Groups marginalised in Society Essay

One of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society are people with an intellectual disability. Developmentally delayed individuals need a wide range of leisure programmes to choose from. The principle of Normalization has led to equal rights for people with special needs. Providing people with inclusive leisure programmes with non-disabled persons assists with their socialisation. However, lack of tolerance in the community at large, financial constraints, difficulties in accessing transport as well as skill deficiencies can inhibit some people from participating (Paterson & Taylor, 2002). People with disabilities often feel isolated, with little support from family and friends. This can inhibit them from being able to attend recreational activities. It is important that changes of attitude occur in mainstream society to assist the person with a disability to achieve a ‘better quality of life’. (Patterson & Taylor, 2001). Marginalised groups often are stigmatised, discriminated against and excluded from society. (Goffman,1997). This is certainly the case for people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Negative community responses, especially fear of HIV, often leave the person in despair and with lowered of self-esteem (Edington et al, 1998). They have to cope with loss of employment and rejection by members of professional and social networks and as a result they feel isolated and impoverished. The Aids Council of New South Wales (ACON) has responded by offering individual programmes as well as a network of social groups for leisure activities. A caseworker from AC (Aids Council) explained that it is extremely difficult for the HIV/AIDS affected person to participate in ‘mainstream’ activities because of negative attitudes and stigmatisation. Poverty is disproportionately high amongst minority and ethnic groups. Issues such as discrimination in finding employment, accessing education and training prevents individuals from achieving success. One study by Vescio et al, 1999, investigated sports participation and attitudes towards girls attending high schools in Sydney. It was found that participation by girls from non-English speaking backgrounds was significantly lower than those of Anglo-Australian culture. Barriers experienced by the girls included language, cultural and religious aspects. Cultural differences, prejudice,  discrimination and ignorance of ethnic groups often lead to isolation (Hibbins, 1998). These factors greatly inhibit ethnic communities from participating in leisure activities. Society needs to become more understanding of cultural diversity and tolerance of religious difference. Goffman, E, 1997, Selections from Stigma. In The disability studies reader, ed., L. Davis, Routledge, London, pp.203-215. Hibbins, R., 1998, Leisure and ethnic diversity in Australia. In Tourism, leisure and sport: Critical perspectives, eds.D. Rowe & G. Lawrence. Hodder Education. Sydney, pp.100-111. Patterson, I., & Taylor, T., 2001, Celebrating inclusion and diversity in leisure. Vescio, J.A., Taylor, T., Toohey, T., 1999, An exploration of sports participation by girls from a non-English speaking backgrounds.

Banned Books Essay

Throughout history, books have been the target of censorship. At times, these books are even banned from schools and public libraries because the content in them is thought to be too offensive. For this assignment, you will be reading one of these banned books. Which book you read is your decision, however you should keep in mind the appropriateness of your choice- make sure it is a book that your parents would not find objectionable. After you have read the book, you will be writing a persuasive essay defending whether or not the book should or should not be banned from a middle school library. Your essay should include a paragraph that summarizes the book as well as three logical, defendable reasons why the book should or should not be banned from a middle school library. While you may look up the reasons why the book has been challenged in the past, the thoughts expressed in the paper must be your own. You are expected to use the information about persuasive essays learned in class to format this paper. A rubric outlining the expectations will be posted on my Teacher Page. Your essay must be typed and follow the standard requirements for an essay: double-spaced, Times New Roman, one-inch margins. Any secondary sources or research that you use must be documented with in-text citations and included on a Works Cited page. If, at any time, you have questions regarding the book you are reading or the essay you are writing, please ask me.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 29

â€Å"Oi!†Damon shouted from outside the palanquin. â€Å"Is anybody else looking at this?† Elena was. Both Stefan and Bonnie had their eyes shut; Bonnie was wrapped in blankets and cuddled against Elena. They had rol ed down al the curtains of the palanquin except one. But Elena had watched through the single window, and had seen how tendrils of fog had begun drifting by, first just filmy tatters of mist, but then longer, ful er veils, and final y blankets, engulfing them whole. It seemed to her that they were being deliberately cut off from even the perilous Dark Dimension, that they were passing a border into a place they weren't meant to know about, much less enter. â€Å"How do we know we're going in the right direction?†Elena shouted to Damon after Stefan and Bonnie woke. She was glad to be able to talk again. â€Å"The thurgs know,†Damon cal ed back. â€Å"You set them on a line and they walk that line until somebody stops them, or – â€Å" â€Å"Or what?†Elena yel ed out of the opening. â€Å"Until we get to a place like this.† This was obviously bait, and neither Stefan nor Elena could resist taking it – especial y when the thurg they were riding stopped. â€Å"Stay here,†Elena said to Bonnie. She pushed a curtain out of the way and found herself looking too far down at white ground. God, these thurgs were big. The next moment, though, Stefan was on the ground holding up his arms. â€Å"Jump!† â€Å"Can't you come up and float me?† â€Å"Sorry. Something about this place inhibits Power.† Elena didn't give herself time to think. She launched into the air and Stefan caught her neatly. Spontaneously, she clung to him, and felt the familiar comfort of his embrace. Then he said, â€Å"Come look at this.† They had reached a place where the land ended and the mist divided, like curtains being held to either side. Directly in front of them was a frozen lake. A silvery frozen lake, almost perfectly round in shape. â€Å"Lake Mirror?†Damon said, cocking his head to one side. â€Å"I always thought that was a fairy tale,†Stefan said. â€Å"Welcome to Bonnie's storybook.† Lake Mirror formed a vast body of water in front of them, frozen right into the ice sheet below her feet, or so it seemed. It did look like a mirror – a purse mirror after you'd breathed softly on it. â€Å"But the thurgs?†Elena said – or rather whispered. She couldn't help whispering. The silent lake pressed on her, as did the lack of any kind of natural sound: There were no birds singing, no rustling in the bushes – no bushes! No trees! Instead, just the mist surrounding the frozen water. â€Å"The thurgs,†Elena repeated in a slightly louder voice. â€Å"They can't possibly walk on that!† â€Å"Depends on how thick the lake ice is,†Damon said, flashing his old 250-kilowatt smile at her. â€Å"If it's thick enough, it'l be just like walking on land for them.† â€Å"And if it isn't?† â€Å"Hmm†¦Do thurgs float?† Elena gave him an exasperated glance and looked at Stefan. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"I don't know,†he said doubtful y. â€Å"They're very large animals. Let's ask Bonnie about the kids in the fairy tale.† Bonnie, Stillwrapped in fur blankets that began col ecting chunks of ice as they dragged on the ground, looked at the lake grimly. â€Å"The story didn't go into detail,†she said. â€Å"It just said that they went down, down, down, and that they had to pass tests of their courage and – and – wittiness – before they got there.† â€Å"Fortunately,†Damon said, smiling, â€Å"I have large enough amounts of both to make up for my brother's entire lack of either – â€Å" â€Å"Stop it, Damon!†Elena burst out. The moment she'd seen the smile, she'd turned to Stefan, pul ed him down to her height, and begun kissing him. She knew what Damon would see when he turned back toward them – her and Stefan locked in an embrace, Stefan hardly aware of anything being said. At least they could Stilltouch with their minds. And it was intriguing, Elena thought, Stefan's warm mouth when everything else in the world was cold. She looked quickly at Bonnie, to make sure she hadn't upset her, but Bonnie was looking quite cheerful. The farther I seem to drive Damon away, the happier she is, Elena thought. Oh, God†¦this is a problem. Stefan spoke up quietly. â€Å"Bonnie, what it comes down to is that it has to be your choice. Don't try to use courage or wit or anything except your inner feelings. Where do we go?† Bonnie glanced back at the thurgs, then looked at the lake. â€Å"That way,†she said, without hesitation, and she pointed straight across the lake. â€Å"We'd better carry some of the cooking stones and fuel and backpacks with iron rations in them,†Stefan said. â€Å"That way, if the worst happens, we'l Stillhave basic supplies.† â€Å"Besides,†said Elena, â€Å"it'l lighten that thurg's load – if only by a little.† It seemed a crime to put a backpack on Bonnie, but she insisted. Final y, Elena arranged one fil ed entirely with the warm, curiously light fur clothes. Everyone else was carrying furs, food, and poop – the dried animal dung that would from now on be their only fuel. It was difficult from the first. Elena had only had a couple of experiences with ice that she had reason to be wary of – but one of those had almost been disastrous for Matt. She was ready to jump and whirl at any crack – any sound that the ice was breaking. But there were no cracks; no water flowing up to slosh onto her boots. The thurgs were the ones who seemed actual y built for walking on frozen water. Their feet were pneumatic, and could spread out to almost half again their original size, avoiding putting too much pressure on any one section of ice. Crossing the lake was slow, but Elena didn't see anything particularly deadly about it. It was simply the smoothest, slickest ice she had ever encountered. Her boots wanted to skate. â€Å"Hey, everybody!†Bonnie was skating, exactly as if she were in a rink, backward and forward and sideways. â€Å"This is fun!† â€Å"We're not here to have fun,†Elena shouted back. She longed to try it herself, but was afraid to make cuts – even scuffs – in the ice. And beside that, Bonnie was expending twice as much energy as she needed to. She was about to cal out to Bonnie and tel her this, when Damon, in a voice of exasperation, made al the points she had thought of, and a few more. â€Å"This isn't a pleasure cruise,†he said shortly. â€Å"It's for the fate of your town.† â€Å"As if you care,†Elena murmured, turning her back on him and touching the unhappy Bonnie's hand both to give comfort and to get them going at arm's length again. â€Å"Bonnie, do you sense anything magical about the lake?† â€Å"No.†But then Bonnie's imagination seemed to fly into high gear. â€Å"But maybe it's where the mystics from both dimensions al gathered to exchange spel s. Or maybe it's where they used the ice like a real magic mirror to see faraway places and things.† â€Å"Maybe both of them,†Elena said, secretly amused, but Bonnie nodded solemnly. And that was when it came. The sound Elena had been waiting for. Nor was it a distant booming which could be ignored or discussed. They had been walking at arm's length from one another to avoid stressing the ice, while the thurgs walked behind them, and to either side – like a flock of geese with no leaders. This noise was a dreadful y near crack like the report of a gun. Immediately, it sounded again, like a whiplash, and then a crumbling. It was to Elena's left, on Bonnie's side. â€Å"Skate, Bonnie,†she shouted. â€Å"Skate as fast as you can. Scream if you see land.† Bonnie didn't ask a single question. She took off like an Olympic speed skater in front of Elena, and Elena swiftly turned. It was Biratz, the thurg Bonnie had asked Pelat about. She had one monstrous back leg in the ice, and as she struggled, more ice cracked. Stefan! Can you hear me? Faintly. I'm coming for you. Yes – but only come as close as you need to Influence the thurg. Influence the – ? Make her calm, put her out, whatever. She's ripping up the ice and it'll just make it harder to get her out! This time there was a pause before Stefan's answer came. She knew though, by faint echoes, that he was talking telepathical y with someone else. All right, love, I'll do it. I'll take care of the thurg, too. You follow Bonnie. He was lying. Or, not lying, but keeping something from her. The person he'd been sending thoughts to was Damon. They were humoring her. They didn't mean to help at all. Just at that moment she heard a shril scream – not so far away. It was Bonnie in trouble – no! Bonnie had found land! Elena didn't lose another second. She dumped her backpack on the ice and skated straight back to the thurg. There it was, so huge, so pathetic, so helpless. The very thing that had kept it safe from other Godawful Hel acious monsters in the Dark Dimension – its great bulk – was now turned against it. Elena felt her chest tighten as if she were wearing a corset. Even as she watched, though, the animal became calmer. She stopped trying to get her left hind leg out of the ice, which meant that she stopped churning up the ice around it. Now Biratz was in a sort of crouching position, trying to keep her three dry legs from going under. The problem was that she was trying too hard, and that there was nothing to push against except breakable ice. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan was within earshot now. â€Å"Don't get any closer!† But even as he said it, Elena saw a Sign. Just a few feet away, lying on the ice was the tickle-prod that Pelat had used to get the thurgs going. She picked it up as she skated by and then she saw another Sign. Reddish hay and the original covering for the hay – a giant tarpaulin – were lying behind the thurg. Together they formed a broad wide path that was neither wet nor slick. â€Å"Elena!† â€Å"This is going to be easy, Stefan!† Elena pul ed a pair of dry socks out of her pocket and drew them up over her boots. She fastened the tickle stick to her belt. And then she started the run of her life. Her boots were fur with something like felt underneath and with the socks to aid them, they caught on the tarpaulin and propel ed her forward. She leaned into it, vaguely wishing Meredith were here, so she could do this instead, but al the time getting closer. And then she saw her mark: the end of the tarp and beyond it floating chunks of ice. But the thurg looked climbable. Very low in back, like a dinosaur halfway into a tar pit, but then rising up along the curved backbone. If she could just somehow land there†¦ Two steps til jump-off. One step til jump-off. JUMP! Elena pushed off with her right foot, flew through the air for an endless time, and – hit the water. Instantly, she was soaked from head to foot and the shock of the icy water was unbelievable. It caught hold of her like some monster with a handful of jagged ice shards. It blinded her with her own hair, it squeezed al the sound out of the universe. Somehow, clawing at her face, she freed her mouth and eyes from hair. She realized that she was only slightly below the surface of the water, and that was al she needed to push upward until her mouth broke the surface and she could suck in a lungful of delicious air, after which she had a coughing fit. First time up, she thought, remembering the old superstition that a drowning person wil rise three times and then sink forever. But the strange thing was that she wasn't sinking. There was a dul pain in her thigh but she wasn't going under. Slowly, slowly, she realized what had happened. She had missed the back of the thurg, but landed on its thick reptilian tail. One of the serrated fins had gashed her, but she was stable. So†¦now†¦al I have to do is climb the thurg, she puzzled out slowly. Everything seemed slow because there were icebergs bobbing around her shoulders. She put up a fur-lined gloved hand and reached for the next fin up. The water, while making her soaking clothes heavier, supported some of her weight. She managed to pul herself up to the next fin. And the next. And then here was the rump, and she had to be careful – no more footholds. Instead she grabbed for handholds and found something with her left hand. A broken strap from the hay carrier. Not a good idea – in retrospect. For a few minutes that qualified as among the worst in her life she was showered with hay, pounded with rocks, and smothered in the dust of old dung. When it was final y over she looked around, sneezing and coughing, to find that she was Stillon the thurg. The tickle stick had been broken but enough remained for her to use. Stefan was frantical y asking, both aloud and by telepathy, if she was All right. Bonnie was skating back and forth like a Tinker Bel guide, and Damon was cursing at Bonnie to get back to land and stay there. Meanwhile Elena was inching up the rump of the thurg. She made it through the crushed supply basket. She final y reached the thurg's summit, and she settled just behind the domed head, in the seat where a driver would sit. And then she tickled the thurg behind the ears. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan shouted, and then Elena, what are you trying to do? â€Å"I don't know!†she shouted back. â€Å"Trying to save the thurg!† â€Å"You can't,†Damon interrupted Stefan's answer in a voice as cold and Stillas the place they were in. â€Å"She can make it!†Elena said fiercely – precisely because she herself was having doubts about whether the animal could. â€Å"You could help by pul ing on her bridle.† â€Å"There's no point,†Damon shouted, and turned about-face, walking quickly into the mist. â€Å"I'l give it a try. Throw it out in front of her,†Stefan said. Elena threw the knotted bridle as hard as she could. Stefan had to run almost to the edge of the ice to grab it before it fel in. Then he held it aloft triumphantly. â€Å"Got it!† â€Å"Okay, pul ! Give her a direction to start in.† â€Å"Wil do!† Elena tapped Biratz again behind her right ear. There was a faint rumble from the animal and then nothing. Elena could see Stefan straining at the bridle. â€Å"Come on,† Elena said, and slapped sharply with the stick. The thurg lifted up a giant foot, placed it farther on the ice, and struggled. As soon as she did, Elena smacked hard behind the left ear. This was the crucial moment. If Elena could keep Biratz from crushing al the ice between her back legs, they might have a chance. The thurg tentatively lifted her left hind leg and stretched it until it made contact with the ice. â€Å"Good, Biratz! Now! â€Å"Elena shouted. Now if Biratz would only surge forward†¦ There was a great upheaval underneath her. For several minutes Elena thought that perhaps Biratz had broken through the ice with al four legs. Then the thrashing changed to a rocking motion and suddenly, dizzyingly Elena knew that they had won. â€Å"Easy, now, easy,†she cal ed to the animal, giving her a gentle tickle with the stick. And slowly, ponderously, Biratz moved forward. Her domed head drooped farther and farther as she went, and she foundered at the edge of a bank of mist, breaking the ice again. But there she only sank a few inches before meeting mud. A few more steps and they were on solid ground. Elena had to suck in her breath to stifle a scream as the thurg's domelike head slumped, giving her a short and scary ride to where the tusks re-curved on themselves. Somehow she slid right between them and had to hastily scramble off Biratz's trunks. â€Å"It was pointless, you know, doing that,†Damon said from somewhere in the mist beside her. â€Å"Risking your own life.† â€Å"What d-do you mean p-pointless?†Elena demanded. She wasn't frightened; she was freezing. â€Å"The animals are going to die anyway. The next trial is one they can't manage and even if they could, this isn't a place where anything grows. Instead of a quick clean death in the water, they're going to starve, slowly.† Elena didn't answer; the only answer she could think of was, â€Å"Why didn't you tel me earlier?†She had stopped shivering, which was a good thing, because a moment ago her body had felt as if she might shake herself apart. Clothes, she thought vaguely. That was the problem. It certainly couldn't be as cold here in the air as it had been in that water. It was her clothes that were making her so cold. She began, with numb fingers, to take them off. First, she unfastened her leather jacket. No zippers here: buttons. That was a real problem. Her fingers felt like frozen hot dogs, and only nominal y under her direction. But somehow or other she managed to undo the fastenings and the leather dropped to the ground with a muffled thump – it had taken a layer of her inner fur off with it. Ick. The smel of wet fur. Now, now she had to – But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything because someone was holding her arms. Burning her arms. Those hands were annoying, but at least she knew who they belonged to. They were firm and very gentle but very strong. Al that added up to Stefan. Slowly, she raised her dripping head to ask Stefan to stop burning her arms. But she couldn't. Because on Stefan's body there was Damon's head. Now that was funny. She'd seen a lot of things that vampires could do, but not this swapping heads business. â€Å"Stefan-Damon – please stop,†she gasped between hysterical whoops of laughter. â€Å"It hurts. It's too hot!† â€Å"Hot? You're frozen, you mean.†The deft, searing hands were rubbing up and down her arms, pushing back her head to rub her cheeks. She let it happen, because it seemed to be only sense that if it was Damon's head, they were Stefan's hands. â€Å"You're cold but you're not shivering?†a grim Damon-voice said from somewhere. â€Å"Yes, so you see I must be warming up.†Elena didn't feel very warmed up. She realized that she Stillhad on a longer fur garment, one that reached to her knees under her leather breeches. She fumbled with her belt. â€Å"You're not warming up. You're going into the next stage of hypothermia. And if you don't get dry and warm right now, you're going to die.†Not roughly, he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. â€Å"You're delirious now – can you understand me, Elena? We need to really get you warm.† Warm was a concept as vague and faraway as life before she had met Stefan. But delirious she understood. That was not a good thing. What to do about it except laugh? â€Å"All right. Elena, just wait for a moment. Let me find – â€Å"In a moment he was back. Not quick enough to stop her from unwrapping the fur down to her waist, but back before she could get her camisole off. â€Å"Here.†He stripped off the damp fur and wrapped a warm, dry one around her, over her camisole. After a moment or two she began to shiver. â€Å"That's my girl,†Damon's voice said. It went on: â€Å"Don't fight me, Elena. I'm trying to save your life. That's al . I'm not going to try to do anything else. I give you my word.† Elena was bewildered. Why should she think that Damon – this must be Damon, she decided – would want to hurt her? Although he could be a bastard sometimes†¦ And he was taking off her clothes. No. That shouldn't be happening. Definitely not. Especial y since Stefan must be somewhere around. But by now Elena was shivering too hard to talk. And now that she was in her underwear, he was making her lie down on furs, tucking other furs around her. Elena didn't understand anything that was happening, but it was al starting not to matter. She was floating somewhere outside herself, watching without much interest. Then another body was slipping in under the furs. She snapped back from the place she had been floating. Very briefly she got a look at a bare chest. And then a warm, compact body slid into the makeshift sleeping bag with her. Warm, hard arms went around her, keeping her in contact al over her body. Through the mist she vaguely heard Stefan's voice. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?†

Impact of customer motivation on profitability of financial Essay

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Eco-product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Evaluation of CI analytical software (Cipher and Traction software) Research Paper

Evaluation of CI analytical software (Cipher and Traction software) - Research Paper Example Companies that are operating with highly competitive markets such as automotive industry or telecommunications industry would like to use Competitive Intelligence software that provides consistent information about the market like innovations, new products, prices, competitor activities, etc. Cipher is example software that provides information. On the other hand, multinational companies that have offices in all around the world would like to use software that facilitates communication among the employees especially if they conduct simultaneous projects. Traction is example software of that kind. Competitive intelligence involves gathering data about opponents; evaluate the data and using the findings to increase a cutthroat benefit in the marketplace. Competitive intelligence software makes simpler the procedure by giving templates for entering information and using models, forecasting tools, and online research to analyze competitive data. INTELLIGENCE CYCLE Five consecutive steps are involved in the Intelligence Cycle, and every step is linked with the other. We can also say that we should plan step one of planning and direction in order to plan second step, and so on. Elimination of any step will not give us the desirable results or the misguided results. The following are the steps of the Intelligence cycle, 1. Planning & Direction 2. Published Information 3. Primary Source Collection 4. Analysis & Production 5. Report & Inform We evaluated the software packages on the basis of Competitive Intelligence by keeping in mind these five intelligence cycle steps. We believe it is more accurate to note how well the software scored in the categories it fulfilled than to consider just the total score. Even then, the score reflects how comprehensively the product assisted that step of the cycle, more so than the quality of the package itself. Organizations or their CI technology users need to select the package or packages that best address their unique needs, as no two CI processes are alike. CIPHER Introduction As Cipher (2011) specifies, the business was recognized in 1996 by The Future Group. It is a consultancy firm that provides technologic solutions by putting stress on planned market study. It has two software products: Knowledge.Works and Intel Assist. Knowledge.Works Knowledge.Works is award-winning competitive intelligence product of Cipher. It is a web-based application built with a Microsoft SQL server back - end. As VIP Magazine (2010) said, Cipher’s Knowledge.Works is a relational record result that can assist a company in several componenst of the competitive intelligence cycle: data collection, aggregation, indexing, searching, analysis, reporting and collaboration. Knowledge.Works can be fully customized by each user and it is designed to meet an organization’s unique needs. It has the aptitude to focus on precise competitors or gather competitive benchmarking actions in chosen market sectors. It can also analyz e competitor activities based on the regions. Knowledge.Works can track product pricing and advertising on provincial or nationwide basis. A company who uses this software has also the option to choose the sources to be searched for specific subjects. It also offers keyword tag cloud which allows the users see the hot topics, filter the ones that are more interested. It also allows the users to categorize the sources from the web, newsfeeds and internal sources. Information is also delivered at

How Organisations can Utilise the Talent Pipeline Essay

How Organisations can Utilise the Talent Pipeline - Essay Example The paper will also focus on how the concept of best practice can contribute to talent management. In order for the organisation to utilise the talent pipeline to be a super achiever, factors such as acquisition, utilisation, development and reward of talent have to be taken into consideration. The first step that should be taken by the organisation is to attempt to streamline its recruitment efforts so that they are geared towards attracting the best talent in order for it to operate viably. Pfeffer (1989, p.65) suggests that companies which are concerned about their competitiveness as well as making profits through people ought to â€Å"expend the effort needed to ensure that they recruit the right people in the first place.† In this regard, there is need to create a super ‘fit’ whereby candidates with qualities that meet the expected role standards are recruited in the organisation. Talent is identified during the recruitment exercise and it is my strong convic tion that the right person is selected to fill the post within the organisation. Such a move can motivate me to join a particular organisation given that I will be aware of the fact that I possess the right skills and talent to execute the tasks that will be assigned to me. Factors to consider when recruiting employees There are many factors that can be considered when determining the right person to fill the post available in the organisation. According to Baron & Kreps (1999), candidates who display greater talent and knowledge of the of the job ought to be given preference as these can be continually developed to meet the changing expectations of the organisation. This is supposed to be the first stage in recruitment and ultimately retention of talented employees given that the employers are given the opportunity to assess the candidates at face value if they are capable of meeting the demands of the job as well as to establish if they possess interests for that particular job. T his stage heralds a complex process that is concerned with choosing the right candidates for the organisation. It is easier to retain a talented employee than the one who is not as going to be illustrated below. Retention of employees Employers can utilise the talent of the employees through implementing various measures. According to Pfeffer (1998), there is need for the organisation to take into consideration the needs of the employees so that they can put optimum performance in their operations. I am also of the idea that if the employee is treated as a valuable asset to the organisation, he is likely to utilise his talents for the betterment of the organisation in the execution of his expected duties. The employee should be given the opportunity to display his prowess in that particular task assigned to him. The employers must also be accommodative to the ideas that may be suggested by the employee such that his talent can be fully utilised for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. Development of employees Acquisition of talented employees is not an end in itself given that there is need to constantly develop these employees so that they remain competent in their operations. According to Schultz et al (2003), organisations operate in a dynamic environment that is constantly changing and in order for them to remain viable, they need to adopt change. On the other hand, the employee

Cycle of Photon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cycle of Photon - Essay Example A photon exudes particle-wave duality, hence has both characteristics of both a particle and a wave. It is of negligible mass and does not have electric charge. It has double states of polarization and can be described by three arguments. These arguments are wave vector components, wavelength and direction in which it is propagated. A photon moves with the speed of light in empty space and its energy is affected by momentum and vector. A photon is among some of the rarest particles that are identical to their antiparticles, in this case, antiphoton. Photon is a generalised term used to explain the electromagnetic spectrum in the range of infrared (IR) radiation to visible light. Transition in the nucleus A photon is one particle that is able to transition in the nucleus of an atom. Though motion is limited in the nucleus, a photon is able to change from one position to another. It is at the nucleus that the energy of an atom is found. However, it is essential to note here that the fo rm of the photon is not changed even though its speed is very high owing to the high level of energy in the nucleus. It moves along with angular momentum that is not dependent on its frequency. The component measured along its direction of motion, herein referred to as helicity, and must be an integer of the planks constant, denoted as h. Circular polarization states of the photon are derived from the two helicities described above, either positive or negative of planks constant. Motion of a photon gives rise to energy being produced and hence law of conservation of momentum must come into play. Conservation of momentum with reference to a photon is also referred to as transitional invariance and requires that more than two photons are created having null momentum. A large sized photon has effects on the nucleus of an atom. Though said to be massless, its effects cannot be overlooked. A photon could alter Coulombs law and there would be extra degrees of freedom for electromagnetic f ields. Energy levels An atom has a varied number of energy levels also referred to as energy states. In each of these energy levels, electrons oscillate with vibrations and thus produce energy. The number of electrons in each energy level increases as the distance from the nucleus increases. The greater the distance, the higher the energy emitted. A photon is emitted when an electron happens to move from a higher energy level to a lower energy level. The wavelength of the photon is the same as the distance between the two energy levels. This photon emitted has energy and this directly proportional to frequency and Planks constant but inversely proportional to its wavelength. The energy emitted by a photon is not dependent much on its mass since its mass is almost negligible though it is known that all matter has mass and occupies space. However, it is imperative to note that photons exhibit the same behaviour regardless of the energy level they are emitted by the transiting electron s. They travel at the same velocity even if moving from high energy level to lower energy level and the velocity can vary in over ten orders of magnitude from the lowest energies of radio waves to the powerful waves of gamma radiation. Photons are usually depicted as packets that carry energy with them though the energy in the packets is discrete. If the photons are travelling as a beam, intensity of such a beam depends on the number of photons per second. Light is also described as

Hydrochloric acid Essay Example for Free

Hydrochloric acid Essay Introduction: We are trying to find out how the rate of reaction is affected by the concentration of one of the reactants. We are investigating this with sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid. We will use different strengths of HCI acid and record the results. Method:   Collect the apparatus.   Make up different concentrations of hydrochloric acid using table 1.   Measure 20cm3 of sodium thiosulphate and pour into conical flask   Draw X on paper and place under conical flask. Carefully pour hydrochloric acid into burette using funnel.    Remove funnel. Turn the tap on the burette and start the stop-clock   Stop the clock when the X is no longer visible.   Record the results and repeat x5. Repeat for 0. 5m and 1. 0m. How to make up the different concentrations of hydrochloric acid. Apparatus Conical flask 6 beakers Clamp stand Burette Stop clocks Sodium Thiosulphate Different concentrations of HCI acid. Table 2 Concentration of acid (M) Volume of water (ml) Volume of HCI acid (ml)0 What is a reaction? A reaction occurs when two reactants successfully react together to form a new product. This is called the collision theory. There is many different ways to measure the rate of reaction.   These include: Measuring the amount of gas produced   Weighing before and after the experiment Draw an X on a piece of paper and measure how long it takes for the substance to turn cloudy enough so that the X is no longer visible   Using sensors to detect the loss of the starting material or the formation of the product Variables: Temperature: If the temperature is high, the particles have more energy. As a result of them having more energy they move a lot faster. Therefore the particles collide a lot faster increasing the rate of reaction and making a new product. Examples of reactions: An example of a reaction is when water and iron combine together to form iron oxide (H2O) (Fe 3) (Fe2 O3) Another example of a reaction is when zinc and oxygen combine together to form zinc oxide (Zn) (O2) (Zn O2) Concentration: If the concentration is greater so to is the number of particles. When you increase the number of particles you increase the chance of a collision, and the chance of them reacting to form a new product. Surface area: The smaller the particles the greater the surface area. Therefore there is a greater chance of them colliding as there is more area for them to hit off. Therefore the smaller the particles the greater the rate of reaction. Catalyst: A catalyst is a substance, which speeds up the rate of a reaction, without being used up itself. Catalysts work better when the particles are smaller because the surface area is greater. Prediction: I think that the high the concentration the faster the rate of reaction. This is because there is more H+ ions so the higher the chance of colliding. Therefore the quicker the reaction. Diagram These are the results I recorded: Concentration of acid (M)   Conclusion: From my results I can conclude that concentration does affect the rate dramatically. For example if we compare strongest strength of acid (1 molar) to the weakest (0.2 molar), there is a difference of nearly 14 seconds between the averages. This is because in the 0. 2 molar acid there is only a small amount of h+ ions where as in the 1 molar acid there is a lot more. Therefore the collisions occur a lot faster and the rate of reaction is increased as illustrated in the diagram above. Science coursework Stephen bannon Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

Analyze The International Strategy Of Nestle Marketing Essay

Analyze The International Strategy Of Nestle Marketing Essay Introduction This report will analyze the international strategy of Nestlà © and one of its major competitors, Cadbury plc in the United States. Nestlà © is one of the oldest multinational businesses and focus in nutrition, health and wellness. It was founded by Henri Nestlà ©, a pharmacist, who established food for babies who were unable to breastfeed in Switzerland in 1866. The company merged with the Anglo Swiss Condensed Milk in 1905. Nestlà © expand their business through a series of acquisitions after World War II that included Maggi (1947), Cross Blackwell (1960), Findus (1962), Libbys (1970), Stouffers (1973), Carnation (1985), Rowntree (1988) and Perrier (1992), (Nestle Mangement Report, 2008). By the 1990s, Nestlà © had more than 500 factories in 76 countries and sold its products in 193 nations almost every country in the world. Roughly 28.2 percent of its sales were made in Europe, 33.1 percent in the Americas and 17.1 percent in Asia, Oceania and Africa (Nestlà © Management Re port, 2008). Nestlà © USA is a subsidiary of Nestlà © S.A in Vevey, Switzerland. Nestle has been present in the USA over than 110 years and now headquartered in Glendale, California. By the 2000s, Nestlà © become a larger company through several acquisitions that included Ralston Purina (2001), Chef America (2002), Power Bar (2006) and Gerber (2007). Nestlà © major products and services include milk based products, pet care, confectionery, beverages, cooking aids and prepared dishes, ice cream and pharmaceutical products. In US, Nestlà © markets confectionary and sweets products under Wonka, Perugina and After Eight brands. It also makes biscuits, toppings and mints. This consumer goods company practising a widen product marketing and offer many brands and product in most markets. Nestlà © recorded US$10 billion with America is the biggest geographic market, recorded for 30.2 percent of total revenues in 2008 and offer more than 50 brands (Nestlà © Management Report, 2008). Literature Review The issue of global integration with local responsiveness can be analyzed in a two dimensional matrix. Figure 1 provides an example. There are four type of classification of multinational companies, Global combining high integration with low responsiveness, Transnational combining high integration with high responsiveness, Multi-domestic combining low integration and high responsiveness and International combining low integration and low responsiveness. The International companies was not included in Bartletts classification because it is does not fit in this scheme. However, (Sundaram and Black, 1992) equate it with the Transnational company while (Ghoshal and Nohria, 1993; Welge, 1996) place it as a low integration with low responsiveness in the lower left corner. Figure 1: Global integration vs. national responsiveness (Bartlett and Goshal, 1998) The vertical axis in the figure shows the need for global integration and movement up the axis indicates in a large degree of economic integration. Global integration brings economies of scale and capitalizes on lowering unit costs as a company moves into global market for selling its products. The economies of scale are obtained because of the centralization of activities in the value-added chain. They also happen by reaping benefits of higher coordination and control of geographically dispersed activities. The horizontal axis indicates the need for MNCs to respond to differentiation or local responsiveness. This implies that MNCs must consider government regulations, local tastes and preferences. Maximizing value in such situations requires MNCs appointing strategic responsibilities and key operating rights to national subsidiaries. Each subsidiary has its own autonomous manufacturing facilities and marketing function. The products offered will vary between nations based on the tas tes and preferences of different consumer and competitive strategy. This indicates that in a multi-domestic strategy, a low degree of control is required for the subsidiary company. Organization that engages in multi-domestic strategy will favour low-control entry modes. In Global strategy, the need for awareness of differentiation is low while the need for integration is high. This situation causes to Global strategies based on price competition for perspective of economies of scale. According to Bartlett and Goshal (1989, 1992), the main strategic thrust of Multi-domestic company is to respond to national differences. In Global strategy, competition takes place at a global level while multi-domestic companies are geared towards domestic competition because national product market do not have the same criteria to make competition at a global level. In global companies, direction and pace would be expected to flow mostly from a headquarters to their subsidiaries while Multi-domestic companies would be characterized by a lower overall flow of products, people and information (Perlmutter, 1969). To be locally responsive, local production and local research and development (RD) are not essential for a company with local presence since direction and pace comes from a centre. Global companies are unlikely to locate these parts of the value chain close to the customer, since they will feel less need to access this type of market information. In International and Transnational strategy, it reflects more complex environmental situations. International strategies are characterized by increased international standardization of product and services. It can lead to lower needs for centralized quality control and strategic decision making while eliminating requirements to adapt activities to individual regions. In transnational strategy, there is a higher need for regional differentiation in marketing and a strong requirement in production. Transnational is the most challenging strategy where MNCs seek to operate (Jeannet, 2001). However, the problem for many MNCs is the cultural challenges integrated with localizing a global focus. Business Analysis of Nestlà © Nestlà © is characterized as a multi-domestic company by its pronounced local responsiveness and relatively weak global integration. Including its operating companies, such as Carnation, Rowntree and Buitoni among others, it has traditionally practiced a decentralized approach to management. Local operating managers thought to be much more in tune with local markets are given the freedom to develop marketing strategies that match local needs. Like many other companies pursuing a multi-domestic strategy Nestlà © has begun a move toward a more centralized management structure, which has resulted in a re-organization around major business lines. In order to reap the benefits of global leverage, companies realize that the multi-domestic business model leaves too many initiatives to local levels thus resulting in missed opportunities (Doole, 2004). In terms of entry mode and internalization, Johanson Widersheim-Paul/Vahlne (1975) claim that internationalization is the product of a series of incremental decisions or stages based on different foreign market entry modes. They introduce the Uppsala Internationalization model. In this model the firms engagement in the specific country market develops according to an establishment chain that has four stages. There is no regular export activities are performed in the market, export only takes place via independent representatives, sales subsidiary and manufacturing in the foreign market. The sequence of stages indicates an increasing commitment of resources to the market. In addition, business activities are differed with regard to the market experience gained. Nestlà © use direct exporting for entry mode, which is subsidiary and uses its own organization in the overseas market. Nestlà © focuses on internal growth and try to achieve greater volumes by innovating new products and renovating existing products. This strategy has given Nestlà © the ability to grow many products in the various fields of prepared foods, breakfast cereals, dairy products, baby foods, beverages, ice-cream, bottle water, chocolate confectionary and pet care. In addition, Nestlà © is a low cost operator. This allows them not only to edge ahead with low operating costs but also beat the competitors by producing low cost products. Nestlà © has ability to customize global products based on consumer choices in the local market. This is one of Nestlà ©s key strengths where its subsidiaries develop products that match consumer preference in the local market. Due to the nature of the markets psychological and cultural spread, Nestlà © believes that there are no global consumers in the market. Its ability to customize products to the local markets brings association in the mind of the c ustomer and brand loyalty by using local names. For example, its confectionery range sold in the US is called Rolo but in Russia, it is called Rossyia. In the US, brands like Kit-Kat chocolate and Maggi noodles have been priced at US$0.2 and some other chocolate and candy brand are priced at US$0.05 per unit. These price help Nestlà © reach more customers not only in urban markets but also in rural markets. In the US, Nestlà © has two top products capable of becoming at least regional which are pet food and ice-cream, but both lag well behind the market leaders of Mars in pet food and Unilever in ice-cream. With the exception of a few products such as its famous tomato sauce, eaten everywhere with burgers and hot dogs, Heinz (US) applies effectively a multi-domestic strategy, making a small effort to force a global or even pan-regional strategy. For instance in 2001 it took over Honig (Holland) which makes very local traditional delicacies, such as chocolate sprinkles topping. Nestlà © has strong capabilities in research and development (RD). The group invest more than US$1390 million in RD annually and the Nestle Research Center in Switzerland is its major think-tank. It has more than 100 different professional areas including raw materials, nutritional science, ingredients, the life science and production processes. By doing RD, it allows Nestlà © renovate existing products and innovate new products continuously. It also allows Nestlà © to review its product at regular intervals while generating revenue growth. For instance, Nestlà © possess a product LC1, which is innovated and provides health benefits for the consumers and it was fairly new in the US. The LC1 product, probiotic cultures found that it had an innovation that offers a new avenue of profits for Nestlà © by introducing it into the US market. The LC1 powder was introduced into US market in 2000. This product focuses on customers who are concerned about their eating habits and health and it was made to be mixed into beverages and foods. Unfortunately, the product went largely unnoticed by the US customers and yielded only minimal results although Nestlà © used a smaller campaign targeted at health practitioners, print ads and internet advertising to introduce the product. In terms of confectionery segment, while taste of chocolate differs by country, the process in making products is the same. Nestlà © has a new Worldwide Chocolate Centre of Excellence in Broc, Switzerland and brings more than 130 years of expertise international chocolate making and professionals. Packaging designers who works on RD focus on developing the luxury products and the finest chocolate premiums. Nestlà © achieved overall chocolate growth 7.6 per cent per annum. With sales of CHF9.8 billion they are the fastest growing in number 1 dark chocolate manufacturer. Figure 2 illustrates that confectionery achieve 13.1 percent of sales during FY2008. Figure 2: Product group sales (Nestlà © Management Report, 2008) Nestlà © which was established in the nineteenth century, operates a policy of decentralisation and dispersion of activities. Nestlà ©s corporate management is responsible for giving strategic direction to the organisation. RD is also strongly centralised. Despite this centralized roles, the companys organisational structure and system continue to emphasise the importance of local interpretation and in many matters local managers have considerable discretion (Ellis, 1995). Within this structure personal relationship between the heads of the operating companies and the holding companys executives are central in binding the company together. Nestlà ©s organizational structure strongly fits the companys external context. For most of the companys products the key features of demand have been the diversity of consumer tastes and national regulations. These have been complemented by the absence of sufficient economies of scale to warrant centralised production on a global scale (Tayeb, 2000). Equally, while RD is important constantly to improve and update products, many of Nestlà ©s brands were introduced many years ago. Nescafe although a very different product today, for example was introduced in 1938. With the increasing convergence of tastes and national regulations in at least some areas of the world being standardised, the company recognises the need to co-ordinate some aspects of its operations across different markets. Nestlà © has also taken steps to strengthen its regional management and strategic business units have been created for various product groups with the emphasis on integrating marketing, research and production at the country level for related products (Hill, 2009). Nevertheless, despite these changes the company continues to emphasise the advantage of decentralisation in prompting and maintaining local responsiveness. Competitor Analysis (SWOT Analysis) 4.1 Strengths In the global confectionery sector, Cadbury has 10.5 percent market share (Annual Report, 2008). The worlds biggest confectionery market is in US, and Cadbury has the second largest market share of 34 percent in the gum product category. Cadbury is also a leading player in South America with core strengths in candy and gum with market share of nearly 20 percent (Annual Report, 2008). Strong market position provides the company better bargaining power and economies of scale. Cadbury has diversified its product by offering candy, gums and chocolate while each segment accounts for significant amount of sales. America generates the highest percentage of sales with 30.3 percent of the overall revenues compared to Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Cadbury also has a strong presence in emerging markets. Cadburys emerging markets confectionery grew on average by 12 percent per annum, making it the largest presence in emerging market business among all its peers. The strong presence in the eme rging markets provides result in higher revenue growth and would diversify the companys operation further. 4.2 Weaknesses Cadbury has presented a weak liquidity position in the previous year. The company current assets stood at US$2,635 million as compared to the current liabilities of US$3,388 million in FY2008. It describes the company has severe liquidity problems which could give negative impact on the companys operational efficiency and its growth initiatives. The companys employee efficiency is also low in Cadbury. It was measured by total revenues per employee. The revenue per employee stood at US$214,724 with 46,517 employees and total revenues of US$9,988.3 million in 2008. This figure is low compared to its other competitor like Hershey that has revenue per employee at US$410,000 in 2008. Opportunities The chocolate sales proved the most profitable for the US confectionery market, providing 50.6% of the markets overall value in 2008. It shows that Cadbury has a strong presence in the US confectionery market and it is well positioned to cope the confectionery demand in the region. Premium chocolate is growing fast in many parts of the world. The awareness for dark chocolate among consumers is increasing because of the benefits of dark chocolate to health. The dark chocolate industry grew 18% over the last year. It would favourably impact the sales if there is increasing customer preference for premium products. Threats The raw materials include cocoa products for instance cocoa butter, cocoa liquor and cocoa powder processed from cocoa beans. Cadbury purchases its cocoa products from third party suppliers in West African, Far Eastern and South American equatorial regions. The increasing raw material prices could give significant impact on companys profitability and cost structure. The tight labour market influenced the government to level up the minimum wage in the US. In 2008 the federal minimum wage rate remained at US$6.55 per hour and reached to US$7.25 per hour in 2009. Majority of Cadburys employee in US, so increased labour cost could give impact on overall cost and result in a decrease in its profitability. 5.0 Conclusion Globalization is changing the world economy. It is a challenge, nations need to accept the threats and opportunities, if not they could be left behind as a people or nation. Nestlà © pursuing a multi-domestic strategy when there is a high pressure for local responsiveness and low pressures for cost reductions. Changing offerings on a localized level increases a companys overall cost structure but increases the likelihood that its products and services will be responsive to local needs and therefore be successful. Nestlà © can strengthen its position as a well-being and nutrition company as consumers are becoming more health conscious. Nestlà © would be able to capitalize on health conscious trends by increasing focus on nutrition. In terms of confectionery segment, Nestlà © are able to leverage centralized research and strategies and apply them through renovation and innovation while respecting habit and local tastes. A global strategy is a low-cost strategy. Organization that experience high cost pressures should use a global strategy in an attempt to benefit from scale economies in production, distribution and marketing. By offering a standardized product worldwide, firms can leverage their experience and use aggressive pricing schemes (Hodgetts, 2006). This strategy makes most sense where there are high cost pressures and low demand for localized product offerings. A global company is able to achieve global-scale efficiencies through product standardisation. 6.0 Recommendations Economy situation in Western are actually facing decrease in output and growth, thus influencing the consumption of customers, especially in the retail business. Consumers are becoming more price sensitive and tend to spend less while demanding at the same time for customisation, product specialization and differentiation. Another trend is the shift from branded food and beverages towards cheap non-branded foods and beverage. Despite increasing non-brand cheap products offered by rivals, Nestlà © finds itself in an even more embattled market and needs to develop a new strategy either away from branding or higher level of international market penetration. Since Nestlà © stands for high quality and has distinctive competencies in producing higher quality food, it would not make sense to change the strategic group, because it would most likely get stuck in the middle. The right strategy is to expand into new markets such as Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. In these markets the consumer behaviour, macroeconomic environment and habits are different compared to western economies. Most of these markets are yet in a growth cycle and this clearly generates an opportunity because they are within emerging markets. Nestlà © should see to incorporate LC1, the yogurts product name into one strong performing product in each one of its Strategic Business Unit (SBU). Nestlà © should provide one product in each of these SBUs to introduce to the market. There is a huge line of products with in different areas of food and beverage industry which the LC1 product can bring a profit. So if the LC1 does well in certain areas of the industry but not others, Nestlà © can shifts its focus from the weak product to the strong product. Introducing it to many different products in many different areas of the food and beverage industry giving LC1 a better opportunity of achieving success. Nestlà © which already has a diversified food and beverage company has the benefit being able to explore an option such as this. In designing a strategy that would effectively place Nestle at the head of the probiotic industry in North America market would require several key components. North American consumers also need to be educated as the benefits that the probiotics LC1 brings. A strong marketing and advertising campaign would accompany this. They should be to quick to conduct all moves and enter into each market as quickly as possible to gain maximum market share.

Service Provisions for the Homeless in Britain

Service Provisions for the Homeless in Britain Social welfare, democracy and government Set out below is an evaluation of how social welfare, democracy, and government relates to the issue of service provision to avert or solve homelessness in Britain. There are, as will be examined, various causes for homelessness, and therefore differing levels of service provision to help the homeless in Britain. The post-war welfare state had supposed to have made homelessness an almost negligible problem, so social welfare, democracy and government carried on operating without thinking the issue was serious, even though services were available when needed. However, homelessness had never gone away and various factors outlined below explain how the issue became more important on the social welfare policy, democratic and governmental agendas, and service provision was in increasing demand. Whilst social welfare policies, democracy, and government may not directly cause homelessness, they can arguably have a great deal of influence over how it is tackled, and the level of services pro vided and who provides those services. Some cases of homelessness are easier to tackle or resolve than other cases, depending on the initial causes of homelessness. Social welfare, democracy, and government are factors that combine or act singularly to affect the levels of and the permanence of the service provisions to prevent homelessness and to those that are already homeless. Social welfare, democracy, and government hold the key to finding homes for the homeless, and providing the service provision to ensure people remain housed. The main foundation of social welfare policies in modern Britain was the welfare state as established during the Labour governments of 1945 to 1951, which was intended to make poverty, social exclusion, and homelessness disappear from British society. The welfare state legally defined which organisations are obliged to provide services, namely government departments, local authorities, and voluntary or non-governmental groups (Jones Lowe, 2002 p. 1). The rationale of the welfare state was inspired by the Beveridge Report and the Labour party’s own ideological outlook, which was to eradicate poverty and social exclusion to make Britain a fairer country. As part of its plans it gave local authorities the powers, and the funds to provide council housing on a greater scale than previously to every body that needed it (Lacy, 2006 p. 8). At the end of the Second World War the main cause of homelessness was actually the number of houses that had been destroyed by bombing during the war (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.11). The government did its best to solve the housing shortage with a large construction programme of council houses. The provision of council houses was intended to provide people with affordable housing when they could not afford private rents or to buy their own houses, and it was the responsibility of all local authorities to provide council housing using money provided by the government (Moran, 2005 p. 14). The welfare state was intended to reduce poverty through the payment of unemployment benefit, supplementary benefit, rent rebates, and Family Allowance. These benefits were supposed to keep people above the bread line, to provide them with a minimum standard of living, and were primarily benefits or services provided by the Department of Social Security. However, it was hoped that government economic policy would reduce the need for people to claim benefits in the first place, or the need for services to keep them housed. Almost full employment, adequate levels of social security benefits, and the increased availability of council houses were significant factors in preventing homelessness, although service providers were always needed to ensure that people got help when they needed it (Jones Lowe, 2002 p. 189). Rent rebates and government attempts to control private sector rents were intended to keep families on low incomes in their homes. The main responsibility for controlling pri vate sector rents was the government’s whilst rent rebate was administered by local authorities on behalf of the government. The main public perceptions about the provision of services to the homeless until the late 1960s, was that social welfare measures such as social security benefits, rent rebates, and rent controls had seen the problem all but cease to exist. Although service provision by government departments, local authorities, and non-governmental organisations had continued to operate, and even expand (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 p. 137). However for those people that knew more about the provision of services for the homeless, it was clear that social welfare policies had not been capable of completely resolving the problem. People that understood social welfare and housing policies also knew that homelessness was linked to inadequate housing and unemployment. Unemployment meant that some people fell behind with their rent or mortgage payments, eventually leading to their eviction or the re-possession of their homes. There were and are voluntary organisations such as Shelter, Crisis, and the Citizens Advice Bureaux which provided advice services to prevent people becoming homeless (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 pp. 28-9). The public perception that homelessness was no longer a meaningful or measurable social and economic problem was changed by the film ‘Cathy come home’ and the launch of a charity dedicated to solving the problem of homelessness and intent on influencing public opinion and government policies, Shelter. Unlike existing charities that helped homeless people such as the Salvation Army, Shelter only existed to tackle the issue of homelessness and it believed that being an active pressure group was the best way to alter or influence public opinion, as well as attempt to change social welfare policies. In other words Shelter wished to offer greater levels of service provision than government departments and local authorities did at that time. In the late 1960s the government had not changed its social welfare policies to have any extra detrimental affects on the problem of homelessness. Instead Shelter was demonstrating that in some individual cases that social welfare policies had proved incapable of preventing homelessness or keeping up with social, economic, and political changes. At this time government departments and local authorities were the predominant service providers for the homeless, or the potentially homeless (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 p. 381). The 1960s after all were a decade when social, economic, and political changes were starting to become apparent, these changes which had consequences for social welfare policies in general, and that had an impact on the service provision for the homeless. Social changes included it being easier to get divorced, a rise in the number of births outside marriage, a rise in the number of lone parents, increasing crime levels, and the growth of illegal drugs taking. All these social changes would change the ways families lived in Britain; the break down of family relationships has arguably had a greater impact on the problem of homelessness than any changes to social welfare and housing policies. That is although the consequences were unplanned and inadvertent, yet they had to be responded to by the providers of services to homeless people (Jones et al, 2004 p. 294). Shelter and Crisis, amongst others, have argued that social welfare policies are administered in ways that make it harder for government agencies and local authorities to help people that are already homeless, compared to helping people that are already housed. People that are homeless are often only able to claim lower rates of social security benefits, and also find it harder to gain employment or find somewhere permanent to live (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 70). Social welfare policies have been altered, most notably by the Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997 and by the New Labour governments since 1997. In terms of social welfare the Conservatives had wanted to reduce the size of the social security budget, as well as reducing the size of the public sector, the former being a task in which it failed (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p. 287). In fact, under the Conservatives the budget for social security expenditure actually increased due to the economic policies that was pursued l eading to high unemployment, and increased levels of service provision for the homeless. In contrast to the Conservatives, New Labour claimed that it would use social welfare policies to make service provision more responsive to their users actual needs, for example asking the homeless what they wanted from their service providers (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp 415-16). There are also ways in which democracy in Britain can be related to the problem of service provision for the homeless and the potentially homeless, and also related to the political, social, and economic factors that influence and affect levels of homelessness. In a liberal democracy such as Britain, the political, social, and economic policies used in relation to service provision such as towards homeless people can be shaped by the relative importance that the electorate, attach to each individual issue. In many respects the service provision for the homeless has not become one of the major electoral issues that can dominate political debates, and that can ultimately determine which political party wins or loses the next general election. Despite not being one of the main political issues, the provision of services for the homeless is certainly an issue that is on the political agenda in Britain, and it is an issue that will undoubtedly stay there. That the provision of services fo r the homeless remains upon the political agenda in Britain has to be attributed to the efforts of pressure groups or charities like Shelter, Crisis, and the Big Issue. Indeed the efforts of these groups have managed to maintain publicity about the problem of homelessness as well as providing some very useful services themselves. These groups believe that their publicity campaigns will not only influence public opinion, their publicity campaigns will hopefully influence social welfare and housing policies to make service provision effectively serve the needs of the homeless. However these organisations are also important service providers for homeless people, giving advice, advocacy services, training, and emergency accommodation. Some members of the electorate do not regard homelessness as being a separate issue from social welfare policy, as far as they are concerned the government should have the appropriate policies to provide services to the homeless. After all that is what peo ple pay their taxes for (Malin, Wilmot, Manthorpe, 2003 p. 51). Pressure groups or charities that publicly campaign for and in support of the homeless view the tackling of prejudices against the people that are homeless as an important part of their objectives of service provision for the homeless. Shelter and the Big Issue act as advocates for those people that are homeless as they are disenfranchised by virtue of not having a home address, and therefore being unable to register their names on to the electoral register. Without the advocacy and media contacts of such pressure groups and charities, the homeless would have very little influence upon democracy, as they cannot vote for or against any political party because of its policies and objectives in relation to the issue of homelessness. Political parties will not necessarily feel the need to adjust their social welfare and housing policies to help certain groups like the homeless, especially if these people are formally and legally unable to participate in the democratic electoral processes at all (Jones et al, 2004 p. 294). However political parties have not been able to ignore the problem of homelessness, even if they have attempted to resolve the issues surrounding homelessness with varying degrees of enthusiasms (Jones, 1999 p. 176). However, although the homeless may be disenfranchised that does not mean that the homeless do not contribute towards liberal democracy in Britain. The work of charities and pressure groups helps the homeless to voice their opinions in public, and those groups actively promote the interests of the homeless. Shelter and the Big Issue hope to sway public opinion, as well as influencing the incumbent government’s social welfare and housing policies to assist the homeless as much as possible. In a liberal democracy like Britain, public opinion can influence government policies as well as governments attempting to shape public opinion in order to gain electoral advantages or support. The way in which democracy operates mean that political parties, pressure groups, and the media compete with each other to shape public opinion. In return the public often regard some issues as being more important than other issues. For instance, the state of the National Health Service, education, law and order, besides the state of the economy are often the most important issues during general election campaigns. The responsibility for service provision for the homeless goes across government departments, and the measures needed have to compete for funding with other policy areas such as health, education, and defence. Political parties naturally adopt the policy stances that fit in with their ideological beliefs, yet maximise their chances of electoral success. Once governments are elected they have to decide who provides public services and the extent of the services that are provided (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp. 48-50). In Britain the government has an important part to play in dealing with the problem of homelessness, even if the government has not caused those problems in the first place. For the government to effectively manage and reduce the problem of homelessness it helps for the government to understand the various causes of people losing their homes (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p.70). The majority of causes for people being homeless are social or economic rather than political. The government can prevent some people from becoming homeless by adopting social welfare and housing policies. The majority of causes for people becoming homeless are social or economic, rather than political. The government can prevent some people becoming homeless by adopting social welfare and housing policies, although the government cannot prevent the social circumstances that potentially lead to homelessness. The government is not in a position to prevent the break up of family units that make men and young people pa rticularly vulnerable to becoming homelessness. Men actually are the group most likely to face homelessness in the wake of relationships breaking up. Women have a higher chance of keeping their homes when relationships end. Other s factors that contribute to the problem of homelessness are related to crime, or more specifically those people that serve prison sentences and then have nowhere to live after they have been released. People with drug addictions, alcoholics, and those with mental health problems all have an increased risk of becoming homeless during their lives. These people have been helped by groups like Shelter, Crisis, and the Big Issue that provide services to get their lives back on track (Jones et al, 2004, p. 294). Although governments in Britain may not be able to prevent the circumstances or factors that make people become homeless, governments are in a position to help people find homes to live in. Governments are the key decision makers when it comes down to deciding upon the s w and housing policies that are the main ways of preventing people from losing their homes. Government policies can make it easier, or alternatively make it harder for people to stay in their homes or find new accommodation when it is required. For instance, the Thatcher government’s decision to sell off council houses was very popular with existent council house tenants, one million of whom went on to buy their homes from their local authorities. The selling off of council houses might not have been so detrimental to efforts to keep people housed if the local authorities had been allowed to build replacement houses in the same quantity. Selling off council houses made it harder to find affordable accommodatio n to rent, whilst the local authorities had a declining number of homes to provide housing for those that wanted it (Moran, 2005, p.28). Even if such a high volume of council houses had not been sold off, new homes construction has lagged behind the demand for homes to rent or buy. In turn the shortage of houses to rent or buy continues to make rents and mortgages even higher and less affordable for many people. Both Conservative and New Labour have refused to intervene to lower house prices or rents to allow more people to find a home (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.291). However New Labour has launched a programme to increase both the actual capacity and the quality of hostels and temporary accommodation with a budget of  £90 million. That programme allows non-governmental organisations to improve the quality of the services that they provide to the homeless (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005 p. 8). However, it would be wrong to assume that British governments do nothing to prevent the problem of homelessness growing. The government has to decide which services are provided to the homeless. Local authorities or Registered Social Landlords are still responsible for housing many people and New Labour has been expanded the amount of new construction that can undertake (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 70). The main way in which the government helps to prevent the problem of homelessness increasing is through the social security system. Individuals and families in receipt of social security benefit or low income are generally entitled to housing benefit, which means that they have all or at least a high percentage of their rent paid for by the relevant local authority (Jones, 1999, p.176). Local authorities administer the housing benefit system and are then fully refunded by the government via the Department for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits pays out a great deal of money each year t o prevent people being evicted and subsequently homeless, it provides a service for millions of people (Jones, 1999, p. 176). Despite been means tested, housing benefit is still one of the biggest amounts of expenditure on the social security budget (Whitaker’s 2007 p. 450). For instance, in the financial year 2002 –03 the government spent over  £11 billion on housing benefit which, demonstrates the importance attached to preventing homelessness through the services provided by the Department of Work and Pensions in conjunction with local authorities (Department for Work and Pensions, 2003 p.32). Bibliography Coxall B, Robins L Leach R (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke Department for Work and Pensions, (2003) Departmental Report 2003, The Stationary Office, London Eatwell R Wright A, (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2nd Edition, Continuum, London Fisher J, Denver D, Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Longman, London Jones B, (1999) issues in British Politics Today, Manchester University Press, Manchester Jones B, Kavanagh D, Moran M, Norton P, (2004) Politics UK, 5th edition, Pearson Longman, London Jones M and Lowe R (2002) From Beveridge to Blair – The first fifty years of Britain’s Welfare State 1948-98, Manchester University Press Manchester and New York Lacey R, (2006) Great Tales from English History, the Battle of the Boyne to DNA, 1689 – 1953, Little Brown, London Malin N, Wilmot S, Manthorpe J, (2003) Key Concepts and Debates in Health and Social Policy, Open University Press Buckingham and Philadelphia Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005) Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives, Crown Copyright, London Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke Seldon A Kavanagh D, (2005) The Blair Effect 2001 – 5, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Whitaker’s, (2007) Whitaker’s Almanack 2007 – today’s world in one volume, A C Black, London

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

It’s hard to believe that we are actually sitting here in the auditorium for the last time as students of Kheradmand High. But we are! We made it through four years of high school. Now we are teetering on the edge of the rest of our lives, having to grow up and head out into the â€Å"real† world. That thought might scare some people, but we are ready. After all, if you decide that you don’t want to be a part of the real world, maybe, you can always come back to Kheradmand High and maybe they will let you be a teacher. Remember the first day you stepped foot onto the Kheradmand High School campus, and how awestruck you were by the size of the seniors? Not only were they tall, they were enormous. I wonder if we had that same effect on the freshmen? I am sure that I didn’t. I hate to break it to you guys, but most of you didn’t have that effect either. We did have an effect on our school. We truly did change some minds in the administration. We were the last class to have Freshman Focus. After us they decided that it was impossible to get students to focus on school. We survived our... Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address It’s hard to believe that we are actually sitting here in the auditorium for the last time as students of Kheradmand High. But we are! We made it through four years of high school. Now we are teetering on the edge of the rest of our lives, having to grow up and head out into the â€Å"real† world. That thought might scare some people, but we are ready. After all, if you decide that you don’t want to be a part of the real world, maybe, you can always come back to Kheradmand High and maybe they will let you be a teacher. Remember the first day you stepped foot onto the Kheradmand High School campus, and how awestruck you were by the size of the seniors? Not only were they tall, they were enormous. I wonder if we had that same effect on the freshmen? I am sure that I didn’t. I hate to break it to you guys, but most of you didn’t have that effect either. We did have an effect on our school. We truly did change some minds in the administration. We were the last class to have Freshman Focus. After us they decided that it was impossible to get students to focus on school. We survived our...

Basketball Needs To Be Fixed Essay -- essays research papers

Basketball Needs to Be Fixed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professional and college basketball have become very popular in the hearts and minds of many Americans. Millions of dollars a year are spent on apparel, tickets, and television all generated by people's love for basketball. But in the last couple of years, both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball have lost a substantial amount of their competition and have caught much criticizim for it. At the heart of this problem is a single cause, greed. The game of basketball has become all about money instead of the game and its fans. This problem needs to be addressed, and the best place to start is with the college players, or more specifically, the NBA draft. The rules and guidelines that pertain to the draft are greatly at fault for the down slide of both college and NBA basketball and they need to be changed before the game down slides into nothing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The changes that need to be made are simple, underclassmen should not be eligible for the NBA draft; or in other words, if you have years of eligibility left, you should not be eligible to be drafted by an NBA team. What problems would this solve? The answer is most problems in basketball today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, college basketball has paid greatly by losing its most talented players to the NBA as many as three years early. This has resulted in not only an overall lessening of the game, but in certain circumstances caused the downfall of once great basketball programs. This is how it happens, colleges recruit players based on what their needs are or what they will need shortly in the future. So let us say that one school has a great core of sophomore and junior players for an upcoming season. The coaches do not have the need or the room for many new top notch players. So all of the top recruits find other schools to go to. Then, let us say that the great core of players leaves for the NBA, leaving the team with mediocre players and a horrible season to look forward to. By the next recruiting period comes around, the school's reputation has been hurt, and so has their chances of landing the top recruits. This continues until the school's once proud basketball tradition is a thing of the past. This situation is not only hypothetical, schools like UNLV, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Hous... ...ard spiral. That is how players' salaries have rose to absurd limits. No one noticed the problem while it was happening, but now that it is a problem there is no real way to fix it. In 1996, a rookie salary cap was put into effect by the NBA to put a limit on beginning salaries, so some measures are being taken. This is a start, but it is not the answer to the problem. If underclassmen were not allowed to come out early, high rookie salaries would not have to be as high, and the players would probably be more accepting of less money than most rookies are getting now, and this would help solve the all- around money problem in the NBA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both the NBA and college basketball seem to be in a rut. And as stated before, they reason is the underclassmen leaving school early to make money in the NBA. So what's the solution? Easy, do not let the college players enter the NBA draft early. It would benefit everyone in the future. Of course there would be a transitional period, but the losses would be short and the effects of the change would be evident very quickly. Let the game be played the way it was meant to be played, for the competition and not for the money.

Philosophy: Skeptism Essay

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word â€Å"philosophy† comes from the Greek (philosophia), which literally means â€Å"love of wisdom. Skepticism is a philosophical attitude that, in its most extreme form, questions the possibility of obtaining any sort of knowledge. It was first articulated by Pyrrho, who believed that everything could be doubted except appearances. Sextus Empiricus (2nd century AD), skepticism’s most prominent advocate, describes it as an â€Å"ability to place in antithesis, in any manner whatever, appearances and judgments, and thus †¦ to come first of all to a suspension of judgment and then to mental tranquility. † Skepticism so conceived is not merely the use of doubt, but is the use of doubt for a particular end: a calmness of the soul, or ataraxia. Skepticism poses itself as a challenge to dogmatism, whose adherents think they have found the truth. Sextus noted that the reliability of perception may always be questioned, because it is idiosyncratic to the perceiver. The appearance of individual things changes depending on whether they are in a group: for example, the shavings of a goat’s horn are white when taken alone, yet the intact horn is black. A pencil, when viewed lengthwise, looks like a stick; but when examined at the tip, it looks merely like a circle. Skepticism was revived in the early modern period by Michel de Montaigne and Blaise Pascal. Its most extreme exponent, however, was David Hume. Hume argued that there are only two kinds of reasoning: what he called probable and demonstrative (cf. Hume’s fork). Neither of these two forms of reasoning can lead us to a reasonable belief in the continued existence of an external world. Demonstrative reasoning cannot do this, because demonstration (that is, deductive reasoning from well-founded premises) alone cannot establish the uniformity of nature (as captured by scientific laws and principles, for example). Such reason alone cannot establish that the future will resemble the past. We have certain beliefs about the world (that the sun will rise tomorrow, for example), but these beliefs are the product of habit and custom, and do not depend on any sort of logical inferences from what is already given certain. But probable reasoning (inductive reasoning), which aims to take us from the observed to the unobserved, cannot do this either: it also depends on the uniformity of nature, and this supposed uniformity cannot be proved, without circularity, by any appeal to uniformity. The best that either sort of reasoning can accomplish is conditional truth: if certain assumptions are true, then certain conclusions follow. So nothing about the world can be established with certainty. Hume concludes that there is no solution to the skeptical argument—except, in effect, to ignore it. Even if these matters were resolved in every case, we would have in turn to justify our standard of justification, leading to an infinite regress (hence the term regress skepticism). Many philosophers have questioned the value of such skeptical arguments. The question of whether we can achieve knowledge of the external world is based on how high a standard we set for the justification of such knowledge. If our standard is absolute certainty, then we cannot progress beyond the existence of mental sensations. We cannot even deduce the existence of a coherent or continuing â€Å"I† that experiences these sensations, much less the existence of an external world. On the other hand, if our standard is too low, then we admit follies and illusions into our body of knowledge. This argument against absolute skepticism asserts that the practical philosopher must move beyond solipsism, and accept a standard for knowledge that is high but not absolute.

Mang Inasal Marketing Profile Essay

Liqueur- is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry. Salad- is a wide variety of dihses they may include mixture of cold and hot. Often raw vegetable. Also pasta, legumes, eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, and fuit. cooking oil- any of numerous vegetable oils used in cooking vegetable oil, oil- any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants hotel- a commercially run establishment providing lodging and usually meals for guests, and often containing a public bar banquet- a lavish and sumptuous meal; feasta ceremonial meal for many people, often followed by speeches catering- To provide food or entertainment. Baking- To cook (food) with dry heat, especially in an oven. Cocktail- Any of various mixed alcoholic drinks consisting usually of brandy, whiskey, vodka, or gin combined with fruit juices or other liquors and often served chilled. Mocktail- A cocktail containing no alcohol. Tourism- the activitiy of traveliring for pleasure, to see sights, for recreation etc. hospitality- An instance of cordial and generous treatment of guests. Entertainment- Something that amuses, pleases, or diverts, especially a performance or show. Barista- is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. Manager- a manager is a person who helps others others get more done. A manager helps others get more done by: motivating them providing directions making sure they are working together toward a common goal removing roadblocks and providing feedback. Supevisor- A supervisor is the lowest, or most-junior, management position. It is usually a step above lead (Accounting Supervisor is senior to Lead Accounting Specialist), but below Manager. Culinary Arts-Members of the kitchen brigade are culinary artisans. They have gone through rigorous training in accredited culinary arts programs, and have learned the theories and techniques they need in order to be successful. Simply put, practicing culinary arts means you’re elevating the act of eating from one of mere necessity to one of pleasure. Cake- Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape. Determining whether a given food should be classified as bread, cake, or pastry can be difficult. Herbs- is â€Å"any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume† or â€Å"a part of such a plant as used in cooking†. Spices- is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. Bread- is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients.