?† This question leads to the discussion of the three main types of flight training, which include Part 61 civilian, Part 141 flight schools, and military training. After considering whether one has what it takes to become an aviator, then the next step is to evaluate the fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way to obtain the required ratings while looking good on a resume. Part 61 Civilian Training While there is no college requirement to be an airline pilot, most employers will look for some college time and prefer a bachelor’s degree. Part 61 training is probably the simplest and easiest to complete, as there is no set time requirement for completion. The private pilot license, instrument rating, commercial license, and multi-engine license can all be obtained through part 61 training. This type of training is usually done outside of a school and all bookwork is done using a self-study style. A certified flight instructor will give all of the endorsements needed to complete the ratings up to the point when the student must fly with an FAA examiner. The timeframe is set on the student’s urgency and is usually a little less expensive than a Part 141 program. The most attractive attribute of a Part 61 flight school is the flexibility it gives its students. Even though this path has the least direction from the FAA, the pilots get a well-rounded training experience. Part 141 Civilian Training Part 141 flight schools have a more focused curriculum that requires not only flight checks but ground courses also. The FAA gives a lot of direction to the trainees. There are clear outlines for every part of the training to obtain each rating including the ground lessons, flight lessons, and stage checks. This is the best option for pilots who are serious about making a career out of flying and not interested in serving in the military. As with Part 61 training, there are several check rides required before completing flight training. The curriculum of the flight portion is set up to save flight hours creating a less expensive alternative. A Part 61 school requires a minimum of 40 hours, whereas a Part 141 schools only requires 35 hours. This may seem appealing, but many students at part 141 schools need over the 35 required hours. According to Patch on hubpages.com â€Å"The place where you may want to look at a part 141 school is when you go on to your advanced ratings. This is where your decreased requirements may actually have a true cost savings for you. For example, if youre getting your instrument rating at a part 61 flight school, youll need to have logged 50 hours cross country as pilot in command (PIC). Thats not a requirement for part 141 schools. Thats a considerable cost savings for most students.† Military Training Military aviator training is the toughest, least expensive to the pilot, and most desired because one can build turbine time. In the United States Air Force, officers go through a 4-phase program leading to receiving their wings. Phase-one is academic classes and pre-flight training. In this phase pilots learn and test in subjects such as Aerospace Physiology, Altitude Chamber, Ejection Seat / Egress Training, Parachute Landing Falls, Aircraft Systems, Basic Instruments, Mission Planning / Navigation, and Aviation Weather. In phase-two the officers begin primary aircraft training. This phase includes approximately 90 hours of flight training, lasting 22 weeks, with the Purpose of teaching students basic flying skills, Focus, Contact, Instruments, Formations, and Navigation. At the end of this 6-month phase, students pick which Advanced Track in which they wish to fly. Students pick based on their performance ranking in Phase-2. In Phase-3, advanced aircraft training begins. After Approximately 120 hours of flight instruction in 24 weeks of training, the hope is to put these pilots in fighter/bomber aircraft. Finally these select few are ready for phase-4, which is graduation. After roughly 52 weeks of training, officers receive their silver wings and are awarded the aeronautical rating of pilot (Spe). This method of training is desirable because one can get paid to become a pilot, can receive instruction from the worlds best, and can build turbine time before applying for an airline job (assuming the pilot are placed in a fixed-wing aircraft). The negatives of this path, on the other hand, is the competition and risk that one may end up not being a pilot, as well as a contract requiring a lengthy commitment to service. Overall this can be the way to go if one is confident in his own skills and abilities. Airline Training Once one has completed getting all of the ratings, certificates, and licenses and thinks all the training is over, well guess again. The airlines require even more training. Joel Freemen of Howstuffworks.com says: â€Å"Regardless of your background, the airline will train you based on its procedures and its FAA-approved training curriculum. Even though all airlines fly the same kinds of airplanes, each airline has slightly different methods and procedures. The goal of an airline is to train you to be qualified in your position and to be standard. Standardization is one of the pillars of a safe airline. The concept is that, within the airline, cockpit behavior and procedure will be the same in every flight, no matter which pilots are at the controls, to prevent confusion and misunderstanding.† The initial training includes regulations and company-specific procedures. The pilot will then spend two weeks learning specific systems and equipment that they will be operating. Next is the simulator training. The airline will simulate every emergency procedure and mishap imaginable to ensure the ability of the pilot before allowing them to fly their million dollar airplanes. Next the pilot will be fly to obtain initial operating experience. This experience includes at least 25 hours of flight time. After this, the pilot is released to operate scheduled flights as a crewmember. What to Expect From an article on nytimes.com here are three short testimonies of the life of a few regional pilots: â€Å"Alex Lapointe, a 25-year-old co-pilot for a regional airline, says he routinely lifts off knowing he has gotten less sleep than he needs. And once or twice a week, he says, he sees the captain next to him struggling to stay alert. Neil A. Weston, also 25, went $100,000 into debt to train for a co-pilot’s job that pays him $25,000 annually. He carries sandwiches in a cooler from his home in Dubuque, Iowa, bought his first uniform for $400, and holds out hope of tripling his salary by moving into the captain’s seat, then up to a major carrier. Assuming, that is, the majors start hiring again. Capt. Paul Nietz, 58, who recently retired from a regional airline, said his schedule wore him down and cost him three marriages. His workweek typically began with a 2:30 a.m. wake-up in northern Michigan and a 6 a.m. flight to his Chicago home bases. There, he would wait for his first assignment, a noon departure.† These scenarios go to show that it takes a lot of hard work, passion, and love for aviation to be an airline pilot. These guys start off making awful wages, are kept away from home, get little sleep, and eat unhealthy fast food most of the year until they obtain seniority. Conclusion Pilots are the poster child’s of the aviation business. They are the most seen by the public; therefore it is essential that they demonstrate professionalism when they put on the uniform. Professionalism is not something that a pilot obtains when he/she begins making money for an airliner but rather a personality that shows respect to his/her crew, passengers, and aircraft. Professionalism is what airlines are looking for when they are hiring, they are looking for a potential Captain. Being an airline pilot isn’t for everyone though. You can probably tell from the rest of this paper that it really requires a passion as well as a great deal of sacrifice to make it through the rigorous and lengthy training. The sacrifices don’t end there, as pilots are often in major debt for years before they make enough to pay off the loans they acquire, they sacrifice time spent with their families, and they are physically tested from day one. Although this all seems negative, it is a must. Hopefully the passengers see these as a positive. The more training a pilot has, the safer he/she will be in the cockpit. The excess in training provides more protection to the passenger and/or the cargo. Training also improves accident rates therefore keeping passengers flying and keeping aviation stimulating and allowing our economy to grow.

