The Use Of Recycled Plastics As Structural Elements In Construction Essay

The Use Of Recycled Plastics As Structural Elements In Construction - Essay Example First the lumber is stated to be molded in one specified size and UV additives are utilized for prevention against deterioration due to UV light exposure. Structural plastic lumber does not experience such as rotting, cracking, splintering or splitting for at least fifty years and is additionally reported to be of the nature that resists such as termites, salt spray, fungus and marine borers. Formation of the plastic and fiberglass mixture involves heating and continuous extrusion and then the substance is formed into the shape that is needed followed by cooling and cutting. An outer layer that is high-density and solid results from the continuous extrusion process and produces as well a cellular inner core that is less dense and which is wanted and needed for adding to the strength and weight of the material. (American Recycled Plastic, Inc, 2006, paraphrased) It was reported by BBC News that a company is building homes made from 18 tonnes of recycled waste plastic. Specifically, Affresol of Swansea is reported to have developed a technology that is useful in building houses that are low carbon from plastics and minerals. It is reported that that Welsh Assembly Government money is backing the firm which has â€Å"launched a range of eco-friendly homes and four-tonne modular portable buildings.† (BBC News, ) The new sustainable process is reported to have great potential for the construction industry and most specifically for promoting ‘green jobs’. A new material has been developed that has been called ‘Thermo-Poly Rock (TPR) which is made from plastics and minerals that have been recycled for the specific use as a structural building product. It is reported that the TPR panels are bolted together to produce the â€Å"load bearing frame of the house which can be externally clad with brick, block or stone, with the interior insulated and plastered as any other house.† (BBC News, 2010) The roof was

Macro5B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro5B - Essay Example As statistics show, the GDP rose, unemployment fell and incomes rose bringing the economy back to life. GDP grew from -0.3% in 1980 to 4.1% in 19881 which in return decreased the unemployment rate from 7.1% to 1.6%3 which created a net job increase of approximately 16 million. One of the most ironic statistics is that of inflation; this model has a very optimistic approach towards the economy as economic growth is associated with large scale inflation, however, statistics show that inflation, from 13.5% in 1980 declined to only 4.1% till 1988. It’s a startling fact that outlines the success of this economic model. Focusing on the statistics, one may draw out the conclusion of the success of Reagonomics, there are critics who argue in every field but past trends supported by authentic statistics answer the question of the efficiency of any model, which in this case turned out to be optimistic. A report published in 1996 also draws out the conclusion by stating that the economy of the U.S performed better during the Reagon years4. Answer 2: The whole economy revolves around a few commodities that are essential for day to day operations of a Country; one of the most vital of these commodities is Oil. OPEC is one of the biggest oil companies and each economy is affected by prices set by OPEC (It’s like an oligopoly). Increase or decreases in fuel prices by such monopolies tend to hamper or support economic growth; such monopolies are directly related to a Country’s economic system. In general, oil is known to be a compliment or a raw material for many other goods in an economy therefore a price change of oil may lead to cost push inflation or deflation. In case where OPEC decides to increase the price of oil, this would lead to cost push inflation in the economy; the aggregate (total) supply of the economy would shift upwards bringing about price hikes as shown in the diagram: In the short run, what’s happening is the increase in price o f oil is pushing the supply down and creating price hikes as the short run aggregate supply curve moves from AS1 to AS2. This effect will impact people but not as much in the short run; people are more flexible and have fixed schedules and will not alter their fuel consumption just because of an increase in fuel prices in a day; even if the increase is steep, in the short run it is expected that people would absorb the impact The demand for oil in the short run would be relatively inelastic and the economy would not suffer to a large extent. However, in the long run, situation may be different as people’s demand for oil may become elastic as they want to adapt to changes in an optimistic light. In the long run, the demand for OPEC oil would be relatively elastic and fuel price increases may cause the economy to suffer at large. The direct impact on the economy depends on where the economy is operating at the point and what is the shape of their long run aggregate supply curve as there is a difference in opinion for the monetarist and Keynesian model for long run aggregate supply curve. If we follow the Keynesians model; the impact to the economy of an increase in oil prices depends largely on where the

The Origin And Types Of Thrash Metal Music Essay

The Origin And Types Of Thrash Metal Music Essay We all know punk and classic metal were the two places thrash was taken from. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Venom, Accept, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Thin Lizzy had a big influence on thrash. So did punk bands like Discharge, The Ramones, Sex Pistols and The Dead Boys. Another genre that thrash took influence from was hair metal, from the early hair metal of KISS to the satanic hair metal of Venom. Songs like Symptom of the Universe Black Sabbath, Stone Cold Crazy Queen, Ace of Spades and Overkill Motorhead and dozens of Judas Priest songs like Exciter were the first hints of thrash, with a very different riff-structure and high tempos never reached before by rock/metal. Thrash metal is directly responsible for the offshoot of popular underground metal genres, such as death metal and black metal BLACK METAL: During the 1980s, certain thrash metal bands formed a prototype for black metal. This so-called first wave included bands such as Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer AND Celtic Frost DEATH METAL : Building from the musical structure of thrash metal and early black metal, death metal emerged during the mid 1980s Metal acts such as Slayer, Kreator, Celtic Frost and Venom were very important influences to the crafting of the genre. Along with the band Death and its frontman Chuck Schuldiner, who is often referred to as the father of death metal bands such as Possessed, Obituary and Morbid Angel are often considered pioneers of the genre [b]Early Thrash:[/b] Many people see the genre getting its beginnings in California and the West Coast. But it was happening all over the world. Metal Church is the band that started off the West Coast thrash scene with their infamous Red Skies demo. About the same time as Metal Church was releasing some of the heaviest metal in existence at the time, the same was going on in New Jersey with a cover band, Overkill, who recently started writting their own music. By 1981, Overkill had written, copyrighted and been performing their new song, Unleash The Beast Within, everywhere. Kreator, of Germany, at the time known as Tormentor, was also releasing live demos of some of their new heavy thrash style by the very early 80s. Another band who helped innovate thrash, but is given little credit for it is Znowhite, a thrash band from Chicago, IL. Znowhite had their first demos out by 1981, but a Chicago thrash scene never really developed from it. And last but not least is the Canadian thrash giant, Exciter, who released their first demos as early as 1980! Soon after, still in the very early 80s, a new band was beginning to pick up the lighter thrash/classic metal sound Metal Church had innovated, and they brought it to a new level of speed and heaviness. This band was Leather Charm, a not so well known name, run by a nearly household name, James Hetfield. He developed the style of Metal Church into a new milestone in thrash, which went by the name Hit The Lights. The song started as a cover song, but moved very far away from that and into one of the first true thrash songs ever written. Soon after they finished this song, the band disbanded, and James Hetfield than formed a new band by the name of Metallica in late 1981. Soon many other bands that had connections with some of the first pioneers of thrash, like Overkill, Metallica, Tormentor (Kreator) and Metal Church, started to develop a thrash sound as well. Exodus, Trauma and Warning SF were examples on the east coast. Those three bands, and a few others, being the founders of what would become the biggest thrash scene in existence. And Anthrax would soon follow in Overkills footsteps on the east coast. Sodom, Destruction and Angel Dust followed after Tormentor/Kreators style in Germany. During Metallicas early career, the band was having trouble with their Lead guitarist, who was constantly out partying, drinking and doing drugs. This man was Dave Mustaine, and after Exodus and Kirk Hammet (at the time guitarist of Exodus) were brought to Metallicas attention, they kicked Mustaine out of the band and recruited Kirk Hammet. Not long before this, a new bassist, Cliff Burton, was found by Metallica during a Trauma (Burtons band at the time) concert and recruited as their new bassist. Megadeth was soon formed by the enraged Dave Mustaine to get vengeance against Metallica. [b]The Bay Area/San Francisco:[/b] This thrash scene was founded in the very early 80s, around 1982, by thrash band Exodus as well as Death Angel, Dark Angel, Blind Illusion and Slayer in 1983. Bands like Trauma (who was more so a speed metal band than thrash), Hirax, Testament, Forbidden, Possessed and dozens of others developed and helped the scene as well. Slayer is probably the best known of all the pioneering bands of the Bay Area, although during their early career, it was not thrash they were playing at the start of their career, it was classic metal, hugely influenced by NWOBHM. Blind Illusion is one of the least known, but has two of the most recognized metal musicians of all time, Les Claypool, of Primus, and Larry LaLonde, of Possessed and Primus. Bands like Blind Illusion and Forbidden would become pioneers of a soon to come sub-genre of thrash, Tech. thrash. Possessed and Slayer would become godfathers of the genre that developed from thrash, death metal, as well as brut al thrash. [b]East Coast Thrash:[/b] This scene was largely based in Newyork. The first thrash band of this scene, Overkill, might have started in New Jersey, but they soon relocated to New York. The next band to come was Hades, a straight-forward thrash band with a huge-octived vocalist came onto the thrash scene in 82 with the demo, Deliver Us From Evil. Even though Hades formed in 1978, they didnt record material until 82. Bands like Anthrax came onto the scene soon after in 1982, which were probably the second most important pioneer of the East Coast thrash scene (Even though they came after Hades, they largely popularized the scene, making it easier for thrash bands to make it in New York in particular). Bands like Blessed Death (in 83/84), Nuclear Assault (in 84), Hallows Eve (in 84), Nasty Savage (in 84), Whiplash (in 84), Ludichrist (in 85), Deceased (in 85). A later band who didnt really contribute to the creation of the scene was Blood Feast, and I just thought Id mention them as they re considered the Slayer of the East Coast. [b]Teutonic Thrash: [/b]Better known as German Thrash, was started by thrash band Kreator in 81/82, but at the time, the band was known as Tormentor. For some reason, the German Thrash scene was much heavier in general than any American thrash scene. The two other big pioneers of German thrash were Sodom, in 1983, and Destruction, in 1984.. Vendetta was also a big contributor to the scene, but never got the credit they deserved. They wrote great music and released their first material in 82, before Sodom or Destruction. Bands like Tankard (in 84), Living Death (in 83), Holy Moses (First album in 87, dont know when their first demos were), Iron Angel (in 84) and Angel Dust (in 85), both had huge influences on the scene, too. These bands would go on to help aid the creation of extreme metal (black/death metal), especially Kreator. Some of the other big bands of the scene were Assassin (in 85), Exumer (in 85), Accuser (in 86), Deathrow (in 86) and Paradox (in 87). The oddest of the well known thrash bands is probably Mekong Delta, a prog/thrash band, whose guitarists were unknown for the beginning of their career and are hugely influenced by classical composers. The German thrash scene is still alive with bands like Grinder and Desaster, but its nearing death and is nowhere near as popular as it once was. [b]Canadian Thrash[/b]: Canada is known for producing several top quality tech. thrash, but for some reason, people usually dont go farther beyond the tech. giants like Annihilator and Voivod. The pioneers of the Canadian thrash scene were Exciter (in 1980), Eudoxis (Not very popular, but they have influence almost every Canadian thrash band. They released Metal Fix in 1985), Voivoid (in 83), Annihilator (in 85), Razor (in 84) and Slaughter (in 84.. Not the Shitty Las Vegas hair metal band). Voivod debuted in 1984, but it wasnt until their 1987 album, Killing Technology did they add prog. to their song-structures. Annihilator was the band that started the tech. thrash scene in Canada, while Voivod brought it to new levels. Annihilator didnt debut until 1989, but had tech. thrash demos out as early as 1985. Bands like Razor and Slaughter were some of the earliest thrashers, but it was Eudoxis who set the standards with their near-perfect EP, Metal Fix. Exciter was the first band to br ing thrash/speed metal to Canada, and one of the first three speed/thrash metal bands in existence. Some of the other big Canadian thrashers were Ghoulunatics, Infernal Majesty, Dyoxen, Sacrifice, DBC and Obliveon. On a random note, Eudoxis drummers double bass drums were six feet in diameter each! [b]Brazilian Thrash:[/b] The latest big thrash scene to develop. The scene was started by Ratos de PorALo, they were a hardcore punk band, bordering thrash, and were fairly popular. The actual thrash scene was pioneered by Vulcano (in 83), Sepultura (in 85), Korzus (in 84/85) and Overdose (in 85). Other big Brazilian thrash bands are Chakal (in 86), Dorsal AtlAcntica (in 85.. Known as Ultimatum at the time), Opprobrium (in 87.. Then known as Incubus, no relation to the rap-metal band Incubus, though), Mutilator (in 85), Torture Squad (in 93) and Holocausto (in 85.. It was a very controversial band, and Ill explain why soon). Sepultura was a brutal thrash band that released their first material in 1985, AKA Bestial Devastation. They were influenced by Brazilian death/thrash band, Vulcano, the first big thrash band onto the scene. Now about Holocausto, you can probably guess why they were controversial from the name. Holocausto was a thrash of neo-nazis whose lyrics were based on neo-n azism. The Brazilian thrash scene is still healthy and probably the only of the big thrash scenes still far from death. [b]Thrash from Everywhere Else[/b]: There were a couple other smaller thrash scenes that I decided to just throw together in an Everywhere Else section. There was Sabbat (in 85), Onslaught (in 83) and Xentrix (in 89), being the three premier British thrash bands. Prog. Thrash band Stone (in 87) of Finland, Artillery (in 83) of Denmark and uber-technical thrash band Coroner (in 86) of Switzerland. Finally, there is Mortal Sin (in 87), Hobbs Angel of Death (in 88 ) and Sadistik Exekution (in 91) of Australia. Those are all the big thrash metal bands I havent covered yet. Now onto sub-genres. [b]Crossover:[/b] This is a sub-genre of bands whose punk influence is so strong that they crossover into both hardcore and thrash. The sub-genre was first introduced by DRI (AKA Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) with their 1982 EP, Dirty Rotten EP. The next most important pioneer was Suicidal Tendencies who released their first material in 1983. They usually influenced thrash and started the Crossover sub-genre. Bands to follow in their footsteps would be Nuclear Assault (in 84), Hirax (in 85), Anthrax (In 85, as after their debut, they began focusing on their hardcore influences), Stormtroopers of Death (in 85), MOD (in 86), Ludichrist (in 85) and Cryptic Slaughter (in 86). [b]Groove Metal :[/b] Groove Metal was a genre of groove-based melodies and usually slower tempod riffs, solos, etc, than normal thrashThis genre was pioneered by Exhorder in the mid/late eighties (Starting in 86), but popularized by Pantera (First Groove Metal albums in 1990). The genre became very popular before of Pantera and was also played by Sepultura on the album, Arise. some other great groove metal bands are Machine Head (in 94), Ghoulunatics (in 95), Prong (Later albums) and Overkill (From The Killing Kind to BloodLetting.. AKA their 1996-1999 albums). [b]Technical Thrash:[/b] This genre is pretty much a combination of progressive metal and thrash metal. The pioneers of this genre were Watchtower, of Austin Texas, who released their first material in 1984, on the Demo Meltdown. They were the first big metal band to fuse prog. and thrash, along with Blind Illusion at least, who released less popular demos in very late 1983/1984. Annihilator followed in a thrashier form of technical thrash with their first demos being released in 1985. Some other great pioneering tech. thrash bands are Voivod (in 87), Forbidden (in 88), Coroner (in 86) and Megadeth (on Rust In Peace). [b]END OF THRASH METAL[/b] In the 1990s, many veteran thrash metal bands began changing to more accessible, radio-friendly styles. Metallica were a notable example of this shift, particularly with their mid to late 90s albums Load (1996), and ReLoad (1997), which both displayed minor blues and southern rock influences, and were seen as a major departure from the bands earlier sound. Megadeth took a more accessible hard rock route starting with their 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, and Testament released the melodic The Ritual in 1992 [b]THRASH IS BACK (2000s)[/b] Thrash metal has recently seen a certain degree of resurgence of popularity. Bands including Municipal Waste, Evile, SSS, Sanctity and Gama Bomb have been cited as key in the resurgence of thrash metal. The genres sense of recklessness and energy has been cited as a potential reason for its resurgence. Also many bands that ended around the 90s gathered again around 2000s, bands like Exumer, Evildead, Dark Angel (band), Death Angel, Nuclear Assault, Defiance (band), Whiplash (band), Hirax, and Possessed (band). Older thrash bands have continued to put out material such as Megadeths Endgame (2009), Slayers World Painted Blood (2009), Metallicas Death Magnetic (2008), Destructions D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. (2008), Sodoms The Final Sign of Evil (2007), Death Angels Relentless Retribution (2010), Kreators Hordes of Chaos (2009), Exodus Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010), Overkills Ironbound (2010), Onslaughts Killing Peace (2007), Testaments The Formation of Damnation (2008), Metal Church This Present Wasteland (2008), Artillerys When Death Comes (2009), and Voivods Infini (2009). In September 2009, it was reported that Metallicas Lars Ulrich was attempting to assemble a tour with thrash metals Big Four ? Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax ? together on one bill. The Big Four took the stage together for seven shows in the Sonisphere Festival concert series.

The Stem Cell Dilemma Essay -- Stem Cells Medical Health Science Genet

The Stem Cell Dilemma Every day, nearly 3,000 people die while waiting for an organ transplant (D’Agnese). Moreover, 66,000 people are still on an organ donor list in the United States, few of which will ever see their name come up on that list (â€Å"Improving†). Many people believe nothing can be done about this sad fact. However, this is not the case. Studies on stem-cell research point toward a solution to this deadly problem. With efficient use of stem cells, many diseases and medical problems could be solved. Stem-cells are very young, specialized cells. Usually coming from a human embryo, they have the ability to develop into more specialized groups of cells or tissues (â€Å"Stem Cells: A Primer†). As of 2001, scientists could develop stem-cells into more than 110 different types of tissues, such as blood, brain or heart tissue (Robinson). If these cells could be so useful in the medical field, why are they not being used now? First of all, the research on stem-cells is still ongoing, though if given funding this research may have already been accomplished. According to Gary Stix, a writer for Scientific American, on November 5th, 2001, a company called Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) was the first to actually clone embryonic cells. This is not cloning in the most common sense, though. Stem-cells have previously been obtained from tissues of early stage embryos. With this experiment, scientists tried to use a new technique in making stem-cells so that real embryos need not be used. The scientists injected cells into eggs which had their nuclei removed, rather than making an actual copy of the cell. These cells developed, though the furthest development was from the one cell to eight cells, which is not enough to provide stem-cells (Lauritzen). This may not seem like much, but it is seen as a small step on the path to greater and more efficient use of these cells. So, one factor in the question of why do we not use stem-cells is that certain people do not approve of the use of embryonic tissue in research. There are many reasons, however, in which it could be seen as feasible to use embryonic stem-cells in the sake of medicine. For example people with heart disease or kidney failure could be cured with a relatively cheap operation. Today organ transplants are quite expensive and sometimes a matching donor can not even be found if a patient had ... ... Bibliography D’Agnese, Joseph. â€Å"The Debate Over Stem Cells Gets Hot†. Discover 23 (Jan. 2002): 1. Draper, Eric. â€Å"Remarks by the President on Stem Cell Research.† Aug. 9 2001. Feb.10 2002. â€Å"Improving the Nation’s Organ Transplantation System.† US Department of Health and Human Services. 18 Oct. 1999. 16 Feb. 2002. Lauritzen, Paul. â€Å"Broadening the Debate on Cloning and Stem Cell Research.† America 186 (4 Feb. 2002): 22 Academic Search Elite. Ebscohost. University of Louisville Ekstrom Library. 6 Feb. 2002. Lee, Jacqueline. â€Å"Embryonic Stem Cells: The End Doesn’t Justify the Means.† Claretian Publications Jan. 2002. Proquest. University of Louisville Ekstrom Library. 6 Feb. 2002. Robinson, B.A. â€Å"What are Stem Cells?† 29 Aug.2001. Feb 16 2002. Safire, William. â€Å"The Crimson Birthmark.† New York Times 21 Jan. 2002. Proquest. University of Louisville Ekstrom Library. 6 Feb. 2002. â€Å"Stem Cells: A Primer† National Institutes of Health. May 2000. Feb. 16 2002. Stix, Gary. â€Å"What Clones?† Scientific American 286 (Feb. 2002): 18. Academic Search Elite. Ebscohost. University of Louisville Ekstrom Library. 6 Feb. 2002.

Postcolonialism

Postcolonial is that which questions, overturns, and / or critically refracts colonial authority-its epistemology and forms of violence, its claims to superiority. Postcolonial therefore refers to those theories, texts, political strategies, and modes of activism that engage in such questioning, that aim to challenge structural inequalities and bring about social Justice. It is helpful to view postcolonial in a comparative frame alongside feminism.Both these approaches arrived at points of critical self-awareness in definitive periods of civil rights protests. This conjunction ay be partly explained by the fact that both approaches champion resistance to entrenched singular forms of authority (patriarchy, empire) from below or from positions of so called weakness. Both too seek the politicians of areas conventionally considered as non political: the domestic space, education, sport, the street, who may walk where, who may sit where, and how.Some of the central critical concepts of po stcolonial developed out of nationalist struggles for independence in the early half of the twentieth century. The political and cultural reforms proposed y anti-colonial movements in such countries as India, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Kenya and in the Caribbean, formed the fountainhead of what we now call postcolonial. At first, these movements advocated a politics of assimilation of ‘natives' or the colonized into colonial society for them to obtain self representation.They began with limited demands for piecemeal constitutional reforms but it became rapidly clear that the colonial authorities were not ready to dismantle the social, economic and political hierarchies on which their control rested. After the end of World War II, anti colonial nationalist movements took a more confrontational, no-compromise attitude. The demand was for complete independence. This demand extended not only to the liberation of political structures but also to the obliteration of the colonization of the psyche.The sass marked a period of growing militancy in movements across the colonized world. Alongside came the retrieval and animation of indigenous culture as an important vehicle of national self expression and thus of resistance to the colonial exclusion of the native as uncouth, uncivilized inarticulate and irrational. The nationalist leaders and intellectuals like Gandhi and Nehru in India, fanons in Algeria and Came Markham in Ghana, helped define the major ideologies of postcolonial liberation.They shaped some of the definitive concepts of postcolonial studies, as later interpreted in the works of Edward Said. They understood the anti-colonial struggle as a Mechanical, or binary, conflict of us against them, of self versus ‘other'. The binary between the so-called rational, superior colonial self and the barbarism and irrationality indicated by everything that was not-self or ‘other' was to be repudiated wholesale. It was not Just to be turned upside down, b ut also destroyed. The chains of oppression were to be obliterated and not simply filed down.If natives or others were always seen as secondary figures, imperfect replicas of the colonizer, wearers of borrowed cultural rags; if native society was invariably represented as disorderly or ethically degenerate; it was important that they remake themselves from scratch. It was essential that they reconstitute their identity on their own terms, that they Initialized, Africanize, or Caribbean themselves. They effectively needed to give birth to a new identity, to peak in a language that was chosen, not imposed. The liberation struggle involved a tripartite process.It led from attempted cultural assimilation with the colonizers, the first stage, through attempts at political reform, sometimes of an intensively radical kind, as in demands for self -help and self-representation, the second stage. But if the colonial state proved intransigent, as it so often did, from this phase of forceful se lf-assertion developed a possible third stage; outright militant resistance. As Robbing wrote , conditions could arise where ‘national life' had to become ‘perforce a national assault'.

Leadership Reflection

Personal Leadership Reflection My whole life I’ve been fascinated with great leaders and had been fortunate to be in close proximity with some of the people leaders of my country at a very young age. You see, my family’s business is politics or public service as it is often referred to in the United States. My grandfather was among the very few that had the opportunity to get a college education in the U. K. in the 1940s before we gained independence in 1961. They were trained as leaders to run the country when the British left.As a kid growing up I watched many of the leaders in my country including my mother and father, uncle and aunts, interact, nurture, motivate and empower their people. All these people have had an important role in shaping my life and helped me develop my own unique leadership style. Leadership is define as â€Å"the process by which individual exerts influence over other people and inspires, motivates and directs their activities to help achieve group or organizational goals. (Contemporary Management P317) When I think of great leaders that I try to emulate, I always think of people like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Colin Powell to name a few. These three are not only transformational leaders but they transcends race, culture and boundaries in their leadership roles. I would characterize my leadership style as that of transformational leader, because I nurture, inspire, motivate and empower my people not only to get the best out of them but to also put them in positions to achieve self-actualization according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.I have had some leadership role working with a diverse group in terms of age, race and gender, and they appreciate my down to earth and very approachable style with everyone I deal with. I engage in transformational leadership by being attune with our industry and leading my people with a bold vision that inspires and challenge them to be creative and bold while nurturing t heir talents. I would not be the kind of leader I am today without the help of aforementioned individuals.Whenever I see someone in a leadership position, I try to learn from him or her. Whether the example is positive or negative, there are lessons I can learn and apply (or not apply) to my own leadership style. I will build upon this foundation by listening and staying attune with the rank and file even as the organization grows. I am currently working on improving my communication of expectations for my working relationships.I will ask specific questions to best understand the working environment within the organization. Leaders set the example. I will be honest with myself and with others. I will seek feedback and utilize this information for personal improvement. Leaders are also dedicated and hardworking and I will continue to work hard because my people deserves it. These are all influenced in some way by my ethnicity, national culture and maybe my gender as well.I am remembe red by people I worked with previously as someone who is knowledgeable and who cares, someone who always did his best. I will not accept the status quo when the status quo can be improved. I will continuously push myself to learn and observe so that I can remain a highly effective leader who supports others and myself in all that I do. My leadership style will continue to evolve and show up in who I am and how I am in both personal and professional relationships.

Free Essays on McDonald’s “Seniors” Restaurant

McDonald’s â€Å"Seniors† Restaurant Case Analysis In the study of the briefing of the McDonald’s Restaurant, there are positives to the problem and negatives towards the problem. A McDonald’s in a city crowded with seniors are overwhelmed with senior customers during the early hours of the day. The senior come in as a meeting area where they eat and commune at the restaurant. The number of seniors that come in, crowds the dining area in which customers come in and eat. They come in on the fourth Monday of every month to get extra special, over the age of 55 discounts. This is a meal that cost 1.99 and free coffee refills. The staff knows the seniors very well and go to see them if they are hospitalized. The relationship is considered a good one between the staff and the seniors. In addition, a idea of adding bingo to add to the excitement of the mornings for the seniors from nine to eleven a.m. Using the party room would accommodate up to 150 senior patrons. Isolate the Salient Problem A primary problem to this case study is the senior crowd. The restaurant already takes on the task of having enough room to seat the entire dining style crowd, if it engages in bingo than the crowd will become even more outrageous. Not only will the restaurant have the meeting crowd they will have a bingo crowd as well. Meaning, that more senior crowd will come in ready and only ready to engage in bingo. A secondary problem would be the title of the restaurant would be at risk. The fast food label may become a social restaurant, common to a bar status. It may take on the name of the â€Å"old people’s restaurant†. This will detour many of the younger customers and the customers who are coming to get the fast food service. The restaurant will face over crowding due to the new additions (bingo). Accumulate and Organize relevant facts Seniors are mainly the people who enjoy doing activities such as bingo. Bingo co... Free Essays on McDonald’s â€Å"Seniors† Restaurant Free Essays on McDonald’s â€Å"Seniors† Restaurant McDonald’s â€Å"Seniors† Restaurant Case Analysis In the study of the briefing of the McDonald’s Restaurant, there are positives to the problem and negatives towards the problem. A McDonald’s in a city crowded with seniors are overwhelmed with senior customers during the early hours of the day. The senior come in as a meeting area where they eat and commune at the restaurant. The number of seniors that come in, crowds the dining area in which customers come in and eat. They come in on the fourth Monday of every month to get extra special, over the age of 55 discounts. This is a meal that cost 1.99 and free coffee refills. The staff knows the seniors very well and go to see them if they are hospitalized. The relationship is considered a good one between the staff and the seniors. In addition, a idea of adding bingo to add to the excitement of the mornings for the seniors from nine to eleven a.m. Using the party room would accommodate up to 150 senior patrons. Isolate the Salient Problem A primary problem to this case study is the senior crowd. The restaurant already takes on the task of having enough room to seat the entire dining style crowd, if it engages in bingo than the crowd will become even more outrageous. Not only will the restaurant have the meeting crowd they will have a bingo crowd as well. Meaning, that more senior crowd will come in ready and only ready to engage in bingo. A secondary problem would be the title of the restaurant would be at risk. The fast food label may become a social restaurant, common to a bar status. It may take on the name of the â€Å"old people’s restaurant†. This will detour many of the younger customers and the customers who are coming to get the fast food service. The restaurant will face over crowding due to the new additions (bingo). Accumulate and Organize relevant facts Seniors are mainly the people who enjoy doing activities such as bingo. Bingo co...

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger by Albert Camus The Stranger by Albert CamusMeursault is a shipping clerk whose mother has just died but he does not seem very upset about it. He takes a few days off work to attend his mother's funeral. He catches the bus to the nursing home where his mother's body is. The doorkeeper of the nursing home starts to open the lid of the coffin but Meursault stops him because he does not want to see his mother's body. Mr. Perez, his mother's friend, is the only person from the nursing home to attend the funeral. Meursault sees Perez crying but all he thinks about is going home to his apartment so he can sleep.The next day he decides to go swimming and he meets Marie Cardona, an old coworker. They swim together and then they go to see a movie that night. She spends the night at his house but when Meursault wakes up she is gone.Franà §ais : Une des rues de Meursault (21)He goes to work the next day and when he is walking into his apartment he meets an old man named Salamano who always beats his dog. He a lso meets Raymond Sintes who is known as a pimp. Sintes invites Meursault over for dinner and Sintes talks about how he is mad at his girlfriend because she is not being faithful to him. Sintes says that he has already beaten her up but he wants to punish her more.Sintes asks Meursault to write his girlfriend a letter so she would come over and he plans to kick her out while they are having sex. Meursault has nothing better to do so he agrees. A week later, he goes to the beach with Marie again and when they go back to his apartment, she asks him if he loves her. He tells...

7 Fun Challenges to Hold During Your 2016 Office Olympics

7 Fun Challenges to Hold During Your 2016 Office Olympics Olympic fever, 2016 edition, has set in. And although you’d rather be sitting on your couch watching round-the-clock streams of water polo and steeplechase, there’s the pesky fact that unlike Bob Costas, you’re not paid to live, breathe, and eat Olympics for the next few weeks. So you need to go to work- but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to leave all things Olympic behind. Here are some Olympic events you can host at work, until you can get home and watch the USA basketball team humiliate some tiny nation that doesn’t have an NBA-packed roster.1. Competitive Chair SwivelHow many times can you spin without your feet touching the ground?2. Synchronized Stair WalkingIt builds teamwork![via Giphy]3. The 100M Freestyle Hallway SwimEat your heart out, Michael Phelps.4. Lobby GymnasticsBe sure to stick the landing! [via Tumblr]5. Cubicle HurdlesMaybe don’t do this one without a doctor present, or if your company has policies against, uh, da ngerous activities.6. Water Cooler Clean-and-JerkHow much can you lift without getting your shoes wet? [via Tumblr]7. Parking Lot MarathonGet ready for 26.2 meters of glory. [via USAFTW]The Closing CeremonyDon’t leave it out–pageantry is important! [via fanpop]

NetFlix company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

NetFlix company - Essay Example To overlook this essential aspect would lead to misdirection in the company’s plans for the future. This obvious neglect of the customer’s welfare in the mission statement might have been the underlying reason why in 2011 Netflix committed the mistake of increasing its subscription prices. Netflix had to pay greatly for the said oversight which resulted in a sharp decline in its subscriber base and its stock price. Due to Netflix’s CEO Reed Hasting’s huge desire to slowly abandon its DVD operations, he decided to separate the DVD business from the streaming business and to increase the price of their subscription plans (Sandoval , par 4). Clearly, there was a blunder on Hasting’s part to do such move. What led him to commit such a major slip-up? What can be said is that it all goes back to the mission statement. There is no concern for the market that they serve. Hasting’s main concern was to be aggressive and focus on streaming, before their competitors get ahead of them. It is what is stated in their vision, to be the global leader in the enter tainment distribution service, no matter what their customers feel. Given this background, it is highly recommended that Netflix restate its mission statement to take into account the people who have made them where they are today, their subscribers. It is suggested that Netflix’s mission statement and vision for the future should be: Netflix is dedicated to becoming the best global entertainment distribution service by entering into licensing agreements with television and movie producers and distributors around the world; by creating markets that are accessible to film makers and by assisting content creators around the world to find a global audience, but at all times, recognizing that our responsibility first and foremost is to offer stellar service to our subscribers, through quantity and quality

Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Security - Assignment Example With these features, users of the 2014 MS SQL server will be able to form a database in an SQL Server operating in on-premises or in a computer-generated device in Windows Azure with a developing storage site the users’ information in Windows Azure Blob Storage. Evidently, each of these features work well in contrast to the former SQL Server by Microsoft (Natan, p. 74). 2. I can ensure that the DBMS operating in a consistent overall secure environment by first checking whether DBMS setting on which it is operating is at maximum capacity and output. Assuring optimal capacity enables me to store the file and its sensitivity degree in the database (Natan, p. 223). As a result, the DBMS makes sure that only authorized users can read or edit the file. Second, I can make the DBMS multi-level so that it can with similar authorization ranges. Afterwards, I can store the file at any location because it is presumed that the location can process the information that agree. Third, the DBMS is at multi-level, I can make it handle the authorization ranges differently. This way, the file stored at a given location can be authorized to read or edit the degree of the file (Natan, p. 223). 3. An example of how buffer overflows can make databases susceptible is a program composed in a language that tolerates or even facilitates buffer overflows (Natan, p. 24). Occasionally, such a program can depend on another program composed in a language that facilitates buffer overflows. Such a program will replicate information from a single stream on the stack to another without initially testing their sizes (Natan, p. 24). This program does not employ methods like canary values or non-applicable stacks to stop buffer overflows. At this point, is very possible that the database accommodating this program is susceptible to external intrusion. Programs regularly distribute memory

Toulmin Model Argument about the Environment Essay

Toulmin Model Argument about the Environment - Essay Example Christianity as a religion has pulled many people who share the faith together, to emphasize on the need of treating the environment with respect. Different Christians have varying interpretations of the Bible; hence some have been reluctant, while others are active in protecting and promoting the works of creation on the environment. These Christians have been spurred by the works and attitude of the creator towards the environment, making them to engage in environmentalist tasks as worship to God, besides the in-church devotion and activities. God himself created every little and big object, he loved and valued his creations. He looked at everything he had made and was satisfied it was indeed good (Gen. 1:31). Just as he loved man, he also loved his creation and moved forward to give man responsibility over the creation, beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden. His love and goodness extends to all creations, â€Å"he has compassion on all he has made†. Christians who live by emulating the will of God have hence the role to be merciful and gracious to all God’s works (the environment). Christians demonstrate their mindfulness of God by trying the best to take care of the environment and its components as the will of God. There are many environmental injustices taking occurring on the surrounding; reckless deforestation, wildlife destruction and disposal of waste, industrial pollution and other unfriendly human activities to the environments, which are often carried out because of humans’ greed and selfishness. ... His love and goodness extends to all creations, â€Å"he has compassion on all he has made† (Psalms.145: 9). Christians who live by emulating the will of God have hence the role to be merciful and gracious to all God’s works (the environment). Christians demonstrate their mindfulness of God by trying the best to take care of the environment and its components as the will of God. There are many environmental injustices taking occurring on the surrounding; reckless deforestation, wildlife destruction and disposal of waste, industrial pollution and other unfriendly human activities to the environments, which are often carried out because of humans’ greed and selfishness. According to Henderson, the NCC proposed several actions entailing; disposing or recycling of trash properly, minimizing energy consumption, ensuring responsible recreation, reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides and participating in public witnessing on the federal, local, and state level a s ways to live appropriately, while safeguarding the environment (n.d.). These actions would enable man to practice justice and unselfishness in their activities on the environment. Actions Christians Should Take on Environmental Preservation Recycling and disposition The governments have been on the fore front campaigning on reuse of waste materials to minimize the pollution; Christians have a role to play to share the same vision with their authorities and demonstrate the actions to spur others. From the scripture, Hebrews 13: 17, Christians are guided to obey and be submissive to those who rule over them; this gives Christians the joy to work together with their governments for a profitable course. In many societies, people have neglected their responsibilities on caring for the

Managing Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing Project - Essay Example This paper includes the study of two cases using the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or network diagram. In case 1, network diagram was shown using the activity node. Calculation of Earliest start time (EST) and Latest start time (LST) was done to be able to show the Slack or total float of the activity. Critical path was used to be able to complete the given task without budget constraint. The study will be able to show the importance of the said technique in managing a project. Cost estimation was presented using principles and other theory. Diagram and other tables were presented in the appendixes. At the later part of this paper the difficulties and risks in project management were discuss to further develop the needed project. The purpose of this study is to be able to show the importance of project managing in a company that needs to be developed and managed well. It also allows us student to be able to demonstrate the learning and competence in respect of management of resources generally but in particular elements of time, finance and human resources. In case 1 The Design and Print limited is a printing SME in the UK supplying design and printing services. The project manager is planning for a new project. To start a network diagram using the activity on the node was structure. We will be able to construct the diagram using the table below: In the network diagram shown in appendix 2, each... 1 L N Packaging for Delivery 2 M O Delivery 5 E,N P Payment collections 10 O Appendix 2 F(5) A(1) B(2) C (2) D(1) H(1) L(3) M (1) N(2) E(10) G (4) I (2) J(2) K(2) P(10) In the network diagram shown in appendix 2, each node (circle) represents an activity and is labeled with the activity number and the associated completion time (shown in brackets after the activity number). The network diagram (appendix 1) assumes that activities not linked by precedence relationships can take place simultaneously. For example activity L is preceded by H,K therefore we can do L after H or K. (see diagram). It means that Printing can be done after sizing or type-setting. In the above diagram the activity start at Enquiries (A) , preceded by Quotation (B) you cannot proceed to B without finishing the first task (A). Finance checks on customer (E) and Order confirmation (C) can be done simultaneously since it is not linked by precedence relationship. After task (C) is completed 3 activities or task can be done at the same time since these three are all preceded by C, Purchasing (F), Scheduling (D) and Design (G). The task continues up to the last task the P. To be able to determine the total float, we must need to calculate for the earliest start time and latest start time. This allows scheduling of the work in such a manner that project duration is minimized. Some activities can be implemented simultaneously, and some activities can be delayed while efforts are concentrated on completing other activities which impose a time

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Paper Example As such, good leadership is a major tool every organization should consider especially in today’s modern world because it determines the difference between the success and failure of the organization (Holden, 2007). Many organizations in the world have succeeded while others have failed miserably due to application of poor or good leadership. This paper will identify two individuals who have portrayed both good and poor leadership skills that have helped them push their organizations towards success or failure. As such, the paper will look at the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs as an example of a good leader by analyzing his leadership styles and qualities. In addition, the paper will look at the CEO of HP as the example of poor leadership. Understanding leadership Leadership refers to an influence relationship that exists between leaders and their followers with an intention of bringing real changes and outcomes that depict shared purposes. On the other hand, a leader is a pers on who learns and acts in such a way that people respect him and follow him due to his recognized achievements and charismatic reflection. In a more generalized term, leadership is an integral aspect of management because it helps in the making of vital decisions that greatly benefit organizations (Canals, 2013). Additionally, leadership does not denote personality, but rather represents a price that individuals have to pay in order to attain success or experience failure. Therefore, in order to achieve success, the leaders have to set the pace for the rest of the team to follow because leading a crowd or a team may be extremely challenging. Development of leaders A leader is a person who learns and acts in such a way that people respect and follow him due to his charismatic reflection and recognized achievements (Holden, 2007). However, the major controversy that caused unending debates from scholars is how the leaders develop because others argued that leaders ‘are made†™ while the rest opposed that leaders ‘are born’ with leadership traits. They also argued that leaders could adapt their leadership style depending on the situation at hand. Scholars came up with different theories to differentiate the two aspects. For instance, the traditional leadership theories claimed that leadership is nature borne of individual and shunned the great man theory that claims that leaders ‘are made’ by arguing that it was impossible to create such attributes on a grown individual. Contemporary leadership theories confirm making of leaders because it depicts an individual’sadvancing through a series of stages that portray the possibilities of an individual becoming a leader (Canals, 2013). To analyze the possibilities of an individual becoming a leader, the contingency, transformational, and transactional approaches offer the best forecast. However, changes in leadership continuously emerge due to environmental dynamics and acquis ition of skill. Changes in leadership pattern from old to new Scholars researched the concept fostering transformational leadership in the 1970s with an aim of finding out the difference between transforming leadership and transactional leadership. Traditionally, the regular use of transactional leadership style was because it involves managing, supervising and motivating the employees. However, as the world advanced, the

Analysis of Accessories & Gifts Manufacturing Industry Coach, Inc Research Paper

Analysis of Accessories & Gifts Manufacturing Industry Coach, Inc - Research Paper Example Established companies in the industry thus have a distinctive advantage over the newly emerging companies. Initially the new companies have to snatch consumers from the pool of consumers in the giant companies. In an industry where brand name is significant snatching consumers from other companies is not an easy task for the new entrants. Lack of financial resources, experiences and market information worsen the disadvantageous market position of such new entrants. Financial Strength Lead Leverage of Suppliers In 2012 Coach Inc. spent approximately 89.2 million dollars for refining the marketing programs & enhancing the consumer communications, aiming at increasing the productivity of its market channels & optimizing the product distribution (Coach, 2012). Furthermore established companies invest largely on innovation and continuous product improvement. Thus the level of newness is accelerated, product offering in retail showrooms is elevating and the in-store experience of consumers is enhanced. Improving the quality of products and services leverage the company’s leadership position in the market (27). Emerging companies have to compete with such giant companies who annually invest large sums on marketing and product development strategies. Leverage Ratio (LR) of a company is given by the following equation. In December 2012 LR of Coach Inc. amounted 0.57. Only one other company in the industry had recorded a better financial stability than Coach Inc. It also ranked number 22 among the S&P 500 companies list according to the LR. Financial strength of the company and the sustainability of its market development are evident in the improving trend of LR annually (CSIMarket, 2012). Figure 1 depicts the improvement of Leverage Ratio of Coach Inc. during the three quarters of year 2012. Figure 1: Quarterly Leverage Ratio of Coach Inc. in 2012 Source: CSIMarket, 2012 Marketing Strategy Lead Leverage of Suppliers Marketing strategies adopted by a specific comp any can create market leverage. Example: market expansion of Coach Inc. in various geographic locations, invading the niche and newly emerging markets in the world. Coach Inc. Annual report (2012) states that company aims to open 500 retail stores in America including 30 stores in Canada in 2013. Accordingly the company expects to open 10 new retail stores and 18 factory outlets in the coming year. By increasing the number of retail outlets and manufacturing plants, the availability of a given company’s products is increased compared to the availability of the products of other companies. Thus the market power of said company is also increased. Market Information Lead Leverage of Suppliers Companies such as Coach Inc. have data bases developed over decades. Company has years of experiences and extensive market information relating to the consumers, partners, importers, distributors and competitors. Example: Coach Inc. collects data on consumer’s demographic characters and their preferences. Marketers and financial experts of Coach Inc. continuously observe the business environment. They identify the trends in the macro economy and the marketing strategies of the competitors including the new entrants. Company’s annual invests for market research is approximately 2 percentage proportion of the net sales (Coach, 2012). These companies

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Paper Example As such, good leadership is a major tool every organization should consider especially in today’s modern world because it determines the difference between the success and failure of the organization (Holden, 2007). Many organizations in the world have succeeded while others have failed miserably due to application of poor or good leadership. This paper will identify two individuals who have portrayed both good and poor leadership skills that have helped them push their organizations towards success or failure. As such, the paper will look at the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs as an example of a good leader by analyzing his leadership styles and qualities. In addition, the paper will look at the CEO of HP as the example of poor leadership. Understanding leadership Leadership refers to an influence relationship that exists between leaders and their followers with an intention of bringing real changes and outcomes that depict shared purposes. On the other hand, a leader is a pers on who learns and acts in such a way that people respect him and follow him due to his recognized achievements and charismatic reflection. In a more generalized term, leadership is an integral aspect of management because it helps in the making of vital decisions that greatly benefit organizations (Canals, 2013). Additionally, leadership does not denote personality, but rather represents a price that individuals have to pay in order to attain success or experience failure. Therefore, in order to achieve success, the leaders have to set the pace for the rest of the team to follow because leading a crowd or a team may be extremely challenging. Development of leaders A leader is a person who learns and acts in such a way that people respect and follow him due to his charismatic reflection and recognized achievements (Holden, 2007). However, the major controversy that caused unending debates from scholars is how the leaders develop because others argued that leaders ‘are made†™ while the rest opposed that leaders ‘are born’ with leadership traits. They also argued that leaders could adapt their leadership style depending on the situation at hand. Scholars came up with different theories to differentiate the two aspects. For instance, the traditional leadership theories claimed that leadership is nature borne of individual and shunned the great man theory that claims that leaders ‘are made’ by arguing that it was impossible to create such attributes on a grown individual. Contemporary leadership theories confirm making of leaders because it depicts an individual’sadvancing through a series of stages that portray the possibilities of an individual becoming a leader (Canals, 2013). To analyze the possibilities of an individual becoming a leader, the contingency, transformational, and transactional approaches offer the best forecast. However, changes in leadership continuously emerge due to environmental dynamics and acquis ition of skill. Changes in leadership pattern from old to new Scholars researched the concept fostering transformational leadership in the 1970s with an aim of finding out the difference between transforming leadership and transactional leadership. Traditionally, the regular use of transactional leadership style was because it involves managing, supervising and motivating the employees. However, as the world advanced, the

Augustus foreign policy Essay Example for Free

Augustus foreign policy Essay After the battle of Actium at 31 BC Augustus had the full control over the legions of Rome and there was no one left to oppose him. However, his long absence from Rome made his position subtle and he needed to maintain high public profile within the city in order to restore the republic and strengthen his regime. Thus, in the years between 31 BC and 23 BC the possibility of foreign campaign seemed unreasonable and unnecessary. With the second settlement of 23 BC Augustus was granted maius proconsulare, which literary made him supreme commander of all legions and unlike before the senate and people of Rome forced him in this position. Indeed, the military status of Augustus at 23 BC is the same he had at 31 BC, but the important difference was in the image it created. Now, Caesars heir was more than everything a supervisor of the order and protector of the republic. Having such responsibility he decided to strengthen the existing borders of the Empire before expanding them. Evidence for this is Augustus saying in Res Gestae that he stationed more than 300,000 soldiers in the provinces as a way to protect the Empire against dangers. It is interesting that Augustus reduces the size of the army from almost 50 legions to 28 (Res Gestae 3). This is a clear indication that he did not consider the possibility of a great campaign in the east or north to expand the Empire. This actually is in accordance with his image of Pax Augusta. After the battle of Actium, Caesars heir came to power with the promise of prolonged peace. He even restored one of the forgotten republican traditions the closing of the Gates of Janus Quirinus when Rome was not at war (Res Gestae 13). It is also possible that Augustus felt temptation for a prolonged foreign campaign but he never found the right time to start one. As a mentioned earlier, after 31 BC the Princeps received the responsibility to restore the republic and after 23 BC he had to reorganise the provinces and create a system of defence. The years after 23 BC were marked by private and public calamities: the death of Marcellus and Agrippa was followed by the death of Gaius and Lucius and then a disastrous marriage between Julia and Tiberius. At the same time a serious revolt occurred in Pannonia in AD Â  and in Germany three legions under the command of Varus were wiped out in AD 9(Suetonius 23. And given all this it is not quite true that Augustus felt no temptation for foreign war. Indeed, he commanded the armies directly only in two foreign wars (compared to five civil wars) according to Suetonius 20, but many other wars were led by Romes generals under his auspices (listed in Suetonius 21). Drussus and Tiberius fought the Germans off the the river Elba which had to become the new northern border but this aim vanished after the massacre of Varus legions. Parthia, the big Roman enemy, was still very weak in 20s BC but Augustus never started a war with them. However, he threatened to begin one in order to get back the Roman standards lost by Crassus in 53 BC. Truly, fighting Parthia was expensive and dangerous but leaving the peace to the caprice of the Eastern king was unreasonable. Here Augustus came with the brilliant idea of creating buffer states which would defend the borders of the Empire. The most important of these was Armenia and Augustus often intervened there to strengthen the government as proven by Res Gestae 27. In conclusion, it is difficult whether Augustus did not feel temptation for foreign war or did not have the opportunity to start one. The Empire was so big that there were few territories worth fighting for and with the creation of buffer states there were even fewer. Augustus major responsibility was to build firm and lasting foundations for the commonwealth (Suetonius 28) and that is what he did. But war-lover or not, the Empire under Augustus was bigger than even before and for first time definite border were defined.

Consumer Loyalty in UK Sports Leisure Industry

Consumer Loyalty in UK Sports Leisure Industry The sports leisure industry in UK is booming with possibilities. The consumer spending pattern across the entertainment hubs such as online casinos, outdoor sports and other holiday sports has been growing as a sweeter spot for both consumers as well as service providers (Skills Active, 2009). The core purpose of this study is to analyze through research findings if the consumers are loyal to a type of leisure sport based on socio-economical factors such as income, education and occupation etc. The sport and recreation industry as a whole employs around 621,000 people. This is spread across the public, private and voluntary sectors. (Skills Active, 2009) In such a highly competitive environment, customer loyalty has become an increasingly effective means for securing a firms profitability (Reinartz Kumar, 2002). Consumer loyalty refers to a customers repeated same brand purchase within a given category, based on a favorable attitude toward and preference for the particular brand. Empirical findings have revealed that increased market share and decreasing price sensitivity among customers are particular contributions of customer loyalty to a firms profitability (Chaudhuri Holbrook, 2001). The establishment and maintenance of a loyal customer base should, therefore, be (and in many cases already is) a key objective for service providers, since it promotes a sustainable competitive position in the market place. Customer loyalty rests in particular on the brand, which plays an important role in customer retention. A brand can be described as a cluster of functional and emotional values that promises a unique and welcome experience (de Chernatony et al., 2006, p. 819) for its customers. By creating unique associations and feelings among customers that are directly and exclusively connected to the given, the brand helps service providers differentiate themselves from their competitors. In addition to its differentiation function, the brand serves as a potential relationship partner for the customer. The customer brand relationship can evolve and develop through continuous positive interactions between the customer and the brand (Grà ¶nroos, 2007, p. 331) and provides them with the opportunity to offer their customers benefits that go beyond the core service (cf. Hennig Thurau et al., 2002, p. 234). In such relationships, customers perceive a brand as a legitimate partner in the relationship ( Sweeney Chew, 2000;). Customers construct relationships with brands so that they provide and add meaning and value to their lives (Fournier Yao, 1997). This value is generated by the relational benefits resulting from the relationship with the brand as perceived by the customer (cf. Aaker, 2002, p. 95). Ultimately, the customer decides whether the relationship with a given brand generates value or not. Hence, it is fundamental for the establishment of customer loyalty to understand what potential and existing customers expect from their relationship with the brand. However, since customers personalities and lifestyles differ, as does their evaluation of the relationship with the brand, customer characteristics must also be taken into account. With the objective of fostering customer loyalty, sports leisure service providers in UK introduced loyalty schemes. These so called club memberships, sports complex memberships and other hospitality tie ups through credit card providers etc (Plimmer, 2006). While these programs attract a great number of leisure sports customers, skepticism has been expressed whether such programs in fact lead to true customer loyalty based on a positive attitude toward and preference for the brand. Critics assert that the reason why customers repurchase a service again from the service provider rests alone on the rational and economic benefits the hospitality provider offers (Dowling Uncles, 1997). In the past two decades interest in service quality has strengthened as research has shown how improvements in quality can lead to improved organizational performance and competitiveness (Douglas Connor, 2003). To evaluate how well their companies are meeting customer needs, service managers often use measurements of service quality and customer satisfaction (Dabholkar, 1995). Therefore, service quality and customer satisfaction have received much attention from service marketers and academic researchers (Spreng MacKoy, 1996). In addition, Taylor (1997) has noted that the two constructs (service quality and customer satisfaction) have became very important for marketing theory and practice, since many researchers have indicated their relationship to desirable consumer outcomes (Spreng MacKoy, 1996). The majority of services, including sport services, have helped create more demanding and discerning customers. Increasing expectations of sport services have led managers to become customer focused, which in turn has resulted in the introduction of customer care initiatives in order to improve the quality of service provision (Guest Taylor, 1999). A sport service provider can reduce the detrimental impact of effective factors by first ensuring that its customers are as highly satisfied with its services as possible (Javadein, 2008 Sports Leisure Service Loyalty). Sport organizations are better positioned to reap the positive outcomes associated with having a largely satisfied customer base if they have an understanding of those factors that contribute to their customers satisfaction because meeting customers expectations for key service quality attributes should lead to satisfied customers who, in turn, will remain loyal to the service and recommend it to other potential customers (Javadein, 2008 Sports Leisure Service Loyalty). In summary, sport managers should be interested in understanding what it is about their service that specifically influences their customers behavior. They need know that, what specific aspects of their services influence customers in terms of their satisfaction and their perceptions of service quality, which, in turn, lead to behavioral loyalty. Unfortunately, the work that integrates the role of service loyalty within the context of service marketing variables like service quality and customer satisfaction has received less attention. There have been very limited attempts to investigate the relationship between service quality and loyalty in the context of sport (Javadein, 2008 Sports Leisure Service Loyalty). In this research, it is examined if their exists loyalty amongst the consumers for sports leisure services based on their strata segmentation based on their education, income, occupational status and segregated residence. PROBLEM DISCUSSION Leisure sport seekers can get to indulge in sporting and recreation in schools, offices, and while on vacation and at other times too (Mintel, 2009). Briefly the following avenues for leisure sports can be availed by one and all in UK: Outdoor Sports education Outdoor pursuits Area, club and duty management in a range of venues, including casinos and bingo halls; Online games Adventure tourism Managers of sport and leisure organizations are faced with rising customer expectations of their services. As a result of increasing competition, a greater awareness of consumer rights and improvements in service quality, customer expectations of sport and leisure services are in danger of spiraling out of control. Indeed, the ability to manage customer expectations to ensure that they remain appropriate and realistic is a skill that has become increasingly essential for those who manage the industry. Reference Changing social trends will require more effective and efficient management. The population is getting progressively older, couples are having children later, society is becoming more litigious, there is a trend towards sports, home-based leisure is becoming increasingly important and society is becoming globalised. This will have implications for programming, marketing, image and competitive edge. These changes will all require better management (Mintel, 2009). The concept of customer loyalty in leisure sports industry of UK has been not studied properly. The principles of marginality have not been put to use in trying to understand if there exists customer loyalty in this space based on the number of hours spent in the sports leisure activities, types of activities and other such parameters. And also at this point of time it is unknown if there exists some differences between consumers preferences based on their social class segmentation such as income wise, education wise or occupational status wise etc. Reference OVERALL PURPOSE RESEARCH QUESTIONS Based upon the problem discussion the core purpose of the research is to provide an insight on the customer loyalty in sports leisure industry of UK based on parameters such as social class segmentation, consumer leisure behavior towards such options, types of leisure trips selected and to measure or explain these differences through marginality principles. The following are the key Research Questions that will be addressed in the research work: Q1. Are there any significant differences in the leisure behavior of UK population? Q2. Can such differences be measured using Marginality Principles? Q3. What would be the key recommendations for boosting Customer Loyalty in sports leisure industry of UK? LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter the research work and related entities are discussed at length viz. pertaining to sports leisure industry as a whole, the social classes in UK and other relevant factors which affect a consumers behavior towards the offered services. A conceptual framework for the research would also be presented in this chapter. ELEMENTS IN SPORTS LEISURE With high levels of investment planned by government and employers, mainly in response to the successful London Olympics bid for 2012, there are more graduate career opportunities in the sport and leisure industry than ever before.  The introduction of the Smoking Ban Law in 2006-2007 has had a big impact on the casino and bingo industry.   While many bingo clubs have suffered from falling revenue, there has been a big increase in the number of players visiting online bingo sites and as a result many new job opportunities now exist in the online gaming industry (Mintel report, 2009).  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Types of Leisure Sports There is a growing awareness and understanding of health and fitness activities in the UK. More people than ever are actively taking part in sport and leisure as a hobby and this is also fuelling a growth in the number of available jobs. The major types of sports leisure areas include Health and fitness, Club and duty management, Sales and marketing, Instructing and coaching, Consultancy work based on Group Policy referrals usually with particular sections of the population, e.g. those with diabetes, arthritis, Lifestyle consultancy and nutrition opportunities are increasing as the sector embraces the concept of wellness, Sport development performance, administration and facility management (Lucie Johnston, Sports Leisure January 2010). For those who are employed in sports leisure industry the working hours can be long.   Employees are often required to work shift patterns and weekends. Typical salaries after training range from  £20,000 to  £35,000 (Graduate Recruitm ent Bureau, 2009). Manpower Overview Just over half of the sport and recreation workforce in England is female. It has a higher proportion of young people (16-24) than the workforce across England as a whole (SkillsActive Workforce and Skills Summary 2009). 95% of employees are currently from white ethnic groups, compared to 91% in the whole economy (SkillsActive Workforce and Skills Summary 2009). The sport and recreation industry as a whole employs around 621,000 people. This is spread across the public, private and voluntary sectors. (SkillsActive, 2009) There are a huge number of volunteers working in sport and recreation.   The latest Active People survey estimates that two million people in the UK commit at least one hour a week to volunteering in sport. There are currently just over 140 casinos, employing 14,000 people in the UK. There are 17,000 employees in the bingo club industry and 57,000 in the betting industry. The Gambling Act 2005 permitted online casinos to operate from the UK and consequently there are now over 320 online operators of betting and gambling sites employing almost 8,000 people. (The Gambling Commission Annual Report 2008/2009). There are 3,000 private health clubs and over 2,500 leisure centers in the UK, which together employ over 45,000 staff.   An additional 800 clubs are expected to open over the next few years in this growth in dustry (Skills Active, 2009). CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION In order to define distinct target groups, customers are typically segmented along demographic, psychographic, and/or behavioral dimensions (cf. Peter Olson, 2008, pp. 370; Solomon et al., 2006, p. 9). The sports leisure seekers market is segmented as follows: The upper class in Britain is statistically very small and consists of the peerage, gentry, and landowners. These people were traditionally the wealthiest in the land having inherited money and position. Typically they would speak with Received Pronunciation accent and have been educated at schools. Reference The upper middle class in Britain typically consists of professionals with tertiary education, speaking Received Pronunciation. The higher upper middle class are traditionally educated at more prestigious Public Schools. The lower section of the upper middle class tends to occupy less prestigious public schools. Middle class in Britain typically consists of bourgeois with degrees from the less prestigious universities, or possibly no tertiary education. They would speak in accents which are provincial as well as Estuary English . They would be engaged in owning and running local businesses; working for larger corporations as junior and middle management; teaching, social work an d engineering, accountancy, information technology, nursing and other skilled jobs. Reference Nouveau riche, are people from poorer backgrounds who have made money themselves, primarily in business, middle-class professions, or entertainment. They may retain the mannerisms of their original social group or may imitate the behavior of the traditional upper class by, for instance, sending their children to public school or taking elocution lessons, but often in a way that is seen as gauche by the real upper class and middle classes (satirized as Mr Nouveau Richards by Jilly Cooper). This group is characterized by ostentatious displays of conspicuous consumption. Premier League Footballers are typical of this group. Spiralist Meritocracy as another group was identified by Jilly Cooper in her book Class as people from working class or lower middle class backgrounds who gained an education at grammar school and university and have subsequently obtained professional or managerial jobs wit hin companies or government (Wikipedia, Social Structure of United Kingdom). Mondeo Man group are of people employed in the private sector in a salesman or entry level management position that drives a company car such as a Ford Mondeo. These people would have had limited education and cultural aspirations but are keen to move up in the world .The lower middle class in Britain consists of people in white collar jobs living in less prosperous suburbs. They would typically not have had a university education, at least before the 1980s expansion in higher education. Reference These people would speak in local accents, although relatively mild. Skilled working class in UK represents people who would be in skilled blue collar jobs, traditionally in industry but in recent decades showing entrepreneurial development as the stereotypical white van man, or self employed contractors. Reference Unskilled working class in UK represents people who would work in blue collar jobs with low incomes. They would typically have left school as soon as legally permissible and not value education (Wikipedia, Social Structure of United Kingdom). As per Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2007 the socio economic graph as per these roles with the median salary clearly depicts the relationship between occupational and age as variables against the income levels (refer Appendix I). CONSUMER LOYALTY Defining Consumer Loyalty As the comparison of the different definitions of customer loyalty illustrates, two key dimensions exist: a behavioral (cf. Cunningham, 1956) and an attitudinal (cf. Day, 1969) dimension. Both are described below in more detail and an equal consideration of both dimensions is advocated, if true loyalty is to be achieved. Behavioral loyalty refers to the consumers actual behavior of repurchasing specific bran within a given category over time (e.g., Day, 1969; Chaudhuri Holbrook, 2002). Kumar and Shah (2004, p. 318) describe behavioral loyalty as loyalty of a consumer as observed from the customers purchase behavior. This explicitly means that the consumer repeatedly chooses the same brand when he needs a specific product or service. This behavior may be a result of a true preference for the brand. However, repeat purchases of the same brand may also be attributable to mere convenience, habit, or because the barriers to change (i.e. the switching barriers) are too high. While proponents of the one dimensional construct of consumer loyalty argue that attitude is irrelevant in determining loyalty toward a brand and consider the debate on the notion of true loyalty a waste of time (Sharp et al., 2002) opponents claim that behavioral definitions of consumer loyalty are inadequate for explaining how and w hy customers are loyal to a specific brand, and call for an analysis of the individuals dispositional basis for repeated purchase (Dick Basu, 1994, p. 100). Zins (2001, p. 270) further criticizes that the observation of behavioral loyalty alone does not leave room to draw any substantiated conclusions about customers future actions. Only measuring behavioral loyalty actually overestimates the share of true loyalty, since it does not account for those customers who buy a brand simply because no other alternative is available or because a particular brand is offering a special promotion (Day, 1969). Prior research has demonstrated a direct relationship between reasons for liking a particular sport team and loyalty. The current study replicates and extends this line of inquiry by examining the mediating role of attachment, a process by which an individual moves from merely liking a team (attraction) to becoming loyal to a team (allegiance). Data (Collegiate N = 194; Collegiate and Professional N = 402, Favorite Sport Team N = 808) were collected to examine 13 benefits and attributes associated with liking a sport team, 3 attitude formation properties, and allegiance. A three stage test of mediation using MLR revealed that attachment mediated the relationship between allegiance and Vicarious Achievement, Nostalgia, Star Player, Escape, Success, and Peer Group Acceptance. The results indicated that allegiance is the outcome of a developmental process by which an individual places greater symbolic value on, has stronger emotional reactions, and has more functional knowledge in relat ion to attractive benefits and attributes associated with a sport team (Frank Daniel C., 2006 Loyalty, Attachment, Sport Consumers, Attitude Development, Participation). Low attitudinal loyalty combined with low behavioral loyalty indicates an absence of loyalty (cf. Dick Basu, 1994, p. 101). Day (1969, p. 30) categorizes those customers as spuriously loyal who exhibit high repeat purchase behavior, but lack any attachment to the brand and can easily be captured by another brand offering a better deal. Latent loyalty, in contrast, is reflected by high attitudinal loyalty combined with low repeat purchase. True loyalty, firms preferred condition, can be conceptualized as an attitudeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ based behavioral loyalty toward the given brand (see Kim et al., 2008, pp. 99à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 100). A direct relationship between customer loyalty and relationship marketing has been proposed by a number of authors. Webster (1994, p. 26) claims that Customer loyalty has meaning only within the context of relationship marketing. Similarly, Aaker (2002, p. 23) proposes that one approach for enhancing consumer loyalty is the development or strengthening of customers relationship with the brand, which constitutes the basic objective of relationship marketing. Relationship marketing thus serves as a concept that contributes to the understanding of the factors that drive customer loyalty. The conceptualization of the loyalty construct has evolved over the years. In todays changing global environment, every organization is searching for innovative ways to achieve competitive advantage, increase customer loyalty, and improve efficiency without sacrificing quality of service (Javalgi Moberg, 1997). Service loyalty, with its final effect on repurchasing by customers, is perhaps one of the most important constructs in service marketing. Indeed, loyal customers that indulge in repeat purchases are the base of any business (Caruana, 2002). Some have tagged customer loyalty as a key source of competitive advantage (Bharadwaj et al., 1993) and a key to firm survival and growth (Reichheld, 1996). However, how loyalty has been conceptualized and measured has varied considerably across studies, resulting in calls for more research into the fundamental meaning of loyalty (Oliver, 1999). Three conceptual viewpoints have been suggested to define customer loyalty: the behavioral perspective, the attitudinal perspective and the composite perspective (Bowen Chen, 2001; Zins, 2001). The behavioral perspective, purchase loyalty, strictly looks at repeat purchase behavior and is based on the customers purchase history. Here, the emphasis is on past -rather than on future actions. Moreover, no other loyal behavioral actions such as price tolerance, word of mouth, or complaint behavior can be interpreted. Concentrating on the behavioral aspect of loyalty could overestimate true loyalty. The attitudinal perspective, in contrast, allows gain in additional understanding of loyal behavior (Zins, 2001). Here, customer loyalty is approached as an attitudinal construct. Attitude denotes the degree to which a consumers tendency towards a service is favorably inclined. This inclination is reflected by activities such as the customers recommending service providers to other consumers or their commitment to repatronize a preferred service provider (Gremler Brown, 1996). Based on a favorable attitude towards a service provider, customers may improve preference loyalty (De Ruyter et al., 1998). Lastly, the composite perspective combines attitudinal and behavioral definitions of loyalty. The composite perspective might be considered as an alternative to affective loyalty since using both attitude and behavior in a loyalty definition disputably increases the predicting power of loyalty (Pritchard Howard, 1997). In the present study loyal are defined those customers who hold favorable attitudes toward an organization, recommend the organization to other consumers and exhibit repurchase behavior Consumer Loyalty in Sports Consumer loyalty is of great value to recreational sport agencies in terms of their effectiveness and success. In recent decades, students in the field of recreation and leisure have paid growing attention to the phenomenon of customer loyalty. This paper reviews how exploration of consumer loyalty began, especially in the field of recreation and leisure. There have been three stages of evolution: the one-dimensional approach, two-dimensional approach, and multidimensional approach. The latter two developed out of critiques of an established approach. The authors find the multidimensional approach to be the most comprehensive, and thus the most promising, perspective for future research on consumer loyalty in the field of recreation and leisure (Tian-Shiang Kuo Evolution of Scholars Approach to Studying Consumer Loyalty in Recreational Sport and Fitness Business). Because it is much cheaper to serve loyal customers and easier to maintain their support, customer loyalty is of great value to organizations (Seybold, 2001). Rosenberg and Czepiel, whom Park and Kim cite (2000), claim that attracting a new customer costs 6 times more than retaining an existing customer. To a great extent, the success of a recreational sport and fitness business depends on how the business manages customers loyalty (Backman Crompton, 1991a, 1991b). As Park and Kim note, consumer loyalty is embodied not only in economic transactions with a business but more broadly in general support for the organization (Park Kim, 2000). Glimpsing the importance of consumer loyalty to sport-related businesses, in recent decades scholars in the field of recreation and leisure have paid growing attention to the phenomenon of customer loyalty (Gahwiler Havitz, 1995; Howard, Edginton, Selin, 1988; Park Kim, 2000). What has been the result of this increased focus? For one thing, a gradual evolution in how researchers approach the phenomenon of customer loyalty has resulted. Three stages can be roughly identified. In the very beginning, most investigators focused on only one dimension of consumer loyalty, either the behavioral or attitudinal dimension. Next, as a result of criticism of this initial research model, models that approached both behavioral and attitudinal dimensions of customer loyalty were developed. Finally, the latest studies of customer loyalty incorporate multiple attitudinal or psychological facets. This has led to a deeper, better-integrated understanding of loyalty. The following describes in more d etail each evolutionary stage of the historical development of customer loyalty research. Behavioral Approaches The majority of early studies of consumer loyalty looked only at its behavioral dimension. A customer was viewed as loyal to a product or service if he or she demonstrated consistent purchase of one brand over time (Backman Crompton, 1991b). According to Prichard and colleagues, one-dimensional behavioral approaches were classified in four groups by Jacoby and Chestnut (Prichard, Howard, Havitz, 1992, pp.156-157). The first group comprises researchers who located loyalty in the customers purchasing sequence, for example George N. Brown. The second group comprises researchers such as Ross M. Cunningham who defined loyalty on the basis of the proportion of the customers purchases that featured the brand in question. Jacoby and Chestnuts third group includes the scholars who applied probability models to analyze consumers purchasing behavior. To this group belongs Ronald E. Frank, who in the early 1960s investigated repeat-purchase probabilities using a simple chance model. The fourth and last of Jacoby and Chestnuts group integrated several behavioral variables for generating definition of customer loyalty (Prichard et al., 1992). Burford, Enis, and Paul (1971), as an example, put forward an index combining three behavioral measures of customer loyalty: proportion of resources spent on brand or store, amount allocated to switching, and the number of alternative brands or stores. While operationalizing such behavioral approaches is easy enough, at the same time they may exhibit fatal weaknesses as theoretical frameworks upon which to hang studies of consumer loyalty. Beginning in the late 1960s, some consumer loyalty researchers began to criticize behavioral approaches to their task (Howard et al., 1988, p. 42). They pointed out, for example, that because the associated measures relied on overt, observable behaviors, behavioral conceptualizations of consumer loyalty were doomed to such error as the classification of particular consumers as loyal in one study and non-loyal in the next (Backman Crompton, 1991b, p. 206). Moreover, failure to identify relations between loyalties measured by different patterns of use brought many researchers to the conclusion that brand loyalty encompassed more than repeat use (Backman Crompton, 1991b, p. 206). Attitudinal Approaches Conceptually, behavioral models could not, Day noted (1969), discriminate between true or intentional loyalty and spurious loyalty (Backman Crompton, 1991b; Prichard et al., 1992). Day (1969) and Jacoby (1971) proposed an attitudinal conceptualization of customer loyalty in order to better understand it. According to Jacoby (as cited in Prichard et al., 1992), a customer who shows brand loyalty by implication repeat[s] purchase based on cognitive, affective, evaluative and predispositional factors: the classical primary components of an attitude (1971, p. 26). Prichard et al. (1992) also briefly review those early researchers who looked at psychological aspects of consumer loyalty as well as behavioral. Guest, Monroe, and Guiltinan; Bennett and Kassarijia; and Jain, Pinson, and Malhotra all made an effort to study consumers attitudes or intentions. Just like approaches focused one-dimensionally on consumer behavior, however, approaches focused one-dimensionally on attitudinal loyalty had limitations. According to Prichard et al., the early studies of the attitudinal components in consumer loyalty, when they were reviewed by loyalty theorists, were often found to lack adequate theoretical conceptualization. A result of this was a multitude of measures that confounded research. Examination of the theoretical and empirical rigor underlying the development of various attitudinal measures raised certain questions about construct validity (Prichard et al., 1992). Overall, then, early definitions of customer loyalty as solely a behavioral construct or solely an attitudinal construct could be accused not only of superficiality but also of insufficiency. In time, a two-dimensional approach would replace these flawed perspectives. Reference Consumer Loyalty in Leisure Leisure activities could be said to be more important than ever before. International comparisons show that the British work long hours, and lengthy commuting times only add to the burden. It is increasingly likely that both partners in a household work full time, and household duties such as food shopping and cleaning must be shared, placing a premium on the time available for more enjoyable activities. Reference There is also the increasing problem of sedentary occupations, with many people spending their working day sitting in front of a computer terminal or talking on the telephone. This produces a demand for active leisure or recreation, but developments in technology mean that there is also an increasing temptation to sit in front of the television or to spend hours on the Internet or playing video games (Research Markets UK Leisure and Recreation Market Review 2002). The Most Popular Leisure Activities The survey, which was carried out on a nationally representative sample of 1,012 adults in August 2002, simply asked people about the leisure activities they considered `enjoyable, either in the evening or at the weekend. Unsurprisingly, the leisure market is dominated by in-home activities, with 92% of people content to spend their evenings or weekends watching television (or, with some more initiative, watching bought or hired videos). Listening to music or the radio at home is another popular choice (80%). Even when they wish to socialize, most people now think first of entertaining friends or family at home (79%), rather than going out. Venues providing entertainment and cultural services have to work harder than ever to persuade people out of their comfortable homes. Most consumers (77%) are content to go out for a meal as their main leisure experience outside the home (Research Ma

Media Stereotypes Essay -- Media Stereotypes Stereotyping

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Fraud in The Firm by John Grisham Essay -- The Firm John Grisham Liter

Fraud in The Firm by John Grisham John Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on February 8, 1955. In 1967 he lived in Southhaven, Mississippi. In 1977 he received an undergraduate degree in accounting. In 1981 he attended law school at the school at the University of Mississippi where he earned a degree. John set up a law practice in Southehaven, where he practiced both criminal law and civil law. In 1981 he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. In 1989 John published his first novel A Time to Kill. John Grisham has written many books, one of them is The Firm. Mitch McDeere is about to graduate in the top five percentile at the Harvard Law School. A representative from a highly prestigious tax law firm approaches Mitch telling him of a job at his company. After a long period of thinking Mitch and his wife Abby move to Memphis Tennessee where the firm is located. At this time Mitch and Abby had no idea that they were under close surveillance by Mr. DeVasher. Mitch also has yet to learn that the firm is a cleaver cover up for a Mafia controlled money laundering operation. Mitch later visits his brother Ray in jail, who refers him to a detective by the name of Eddie Lomax. Later Mitch goes to the Caimans on a business trip and was set up have sex with a hooker that appeared to be in distress. While Mitch was gone Eddie Lomax was killed. When Mitch returns, Tammy, Eddie’s secretary is waiting to meet him to let him know about what had happened....

Genetically modified (GM) foods Essay

What does a tomato, soybean, and McDonald’s French fry have in common? They are all some of the most commonly genetically modified foods sold on the market today. By using the genetic information from one organism, and inserting or modifying it into another organism, scientists can make food crops stay fresher, grow bigger, and have the crops create their own pesticides. Nevertheless, the technology to modify genes has surpassed its practicality. Genetically modified foods need to be removed from everyday agriculture because of the threat they pose to human health, the environment, and the impact on global economy. Genetically modified (GM) foods could produce new toxic substances, and/or allergens. A gene from the Brazil nut was inserted into the DNA of a soybean plant to increase the nutritional value of the soybean. However, this particular gene in the GM soybean also produced an allergen (a substance that causes allergic reactions in people). Fortunately, the plant was not put into production (McHughen 119). Another example is of a GM tomato called â€Å"FLAVR SAVR†. The tomato is larger, tastier, and stays fresher longer than commercial tomatoes on the market. Combining conventional tomato genes with the genes of an arctic trout produces the â€Å"FLAVR SAVR†. Nevertheless, questions such as â€Å"Will people with sea food allergies be able to consume the tomato?† and â€Å"Will the trout genes in the tomato enable new bacteria growth, and thereby make the tomato hazardous to eat?† have still not been answered. This causes the â€Å"FLAVR SAVR† to be a potential hazard to human health (McHughen 14, 112). Since technology is new with regards to genetics, there is no real way of knowing whether genetically modified foods would take a negative impact on the body. An incident that occurred in 1989 concerning the nutritional supplement L- Tryptophan is one way of testing the long-term effects of a GM food (Background on L-tryptophan and 5-hydroxy L-tryptophan and the eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, U.S. Food and Drug Administration). The manufacturer had apparently altered its manufacturing process to speed up production, and had not realized the toxic side effects. However, it caused a potentially fatal illness called Eosinophilia Myolgia Syndrome in which 37 people died and 1500 more were permanently disabled (Background on L-tryptophan and 5-hydroxy L-tryptophan and the eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, U.S. Food and Drug Administration). Therefore, it was taken off the market shortly after the reports of widespread illness among consumers of the supplement. Another two examples of diseases that have been created by GM crops are glufosinate (Hart 21), which causes birth defects in mammals, and glyphosate (Hart 88), which is now linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Therefore, it is evident that the general public is the guinea pig for GM food, and today’s drugs may not be able to combat the diseases that may arise from eating the food. Superbugs are created when genes transfer from one species to another, and if an antibiotic-resistant or pesticide-resistant gene were to transfer from an organism into a disease creating bacteria, then an antibiotic-resistant or pesticide-resistant bug would be created (Miller 83). This applies to bacteria and viruses that are symbiotically related. Gene modification is indirectly making life resistant to diseases, and these bacteria and viruses will adapt to the new form of life and create new disorders. Furthermore, GM crops may make the â€Å"normal† biological pest spray obsolete. This is because pests will soon develop resistance to the spray because of the widespread planting of GM crops. Nevertheless, superbug pesticides have not yet been manufactured, nor have superbug antibiotics been created (Miller 92). Consequently, the health risks for humans through superbug infections or by eating GM food is very serious, and the consequences that may come about have the potent ial to be life threatening. Genetic engineering of food crops has the potential to affect the biodiversity of a region in effectively two ways. First, wild populations of weed may be replaced by GM crop/weed, due to the GM crop spreading outside the crop field and interacting with natural weed and slowly becoming GM weed. Since GM crops are produced to be resistant to pesticides and herbicides, there is the possibility that they could invade wild grasslands and other places and prosper because of these special characteristics. If this happened, the native grasses would be unable to compete and biodiversity would be lost in these regions. Also, many genetically engineered crops contain anti-viral genes and there is the potential that these genes could combine to form new and dangerous strains of viruses, which could destroy specific crops. Although, to date, there is no direct evidence of these occurring naturally, the potential is clearly increasing (UK Agricultural Biodiversity Coalition. What is happening to Agricultural Biodiversity?). The second way in which the biodiversity of a region is potentially affected is by the decreasing crop varieties that are being planted. This is a problem already existing in agriculture today, and results in a loss of genetic variety within crop cultures. Farmers being forced to use only patented seeds are an example of a potential decrease in biodiversity. If traditional seed varieties are used, farmers will be at a financial disadvantage due to better tasting, better looking crops produced by farmers using GM seeds. In the U.S., and some other countries, laws have been passed and are currently in effect stating that the use of non-patented seeds is prohibited. This will restrict the crops to a few species, leaving them more at risk to new pests that may form (UK Agricultural Biodiversity Coalition. What are the underlying causes of the Losses of Agricultural Biodiversity?). The European community is by far the most anti-GM, so to speak, when it comes to the retail of GM food in their supermarkets (Tackling Food Safety Concerns over GMO’s, Consumer attitudes and decision-making with regard to genetically modified food products). Regulations are being imposed on the European Parliament, individual European nations, and some stores themselves have all imposed restrictions on GM foods. Manufacturers must label all foods that might have genetically altered ingredients. This includes food with genetically manufactured organisms, food with an intentionally modified molecular structure, and food that has been isolated for microorganisms, fungi, and algae. Furthermore, the genetically altered food must not mislead the consumer, present any danger to the consumer, or differ from the food that it is intended to replace so that the altered food is a nutritional disadvantage to the consumer (Tackling Food Safety Concerns over GMO’s, Development of meth ods to identify foods produced by means of genetic engineering). This legislation has now created trade barriers for food coming into Europe – some imported food is genetically modified and creates a risk to the people’s health and safety. Nevertheless, because some supermarkets in Europe have decided to be non-GM only, this has created a competitive disadvantage for the â€Å"half†-GM supermarkets. This response to consumer pressure is also having an effect on some companies or countries that cannot meet the legislative needs, and are obliged to lose markets and/or market shares (Tackling Food Safety Concerns over GMO’s, European network safety assessment of genetically modified food crops). If the world finally agrees to the consumption of GM food, European countries will be the last to â€Å"give-in† to the more lenient regulations. If one is to ask a North American if the product he or she is eating contains GM food, he or she will most likely show a blank stare. This is because regulation of GM food in North America is relatively relaxed when compared to Europe (Borger, second paragraph). Since the manufacturer is not required to label their products, the consumer is oblivious to buying GM food at the supermarket. Agriculture and technology are both being heavily invested in the United States. Profit is an important driving force for the developed world, and agricultural exports make up a large portion of exports from the United States (Borger, third paragraph). Since the demand for food is always increasing, the demand to produce more food at a faster rate requires the need for better biotechnology to be put into practice. And because of the lax laws in effect for the United States, and Canada, North Americans are â€Å"in the dark† with regards to what they are eating during their meals. North Americans are not educated about the risks of GM food, nor are they aware of where to find information regarding how much GM food is in their groceries (Borger, 12th paragraph). This poses a serious threat to the potential health of North Americans, as they are nothing but â€Å"lab rats† waiting for their first abnormal â€Å"twitch†. Human health can be seen as the greatest factor when considering the manufacturing of GM food. This is because of the few diseases and viruses that have been discovered which formed through the use of GM food. Also, the potential for new diseases and/or viruses through the use of GM food is increasing, and people are not aware of the risks. Antibiotics or pesticides have not yet been created to combat the superbug, and this is a concern for humans, as it will infect people, and crops altogether. There is a potential for the biodiversity to decrease because of gene transfers from one species to another, creating more powerful crops, which may take over the natural populations of weeds and grasslands. An additional way for the biodiversity to decrease is by farmers planting only a single variety of crop, thus wiping out the varied species needed to keep the diversity within crop fields. Europeans are the most aware of GM food, and are taking the necessary precautions and legislative actions to protect themselves against the use of GM food. However, North Americans are the least aware of GM food, and their government has not yet educated their citizens on the risks of GM food. There are too many risks involved in the use of GM food, and its removal from the agricultural and biotechnological industries will benefit human health, the environment, and global economy.