Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family Law - Essay Example The professional license itself would not have separate value. However, if the license was acquired during the marriage to the other partner’s detriment, the court would likely seek to equalize the benefit accrued to the licensed partner. The court has adopted the rules pertaining to the dissolution of business partnership to apply to the division and distribution of property in divorce cases. See Gussin v. Gussin, 73 Haw. 470, 483–84, 836 P.2d 484, 481 (1992). â€Å"Under general partnership law, each partner is entitled to be repaid his contributions to the partnership property, whether made by way of capital or advances.† Tougas v. Tougas, 76 Hawai‘i 19, 27, 868 P.2d 437, 445 (1994) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Then, absent â€Å"agreement to the contrary, ‘partners share equally in the profits of their partnership, even though they may have contributed unequally to capital or services.’ â€Å" Id. (quoting Gardner v. G ardner, 8 Haw.

Basic Summary of Elliot Aronson's 'Social Animal' Essay

Basic Summary of Elliot Aronson's 'Social Animal' - Essay Example Aronson has fundamentally asserted that people tend to move along with the mob in general because if they do not, they are offered social resistance. They may change their personal opinion in favor of the majority either to escape a punishment, seek a reward or else, because of lack of confidence in their personal judgment. Conformity is essentially compliance if the objective is reward/punishment centered. It is identification if the individual’s intention is to develop affiliation, and it is internalization, if the individual conforms if he/she actually thinks it is rational. Aronson has also discussed some personality variables like self esteem, courage and experience that determine the level of conformity in an individual’s attitude. Then Aronson discussed obedience in context of conformity, and finally, the role of an uninvolved bystander as that of a conformist, because he/she overlooks the tragedy because everybody else does the same. Overall, the article is a ve ry comprehensive and though provoking demonstration of

Private Detectives and the Present Legal System Essay

Private Detectives and the Present Legal System - Essay Example Sam Spade and Sherlock Holmes, the main detective characters in The Maltese Falcon and A Study in Scarlet respectively, are strangers in the formal legal system, but proved to be successful in solving the puzzles behind mysterious cases that they were assigned. Aside from their status as private citizens acting as detectives, their keen eyes for details and a healthy dose of skepticism proved to be a perfect mix in their ability to solve cases. Sam Spade, a detective who is known for his scornful derision and passion for his work, had solved a mystery case regarding the death of his comrade, Archer and an initial target of their mission, an Englishman named Thursby. Thursby’s and Archer’s deaths remained a mystery even for Spade himself because he did not fully know Miss Wonderly, the woman who hired his and Archer’s services using a faked story. At the course of the novel, the mystery was revealed when Wonderly, whose real name is Brigid O’Shaughnessy, killed Thursby herself. Initially, Spade was suspected as the culprit of Thursby’s death according to law enforcers. He calmly denied, but not vehemently, and continued to engage in undercover activities himself in order to solve the puzzle. It is in this case that being an outside agent from the formal legal system can assure a success in solving crimes because one no longer has to go through a strict organizational policies and protocols. Spade did some meet-ups with the people involved in the crime, and monetary amounts are not always questioned in terms of its moral value and appropriateness under the laws in a legal system (Hammett). Sherlock Holmes also proves to be successful in his job being a consulting detective.

Creon and Haemon Essay Example for Free

Creon and Haemon Essay How would you direct the confrontation between Creon and Haemon in order to achieve your chosen impact for your audience? The scene of confrontation between Creon and Haemon comes when Creon has sentenced Antigone, future bride of Haemon, to be shut up in the cave. I would want to show a contrast between the characters with costume, so that the audience would get a visual representation of their emotions. I would dress Creon in an extravagant red silken robe, with gold trimmings. This would highlight his status as King, and also the red could signify a bloodthirsty attitude, as Creon is revelling in Antigones fate. Contrastingly, Haemon would be wearing a simple black cotton robe, without any trimmings. This would show that he doesnt care for superficial extravagance, and black is also a colour of mourning; this would symbolise Haemons feelings towards Antigones fate. In the opening of this scene, Creon greets Haemon pleasantly. I would direct Creon to grip Haemons right hand with both of his own hands, in a friendly, pleading handshake; this would show warmth for Haemon, which is what Creon wishes to express at this point. He would maintain eye contact and stand with legs shoulder-width apart He would speak in a soft tone, with a slow pace, medium pitch and a relatively low volume, again to give the impression of warmth. In the line we are always comrades, and my love for you is unshaken, I would direct the actor playing Creon to emphasise the words always and unshaken, stressing these superlatives, in order to exaggerate the positive feelings, diplomatically Haemons response would be in kind, reciprocating the respect. He would accept the handshake, and keep eye contact. His vocal qualities would be as those of Haemon. He would say I know I am your son, Father, stressing the word Father to show respect and also family love. During this exchange, they would both be very close physically, to show that they are, at this point, still emotionally close. The lighting would be a straw wash from above over the stage, of medium intensity: neutral. Creon would be next to a podium, centre-stage-left. Haemon would be centre stage, and the Chorus would be arranged in a semi-circle around them. During Creons following speech, I would want the audience to witness a change in Creons approach. The first noticeable change in attitude would be when he says Dont be taken in/ Boy. Dont let any woman ensnare you. His tone would become harsher, and lower almost as if speaking in a whisper. He would also grasp Haemon on the word Boy, to show the audience that he wants to instil certain sexist values in Haemon, as it is a subject he feels passionately about. Furthermore, he would almost spit the work woman and emphasise the word ensnare to present acidity to the audience. He would say Dont be taken in, Boy without changing his tone or pace, simply increasing intensity, to show the audience how sincere he is. He would continue in this manner, speaking in harsh tones. The next change in Creons demeanour would come when he says I will do it. And she must die. Here, he would revert to speaking with authority, assertively. He would stress the modal verbs, will and must to show that he is completely fixed upon the idea, and is unwavering. This would show the audience his stubbornness. At this point, low-intensity, subtle red uplighting would have slowly faded in, to cast shadows upon Creons face to make him seem more imposing and venomous. It would be barely noticeable by the audience at this stage, as it would be slowly and subtly introduced. Creon would also step back and stand straight at this point, and pause after the line, to highlight its significance to the audience. He would have his hands calmly by his sides. Creon would continue to rant, his volume increasing, and the red uplighting becoming stronger, as the straw wash slowly faded and his hand gestures becoming increasingly evident and expansive. On the line Anarchy, disobedience, he would be banging his fists on his podium in anger, to show the audience how passionately he feels about the subject. He would be nearly shouting at this point, and Haemon would recoil slightly, in fear and surprise at Creons outburst. Creon would next shift toward the end of his speech, and I would want my audience to see him bring back subtle persuasion, using the fact that he is Haemons father to his advantage: Let it be by a mans hand, eh son? / Not by a conspiracy of women! . I would want him to go back to speaking in lower tones, almost at a stage-whisper level, as he wants to instil his own sexism, and apparent paranoia regarding women, into Haemon yet again. This repetition would show the audience just how sexist Creon is. I would therefore have the actor emphasise the words man son, conspiracy and women to show this, and put one arm around Haemon. The red uplighting would also dim at this point, the straw wash becoming more prominent; this would visually represent the change in tone to the audience. Following the Chorus somewhat neutral response, Haemon would reply by at first speaking pleasantries: Its not for me to say you are wrong is quite self-deprecating and is complimentary to Creon. Haemon would therefore speak it in a soft tone, and would physically lower himself by bending knees and back slightly. His volume would be medium at this point, and he would make no hand gestures. The lighting would remain as a straw wash, all red gone at this point. Haemon would emphasise me and you to underline the fact he is making a direct comparison between himself and Creon. Haemon would change in approach right on the line But I can sometimes hear people whisper. The word but here is a clear discursive marker in the text, indicating a change. Also, Haemon begins to discuss how people see Antigones punishment as unjust. He would thus take a step back is if expecting an outburst from Creon, and emphasise words like people and whisper to show the audience that the character aims to dissociate himself from the views. He would become more pleading as the speech progresses, let me beg you to have second thoughts and I beg you Father. This is again showing he accepts inferiority, but also makes clear to the audience that he is against his fathers actions. The metaphors regarding the failure of stubborn things would be spoken with a degree of accusation regarding Creon; Haemon would look at Creon when saying inflexible and refuses to indicate that there refer to Creon. At the end of the speech he says Take good advice when it is offered. This is a direct question to Creon, and I would have Haemon on one knee, clasping Creons hand at this point, to show his desperation to the audience. In the ensuing stichomythia, I would instruct Creon to increase in volume, pace and raise his voice at the end of each sentence. Also, I would want him to spit phrases like Youre a womans mouthpiece! , whilst shaking his arms, palms clawed and facing up to show rage to the audience. Comparatively, I would instruct Haemon to remain calm, speaking in controlled tones and a steady volume throughout, making few hand gestures. Haemon would instead increase in cold contempt, by sharpening the sound of his vowels at the ends of sentences, and speaking in a low tone, and emphasising certain words. He would emphasise the word demented, but without raising the volume of his voice a great deal. Also, at the end, when Haemon says this disgusting spectacle/ In company with a madman, are welcome to it, I would want him to speak this calmly; without varying his pace. He would say this emphasising disgusting spectacle and madman by raising pitch and volume a little. This would show the audience that he feels contempt toward Creon, but is above just shouting. Creon, on the other hand, would be virtually screaming Bring her out, the bitch, emphasising the word bitch by stressing the harsh vowel sound, and gesturing wildly towards the side entrance, as if indicating from where she should be brought. This would show the audience that Creon has lost his composure, and has lost control of his rage. The lighting would be red uplighting again on Creon only, to cast shadows across his face, whilst a blue gel, to mix with the straw wash, would be coming in from above. Overall, this should all contribute into presenting Haemon into an emotionally controlled, stable character, whereas Creon would appear as quite the opposite; unreasonable, stubborn and emotionally volatile. The objective would be to present the characters as such, to encourage the audience to sympathise with Haemon, even empathise with him; ideally, the audience too would feel frustrated and contemptuous towards Creon.

Essay --

Mobile Distributed Information System Fundamentals and Architecture of Mobile Distributed Information System Q1. What is a mobile distributed information system? Answer. In today's mobile society, access to relevant information and to context-specific services "anytime, anywhere" is becoming increasingly important. This is the environment for our research, development and consulting activities in selected current topics of Mobile Distributed Information Systems. Mobile users are often particularly interested in information about and services in their immediate vicinity, thus Mobile Distributed Information Systems must address location-dependent distribution of and access to services and information from mobile devices. The user's topological and geographical location becomes relevant for the semantics of communication, and such communication has to remain seamless even in foreign environments, with little or no need for manual reconfiguration. Frequently, in addition to his locat ion, the user's current situation determines his information and service requirements. With mobile devices becoming more and more powerful, mobile users themselves may offer information and services to peers in an improvised manner. As a result, the long-established distinction between clients and servers is blurred, which calls for an extension of the architecture prototype towards peer and/or alternating roles. (Reference from http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/0-7923-9697-9) Recent years have witnessed a rapid proliferation of mobile information devices. Cellular phones have become not only a basic means of communication for many people, but have also developed from simple telephones suitable only for voice communications into computing devices capable of t... .../Preference Profiles (CC/PP) profile can be used to provide a description of mobile device. Different MSS are in different heterogeneous network and these MSS need to cooperate and communicate with each other for exchanging data. A standard interface is needed between MSS. Java technologies or a middleware like CORBA can be used to solve the heterogeneous problems. (Reference from www.idi.ntnu.no/emner/dif8914/essays/hien-essay2001.pdf ) References http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/0-7923-9697-9 www.autospaces.com/people/fsommers/mobile_transactions.pdf www.idi.ntnu.no/emner/dif8914/essays/hien-essay2001.pdf George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore, Tim Kindberg Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design. M. Tamer Ozsu, Patrick Valduriez Principles of Distributed Database Systems Prentice Hall 1999. George H. Forman, John Zahorjan The Challenges of Mobile Computing.

Company Introduction, Market Segmentation, and Product Positioning Essay

The key to successful product implementation in today’s national enterprise system is the effective marketing of a new product with the company’s line of existing products. As stated by Lacobucci (2012), marketing is defined as an exchange between a company and its customers. The customer wants something from the company or firm and vice versa. In previous times, a company would manufacture a product they thought the customer would want or need. The customer purchased that product because of a pending need, which basically meant that marketing used to be product oriented. However, marketing today is more that an advertisement for goods and services in an attempt to attract new business. We live in a customer orientated and empowered marketing environment. We realize the importance and ramifications of having an exchange with our customers and developing a relationship with them. It is this exchange of information between our company and our existing as well as future customers that secures our position in our target market. Our company is a regional tool distributor located in the northeastern section of the United States. Our customer base consists of several major retailers, nationally known in the retail and wholesale tool industry. We used the brand label Blue Steel Tools for marketing and distribution of our products to discuss the implementation of an effective plan to market a new product line, the Illuminated Power Wrench. This paper will analyze market, identify our market segment for sales distribution and discuss the reasoning for the segment. Discussing the target market and why the targeted customers were specifically selected. We will do the SWOT analysis; describe the unique market position and the expected service provided in meeting the needs of the target audience. 1. Identify the marketing segment for the product and provide a rationale for this segment. The definition of a market segment as stated by Lacobucci (2012) is a group of customers that shares similar inclinations towards our brand. To define market segment further for our needs, it is an identifiable group of individuals, professionals or organizations that share one or more characteristics or needs in an otherwise homogenous market. In our case, our product will have a very wide market of consumers and small business owners and employees. Therefore we will need to reduce the market segments to larger chunks. Market segments generally respond in a predictable manner to a marketing or promotion offer. The market segment for the new product will vary widely due to the versatility of our product usage. Our main segment approach will focus on the wholesale distribution to retail repair supply stores who carry lines of tools for resale to the private and business consumer. These market segments will include businesses such as Lowes and Home Depot, retail tool distributors such as Harbor Freight Tools, automobile parts stores such as Advance Auto Parts and tool catalogue companies such as great Northern to name a few. As we analyze this segment we ask the question if this segment is viable and can we profit from using it. Other considerations are accessibility and measurability. This segment is small enough to manage our sales and distribution, but large enough to reach the ultimate user of our product. This market segment possesses the potential and versatility to sell and distribute our product to the target consumer market with a widely diversified audience in the retail industry. The bases for this segmentation include similar demographics, geographical locations, and psychological make-up of customers and behaviors of users/purchasers. In other words, the customer base for our segments meets the desired user of our end product. Anyone who builds or repairs something whether they are a novice or professional is a potential customer. Therefore, by using this method of market segmentation for product distribution, we will successfully sub-divide a large homogenous market into clear identifiable and manageable segments that have similar needs, wants or demand characteristics indicated by Lacobucci (2012). 2. Discuss the target market and provide rationale for this target market. The target market defined is the particular market segment at which a marketing campaign is focused. As stated earlier, this product has been designed for the retail tool industry. We have targeted segments in the industry that will be the most successful in reaching the consumer and generating a demand for our product through steady sales. Lacobucci stated the first perspective in assessing segments target is to have a view of the segments themselves and the primary concern is the segment be profitable. This in turn will become a profitability issue for our company as we continue to hold a place in the small tool market and generate profits with continued sales. The second perspective examined was if the market or segment fit with who we are. In this case the answer is yes. The ultimate target for this product is the consumer. The greater exposure we have, the higher propensity for sales growth. The illuminated ratchet screw driver is a quality tool for use by not only the novice home self repair person; it will also meet the needs of the professional repair person, no matter what the industry. The illumination system in the handle of the wrench will appeal to the vehicle mechanic working in the close quarters of an engine compartment, the electrician repairing the circuit breaker box, the computer repair technician working in between electronic circuitry as well as to the basic consumer performing handy maintenance projects. This tool will come with the standard wrench lugs and have availability to accessories such as wrench tips to enhance its versatility to meet the needs of a wider target audience. The wider target audience is customers of our targeted market segments. Therefore the target market is our pathway to the ultimate user of the product is consumer sales. The strategic sales objective of these retail establishments coincides with our strategic vision of reaching the ultimate user of our products, satisfying their needs and increasing the likelihood of additional product sales. 3. Perform a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and treats) for the company. As we move forward in the marketing of our product, we need to our own corporate strengths. Lacobucci (2012) suggests the use of a SWOT analysis in identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses characterize our company in relation to competitors where the opportunities and threats characterize the broader environment such as the tool industry, suppliers, the government and etc. Our strengths are in our track record in t he tool industry. We have provided quality products at competitive prices. Another perceived strength is in the management of our company. The senior management of Steel City Tools has provided a strategic vision with clearly defined attainable goals for market position and sales. However a perceived threat is in the foreign market. A number of tool company’s efforts have been over shadowed with a cheaper duplication of products from foreign markets. The US has been plagued with a reduction in the manufacturing industry due to globalized markets, elimination of trade barriers and outsourcing. The end result is our market segment (distributor) could purchase a similar product cheaper and increase their gross margin and not purchase our product for resale. Another threat we are not prepared to react to is loss of a major distributing customer. With more and more businesses merging, we could lose a distribution source with no warning. One of our weaknesses is we have focused on sales east of the Mississippi, thus limiting market expansion. However, this could be turned around as a future opportunity for market expansion. An easy way to expand our market is to establish a retail division and use infomercials through the cable television network to accept mail order/telephone order select product sales such as our new illuminated power wrench. However, a marketing effort of this nature would require careful consideration must be given to the geographical area so as not to alienate our primary segment customers. A move of this nature would require additional capital investment and careful analysis of this type of expansion would be necessary to minimize risk of project failure. The SWOT is useful in clarifying our marketing questions. The key is to address our shortcomings so as not to give the competition an upper hand and not raise concerns with our customers and capitalize on our strengths for continued success. 4. Create the market position for your product and service. Explain your rationale. Product positioning, according to the Encyclopedia of Business, involves the tailoring the entire marketing program to include product features, distribution, price, quality and service to meet the needs of the consumer within the specific market segment. In this manner, the product positioning is part of the overall market segmentation. Product position takes place in our distributors store, or target market segment and tells us how we can strive most effectively in that market segment against our competition which are also present on display. The key is to understand the consumer perceptions of the product and the marketing behind it. Quality, reliability, affordability, unique features, benefits to the customer is just a few attributes of product positioning. According to Lacobucci (2012) positioning is often about modifying the four P’s of marketing (position, price, place and promotion). In the case of our company, our reputation is a reflection of the position to provide a quality product at a competitive price while leading the market in innovation. Our company performance is attributed to the quality of our employment staff. Our employees are at the core to our success. We have established core values for our company’s work force by creating a positive work culture with recognition of the whole person concept. The strategic leadership from the top on down to the employee fosters productivity with reward and recognition to enhance their performance in support of the company operations to include our marketing efforts. Thus the positive and proactive personality of our company in meeting its marketing objectives is a direct reflection of the quality of every member of the Blue Steel Tool Team. As we continue to grow and develop products for sale, we position our products at a distribution sales point or market segment with the greatest customer exposure for maximum market penetration. We will service our product to the satisfaction and benefit of the customer so as not to jeopardize customer confidence as well as the business relationship with our market segment. The product we create and the service we provide are a direct reflection of not only our company, but that of our distributors. Our products are designed to meet the working needs of our professional as well as consumer clientele with a level of quality that meet or exceed expectations at the best value. References Lacobucci, D. (2012) Marketing Management: 2012 custom edition. Mason OH Market Segment Defined Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/market-segment. html Morley R. (2006), Trumpet Print Edition: The Death of American Manufacturing, February 2006 Retrieved from http://www. thetrumpet. com/index. php? page=article&id=1955 Reference for Business Product Positioning: Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Retrieved from http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/small/Op-Qu/Product-Positioning. html Target Market Defined retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/target-market. html

Phillosophy Teaching Essay

At daybreak on the morning of Friday, August 3 1492, an Italian adventurer named Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain to find a new way from Europe to Asia. His aim was to open up a sorter trade route between the two continents. In Asia, he intended to load his three small ships with silks, spices and gold, and sail back to Europe a rich man. Columbus first sailed south to the Canary Islands. Then he turned west across the unknown waters of the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Ten weeks after leaving Spain, on the morning of October 12, he stepped ashore on the beach of low Sandy Island. He named the island San Salvador – Holy Savior. Columbus believed that he had landed in the Indies, a group of Inlands close to the mainland of India. For this reason he called the friendly, brown-skind people who greeted him los Indios – Indians. In fact, Columbus was not near India. It was not the edge of Asia that he had reached, but islands off the shores of a new continent. Europeans would soon name the new continent America, but for many years they went on calling its inhabitants Indians. Only recently have these first Americans been described more accurately as Native Americans or Amerindians. There were many different groups of Amerindians. Those north of Mexico, in what is now the United States on Canada, were scattered across the grasslands and forests in separate groups called tribes. These tribes followed very different ways of life. Some were hunters, some were farmers. Some were peaceful, others warlike. They spoke over three hundred separate languages, some of which were as different from one another as English is from Chinese. Europeans called America the New World. But it was not new to the Amerindians. Their ancestors had already been living there for maybe 50000 years when Columbus stepped on to the beach in San Salvador. We say maybe because nobody is completely sure. Scientists believe that the distant ancestors of the Amerindians came to America from Asia. This happened, they say, during the earth’s last ice age, long before people began to make written records. At that time a bridge of ice joined Asia to America across what is now the Bering strait. Hunters from Siberia crossed this bridge into Alaska. From Alaska the hunters moved south and east across America, following herds of caribou and buffalo as the animals went from one feeding ground to the next. Maybe 12000 years ago, descendants of these first Americans were crossing the isthmus of Panama into south America. About 5000 years later their camp fires were burning on the frozen southern tip of the continent, now called Tierra del fuego – the Land of fire. For many centuries early Amerindians lived as wandering hunters and gatherers of food. Then a more settled way of life began. People living in highland areas of what is now Mexico found a wild grass with tiny seeds that were good to eat. These people became America’s first farmers. They cultivated the wild grass with great care to make its seeds larger. Eventually it became Indian corn, or maze. Other cultivated plant foods were developed. By 5000 BC Amerindians in Mexico were growing and eating beans, squash and peppers. The Pueblo people of present day Arizona and New Mexico were the best organized of the Amerindians farming people. They lived in groups of villages, or in towns which were built for safety on the sides and top of the cliffs. They shared terraced buildings made of adobe ( mud and straw ) bricks, dried in the sun. Some of these buildings contained as many as 800 rooms, crowded together on top of one another. The Pueblo made clothing and blankets from cotton which grew wild in the surrounding deserts. On their feet they wore boot-shaped leather moccasins to protect their legs against the sharp rocks and cactus plants of the desert. For food the grow crops of maize and beans. Irrigation made them successful as farmers. Long before Europeans came to America and Pueblo were building networks of canals across the deserts to bring water to their fields. In one desert valley modern archaeologists have traced canals and ditches which enable the Pueblo to irrigate 250000 acres of farmland. A people called the apache were the neighbors of the Pueblo. The apache never became settled farmers. They wandered the deserts and mountains in small bands, hunting deer and gathering wild plants, nuts and roots. They also obtained food by raiding their Pueblo neighbors and stealing it. The Apache were fierce and warlike, and they were much feared by the Pueblo. The Iroquois were a group of tribes – a nation- who lived far away from the Pueblo and the Apache in the thick woods of northeastern North America. Like the Pueblo, they were skilled farmers. In fields cleared from the forest they worked together growing beans, squash and twelve different varieties of maiz. They were also hunters and fishermen. They used birch bark canoes to carry them swiftly along the rivers and lakes of their forest homeland. The Iroquois lived in permanent villages, in long wooden huts with barrel-shaped roofs. These huts were made from a framework of saplings covered by sheets of elm bark. Each family had its own apartment on either side of a central hall. The Iroquois were fierce warriors. They were as feared by their neighbors as the Apache of the western deserts were feared by theirs. Around their huts they build strong wooden stockades to protect their villages from enemies. Eager to win a glory for their tribe and fame and honor for themselves, they often fought one another. From boyhood on, male Iroquois were taught to fear neither pain nor death. Bravery in battle was the surest way for a warrior to win respect and a high position in his tribe. Many miles to the west, on the vast plains of grass that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, there was another warrior nation. This group called themselves Dakota, which means allies. But they were better known by the name which other Amerindians gave to them – Sioux, which means enemies. Te Sioux grew no crops and built no houses. For food, for shelter and for clothing they depended upon the buffalo. Millions of these large, slow- moving animals wandered across the western grasslands in vast herds. When the buffalo moved, the Sioux moved.

Comparison Between the Jungle and Fast Food Nation

Comparison Between the Jungle and Fast Food Nation The Jungle is a book written by a journalist who aimed at bringing out the kind of life experienced by those who had migrated to the United States. Although, the novel was then interpreted and used to expose the situation of the health that was being experienced in the industry (Sullivan 1996).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison Between the Jungle and Fast Food Nation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The book elaborates on the harsh conditions of people who migrated to the United States. The Jungle talks more of the problems that people both employed and unemployed faced out off the high level of corruption in by the leaders in the state. The writer of the book came up with suggestion on what ought to be done to eliminate the issue of minimal salaries among the citizens, hence, improve the living standards of the people in the United States. The writer of the novel brings out the picture of America as a natio n that is experiencing various food problems as a result of fast food cuffs, hence, threatening the lives of many citizens in the region (Cecilia 2004). Despite of their advantage of having numerous food supplies in the region, people in the state continue to suffer instead of enjoying the food resources. The writer feels that this is a problem that people created for themselves due to their unhealthy practices that lead to death as well as severe illnesses. There were numerous similarities in the United States on the way people were treated by the government as well as their day to day life. Both the state faced almost common problems as well as close kind of hardship despite of the differences in the kind of resources that were found in the two regions (Jacobs 2010). The writers did not only focus on the problems that the citizens were experiencing but also viewed at the possible solutions that could employed to diminish the problems in the two regions. In the writing, the writer elaborated on the problems that come hand in hand as a result of poor planning by the government, corruption as well as minimal wages among the employed citizen, thus, making the lives of the citizen difficult (Sullivan 1996). With the increased level of poverty in the United States, many people and mostly the immigrants face the greatest challenge in trying to meet their daily needs. However, there are some people who are concerned with the low living standard of the members of the states, for instance, the writer of fast food nations who went to an extra mile by organizing for supervision on the meat packing facilities but his effort fails to work out as people allocated to perform the duties were so reluctant to notice the poor hygiene in the plants. This does not help much in improving the already low level of living in the region reason being that the government was not concerned with its people (Tichi 2004). This could have been enhanced by the fact that the government in the region was also corrupt making the situation even worse.Advertising Looking for essay on comparative literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In both states, the major cause of health problems came as a result of cattle rearing by the citizen. However, the problem was not alls about the rearing of the animals but the processes that followed after the animals were ready for consumption. For instance, in the United States, the writer discovers that the level of cleanliness in the meat plant was low as those concerned could only clean them only when there was going to be an inspection. This, therefore, portrays how much the citizen consumed unhealthy meat from the company. Nevertheless, the efforts of those who tried to expose the kind of unhealthy activities taking place in the regions were cut short by those who wanted to hide the true face of the governance in the region. This was done by reporters who said that t he information given by the writer were just false allegation and that they were misleading since they were baseless. As well, in America, the state of the unhealthy conditions was also experience by the citizens. As in the United States, the hazardous practices were also taking place in the meat companies. The processing of meat was found to be unhygienic for human consumption but the people in the states consumed it without their knowledge. In the United States, the conditions were worse as compared to those in America (Jacobs 2010). The reason behind this was because the carcasses from pigs, chicken as well as from horse were incorporated into cattle feed. Thus, these kinds of practices were the major cause of diseases like bovine spongiform encephalopathy commonly known by the people in the regions as Mad Cow Disease. The consumption of the unhygienic meat not only caused diseases in those who consumed it but it also led to introduction of detrimental micro organisms like E. col i in the meat, hence, this could eventually lead to sickness among the citizens. In the same state, there were other diseases like obesity which was also a threat to the health as well as to the lives of the citizens. Teen labor was also a challenge to the immigrants of the United States as every member of the family was expected to work to aid in supporting the family. This was after the family became a victim of the con men as well as schemes that exhausted their saving. The situation was even more terrible as it diminished all what the citizens had saved to a point of not being in a position to pay for the cheap accommodation that could be easily acquired in the low standard houses known as slums (Sullivan 1996). This lead to eviction of the immigrants leaving the members frustrated.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison Between the Jungle and Fast Food Nation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The different o ccupations as well as lifestyle of the family change their lives from that juncture. This was greatly contributed by the harsh condition they faced at workplace. The situation at work place was made worse by the hardships they faced such as accidents that occurred at workplace as well as deaths of the members of their family that with proper conditions as well as planning could have been avoided. Sexual harassment is also a problem in the two states especially in the United States where the level of security was poor as well as the migrants lacking a government that would cater about their wellbeing (Tichi 2004). Also, the kind of government that was found in the region was so corrupt, hence, no one could promote the security in the region. Those who could not speak English in both novels, that is the immigrants, were discriminated as they could not acquire good jobs as well as they were not counted as important to the society and hence, they could not associate with the others in t he community. This led them be with no choice of the kind of jobs to do, hence, ending up doing the hard jobs which could only afford them minimal salaries thus making their living harder. Lack of well paying jobs, led to poverty that was elaborated by how people died of simple conditions that could have been prevented if the people earned enough. The writer narrates of how a character by the name Ona died when giving birth due to lack of capital to pay for medical attention. In addition to this their younger son drowned in the streets that were muddy. This elaborates on the low living states the immigrants experienced yet no one was concerned to improve their way of life (Jacobs 2010). The main characters of the novels are among those who went through these hardships as well as the disappointments in their lives. They were so much into promoting the way of lives of those who experienced similar difficulties. However, their efforts were cut short by those who dominated the region su ch that ay time they came up with a way of improving the state nobody could side with them making the situation hard for them. In conclusion, the novels bring out the kind of life that people face especially in a land that is not theirs. The people of the United States as well as America represent a vast number of people who live below the poverty levels. The kind of living they experience as well as the neglect from the government. The novels can, therefore, be used to bring out to the issues that the government ought to look into to improve peoples way of living. Jacobs, Jane. Introduction to The Jungle. NY: McGraw-Hill. 2010.Advertising Looking for essay on comparative literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Sullivan, Mark. The Condemned-Meat Industry. NY: Our Times, 1996. Tichi, Cecilia. From the Jungle to Fast Food Nation. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2004.

10 Facts on Health Economics for a Presentation

10 Facts on Health Economics for a Presentation Health Economics is one of the interesting topics to study. It is defined as the branch of economics concerned with issues related to the effectiveness, efficiency, value and behavior in producing and consuming, health and healthcare. Due to its broad scope, your instructor may ask you to create a presentation on a related topic of your choice. You can always check our 20 topics on health economics for a presentation to find a topic that best suits you or you can scroll down to check the following ten facts for inspiration. There is a current debate as to whether healthcare is a want or need. Health care becomes a want depending upon one very important factor, which is if a person is either earning handsomely or just the bare minimum. If a person is earning generously, they will try to avoid going through pain and discomfort using any means possible. On the other hand, those earning less will try to avoid expensive health care in any way possible. However, health care becomes a necessity for people who are aging, especially those living on their own. Health economics is a way to improve existing health systems or create new structures altogether. A certain value can be added to the health system if each resource is allocated in a smart and efficient way. The reason why health economics needed an extra category under the umbrella of general economics is because health care takes a huge chunk out of a country’s economy. In the United States, health care is a huge concern as it consumes over 16 percent of the country’s GDP. As the population of USA increases every year, more people require health care services. Not only does this exponential growth of health care requirements affect the government budget, it also affects the profitability of private sectors. Health is generally considered to be one of the basic human rights by the World Health Organization. While this seems like a very accurate statement, economically attaining absolutely free health care system is a huge strain on a country’s economy. Once again, optimizing health economics is one of the most effective methods to minimize costs. Adverse Selection is a very basic principle that a student of health economics must learn. This is when either the buyer or the seller of health care insurance has prior information about each the other which they obscure from one another for personal benefit. In simpler terms, it is when the buyer of the policy hides key facts about their medical history or the seller unethically finds out information that will lead them towards rejecting applications of people whose medical history is costly. Basically, if the seller or the buyer manipulates asymmetrically acquired information in a way that it benefits them on account of the other party, this is considered to be adverse selection. Health care costs have skyrocketed in the United States and this has been a huge topic of discussion amongst many sectors. According to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention’s health statistics, health care costs have doubled since the year 2000 as it has grown from 1.2 trillion dollars to 2.3 trillion dollars. According to various national surveys, the cost of health insurance, out of pocket costs and national health expenses are rising as each year passes by. According to the CIA, the US stands at a surprisingly 43rd rank when it comes to life expectancy in the entire world. Similarly, it stands at a disappointing 167th position in the world in terms of infant mortality. A study also found out that the USA’s percentage of stopping preventable deaths is declining in great numbers as compared to the healthcare system of Japan and Australia. The size of the hospital affects the cost of treatment due to several very important reasons. A larger establishment can have a larger network of specialized medical units. This compartmentalization can lead to efficient treatment and, more importantly, extra throughput of treated patients. Through basic economics, the cost of treatment drops because the supply increases due to a larger efficient system. Moreover, a larger institute can afford to buy supplies in bulk quantities. All of this boils down to the ethical code of the hospital. To ensure that the system is not manipulated, medical establishments that create supply-monopoly and perform unnecessary treatments for profit can be held accountable and punished by the law if their misconduct is exposed. According to various studies, the supply of labor can be increased if there is improved healthcare provided. However, this has its side effects too. If the economic growth is incapable of withstanding the sudden influx of labor, there will be no profit in the per capita output. The results can actually be very devastating as the unemployment rate will increase. Generally speaking, health economics is not immune to the overall economic growth of the country. Therefore, if the healthcare system is improved in a poor society, it will have adverse effects such as rise in population, increase in poverty, and poor health of the population. If a balance is created between the overall economic growth and health economics, the results can be very opposite. Improved health of the employees can result in a substantial bump in the production efficiency and the cost per unit drops accordingly. If the overall health conditions of an area improve, that can also start housing projects as people will become more prosperous. A good health program increases the overall morale as well, motivating entrepreneurs to start small businesses. Health economics is an extremely important study because it is the very connection between the basic health and the resources required to sustain it. Resources do not just mean money, though; they can also be the amount of people, material and time. These resources are not infinite and, therefore, they need to be allocated and managed systematically. Once you decide on a topic from these, do not forget to check out our guide on how to write a presentation about health economics to come up with an excellent presentation which your instructors will grade you generously for. Resources: Bhattacharya, J., Hyde, T., Tu, P. (n.d.). Health Economics. Gruber, J., Newquist, H. P. (2011). Health Rare Reform: What it is, why its necessary, how it works. New York: Hill and Wang. Health Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2016, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/33/1/67.long Sloan, F. A., Hsieh, C. (2012). Health economics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. COUNTRY COMPARISON :: LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2016, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html Drummond, M., Drummond, M. (2005). Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Is the US Population Behaving Healthier? (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2016, from nber.org/papers/w13013

10 Things to Know about Dating Your College Classmate

10 Things to Know about Dating Your College Classmate 1. You Change Throughout College Whether it’s the kids that come in fresh out of high school or those that wait until later in their twenties, four years of undergraduate studies changes a human being. You’re one way when you arrive, and another way when you leave. Think about how much you’ll have learned! With that said, it makes dating somewhat more difficult for most students. There’s so much going on. So many deadlines. So many choices. Typically a large dating pool where everyone’s hooking up with someone. Just remember that if you hook up with someone early on in your freshmen year, the relationship must be able to adapt as you both change as people. 2. Many Different Shades of Grey You’ve got to be precise when it comes to college dating. Let’s look at the four most common types or definitions: Courting: You’re both digging on one another and it’s obvious to everyone there’s something going on, but it’s not serious yet. You’re still getting to know both yourselves and each other. Exclusive: It’s official, everyone else has to keep their hands off of both of you. Social lives can easily begin to suffer here, which isn’t necessarily a great idea in college where you’re supposed to be getting out there and involved. Temporary: You’re exclusively dating but there’s no illusions. Once the graduation dates come you’re both going your separate ways. It means you won’t have to deal with being single, but there isn’t a post-college long-term commitment either. However, there are still some ways to save your relationships after graduation. Fling: Also known as the fresh, sophomore, junior and senior year fling. Yeah, they can happen every year. Typically around spring. You’ve been eyeing one another all year in college or passing by in the halls or whatever, and finally you’re hooking up for the summer. 3. A Long Term Question In America, more than half of the ladies walking around campus everyday secretly or publically hope to meet their spouse while in college. As you might have guessed, that number tends to be a bit lower with college guys. Most of them aren’t thinking much farther ahead than mid-terms, or this coming Friday night. 4. Dating can get Expensive! Unfortunately, for the vast majority of college students out there today, dating isn’t really a viable financial prospect. Not serious dating anyhow. Going out get be pricey enough. When possible, keep dating as humble as possible. 5. Grades Could Suffer Once people begin throwing the â€Å"L† word around, things could get complicated. What if there’s a pregnancy? If grades are a high priority, then keep it that way and make sure that dating doesn’t cause you to completely divert from your long term goals. 6. Guys and Girls Are not at the Same Page While most girls think of relationships as committment to the other person and love, most guys dont strive for anything serious in college and approach relationships as fun. This is about not about good or bad its just the fact caused by differences in gender psychology. Both boys and girls should find balance between having fun and serious commitment and discuss their expetations from the relationships before jumping into things too quickly. 7. Be a Yes Person It’s college. If someone asks you out you nod and say, â€Å"yes.† Simple. Obviously there are exceptions, but as a general rule you should be taking every single opportunity that comes your way to make friends, learn about new people and set up college networks of friends. Give people a chance you normally wouldn’t. Remember, after college it’s all about who you know. 8. Expectations are Poisonous When dating in college it’s best to keep the expectations at a minimum for the first few months. Is it a fling? Are you expecting a relationship from someone who is in a transitional phase of their life? Are they expecting you to wait and be faithful while they’re in Europe for six months without you? It’s best to keep your priorities in line and go with the flow. 9. Date Outside Your Major Whenever possibly try to dating someone in finance or marketing. If you’re in finance or marketing, go for a philosophy major. I’m kidding. But honestly, try not to get yourself stuck inside a little bubble where you never leave your own area of study. Date someone from a completely different major. Mingle! Get to know and make friends with people in as many different majors as possible. 10. Online College Dating? Is it really even online dating if you go to the same college? Hey, these days if you have issues with going to parties or trying to ask out people in your classes, then hop online and reach out to them that way. At this point, there’s nothing abnormal about it. â€Å"Hey, aren’t you in my 9am English class?† You can engage people in texting conversations and Facebook updates without having to get up close and personal. Overall, dating in college can be tricky for some, and easy for others. Make sure to live it up! Have you ever dated someone in your class? What that easy or not? Share your experience in the comments section!

Finance management for business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finance management for business - Assignment Example All financial activities, starting from the capital investment decision making to the investment banking, come under the category of corporate finance (Ehrhardt, 2013). Among all these domains, one of the most important departments of corporate finance is related to the capital investment decisions. It deals with various factors such as, whether a proposed investment should be carried out or not, the proportion of equity and debt investment involved in the investment pattern, whether the shareholders should be provided dividends on the investment made and various other decision making purposes (Megginson and Smart, 2008). The short term issues handled in this domain includes the management of current liabilities and current assets, investments, inventory control and other short term financial factors. The long-term issues deal with new capital investments and capital purchases. Investment analysis is one of the important parts in corporate finance. The role played by a corporate fina ncier is to evaluate the financial needs of an organisation for raising the capital best suitable for the required needs. b) Difference between corporate finance and corporate funding requirements Corporate funding requirements are the necessities for which funding is required by a corporation. On the other hand, corporate finance is the department which deals with the financing of such requirements. Corporate finance deals with the requirements and management of such funding (Gallagher and Andrew, 1968). As already stated above, the function of the corporate financier is to evaluate the financial needs of the organisation that is required for raising the most appropriate capital funding pattern to finance such needs. c) Debt and Equity Financing The debt and equity financing strategies are two entirely different types of financing strategies. The debt financing indicates that the owner of the business has borrowed more money from the external sources for financing the operational a ctivities. On the other hand, equity financing implies the funding by the business owner from the internal sources by means of issuing equity shares

Biochemistry - How BSE Occurs at a Molecular Level Coursework

Biochemistry - How BSE Occurs at a Molecular Level - Coursework Example Toxicity: Large amounts of phenylalanine taken in the form of nutritional supplements elevate blood pressure. Symptoms such as headaches, heartburn and nausea may be experienced. In addition, the nervous system is usually affected by the toxicity of phenylalanine. Reactivity: Phenylalanine is a hydrophobic amino acid with an aromatic side chain. Therefore, it is fairly unreactive and mostly takes place in substitution reactions where it is interchanged with amino acids of a similar nature. Consequently, it plays a key role in substrate recognition rather than in protein function. Hydrogen bonds: Hydrogen atoms from the amine groups are pulled towards the electronegative carboxyl groups leading to sharing of electrons. The repetitive nature of such attractions within the protein structure confers stability. Van der Waals forces: Interactions among induced dipoles that form from the changes in charge density that occur in adjacent atoms that do not necessarily form a bond constitute attractive van der Waals forces. Repulsive forces, on the other hand, entail interactions between atoms that come close to each other but do not form dipoles. The huge numbers of such forces within the structure of proteins affect the stability of proteins. When certain proteins fail to fold in the required way, they begin to cluster and form aggregates. These aggregates contain certain polymeric structures such as beta sheets. In BSE, these aggregates are in the form of prions, which get into the brain and cause disease. Prions are proteinaceous infectious particles that comprise aggregates of misfolded proteins. Prions alter the structure of the brain by stimulating the formation of ‘holes’ in the brain, which ultimately give the brain a spongy architecture. Consequently, the nervous system is affected making the cow behave abnormally.  Ingestion of prions present in contaminated food causes them to be taken up into the body.  Ã‚  

Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Logistics - Essay Example The essay intends to determine how supply chain capabilities of Johnstons of Elgin, a company dealing with manufacturing and retailing woven as well as knitted products, have enabled it to attain a competitive advantage. Moreover, the extent up to which the business model of Johnstons can be applied to companies in other industries would also be described in the essay based upon the provided case study. Organisations functioning in this modern day context often have to face challenges in developing and delivering quality and innovative products/services to their customers globally with the aim of attaining superior competitive position. Several factors can be found associated as a cause of these challenges. These include increased level of globalisation, pressure created by the competitive forces to innovate technologically advanced production or supply systems and growing complexities in managerial ideologies among others (CEVA, n.d.). In this similar context, supply chain capabilities support the business organisations to attain a superior competitive positioning in the form of offering quality products to the customers by way of focusing more on main competences, recognising the outsourcing trends and following the procedure of vertical disintegration in the operational strategies. As generally believed, proper and effective utilisation of various sorts of supply chain capabilities can certainly aid in making quality procurement decisions, which in turn can enable the modern business organisations to attain a superior competitive positioning over their chief rivals (Crown, 2012). It would be vital to mention that the prime facets of supply chain capabilities not only support the modern business organisations to attain superior competitive positioning but also enables their respective business to sustain in this competitive landscape. In this regard, the characteristics of supply chain capabilities fundamentally

Mechanisms determining Temperature of the climate Essay

Mechanisms determining Temperature of the climate - Essay Example ave expressed high sense of will power towards the combating of climate change, their major problem has been on the specific steps to take in implementing the various policies that are suggested among climate change advocates. As a step towards solving this problem, this report is targeted towards drafting a policy that will be well defined in the strategies and principles. This is to say that the major component of the policy report will be to spell out the policies and ways of implementing them in a language that will be eaily understood by all users of the policy. Again, the policy in itself will aim at curbing the dangers associated with climate change. Further on, the various mechanisms that determine temperature in climate change will be highlighted so that needed solutions can easily be identified and worked towards. The report has been done in such a way that all terminologies that relate to climate system are defined in detail to make understanding of the report easier. In the subject of physics, we see natural and artificial mechanisms of work, involving the flow of particles and other objects. Because in the climate change, there is the flow of energy, we can generally describe the climate system as also being physics. Box (n.d) notes that â€Å"The Earth’s climate, at both global and regional scales, is the result of dynamic balances in the flows of energy, when averaged over sufficiently large time and space scales. Here, the major energy being referred to is heat energy. Most commonly, the time frame for measuring this equilibrium is twenty-five (25) years. On a global perspective, the climate system is determined on regional basis such as for countries. The mechanism that goes to play in labeling a particular region with a particular climate is a measure of the whether that has existed there for a number of years. In this direction, the Met Office (2010) explains that â€Å"climate is the average weather we expect over a long period of time.† It must

Site analysis on The Piazza de Campidoglio Research Paper

Site analysis on The Piazza de Campidoglio - Research Paper Example At the center of the courtyard stands, Michelangelo designed a statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius whose base. He came up with a design relevant to the original trapezoidal for the squire that had intriguing oval shaped at the center. He came up with Palazzo Nuovo just opposite the Palazzo dei Conservotori. He finished his work by constructing a magnificent Staircase called the Cordonata [3]. The design brought a new dimension in urban planning, and it was seen as a touch of brilliance from Michelangelo to revive the place that was already in ruins and made it the Roman social and political events. The building currently stands as the Rome city hall. Capitoline Hill was an ideal choice of location for building such an important monument of the Roman Emperor and many other significant buildings due to: i) the historical background of the Capitoline hill. Capitol Hill is the most important of all the Rome emperor seven hills. Capitoline hill symbolizes the epicenter of the Rome power (might).It hosts the most important buildings in Rome like Palazzo dei conservatori, Palazzo del senator and Palazzo Nuovo. The hill has very important historical status like Castor, Pollux, horse statue at Capitol Hill entrance and Replica of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. Capitol Hill hosted important temples like Temple of Jupiter, Temple of Veiovis, Temple of Juno Moneta and Temple of Ludi Capitolini. On top of the hill lies the old church Santa Maria in Aracoeli [3]. Therefore, the hill historically has accommodated much important building; therefore, many important personalities frequent it. It also accommodates many Tourists some of them come from as far as Africa and America. The building Palazzo Senatorio is originally known as the palace of senators a name made its original function as seats for the senators which it help until 1870 when finally palazzo became the seat of the renown Rome City. It also

Mechanisms determining Temperature of the climate Essay

Mechanisms determining Temperature of the climate - Essay Example ave expressed high sense of will power towards the combating of climate change, their major problem has been on the specific steps to take in implementing the various policies that are suggested among climate change advocates. As a step towards solving this problem, this report is targeted towards drafting a policy that will be well defined in the strategies and principles. This is to say that the major component of the policy report will be to spell out the policies and ways of implementing them in a language that will be eaily understood by all users of the policy. Again, the policy in itself will aim at curbing the dangers associated with climate change. Further on, the various mechanisms that determine temperature in climate change will be highlighted so that needed solutions can easily be identified and worked towards. The report has been done in such a way that all terminologies that relate to climate system are defined in detail to make understanding of the report easier. In the subject of physics, we see natural and artificial mechanisms of work, involving the flow of particles and other objects. Because in the climate change, there is the flow of energy, we can generally describe the climate system as also being physics. Box (n.d) notes that â€Å"The Earth’s climate, at both global and regional scales, is the result of dynamic balances in the flows of energy, when averaged over sufficiently large time and space scales. Here, the major energy being referred to is heat energy. Most commonly, the time frame for measuring this equilibrium is twenty-five (25) years. On a global perspective, the climate system is determined on regional basis such as for countries. The mechanism that goes to play in labeling a particular region with a particular climate is a measure of the whether that has existed there for a number of years. In this direction, the Met Office (2010) explains that â€Å"climate is the average weather we expect over a long period of time.† It must

Marketing communications tools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing communications tools - Essay Example Notably, it can be ascertained that in the past few years’ digital technology and the expansion of targeting capabilities has shifted from the traditional marketing tools to digital marketing tools. Due to the continuous revolution in the field of marketing communication tools particularly the internet, it has be found that both small organizations as well as big organizations are widely inclined towards using modern digital marketing tools over the conventional tools. Traditional marketing tools involving print media (such as magazines, newspapers and newsletters) electronic media (such as broadcasting through television and radios) and direct marketing among others can be ascertained to be barely used by the contemporary business organizations. Nonetheless, both the traditional and digital marketing tools have some advantages and disadvantages. Hence, it would be wise to use the combine form of traditional and digital marketing tools in order to achieve the best outcome. ... Significance of Traditional Forms of Marketing Communications in the Contemporary Organizations It can be affirmed that digital marketing tools particularly internet has attracted the contemporary marketers to a great extent. However, heavy reliability on modern marketing tools does not mean that traditional marketing is disappearing. In this regard, it has been ascertained from a survey report that approximately USD $ 295billion was spent on television advertisement in the US during 2007. A huge investment on traditional marketing tool in this cotemporary world signifies vast majority of traditional media. At the same time, newspaper and magazines can also be ascertained to be effective marketing communication tools despite of its reducing importance amid the contemporary marketers. It is important to note that despite of inclination towards the new media few renowned companies like Procter and Gamble spent USD $3.5 billion on advertising purpose in 2006 with the use of TV, print an d other old media (Winer, 2008). Every business has different marketing requirements. It is not possible to state which marketing tool is best for the particular business. In the contemporary business environment an organization should not rely on one type of marketing, rather integrating both the traditional and digital marketing tools would be more feasible for the organization to attain the desire marketing communication goals. It can be firmly stated that integrating the two approaches will support the organization to achieve its broad marketing communication objectives. It can be stated that integration of traditional and digital marketing tools facilitate the organizations to develop the most appropriate

British Air Essay Example for Free

British Air Essay Strategy: In this context, strategy is to be taken as the nature and also the direction a company can take in light of the choices which are at its dispose. Therefore, from this definition of strategy, strategic responses can be inferred to mean the responses that an organization takes in achieving its strategies and hence strategic responses. Nature: refers to the very essence of the company, for instance BA is an airline and hence in the airline industry. Direction: refers to where the organization in question (BA) is headed and hence strategic responses. Pestle Analysis: It refers to a methodology whereby the macro environment is analysed. It will be used to analyze the political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental forces affecting the airline industry under which BA operates and to which this forces impacts on the strategic making of BA. Abstract The airline industry is in the service industry which experiences very volatile changes all over the world and hence companies have to keep up with the changes as well as plan for future changes and challenges in the service industry of airlines through strategic making. Strategy making is an important aspect in the organization in light of the organization succeeding in the environment it is operating in. Though the airline industry is changing like any other typical service industry, it does not mean that the airline industry can afford to lag behind or sleep in terms of making strategies suitable for the now markets tastes and the then (future) markets tastes. Therefore the paper critically reviews the corporate strategy of British Airways (BA), the company’s competitive strategies through critical appraisal of the company’s strategy, industry and company analysis. However, an overall industry analysis is undertaken before any analysis of the company’s strategy through analysis of a three dichotomies impact in the company and in the context of three paradoxes in the company and the perspectives which are applicable to the paradoxes. Industry Analysis Overview BA is a renowned airline in the UK and among the largest airlines in the world, facts which are derived from fleet size of the airline, the number of passengers carried and the number of international flights made by the airline. It was established in 1971 with the motives of gaining control of BOAC and BEA which was the then nationalized airlines alongside other two airlines, which were Cambrian Airways and the Northeast Airlines. The merger of the four companies that formed the presently BA airline was effected in 1974 and become a state owned company. However, the company was later privatized in 1987 and its expansion was gained through acquiring the British Caledonian together with Dan Air in 1992. BA is currently trading in the UK Market share as the largest airline in terms of the fleet size and boasts of being in 2nd position in terms of its market share (IATA 2012), trading under the name of International Airlines Group following a merger in 2011 with Iberia. In the global arena, the presence of BA is felt through the company being 5th largest airline in terms of the passengers who are flown using the BA airline (See; Figure 1, position of BA in the global arena). Current and Future Key Issues Affecting the Airline Industry In researching on the current and future key issues affecting the airline industry together with researching the trends and the competitive forces that are affecting the airline industry in the modern times, in light of BA strategy making and the influences that are to effect on BA, a pestle analysis, SWOT analysis and the Porter’s Five Force Analysis are the tools that are going to be utilised. However, for greater specificity, the focus of the pestle analysis is the European Airline Industry. Pestle Analysis Political Issues Having state owned airline, which are owned by governments and therefore enjoys government protection resulting to regulated competition. This classic example of government regulation of international air was seen in BA in the merger of British Caledonian together with Dan Air in 1992, to combat competition on long haul routes. Development of aviation policies which are politically generated, for instance, the Aviation policy in UK of increasing the capacity at Heathrow, which according to Civil Aviation Authority are only short term measures that would do Europe no good in terms of competing with other global competitors for instance USA, China and India. The idea is to have more capacity through building other airports (Reals n.d.). In UK, airlines’ belonging to another country are not allowed to operate within the route of another country (cabotage) and hence eliminates competition in the airline industry in the UK for there is no competition from the non – European countries. Increase in APD (Air Passenger Duty) by 8% for which all airlines have to comply and which can translate to less travels to the UK for ADP ultimately increases the cost of travels (BBC News 2012, 1st April). Airlines constrains in terms of adhering to government policies for instance the pledge by the UK government to reduce carbon emissions by 60% reflected in the UK Climate Change Bill. Economic Factors Severe crisis in world economics where financial systems have been destabilized and paralyzed and therefore needs to be restored to stability, otherwise translates to less travels by air. Stiff competition in the airline industry in the UK due to presence of competitors who even offer low fares flights. Competition was brought about by the deregulation of the Airline Industry in UK Socio – Cultural Factors UK’s ageing population which is approximated to rise over the years. Projections in UK’s populations estimates that there would be more elderly people than there are presently (see; Figure 2 and Figure 3 for the projections) Accessibility of airline travels by the lower social groups in the UK Technological Factors Development of cleaner engines in the aviation industry which means that airlines like BA have to adopt the new technologies and also in light of the pledges in support of government’s policies to reduce carbon emissions. New operating procedures which can be as a result of sudden changes in weather patterns The use of Bio – fuel by the airline industry is the various developments in the world of technology that the airline industry has to deal with. Environmental Factors Development of environmental policies for instance the UK Climate Change Bill Health scares which mostly are as a result of the changes in climate and weather patterns for instance earth quakes and bird flues. Emissions policy in the UK, for instance the move to have airlines charged for their share of green house gas contribution on flights that are to and fro Europe. Legal Factors Open sky agreement ending the protection of national carriers and introducing completion in the airline industry. EU regulatory changes; for instance the increased call for better care of the customer US regulatory changes; for instance the ban on liquids and gels past the screening checkpoints affects the customers of air transport mode who may be in possession of such goods (liquids and gels). BA’s SWOT Analysis Strengths A Strong Brand Global appeal Established Fleet Operations Latest fleets that provide the calm to its customers Innovativeness in the development of products and services by the company Strong analytical and marketing skilfulness Weaknesses The organization’s culture (the â€Å"us† culture) Decline in operations efficiency Unhealthy financial performance Lack of provision of competitive customer packages Poor marketing strategies that are to reinforce competitiveness of the company to the standard of its competitors Opportunities Global tourism, which continues to increase due to globalization Technological advancements in the airline industry UK’s ageing population Corporation tax reductions Threats Competition from low fares airlines (e.g. British Airways Low Cost Airline {BALOW}) Increase in ADP by 8% Oil price volatility Increase in regulatory conditions and laws which are varying Substitute means of transport like electric trains and buses The ever changing customer behaviour which is hard to predict Porter’s Five Force Analysis Porter’s Five Forces study is important in order to check whether BA’s proposed strategies are to become profitable to the organization (Porter 2008). Diagram illustrating a simplified 5 Forces Model By Micheal Porter; adopted from http://www.brs-inc.com/porter.asp, Analysis distinct to BA as provided below: Degree of Rivarly BA operates both the small and the long flights BA is different in policies and terms with their competitors in the airline industry Other companies like Virgin Atlantic criticisms of some of BA’s strategies for instance the merger of BA with AA and thus disregarding the company’s strategies to its customers. Threat of Entry Competitors are discouraged from entering the market by; Existing firms in the airline industry having a competitive advantage Changing new technlogy Transformed government policies Threats of Substitutes Internal substitutes include;busses, cars, electric trains External substitutes include; international airlines like EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic Buyer Power Availmability of the internet to consumers increases the consumer’s conciousness and exposes the consumers to BA competitors. Supplier Power Supplier’s makes use of trade unions to have a high bargaining power Market characterised by suppliers having a high power BA has only two supply manufacturers of its aircrafts and a sole fuel supplier The Paradox of Markets versus Resources The airline industry being a very volatile industry has to survive through tough financial times, for instance economic recessions. In light of all the changes that occur in the airline industry, an organization has to continuously adapt to the environment in which it is operating in. In light of BA’s environment, i.e. the service industry, it is paramount that the organization’s strategic thinkers acknowledge that imitation of what other companies are doing in the market may not always produce the same results and hence BA needs to constantly study the market to identify the asymmetries that keeps emerging in the service industry and hence develop the asymmetries to capabilities for the organization. This therefore proposes that the organization has to keep in touch with the market for instance through continuous research and development of the organization’s products and services and in light of the company’s strategy of becoming an airline of choice to customers of long and short haul premium. BA differentiation from its competitors is seen through continuous research and development of the industry which can be inferred through the analysis of the SWOT, PESTLE and the Porters Five Forces tool, continuous improvements of the company’s products and services to its customers for instance through maintaining the organization’s networks in the long, short and cargo segments. In addition, BA as a front-line in the airline industry has an advantage over its competitors due to its long presence in the industry which dates to the years where it was a state owned airline. This clearly shows that in adopting some strategies for instance the acquisition of Iberia, BA tries to make its presence felt in the global arena. In addition, the organization resources allows the organization to apply the inside out logic as compared to its competitors who may not have a good command of resources at their dispose and therefore making BA have a competitive advantage. The inside out logic follows that for a firm to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, it must have the capability of converting the processes of production in a quick and cheap way and which BA has exhibited and continues to exhibit through its various acquisitions of other airlines and through mergers formed with other airlines. BA’s strategy that is consistent with achieving its strategy of being an airline of choice to customers of long and short haul premium is through acquisition of other airlines so that all customers are within in its reach enabled through the mergers and the acquisitions. While the theories of completive advantage suggest that for an organization to gain competitive advantage, the organization must establish a cost effective way of attaining its strategies. This means that the company’s operational costs are lowered and this leads to the company having a competitive advantage over its competitors. Therefore, BA’s strategy of mergers and acquisitions is geared or leans towards the company having a global presence in the world and hence appealing to its customers and reduction of operational costs. The reality of the environment that the organization operates in is realised through the SWOT, PESTLE and analysis of Porters five force (Fine 2009). In as much as an organization has to adapt to the environment for instance through continuous development of services and products to meet the ever changing needs of the consumer, the resources that are at the dispose of an organization in light to adapting to the current trends, tastes and preferences of the consumers in the industry can indicate otherwise. A company’s resources refers to the tangible and the intangible resources for instance land, money and materials which are tangible while the intangible resources include the rational resources for instance the relationships and reputation and the competencies which include the knowledge and capabilities. One of BA’s strategies is becoming an airline of choice to customers of long haul premium and which is counter acted by strategies for instance through continuous research and development in order to identify the tastes and the preferences of the customers, continuous improvements in products, services and networks and through maintaining its presence in the long, short and cargo segments. However, these strategic responses are evaluated against a background of whether the market needs of the consumers are the once to guide the strategy making process of the firm or the firm is the one to leverage the strategies that BA is to take owing to the fact that whether there are adequate resources to respond to the needs of the markets so identified through the research and development process in order for BA to attain its strategy of becoming the airline of choice to customers of the premium long haul (Clegg, Kornberger Pitsis 2008). BA’s markets versus Resources The strategic responses put forth by BA illustrates its commitment towards attaining it strategy of becoming an airline of choice to customers of premium long haul which is achieved through BA building a terminal which increased the operations of the airline. In addition, BA also appeals to customers through transforming the customer’s service in that the customer service exceeds punctuality and hence customers are more satisfied which represents the rational resources of the company. BA has also continued to grow in order to meet at the crossroads with the needs of the customers through launching of routes from London to St Kitts, launch of the open skies and also flights from continental Europe to countries in North America. In addition, BA also made L’Avion and started to fly from London to NY JKF. The expansion is made in the efforts of BA coordinating its efforts to have a more international perspective that is cable of meeting the demands of the customers. BA Plc (2010), recognises that there are 5574 BA resources oversees and approximately 35, 920 in the UK. However, greater specificity is to be achieved through coordinating the resources and market availability (Schneider, Gunnarson Niles-Jolly 1994). BA’s commitment to the needs of the customers is seen through the purchases of aircrafts which are modern which are also in the effort of appealing to customers. Other ways through which BA appeals to its customers is through being corporate responsible through its commitment in reducing carbon emissions (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington 2008). Therefore BA is driven by the outside – in logic other than the inside – out logic for the balance between the company’s resources and the markets availability will always indicate a different shift where the company strategies are more bound towards meeting the demands of the market and hence the outside – in logic prevails. The Paradox of globalization versus localization Globalization is a strategy that is being adopted by international corporations in order for them to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. Strategic tensions that a company for instance BA has to face in light of globalization revolves around the concept of globalization that is to be adopted in light of achieving strategic goals. For instance, one of BA’s strategy is to increase its global presence with the strategic tensions in attaining this objective being whether global is to be taken in the terms of a worldwide scope that is to refer to the geographic presence of BA in the world, worldwide similarity of the BA’s products for instance, using the word global to refer to the homogeneity of BA’s products around the world or whether globalization (Thompson, Strickland Stappenbech 1994) would be in the context of the integration of the operations of BA, that is linking the world as a system through its services (See Figure 5 for illustrations of the dim ensions of globalization). A different tension lies in whether BA is to respect the differences that exist between markets defined by national boundaries which can be done through designing products and services that meet the needs of customers in different countries. The paradox of globalization and localization is a challenge that BA has to address in light of its strategy of having a global presence with questions ranging on how the company can address the globalization synergies and at the same time remain relevant in addressing the local synergies. BA’s Globalization and Localization To begin with, one of the ways through which BA’s strategy of global presence is achieved is through the strategic response of having a global connectivity for all the customers and this is achieved through BA establishing tier in most of the major cities in the world or through expansion which is gained through BA partnering with other airlines for instance the low fares airlines or through mergers for instance the merger of BA with Iberia, code sharing with Kingfisher carrier in India (in 2010) and the recent acquisition of BMI from Lufthansa in 2012. In addition, BA is one of the largest airlines in the UK a position that the company has gained through having a large fleet size, flies to over 300 destinations in the world and has shareholdings in BA city Flyer, Comair, Flybe, Open Skies, AIG, ICCR and BMI. In addition, the global presence of BA is felt through BA being the 5th largest airline by scheduled passengers. Without much further ado, the paradox of globalization versus localization for BA is congruent with the dichotomy of whether BA develops a business model distinctively different from its competitors or whether industry logic is the one that largely determines the firm’s strategy. In analysis, the drivers of globalization are market drivers, government drivers and competitor’s drivers which have less to do with BA developing a business model that is distinct from its competitors. As a major airline in UK, BA enjoys economies of scale and understands that it must have the oligopoly characteristics where firms operating in an oligopoly market cannot act independently on their own (De Wit Meyer 2010) and hence disputing the fact that BA can develop a business model distinct from its competitors (Porter 1985). Owing to the drivers that make a firm to be globalised, BA’s strategies are interdependent with its competitors. For instance, deregulation brought new agreements for example the EU – US Open Skies agreement in 2008 which brought a shift to competition in Transatlantic Routes and as a result the US Carrier Deltas, US Airways and the Continental started operations at Heathrow in 2009. Therefore, it is less convincing to claim that BA develops a business model distinct to it for clear facts exists to establish the claim that it does not act independently of its competitors and one of the ways it does so is through the strategy of having a global presence in response of what its competitors are achieving (the operations of other airlines which are taking advantage of deregulation to coin agreements and operate in other countries) (Roth Ricks 1994). The paradox of Responsiveness and Synergy This paradox brings into focus a company’s dilemma of how to respond to the competition in the industry and whether the company can match the demands of the market and at the same time maintain the responsiveness of the business. In order to have synergies in an organization there is need for a company to unify the different activities carried out in the organization which in some instances may make a company lose its business responsiveness. For a company to attain synergies and at the same time attain responsiveness (Mintzberg, Quinn Ghoshal 2002), the organization must draw out clearly its corporate scope for instances of how many businesses the company should have, corporate distribution, for instance the weight that is to be placed on each business unit in the organization, integrated mechanisms for instance of how the synergies in the company’s business should be achieved and the management mechanisms that ensures that the synergies so developed are a reality to the company. The meeting point of a business responsiveness and the synergies so created, results to the paradox of responsiveness versus synergy. Business demands presents a business to forces that pull it apart while the synergies pull s the company into an integrated whole. BA’s Responsiveness versus Synergy One of BA’s strategies is to meet the ever changing needs of the consumer for instance meeting the needs of the ageing population which requires the company to provide more value to the products offered to this market segment, reinforce the company’s brand, development of new products and also through enhancing customer loyalty (Mintzberg Ahlstrand 1998). For the company to achieve the above strategy through the strategic responses discussed above, there is need to coordinate the various units of the organization into a functional whole whereby units so entrusted with the development of new products, researching on upcoming market trends are an integrated whole of the organization and hence the synergies. For instance, the finance department of the organization needs to avail funds to the research and development of the organization so that proper research on upcoming trends is conducted effectively. This principle is consistent with making the parts an integrated part of the whole for the whole to function as one unit, that is the organization (Raynor 2005). The paradox of responsiveness and synergy can be best achieved when the management and the leadership style demonstrates control or managed chaos. In a controlled leadership, a company attains responsiveness (Porter 1996) and at the same time attains synergies because the management of the organization is organized in such a way that the different businesses or the department in the organization are headed by leaders who have the same goals. In a leadership where there is chaos, the synergies and the business responsiveness losses focus for the management is not organised to attain the responsiveness and the synergies (Mintzberg Ahlstrand 1998). . Conclusion In light of the volatility of the airline industry, the strategies that BA has put in place are best achieved when the paradoxes of globalization versus localization, markets versus resources and responsiveness versus synergies are analysed in the context of the dichotomies applicable to paradoxes. In so doing, BA will not only maintain its current position as being the best airliner in the UK, but also attain competitive advantage over other airliners who are its competitors and also potential entrants (McGahan Porter 1997). Bibliographies Reals, K. n.d., UK will Suffer Unless Long – Term Aviation Policy is developed: CAA. Retrieved from; http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-will-suffer-unless-long-term-aviation-policy-is-developed-caa-366738/, Retrieved on 28th May, 2012. De Wit, B. Meyer, R. 2010, Strategy Process, Content, Context. New York; Cengage Learning. 4th Ed. Clegg, S., Kornberger, M. Pitsis, T. 2008, Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. New York; Sage Publications. Fine, L. 2009, The Swot Analysis: Using your Strength to Overcome Weaknesses, Using Opportunities to Overcome Threats. New York; CreateSpace Publishers. Mintzberg, H. B. Ahlstrand, J. L., 1998, Strategy Safari, New York; Free Press. Schneider, B., Gunnarson, S.K., Niles-Jolly, K. 1994, Creating the climate and culture of success. Organizational Dynamics, 23(1), 17-29 Roth, K. Ricks, D. A. 1994, â€Å"Goal Configuration in a Global Industry Context.† Strategic Management Journal; 15, 103 – 120 Porter, M. E. 1996, â€Å"What is Strategy?† Harvard Business Review. pp. 61 – 78. Porter, M. E. 1985, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York; Free Press.

Overview of Bristol, Rhode Island

Overview of Bristol, Rhode Island Silva 1 Thousands upon thousands of cities and towns blanket this beautiful planet. Many different cities and towns are indeed interesting subjects for study and analysis. One particular town in general possesses many characteristics that help to build what this planet is. Bristol, Rhode Island definitely is a magnificent town to visit, live, or study. Why Bristol? Bristol, Rhode Island and its unique history, culture and other geographic characteristics make it a wonderful place to live. To understand the Bristol of today, one must critically analyze the history of the area. Bristol has a long, rich history—a history that dates back over 1000 years. Around the year 1000, Vikings from Iceland are believed to have landed on the shores of what is today Mount Hope Bay (Almy 8). This is the first recorded contact from the outside perimeter of the world to Bristol. Many believe that the name â€Å"Mount Hope† has been passed down from these Vikings to the indigenous Amerindians of the region. The Amerindians ultimately passed the name onto the first English settlers (Almy 8). The first European settler to make his home in the Mount Hope Lands was John Gorham. Gorham was granted 100 acres of land by the Plymouth colony, and has been given credit to be the official founder of Bristol. Much of the surrounding time saw little English settlement. However, much of the time was devoted to a series of conflicts between Amerindians and English settlers. The most notab le conflict was the King Phillips War (1675-1676). The Amerindians were subsequently crushed by the English settlers and Amerindian control over the lands was lost forever. The Mount Hope Lands were now under full control of the Plymouth Colony and not the Amerindians (Funk Wagnall’s 358). The colonial administrators took little time in making attempts to develop the area, and in 1680 the process of settlement took a momentous step. Four proprietors bought a tract of land (what is now Bristol). At this time the relative location of Bristol was as follows: The Mount Hope Lands lied between present day Taunton and the Mount Hope Bay on the East and the Narragansett Bay on the west; the land also extended from Bristol Ferry some 6 miles from the north (Almy 8). The Proprietors took their land and broke it up, selling portions to other English settlers. The following year, 1681, the first town meeting was held and a decision was reached about the future name of the Mount Hope La nds. The settlers saw the opportunities that were before them and they chose to name the Mount Hope Lands after the seaport city of Bristol, England in the hopes that one day, Bristol of the New World would emulate the success of Bristol, England (Funk Wagnall’s 358). Bristol finally had a name and a mass a settlers that would plant the seed and develop the area to what it is today. It is important to understand at this particular point in history the town of Bristol was under the auspice of the Plymouth Colony, which today is present day Massachusetts. The surrounding areas, most notably Taunton, made attempts to diminish the role of Bristol within the colony; therefore, Bristol attempted to remove itself from the Plymouth Colony and chose to be annexed by the colony of Rhode Island. At a town meeting in 1747, Bristol decided to officially break away from Plymouth Colony, and Rhode Island was there to take the potential seaport. Bristol was now part of Rhode Island (Almy 9). Bristol, as it is known today, came into existence. To better understand the Bristol of today, two important aspects of Bristol’s history must be understood. The history of industry and the history of immigration helped to shape Bristol immensely. From 1680 until about 1830 the town of Bristol was engaged in commerce and agriculture. Everything from onions to slaves was exported from this busy seaport all around the world (Almy 9). A new industry sprang up in 1832 as ships were sent out in search of whales on the Pacific Coast—whaling was successfully profitable for nearly 10 years. At about the same time the Industrial Revolution took hold in Bristol. Distilleries, gristmills, tanneries, and shipbuilding sprung up all over Bristol to support the commerce she engaged in (DiGati 15). The industrial age dominated Bristol for the remainder of the 19th century and most of the 20th century, but today Bristol is not engaged as heavily in manufacturing as it once was. A general shift, nationwide, has been to service industries. Another important historical aspect that has shaped Bristol is immigration. Several ethnic groups have come to Bristol throughout the years. The history of immigration in Bristol is necessary to understand the demographic composition of present day Bristol. In 1846 a massive potato famine struck Ireland, which led many Irish to flee their homeland and immigrate to the United States. Some of these immigrants ended up in Bristol, and by 1852 there were hundreds of Irish residing in Bristol. The Irish brought with them many new cultural traits; among those was their religion—Roman Catholicism. In response to the Irish presence in Bristol, the first Roman Catholic Church was built in Bristol in 1855. However, industry in Bristol was growing faster than the workforce, and a massive campaign was launched to recruit cheap foreign labor, or more specifically the Italians. The Italians were the second major wave of immigrants to reach Bristol; a high concentration immigrated around the 1880s (DiGati 16). The third major migration to reach Bristol is the most important, and the reason why today half the total population is from Portuguese ancestry and 20% of the homes still speak the Portuguese language (Census 1990). The Portuguese influx into Bristol has been steady and constant throughout most of the 20th century, and exploded immensely during the late 1970s as volcanic eruptions created havoc among the Azorean Islands (DiGati 16). The Portuguese, like other ethnic groups, brought a culture that is clearly evident today in Bristol. Unfortunately, there is a dark side to Bristol’s history that must be mentioned. Bristol actively, and openly engaged in the trading of slaves. Between the years of 1804 and 1807, 8,238 slaves were delivered to be sold by Rhode Island ships (DiGati 15). How could Bristol engage in this enterprise? The answer is money. Today Bristol is a prominent town in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and serves as the seat of Bristol County in Rhode Island. Located on a peninsula between Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays, Bristol is about 12 miles southeast of Providence and 12 miles north of Newport. With a population of 22, 000, Bristol is easily accessible from Route 114 or Route 136 via Route 195, and from the Mount Hope Bridge via Route 24 (http://www.town.bristol.ri.us/about1.htm). To the west of Bristol’s border is the Narragansett Bay, which gives Bristol excellent access to the Atlantic Ocean. The demographics of Bristol help to create a diverse town. Census data reveals many changes and patterns of certain demographics within Bristol. Population demographics revealed by the 1960 census give keen insight into the town of Bristol during the 1960s. The total population of Bristol in 1960 was 14,570; of this total a mere 26 were nonwhite who inhabited Bristol (1960 Census). The African American population in Bristol at that time was virtually nonexistent. In terms of the minority presence in Bristol, nothing has changed over the years. From 1960 to 1990 the population of Bristol has grown to 21,624 persons; of this number a mere 60 are from African decent (1990 Census). A great disparity exists between the population of whites and blacks in Bristol. Statements made by minorities in Bristol gives insight into the reasons why this disparity exists. There is a feeling that opportunities are available, but, perhaps, the property is too expensive for minorities to afford to buy. D onald Isom, a concerned resident of Bristol, stated, â€Å"Property is expensive in Bristol, and minorities just can’t afford it.† Hopefully as wages for minorities increase, property will become more affordable for minorities in Bristol. Another interesting demographic characteristic that has remained intact over the years is the relative stability of the ethnic composition in the town of Bristol. In 1960 the total number of foreign born residing in Bristol was 2,367; of this total 1,476 were Portuguese; a distant second were the Italians, which had 474 foreign born residents in Bristol (1960 Census). At the present time, little has changed in the ethnic composition of Bristol. According to the 1960 Census, 9,146 declared Portuguese ancestry—nearly half of the total population of Bristol; again the Italians were a distant second with 4,768 declaring Italian ancestry. These statistics leave little doubt that the Portuguese are a dominant factor in the population of Bristol. The impact of the Portuguese on Bristol can also be seen by the language grouping in the area. A whopping 4,554 persons speak Portuguese at home, which constitutes 20% of the total population. The Portuguese have been able to preserve their culture in Bristol; the language data clearly explains this. Bristol is getting old these days. The population of Bristol has been growing gradually older throughout the years. In 1960, 10% of the total population was ages 65 or older. As of 1990 the proportion has doubled to nearly 20% (1960 1990 Census). The aging of Bristol can be attributed to improved medical treatments since 1960. The proportion of men to women in Bristol has remained the same since 1960, equally divided between men and women (1960 1990 Census). Income statistics in Bristol raise questions about equality in the town. A great disparity exists between men and women and their average yearly income. However, the gap in income has closed somewhat since 1960. In 1960, the average male, working full time, earned approximately $3,846 per year, while the average woman earned less than half that total—a mere $1,828 dollars (1960 Census). By 1990 the gap had closed significantly, but not enough to merit full equality. The median income of a female working full time was $18,402, while the median income of a male working full time was $27,422 (1990 Census). Although the situation has improved, there is a long way to go, not only for Bristol but also for the rest of the country. The disparity between wages is not a problem just for Bristol, but it’s a problem that faces the nation as a whole. Sandra Pereira, an employee of Coastal Medical in Bristol, stated her concerns on this matter, â€Å"Men are the ones who own most of the businesses [in Bristol] and they hire other males and pay them the big money. More women have to get better educated and take an active role in business, and hopefully [women] will make more money than men.† Housing statistics reveal interesting traits in Bristol. In 1960 there were 4,284 homes in Bristol, and 3832 of them were occupied. The owner occupied 3,326 homes or 86.8%, while the remaining 506 homes were rented (Census 1960). Obviously, as of 1960, a great number of Bristolians owned a home, compared to those who rented. Things have changed in the modern Bristol. By 1990 the homes in Bristol grew from 4,284 in 1960 to a staggering 7,959. The owner occupied 4,863 housing units, while 2,592 units were rented (1990 Census). Although the proportion of renters has changed since 1960, there is still a greater majority of those who own homes compared to those who rent. What is life like today in Bristol? The answer to the question depends upon the person who is answering the question. The question: â€Å"What do you like/dislike about Bristol and Why?† met different answers from different people. A young teen living in Bristol, answered the question with a resounding â€Å"No!† â€Å"There isn’t anything exciting to do in this town.† His answer is perhaps a little harsh, but it does have some validity. There is Colt State Park, but the beach there is not a major tourist attraction. It is a park where families can have cookouts, but nothing overly exciting. There are museums and historical houses that can be visited, but again nothing compares to an amusement park or a mall, which Bristol has neither. Most of the younger people yearned for something of that magnitude in Bristol. When the question was posed to older people different answers were acquired. Sandra Pereira a town resident in her mid forties proclaimed,  "I really love Bristol because it is a quiet, close community.† An African American in his early 20s answered, â€Å"Bristol would be a better place if more opportunities are made available to all races.† One major complaint that seemed to plague most residents was the horrible traffic that engulfs Bristol. Congestion is most common among routes 114 and 136. These are the two main roads that go through Bristol, and these are the two roads that are most congested with traffic. One possible solution to this problem would be converting route 136 into a four-lane road to ease traffic congestion. However, local government cannot solve this particular issue. Route 136 is a state road; therefore it must be augmented by the state. As of today the traffic problem is in a state of gridlock between Bristolians and the State of Rhode Island. Another issue that faces Bristol is the after effects of Bristol/Warren regionalization. For the past 6 years the Bristol and Warren school departments have been merged in the hopes of saving money. Students from Bristol are bussed to certain schools in Warren, while students from Warren are bussed to certain schools in Bristol. This new system has been in effect for over 6 years, and complaints are rising from Bristol. The Bristol/Warren School Committee was promised funds from the state, but the new governor reneged on that proposal. Now Bristol has swallowed much of the debt inherited from the Warren School Department. Property taxes have also increased when they were supposed to decrease. Anger and frustration are themes of school committee meetings. â€Å"Residents of Bristol and Warren must work together to do what is best for the education of our young people. We must cooperate or we will suffer,† stated Thomas Scuba, member of the Bristol/Warren School Committee. The i ssue is a hot one and definitely needs cooperation for it to succeed. Regionalization is too far along to reverse, so it must be dealt with. Bristol, indeed, is a great place to live, work, and recreate. Violent crime is virtually nonexistent in Bristol, and the community seems more like a family than anything else. This is best seen by the massive 4th of July Parade that engulfs Bristol each year. The oldest continuous independence parade in the country attracted 250,000 people to Bristol last year (http://www.town.bristol.ri.us/hmepge.htm). Colt State Park and many museums make Bristol a fun and cultural place to live in and visit. Jobs are widely available in Bristol. Manufacturing of machines, the fishing industry, and the service industry make Bristol an easy place to find a job. There is, undoubtedly, room for improvement in the town of Bristol. Opportunities must be available for minorities and women must earn a wage equal to that of men. In an interview with a longtime resident of Bristol, many emotions were uncovered. Maria Menezes, an immigrant into Bristol in 1944, has seen Bristol go through many changes. She has first hand knowledge of Bristol’s changing from a manufacturing powerhouse—dominated by mills, and factories—to the service economy of today. â€Å"It’s bad that plants closed, but I still love my home—Bristol.† Throughout her life she has loved Bristol, and it is understandable why. I have great faith in the future of Bristol. Bristol has a rich history, and dynamic ambiance. Certain problems within Bristol need to be addressed. More funds should be made available to decrease traffic and make roads more efficient. The state of animosity between Warren and Bristol over regionalization must also be dealt with. The two sides ought to come together, put aside their differences and do what is best for the both of them. If that means separation—so be it. There is no doubt that Bristol will work through these problems and continue to progress. All in all, I look forward to the future and success of the town of Bristol.