Marketing of 15 inch multimedia TV system

The 15 inch multimedia LCD TV system is a high resolution system just like the 17 inch one. The 15 inch multimedia LCD TV is capable of displaying the different features that are possessed by the 17 inch one. The main reasons why the 15 inch TV system has lagged behind in terms of sales could be attributed to its smaller size of the display screen, slightly lesser or fewer features, among other few shortcomings. Despite all these shortcomings, this TV system has the advantage of being cheaper hence it can be afforded by many people. It also has the advantage of having similar feature as those possessed by the 17 inch TV system. By looking at a spectrum of several options in an attempt to raise the sales volumes of the 15 inch TV system, one of them seems to bee more practical and achievable in the prevailing circumstances. This is serous advertising and sales promotion of this product (Don E Schultz, 1997). All seems not lost yet because the product is operating slightly above the break-even-point and therefore if a serious adverting and sales promotion is done the trend can change. Advertising is the creation of awareness of a product and appealing to the public to purchase the product. On the other hand sales promotion stands for other marketing activities other than personal selling, advertising and publicity and is intended to stimulate demand for the product i.e. consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness. Both advertising and sales promotion are part of what is referred to as the marketing communication mix or promotion mix (http://www.onlinewbc.org/DOCS/market/adv_vs_pr.html) How it is to be done There are several approaches that should be applied in advertising. Advertising is intended to influence long term buying behavior. One way of achieving this goal is through placing adverts continually in the press media i.e. daily newspapers and magazines. Through this it is expected that the adverts will reach out to a large population in the country or the market area. The other means / way in which advertising should be done is through placing adverts in the electronic media such as radio and televisions. This is also has advantage of reaching out to a large audience. This kind of advertising should portray all the positive aspects of using the 15 inch TV system. The visual aspect is likely to create more demand in the short term and also in the long term. Other than adverts in the print and electronic media, advertising should also be done through public launches in different parts of the country or expected market coverage area. During such launches demonstrations on the operation of the TV system should be done. Advantages of using this product should be highlighted during such launches. Sales promotions should also be done. This could involve issuing coupons, free samples, refunds and rebates, premiums or gifts, contests and sweepstakes, point-of -sale displays, shows and exhibitions, among other ways.( Julian Cummins, 1997 ). When these are done properly immediate surge in sales volumes is likely to be observed. This is true because customers like â€Å"something extra† like a gift when they purchase a product, provided that it is of good quality. The product in question i.e. the 15 inch TV system has good quality and hence sales promotion can assist in boosting sales hence profits. Conclusion It is important to know that both advertising and sales promotion can be applied together as part of the promotional mix for the 15 inch TV system. The campaign for raising sales volume for this product can effectively use these two tools to achieve its targets. Personal selling should come in to support advertising by increasing the sales. References 1. Advertising and publicity available at http://www.onlinewbc.org/DOCS/market/adv_vs_pr.html assessed on Feb. 1, 2008 2. Julian Cummins, (1997). Sales Promotion: How to Create, Implement and Integrate Campaigns That Really Work. Prentice Hall 3. Don E Schultz (1997). Sales Promotion Essentials: The 10 Basic Sales Promotion Techniques†¦ and How to Use Them. Prentice Hall         

Jimmy Choo a Celebrity Brand

A Celebrity Brand Strategic Fashion Management A report by Psyche Kuo 2010-11-15 Contents 1. Introduction3 2. Shoes fit for a Princess3 3. Tamara Mellon Part co-owner, Part celebrity4 4. Power of Media6 5. Potential crises 8 * Fast fashion use the celebrities power * Celebrity brands * Celebrities’ scandals 6. Conclusion 9 7. Reference 10Introduction The following report will look at the influence of celebrities and the culture of celebrity lifestyle upon the success and the strategies adopted by Jimmy Choo. From the beginning of Jimmy Choo as a bespoke shoemaker to the takeover of Tamara Mellon, celebrities and red carpet media events which have always been associated with its name. The report will look at the past, present and possible future strategies influenced by celebrities and its culture. Shoes fit for a princess â€Å"The late Princess Diana who was a Choo shoes devotee, made him rise to further fame in 1990.Choo has made a mark on the fashion designing industry and in time was accepted as an iconic image of a classic and refined fashion designer in shoes and later in accessories. † Naomi Silveira (2010) The late Princess Diana would be the first significant figure that helped propel Jimmy Choo shoes from great, to extraordinary. Through history we can always identify luxury brands with a celebrity face, dating back to Chanel with Marilyn Monroe and Givenchy with Audrey Hepburn. It’s a key strategy that helps educate and promote the brand to the public, making the brand more desirable and more exclusive.However, Jimmy Choo did not endorse any celebrities at that time, Princess Diana was a customer of Jimmy Choo simply because she liked the design and comfort of the Shoe. Without Princess Diana, Jimmy Choo may have not achieved the success it has today, with such a public figure photographed wearing a pair of Jimmy Choo. Tamara Mellon – Part co owner, Part Celebrity â€Å"†¦, understood the importance of linking celebr ities to brands and was recognized as an important marketing communications tool. † Uche Okonkwo (2006)Tamara Mellon, former UK Vogue accessories editor, was looking out for out-of-the-ordinary designs that were both chic and attention grabbing. That’s when she approached Jimmy Choo and bought 50% of his company. With her relationship with the media and her strong networking skills, Tamara Mellon managed to help the company grow to worth ? 500 million. Tamara Mellon’s relationship with the media is a very important aspect to why Jimmy Choo succeeded in such a short time span. â€Å"Celebrities are extremely important and valuable to brands, especially in the luxury fashion sector. There is no argument about it.They wield enormous power in fashion circles and can contribute to making and breaking brands. † Uche Okonkwo (2006) If Tamara Mellon was not a public figure as she was, it would have been difficult for Jimmy Choo to achieve the level of â€Å" adve rtisement â€Å" and public awareness without having to invest a large number of capital and resources into this key area. It was hugely beneficial that the new co-owner Tamara Mellon was already a public figure and was able to use this to her advantage. Tamara Mellon realised that celebrity are the brand icon of this generation, an icon which conjures as a mental image or an opinion.This acts as an indirect metaphor to both corporate worlds. Just as brands and brands owners don’t necessarily coincide. Similarly, Jimmy Choo shoes aren’t made by Jimmy Choo. Jimmy Choo is no longer associated with its own brand design with Tamara Mellon whereas Jimmy Choo now focuses on Jimmy Choo Couture footwear. There are not many companies left that follow this tradition of shoes being designed by the company’s founder who brings Jimmy Choo to a few competitors which are Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik.Regarding Tamara Mellon’s marketing strategy of penetration, celebrity endorsement which determines the wealth and success to the brand has lead to a factor where luxury brands appear lesser extent than consumer brands as luxury brands already have well-defined personalities. Power of Media â€Å"The rise of the cult of celebrity, in which everyone can be famous for 15 minutes, can be directly related to the rise of reality television and social networking sites. † PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (2007) The number of celebrity advertisements has doubled from 1996 to 2006. It was uring 1996 that Choo established his brand name Jimmy Choo in London with the assistance of Tamara Mellon. It is no coincidence that Jimmy Choo benefitted from the boom in celebrity endorsement during these ten years. Programmes such as â€Å"Sex and The City â€Å"are just an example of how strong an influence TV have on consumers. â€Å"But the real growth story of Jimmy Choo over the past 14 years has been the riding of a tidal wave of celebrity endorsements, as well as those gushing recommendations in Sex and the City. † Anonymous (2010) Without TV, Media and even Sex and the City, Jimmy Choo would not have become an instant household name.With millions of viewers, Sex and The City was the ideal catapult to make the name public to an even wider audience, even with the programme also â€Å" mentioning â€Å" rival brand Manolo Blahnik in the programme, this did not affect the sales or brand equity of Jimmy Choo. â€Å"Jimmy Choo is attractive to celebrities but they must have pushed it to celebrities as well because that is how you keep the brand in the public's mind – most designers now want to get their shoes on the red carpet because you get so much media coverage from that. † Maureen Hinton (2010)Disregarding that fact however, the lead analyst at the retail consultancy Veridct added that Jimmy Choo’s are attractive enough to stand on its own for it fashionable design. It was also commented that the medi a only acts as a reminder to the public’s mind about the brand’s image. This strengthens the foundations of Jimmy Choo’s defined image. Potential crises Celebrity endorsement is as easy as it sounds as it upholds several risks that are associated with brand communication strategy. If a luxury brand decided to use celebrity endorsement as a strategy, brands should meticulously evaluate their interconnections elements.Fast fashion use the celebrities power The current Jimmy Choo’s strategy that uses celebrity endorsement has a potential risk as the current fast market (mass production market) also uses celebrity power as a major marketing strategy. In examples to that are Gap which Sarah Jessica Parker promoting its brand and Top Shop which Kate Moss is anointed to design their clothing and accessories. Celebrity brands Celebrities’ brands indulge in brand extension and brand architectures. They now understand the importance and influence of personal branding and are exploiting it and also extending it to commercial branding.As a result, several celebrities have ventured into the fashion and accessories businesses and more are on the way. A few examples are such as Jennifer Lopez, Sean Combs and Jessica Simpsons. Celebrities’ scandals The biggest harmful factor that Jimmy Choo can come across as a brand image is from celebrity scandals as celebrities are easily exposed to the public and may get into controversies. An image of a celebrity holds a very important role to the brand it’s promoting. A scandal may lead to a negative connotation. Conclusion The media, TV and Public figures have always been synergetic with Jimmy Choo from the very Beginning.From the late Princess Diana, to Tamara Mellon, Sex and The City and countless of other celebrities photographed with a pair of â€Å" Jimmys†, Jimmy Choo’s main strategy was to use this â€Å" tidal wave of celebrity endorsement â€Å" to its full advan tage. For a new brand in a very competitive market, it was important to utilise this strength to compete with rival brands with a deeper heritage and history. Even though Jimmy Choo has always used celebrities and the media as its main source of advertisement, there are indications that t Jimmy Choo is diversifying its strategies by collaborating with other brands, such as H;amp;M and UGG.With so much reliance with its celebrity exposure, it is potential dangerous to solely rely its company’s future in such an unstable trend. With Collaborations with H;amp;M is a more stable and long-term strategy to appeal to a â€Å" different â€Å" target consumer. Jimmy Choo may be a shoe for the stars, but will eventually grow and establish themselves through other mediums. 1082 words (Excluding title page, direct quotations and references)Reference1. Anonymous, 2010. Jimmy Choo: The world's most valuable shoemaker, The Independent, [Online], Available at: http://www. independent. co. k/news/business/analysis-and-features/jimmy-choo-the-worlds-most-valuable-shoemaker-2076499. html [10 Oct 2010].

Reflective Report of a Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflective Report of a Presentation - Essay Example Our chosen leader was Odunola. We allocated ourselves different subtopics on which to research and write about. Each member of the group was to research only a particular area of the topic. I was allocated the duty of compiling the work that the group members had done and coming up with the conclusion. By dividing the work amongst ourselves, we managed to make the work easier and bearable for each one of us considering time limitations. Subsequent meetings mainly involved getting to know how far the group had done in meeting the main objective. During these meetings, we got the opportunity to see and read what each one of the group members had done. We discussed on everyone’s points and critiqued one another positively in a bid to ensure that our overall output was constructive and qualitative, and so that we pushed ourselves to complete the work within the limited time that we had. We were fortunate that the meetings were objective and every person’s had time to present their input to the extent that there were no heated exchanges or ugly scenes. As part of my preparation for the presentation, I visited the British Library and consulted other students and people that I thought were more knowledgeable in the subject. While I got constructive input from some of the individuals that I consulted, the library proved to be invaluable. I encountered several books that gave me hints, clues and information directly related to my assigned subtopic. I was actually lost for choice which sources to rely on for my part. I managed to compile the final document in good time before the due date for the presentation. We made our presentation on March 18, 2014 at around 1315 as scheduled, each one of us presenting their parts as we had earlier agreed for a total of 25 minutes. I realized that presenting before an audience is not an easy task. Odunola presented the introduction after which

The history of the concept of limit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The history of the concept of limit - Essay Example Yet, the role these equations are paramount in modern society’s foundational circuitry. Few among us see the tiniest fraction of the actions of mathematical limits that buzz within and around the tools and highways and Satellites around us, allowing all of them to run smoothing and on time. This being the case, they dismiss these calculus driven equations as droning fodder, which has no practical use. Yet, they praise and cannot bear to think what life would be without any of their high tech gadgetry. Greece was the epicenter of philosophic thought in the ancient world. It was the pinnacle of theoretic genius among the by-gone nation. Hence, math was no stranger to its people. In fact, the first to make steps toward this concept was the Greek philosopher Zeno. Zeno was famous for his paradoxes which often involved the limiting of a process. The paradox where the building block of limits and infinity are derived from is his dichotomy paradox. He states the as an object moved toward another object the space between them must be divided if they have to arrive close to each other. Archimedes is more than just an innovator of the ancient world. He is held today as one of the four greatest mathematical minds to have lived on our planet. Even today, we are finding out more and more about him and discovery just how much ahead of his time he was. The king was suspicious of a new crown that had been made for him. It felt a bit too odd to authentic. He suspected the craftsmen used or mixed cheaper metals during its crafting to cut costs, yet he had no way of proving this was the case. In response to his personal query, he offered a reward to anyone who could solve this conundrum. Archimedes dared to take on this crowning dilemma. The legend has it; he solved the puzzle when he was bathing. While in the tub, he noticed, as he stepped into it, the levels of water on the side of the tub rose as he stepped in and resided and he stepped out. He connected the submersion

Zulu Culture and living Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Zulu Culture and living - Research Paper Example The Zulu people are full of character and celebrate their cultural distinctiveness through cultural festivals. Currently the Zulu tribe is divided; some people have moved into urban centers while others are still in their native habitat (Kwazulu-Natal province). Zulu community has a little population in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. The Zulu people have exciting traditions and their daily lives incorporate both the traditional and modern practices in beliefs, music, rituals, arts and rites of passage. The Zulu tradition is rooted in the Nkulunkulu the creator. The Zulu people are agriculturalists practicing both farming and keeping of domesticated animals. The Zulu mode of subsistence played a critical role in shaping their economic organization. Division of labor was along gender lines and there was clear-cut distinction between male and female roles in the society. Men performed chores that were considered more cumbersome and required a lot of time out of the homestead. They inc lude land cultivation with oxen-driven sledges, carrying logs, constructing food storage barns and tending the cattle. On the other hand, women performed household chores like child rearing, cooking, fetching water, collecting firewood, spreading seeds in the farms and hoeing. Their religious beliefs and values were influenced by their mode of subsistence (Gatsha, 1992). This is because they represent the peoples needs incase of crop failure, infestation of the firms by crops destroying insects and crop harvest. Religion was also used to deal with uncertainties and explain things that could not be explained by culture. The Zulu people had a centralized form of government. The king was the central ruler and was accorded maximum respect. The king delegated power to chiefs who were in charge of the districts. The family heads were obligated to maintain law and order in their homesteads. Mode of Subsistence Traditionally, the Zulu people were agriculturalists; they practiced mixed farmi ng. A lot of significance was attached to cattle, goats and poultry. A man’s wealth was measured by the size of his cattle herd. Cattle were a source of meat and milk and hides. They were also used in paying bride price (lobola) and cattle sacrifice was the main way of appeasing the ancestors. Women took care of the agricultural activities and they grew crops like maize, pumpkins, sugar reeds and tubers. Economic organization In the 19th century, the Zulu people practiced mixed farming. They grew crops and raised livestock. Women collected grass that was used in thatching new and renewing thatches, making baskets, sitting mats, straws (beer sieves) and pot lids among other products. Women plastered and re-plastered houses belonging to their brothers, aunts, husbands and parents. Ploughing fields was a collective chore to both men and women. Men span the oxen and control the ploughs that were drawn by the oxen. Women and boys spread the seeds and finally, women did hoeing and harvesting. Men collected the harvest on sledges that were drawn by the oxen. Women were obligated to clean and polish the living huts. Men on the other hand carved wood utensils, walking sticks and milkpails. Men collected logs that were used in fencing, constructing and repairing kraals. They also built bans that were used for food storage and dug pits used for food storage in the kraals. Young men looked after cattle and slaughtered the animals for ceremonial festivals. Men also tanned the animal skin that was later used in making leather products (Zibani, 2002, p.138). The waves of change brought about by modernization have not spared the Zulu community. Division of labor is still gender based. Men are regarded as the

Informal Class Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Informal Class Assessment - Essay Example Likewise, in the employment information, not one shares similar work. On the other hand, in terms of interests, there were three who are fond of sports; one is into hiking; two loves reading (but on different facets); one loves travelling; two are into volunteer work, and one is into art, as well as modeling. Even other noted information was vastly diverse. Due to the diversity of the group in educational background, line of employment, and interests, the topics that could be of interest to the batch could be current events, especially one that is controversial in nature; or a general topic that could appeal to all: food, health, love, or relationships, to name a few. These suggested topics could be tackled with enough authoritative research and by establishing a thesis statement to determine which point of view or contention one would propose. For instance, a current controversial topic on gun ban or gun control could be a subject of discussion based on the amount of current news articles written on the subject. One could even solicit their respective views on the subject regarding their preference for gun ban or gun control and signify one’s stance. The topic of food could also be interesting in terms of arguing whether American society has manifested a food dilemma in terms of exhibiting increasing trends on obesity despite being health conscious on nutritional contents of the food Americans regularly eat. This topic could also lead to health concerns, especially trying to determine whether advertisements pose more threats for the children in promoting food items that endanger their health. As such, despite the disparities in educational backgrounds, employment experiences, interests or hobbies, and plans for the future, there are different interesting topics that one have thought of which could spur the interest of the class as the potential

Critical review of paper Literature Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical of paper - Literature review Example In the study of Attitudes Towards Transferable Skills in Medical Undergraduates, there is an understanding of how the attitudes and perspectives of medical students are built. The concept applied with this study was to define whether medical undergraduate students believed that transferable skills were important in obtaining their education and degree. The attitudes which were revealed were expected to be used as a challenge to educators to decide whether there needed to be a change with the curriculum and learning styles that are offered in medical schools as well as how this continues to affect the results of students. The subjects of this study included first year students that were enrolled in traditional style courses in graduate school. There was a division in gender as well, specifically to decipher any distinct differences between demographic groups. The questions which were asked included how important the undergraduate students believed transferable skills were. This was followed by questions about one’s own ability with transferable skills as well as the influences of their first year courses in creating more skills to prepare for the me dical profession (Whittle, Eaton, 2001). The analysis of the specific subjects led to the same attitude among almost all first year students. Each believed that transferable skills were important in moving into the right career field and achieving the needed goals as medial students. It was also noted that all of the participants believed that organizational skills and self – learning skills were the most important in building the correct transferable skills for the profession. Most of the students had a high level of confidence in their own skills with male students having a significantly higher amount of confidence than women. It was also noted that male students had more confidence in terms of self – learning, technical skills and the ability to handle

The Test of Market Price for Weak Form Efficiency Assignment

The Test of Market Price for Weak Form Efficiency - Assignment Example The presence of the market efficiency in its weak form when looking at historical prices can be explained through varying statistical tests, and the tests are mainly focused on the notion that the investor might repeatedly make more than the standard returns on the knowledge of the historical price patterns (Timmermann & Granger, 2002). To prove the weak form of market efficiency can often be complicated due to the infinite number of methods to predicting the returns in the future, evaluated against the past and present returns (Hamid et al., 2010). It is also crucial to note that there tests that can show efficiency and with the regard to the provided pattern of prices (Teall, 2012). The investor with intricate knowledge of the test that explains the market inefficiency might utilize the knowledge and obtain high returns, more than the face, or alternatively face a market obstacle that blocks the investor from realizing the market efficiency (Botten, 2007). Similarly, tests of effic iency in markets are in reality, the combined tests for the actual inefficiency and a single model that explains the standard profits in an efficient market (Moyer, McGuigan & Rao, 2015). As a result, the market efficiency concept cannot be ignored, unless the investor is aware that the right outlook for standard profits has been chosen for the specific course. Moyer, McGuigan & Rao (2015) perceive the presence of costly information in price patterns that are not normal, and in effect, the market cannot be efficient. Consequently, the best benchmark for tests of efficiency in the market will almost certainly not be hypothetically perfectly efficient. Hence, if the efficiency of the market in its weak form is present, therefore, the current prices shows that past information that contains every information might be analyzed using the price patterns of the past, as well as the trading volume of the stock (Schubert, 2009).  

Management in context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management in context - Essay Example 1).† I have noted that the explanation presented by the author for the unique theory makes it all common sense in management practice. I find the author’s labels on the third theory as a proactive one suitable, because it brings up a new way of establishing the link. I concur with the author that in management practice, accumulated academic knowledge can be used as an engagement tool rather than applied as a theory. Case studies are used to expose how a proactive theory can work when managers engage academic knowledge within their management practice activities to improve their performance (Ghoshal, 2005; pg. 1). The case studies shows how scholarship applied together with academic theory in the management practice of inquiry is relational and provides opportunities for evidence based management. The implication of my observations is in relation to the fact that using a proactive approach in management practice creates a link between academic theory and relational skills of managers. Surprises in JA 2 The author has taken an in – depth analysis of how the application of management theories affects organizations business culture. I can observe that according to the author, business schools have enhanced the development of such management theories. ... am surprised with the author’s comments that academic research, which studies the conduct of organizations and management, has generated serious negative effects on the practice of management. I am also surprised that the author seems to be suggesting that graduates from business schools lack common sense of moral responsibility. The author has used the pretense of knowledge and the application of system – based gloomy vision to explain his assertions (Ramsey, 2011; pg. 82). The observations I have made in this article has serious implications in relation to the belief that business schools ought to teach excellent management theories and should not be blamed for negative aspects of business culture. The Evidence The author has used Mike’s learning and Kieran is learning to show the application of academic theory within management practices. The two articles show three elements of academic theory when engaged in management practice (Ramsey, 2011; pg. 12). The ele ments revealed in the learning’s include â€Å"an engagement with ideas, a practice of inquiry, and an emphasis on moment-by-moment relating within practice (Ramsey, 2011; pg. 23)†. The writer has used suggestions from other authors to show that the most significant aspect of this link pertains to the place of the evidence that is applied in the academic theory. The writer quotes other authors to strengthen his arguments for the application of evidence-based management. This management approach places decision-making initiatives on evidence that can be gathered and assessed. The author argues that action analysis tool known as Provocative Theory Cycle of Inquiry is critical to the engagement approach in the practice of management. The author has presented information that the pretense of knowledge

Reflection on Placebo Effect Essay Example for Free

Reflection on Placebo Effect Essay Does a Supportive Patient-Therapist Relationship Enhance Clinical Improvement? Kaptchuk (2008), Components of Placebo Effect: Randomised Controlled Trial in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. (PRO) Argument 1: Kaptchuk (2008) suggested that placebo effects (non-specific effects) include three components: a patient’s response to observation and assessment, the patient’s response to the administration of placebo treatment, and the patient’s response to the patient-practitioner interaction. Kaptchuk (2008) found that the symptoms of IBS patients in the condition with placebo treatment and supportive patient-therapist relationship ameliorated the most across all measures compared to patients with having only observation and the patients with only placebo treatment. Thus he claimed that a supportive patient-therapist relationship is the most potent component of placebo effects. Argument 2: After three and six weeks, only in the condition with placebo treatment and supportive patient-therapist relationship, the symptom severity score of 60% patients decreased 50. Also Kaptchuk (2008) found that after six weeks, the change in life quality of patient in condition with only observation and the life quality of patient in condition with placebo treatment was similar, but the life quality change of patient with placebo treatment and supportive patient-therapist relationship was observable. So Kaptchuk (2008) suggested that a supportive patient-therapist relationship can enhance clinical improvement. Argument 3: Kaptchuk (2008) also compared these IBS patients to the patients who received IBS drug treatment. He found that the patients with placebo treatment and supportive relationship had comparable symptom relief as those who with drug treatment. His finding was only applied to IBS patients with supportive patient-therapist relationship, thus he indicated that a supportive patient-therapist relationship could enhance the efficiency of clinical treatment. Critique (or Strength): The result of the study done by Kaptchuk (2008) clearly demonstrated the importance of supportive patient-therapist relationship in medical treatment. However, Kaptchuk conducted the study on IBS patients, because he believed that placebo effects are most likely to be demonstrable in disorders defined by subjective symptoms. As Kaptchuk (2008) stated in limitation that he did not know if his finding could be applied to other illnesses, I also think that if Kaptchuk conducted his study on patients with the disease that has external causes, the results will be more convincing. One of important causes of IBS is stress, a subjective etiology. Thus a supportive patient-therapist relationship may have greater influence on IBS patient than the patient with other diseases, like flu.

The Pride In Art Festival Tourism Essay

The Pride In Art Festival Tourism Essay The scope of the festival will reach throughout the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, whereas everyone attending will be informed through various media outlets (such as social networking websites, posters, radio, and word-of-mouth). The Pride In Art Festival will be held annually at the beginning of November to commemorate Diversity Week. The festival will feature a wide array of works from queer students of various programs while aiming to present the campus as a hub for creativity and inter-disciplinary innovation. In the first year of the festival, attendees can expect to experience approximately 5 projects spread outdoors throughout the campus grounds, including interactive installations, exhibitions, and a theatre stage. The main act will be La-Nai Gabriel (a prominent figure in the LGBTQ community in Toronto). The festival will also include 2 visual artists, 1 music major, as well as 2 drama students (working together for a drama performance). The event will take place on November 12th and will run from noon to 8:00pm (the visual art pieces will be left running for a week, whereas the performances will be a one day event) and will take place outdoors.  [1]   The event will be governed by a reliable student body consisting of students from the VPAC13- Planning and Project Management course as well as volunteers from the LGBTQ Committee at UTSC. The specific roles that will be occupied during the event are outlined in Appendix A: Organizational Chart. In order to develop this project and plan it accordingly, we will look at previous UTSC arts events, shows, and exhibits, as well as previous University of Toronto LGBTQ events to assist us in efficiently and effectively executing the festival. These will include events such as; Art Side Out, DMG Exhibitions, Gallery 1265 Exhibitions, LGBTQ events, and etc. The stakeholders will include the student body attending UTSC, all UTSC employees (including faculty), the community, the artists involved, the LGBTQ committee, the sponsors, and potential funders. The short-term(this year) and long-term(following years) sponsors we seek out will be TD Canada Trust, 103.9 Proud FM, PizzaPizza, and LGBTQ Committee at UTSC, DMG Gallery, Pride Toronto, AMSA( Arts Management Students Association) and Inside Out. We will also be seeking out media sponsors and partners, including CP24, NOW Magazine, Toronto Star, GayCities.com, and OUT TV. The short-term and long-term sponsorships are ambitious but it is important to keep in mind that the megacity of Toronto is very well supported in terms of its acceptance of the LGBTQ community.  [2]  Most of the sponsors listed have also previously supported the annual Pride Festival and therefore have a track record that we can use to our advantage.  [3]   In order to proceed with the event, we first have to attend to the triple constraints of organizing any function. These include time, cost and scope. Due to the fact that we are only a few weeks away from November, the scope of the event will be narrowed down. This is precisely why the first year of the festival will only include 5 productions. The time constraint also puts a definite restriction on the cost aspect of the event. The last-minute fundraising will have to be conducted through approaching the Students Union (they provide grants for organizations at UTSC and we could potentially record the LGBTQ group as the applicant), through donations (that we can request from small businesses in the community as well as some of the sponsors), raffles, and etc. The cost value of the event must be narrowed down to accommodate these restrictions. We will need to heavily rely on volunteering (organizers, artists and performers) as well as donations. These constraints could create critical issues in running the event and thus a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis must be conducted. The strengths of the event would include the fact that UTSC is a large community of people and although there is little time to plan and execute the festival, marketing the event should not be difficult. Due to the fact that the exhibitions will be in public places, there will be a lot of ongoing traffic throughout the day. Another strength would be the fact that the LGBTQ community is well connected in the city and queer oriented websites, as well as other social networking websites are consistently updated with new events (and they are free to use). A further strength would include inviting a high profile queer artist to the festival ( La-Nai Gabriel with her band). This will draw outsider crowds. The weaknesses of the event are fairly obvious and include the three constraints. Without the proper planning and organization of the event, the execution can result in a catastrophic outcome. Without the proper time, and money invested, the scope of the festival will significantly be narrowed down. The following weakness could be considered either a weakness or strength. In our case, due to the time constraint, it will likely fall under weaknesses. The festival is taking place during Diversity Week. At this time there will likely be other events running simultaneously with ours. If given the right amount of time we could coordinate our show times with other planners in order for us not to step on anyones toes (and suffer in attendance numbers). However, if we had enough time, we could even collaborate and cross promote the other events alongside our own. The opportunities would include creating a safe space to engage communities in the celebration of the arts as well as various sexualities. We could also connect with and help promote the LGBTQ communities, fostering essential partnerships with sponsors, and stake holders. We would also be providing a platform for education through a significant public presence at UTSC (which is considered one of the most prestigious universities in the world). The threats of the event may include the fact that not everyone at UTSC or in the public in general is supportive of the LGBTQ community. In fact there are many who publicly display messages of hate (such as in the case of the broken LGBTQ showcase at UTSC in the previous year)  [4]  . This could potentially become a dangerous situation for the artists, participants and stakeholders of the event. This would require increased security and in turn more money (unless the university provides us with free security). Another threat to the Festival is the availability of the preferred showcase spaces. They all need to be booked ahead of time and due to our time constraint this will need to be done last minute. This fact alone could potentially force us to postpone the event until next year. Other threats may include small attendance numbers (due to the fact that the event is last minute), unreliable artists (perhaps the work will not be completed on time or the contracted outsider acts may not be available for the day of the event), and etc. In order to avoid such issues, we must create contingency plans and work out various options for funding, locations, sponsors, and etc. To assist us with this step we will need to look at a SMART (specific, manageable, achievable, realistic, time-limited) analysis. The specific objective of the festival is to commission and present queer artists at UTSCS Diversity Week. The festival will combat homophobia by building greater public awareness and acceptance of individuals and groups outside sexual and gender norms. The success of this event will be measured through Due to the narrowed scope of the event (because of the constraints), the event will be very difficult to manage. We will need a fully committed staff in order to accomplish our objectives. The sponsors will also be hard to attain in time for the event (due to the fact that a lot of them are big organizations and companies where it is usually very difficult to get through to the sponsorship director because they receive so many proposals on a daily basis). It will also be tough to find flexible volunteers during the exam period. Many students and professors will not have the time to devote to planning and executing this event. The event will be difficult to achieve due to our monetary limitations. The estimated expenses (food catering, equipment rental and artist honorariums, props, and promotion) for the event will be in the 2500 range (please see APPENDIX B: Estimated Budget). There will be a stage set up outside, in between the Student Centre and the Arts and Administration building, for the main act (La-Nai Gabriel). There will not be a seating area but rather space for students and viewers to watch the performance. This same method was also done during the Art Side Out festival for the music acts. The time limitations of the event make it rather unrealistic. However, one must remember that the success of our event would be measured in fulfilling our mission rather than reaching a break-even on our return of investment. Therefore, the cost to benefit ratio is not as easy to disprove as with a profitable event. Even if the event was to pale in the face of its proposal (give or take an extra artist or two), it would still be fulfilling the mandate of creating awareness in the general public and writing history for the annual expansion and reinvention of the festival. In conclusion, the proposed event is one that is very hard to achieve, but can nonetheless be done in a way that would satisfy the agenda of the mission. The constraints of this event will create many barriers, such as time, and money and will make it difficult adequately execute the event. However, like with many artistic events, the focus will be to satisfy the ambitious mission rather than to fill our pockets. With this in mind, the event will be a ground-breaking move towards spreading awareness about the LGBTQ at UTSC and in the general community an eradicating homophobia through the healing power of multidisciplinary arts.

U.s Investment In Mexico :: essays research papers

U.S Investment in Mexico Economics 580 Dr. Leon Haitham Boukhadour Fall 96 Mexico has established itself as one of the biggest emerging markets in the world today. It has exhibited many of the signs of a high growth economy, offering several advantages to prospective investors. Some highlights of the Mexican economy include " single-digit inflation, a balanced public budget, real economic growth (presently at a rate of 12 percent), a deregulated economy and a favorable investment climate" (Risk Management/ June 94, P.32). Mexico also possesses a strategic geographic location as a gate way to Latin American markets. Mexico is among the fastest- growing export markets for the United States. In 1985, Mexico became the third largest market for total U.S. exports, behind Canada and Japan. In 1992, Mexico surpassed Japan as the second largest export market for U.S. manufactured goods. Mexico now accounts for $1 out of every $10 of total U.S. exports. After the passing of NAFTA, bilateral trade was quite balanced in 1994, with the U.S. registering a surplus of $1.3 billion, virtually unchanged from 1993. However, there was a sharp increase in trade opportunities, as both import and export growth exceeded 20 percent. One-fifth of the total trade that occurs between the United States and Mexico was created in 1994. One of the major sectors that holds a large promise for the U.S. manufacturers is that of the automobile industry. The Mexican market for auto parts is expected to grow by 24 percent from 1994 levels to $16.9 billion in the year 2000. It is also expected that NAFTA will help increase the U.S. export share of the Mexican market to around 70 percent by the year 2000. In the long run, Mexico's location could profit the U.S. industries that establish themselves there, through an expanded free trade area in Latin America, which could include Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and Chile. Such expansion could prove crucial to the U.S. industry, as a strong export orientation helped sustain industry growth. Exports increased from 18.5 percent of total output in 1989 to 27.2 percent in 1991. And the level of employment which could be attributed to exports increased from 116,500 in 1989 to 154,200 in 1991. Mexico also offers some intriguing possibilities in terms of production facilities for U.S. based firms. In 1994 alone Mexican car and truck production totaled 1.173 million units, up 8.6 percent from 1993. The Mexican government had along term plan in terms of automobile production in Mexico, and it is in a phase now that favors foreign investors and exportation out of the Mexican market. Check the figure bellow to see how the plan has progressed so far.

Love and Violence in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay -- Steinbe

Love and Violence in Of Mice and Men In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the characters display a definite violence directed toward those they love. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" relates to what seems to be the destructive tendencies of the men in this book. Though Lennie's ruinous behavior originates from his childlike fascination with soft things, George and Candy appear to have almost productive reasons for causing harm. The differing means of hurting those they love emerge throughout the book in harsh words as well as in violence. Love can wound for different reasons and in different ways as in correlation with the poem, but that love is not always disastrous. Lennie's incredible need often causes him to be "a man [who] kills the thing he loves." Recurrently, the reader is reminded of the way in which Lennie inadvertently kills animals and frightens people. For example, at the pool George and Lennie reveal in their conversation the reason that they are traveling. Lennie got himself into trouble in the last town for petting a woman's dress "like it was a mouse." This obvious innocence foreshadows the inevitable end to Lennie's carelessness. Trouble follows the two men because Lennie cannot realize what he is doing wrong. George can only call him "a crazy son-of-a-bitch" and pretend that he does not want the responsibility of the childish man. However, the powerful simpleton never means harm to his victims or comprehends the complications to George that come from the things he does. His thoughtless manner in which he lives represents those who continue to hurt their loves because they cannot think beyond their own needs. When Candy has his dog killed, it is intentional. In part, he allows this to... ... not display it earlier in the plot, he is the only one "brave" enough to "do the deed" personally. The poem lists several ways in which people hurt those that they love. With Lennie, this is entirely unintentional. He never means harm to anyone, but with the capricious way in which he treats everything he wants to love, it is inevitable. Curlie's wife simply disregards the needs of others to satisfy her own, and this is willful selfishness. In Candy and George's case, however, the harm is deliberate, but not malicious. The "bitter" words that hurt Lennie are mostly used to help him because he cannot take care of himself. George, though he never admits that he loves his friend, acknowledges that he must occasionally be harsh to do good for Lennie. Sometimes hurting someone is necessary because of the love for the relationship, not in spite of it. Love and Violence in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay -- Steinbe Love and Violence in Of Mice and Men In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the characters display a definite violence directed toward those they love. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" relates to what seems to be the destructive tendencies of the men in this book. Though Lennie's ruinous behavior originates from his childlike fascination with soft things, George and Candy appear to have almost productive reasons for causing harm. The differing means of hurting those they love emerge throughout the book in harsh words as well as in violence. Love can wound for different reasons and in different ways as in correlation with the poem, but that love is not always disastrous. Lennie's incredible need often causes him to be "a man [who] kills the thing he loves." Recurrently, the reader is reminded of the way in which Lennie inadvertently kills animals and frightens people. For example, at the pool George and Lennie reveal in their conversation the reason that they are traveling. Lennie got himself into trouble in the last town for petting a woman's dress "like it was a mouse." This obvious innocence foreshadows the inevitable end to Lennie's carelessness. Trouble follows the two men because Lennie cannot realize what he is doing wrong. George can only call him "a crazy son-of-a-bitch" and pretend that he does not want the responsibility of the childish man. However, the powerful simpleton never means harm to his victims or comprehends the complications to George that come from the things he does. His thoughtless manner in which he lives represents those who continue to hurt their loves because they cannot think beyond their own needs. When Candy has his dog killed, it is intentional. In part, he allows this to... ... not display it earlier in the plot, he is the only one "brave" enough to "do the deed" personally. The poem lists several ways in which people hurt those that they love. With Lennie, this is entirely unintentional. He never means harm to anyone, but with the capricious way in which he treats everything he wants to love, it is inevitable. Curlie's wife simply disregards the needs of others to satisfy her own, and this is willful selfishness. In Candy and George's case, however, the harm is deliberate, but not malicious. The "bitter" words that hurt Lennie are mostly used to help him because he cannot take care of himself. George, though he never admits that he loves his friend, acknowledges that he must occasionally be harsh to do good for Lennie. Sometimes hurting someone is necessary because of the love for the relationship, not in spite of it.

How Tv Impacts Teens :: essays research papers

Bud...Weis... Er!† This is a phrase that teenagers hear everyday. Where do they hear this? They hear it on TV. It is a phrase used in a commercial for beer. This phrase is used to attract people’s attention including teenagers. This is one of many problems with TV these days. TV teaches teens the wrong material. Some of the other problems with TV include violence and dialogue. When it comes to commercials on TV, people think of the cola wars between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, or maybe they think of the famous Energizer bunny. However, there are also commercials for beer and cigarettes. These are items that could be fatal in some cases. Yet, these items are advertised on TV for teenagers to see. Commercials for beer or cigarettes aren’t to pursue just adults, but to pursue adolescents as well. The tobacco companies and alcohol companies know that teens are the age group who are most vulnerable, therefore these large industries target their ads towards teens. For example, there is a commercial for Molson Ice –a brand of beer– that use teens in their ad. The ad’s scenario is a high school party where teens are having fun while drinking beer. So what are teenagers going to think? They will think that if they drink beer they will have as much as the teens in the commercial. As a result of adolescents drinking there will be violence. Where do teens learn the concept of violence? Where else but TV. There is definitely way too much violence on television. For example on cable networks such as HBO or Showtime, there are shows that are built around violence. Shows such as OZ. This show is about prisoners who fight and kill for the sake of fighting and killing. These kinds of shows cause teens to be violent. Teens see only one way of dealing with their problems and instead dealing with obstacles peacefully, they use their fists, knives, or even guns. Another result of violence on TV is the formation of gangs. Teenage gangs exist throughout the state of New York, including the peaceful town of Port Washington, where I live. So now people will realize that violent teens is due to the violenceon TV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A third problem with TV is the dialogue. Adolescents today make more grammar mistakes then ever before. The grammar problems are a result of watching TV shows that use too many slang words and phrases instead of real English.

Diversity Training Manual

Diversity Training Manual: Part 1 Abstract This paper is the first part of a training manual that will help employees to have a better understanding of diversity in the work place and how to act towards different diversity issues that may arise in the workplace. It will also give current statistics and recent trends of the demographics in the United States as well as the forecasted trends. Also included will be a rough outline of the entire contents of the manual and the table of contents for the manual. Table of Contents Introduction: Section 1: Current Statistics of the Demographics of the Population in the United States Section 2: Recent Trends of the Demographics in the United States a)Immigrants versus natives b)Religion c)Age d)Race Section 3: Forecasted Trends of the Demographics in the United States Section 4: Forms of discrimination a)Legislation covering discrimination b)Customs and values of different groups c)How to deal with differing values and customs d)Legislation affecting supervisor regulation Introduction What is diversity? Diversity is simply everything that makes people different from one another. It refers to different languages, races, age groups, gender, and religion (Bucher, 2010). A few decades ago the main part of the workforce was white men between the ages of 20 and 60. Now there are a larger number of women joining the work force along with younger people between the ages of 16 to 26 (AIU, 2011). There was also a mostly white workforce. Due to immigrants coming in from other countries, there are now other races in the workforce (Bucher, 2010). These immigrants are bringing with them different work habits, different languages and different religions. If the amount of immigrants continues at its present rate, it is projected that by the year 2050 the population of the United States will be 438 million and 82% of the population will be new immigrants arriving in the United States and their descendants that will be born as U. S. citizens (Passel & Cohn, 2008). As the number of immigrants increases, the number of the non-Hispanic white population will decrease. It has been forecasted that by the year 2050 whites will be a minority group. They will only account for 47% of the population where the Hispanics and Asians will be the majority (Passel & Cohn, 2008). Another demographic change that is going to take place is the age of the work force. With all the advances being made in the medical field people are living longer and are able to work longer. The workforce used to be made of men that had similar capabilities that were between the ages of 20 and 60. Now there are four different age groups to consider, there are the traditionalists that are over the age of 60. Then there are the baby boomers that are between the ages of 44 and 60. Generation X is between the ages of 26 and 44 and then there is generation Y that is younger than 26. All these age groups need to be communicated to differently but have to be treated equally (Pierce, 2011). This training manual is going to help everyone to think outside of their own culture and learn how to communicate with others that do not always share the same views. References AIU Online (2011). Unit 1: Current Workforce Make-Up. Retrieved on November 11, 2011 from https://mycampus. com/classroom/Pages/multimediacorsetext. Bucher, Richard D. (2010). Diversity Consciousness Opening Our Minds to People, Cultures, and Opportunities (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Passel, Jeffery and Cohn, D’Vera (February 11, 2008). Immigration to Play Lead Role in Future U. S. Growth. Retrieved on November 11, 2011 from http://pewresearch. org/pubs/729/united-states-population-projections Pew Research Center (February 25, 2008). The U. S. Religious Landscape Survey Reveals a Fluid Diverse Pattern of Faith. Retrieved on November 11, 2011 from http://pewresearch. org/pubs/743/united-states-religion. Pierce, Rick (2011). Dealing with a Changing Workforce-Supervision in the 21st Century. Retrieved on November 11, 2011 from http://www. businessexperwebinars. com/content/view/593/29/

Atlantic Slave Trade Essay

The origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade were products of Western Europe’s expansion of power that began at the beginning of the 1500’s through the 1900‘s. The main contributing European countries to the Atlantic Slave Trade were Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and England. Portugal lead the movement during the 1400’s and arrived in Western Africa in hopes to find Christian allies to spread Christianity against the Muslims of Northern Africa. But they soon became more interested in trade (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Slavery, however, has existed in all cultures for thousands of years. For example, Arab merchants and West African Kings imported white European slaves. At first, the slave trade focused on women and children who would serve as domestic servants. But later the trade switched to focusing on young men for agricultural labor in the Americas. The Portuguese traded primarily for gold, ivory, pepper, as well as slaves. After a few decades, the had captured hundreds of slaves (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). It’s misleading to say all slaves were captured by raiders, because in many cases they were bought from African traders. Columbus’s voyages completely changed the slave trade. Once colonies in the Americas were established, many of the Native Americans who were enslaved died of disease and overwork causing a need for more African slaves. During the 1600’s, sugar plantations, gold and silver mines produced an enormous demand for labor. Soon after, markets for coffee, tobacco and rice cultivation yet again increased the demand for African slaves (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). By the early 1700’s, the English dominated the Slave Trade, carrying about 20,000 slaves per year from Africa to the Americas. By the end of the century, over 50,000 slaves were being transported per year. After 1700, the importation of firearms heightened the intensity of many of the wars and resulted in a great increase in the numbers of enslaved peoples. European forces 2 ?intervened in some of the localized fighting and in warfare all along the Atlantic coast. They sought to obtain captives directly in battle or as political rewards for having backed the winning side (â€Å"The transatlantic slave,† ). The enormous amount of slave labor and its incredibly low cost highly contributed to the advancements of the Industrial Revolution. Also during this time, many civil wars throughout Africa produced captives which were sold as slaves in Western Africa. Raiders often tied the captives together with ropes and secured them with wooden yokes around their necks. Many captives died of hunger and exhaustion before even being put on ships. Other slave captives decided to kill themselves rather than be forced into slavery (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Once the captives reached the coast of Western Africa, the captives were kept in â€Å"factories†, which were headquarters of the slave traders. These factories contained warehouses with supplies and dungeons to keep the captives in. In these factories, the slavers would divide families up to decrease the possibility of a rebellion happening. After a few weeks in these factories, the slave holders would brand the â€Å"fit† slaves bearing the symbol of that particular trading company (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). European brutalization of the captives was an attempt to destroy the African’s sense of self-identity. The voyage from Africa to the first stop in the Caribbean generally lasted between two and three months. As the demand for slaves increased, so did piracy. Many opposing nations would fight and attempt to steal each other’s slave ships seeing how valuable slaves were at the time (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Other natural causes that contributed to the destruction of slave ships were hurricanes as well as doldrums, which are long periods of time with no wind gusts to propel the ships. ?The ships themselves were designed to maximize the amount of slaves to be carried. The cargo space where the slaves kept were only about five feet tall. And slaves were chained together in pairs to minimize the chance of a rebellion. Many times, especially during storms, the slavers neglected to feed the slaves or change the tubs and buckets used for toilets, as well removing dead bodies (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Sanitation was also a major contributor to death and disease. Only about three or four toilet tubs were provided for all of the slaves. Mortality rates were exceptionally high on the ships, averaging around 15%. Overall, about one third of all slaves died during the whole process of moving them from Africa to the Americas. The main causes of mortality on the ships were diseases such as small pox, malaria, dysentery, yellow fever and measles (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). There was however still rebellions from the captive slaves aboard the ships. Rebellions usually occurred when the ship was getting ready to set sail or when they ships were still within sight of the Africa land mass, when there as still hope for the slaves to return home. Often times slaves would actually starve themselves intentionally or try to jump off the ship to drown. But to combat this, the slavers would sometimes put nets on the side of the ship to stop jumpers and to deal with those who would refuse to eat, the slavers would use hot coals to force individual’s mouths open to eat (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). The women aboard the slave ships were treated very badly as well. They were often raped and sexually abused. Many times, all of the women were kept in separate rooms to make it easier for the slavers to take advantage of them. The slave ships would generally arrive at islands in the Caribbean for rest to make them more healthy and appealing for buyers. The english preferred the island of Barbados for this 4 ?resting period. Barbados experienced a jump in its slave population from 1,000 to 20,000 in the first decade after sugar cultivation was introduced around 1640 (Smallwood, 2007). This resting period in the Caribbean came to be termed seasoning and on these islands the slavers divided into a few different categories of slaves depending on how acculturated the slaves were to the New World’s culture and lifestyle. These categories were those who were born in the Americas, those who had lived in the Americas for a long period of time, and the new slaves from Africa (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). During seasoning, the slavers would attempt to modify the behavior of the slaves to make them effective laborers. The new slaves were also given new names and were attempted to be taught English so they could obey commands (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). The planters in the Caribbean would often rely on the already acculturated slaves to train the new slaves because it was easier that way. The physical condition of the arriving slaves to buyers would many times be a disappointment to the buyers. Although the slavers would shave and wash them, the illusion of health would not always conceal the truth to the buyers. Also, many times the cargoes included too many women, children, or older people. This was also a disappointment to the buyers and the regularity of these outcomes were soon considered â€Å"normal† (Smallwood, 2007). The planters then assessed the successful seasoning of slaves by three criteria: firstly if they survived the journey, secondly if the could adapt to the new climate and new foods, and lastly if they were able to learn a new language to obey commands. However, as many as half of the slaves ended up dying within the first three years after arriving at the Americas (Smallwood, 2007). Of the estimated ten million men, women, and children who survived the Middle Passage, approximately 450,000 Africans disembarked on North America’s shores. They thus 5 ?represented only a fraction – 5 percent– of those transported during the 350-year history of the international slave trade. Brazil and the Caribbean each received about nine times as many Africans (â€Å"The transatlantic slave,† ). The Atlantic Slave trade began to diminish in the late 1700’s by both humanitarian efforts as well as declining need for slaves in the modernized industrial economy. The lasting effects of the diminishing of the slave trade proved to be negative for Africa. Many of the Western African societies had become dependent on the slave trade (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Looking at the statistics of the slave trade, from 1501-1525 it is estimated that around 13,000 slaves were transported to the Americas (â€Å"The trans-atlantic slave,† 2008). By 1601-1625, over 350,000 slaves were estimated to have been brought to the Americas. At the turn of the 18th century, from 1701-1725, over 1,000,000 slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas. The Atlantic slave trade peaked from 1776-1800 with over 2,000,000 slaves being transported during that time period. The Slave Trade holistically contributed to the enslavement and migration of over 12,500,000 slaves from 1500-1866 (â€Å"The trans-atlantic slave,† 2008). The Atlantic Slave Trade was a horrible series of events that should have never happened. At least we can be optimistic about mankind’s ability to learn from our mistakes and improve our actions.

Hamlet Act II Close Reading

William Shakespeare uses many types of literary devices to describe the very principle of Hamlet’s true battle. Hamlet compares himself to a â€Å"peasant slave† and to the talented actor, whom could give a convincing performance without feeling the true emotion. After his visit with the ghost (his supposed father), he has been dedicated to the idea of plotting revenge of his uncle-father. Although, it is difficult for Hamlet to perform this horrific act, because of his disgust of the emotionless scheming revenge. Lastly, for Hamlet to try and convince himself to follow through with this scheme, he arranges a trap to have Claudius unknowingly reveal that he is guilty. In the beginning of Hamlet’s soliloquy, he compares himself to a â€Å"rogue and peasant slave†, which points out that Hamlet is frustrated with himself. In this metaphor, Hamlet feels terrible that the actor could shed more emotion, and force his soul to feel made up feelings in a work of make-believe. The use of visual imagery is used when Hamlet describes his acting, â€Å"That from her working all his visage waned, tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, a broken voice, and his whole function suiting†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here Hamlet is amazed by how easily the actor could show such emotion, and he even says â€Å"what would he do, had he the motive and the cue for passion that I have? † He knows that actor would be even more tremendous if that was the case, because the use of a hyperbole is noted when he says, â€Å"He would drown the stage with tears and cleave the general ear with horrid speech. After stating the above facts, Hamlet then looks at himself and sees himself as pathetic. His reflection of himself, describes that he is an unattractive, uncourageous mischief and protests that he primarily just mopes around and has no motivation to plot revenge and doubts his ability to achieve it. Another literary device utilized is the rhetorical questions he asks himself, â€Å"Am I a coward? Who calls me a â€Å"villain†? Breaks my pate across? Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face? Tweaks me by the nose? Gives me the lie I’ th’ throat as deep to the lungs? Again doubting himself for his lack of motivation. A bit of foreshadowing also takes place after these questions, when he asks another rhetorical question, â€Å"who does me this? ‘Swounds, I should take it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which could possibly take place later on in the play, that someone will call him out, and there is only one reason why someone would; his revenge on Claudius. Hamlet creates a conflict with himself deciding whether to go or not to go through with this horrific s cheme, but he reminds himself that his father’s life has been stolen so he must seek his revenge. Hamlet is planning to have the â€Å"players play something like the murder of [his] father before [his] uncle† that he can â€Å"observe his [his uncle’s] looks† to judge his guilt. Hamlet concludes to himself that â€Å"[he] know [his course]† of what to do if his uncle â€Å"do blench† or flinch. Shakespeare uses personification on the word murder, for he states that â€Å"murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ†, referring to the situation of murder being able to speak through the actors. This is significant because it is a step forward towards Hamlet’s plot of revenge. Although, Hamlet may believe that â€Å"the spirit that [he] have seen may be the devil and devil hath power t’assume a pleasing shape†, this symbolizes the use of hell imagery and portrays the theme eye of the beholder. The devil can be very convincing and can disguise itself as something or someone we desire and enjoy. So, with that being said Hamlet concludes that â€Å"[he’ll] have grounds more relative than this. The play’s the thing wherein [he’ll] catch the conscience of the king. †

Hawthorne Studies Essay

Employees can be considered as an organization most valuable asset. Their development by the organizational administrative possibly is a definition for personnel management. The needs for concern about individuals in an organization had been long time overdue. The Hawthorne studies were a step forward. Such studies was about relations approach through a series of research methods, for instance illuminations and relay assembly test room experiments, interviewing problem and bank wiring observation. This essay will discuss to which extent Personnel management is a legacy of the Hawthorne Studies. An economic motivation such as incentives was irrelevant in the process of increasing productivity. From the study one can derived that workers’ achievement was solely based on the group decisions. They decided what the right amount of the day was. There are other influential factors that account for the increase of productivity. One can speculate that the workers had their own agenda, given that the impose conditions on them was inefficient. The continuity in the increase of productions could still be observed regardless of the situations. Group interactions through both formal and informal group existed throughout every organizations. The study implies that informal groups existed alongside formal groups. Such groupings develop their own rules and behavior as well as mechanizations to implement it. The employees were more receptive to their group firmness than to the control and inducements of the executives. The will of individuals to belong to an informal cluster with folks of identical attitude and background is much desirable. One can speculate that workers often sympathize with one another consequently they might have a change in their attitude due to group demands. The Hawthorne effect is significant when discussing the legacy of Hawthorne studies. This resulted in the workers to modify investigational aspects of their behavior. A simple reason is that they knew they were being observed. One can imply that the workers bound to display exemplary behavior that is anticipated from them. In view of the fact that they will never know if there will be serious penalty to follow due to result obtained. As one will adapt to the environmental norms and also follow it. Biasness in the interpretations of data is to be questioned. The investigator’s own principles might have influences the constructions of justifications. No more than the management perspective was deliberated. How individuals maximize output were the focal point of the studies, nevertheless the lines of reasoning were in support of the management (servants of power) as describe by Baritz(1965). This in turn gave room for the sensitive employees to be manipulated by judicious managers. Managers often governed by logistics of cost and efficiency as a result they created conditions for workers to produce more. Other believable explanations was omitted, thus errors from the results was imminent. Rose remarked† the Hawthorne studies, upon which so much human relations theory depended, were too incompetently executed to demonstrated very much at all† (Rose 1978 P.171). One can give credit to Rose as the sampling of workers was selective instead of a random sampling method. Furthermore troublesome personnel were replaced; this was because the researchers wanted to maintain the friendly atmosphere within the chosen group. The isolation of the group was an additional mistake. All of these features did not simulate the actual working environment. The experiment employment surrounding was a faà §ade. This resulted in the naivety on the researcher’s behalf, whereby unexpectedly they guided workers to produce an expected conclusion. To conclude one will argue that the Hawthorne Studies was a legacy of personnel management. It is due to the studies that individuals in organizations were taken seriously. Group regulation is one of the aspects that influence individuals’ decisions to maximize or minimize output. Economic motivation is not that indispensible. On the other hand one cannot perceive the studies as a legacy in personnel management for the reason that the Hawthorne effect was mostly influential. Inevitable biasness from researchers’ judgment as they were from a affluent background and traditionally they support the management as George Homans (1962, p.4) a Hawthorne studies researcher remarked As a Republican Bostonian who had not rejected his comparative wealthy family, I felt during the thirties that I was under attack, above all from the Marxists. Lastly the condition under which the studies were undertaken was not up to standards, but according to the naivety of the researchers.

Professionalism values and ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Professionalism values and ethics - Essay Example This report aims at investigating how professional values and ethics are employed by the architect contracted to turn UAL Campus. The design’s main goal was to optimise connections between departments within the building, which include the movement of materials and students. The idea behind the design can be said to be the same historical reason, which comprised movement of grain around the granary using wagons. This report will analyse comprehensively the purpose retrofitting and architectural design of University of Arts London, Kings Cross campus in the context of the build environment. The historic, economic, aesthetic and ecological context of the built environment will be evaluated in terms of professionalism, values and ethics. There are a range of factors that shape the built environment posing an architectural dilemma that need to be solved in adherence to professional values and ethics of architect. This project was considered for this paper since the building exemplifies an exemplary conversation of a derelict historic building into a glorious public space and still retain sustainable values (Harries, 1998). Some of the questions that emerged from people with regards from this case include: The architects commissioned were Stanton Architects to design the campus that was estimated to cost  £200 million in the Grade II listed Granary Complex. The university sought to transform the historical building into an aesthetic centre of learning which would be sustainable enough to meet the needs of the students and those of the community too. The University of Arts London campus project was completed in 2011. The building consolidates the Central Saint Martins’ college’s activities under one roof. It comprises of the Granary Building, Eastern Transit Shed, and there are two new four storey studio buildings. The environmental location of this project is very impressive as well as the atmosphere (Fox 2012). It is in

The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hammurabi's Code Essay

The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hammurabi's Code - Essay Example Gilgamesh was going to the temple of Shamash to consult with the god before undertaking a major mission also shows the great influence religion had in Mesopotamia. In both of these texts, it can be noted that the sun – god Shamash, who was also the Mesopotamian god of justice, plays a major role in some of the major events which take place considering that he granted Hammurabi the laws and always gave guidance to Gilgamesh so that he would succeed in his missions (Hawkins, 277 – 278). The values of the ancient Sumerians seem to have been guided by their religion and many believed that they needed the authority of a god while doing anything important to ensure that their actions were a success. One would notice in these texts that the relationships between the people of this society in the ancient times were very close and that friendships had a higher value then than they have today. Friends tended to treat each other more like siblings than as people from different bac kgrounds and a good example of this is the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Although Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk and Enkidu was wild man from the fields, these two strike a friendship that would be very unlikely in the current times. It can further be noted that the rulers of ancient Mesopotamia tended to place a very high value to their connection with the gods most likely in an attempt to justify their authority over their people. We note that Hammurabi claims to have been in direct communication with a god when he was given the laws, which would be imposed, on his people (Beaulieu, 11). Gilgamesh on the other hand is said to have been two-thirds god and one-third man and that his mother was the goddess Ninsun who is repeatedly seen to intercede on his behalf to the other gods.

Profile of Offshore Financial Center - Bahamas Term Paper

Profile of Offshore Financial Center - Bahamas - Term Paper Example Particularly for the offshore company, it requires to perform several checks and researches into the preferred offshore financial center to ensure that investing in that market can guarantee fruitful financial returns (Zorome, 2007). It is against this background that periodic environmental assessment analyses are performed for various offshore financial centres to test their financial viability for specific offshore companies and offshore countries. In the current paper, the spotlight is put on Bahamas as an offshore financial center to critically understudy the viability of that financial market as a preferred entity to use to raise capital Intel Corporation prior to doing an initial public offer. The profiling of Bahamas as a viable offshore financial center is done along six major parameters as outlined below. Secrecy and Views In the financial market, such as the offshore financial center, issues of secrecy and views are very important for the determination of financial transpar ency of a given center. It is for this reason that the need to study the secrecy and views that prevails on the Bahamian offshore market, such as financial secrecy is very important for making decision on the selection of the country as an entity for raising capital for an initial public offer. Nyangosi, Arora and Sing (2009) has explained that situations of financial secrecy exists when financial institutions refuse to disclose crucial financial information to the appropriate authorities for tax decision making and other criminal law enforcement policies. In effect, a higher scoring on financial secrecy index is a negative indication for satisfactory financial transparency. Meanwhile according to the Tax Justice Network (2011), the scoring for Bahamas in financial transparency is 83%, indicating an unacceptable level of secrecy and suppression of views. From the graph below, it will be noted that from a 15 financial secrecy indicator, Bahamas scored negative marks for most of the i ndicators. Source: Tax Justice Network (2011) For investors wanting to choose Bahamas as a preferred entity to use to raise capital for Intel Corporation prior to doing an IPO, the risk of not knowing the legitimate financial values and figures for most indicators that will be necessary for taking stock market decisions prevails (Breiman et al, 2009). Having stated the above however, it is important to stress the point that new policies and reforms have started emerging in Bahamas that make incumbent upon the country to have a free economy and exchange information as specified in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) guidelines (Riyadh, Akter and Islam, 2009). Proximity to US Proximity has always been said to be an important factor in the determination of an offshore financial center destination for raising capital for Intel Corporation ahead of an initial public offer. This is because most offshore companies that operate in offshore financial centers do so b y operating parent companies that govern and run the key organizational

Income Insurance Protection (IPI) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Income Insurance Protection (IPI) - Essay Example For example, Mr. Farid in his application failed to be honest by giving false information. Given information provided by the party seeking insurance cover provides the basis upon which sum assured and premiums are based, information asymmetry will most likely result in an adverse selection. In Mr. Farid’s case, the information he gave during application showed that he is not involved in manual or outdoor duties implying that his risk profile was low. The information contradicts the one given in the claims form which actually showed that he was doing manual duties that exposed him to higher risks than that of a company director he purported to be. Based on the information provided during application, that is, Mr. Farid was involved in inspecting construction sites and training workers on health and safety awareness, it is therefore easier to understand why the insurance company ignored his heart disorder problem and granted him the cover. Had the insurance known that Mr. Farid did manual jobs with the heart valve disorder, it would have taken him as high risk client, and therefore choose a higher sum assured (Claassen, 2008). Question 2. Whether one would approve Mr.Farid application for income protection insurance Based on the information provided by Mr. ... Question 3. Should Prudent Insurance Inc. pay or deny it? The insurance company should use its underwriter or appointed claims adjuster to investigate and verify the claims with the help of a medical practitioner to establish whether the poor health condition was work related or not. Based on the information generated, then the company can choose to compensate him in full, adjust the compensation accordingly or deny it all together. Where the poor health condition is not related the work done by Mr. Farid, the company should compensate him in full and if its work related they can adjust the compensation or deny with factual explanation. Part II: Household items insurance. Mr Green v Sun Insurance Inc. Question 1. How would the information about Mr. Green’s earlier convictions affect the insurer’s underwriting decision on Mr. Green’s application? The earlier convictions of three offences on Mr. Green would certainly have affected his application. First, he was con victed of a domestic violence which raises the possibility of a loss occurrence on household goods arising from his conduct. Secondly, his conviction for causing actual bodily harm to the police officers confirms he is a violent person increasing the propensity of a definite loss given his temperament. These two cases in point following each other would have force a company underwriter to consider Mr. Green’s application critically. Where household items to be insured are very valuable, then the underwriter can choose to abandon the application given that the probability that the company will pay a higher compensation within the cover is high. In the event that the underwriter chooses to accept Mr.

Truman Capote Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Truman Capote - Research Paper Example I was obsessed by it†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (69). 2. Works, contributions to literature and Popularity Capote went to live with his mother and step father in New York in his mid teens because of this uprooting from a town to the city and change of atmosphere in general Capote faced a lot of hardships in settling down. Consequently he left school and took a job in The New Yorker Magazine and with in a few years the young flourishing writer caught the attention of Bennett Cerf who was a publisher. Capote’s short story Miriam got him a contract with Random House. From there his road to success and fame was easy and it also led him in to the heart of the elite and the higher social circles of New York. Another reason for this entry was that he had an open and friendly manner because of which he was always able to make friends easily. His acclaimed short novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s also takes inspiration from his experiences and the time he spent in the cream of these elite social circles. Moreover this particular novel was also made in a film which further shows the extent of Capote’s popularity. Capote always said in 1978, ‘I had to be successful, and I had to be successful early’ apparently the author was able to fulfill his dream to the dot. He is considered to be the pioneer who introduced a new genre in the field of literature i.e. the Nonfiction Novel. This new genre of literature deals with the depiction of character and stories that were inspired from and are related to or about the people surrounding the writer. Although Capote gained a lot of popularity amongst his fans for such a depiction of the elite society in his works however this also earned him hatred and condemnation from his friends and family as also stated, ‘Capote's natural talent for weaving truth with fiction and his unflinching descriptions of his friends soon led to his rapid descent in popularity in the social circles he had worked so hard to adoptâ€℠¢ (capotebio.com). Capote’s novel ‘In Cold Blood’ was his first and the most famous nonfiction novel. This novel is about the clutter murders in the Kansas state for this particular novel Capote did a lot of research and he interviewed a lot of people to retain the novel’s originality. His ability to befriend others easily was an additional help for his research because due to his friendly manner people always confided in him easily. This amalgamation of journalism and literature produced a fantastic piece of literature that was extremely liked by the readers and the critics in general. As Willis also states, ‘Capote said, â€Å"This book was an important event for me†¦I wanted to produce a journalistic novel, something on a large scale that would have the credibility of fact, the immediacy of film, the depth and freedom of prose, and the precision of poetry†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (94).However some of the critics also gave negative feedback as Krebs al so states, ‘The critic Kenneth Tynan took Mr. Capote to task for being too strictly a reporter and not making an effort to have the killers' lives spared. Although Capote was a recipient of mixed praise from the critics in his life he only wrote 13 volumes most of which were short novels. Some of the critics thought that he had talent although he did not put it to good use. Krebs also states, ‘his old friend John Malcolm Brinnin, he failed to join the ranks of the truly great American writers because he

Na Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Na - Essay Example The main characters are described in the House behind a Weeping Cheery as people who come to America for freedom only to realise that it was a living hell in the cells. They find themselves slaves, predators and blood suckers. However, in the book, A Good Fall: their personal life is explained as being uneconomical. It argued that it is their own way of doing things in the prisons. The two books differ on personality of individuals as some choose freedom while others find themselves entangled in the freedom arena. The characteristics of the third eye in the book, the crossfire are evident. One of them is that the third eye is observant. He is able to observe that people still stick to their old ways of life. He quotes, â€Å"still thinking of your boyfriend or girlfriend ten years after breakup†. This statement shows a lot of observation and keenness is part of the third eye. He is also courageous as he shuns away the immoral things in the society. He is able to counteract a bullying boss at work and warning about procrastination of activities. This is simply to tell how the third eye is determined to bring things in order. The third eye is also a freedom fighter. He broadly fights the immoral things that take place in the society. The oppression from the governments, bosses and general administrators. The third eye is in frontline to explain the things that take place in the prisons where prisoners are

Contemporary issues in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary issues in business - Essay Example Countries with citizens who still have problems in meeting basic needs like food, clothing, and housing are an ideal testing ground for the comprehension of Bottom of Pyramid. The most challenging issue to this strategy is defining those people who are said to be at the base of the pyramid, as there are those who earn less than two dollars a day, and there are those who earn slightly higher than two dollars a day, but are still languishing in poverty. Many companies especially the multinational corporations invest on Bottom of Pyramid, so as to lift the lives of billions of people out of poverty and desperations that seem to continue, if the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. For example, the Unilever Company is one of the companies that have adopted the Bottom of Pyramid as a corporate strategy. Many CEOs have come to look at this strategy with a new lens (Prahalad, 2010). There is some evidence that can be used to prove that the innovations in the Bottom of the P yramid can and have resulted to profitable business. Business leaders, who have adopted the Bottom of Pyramid strategy, have started to re-examine and see the role of business in the society. This strategy has provided a platform for global innovations, which have a lot of implications in the world of business today. Therefore, though the Bottom of Pyramid has its own shortcomings, it is a very important strategy that most organizations can adopt (Prahalad, 2010). What is â€Å"Bottom of Pyramid?† There have been many discussions on the concept of ‘Bottom of Pyramid’ in business today and no precise definition has been put forward to define the concept. However, this concept was originally introduced â€Å"to draw attention to the 1-5 billion poor, who are unserved or underserved by the large organized private sector including multinational firms† (Prahalad, 2010, p. 6). The main aim of the Bottom of Pyramid is to ensure that the rich, who are the ones occ upying the top of the pyramid would be sensitized to help those who are less fortunate, and who are the majority occupying the base of the pyramid. Kazmi defines it as a strategy that "refers to exploiting the opportunities that are believed to be available in serving the poorer sections of the society and also serving social objectives† (2008, p. 207). Cited in Donohue, 2009. The above diagram is a representation of the rich occupying the top of the pyramid being the very few, and the poor occupying the base being the majority. In other words, it is a representation of how income in the world is distributed (Donohue, 2009). Thus, the Bottom of Pyramid refers to that population that leaves below the poverty line. How does the B.O.P Strategy Work? The term Bottom of Pyramid is said to be a relative term; it focuses on the strategies that companies can start to serve the populations, rather than un-serving and underserving them. When people say it is a relative term, it means th at, a person living at the Bottom Pyramid in China is different from someone living at the Bottom Pyramid in Somalia, though both are seen as living at the BOP, but in different contexts (Prahalad, 2010). This strategy also focuses on serving with approaches that are more profitable and relevant for application towards the bottom of the pyramid population. The debate on this issue will definitely continue before a very precise definitio

Army Values Essay Example for Free

Army Values Essay In the US Army we are taught to live up by the 7 ARmy Values. They are broken down to us in the acronym LDRSHIP. Loyalty Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S Constitution, the Army and other soldiers. Duty Fulfill your obligations. Respect Treat people as they should be treated. Selfless Service Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates above your own. Honor Live up to the army values. Integrity Do whats right legally and morally. and Personal Courage Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). All 7 values have an impact on each other, and are integral part of ones moral standing. In my personal opinion, Loyalty means being a person that other’s can count on. That when the time comes, you will be there to do what needs to be done. You will be true and faithful to them no matter the outcome. If that loyalty is not observed by both parties involved however, then that sense of loyalty may eventually change or even fade. Duty to me is accomplishing a task that needs to be done, no matter how much you’d rather be doing something else. Whether you love it or hate it. The task is there to be done. If one does not fulfill their duties on a regular basis, then those around them have to pick up the slack, and any sense of loyalty begins to become tarnished. Everyone wants to be respected. It’s in our nature, but in order to obtain respect, first of all†¦.one has to respect oneself. Second, one has to show respect to others in order to gain respect from them. If one doesn’t show respect to someone, that person may often feel slighted and lose.

Hybrid cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid cars Essay Hybrid 1 Outline I. Introduction A. Gas prices are up, the environment is suffering, and Americas are fearful of relying too much on foreign oil. Are hybrid cars the answer? II. What a hybrid car is A. Description of a hybrid car B. The two types of a hybrid 1. Parallel 2. Series III. Advantages of a Hybrid car A. Environment 1. Carbon Dioxide 2. Global Warming 3. Effect on the human body B. National 1. Discussion on foreign oil 2. What America can do to reduce our dependence C. Federal 1. Tax Deductions on National level 2. Local incentives D. Mileage Hybrid 3 1. Why hybrids get more mileage 2. Calculator on my own car IV. Disadvantages A. Price V. Conclusion With all the advantages that hybrids have to offer, it’s something a new car consumer should seriously consider. One person can make a difference! Hybrid 4 Gas prices are up 23% from a year ago and global warming is a constant fear of scientists and people alike. What then can one person do to help the current situation of gas and pollution? Buy a hybrid car! Hybrid sales have doubled in the past year and according to J. D. Power and Associates, hybrid sale should hit 200,000 in 2005. Within 20 years, Toyota’s top guy in the U. S. , Jim Press, thinks almost every car on the market is going to be a hybrid. So what exactly is a hybrid car and what are all the things a consumer should look for when buying one? Here are some specifics; the good and the bad. A vehicle is considered hybrid is the source of power comes from two sources. A hybrid car combines gasoline and electric power. The car has a normal gas tank, but also a set of batteries. The batteries are recharged every time the person drives the car so there is no need to plug it in like very old, original electric cars. Instead of having just a transmission, the batteries provide electricity to an electric motor which then turns the transmission. There are two different types of hybrid cars. One is a parallel hybrid. This has a fuel tank and batteries and both the engine and batteries turn the transmission over at the same time. Both the electric motor and gas engine can provide power. The other is a Series hybrid, which has a generator. Gas turns the generator and that can either charge the batteries or power the motor. The gas engine never actually powers the car. The electric motor of a hybrid car is very sophisticated. It works as a motor and generator and draws energy from the batteries. The batteries store energy for the car and the motor can either draw energy from them or recharge them. Hybrid 5 So what are some advantages of owning a hybrid vehicle? This is going to look at environmental, national, federal, and economic advantages of having one. First is environmental. â€Å"A car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. † (Nice, Karim. ) A gallon of gas weighs about 6 pounds and when it’s burned off it produces almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. In the U. S. alone, cars and trucks consume 8. 2 million barrels of oil EACH DAY which calculates to over 300 million tons of carbon each year. This is the largest part of carbon dioxide emissions, even more then factories and homes. If cars and trucks improved by just 5 mpg, Americans could save 1. 5 million barrels of oil a day or 55 million tons of carbon a day. Decreasing fuel consumption therefore reduces emissions. There is also carbon dioxide that cars release into the air and that scientists believe contribute to global warming. Again, twice as much gas leads to twice as much carbon dioxide. If saving the environment still sounds like something too big for one person and one at a time, here is a more personal thing to consider, the effect that vehicle air pollution has on the human body. It can cause problems such as decreases in lung capacity, acute respiratory problems, reduces the release of oxygen to body tissue, contributes to birth defects low birth weight, infant death, and makes otherwise healthy kids 3 to 4 times more likely to develop asthma. There are also concerns on the national level. Even though our consumption of oil is ever increasing, our production of oil has gone down since the 1970’s. For most of the 20th century, we made so much oil that we had enough left over for export. But now Hybrid 6 America relies on imported oil. â€Å"In 2001, imported oil accounted for 55% of US consumption; this figure is projected to rise to 70% by 2020. † (http://www. hybridcars. com. ) Nearly two-thirds, or 80%, of the world’s known oil reserves are under just six Persian Gulf nations: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar. This forces the U. S. military to stay in foreign bases to oversee our free excess to oil, it arouses hostility from those in these countries who have anti-American feelings, and the production of oil in these countries only benefit world super-powers and make the rich richer and the poor poorer leading to more hostile feelings toward America. Some also go so far as to say us paying these countries for oil is providing terrorists with great sums of wealth, which they use for organized anti-American endeavors such as the plane high-jackings of September 11th. Ever since September 11th, Americans are leery of relying on gulf countries for our oil supply because rely is exactly what we do. The gas prices we pay reflect what other countries charge for their barrels of oil. Increasing efficiency of cars and trucks can play a role in reducing our dependency on foreign oil. By raising fuel efficiency by just 2. 7 mpg, Americans can save enough to extinct all oil imports from Iraq and Kuwait combined. By raising it 7. 6 mpg, Americans could eliminate 100% gulf oil imports! And, in President Bush’s energy bill proposal, he said he wants to use empty military bases as oil refineries in order to increase our supply, but instead of relying on government, individuals can really impact our part in buying foreign oil by getting better gas mileage and basically using less. Hybrid 7 There are also the federal level incentives the think about when buying a hybrid vehicle. The Clean-Fuel Vehicle Deduction tax break was given during this season. People who bought a hybrid in 2004/05 could claim up to a $2000 deduction when they do their taxes. In 2005/06, it’s scheduled to drop to $500, but if a new energy bill passes the number will go back up. There are also local incentives to buying a hybrid. If a person bought one in San Jose, CA, they are exempt from local parking fees. Colorado offers a tax credit. Connecticut exempts the sales tax on a hybrid meeting certain requirements. In Florida and Georgia people who have hybrids can use the high occupancy lanes at any time of the day and no matter how many people are in the car. And Illinois has a program called The Illinois Alternate Fuels Rebate Program which pays 80% or up to $4000 to convert your vehicle to an alternate fuel system. On to mileage. This is a big one that car consumers are looking at today. Instead of getting the average 15 to 26 mpg, a hybrid can get anywhere from 50 to 60 mpg! That’s a huge difference! This is achieved because hybrid vehicles convert energy that is normally wasted when a person coasts and breaks into electricity, which is then stored into the batteries until needed by the motor. The motor is also used to assist the engine when going up hills or when the car is driving in low speeds. Low speeds, like city driving are the least efficient fuel conditions. Some hybrids also automatically shut off the engine when the car comes to a stop preserving the fuel and energy. Some websites have online calculators that measure your own car up against a hybrid of your choice. I used one to measure my own car and got these results. If a person typically drives 10,000 miles a year and pay the national average of $2. 10 per gallon and gets 23 miles per Hybrid 8 gallon, this is what a person would save if they had a hybrid: 235 gallons of gas, 4,696 pounds of carbon dioxide, and $493 a year. (Stern, Linda. ) For this online calculator, I used http://www. hybridcars. com/calculator/index. php to compare my car with a new Lexus RX, which is a hybrid vehicle similar to my own. This website allows you to put in what make and model your car is and compare it to any hybrid vehicle to see the difference in consumption and cost. Hybrid 9 So are there really any downsides to owning a Hybrid? Almost every car review only state one flaw, and that’s the price. A 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid base cost $27,560. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid with four-wheel drive costs $39,290. And the most popular, Toyota Prius, cost around $27,000. The sophisticated computer control that makes everything work in these cars makes is what makes them expensive, at least more expensive then their non-electric counterparts. Also hybrid owners complain that they don’t actually get the mileage they are supposed to but that can be said for every car since too many factors go into affecting your mileage per gallon. With all the advantages such as helping the environment and saving ourselves from being so dependant on foreign oil, not to mention helping our health and our own personal wealth, most feel the added price of a hybrid vehicle is not something to hard to overcome. New car consumers should seriously look into whether a hybrid car is the right choice for them because this really is something that individuals can do to better our world. Hybrid 10. Bibliography Nice, Kerry.â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work. † How Stuff Works. 1998-2005. http://auto. howstuffworks. com/hybrid-car. htm. Newman, Richard J. â€Å"Invasion of the Green Machines. † U. S. News and World Report. V138 (May 9, 2005) pg. 48-54. Stern, Linda. â€Å"Money: Is a Hybrid Worth It? † Newsweek. April 4, 2005. Berman, Bradley. 2003-2005. http://www. hybridcars. com/. No Author. â€Å"Spotlight: What’s a Hybrid Car? † CARE2 Make a Difference. 2005. http://www. care2. com/channels/ecoinfo/hybrid.