Tesco Strategy Analysis

Tesco Strategy Analysis Introduction First I will start with brief introduction of the firm I am writing about. Tesco is the largest food retailer in UK, operating around 2,318 stores worldwide. Tesco operates around 1,878 stores throughout the UK, and also operates stores in the rest of Europe and Asia. Tesco.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary offering a complete online service, including tescodirect.com and tesco.net. The company also offers a range of both online and offline personal finance services. Tesco is headquartered in Hertfordshire, UK. For the year ended February 2004 Tesco PLC achieved revenues that totaled  £33,557 million, an increase of 18.7% against the previous year’s revenues that were  £28,280 million. (5) History This part I have divided into three main fraction: Grows; Marketing/management strategy and competition during each particular period of time. Competition is included here for the reason that I am strongly persuaded that it is the main driving force for any business. Pre 1980 Grows The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. Name was formed by using the first three letters of the suppliers name (TES), and the first two letters of a brand creator surname ((CO) Jack Cohen), forming the word TESCO. Tesco floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited. The first self service store opened in St Albans in 1951 (still operational in 2008 as a Metro), and the first supermarket in Maldon in 1956. During the 1950s and the 1960s Tesco grew organically, but also through acquisitions until it owned more than 800 stores. The company purchased 70 Williamsons stores (1957), 200 Harrow Stores outlets (1959), 212 Irwins stores (1960), 97 Charles Phillips stores (1964) and the Victor Value chain (1968) (sold to Bejam in 1986). (3) Marketing strategy Tesco introduced the new superstore concept for Britain. After a few years from appearance (1968) superstore became very popular for it’s vide range of products at competitive price. In 1974 company introduced its first gas station which had lower price for petrol but was adjacent to Tesco superstore. (1) 1980s In May 1987 Tesco completed its hostile takeover of the Hillards chain of 40 supermarkets in the North of England for  £220 million 1990s Grows 1995 Tesco overtook Sainsbury and became UK largest supermarket. In the 90s international expansion began: France (1992) Hungary (1994) Poland (1995) Czech Republic (1996) Slovakia (1996) Republic of Ireland (1997) Thailand (1998) South Korea (1999). Entering foreign markets in the first half of 90s was made mainly by purchasing already existing stores or joining the local retail leader. For example first stores in the Czech Republic were opened by buying US corporation Kmarts operations in the country and converting them into Tesco stores. In 1997 expansion to Asia market began from acquiring 13 shops from CP Group in Thailand and formed Tesco Lotus. In 1999 by joining with Samsung entrance to South Korea market was achieved. (3)(1) Marketing strategy Tesco introduced a loyalty card, branded Club card, in 1995. This card was giving discount but what is more important it gave an opportunity to keep a hand on a pulse of customers need and to collect all necessary data for future planning’s. New goals were set: Expansion to foreign market, developing of a nonfood products selling. Tescos main advertising slogan appeared Every little helps. Its advertisements in print and on television mainly consist of product shots (or an appropriate image, such as a car when advertising petrol) against a white background, with a price or appropriate text, e.g. Tesco Value, superimposed on a red circle. (1) On television, voiceovers are provided by recognizable actors and presenters, such as James Nesbitt, Jane Horrocks, Terry Wogan, Ray Winstone, Neil Morrissey, Martin Clunes, David Jason and Kathy Burke among others. In international expansion Tesco took to attention difference in tastes between different regions. While entering Central Eu rope market Tesco was instilling western standards of shopping by introducing large number of hypermarkets. (2) Also very big attention was devoted to customers’ needs usually it was represent in product line. In Czech Republic for example Tesco concentrated on providing Czech products in retail shops. In China, the locals preferred to buy live fish, turtles, meat and other popular products such as instant noodles, unlike in European countries. Tesco had to provide these in its hypermarkets to draw the Chinese customers. Similarly in Thailand, the customers spent a huge proportion of their income on fresh foods. To adapt to the shopping habits of the Thai customers, Tesco developed a fresh market hall an area adjacent to the main store, wherein 14 local vendors sold a range of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, ready-to-eat products and other local food products. This area was designed to provide the Thai customers with traditional and local atmosphere. Competition On 21 March 1997 Tesco announced the purchase of the retail arm of Associated British Foods which consisted of the Quinnsworth, Stewarts and Crazy Prices chains in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as associated businesses for  £640 million. The deal was approved by the European Commission on 6 May 1997. This acquisition gave it both a major presence in the Republic of Ireland, and a larger presence in Northern Ireland than Sainsburys which had begun its move into the province in 1995. Tesco’s nonfood marked faced a huge competition level in GB from such giants like ASDA and MarksSpenser. At the beginning of entrance to the Hungarian market main competition was represented by small family-run stores, which served immediate customer needs. The strategy against it was introducing more than 1000 its own label products at 20% cheaper price than branded ones. Later Auchan (Fr), Metro (gr) and Cora (Fr) entered Hungarian market and became the main competition. 2000s Grows After purchasing 35% share of Grocery Works in July 2001 Tesco became involved in the USA internet grocery retailing. In 2002 Tesco purchased 13 HIT hypermarkets in Poland. By purchasing TS Stores, owner of 870 convenience stores in the One Stop, Dillons and Day Nite chains in the UK it made a huge step in the homelands convenience store market. In October 2003 Tesco started UK telecoms division which added to existing already internet service provider business also mobile and home phone services. In June 2003 Tesco purchased the C Two-Network in Japan and acquired a majority stake in Turkish supermarket chain Kipa. In 2004 Tesco continued its acquiring parade by buying Adminstore, owner of 45 Cullens, Europe, and Harts convenience stores, in and around London. August same year broadband service was launched. In Thailand Tesco Lotus was a joint venture of the Charoen Pokphand Group and Tesco but facing criticism over the growth of hypermarkets CP Group sold its Tesco Lotus shares. In late 2005 Tesco acquired the 21 remaining Safeway/BP stores after Morrisons dissolved the Safeway/BP partnership. In mid 2006 Tesco purchased an 80% stake in Casinos Leader Price supermarkets in Poland. They will be rebranded into small Tesco stores. (3; 1) Marketing/management strategy Tesco`s international expansion strategy in Asia was mainly represented as joint ventures with the local partner firms like Samsung Group in South Korea (Samsung-Tesco Home plus), and Charoen Pokphand in Thailand (Tesco Lotus) due to sensitivity of local market for foreigners and a bit more complicated â€Å"know how† than the rest of the world. In these mergers local personnel has an assured quantitative domination in low and middle management positions. . It also formulate not big acquisitions an important part of its expansion strategy. For instance, in its 2005/2006 financial year it made acquisitions in South Korea, one in Japan and one in Poland. In September 2005 Tesco announced that it was selling its operations in Taiwan to Carrefour and purchasing Carrefours stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Both companies stated that they were concentrating their efforts in countries where they had strong market positions. (1) In May 2007 Tesco decided to move its online operations head office to Switzerland for the tax reasons. This allows it to sell CDs, DVDs and electronic games through its web site without charging VAT. This opportunity was closed by government in June 2008. Tesco has made a devotion to corporate social responsibility, by contributing of 1.87% in 2006 of its pre-tax profits to local communities’ charity organizations. (3) In 1992 Tesco started a computers for schools scheme, offering computers in return for schools and hospitals getting vouchers from people who shopped at Tesco. Until 2004,  £92m of equipment went to these organizations. The scheme has been also implemented in Poland.BITC Tesco Computers for Schools. Starting during the 2005/2006 association football season the company now sponsors the Tesco Cup, a football competition for young players throughout the UK. The cup now runs a boys competition at Under 13 level and two girls cups at Under 14 level and Under 16 level. Over 40,000 boys alone took part in the 2007/08 competitions. Competition Tesco was accused by the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for being a part of a price cartel; among participants were top five UK supermarkets (Safeway, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys) and a number of milk, butter and cheese. The investigation started in 2007 and in the same year Asda, Sainsburys and Safeway adjudged them guilty in acting against consumer interest by covering of 5000 farmers support in recovering after the foot-and-mouth crisis. Total fine for them amounted  £116M. Tesco, on the other hand, maintain to deny any activity in this cartel, therefore it is investigated by the OFT. (3) Strategic analysis Industry analysis: PESTE. UK. Political Factors Because of employment legalization reasons, the state encourages big firms to be a representation of different kind of labor demand, starting from part time, lower-paid local jobs till higher-paid and centrally-located jobs. (7) This includes hiring students, disabled and elderly workers, who are paid lower rates but for the reason of a usually frequent staff turnover, these workers propose a higher level of devotion and therefore represent desirable labor supply. However at Tesco, an overwhelming majority perceived no difference in the treatment of part-time and full-time employees.(7) Moreover In a period of six years, Tesco procured employment to over 2,000 unemployed and disadvantaged people, according its job guarantee scheme. In this scheme the aim is to provide training and employment to people who are first-time workers, single parents and older people. (8) Competition Commissions ruling and have been lobbying to boycott supermarkets and large food manufacturers and instead support small independent suppliers, processors and retailers at the expense of large supermarkets like Tesco. A supporting argument can be shown in figures. In UK by 2004 small grocery stores overall had employed 500,000 people with turnover of  £21 billion, and Tesco managed to hire twice less (250,000) with even bigger turnover  £29bn. (12) Proposals from the European commission to clamp down on predatory pricing policies to prevent the selling of goods below cost price such as exist within France Germany, Ireland and Spain. Furthermore, there are standards for nutrient descriptors such as â€Å"light†, â€Å"reduced fat† and â€Å"low fat†, set by governmental and European agencies like the European Food Authority (EFA) Economical Factors The UK food retailing market is mature and highly competitive and this market has been affected by negative inflation in the food sector. The diffusion of domestic markets and the desire for expansion have treated increasing globalization in retailing via self-start, merger and acquisition and franchising. Poor land resources issue enhanced by government legislation on planning restrictions on out of town shopping facilities makes it difficult to expand into these locations Britains supermarkets are racing to open small high street stores to cash in on demand for convenience shopping in urban areas. (6) Social/Cultural Factors Demographic changes as for example higher percentage of older people, less women as housewives and overall trend for eating outside mean that UK retailers are responding towards changes by focusing on added value products and services. Moreover new trends are the supply chain and other operations cost reduction and own-label share in the business, overall silence about taking new supplier between national retailers. In the UK a tendency toward healthier food and environmental awareness, represented by friendly packaging can be noticed. Nevertheless in the last ten years there has been a quantity improve in consuming quality products with good tastes, among them exotic fruits, fish and other can be noticed. Overall, can be stated that UK population is becoming more experimental in their food traditions. (9) Technological Factors Changes in retailing methods as such clothes sales via the Internet is now a common place in retailing. Paperless operation, the management and administration of the company are undertaken on IT systems, which are accessed through secure servers; provide flexibility in the running of the business. As Sweden is at the forefront of technological advancement with national companies like Ericsson, Tesco would enjoy the comprehensive logistics and distribution channels already in place. Environmental Factors Starting from 2003, an increase in pressure on large companies and managers in UK may be observed, main motivation of a government is to make them be more aware of their responsibility to society, and act in a way which benefits society overall. For the food retailing the biggest issue is environmental, the main area for them to act in the â€Å"socially responsible† way. Therefore by recognizing this drift movement, Tesco developed Corporate Responsibility committee in 2001 in order to fulfill its obligations before society. (6) In 2003 the UK government has launched a strategy for environmentally friendly consumption and manufacturing in order of cutting waste, reducing expenditure of resources and diminishing environmental damage. One of the legislation was a creating of a tax on highly processed and fatty foods advertising. The so-called ‘fat tax directly affected the Tesco product ranges that have subsequently been adapted, affecting relationships with both suppliers and customers. (9) Porters Five Forces Threat of New Entrants The grocery market of United Kingdom is crucially dominated by a small number of competitors, among them such brand names as Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Safeway that hold a market share of 70% and small chains of Somerfield, Waitrose and Budgens with a another 10%. Starting from 80th the grocery retailing system has been represented mainly supermarket business. This powerful force had a major impact on the small local, private owned shops, such as grocery, bakers and etc. Therefore in nowadays it can be treated as a huge blockade for the companies who are willing to to enter this market. As an example, two reasons can be stated: necessity of a sufficient capital because of large fixed costs and highly developed supply chains. This is also evident in huge investments done by large chains, such as Tesco, in advanced technology for checkouts and stock control systems that impact new entrants and the existing ones. Other factors can be economies of scale and differentiation (in the prov ision of products or services with a higher perceived value than the competition) which is highly developed by Tesco and Asda due to their promotional/advertizing activity, aggressive operational moves in product development, and more sophisticated distribution. Bargaining Power of Suppliers These representatives of a supply side are usually influenced by key grocery chains and are under a constant pressure of losing their business to the supermarket chains. As a result, it enhances a strong enough as it is positions of dominant stores like Asda and Tesco in compromising better prices from suppliers, which smaller market chains are just unable to go with. Moreover UK based suppliers are vulnerable to the ability of big retailers to source their products abroad at a cheaper price. The UK Competition Commission found that Tesco steadily paid its suppliers 4% below the industry average on the 2000 date. In 2005 newspaper â€Å"Financial Mail on Sunday† started the campaign called â€Å"supermarket bullies† to uncover cases of pressuring farmers by large grocery chains. â€Å"We have heard numerous cases of poor treatment of suppliers by Tesco, but all of those we spoke to asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing contracts. One supplier said â€Å"I woul d like to give you this info but cannot risk being seen to be a troublemaker for fear of losing valuable supermarket customers†Ã¢â‚¬  was written in the report. (12) Tesco voluntary signed for supplier Code of Practice provided by Department of Trade and Industry (dti) to solve the problem of pressuring suppliers. However as Office of Fair Trading states that code is not working effectively, suppliers concerned about being de-listed by supermarkets or worsening trade conditions if they will officially complain. Bargaining Power of Customers Tescos famous loyalty card Club card can still be named as the most successful customer maintenance strategy that plays a big role in Tescos financial profitability upkeep. Brand Tesco can hold and increase its customer base because of its permanent tendency to meet customer needs, constant in-store promotions, customizing service to maintain lower prices. A crucial change has occurred in shopping habits of UK population in recent years. People tend to satisfy more of their needs in one place and in shorter time, it shows a necessity for large chains to expand their services into new non-food markets as banking, pharmacies, telecoms, etc. Consumers have become keep an eye on fair trade and the influence of developed countries consumers on the Third World suppliers. Fairly traded products as tea, coffee and cocoa are viable, and such products are now widely available at the majority of large chains. In 2005 Tesco had the largest range of fair-trade products in the UK, it was represe nted by 91 fair-trade products line, however comparing with overall context of the 40,000 products line it looks rather tiny (0.2%) achievement of supporting third-world countries. Moreover there are evidences that supermarkets exploiting customers good will by overcharging for fair trade products. â€Å"The supermarkets know that people do not go for the cheapest product when buying fair trade because they think the extra money is helping someone in the developing world.† John McCabe, a retail pricing expert states. (12) Threat of Substitutes In the grocery industry small chains of convenience stores are emerging in the industry. In this case Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys are trying to acquire existing small-scale operations and opening Metro and Express stores in local towns and city centers. With a giant share of the grocery retailing market represented by Tesco`s chain, small private shops can be placed nowhere but substitutes. Most local retailers wind it almost impossible to compete with Tesco because its enormous buying power. On average Tesco contracts with wholesalers are 11.5 per cent cheaper than for private independent retailers. Londis, the â€Å"corner shop† brand in UK, has claimed that it is cheaper to purchase brands from Tesco and resell them than to buy them from wholesalers. (12) Bargaining Power of Competitors The retailers market environment can be characterized as dominated by large players with significant grows, increasing store size, emergent retailer concentration, and the utilization of a range of formats, which are now important characteristics of the sector. As it was already stated, almost all purchasing power of the food retailing industry is acquired in the relatively small number of retail buyers. Besides market can be described as mature operating, where grows is difficult and it serves as a driver to diversification into non-food areas, moreover, consumers are more and more demanding and sophisticated, big players like Tesco are constantly accruing large amounts of consumer information that can be used to predict and fulfill their changing preferences. This highly competitive market currently is in the position where advanced technology and innovations are required for maintaining and increasing market share. Such innovation can be seen in the development of a range of trad ing formats, in response to changes in consumer behavior. The dominant market leaders have responded by refocusing on price and value, whilst reinforcing the added value elements of their service. (8, 4, 6) Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Mission statement: Creating value for customers, to earn their lifetime loyalty. Tescos corporate responsibility work is reflected in its everyday activities, mainly focusing on use of organics, use of energy and recycling water and in addition charity and community initiatives. Tescos CSR strategy was to earn the trust of our customers by acting responsibly in the communities where we operate, by maximizing the benefits we bring and working to minimize any negative impacts. (10) The company is publishing â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility Report† every year, with a detailed description of a companys CSR approach, implementation and policies. Usually it consists of such element as â€Å"Environment†, â€Å"Community†, â€Å"Suppliers and ethical trading†, â€Å"Customers, choice and health† and â€Å"People†. A Corporate Responsibility committee was established in 2001 it consists of different functions executives, who are gathering four times a year for Tesco`s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives discussion. The first report of committee came out in 2001. CSR plays a big role in strategy decision making of Tesco due to its wish to ensure that corporate responsibility creates a component of the everyday activities of the company. Because of its large size and degree chain, supermarkets like Tesco are influencing society in a broad perspective by encouraging its employees, suppliers and customers to be socially responsible. In Tesco`s case an example of this kind of responsibility can be its charity, fund raising for education, promotion of health food and making it as affordable as it can be. This social responsibility policy is implemented not only for chains operating in UK, but also to the all countries where Tesco is developing its business. (11) In 1992 Tesco started a computers for schools scheme, offering computers in return for schools and hospitals getting vouchers from people who shopped at Tesco. Until 2004,  £92 million of equipment went to these organizations. The scheme has been also implemented in Poland. Starting during the 2005/2006 football season the company now sponsors the Tesco Cup, a football competition for young players throughout the UK. The cup now runs a boys competition at Under 13 level and two girls cups at Under 14 level and Under 16 level. Over 40,000 boys alone took part in the 2007/08 competitions. (3) Tesco gave at least 1% of its pretax profit to charity, in the form of donations, employee time and gifts. In the fiscal 2004-05, Tescos total charity contributions stood at  £21,762,931. Tesco Charity Trust provided grants of  £878,556 to local and national charities in the UK (3) Though Tesco`s initiatives toward being more social and environmental responsible a quite visible, there is some issues it is criticized for. For instance, Tesco distributed 1.4 billion plastic bags in 2004, which ended up in landfill. In the UK, only 7% of plastic bags were recycled and the company continued using more and more plastic bags. Grocery packaging makes up roughly a quarter of all household waste. (11) Second what is Tesco claimed for is energy use. Tesco uses twice more energy and on average in the industry 4.3 GJ/m2/yr to 2.4 GJ/m2/yr respectfully. Among others concerns of Tesco`s environmental friendship are Pesticides and organic food (the issue is that not just Tesco tries to gives no privilege to non pesticide food, but also overprices organic goods); GM foods (dairy and meat products from animals fed on GM cattle feed (maize and soya)) and deforestation. Aims and Objective Five objective of Tesco`s business strategy are: To be a successful international retailer Since the mid 90th Tesco have been investing in market out of the country, looking for new opportunities for expansion and accumulating long term securities and returns for shareholders. Today Tesco is present in 13 markets outside UK and planning to enter India. To fulfill all international ambitions Tesco has evolved a strategy based on six elements. Be flexible(in Japan people prefer to buy small amount of fresh food every day) ; Act local (In Thailand customers have a habit to interact with vendors and choosing what they want from piles of production); Maintain focus; Use multi-formats (hole spectrum from convenience to hypermarkets) ; Develop capability; Build brands. To grow the core UK business Core UK business has over 285,000 employees and over 2,200 stores, moreover, 70% of sales and profits comes from UK business. Tesco in planning to maintain their different store format strategy, which consists of Express, Metro, Superstore, Extra and Homeplus. To be as strong in non-food as in food. The broadest range of non-food products can be seen in Extra stores and Homeplus that include such products as clothing, health and beauty, stationery, cookshop and soft furnishings, etc. In 2006 was launched Tesco Direct, an online catalogue with non-food offers, including almost 13,000 products in it. To develop retailing services such as Tesco Personal Finance, Telecoms and Tesco.com â€Å"All our customers are different, and their needs are continually changing. That’s why we continue to offer more than one way to shop.† Tesco Personal Finance is giving for customers a choice of 28 products varying from savings account and credit cards to car insurance. Tesco.com has attracted more than one million customers since 2000 in UK. Main target groups are people without access to transport and without time for shopping. Tesco.com also operates in the Ireland and South Korea. To put community at the heart of what we do. â€Å"Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. Our values, which underpin everything we do, are that no-one tries harder for customers and to treat people how we like to be treated.† References 1. Tesco: The British Supermarket Chains Global Expansion Strategies » ICFAI Business School; Case development centre 2. Supermarket Wars Andrew Seth and Geoffrey Randall 3. Wikipedia.org 4. http://www.answers.com/topic/tesco-plc-adr 5. http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/ir/ 6. Ivoryresearch.com Strategic Management of TESCO supermarket: PESTEL analysis, Porters 5 Forces analysis, Critical success factors, SWOT Analysis, VALUE CHAIN analysis, TESCOS strategic options, Core Competences Cultural Web. 7. Part-time Workers in the Multiple Retail Sector Small Change from Employment Protection Legislation? Alison Balchin 8. http://ivoryresearch.com/sample5.php 9. Marivic Butod Strategic Analysis of Morrison, Asda and Tesco July 20, 2009 10.Tesco Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2009 11. ttp://www.icmrindia.org Tescos Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives 12. â€Å"The Tesco Takeover† the friends of the earth report. http://www.foe.co.uk/ Other Essays on Tesco Other essays available on the Tesco organisations are: Tesco Business analysis Tesco is one of the leading supermarkets Tesco Changing Business Environment Tesco SWOT analysis Tesco Fresh Veg Supply Chain Management

Essay --

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore’s book Defying Dixie: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919-1950 shows the Civil Rights movement in the same light as those writers like Jacquelyn Dowd Hall who believed in â€Å"The Long Movement.† Gilmore sets out to prove that much more time and aspects went into the Civil Rights Era and that it did not just start at the time of Brown v. Board of Education and the civil rights acts of the nineteen sixties. The book adhered to the ideology of â€Å"The Long movement† aspects of the civil rights era during its earlier times. However it also differs by displaying the more unorthodox, often unseen origins of the movement in Communism, labor, and fascism. She also shows that Black civil rights is not a problem faced by many countries. In Fact, that the United States can share the shame of holding a race of people down, with only few others. In Gilmore’s opinion the movement began in 1919, When African American Soldiers began returning from WWI and even though they risked their lives that same as the whites, African American’s still faced oppression. In this book...

One Deadly Psychotic Break Essay -- Literary Analysis

An online dictionary defines mental illness as â€Å"any of various disorders in which a person's thoughts, emotions, or behavior are so abnormal as to cause suffering to himself†¦or other people;† a second definition is â€Å"any of various psychiatric disorders or diseases, usually characterized by impairment of thought, mood, or behavior† (Thefreedictionary.com). In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story â€Å"Ligeia,† the narrator perfectly satisfies both of the above definitions. In Poe’s story, the nameless narrator’s beautiful wife Ligeia lives with him a short time before she dies. After her death, the narrator re-marries to Rowena, who eventually dies as well. At the conclusion of the story, his first, beloved wife returns to him through the body of Rowena. In reality, however, Poe’s story is far different from what it at first seems. The narrator, under the influence of opium, creates Ligeia in his mind and, when she  "dies,† he kills Rowena himself to bring his first wife back. In the article â€Å"Poe’s Ethereal Ligeia,† Jack and June Davis describe â€Å"Ligeia† as the faulty account of an insane narrator who â€Å"knows Ligeia only through his opium hallucinations but who wants to present her as a real and credible person† (171). The narrator uses Ligeia to chase the elusive secret to eternal life. When she dies, instead of forgoing his search, the narrator procures Rowena in order to present Ligeia with a dead body to return through; thus, he commits murder to carry out his insane plot. Because the narrator of Poe’s story fabricates the existence of his first wife, uses her to pursue eternal life, and kills his second bride to bring Ligeia back, he can be classified as mentally deranged. Ligeia’s unreality is strong evidence for the instability... ...im. What the deranged narrator once perceived as a victory over death is, in reality, nothing more than a drug-induced psychotic break. Works Cited Basler, Roy. "The Interpretation of "Ligeia"." College English. 5.7 (1944): 363-372. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. Basler, Roy, and James Schroeter. "Poe's "Ligeia"." PMLA. 77.5 (1962): 675. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. Davis, Jack L., and June H. Davis. "Poe's Ethereal Ligeia." Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association. 24.4 (1970): 170-176. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. Espejo, Roman. Mental Illness. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Print. "Mental Illness - Definition." The free dictionary by farlex. Farlex, Inc., 2011. Web. 13 Apr 2012. . Rabkin, Leslie Y. Psychopathology and Literature. San Francisco, CA: Chandler Publishing Company, 1966. Print.

Earthworm Biodiversity in an Arid Region of Rajasthan, India

Among the soil fauna, earthworms have an important role to improve soil texture. The soil texture plays an important role in water holding capacity. Earthworms have an ability to enhance soil characteristics. It contributes to the breakdown of organic matter and release plant nutrients (Edwards and Bohlen, 1996). Earthworms are also considered as useful indicator of the health of soil ecosystem (Edwards and Bohlen, 1992) as to their role in soil fertility through fragmentation and mixed up the soil with mineral particle, enhancing microbial activity to breakdown plant organic matter.The contribution of earthworms in soil turnover, structure formation and serve as a fertility enhancer in different way. Earthworms are useful in land improvement and organic waste management (Edwards and Baker, 1992; Lavelle and Martin, 1992; Johnson, 1997; Villenave et al. , 1999). The distribution and population density of various earthworm species have been correlated with soil type and agriculture la nd use (Haynes et al. , 2003; Sbrina et al. , 2009). The biodiversity of earthworms is influenced by physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and climatic conditions of habitats.Earthworm’s biodiversity is directly affected by soil characteristics (Edwards and Lofty, 1977). These community influencing factors are soil pH, organic matter, nitrogen, C/N ratio, soil moisture and soil texture. Biodiversity is counted as human resources (Heywood, 1996). Recently, many biologists studied the biodiversity and distribution of earthworms in the different parts of the world (Blakemore, 2000, 2002, 2003; Change and Chen, 2004,2005; Blakemore et al. ,2006; Sautter et al. , 2006; Ghafoor et al. , 2008).Present study was done in Bikaner district, which is located in Thar desert of Rajasthan ranging 28. 01 ° N 73. 19 ° E. . The average rain fall in this area is 10† to 15† only. Therefore, climatic conditions are adverse for organisms. Most of its area is irrigate d with tube wells and Indira Gandhi canal. Due to adverse conditions from a long period, there is still a few information about biodiversity and habitats. The present study will revealed new basic information for further research on earthworms and its ecology and application of earthworms in agriculture sector.

How to Mend a Broken Heart

How to Mend a Broken Heart A broken heart is one of the most traumatic and painful experience that you can have. It can lead you to devastation and depression. In addition, when you are in a broken relationship you feel like your world is falling down and sometimes, the reason you want to give up your life. Here are the following steps on how to mend a broken heart. The first step in mending a broken heart is to cry aloud and let all the painful emotions drain out from your mind.When you are having hard time dealing your emotions, talk to your family and trusted friends. Sharing your feelings and seeking advice from your love ones, will help you overcome the pain. Letting go of your past is another step to follow in mending your broken heart. Stop thinking about the person who has caused you pain. In order to forget this person, you must get rid all the photos, gifts, letters and anything that reminds you of that person. Also, avoid visiting the place that has your memories together. These steps will help you move on quicker.Even though its takes time to heal a broken heart, laughter is also one of the best steps. Through laughter, you will forget all the bad times you had and make you less depressed. In the meantime, pick interesting hobbies that will keep you busy every day. For example, doing exercise or join some charity works. Keeping your mind busy will make you forget the painful break ups and even your suicidal thoughts. According to one of the Platinum Author in Ezine Articles, Nikki Frost â€Å"Healing a broken heart is going to take some time.No matter how much you think you have moved on, if you never handled the heartbreak properly, your emotions could be triggered at any time and by the smallest thing too. ’’(qtd. in EzineArticles. com) Finally, pray to God for all the heartaches you had. Prayer are powerful and one of the most effective steps to mend your broken heart. In addition, prayers can bring you peace of mind, and will sure ly help you in healing your broken heart. During this time, ask guidance to the Lord especially when you open your heart to another person.Don’t be afraid to love again but before you decide to give your love, think twice if this person is the right one for you and deserving to have you in his life. This will bring you happiness and will help your forget that you have been broken once. In conclusion, if these steps work to all who got broken hearted, there will be no more devastation, depression and suicidal thought in this world. People will recover the pain easily and will open their doors to love again without any hesitation.

Organization of Buddhism Essay

Buddhism is the religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama Buddha in Indian about 500 B.C.   Buddhism is the chief religion of Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Kampuchea, Laos and China. Buddhism is one of the oldest and biggest religions of the world. Its central deity was Buddha, â€Å"the Enlightened One†. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who was born 563 B.C. in Kapilavastu, just inside the borders of what is now Nepal. Buddhism beganin India as a revolt against Hinduism. The origin of the religion is described in the article Buddha. Buddha himself did not leave any writings, and his teachings were not written down until several hundred years afte rhis death. Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism is a missionary religion. Within 300 years after Buddha’s death, it had spread throughout India and reached Ceylon (Sri Lanka).   Monks and travellers carried it to other parts of Asia. Japan adopted it about the seventh century A.D. About the same time the religion reached Tibet. Here it was combined with native religions. The two major divisiobs of Buddhism probably developed in Indian monasteries before 100 A.D. A. The Life of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama was born in Kapilavastu, India (now Nepal) in about 563 BCE. At his birth, legend says, a wise man told his father that Siddhartha would either become a great ruler or a great holy man, depending on what he saw of life. Determined that his son should rule after him, his father did all he could to shield Siddhartha from the problems of the outside world. Siddhartha grew up in great luxury in his father’s palace. He married a beautiful princess and had a son. Despite this, he felt that something was missing from his life. At the age of 29, Siddhartha had an experience that changed his life. On a secret chariot ride outside the palace, he saw a sick man, an old man and a dead man. It was the first time that he had seen people suffering. Then he saw a holy man who was happy and content, despite being poor. Siddhartha vowed to give up his luxurious life and become like the holy man. That night, he left the palace and began his search for the answer to the suffering he had seen. After many years of fasting and hardship, Siddhartha came to the village of Bodh Gaya. Sitting under a great tree, he closed his eyes and began to meditate. There, at last, he gained enlightenment and became the Buddha. He realized that people suffered because they always wanted more than they had. The Buddha spent the rest of his life as a monk. He traveled around India with a group of followers, teaching people how to overcome suffering. He died, aged 80, in the town of Kushinagara in India. B. Its History –  Buddhism Buddhism began in India as a revolt against Hinduism. The origin of the religion is described in the article Buddha. Buddha himself did not leave any writings, and his teachings were not written down until several hundred years after his death. Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism is a missionary religion. With 300 years after Buddha’s death, it had spread throughout India and reached Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Monks and travelers carried it to other parts of Asia. Japan adopted it about the seventh century A.D. About the same time the religion reached Tibet. Here it was combined with native religions and developed into Lamaism o  Ã‚   Buddhism According to Buddhism, liberation is attained through understanding and practice of the Four Noble Truths: 1. There is suffering in life. 2. Suffering is caused by desire for pleasure, existence, and prosperity. Suffering and rebirth cease when one ceases such desires, leading to enlightenment, or Nirvana, a blessed state in which peace, harmony, and joy are attained. 4. The way, or path, to Nirvana is the Eightfold Path, summarized as: –  Right understanding – Right thoughts – Right speech – Right conduct – Right occupation – Right meditation – Right mindfulness – Right effort The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Way—because of its emphasis on avoiding such extremes as following sensuous pleasures on the one hand, and self-punishment on the other. The Buddhist must at all times observe the high moral principles described in the Eightfold path, which emphasizes nonviolence and the brotherhood of all. Perhaps the best-known Buddhist scriptures are the Tripitaka (â€Å"Three Baskets†), first written down in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in authoritative edition was prepared by the Sixth Buddhist Council at Rangoon, Burma, in 1954-56. The three Pitakas are about four times as long as the Bible. C. Other Beliefs of Buddhism Buddhism’s beliefs and teachings are derived from Hinduism although there may be some slight variations in some concepts. Karma is a Sanskrit word of â€Å"action†. The action refers to volitional acts (thoughts, deeds or spoken words that are in the control of a person) as well as the forces that arise resulting form these acts. The law of Karma describes the connection between actions and the resulting forces, like good action results to good Karma while bad action results to bad Karma. Good actions are described in a Buddhist belief in the Noble Eightfold Path. A Noble Eightfold Path is a path of life that has eight stages or phases. This path consists of the right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Furthermore, the law of Karma states that there is a connection between the moral quality of man’s action to the resulting condition or states. The life he has now is largely dictated by what he said and did in his past life while his next life will be determined by what he is doing and saying now. In other words, the Karma of past, present and future events are connected by the law of cause and effect. For example, if one does something wrong like hurting or killing another human being; he will have to suffer the negative consequences of these actions in his present life or another lifetime. Similarly, if he does something right he will enjoy the positive consequences of that deed in his present or subsequent lifetimes.   It is important to note that the law of Karma is final. No one (including divine intervention) or nothing can stop the law of Karma from operating in a person’s life. In other words, man’s destiny is dictated only by the law of Karma itself. Rebirth as the name implies, is a process of being born over and over again (unless a person attained Nirvana or release from the cycles of birth). In simpler terms, rebirth is nothing more than a movement from one’s old body at death to a new body at birth or conception. Rebirth is necessary for the execution of Karma which needs more than one lifetime to be completed so that it can be rightly said that rebirth is nothing more than the transmission of one’s karma. Only when all accumulated karma is paid for and craving is rooted out from a person’s life that one can enter the stream that leads to Nirvana. But as long as there is delusion, greed, and aversion, which consequently fuels the desire to live, man generate karma. The Buddhists idea of Rebirth, like Karma, is derived from an Indian philosophy of Hinduism. However, the Buddhist concept of rebirth is different from Hinduism because in the Hinduism theory of rebirth there is a transmigration of souls while the Buddhist denies the existence of self or soul (the immortal version of self).   In Buddhism the idea of self or soul is merely an illusion for perceptions, consciousness, mind and body that makes up â€Å"self† is changing. The Buddhists argue that how can there be a self when in fact its composition is not permanent. Furthermore, Buddhists explained that the body is mortal and when it dies, consciousness and all mental activities cease, hence there is no more self and consequently there is no soul. According to Buddhism, liberation is attained through understanding and practice of the Four Noble Truths. First, is that there is suffering in life; Second, suffering is caused by desire for pleasure, existence and prosperity; Third, suffering and rebirth cease when one ceases such desires, leading to enlightenment, or Nirvana, and joy are attained; Fourth, the way or path, to Nirvana is the Eightfold Path summarized as; right understanding, right thoughts, right speech, right conduct, right occupation, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation.