Reviving Mother Nature Essay

I can feel the cool breeze touching my skin as I sit on the big rock, mesmerized by the greenest mountains, my heart is somersaulting by the beauty of the calm water stretching through the river. The chirping of the birds, the soft hush of the grass as it sways with the wind. This beautiful scenery makes me feel happy, finding peace in nature as the sun sets in the horizon. But these are just my illusions, and my senses are persistent in drifting me back into reality. And what reality is that? It’s the reality that our Mother Earth is dying. We were born in this world completely provided with everything – food, air, water, natural resources and a beautiful nature that serves as our home. Our mother nature is like a cosy womb which provides us security, protection and nourishment. However, we never saw the real extent of how precious this planet is to us. We went out the world as a successful species but completely a failure as sons and daughters of Mother Earth. We people tend to destroy everything we have in nature. We are all after for our own comfort, not realizing the damage we cause to our Mother Nature. We always want to live an easy life, even if this means exploiting our resources. Global warming is the major concern that we are facing right now. The continued rise in the global temperature will lead us again to another resulting factor, the climate change. There have been a lot of question if what really causing the climate change. Skeptics are voicing out their opinions, saying that it’s just due to natural variability, that Mother Earth has its own agenda in warming the earth. But I would certainly disagree to that. There is stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is due to human activities. Ice cores taken from deep in ancient ice of Antarctica show that carbon dioxide levels are higher now than at any time in the past thousand years. This carbon dioxide plays the major role in warming the earth, thus creating climate change. We humans are the main contributing factor in the destruction of our environment. It has been reported that it is more than 90 percent likely that the accelerated warming is due to human contributions. Such contributions include increased levels of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide in the air. One of the biggest ways we contribute greenhouse gasses is by burning fossil fuels. We use coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity, heat our homes, power our factories, and run our cars. Trees and other plants use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, planting more of them can save us from our damnation. But nobody seemed to care. We are all aiming for globalization and modernization, turning lush green forests into industrial sites, building factories that destroy the environment and killing many animals. We brilliantly invented new materials but took so long to realize that they would in the future become non-biodegradable trash that would accumulate in the environment, we throw our trash everywhere and most of all, we do not value wildlife. Along with our success as a species came the extinction of many animals thus wreaking havoc on ecological system. What we are unaware of is that all of our abuses to the environment would affect us largely in the long run. Now friends, can you still say that it’s just a natural variability or a devastated Mother Earth taking its revenge? Just recently, we experienced a heavy downfall. Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon had been flooded heavily, destroying properties and killing number of individuals. We can hear our fellowmen crying for help and save them from adversities. It has been forecasted that we will be experiencing another El Nino as the summer approaches. We will expect more of this ladies and gentlemen, with the climate change, floods and drought would be more severe and frequent. Change. This is the one we need to reverse all the consequences of our actions. Change in our attitude, personality, outlook and actions. This change should start within each of us. Be vigilant in what’s happening in our environment, take a stand and start caring and nursing our Mother Nature. It is the best time for us to plant more trees, stop illegal logging and other human activities that destroys our environment. Learn to sacrifice to lessen the use of fossil fuels and other chemicals that harm nature. I am aware that there is no way for us to totally eradicate activities that affect the environment to some extent because that would mean that the human civilization would have to move backwards and embrace its primitive ways. I understand that modernization comes side by side with human advancement and progress. What I just want is for everybody to realize that along with this progress also comes our responsibility to protect our environment. Start now, act now, it’s not too late for my illusions and of the next generation’s dream turn into reality.

Making Moral Decisions in Different Religious Context Essay

Does religion make a Difference to Moral decision making? Bibliography Declaration Introduction The title of my project is making moral decisions in different religious context. The initial aim was to gain insight into various world religions and determine if ones faith influences the decisions one makes. In order to achieve this goal the project will focus on seven religions differentiated by origin. Confucianism, Taoism both of Chinese origin, Judaism, Christianity and Islam which are of Semitic origin, Buddhism and Hinduism which are of Indian origin. Analysing the traditions, practices and belief systems will establish that moral guidelines exist within a religion and religious deity. These guidelines however do not force a decision upon an individual; belief systems simply guide a person in the correct direction toward a moral lifestyle. This in turn draws attention to decision making and how a human can act as a moral agent. The aim is to achieve knowledge and insight into questions such as how does one make a distinction between good and bad? What determines if an act is moral or immoral? Who and what is involved in the decision making process? Do certain factors such as background and life experience influence the choices one makes? These are the questions that will be addressed . Researching theologians and their perspective on the matter of moral decision making will clarify and shed light on the importance of the conscience and how an individual should evaluate a situation using a principle called the triple font theory. The concept of immorality shall be touched on in trying to find out if an act; although immoral does it constitute intrinsic evil? The final aim is to investigate morality in each specific religion, to achieve this objective the knowledge and information obtained from the research of previous topics will be put into practice in the different cultures. This project begs to ask the question, does religion make a difference to moral decision making? Chapter One: World view of seven world Religions. Religions of Chinese origins The Chinese traditions and religions share similar features and significant differences. The idea of nature is of huge importance and the concept of harmony with nature and oneself is the defining characteristic of the ancient Chinese belief system. There is an emphasis placed on the welfare and well being of the individual in the present life as opposed to a future one. What separates Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese Buddhism is the meaning which is associated with nature. Confucianism places emphasis on the nature of the human. Taoism focuses on harmony with the universe and Chinese Buddhism sees an amalgamation of the nature of the universe with the nature of the self and also with the Buddha nature. Chinese people however have no difficulty in living by all three traditions and have no loyalties to any specific tradition. For this project the focus will be on Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism This belief system as stated previously is concerned with the nature of the human. The aim in one’s life is to become â€Å"fully human†. Their view of life is that nature was received by heaven. Achieving a good life is living by the will of heaven; this is only possible by living according to good human nature. Developing consideration for fellow beings and having a sense of humanity is essential. Family plays a huge role in Confucianism as it is where these values are first established. Confucius was a man born in 552BC and died in 479BC. He was born in a period known as the spring and autumn period in the independent state of Lu. He was well educated and had an enormous interest in the history of his people. At twenty two years of age he opened a school where he educated others. He was later promoted to office of minister of justice. Confucius introduced a moral order never seen before and the state prospered from the changes. He tried to tackle the state of Lu to conform to his teachings yet failed; the preservation of a good government was not a priority for Lu.

Brave New World Critical Lens Essay

â€Å"I have freedom,† you say? Do you really? Perhaps, in some ways, you do. But in the end, you’re just another puppet being controlled by invisible strings whether you know it or not. â€Å"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,† Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said. In society, man is â€Å"chained† and controlled by the government, by pressure of conforming to the social norms, by wealth and social class, and by one’s desires and emotions. Prior to birth, man is not restricted by such factors but that is merely a fleeting moment as he is slowly exposed to more and more of the world. I agree that â€Å"everywhere [man] is in chains,† but on the contrary, I believe man is already chained from the start—that man is never free. In the novel, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, babies are â€Å"decanted† and conditioned to play out their predestined roles in the World State. As early as the embryonic stage, babies-to-be alr eady have their fates determined for them. In addition to conditioning, a drug called soma that induces a false sense of happiness dominates these people’s lives. As long as there is society, there will be shackles. Subjects of the World State were pre-separated into specific caste levels through processes such as the Bokanovsky Process, hypnopaedia, and Pavlovian conditioning. As mere embryos, they were already being trained for their predestined fates. By the time they reached the end of the â€Å"assembly line,† freedom did not exist anymore. They were enslaved to society. They were conditioned to strictly love and enjoy the aspects of their own castes and dislike the aspects of other castes. â€Å"We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers†¦ (13)† stated the Director of Hatcheries matter-of-factly. How can man be born—or in this case, decanted ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€free if he can’t even make his own major life decisions or think for himself? Aside from conditioning, World State citizens so easily obeyed the government because they lived in such a â€Å"perfect† world that there just wasn’t anything to complain about. Generally, they didn’t have any problems in regards to sickness, death, desires, old age, passion, relationships and other issues that were often associated with an â€Å"unstable† society. â€Å"People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get.  (220)† If anything â€Å"bad† happened, all they had to do was take a tablet. â€Å"And do remember that a gramme is better than a damn. (55)† The World State government kept their people in â€Å"bottles.† â€Å"’Each one of us, of course†¦goes through life inside a bottle,’ stated Mustapha Mond. (222-223)† The government expected everyone to act according to the standard of infantile behavior—of simple satisfaction, ignorance, and lack of self-restraint and they condemned anyone who acted otherwise. Citizens of the society were encouraged to take soma when distressed and attend social events and activities and so on. It was through such ways that the people were kept distracted and obliviously controlled. These â€Å"socialized human beings† were so ignorant of the shackles around their limbs that they didn’t even try or think to take them off. When a man is born with chains—metaphorically speaking, of course—he is unaware of them. And if he is unaware of them, then there is no way for him to escape them. Such is the case with the people of the World State. They are conditioned to accept and even enjoy whatever path that is laid out in front of them. In this illusion of a perfect world, everyone is happy and without a care as the government does all the thinking for them. Ultimately, people of the World State are permanently trapped in a stage of â€Å"infancy†Ã¢â‚¬â€even upon their deathbeds.

How has Christ been Understood to be Present in the Eucharist Essay

How has Christ been Understood to be Present in the Eucharist - Essay Example This essay stresses that Christ is not only the author and minister of each sacrament, but equally the exemplar of the grace which each sacrament is designed to realise, by naming explicitly the grace or virtue conveyed in and through each sacrament. In the Eucharist, this particular grace is self-giving. Macquarrie forwards the idea that through these sacraments, â€Å"things† which are considered otherwise ordinary are taken to new spiritual levels, or people’s understanding of them have, by virtue of the persistence of their faith, undergone intense deepening. Hence, bread which is of the earth and which human hands have made become the â€Å"Word of Life† and Wine, normally considered the fruit of the vine and a product of human toil and labor, becomes the â€Å"spiritual drink† and the â€Å"cup of our salvation†. This paper makes a conclusion that there is no doubt that the Eucharist is very important in the Anglican Church. No one by a bishop or presbyter may administer the Eucharist and it mandates that â€Å"pure wheaten bread and wine, being the fermented juice of the grape, are the necessary elements of the Sacrament.† The doctrine of the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church with respect to Transubstantiation was one and the same. When the reign of Edward VI ushered in a more Protestant ideology, transubstantiation was refuted and denied. The Doctrine of Transubstantiation, many Anglicans believe, tend to obscure the deeper meaning of the Eucharist.

Critically evaluate Hegel's teleological account of history Essay

Critically evaluate Hegel's teleological account of history - Essay Example Engels criticized such formulation of the question. He was sure the highest generalizing idea, approached by the natural sciences of that period, was the idea of expediency of established order in nature, flat Wolf’s teleology, according to which, cats were created in order to devour the mice, mice – to be devoured by cats, and everything in nature was created to prove the wisdom of the Lord (Carlton, 1975). There is no argument that it was a great merit of that period philosophy, that despite the limitations of its current scientific knowledge, it was not thrown off, and it, starting with Spinoza and ending with the great French materialists, persistently tried to explain the world, providing a detailed justification of the science of the future. In the German classical philosophy, the problem of teleology, as well as a number of other important philosophical questions, was put in a new way, and there was some new movement of thought towards the dialectics on the relat ively high level. This movement goes back to Kant. He was the first who raised a new issue of teleology. However, these Kantian formulations of the question are not directly related to that turn, made by Hegel in the sphere of teleology (Bristow, 2007). Concrete analysis of the dialectics of human toil takes Hegel’s antinomian opposition between causality and teleology, showing what specific place is occupied by conscious human purposefulness in general causation, not destroying, and not stepping over it, without appealing to any transcendental principle, that was very typical for prior thinkers - without losing work-specific definitions of goal-setting. Hegelian discovery in teleology is quite simple: every working man instinctively knows that he, when having the means and the subject of labor, can not do anything that is beyond the objective laws of these subjects and their combinations, and that the process of labor, therefore, can never go beyond the causal relations of t hings. And every human discovery can nest in the disclosure of objective causal relations and in involving them into the workflow. And as it was rightly noted by Marx and Hegel, the specific nature of goal setting is in the notion of goal exists until the process of labor set in motion, and the process of labor exists to achieve this goal through increasingly deep causal links to objective reality (Frederick Beiser, 2007). The very fact that goal-setting itself is causal, this also drew so much attention of Spinoza, is correct and goes without saying, but , as Spinoza thought, it does not mean that the specific nature of the teleological connection is disregarded. On the contrary, this knowledge gives us the opportunity to reveal the dialectical unity of the principle of causality and goal of labor more clearly. And this knowledge was not lost on Hegel. In accordance with his philosophy, various needs of people were the engine of progress and, thus, an impetus for civilization devel opment in the course of history (Hegel: Lectures on the History of Philosophy, 1825). Hegel was the ideologue of a particular revolutionary period - the period of revolutionary constitution of a large modern nation. Hegel portrayed this process as progressive rightly. In the historical dialectic of this process, which repeatedly played out in the form of major wars, Hegel saw the state of nature, in which the spirit makes its way to the top stage

First Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

First Exam - Assignment Example 25). The first year of operation, the expansion of the company may be limited because of the evaluation of the cash flows to ascertain profitability of capital purchases. Leasing on a 36 month plan for 2013 ODYSSEY LX Leasing has several advantages that could lead to it being an advantage for the company. According to Parker, leasing has six main advantages that make it possible for businesses to use it as a method of acquisition of services (Parker, 2005, p. 48). Leasing offers chance of 100 percent financing which means that most leases come with a financing plan that makes it possible. The monthly contribution for the service may be cheaper. In fact, from the values obtained in the lease of the cars, it is evident that leasing offers lower monthly charges compared to purchase charges. The second advantage of leasing is the reduction of situations of obsolescence. Vehicles depreciate fast making them obsolete in a couple of years. Thirdly, leasing offers asset flexibility which mak es it easy to obtain assets. Total Initial Fees $15.00. Amount Due at Start of Lease $442.23; Total Monthly Payment $357.73. For the 36 months the total cost of the lease will be 357*36= 12, 852 The total monthly repayment is added to initial fees and the amount due at the start of the lease, initial cost, annual fees and the sales tax= 12852+784.25+69.50+25360=39065.75 Less the end value= 36065.75+15408.40 = 51, 474.15 The results of the financial evaluation of the lease indicate that the lease of the vehicle will be expensive in the long term. Lease reduces the taxable income of the company, which is more appropriate manner than depreciation which includes the use of the depreciation expense (Gitman, Juchau, & Flanagan, 2004, p. 66). However, the taxes saved today may be paid tomorrow making the approach different, but costly in some instances. The vehicle is useful in the long term service of the firm as such the lease may be expensive if used for five to 10 years. Therefore the option of lease for the 2013 ODYSSEY LX is not viable. Purchasing a 2013 ODYSSEY LX with a three-year payment Cost of purchase Initial Cost: $25,360.00; Term 36 months; Interest Rate 1.9%; Sales Tax: $1,648.40; Total Fee $15.00; Total Monthly Payment $773.41. The total cost of the purchase = 27842.72 + 1648.40+15+25360=54, 866.16 The cost of purchasing the van will be cheaper compared to leasing of the van from Honda. The purchase of the car in a three year plan will ensure faster payment for the car and accelerate the ownership transfer. However, monthly payments are high when you purchase than when you lease. The beauty of purchase is that you can sell the car in case of business challenges and allow for the development of the other aspect. There is no limitation on the mileage when using a purchased vehicle. Therefore, choosing whether to lease or buy is dependent of cost implications, advantages and disadvantages of the purchase or lease options. For the company, the longevity o f operations must be evaluated in order to achieve success. The purchase would be the most viable option based on the cost implications of the cars. The total cost of leasing a 2013 ODYSSEY LX for three years is $51, 474.15 while for a three-year purchase option is $54, 866.16. The five-year

Invasion of Privacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Invasion of Privacy - Research Paper Example However, it is also notable that the media, being the major tool for information broadcasting, is protected through the freedom of speech, which can be used to challenge and defend its mandate to avail information to the public. On the other hand, it is possible to find that the media may not disclose information such as names of the subject of discussion if there are no hard facts to prove the statements but the reader or listener can easily tell who the person being discussed is (Cate, 2000). In such a context, it becomes difficult for a person to press charges against the media for character damaging or defamation. This paper is a critical evaluation of the right to privacy. The Right to Privacy The right to privacy is fundamental, though not absolute, as it protects human dignity. Apparently, every person has weaknesses, which, if brought out to the public, may influence negatively in shaping public opinion, which may in turn affect the success of such a person either in the soci al or political life (Alderman, 2001). For example, public offices such as the presidency, legislature, and judiciary among others require people of high integrity not withstanding that the office holders are also human beings and are prone to making errors. It therefore goes without saying that the fact that such people are public servants does not mean that the public should have unauthorized access to their private information such as family life, financial information, and medical records among other delicate issues that may relate to them. The European Convention on Human rights through article 8 protects citizens’ family and private life from intrusion by the state or other agencies (Alderman, 2001). Generally, there has not been a definite definition of privacy but it is worth noting that there are four major categories that have been acknowledged across the board. These are for example; information privacy, physical privacy, communication privacy and territorial priva cy (Alderman, 2001). With regard to information privacy, every citizen has the right to withhold any information regarding himself be it personal data, health status, among others. Personal data for example credit card information, bank details should not at any given time be accessed by a second party unless there is a court order demanding the same to be availed in circumstances such as if a person is being investigated for crimes such as corruption, money laundering among other justifying conditions. Most of the constitutions including that of the US indeed do not have specific statutes guaranteeing the right to privacy though most of the privacy issues are covered in other statutes related to human rights. However, it is observable that the US constitution, through the 9th amendment, offer a blank check to the courts enabling them protect human rights that are not included in the constitution (Kennedy, 2003). This means that the courts have the prerogative of ensuring that human dignity is respected and one way of doing so is by protecting their privacy. On the other hand, the government reserves the right to access personal information for the use by its agencies but this must be in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974.

International marketing - PowerPoint Presentation

International marketing - - PowerPoint Presentation Example Product strategy is an important part of marketing strategy. It discusses the methodology regarding launching and presentation of a product in some specific market. It also concentrates which population should be the target consumers and how these products can be reached to these consumers. "Product Strategy is perhaps the most important function of a company. It must take in account the capabilities in terms of engineering, of production, of distribution (sales) existing in the company or of time to acquire them (by hiring or by mergers)." (Febcm.club) Furthermore, product strategy discusses how the consumers can be motivated for using a specific product dropping the products of competitors and rival companies. â€Å"Marketing plan for a product based on the characteristics of the target market, market share objectives, desired product positioning within the market, and profit objectives. Strategic plans for a product are based on decisions regarding the four ps (product, place, pr ice, and promotion), financial targets and budgets, and tactical plans.†(Answer.com). Since the world has turned into a global village, the great companies have started launching their products at international markets. The Nike Women is also one among such great brands. The company focuses on the following points while making product strategy regarding overseas markets: The products are made and launched to fill the gap in the market as well as provide the consumers with the variety of products all over the globe. The contemporary global market offers the consumers variety of choice in all products. Being the marketing leader of women attire products, Nike Women presents its products in different varieties and for various age groups. The Company always sticks to high quality product while preparing its commodities. It does not make any compromise on high quality, which is the sign of its

Construction and culture- Old Trafford Stadium (Manchester United Research Paper

Construction and culture- Old Trafford Stadium (Manchester United Stadium) - Research Paper Example Old Trafford was the premiere stadium to have a ring of seats and stands that completely surrounded the pitch. Opened in 1910, Old Trafford was originally intended to hold eighty thousand spectators, making it the second-largest sports ground in the country following Wembley Stadium. The clubs rich history from its founding in 1878 to date is all preserved in the Manchester United Museum whilst the Hall of Fame reveres numerous soccer athletes who have assisted the team, Manchester United, rule the English football league throughout the years. The Trophy Room displays sufficient silver and brass that can try to outshine the Crown Jewels. Introduction The Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century in England. It has been extensively well-known that from the conclusion of the 18th century, essential economic and social transformation occurred in England and afterward, in other places, including a remarkable increase in countrywide population sizes, brought about by a more rap id growth of existing towns and cities, changing birth and mortality rates, predominantly in capital cities as well as the manifestation of new social classes associated to people’s place as workers within the industry or as the owners of industries in the manufacturing process. In addition to the aforementioned reasons for the economic and social developments, progress in transportation and networks of communication also propelled the movement. The Industrial Revolution, as noted by historians, was marked by important changes in society. These changes incorporated advancements in agriculture, such as the implementation of new systems of farming and the creation of new equipment which permitted for an amplified availability of food as well as the expansion of new machinery in industrial manufacture from increases in information that were more often than not the product of informed empiricism and practical experiences. This revolution and its civilization at the time, saw to t he spread of the football culture in Britain and consequently to the construction of soccer stadiums. Old Trafford In its early days the Manchester United (Newton Heath) club used to play on different pitches before moving to North Road Monsall in the year 1880 (Manutd.com- The Official Website, 2011). This pitch was among the worst pitches in the entire league. It was always covered with the smoke from the nearby industry. It is also to mention that poor condition of the pitch was due to the uneven cover of gravel to marsh. The pitch was originally opened in 1909, after the club shifted its base from their old ground at Bank Lane, Clayton. An interesting observation is that the pitch only had one covered stand, with standing room only, for several years but it offered untold luxuries - tea-rooms, tip-up seats and attendants to politely point the way. Following serious financial debt and expenses, Sir John Henry Davies rescued the team from grave bankruptcy and renaming by giving aw ay a grand total of sixty thousand pounds in 1909 for the purchase and development of a site at Trafford Park. The novel ground next to the Bridgewater Canal, which was near the Northern end of the Warwick Road in Old Trafford, was complete and ready

Catherine Triangle Essay Example for Free

Catherine Triangle Essay Overlooking the docks area of Brooklyn is the massive Brooklyn Bridge, which spans New Yorks East River and which joins the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. In the title, Miller suggests he is giving the audience a view of the community which lies below the bridge. The title also suggests that the audience is given a panoramic view of the scene, much as a captain of a ship has an all-round view from the vessels bridge. The action of the play takes place largely in an apartment in a tenement block in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. In the play, Alfieri, the lawyer, describes the area as: the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge and as the gullet of New York swallowing the tonnage of the world. It was a socially deprived area, where succeeding generations of immigrants from Europe, both legal and illegal, found a home and work. There was a long-established Italian community in the area. The Culture and Society of Red Hook. Given the rather traditional values of Italian-American society in the middle of the twentieth century and the fact that most of the men earned their living from hard physical labour in the dockyards and elsewhere, it is not surprising that Red Hook was quite a raw, masculine and even macho society. Manhood, which involved strength and aggression (and proving it) was very important. Women were expected to conform to an image of purity and domestic virtue and, as Beatrice does, gain most of their satisfaction from cooking and maintaining the household. The men expected to be respected and obeyed as of right and the women had to submit to them in decision- making. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church was strong and most people had traditional moral views. The family and the extended family were of major importance as was the community. Many of the families were recent immigrants from Southern Italy, the original home of the Mafia, and family and blood ties were often demonstrated through the practice of vendetta, that is the obligation on the rest of the family to take revenge on anyone who insulted or harmed any of its members. It was, therefore, a culture in which a mans reputation (for strength and honesty, for example) was crucial to him and where any affront to a persons honour had to be avenged. This may help you to understand the pressure that Eddie and Marco are under at the end of the play. The Legal Background. In the first 20 years of the Twentieth Century, over three million Italians emigrated to the U. S. A. to escape from the poverty of their homeland and in the hope of a better life in America. These were legal immigrants to America, but the local population grew increasingly hostile to the Italian community. In the early 1920s the American government passed laws to restrict immigration and afterwards only four thousand Italians were allowed to enter the U. S. A.  legally each year. Far more than this number were desperate to escape the poverty of their own country. Two such were the submarines, Marco and Rodolpho, cousins of Beatrice, who enter America illegally on the evening the play opens. One of the few ways an illegal immigrant could gain the right to remain in America legitimately was to marry an American citizen. This sometimes meant that illegal immigrants married not for love, but simply to remain in the country. We can perhaps better understand Eddies fears about Rodolpho when we know this 7. The Carbone Familys Background. A playwright, unlike a novelist, cannot describe characters and situations to an audience. Details about characters and their relationships have to be revealed gradually and subtly. What, then, do we know about the Carbone family and the relationships within it? The Carbones live in an apartment in a tenement building, at 441 Saxon Street, Brooklyn, which Miller describes as a workers flat, clean, sparse, homely. Eddie, aged 40, is a large, strong man who enjoys male pursuits and going bowling with his friends. He is a longshoreman (i. e. he works in the docks). Beatrice is a traditional 1950s housewife. She keeps the flat looking immaculate, cooks and, at least in the early part of the play, dutifully defers to Eddie in everything. She stands up to Eddie much more as the action unfolds, and objects to his overprotective attitude to Catherine. Catherine, Beatrices attractive 17-year-old niece, had been adopted by Eddie and Beatrice when her parents died. Catherine is very fond of Eddie but there is growing tension between them because of Catherines wish to start work and Eddies desire to protect her from, as he sees them, the dangers of the adult world. The Eddie Beatrice Catherine Triangle. The relationship between these three is the fOcus of Act I. Eddie and Beatrice have obviously had a warm, loving relationship but there are currently stresses. In Catherines opinion, and in Eddies too, Beatrice nags her husband. Catherine tells Rodolpho: If I was a wife, I would make a man happy instead of going on at him all the time (Implying that Beatrice does go on at Eddie. ) Eddie certainly agrees with Catherines view. He tells Beatrice: You didnt used to jump on me all the time about everything. The last year or two I come in the house I dont know whats gonna hit me. Its a shooting gallery in here and Im the pigeon. Part of the tension is caused by Eddies belief that he should be the master in the house and Beatrices increasing wish to express her own view. This leads Eddie to say, I dont like the way you talk to me, Beatrice, whenever Beatrice disagrees with him. The Catherine Rodolpho Eddie Triangle. When Eddie first hears that Beatrices cousins have arrived he says it would be an honour to help them, despite the obvious risks involved. He knows how important it is to give the men a chance to work to send money back to Italy. There is no doubt that Eddie understands the poverty they are escaping as his own father had come to the U. S. A. from Italy. Eddies willingness to offer hospitality shows that he is a good man, aware of his responsibilities to others in the Italian-American community. This makes his later actions an even greater shock. Eddie is immediately impressed by the quiet dignity and maturity of Marco, but he is equally quickly irritated by Rodolpho. This is partly because of Rodolphos personality, for he is an extrovert, quite loud, showy, lively and fun- loving, but also because of his appearance. Eddies stereotyping of Rodolpho because of his blond hair and his voice shows prejudice, which reflects not just Eddies attitudes but those of his time and culture. . The Catherine Rodolpho Eddie Triangle Things which irritate Eddie These are the things about Rodolpho which irritate Eddie: His appearance; especially his blond wacky hair. Eddie says of Rodolpho: hes like a chorus girl or sumpn. His abilities and talents, e. g. dressmaking and cooking, which Eddie thinks are things only a woman should do. This leads him to doubt whether Rodolpho is a real man. His fondness for singing out loud in his high tenor voice, even on the ships. Eddie is embarrassed that other men laugh at Rodolpho for this. He is particularly angry when Rodolpho sings Paper Doll because he thinks the words may be related to Catherine and he becomes aware of the growing romance between her and Rodolpho. The stage directions state that Eddie is puffed with trouble when he notices the growing affection between Catherine and Rodolpho. These are the things that annoy Eddie at first, but annoyance becomes hate when he realises that Rodolpho is a rival for Catherine. In Act II, Eddie is furious with Catherine and Rodolpho for going to the cinema and staying out late. Eddie believes that Rodolpho is deliberately dating Catherine in the hope of marrying her and being able to stay in America. It is difficult to decide whether this is a genuine concern or whether Eddie is using it as an excuse to cover his real feeling which is sexual jealousy. What do you think? It is unlikely that a man like Eddie would consider Rodolpho as a suitable partner for Catherine, even if there was no sexual jealousy involved. . The Catherine Rodolpho Eddie Triangle Eddies motives Whatever his motives, be they genuine concern to protect his niece or sexual jealousy, Eddie tries his hardest to turn Catherine against Rodolpho and split them up. He tries to humiliate Rodolpho in front of Catherine in the following ways: He cleverly introduces the subject of boxing (a suitably masculine activity for Eddie) and, while pretending to teach Rodolpho how to box, hits him in the mouth. For Eddie, this demonstrates to Catherine what a weak man Rodolpho is and what a strong one he (Eddie) is. It also shows that Eddie thinks women are more attracted to strong, aggressive males.

Factors For Popularity Of Reality TV Show

Factors For Popularity Of Reality TV Show The recent onslaught of new reality programmes on general entertainment channels has once again brought this genre of programming into the limelight. Reality TV is not a new genre here; it has just become more popular (and controversial) now. Reality shows are almost a decade old but thus far, soaps have reigned large in terms of television ratings. With rising competition, however, in recent months, non-fiction-based programmes have made a stunning comeback, albeit in a new avatar-titillating reality programming. After an overdose of saas-bahu (daughter-in-law-mother-in-law) soaps, the producers and also the audience seem to be happy lapping up more realistic soaps (fiction) and reality (non-fiction) programmes. In the list of the top 10 programmes on television currently are two reality shows and some socially relevant soap operas. There are two things about reality shows that attract viewers and generate controversy: the concept of reality or realism; and the shock effect. The concept of reality TV draws from realism in cinema. So, its a format that presents ordinary people in live, supposedly unscripted (though often deliberately manufactured) situations, and monitors or judges their emotions, behaviour or talent. Such formats usually invoke competition and provide big money as rewards. Still, the very dissonance between the fact that these programmes are real and relevant (for the audience) and that contestants usually compete in them for fame and money-thereby being willing to do things they wouldnt otherwise do-raises issues related to the honesty of reality shows. The situation is exacerbated when producers use the concept of reality to shock and awe audiences-one way to break through the clutter. The point still remains: What determines the popularity of reality television show? 2.0 Review of Literature The process of QDA: John Seidel, in his article, discusses at length, the intricacies of the process of qualitative data analysis (QDA). The author goes on to explain that how the complex and rigorous practice of QDA is based on a simple foundation. QDA is described as a process of Noticing, Collecting, and Thinking about interesting things. QDA process has the following characteristics: Iterative and Progressive: The process is iterative and progressive because it is a cycle that keeps repeating. For example, when you are thinking about things you also start noticing few things in the data. You then collect and think about these new things. In principle the process is an infinite spiral. Recursive: The process is recursive because one part can call you back to a previous part. For example, while you are busy collecting things you might simultaneously start noticing new things to collect. Holographic: The process is holographic in that each step in the process contains the entire process. For example, when you first notice things you are already mentally collecting and thinking about those things. 1. Noticing Things and coding data Noticing simply means making observations, writing field notes, tape recording interviews, gathering documents, etc. When you do this you are producing a record of the things that you have noticed. Reading the record helps you focus your attention on that record, and notice interesting things in the record.Coding data is a simple process. When you read a book, underline or highlight passages and make margin notes you are coding that book. 2. Collecting and sorting instances of things This process follows once you have noticed and coded things. The author compares this process to a jigsaw puzzle where you start by sorting the pieces of the puzzle. In a puzzle picture with a tree, a house, and sky, a common strategy for solving it is to identify and sort puzzle pieces into groups ( e.g., frame pieces, tree pieces, house pieces, and sky pieces). When you identify piece, you are noticing and coding them. When you sort the pieces you are collecting them.The author suggests that disassembling, coding, and then sorting and sifting through the data, is the primary path to analysis. But intensive data coding, disassembly, sorting, and sifting, is neither the only way to analyze data, nor is it necessarily the most appropriate strategy. 3. Thinking about things In the thinking process, one examines the things that have been collected with a view to achieve the following goals: . Your goals are: a) to make some type of sense out of each collection, b) look for patterns and relationships both within a collection, and also across collections, and c) to make general discoveries about the phenomena you are researching. One must compare and contrast each of the things that have been noticed in order to discover similarities and differences, build typologies, or find sequences and patterns. In the process one might also stumble across both wholes and holes in the data. Popularity of Reality TV The article explains the results of a new study that examines the ongoing popularity of reality TV. Unlike other shows such as news programs or sitcoms, reality TV allows viewers to imagine themselves as actual participants. People may find a certain fascination in contrasting what they think they would do in a given situation to the actions taken by the real participants a group of individuals they perceive as their peers. In many of the reality shows, ordinary people are placed in exotic, unfamiliar surroundings where they are pitted against the elements. Others focus on ordinary people engaging in common activities such as dating or home redecorating. In both instances, viewers are given the chance to compare and contrast their own lives with those of the shows protagonists. The resulting experience is a complexly constructed and highly individualized experience the researchers call hyper authenticity. That viewers may be drawn by the chance to mentally test their behavior against that of the actual participants contrasts with the common criticism of reality TV viewers as passive voyeurs thereby blending fantasy and reality. Most participants agreed that the main thing that made reality TV shows more interesting than sitcoms is that they are unscripted. In conclusion, the author senses that the success of reality-based entertainment may be the depiction by certain shows that it is totally foreign to viewers. It may reflect nostalgia for authenticity among the class of consumers to whom it is most rigorously denied. According to the researchers, others may appeal simply because they are so familiar, and therefore understandable, to viewers. http://www.wfanet.org/pdf/med_documents/Whatadvertiserswantfromonlinemeasurement.pdf What advertisers want from online audience measurement The objective of this paper is to help inform current and future efforts to advance online audience measurement by providing advertisers constructive input on this vital issue Advertisers increasingly communicate to and interact with their target audiences through the online media in all its variations and platforms for a broad range of purposes and objectives including search, social networks, display, extensions of traditional media, advertisers own sites or services, on fixed and mobile platforms, one-way and interactive. The information needed is specifically related to the following: Assess the appropriateness and economic value of various online media alternatives and vehicles, Predict and plan delivery against targets, build online-and-offline strategies and related media mix, arbitrate between solutions, allocate budget resources and project ROI Purchase commercial space (and/or other inventory, e.g. search) according to properly defi ned and reliable metrics for contacts with the target audience Monitor actual execution and post-analyze if, when and how the purchased spaces or other inventory had been delivered Evaluate the results and ROI to improve future strategies The challenges inherent to the collection and production of the information arise as The online media is still in a nascent stage Exposure or commercial contact themselves are not clearly defined Receptiveness of commercial communication by the audience varies by format The vast majority have small, segmented audiences, the same person belonging to the audiences of a large number of different vehicles. Large samples and/or specific data collection procedures are required.Interactivity provides a major opportunity, which barely exists in other media: Interactivity of the devices: The technical ability to monitor (and potentially track across time) the actual display/delivery of each and every piece of content on every single device in front of the audience Interactivity of the audiences: most frequently the audiences, when reached, are in a posture/situation where feed-back is attitudinally natural and technically possible/seamless. Another opportunity arises from the relative youth of the media. As new measurement systems are introduced in parallel with the medias evolution, the industry can set them up according to the needs of all parties: Consistently across markets whilst benefitting from cross-border sharing of experimentation and experience. Objective statement: To study the factors responsible for popularity of reality TV show Variables: Dependent factor: Performance of reality TV shows Independent factors: (i) Target audience Age group Professional and cultural background Psychological mindset (ii) Social context Political issues in domestic country Social issues in domestic country (iii) TV programming Time slot in which the program is broadcasted TRPs of other TV programmes on this channel (iv) Competition TRPs of TV shows on other channels Profitability of the channel versus that of other channels Target Audience Social Context Popularity of Reality TV show Competition TV programming Measurement of variables Variable Measurement Age group Age group and gender Professional and cultural background occupation, , number of family members, Education, Psychological mindset tourist destination, idle time, you relate to, connect with reality TV program Political issues in domestic country political issue that concern you Social issues in domestic country political issue that concern you Time slot in which the program is broadcasted number of hours of TV watching, length of program (airtime) favorite time of slot for TV TRPs of other TV program on this channel favorite TV programs, TRP ratings (secondary source) TRPs of TV shows on other channels TRP ratings (secondary source) Hypothesis The popularity of reality television shows is influenced by the political issue in the mind of the respondent ( using ANOVA) The popularity of reality television shows is influenced by the social issue in the mind of the respondent (using ANOVA) There is relation between the respondents preference of activity in idle time and different genre of reality television show(using CROSSTABS) There is a relation between age group and preference of time slot (using CROSSTABS) The educational background of the respondents is independent of popularity of reality shows (using Chi Square) There is a relation between the reason for watching TV and popularity of reality TV shows. Research Methodology Recent success of reality television programs made us inquisitive about the factors that dictate their success. We turned this idea into a research question. We reviewed few articles from literature related to this topic so that the knowledge gained will help us in mapping these factors and giving importance to them. We decided to conduct the following studies: Survey-questionnaire: behaviors, beliefs and observations of specific groups are identified, reported and interpreted. Analysis: classes of data are collected and studies conducted to discern patterns and formulate principles that might guide future action We created our hypothesis to continue our studies. Our hypothesis were based on our reading over internet, blogs and personal opinion. The data will be collected and hypothesis will be analyses accordingly. We select convenience sampling methodology for which we created an Online questionnaire in Google documents and passed the link to out friends by email, Google chats and social networking websites. We were able to collect their responses and analyze the data using SPSS 17. We then again checked our hypothesis to reach to the conclusion. On analysis, anomalies in the pattern if any will be captured and the research outcome can create an impact on programming reality television shows in future. The final research report will be submitted to NMIMS university. 6.0 Sampling technique In this form of research, it would be ideal to test the entire population, but the population is just too large that it is impossible to include every individual. This is the reason why we rely on sampling techniques like convenience sampling, the most common of all sampling techniques. Many researchers prefer this sampling technique because it is fast, inexpensive, easy and the subjects are readily available. USES: Researchers use convenience sampling not just because it is easy to use, but because it also has other research advantages. This sampling technique is also useful in documenting that a particular quality of a substance or phenomenon occurs within a given sample. Such studies are also very useful for detecting relationships among different phenomena. CRITICISMS: The most obvious criticism about convenience sampling is sampling bias and that the sample is not representative of the entire population. This may be the biggest disadvantage when using a convenience sample because it leads to more problems and criticisms. Systematic bias stems from sampling bias. This refers to a constant difference between the results from the sample and the theoretical results from the entire population. It is not rare that the results from a study that uses a convenience sample differ significantly with the results from the entire population. A consequence of having systematic bias is obtaining skewed results. Another significant criticism about using a convenience sample is the limitation in generalization and inference making about the entire population. Since the sample is not representative of the population, the results of the study cannot speak for the entire population. This results to a low external validity of the study. Total Sample (n=88)Sample Regular television audience (n=60, 69%) Moderately regular television audience (n=26, 29%) Rarely watch television programs (n=2, 2%) Although we rely on convenience sampling, we have a fairly distributed sample in terms of viewership of television programs Age profile Sex profile Limitation: Since we ask our respondents to rate their favorite reality shows which actually belong to different timelines. Hence the true rating is basically relative to actual shows aired on television channels today. The same limitation also applies to data obtained from Secondary sources Secondary Data We have obtained secondary data from TAM peoplemeter system which measures audience viewership (in the form of TRPs). Since our research is based completely on TRPs, we have obtained the TRP ratings of different genre of Reality shows (Average TRP captured in the period in which the show is captured) Television Rating Interpretation: We observe that the sigma value for Thriller shows, aspirational shows and adventure politics (Fear Factor, Rakhi kaa swayamvar and Roadies) are below 0.05, hence at 95% significance level we reject the null hypothesis (u1 not equal to u2 not equal to u3 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. ). This means that we accept the alternate hypothesis which is the popularity of this show depends on social situation in mind of the respondent. For the rest of them, we accept the null hypothesis which states that the popularity of these shows do not depend on social factors. c) Hypothesis: There is relation between preferred activity in idle time and reality television Interpretation: From the above table, we observe that respondents who like meeting and hanging out with friends are generally the ones who rate reality programs on higher side. Another point is those who prefer Socialising with relatives actually like shows with high entertainment value and politics around 50% of Big Boss viewers. D) Hypothesis: there is relation between age group and favorite time slot Interpretation: Assuming 90% level of significance, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate one and conclude that the liking of reality television program depends educational background of the respondents. f) Hypothesis: There is a relation between the reason for watching TV and popularity of reality TV shows. Interpretation: The above figure is a Percentage Bar Graph that shows the distribution of responses of various factors that people connect the reality shows with. Roadies Out of all the respondants who have rated Roadies as their favourite show, majority of them connect with Roadies as a pure entertainment show. The next big bunch of individuals connect with Roadies or watch Roadies as a Stress Reliever. It shows that the people interested in this show are looking for something as a stress buster. Big Boss Almost one-third of the respondants who like Big Boss relate to the show as a source of only Entertainment. It is followed by another big set of people who connect with the show as a stress reliever. SaReGaMaPa SaReGaMaPa the musical show also comes out as a major source of entertainment. Rakhi Ka swayamvar Unlike other shows, in case of Rakhi ka Swayamvar, people look at the show as a source of knowledge. This knowledge might include the curiosity of people to understand the prevailing rituals in the society. For most of the other shows, the research highlights that people look at these shows more as a source of general entertainment than anything else.

The Scarlet Letter Essay -- Literature

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne analyzes Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. In the story, Hester is the main character of the story and was called Mistress Prynne (Hawthorne 70). Dimmesdale, in the story was referred to as Reverend Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 90). Chillingworth was originally named, Roger Prynne but later in the story he changed his name to Roger Chillingworth. In the story, Hester committed adultery with Dimmesdale against Chillingworth and in the beginning she got punished and sent to prison and later she got to get out of prison but with the exception of having to wear the letter A on her breast every time she went out in to town. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is the main character. Hester is referred to as â€Å"Mistress Prynne† (Hawthorne 70). The Scarlet Letter also mentions she is holding her three month old baby, Pearl, in her arms who winked and turned her head by the sun’s rays (Hawthorne 71). She is described as having an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread â€Å"letter A† on the breast of her gown (Hawthorne 71). Hester was also a tall woman (Hawthorne 72). Her hair was dark and abundant her hair shined while the sunshine gleamed off her hair (Hawthorne 72). Hester had a marked brow and dark black eyes (Hawthorne 72). Hester Prynne is often described as a lady-like person (Hawthorne 72). Hester’s role in the story is described as sleeping with a priest and got accused of committing adultery and got punished by having to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on the breast of her gown (Hawthorne 71). Hester Prynne’s punishment is to go to prison and then with her child, Pearl, go and stand out on the platform in front of everybody wearing her scarlet letter on the breast of her gown (Howells). Hester... ...1. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Reid, Bethany. "Narrative of the Captivity and Redemption of Roger Prynne: Rereading The Scarlet Letter." Studies in the Novel 33.3 (Fall 2001): 247-267. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 158. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. Symons, Arthur. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." Studies in Prose and Verse. E. P. Dutton & Co., 1904. 52-62. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. Tamkang Review. "John Updike's S." Tamkang Review 25.3-4 (Spring-Summer 1995): 379-405. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 126. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.

The Public Choice Essays -- Education School Essays

The Public Choice For some parents, deciding on a school for their children can be a difficult decision. Many parents do not spend much time thinking about it; they place their children into the local school designated by where they live. Others attended a private school themselves and found that it was a beneficial experience and therefore want the same for their kids. But which is better: private schools or public schools? While there are many advantages and disadvantages in each (nothing is going to be absolutely perfect), we are going to focus on the benefits of an education in the public school system, or in other words, schools funded by the government that are for anyone to attend. An accurate definition found in the Encyclopedia of American Education (1996) states: â€Å"Any elementary or secondary school under control of elected or appointed civil authority, supported entirely by public tax monies, and, with few exceptions, open to all students in a designated district, free of any tuition charges.† (780) These include elementary, secondary schools and vocational schools. Public schools are a good choice in education because they provide a wide variety of subjects to study, are diverse in their student body, available to everyone, yet can sometimes be misunderstood. Imagine sitting in a class, completely bored out of your mind. This is not difficult considering everyone has taken a class like this somewhere along the road of their education. Not every class can be exciting and we should know that. Now imagine every class is of this level, with no â€Å"break†, or elective, classes incorporated into your day. Although this may not apply to all private schools, there are many that focus on specific topics. So even though the... ...des. Students who do well in a public school setting tend to feel better about themselves. They succeed because they want to, not because someone else forced them to. Whether someone prefers a public school or a private school, it all depends on the person. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to appreciate all that public schools have to offer because they get their vision blurred by all the benefits of private schools. The only thing holding them back may be cost. If these people would just take some time to find that there are just as many wonderful things about the schools our governments provide, they may feel more confident in their choice. Those never exposed to anything but private education miss out on the diversity among students, extra vocational and extracurricular classes, and may even continue to not understand all that public schools have to offer.

government court cases :: essays research papers

Smith v. Allwright A resolution of the Democratic Party of Texas, a group that the Texas Supreme Court had deemed a "voluntary association," allowed only whites to participate in Democratic primary elections. S.S. Allwright was a county election official; he denied Lonnie E. Smith, a black man, the right to vote in the 1940 Texas Democratic primary. Question Presented Did denying blacks the right to vote in primary elections violate the Fifteenth Amendment? Conclusion The Court overruled its decision in Grovey v. Townsend (1935) and found the restrictions against blacks unconstitutional. Even though the Democratic Party was a voluntary organization, the fact that Texas statutes governed the selection of county-level party leaders, the party conducted primary elections under state statutory authority, and state courts were given exclusive original jurisdiction over contested elections, guaranteed for blacks the right to vote in primaries. Allwright engaged in state action abridging Smith's right to vote because of his race. A state cannot "permit a private organization to practice racial discrimination" in elections, argued Justice Reed. (The Court's decision in this matter was amended on June 12, 1944.) Buckley v. Valeo Facts of the Case In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute Question Presented Did the limits placed on electoral expenditures by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech and association clauses? Conclusion In this complicated case, the Court arrived at two important conclusions. First, it held that restrictions on individual contributions to political campaigns and candidates did not violate the First Amendment since the limitations of the FECA enhance the "integrity of our system of representative democracy" by guarding against unscrupulous practices. Second, the Court found that governmental restriction of independent expenditures in campaigns, the limitation on expenditures by candidates from their own personal or family resources, and the limitation on total campaign expenditures did violate the First Amendment. Since these practices do not necessarily enhance the potential for corruption that individual contributions to candidates do, the Court found that restricting them did not serve a government interest great enough to warrant a curtailment on free speech and association.

The McDonaldization

â€Å"McDonaldization† — as used by George Ritzer, author of The McDonaldization of Society — refers to the creation of â€Å"rationalized systems† to perform everyday functions such as food preparation, retail sales, banking, home construction, entertainment, news delivery and so on. He calls it McDonaldization because such methods were used to famous effect by Ray Kroc, who built McDonald's into a fast-food empire — and because in many people's minds McDonald's represents the results, both good and bad, that occur when rationalized systems take over. But has this transition affected other businesses either positively or negatively? Why sure, thanks for asking! I think the best way to examine McDonaldization is to compare the analysis of McDonalds to its effects in the same industry. The way I plan to do this is to see if the effects of McDonaldization have effect the Wendy†s franchise. The information that I know about this business comes from my brother working for this company for many years and partaking in a triple-cheeseburger or two in my short college career. The way that Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers does business and markets it's product to consumers is due to the change in our society to where the consumer wants the biggest, fastest, and best product they can get for their money. This change in society can be attributed to a process known as McDonaldization. Although McDonaldization can be applied to many other parts of our society, this paper will focus on its impact on Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. My belief is that the process of McDonaldization, where the ideology of McDonald's has come to dominate the world, has caused Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers to emulate McDonald's style of running a franchised restaurant chain in terms of efficiency, calculability, and control. However, since McDonald's has become the embodiment of â€Å"fast-food† in our society, Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers has had to change their focus to giving the consumer a higher quality product in a relatively fast amount of time. So, Wendy's still caters to a McDonaldized society in terms of giving them a meal as fast as possible but making quality their number one priority to give people a viable option from McDonald's. In addition, as mentioned before, I have used my brother who managed to keep a job at Wendy's for a short period and observations I gathered while at McDonald's as further information for this paper. First, before I discuss the impact of McDonaldization on Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, I will define what McDonaldization is. McDonaldization is the process by which the principles of fast-food restaurants are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society, as well as, of the rest of the world. George Ritzer created this concept of McDonaldization as a continuation of Max Weber's theories on bureaucracies (I hope). Max Weber defines a bureaucracy as a large hierarchical organization that is governed by formal rules and regulations and has a clear specification of work tasks. Its three main characteristics are that it has a division of labor, hierarchy of authority, and an impartial and impersonal application of rules and policies (see what I got from Sociological Theory). Thus, from that definition of a bureaucracy, one would conclude that both McDonald's and Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers are bureaucracies. The fact that both restaurants are bureaucracies is supported by the fact that each assigns workers to a specific job where each worker individually contributes to the overall success of the restaurant by doing his or her job. For example, workers at each restaurant could be assigned to working the grill, making fries, working the front register, or taking orders at the drive-thru window. Both restaurants have a hierarchy of authority from worker, crew chief, shift manager, salary manager to owner of the store. Also, each restaurant enforces an impartial and impersonal application of rules and policies. Both McDonald's and Wendy's have standard, impersonal greetings at the register and at the drive-thru window. The exception when this impersonal attitude towards the customer is changed is when a worker knows the customer outside the restaurant. In this case, the worker will probably ask their acquaintance how they are doing or what they are up to. The worker might even throw in an extra cheeseburger that a regular customer might not get. Despite this exception where standardization is broken, both these restaurants have become bureaucracies because they are the most efficient means of managing large groups of people. That leaves one to wonder why the process of McDonaldization has been so successful for both companies. The first reason is that it offers efficiency where consumers know that it means the quickest way to get from one point to another. In the case of McDonald's, it offers the best available way to get from being hungry to being full. This is so important in today's society because so many people are in a rush to get from one place to another. Therefore, the quick, efficient setup of McDonald's allows consumers to eat a fast-food meal without having to leave their car. On the other hand, Wendy's strives for as efficient service as possible without affecting the quality of their product. This is because McDonald's already has imprinted on people's minds throughout the many years of its existence that they will get the same burger each visit in the quickest amount of time. They reinforce this idea on the minds of consumers through advertising and other clever tools. For example, on every McDonald's sign is a tally of how many people in the world have eaten there, which is currently at 99 billion served. The use of this sign reinforces to people that McDonald's is an icon in our society and many people will equate that large number with McDonald's being the best restaurant. As a result, Wendy's has tried to make quality their number one priority but with no serious deficiencies in the speed of their product. This can be attributed to the fact that they do not pre-make their burgers and leave them under heat lamps to sit like McDonald's does. Instead, they have their staff assembled to make the burger as the customer orders it. This is an especially important benefit because many people like to â€Å"customize† their burger and the process that Wendy's uses allow them to do that. This allows them to target another group of society, which McDonald's product doesn't appeal to. For example, older people who would rather sit down and have a quality meal would most likely rather go to Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. Even, the name of Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers suggests that their style is more like how things used to be done many decades ago in terms of making quality the number one priority for a restaurant. Therefore, they would provide an alternative for people who were not interested in getting a burger that has been slopped together and sitting under a heat lamp for an hour. This would be reflected in which demographic of people each restaurant targeted. McDonald's traditionally has targeted families as their key demographic but recently they have shifted to make their product more appealing to teenagers as well. This can best be demonstrated in their new style commercials that use many young adults and refers to McDonald's as â€Å"Mickey D's† as a hip place to hang out. So, for young people who are in a rush to get from place to place, McDonald's provides a fast, cheap meal that they can eat on the run. On the other hand, Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers targets people who aren't in such a rush and would rather sit down and eat a slow, relaxing meal (is this ageism). They still cater to those who are in a rush by offering a drive-thru. However, they know that most of their business will come from people looking for a quality alternative to McDonald's. Another aspect of McDonaldization that has made both companies successful is calculability. This is where each restaurant puts an emphasis on quantitative aspects of products sold like portion size and cost. For example, McDonald's has burgers like the â€Å"Quarter Pounder† and â€Å"Big Mac† while Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburger has burgers like the â€Å"Double Bacon Cheeseburger†. This use of descriptive adjectives suggests to the consumer that they are getting the most amount of food for their money. Both McDonald's and Wendy's have the option to â€Å"Supersize† or â€Å"Biggiesize† an order. This makes the companies successful in our society because of our belief that bigger is better. Finally, both companies use control, especially through the substitution of non-human for human technology. For both companies that means using soft drink machines that automatically shuts off when the glass is full, french-fry machines that rings and lifts itself out of the oil when the fries are done, and the preprogrammed cash registers that eliminate the need for the cashier to calculate any prices. The main reason that this is done is because,† [people are] The great source of uncertainty, unpredictability and inefficiency in any rationalizing system. Thus, by increasing control, through increased mechanization, both companies maintain a better control over the entire organization. Also, this leads to employees not having to think about their job because the tasks they are asked to do are very repetitive. In conclusion, it is obvious that both restaurants have adopted a style of running their restaurants that makes them successful. McDonald's style is to give the public the same burger that they have always had so that they can come to depend that they will get the same meal as they did last time. They have been a pioneer in the fast-food industry and the model that other restaurants try to imitate. On the other hand, Wendy's style is to make a quality product that reminds people of the â€Å"good old days†. They have been directly influenced by McDonald's in terms of how to run their fast-food restaurant to maximize speed and efficiency. However, since Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers would not have a chance of competing with McDonald's at their own game, they have developed their own niche in the market of making a quality product efficiently. What concerns me is the way these companies are phasing out the roles of their employees to the point where they are doing nothing but mindless, repetitive tasks. To me, the consequence of this will be that someday all human workers will be replaced because it is more efficient for machines to do the work. So, although McDonaldization has made both these companies very successful, there is a very serious potential downside that could have an effect on everyone. Now there is no doubt that this text can be read on a number of different levels, some of which are far more satisfactory than others. Ritzer is clearly an accessible and engaging writer. For an undergraduate audience, which is unfamiliar with the language, and indeed, critical project of radical social theory, this text provides a worthy, and indeed somewhat enjoyable introduction. Keep in mind, though, that those four principles are not necessarily pursued from the point of view of the consumer. Efficiency, for example, may entail the placing of great inconveniences upon a consumer for the sake of efficient management. Calculability may involve hiding certain information from the consumer. Predictability and control may involve a company's ability to predict and control consumer behavior, not the consumer's ability to predict what kind of product or control what kind of service he gets. Ritzer calls such breakdowns â€Å"the irrationality of rationalization. † Even so, there is a great perception among American consumers in particular that McDonaldized systems succeed from their own point of view based on those criteria: the systems are perceived to be more efficient, the benefits calculable, the goods and services predictable. But it's rare that the consumer will ever feel himself to be more in control. McDonaldized systems take away a great deal of consumer autonomy (which I love), making decisions and implementing processes on a mass-market scale with little room for individual involvement on the part of a single customer or even a single store or plant manager. The benefit of control is one that accrues exclusively to the company. Regardless of who benefits or to what extent, the universal result is homogenization. Rationalized systems have a pronounced tendency to squash-individual tastes, niche markets, small-scale enterprise and personalized customer service. Differences are leveled, wrinkles smoothed, knots cut off — convenience at the expense of character. An overwhelming normlessness develops, along with a decrease in responsiveness among the people of our society that are involved. The system that seeks to mimic a machine becomes a machine, incapable of making exceptions or taking risks. McDonaldization is taking over our society. In the future, our wishes of fast, more efficient services will be fulfilled; but whom in the world will we ever talk too?

Janmar Coating case study Essay

This case is about an organization doing business on paint coatings market served by company in the southwestern United States. The organization has some challenges on how to deploy marketing efforts among the various architectural paint coatings markets served in the southwestern United States. 1. Janmar Coating, Inc. Janmar Coating, Inc. is a privately held organization produces and markets architectural paint under Janmar brand name. In addition to producing a full line of architectural coatings, the company sells paint sundries (brushes, rollers, thinner, etc.) under the Janmar name, even though these item are not manufactured by the company. 2. Architectural painting Industry sources estimated U. S sales of architectural paint coatings and sundries (brushes, rollers, paint removers and thinners, etc) to be 12 billion plus in 2004. Architectural coating are considered to be mature market with long term sales growth projected in the range of 1 to 2 percent per year. Demand for architectural coatings and sundries and sundries reflects the level of house redecorating, maintenance, and repair, as well as sales existing homes, and to a lesser extent new home, commercial, and industrial construction. 2. 0 Identify Problem 1. Competitor The competition in Architectural coating segment are increasing. Companies seeking growth and a higher sales base to support increasing costs are making acquisition. Major products of paint for the architectural coatings segment include Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, the Glidden unit of Imperial Chemicals, PPG Industries, Valspar Corporation, Grow group and Pratt & Lambert. These producers account upward for 60% of sales in architectural coatings segment. They market under their own brand names and  for retailers under private, controlled and store brand names. 2. Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs) U. S paint manufacturer are under growing pressure to reduce emissions volatile organic compound (VOCs) from paints and to limit the consumption of solvents. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a three step plan for reduction of VOCs in architectural and industrial maintenance coatings. Compliance with EPA regulations eroded historically low profit margins in paint industry. 3 DFW and Non DFW Janmar Coating, Inc.  market its paint and sundry item in over 50 countries in Texas, Okhlahoma, New Mexico, and Lousiana from its plant and headquarter in Dallas, Texas. The 11- Country Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area is the major business and financial center in their company’s southwestern service area. According to Vice president of sales â€Å" we have added only five accounts in the five years; our account penetration in non DFW areas is 16%† . 3. 0 Consider relevant information There are some alternatives that should be considered: 1. Customer advertising awareness at least 30 percent among do-it-yourselfers. As per Vice President of Advertising, Ron, he believed that they must direct their efforts towards bolstering their presence in the DFW do-it-yourselfer market by at least 30 percent. The awareness is well related to paint purchase behavior. Through advertising, the customers will be aware about the Janmar Coatings’ paint as well as they have seen it been advertised via media. However according to Mr. Burns, advertising is not a good idea since he did not sure what advertising it is because 75 percent of the audience in DFW is not buying paint. He suggested that the cost of advertising amounted $350,000 used for advertising in non DFW areas. 2. Price cut by 20 percent of all paint products. Based on Vice President of Operations, he suggested that they must cut price by 20 percent on all their products to meet customers’ wants. It is because the customers are price sensitive due to the research program. Their price is still higher than a mass merchandiser’s although they have advertised price-off special. But as per Mr. Burns, their sale representative has forecasted that their demand for paint will not increase next year. Therefore, they cannot cut price this year. 3. Hire a sale representative costing $60,000 a year in non DFW areas. Vice President of Sales wants to develop a new retail account in non DFW areas after only five accounts for the last 5 years. They want to focus on non DFW areas because half of their sales and dealers exist in that particular area. It has been asking by Mr. Burns on what the sale representative will do, either focusing on retail account side or on recruiting the professional painter. 70 percent of sale is through their professional painters in DFW areas, while 70 percent of sale went to do-it-yourselfers in non DFW areas. They would need 40 percent price cut to attract contractors since they have minimum number of contractor sale in DFW and other areas. 4. Maintaining their current approach. Referring to Vice President of Finance, he want to pursue the current approach because they are in profitable based on contribution margin by 35 percent. The company just needs to monitor their margin in control their cost well. 4. 0 Choose the best alternative The best alternative is sales representative, since it focuses on non DFW areas because half of their sales and dealers exist in that particular area. 5. 0 Implementation of the alternative: Based on the case study, the way to implement the problem is through market targeting. There is the way of target the market which is: 1. Where to compete Janmar Coating Inc. needs to specify the market segment that they want to pursue. They need to make marketing improvement in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Non Dallas-Fort Worth (Non-DFW) to compete with their competitors such as Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Grow Group. They should pursue the 400 or so professional painting firms in DFW area and the 200 professional painters outside the DFW area or the do-it-yourselfer market. 2. How to compete Janmar Coating Inc. can compete with their rival by increasing the hiring of representative at the DFW area and non-DFW area. This strategy can make Janmar Coating Inc. customers feel convenience and can build a good relationship with them. The representative that had been hired by Janmar Coating Inc. is only eight people. Due to it, they cannot monitor each of the retail outlets all over 50 countries in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. By adding representative and allocate them accordingly through the country, they can make a promotion aggressively and can get information about the buying trend of the consumer from the retailers. 3. When to compete Janmar Coating Inc. can start to make their new marketing targeting according to the seasonal or trend of the demand from the consumers. For an example, consumers will be attracting to purchase when there is a promotional allowances during seasonal festival such as Charismas festival. 6. 0 Conclusion: It can be conclude that to make a decision for the problem of where and how to deploy corporate marketing efforts among the various architectural paint coating, the company should adding amount of representative to make a promotion that can increase level of the awareness of the Janmar brand among the consumer. Due to the new strategy, the sales of the architectural paint coating will be increase and it can compete with the rival product. 7. 0 Reference A. Peterson, R. A. (2013). Strategic Management Problems: Cases and Comments. Pearson Education. Kerin, R. A.

A Psychological Review of The Yellow Wallpaper

Mental health problems surround each and every person, and it is up to each person to cope in their own ways, in order to reduce the pain that they may feel. Psychological criticisms look at the mind and the behaviors of the characters throughout the story. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist suffers from mental health problems, and not only must cope with this, but must also cope with her husband and the environment he has placed her in to facilitate her rehabilitation. Gilman depicts a husband trying to cure his wife of her depression by letting her rest alone, however, this has the opposite effect by further exacerbating her illness and her psychosis. Her environment, with the yellow wallpaper, can be seen as the reason for this mental decline by looking at her illness, coping styles and the symbolism throughout the story. Gilman presents the protagonist as a woman whose mental health is declining throughout the entire story, and whose illness has developed into something far more serious than it was originally. Depression can be seen in the narrator’s case through journal entries such as, â€Å"I cry at nothing, I cry at everything† (491). Through the several mentions of a baby, and the narrator as being unable to care for this baby, it seems as though the hysteria to which her husband was referring could be due to postpartum depression. Although it makes the unnamed narrator nervous to not be able to take care of the baby, she eventually sees that it is far better this way, when she says â€Å"I never thought of it before, but it is lucky that John kept me here after all; I can stand it so much easier than a baby, you see† (489, 492). If the narrator’s illness began as a case of depression, it certainly develops into something far more serious. Through her journal entries, her hallucinations or visualizations of other women in the yellow wallpaper can be seen. â€Å"Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over,† depicts the narrator as seeing women, not only in the wallpaper, but also outside in the garden (495). These hallucinations, along with her bvious preoccupation and obsessive nature towards the yellow wallpaper as the sole topic in her journal entries, can be seen as development into a case of schizophrenia. Freud’s theory of the personality being divided into the conscious and the subconscious mind can also be addressed within this story. Through the language Gilman uses when the narrator begins to tear down the paper, â€Å"I pulled and she shook. I shook and she pulled†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (4 96), the struggle between the conscious and subconscious can be seen. As well, the personification of the wallpaper through this language, such as when she is beginning to rip it down and â€Å"it enjoys it† and â€Å"shrieks† (496), can further demonstrate the psychosis to which the narrator is going into. Through Gilman’s use of plot and language, it is seen that the narrator’s mental health is declining every day even if she, or her husband, does not notice it; different coping styles are used in order to deal with this evident mental decline. From a psychological perspective, there are many coping mechanisms that can be used when dealing with mental health problems or issues, and in the story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† there are different views towards these different coping strategies. John, the narrator’s husband, believes that the narrator, suffering from â€Å"temporary nervous depression,† should be â€Å"forbidden to ‘work’,† while she believes that â€Å"congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me [her] good† (487, 488). There are also differences in the attitudes towards the narrator writing in her journal. For many people, writing or doing other creative activities, can be an excellent coping strategy, however, this is not what John thinks; as the narrator says; â€Å"he hates to have me write a word† (489). The unnamed protagonist writes despite the objections to her doing so, as it creates an outlet for her and â€Å"it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me† (490). Through this alone, the difference in coping styles can be seen. There is also a difference in how the husband and wife deal with the wife’s illness within themselves. Freud contended that there are many defense mechanisms that humans use to cope with their own problems, such as repression, regression, denial and suppression. Throughout the story, both the narrator and John use these defense mechanisms. At first, the narrator can be seen as displaying repression – there is no known reason for her to be sick, nor does she tell the readers any reason. John begins to treat his wife like a child of his own, instead of an adult woman, through his overprotective nature and words like â€Å"blessed little goose† and â€Å"little girl† (489, 492), which may be an example of regression. Near the end of the story, although the narrator is still suffering from the hallucinations, she expresses denial when she thinks she is â€Å"feeling so much better† (494) and her neurotic obsessions with the wallpaper can be attributed to her suppressing other facets of her life. Both John and his wife display many differences in coping styles when it comes to the narrator’s mental health problems, and this may prolong the illness; the symbolism in the story illustrates the problems that she is trying to cope with. Gilman’s use of symbolism throughout the story of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† depicts the problems that the narrator is trying to cope with. The narrator’s reaction to the color of the wallpaper can be interpreted as a symbol for her life, with her statement â€Å"no wonder the children hated it† (489); the hideous colored wallpaper being a symbol for her dreary and sad life. The wallpaper is very symbolic, even in terms of its design. First, the narrator describes the pattern after she studies the curves as they â€Å"suddenly commit suicide – plunge off in outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions† (489) which can symbolize her mental health destroying her and the contradictions she is facing in herself. By night, the pattern â€Å"becomes bars† and the â€Å"woman behind it is as plain as can be† (493). The bars allude to her feelings of entrapment in the room, the house, in her marriage with her overprotective husband, and even within her life. Even the plain woman behind the bars that the narrator sees can be seen as another manifestation of herself. The fact that the author decided to keep the narrator unnamed, may exemplify these feelings of unimportance or anonymity even further. Ultimately, when the narrator locks herself in the room to tear off the wallpaper yelling, â€Å"I’ve got out at last†¦and I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back! † (497), symbolizes her pursuit of freedom from the cage of her life. The symbolism that Gilman conveys throughout the story is a very important aspect when looking at the psychology of the protagonist, and the development of her mental health. Mental health problems are clearly evident for the protagonist in the story of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† and by looking at this illness, coping styles, and at the symbolism throughout the story, the development of these problems can be seen; while her husband is putting in his efforts to cure her of this problem by allowing her to rest, he is really worsening the issues. Each person has different ways of coping with issues that have been thrown at them, and it is up to each individual person to figure out what these coping strategies are, rather than being forced into certain methods. Mental health problems are ubiquitous, and coping styles for these problems are extremely diverse; but pain can be reduced, it just takes personal strength.

Extracurricular Activities in School Essay

An ideal school gives to students the scope and the spirit of healthy competition — to excel at all levels. Class work and the home work given by teachers have their academic importance; in this also one who excels wins the praise and appreciation from the teachers. But academic distinctions alone do not fulfill all the purpose for which the school exists. A school is the workshop of life-building in which the raw material is the nascent young pupils. The Principal, the teachers are molders of this raw material into the ideal mold. For this process, many more activities, other than vroom ones are needed to fulfill the purpose. A young pupil might have the potential and the natural Lent to excel in games and sports and he needs to go to play field and the sports ground for the purpose. There can be students whose natural bent of mind is towards creative art and the art room is his field where he needs to be given the chance to exhibit his potential. Even little children of the nursery or the primary classes can draw such lines and make such figures which may amaze an on-looker and may be led to exclaim —’What an idea, how could he imagine this?’ One cannot and does not know how much talent in what direction lies in a child’s brain. This can only come out when he or she is given that opportunity. The school has to provide such chances and explore out the pearls from the sea-depths of the young mind. Art competitions of different level of students are activities that need to be arranged and the excellence in that to be rewarded and encouraged. There are boys and girls who have a knack of oration. They have in them an amount of self-confidence that they can face spectators and audience. Elocution contests and debates offer them the chance to exhibit this latent talent of theirs. Such inter-class or inter-school competitions should regularly be held which would further them to become good debaters — who knows, they may one day become parliamentarians and what they have gained during their school days may place them in good stead in that field. Cultural shows; dramatics performances, mono- acting’s are events which schools generally hold and it so necessary for schools to hold them. That is also at of total education. Taking part in such events gives children a sense of self-confidence and embellishes their accomplishments which they possess or can even develop. Anything, any activity which helps in the development of the total personality of young boy or girl is a part of  education and competitions, the effort to excel from others, is an incentive which must be provided to a young mind. Such an opportunity is offered to them only through such cultural and extra-curricular activities Opening up of personality; developing the latent talents- promotion of the intellectual effort and an opportunity of healthy competition — all these are factors which an educational institution should always encourage — only when it does this, it fulfills its role in the total education of the young.

Project Performance and Control on the London 2012 construction Essay

Project Performance and Control on the London 2012 construction programme - Essay Example Equally, the program did not suffer from any noticeable or significant deviation from the set goals and measures as detailed in the governing blueprint of the schedule. The orderly and harmonious connection of the different aspects of the program was an enabling factor to the attaining of the different goals attained at the various levels and stages of the program. Most project deliverables were within the stipulated range of time and measures. The overall performance of the program is indicative of the accuracy of methods employed, the appropriate estimations, and the quality of controls and management systems employed before and in the course of the construction. The success of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games depended nearly entirely on the nature of logistics and state of infrastructure. The entire construction project was placed under the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) (Elson, 2012). Experts in the fields of construction, planning, sports, and finance worked together to achieve a level of efficiency that contributed significantly to the successful model of construction and architecture. In essence, analysts contend that much of the efficiency and effectiveness of the program was a factor of appropriate consultation and the assessment of utility, resources, and the element of time. Analysts observe that the performance of the construction program surpassed benchmarks and established standards and that it demonstrated the capacity of London construction industry to overcome the usual inequalities and logistical mishaps that have defined nearly similar projects in the past. Forensic schedule analysis and cost management are some of the key indicators of success that attend to construction projects in many parts of the world. The application of this analysis was manifest in matching of specific processes to respective estimates of time. Teams comprising of contractors, the academia, industry partners, and multiple government bodies worked together with the ODA to assess the kind of synergies that would be required in the development of other systems that are consistent with the nature of success achieved in the London 2012 Construction Program (Elson, 2012). On this note, it becomes important to assess the program as a case in point of the effect of coordination and management on the performance of processes as understood within the construction industry. Appropriate systems of risk management were enlisted throughout the various processes to serve as the safeguards against possible and unforeseeable mishaps to the program. The enlisting of the risk management systems was premised on the awareness of the impact of external factors to the performance of the program. As such, estimates of costs and other operational variables were determined in recognition of the possible variations that determine the nature of performance of processes against the set goals and benchmarks. The preliminary stage of the program focused on the dev elopment of the most appropriate strategy. This stage was one of the most important because it determined the course of action to be taken regarding the other kinds of processes. Some of the details that informed the development of strategy included matters of funding of the specific aspects of the program. Details of internal and external funding were discussed with the view of determining the most appropri