Environmental Pollution Essay

Environmental pollution is the biggest menace to the human race on this planet today. It means adding impurity to environment. The environment consists of earth, water, air, plants and animals. If we pollute them, then the existence of man and nature will be hampered. It is true that trees are being cut down rapidly. Our earth is becoming warmer. If pollution continues, the day is not far when our earth will be a boiling pan and become a desert. Or it will be covered with sea water causing destruction of mankind. Pure air is always needed for inhaling. If we take pure air, our health improves. On the other hand impure air causes diseases and impairs our health and causes our death. Smoke pollutes the air. It is the root of air pollution. The smoke which is discharged from industries, automobiles and kitchens is the mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane etc. These are all poisonous gases. These cause lung-cancer, tuberculosis etc. which take a heavy toll of life. The glaring incident is the Bhopal gas leak in December 1984. Thousands of the residents of Bhopal died due to lungs problem which was caused by methylamine gas from the Union Carbide Plant. The garbage emitting foul smell, the decaying plants and animals also cause air pollution. Hence the doctors advise the patients having lungs trouble to settle in some rural places because the air of villages is pure and free from population. Then comes sound pollution. The harsh sounds of buses, its, mopeds etc. affect our power of hearing and causes fart trouble. It has been reported that there are two villages named Biraspalli and Devadas Palli near Dum Dum airport m Calcutta where a large number of people have lost their power of hearing. This is because of the frequent sounds of planes coming in and going out of Dum Dum Airport. The evils of sound pollution can be imagined from this example. The water of rivers and seas is being constantly polluted all over the world by various dangerous chemical and biological wastes. Mills and factories discharge very harmful waste waters into many rivers and sea. The water of the Ganges flowing by the side of both Varanashi and Calcutta is extremely polluted and contains all sorts of dangerous bacteria. It is really very strange and laughable that large number of the Indians regard this water as holy. They even drink this water for salvation. There is no doubt that the fish that grow in such waters are poisonous too. Reckless application of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides pollutes the soil. Vegetables and fruits are quite injurious today, because they contain the poison of insecticides and pesticides. If the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil which produces our crops, vegetables and fruits, all become more and more impure, then our chances of good health and longevity will be very less and less. Environment pollution is a serious menace to our existence. Realising the danger, we must plant trees in large number to absorb impure air. Impure water from industries can be sent back for purification and then it can be used for irrigation purpose. Our government is well aware of the fact and is taking steps to save environment from pollution. We have also I minister to look after the environment.

Fool Chapter 11

ELEVEN A SWEET AND BITTER FOOL Goneril dumped me on the floor as if she'd suddenly found a bag of drowned kittens in her lap. She snapped open the letter and began reading without even bothering to tuck her bosoms back into her gown. â€Å"Milady,† said Oswald again. He'd learned from that first whipping. He acted as if he didn't even see me. â€Å"Your father is in the great hall, asking after his fool.† Goneril looked up, irritated. â€Å"Well, then, take him. Take him, take him, take him.† She waved us away like flies. â€Å"Very well, milady.† Oswald turned on his heel and marched away. â€Å"Come, fool.† I stood and rubbed my bum as I followed Oswald out of the solar. Yes, my backside was bruised, but there was pain in my heart as well. What a bitter bitch to cast me out while my bum still burned with the blows of her passion. The bells on my coxcomb drooped in despair. Kent fell in beside me in the hall. â€Å"So, is she smitten with you?† â€Å"With Edmund of Gloucester,† said I. â€Å"Edmund? She's smitten with the bastard?† â€Å"Aye, the fickle whore,† said I. Kent looked startled and folded back the brim of his hat to better see me. â€Å"But you bewitched her to do so, didn't you?† â€Å"Oh, yes, I suppose I did,† said I. So, she was only immune to my charms by means of dark and powerful magic. Ha! I felt better. â€Å"She reads the letter I forged in his hand even now.† â€Å"Your fool,† Oswald announced as we entered the hall. The old king was there, with Captain Curan and a dozen other knights who looked like they'd just returned from the hunt – for me, no doubt. â€Å"My boy!† Lear called, throwing his arms wide. I walked into his embrace, but did not return it. I found no tenderness in my heart at the sight of him, but my anger boiled still. â€Å"Oh joy,† said Oswald, his disdain dripping like venom in his voice. â€Å"The prodigal git returns.† â€Å"See here,† said Lear. â€Å"My men have yet to be paid. Tell my daughter I will see her.† Oswald did not acknowledge the old man, but kept walking. â€Å"You, sir!† roared the king. â€Å"Did you hear me?† Oswald turned slowly, as if he'd heard his name carried in faintly on the wind. â€Å"Aye, I heard you.† â€Å"Do you know who I am?† Oswald picked a front tooth with the nail of his small finger. â€Å"Aye, my lady's father.† He smirked. The rascal had cheek, that I will give him, that or a burning desire to be catapulted cod over cap into the afterlife. â€Å"Your lady's father!† Lear pulled off his heavy leather hunting gauntlet and backhanded it across Oswald's face. â€Å"You knave! You whoreson dog! You slave! You cur!† The metal studs on Lear's glove were beginning to draw blood where they struck Oswald. â€Å"I am none of these things. I will not be struck by you.† Oswald was backing toward the great double doors as Lear worried at him with the glove, but when the steward turned to run Kent threw out a leg and swept him off his feet. â€Å"Or tripped, neither, you tosser!† said Kent. Oswald rolled into a heap at the foot of one of Goneril's guards, then scrambled to his feet and ran out. The guards pretended they'd seen nothing. â€Å"Well done, friend,† said Lear to Kent. â€Å"Are you the one who brought my fool home?† â€Å"Aye, he is, nuncle,† said I. â€Å"Rescued me from the darkest heart of the forest, fought off brigands, pygmies, and a brace of tigers to bring me here. But don't let him talk his Welsh at you, one tiger was vanquished in a sluice of phlegm and mortally beaten with consonants.† Lear looked closely now at his old friend, then shivered – guilt's chill claws scuttling across his spine, no doubt. â€Å"Welcome, then, sir. I thank thee.† Lear handed Kent a small purse of coin. â€Å"Earnest payment for your service.† â€Å"My thanks and my sword,† said Kent, bowing. â€Å"What is your name?† asked Lear. â€Å"Caius,† said Kent. â€Å"And whence do you hail?† â€Å"From Bonking, sire.† â€Å"Well, yes, lad, as do we all,† said Lear, â€Å"but from what town?† â€Å"Bonking Ewe on Worms Head,† I offered with a shrug. â€Å"Wales – â€Å" â€Å"Fine, then, join my train,† said Lear. â€Å"You're hired.† â€Å"Oh, and allow me to hire you as well,† said I, removing my hat and handing it to Kent with a jingle. â€Å"What's this?† asked Kent. â€Å"Who but a fool would work for a fool?† â€Å"Watch your tongue, boy,† said Lear. â€Å"You'll have to get your own hat, fool,† said I to the king. â€Å"Mine is already promised.† Captain Curan turned to conceal a smile. â€Å"You call me a fool?† â€Å"Oh, should I not call you fool? All your other titles you have given away, along with your land.† â€Å"I'll have you whipped.† I rubbed my burning bottom. â€Å"That is the only legacy you have left, nuncle.† â€Å"You've become a bitter fool in your absence,† said the king. â€Å"And you the sweet one,† said I. â€Å"The fool who makes a jest of his own fate.† â€Å"The boy is not altogether fool,† said Kent. Lear turned on the old knight, but not in anger. â€Å"Perhaps,† said he, weakly, his eye drifting to the stones of the floor as if searching for an answer there. â€Å"Perhaps.† â€Å"The lady, Goneril, Duchess of Albany!† announced one of the guards. â€Å"Craven hose-beast!† I added, relatively certain the guard would forget that part. Goneril breezed into the room, no notice of me, she went right to her father. The old man opened his arms but she stopped short, a sword-length away. â€Å"Did you strike my man for chiding your fool?† Now she scowled at me. I rubbed my bum and blew her a kiss. Oswald peeked through the doors to the hall, as if waiting for the answer. â€Å"I struck the knave for being impudent. I but asked him to fetch you. My fool has only just returned from being lost. This is not a time for frowns, daughter.† â€Å"There're no smiles for you, sire,† said I. â€Å"Not now that you've nothing to offer. The lady has only bile for fools and those with no title at all.† â€Å"Quiet, boy,† said the king. â€Å"You see,† said Goneril. â€Å"Not just your all-licensed fool, but your whole train treats my palace like a tavern and a brothel. They fight and eat all day, drink and carouse all night, and you care for nothing but your precious fool.† â€Å"As it should be,† said Jones, albeit softly – when royal ire is raging, even the spittle sprayed from their lips can rain down death on the common puppet or person. â€Å"I care for much, and my men are the best in the land. And they have not been paid since we left London. Perhaps if you – â€Å" â€Å"They will not be paid!† said Goneril, and suddenly all the knights in the hall came to attention. â€Å"When I gave you all, 'twas on the condition of you maintaining my retinue, daughter.† â€Å"Aye, Father, and they shall be maintained, but not in your charge, and not in their full number.† Lear was growing red-faced now, and shaking with anger as with palsy. â€Å"Speak clearly, daughter, these old ears deceive.† Now Goneril went to her father and took his hand. â€Å"Yes, Father, you are old. Very old. Really, really, extraordinarily, mind-bogglingly – † She turned to me for a cue. â€Å"Dog-fuckingly,† I suggested. † – dog-fuckingly old,† said the duchess. â€Å"You are feebly, incontinently, desiccatedly, smelling-of-boiled-cabaggely old. You are brain-rottingly, balls-draggingly – â€Å" â€Å"I'm fucking old!† said Lear. â€Å"We'll stipulate that,† said I. â€Å"And,† continued Goneril, â€Å"while you, in your dotage, should be revered for your wisdom and grace, you piss on your legacy and reputation by keeping this train of ruffians. They are too much for you.† â€Å"They are my loyal men and you have agreed to maintain them.† â€Å"And I shall. I shall pay your men, but half will stay here at Albany, under my charge, under my orders, in soldiers' quarters, not running about the bailey like marauders.† â€Å"Darkness and devils,† cursed Lear. â€Å"It shall not be! Curan, saddle my horses, call my train together. I have another daughter.† â€Å"Go to her, then,† said Goneril. â€Å"You strike my servants and your rabble makes servants of their betters. Be gone, then, but half your train shall remain.† â€Å"Prepare my horses!† said Lear. Curan hurried out of the hall, followed by the other knights, passing the Lord Albany as he entered, the duke looking more than somewhat confused. â€Å"Why does the king's captain exit with such urgency?† asked the duke. â€Å"Do you know of this harpy's intent to strip me of my train?† asked Lear. â€Å"This is the first I've heard of it,† said Albany. â€Å"Pray, be patient, sire. My lady?† Albany looked to Goneril. â€Å"We do not strip him of his knights. I have offered to maintain them here, with our own force, while Father goes on to my sister's castle. We shall treat his men as our own, with discipline, as soldiers, not as guests and revelers. They are out of the old man's control.† Albany turned back to Lear and shrugged. â€Å"She lies!† said Lear, now wagging a finger under Goneril's nose. â€Å"Thou detested viper. Thou ungrateful fiend. Thou hideous – uh – â€Å" â€Å"Slag!†[32] I offered. â€Å"Thou piteous prick-pull. Thou vainglorious virago. Thou skunk-breathed licker of dog scrotums. Do jump in, Albany, I can't go on forever, no matter how inspired. Surely you've years of suppressed resentment to vent. Thou leprous spunk-catch. Thou worm-eaten – â€Å" â€Å"Shut up, fool,† said Lear. â€Å"Sorry, sirrah, I thought you were losing your momentum.† â€Å"How could I have given preference to this villainess over my sweet Cordelia?† asked Lear. â€Å"Doubtless that question was lost worse in the wood than I, seeing as it has only caught up with you now, sire. Shall we take cover against the impact of the revelation that you've awarded your kingdom to the best liars of your loins?† Who would have thought it, but I'd felt more charity toward the old man before he realized his folly. Now – He turned his eyes skyward and began to invoke the gods: â€Å"Hear me, nature, dear goddess hear. Convey sterility onto this creature, Dry up her womb And never let a babe spring from Her body to honor her. Instead create in her a child of spleen and bile. Let it torment her, and stamp wrinkles in her youthful brow Let it turn all of her mother's benefits To laughter and contempt, that she may feel How sharper than a serpent's tooth It is to have a thankless child!† With that the old man spat at Goneril's feet and stormed out of the hall. â€Å"I think he took that as well as could reasonably be expected,† said I. I was ignored, despite my positive tone and sunny smile. â€Å"Oswald!† called Goneril. The smarmy steward slithered forth. â€Å"Quickly, take the letter to my sister and Cornwall. Take two of the fastest horses and alternate them. Do not rest until it is in her hand. And then take you to Gloucester and deliver that other message as well.† â€Å"You have given me no other message, lady,† said the worm. â€Å"Yes, right, come with me. We shall draft a letter.† She led Oswald out of the great hall leaving the Duke of Albany looking to me for some sort of explanation. I shrugged. â€Å"She can be a whirlwind of tits and terror when she puts her mind to a purpose, can't she, sir?† Albany didn't seem to notice my comment, somewhat forlorn, he looked. His beard seemed to be greying with worry as he stood there. â€Å"I don't approve of her treatment of the king. The old man has earned more respect. And what of these messages, to Cornwall and Gloucester?† I started to speak, thinking it a perfect opportunity to mention her newfound affection for Edmund of Gloucester, my recent session of bawdy discipline with the duchess, and a half-dozen metaphors for illicit shagging that had come to mind while the duke mused, when Jones said: â€Å"Sex and cuckoldry You've mastered those jokes For a more challenging jape A new seal should be broke.† â€Å"What?† said I. Whenever Jones has spoken before it has been in my own voice – smaller and muted sometimes, from the art of throwing it, but my voice alone, unless Drool is mimicking the puppet. And it is I who works the little ring and string that move Jones's mouth. But this was not my voice, and I had not moved the puppet. It was the voice of the girl ghost from the White Tower. â€Å"Don't be tedious, Pocket,† said Albany. â€Å"I've no patience for puppets and rhymes.† Jones said: â€Å"A thousand rough nights To call the lady a whore, Only today may a fool, Jest the land into war?† And like a shooting star cutting brilliant across the ignorant night of my mind, I saw the ghost's meaning. I said: â€Å"I know not what the lady sends to Cornwall, good Albany, but while I was this last month in Gloucester, I heard soldiers talk of Cornwall and Regan gathering forces by the sea.† â€Å"Gathering an army? Whatever for? With gentle Cordelia and Jeff now on the throne in France, it would be folly to cross the channel. We've a safe ally there.† â€Å"Oh, they aren't gathering forces against France, they are gathering forces against you, my lord. Regan would be queen of all of Britain. Or so I heard said.† â€Å"You heard this from soldiers? Under whose flag, these soldiers?† â€Å"Mercenaries, lord. No flag but fortune for them, and the word was there is coin aplenty for a free lance fighter in Cornwall. I have to be off. The king will need someone to whip for your lady's rude announcements.† â€Å"That doesn't seem fair,† said Albany. He had a spark of decency in him, really, and somehow Goneril had not yet been able to smother it. Plus, he seemed to have forgotten about accidentally hanging me. â€Å"Don't worry for me, good duke. You have worries of your own. Someone must take a hit for your lady, let it be this humble fool. Pray, tell her I said that someone must always hit it. Fare thee well, duke.† And merrily I was off, bottom stinging, to let slip the dogs of war. Hi ho! Lear sat on his horse outside Castle Albany, howling at the sky like a complete lunatic. â€Å"May Nature's nymphs bring great lobster-sized vermin to infest the rotted nest of her woman bits, and may serpents fix their fangs in her nipples and wave there until her poisoned dugs[33] go black and drop to the ground like overripe figs!† I looked at Kent. â€Å"Built up a spot of steam, hasn't he?† said I. â€Å"May Thor hammer at her bowels and produce flaming flatulence that wilts the forest and launches her off the battlements into a reeking dung heap!† â€Å"Not really adhering to any particular pantheon, is he?† said Kent. â€Å"Oh, Poseidon, send your one-eyed son to stare into her bituminous heart and ignite it with flames of most hideous suffering.† â€Å"You know,† said I, â€Å"the king seems to be leaning rather heavily on curses, for someone with his unsavory history with witches.† â€Å"Aye,† said Kent. â€Å"Seems to have steered his wrath toward the eldest daughter, if I'm not mistaken.† â€Å"Oh, you don't say?† said I. â€Å"Sure, sure, that could be it, I suppose.† We heard horses galloping and I pulled Kent back from the drawbridge as two riders, leading a train of six horses, thundered across. â€Å"Oswald,† said Kent. â€Å"With extra horses,† said I. â€Å"He's gone to Cornwall.† Lear broke with his cursing and watched the riders take out across the moor. â€Å"What business has that rascal in Cornwall?† â€Å"He carries a message, nuncle,† said I. â€Å"I heard Goneril order him to report her mind to her sister, and for Regan and her lord to go to Gloucester and not to be in Cornwall when you arrive.† â€Å"Goneril, thou foul monstress!† said the king, clouting himself on the forehead. â€Å"Indeed,† said I. â€Å"Oh, evil monstress!† â€Å"To be sure,† said Kent. â€Å"Oh, pernicious monstress, perfect in her perfidy!† Kent and I looked at each other, knowing not what to say. â€Å"I said,† said Lear, â€Å"most pernicious monstress, perfect in her perfidy!† Kent mimed a set of generous bosoms on himself and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, â€Å"Boobs?† I shrugged as if to say, â€Å"Aye, boobs sounds right.† â€Å"Aye, most pernicious perfidy indeed, sire,† said I. â€Å"Aye, most bouncy and jiggling perfidy,†[34] said Kent. Then, as if coming out of a trance, Lear snapped to attention in his saddle. â€Å"You, Caius, have Curan saddle a fast horse for you. You must go to Gloucester, tell my friend the earl that we are coming.† â€Å"Aye, my lord,† said Kent. â€Å"And Caius, see that my apprentice Drool comes to no harm,† said I. Kent nodded and went back across the drawbridge. The old king looked down to me. â€Å"Oh, my pretty Black Fool, where from fatherly duty did I stray that such ingratitude should rise in Goneril like mad fever?† â€Å"I am only a fool, my lord, but making a guess, I'd say the lady may have in her delicate youth required more discipline to shape her character.† â€Å"Speak plain, Pocket, I'll not hold harm against you.† â€Å"You needed to smack the bitch up when she was tender, my lord. Instead, now you hand your daughters the rod and pull down your own breeches.† â€Å"I'll have you flogged, fool.† â€Å"His word is like the dew,† said the puppet Jones, â€Å"good only until put under light of day.† I laughed, simple fool that I am, no thought at all that Lear was becoming as inconstant as a butterfly. â€Å"I need to speak to Curan and find a horse for the journey, sirrah,† said I. â€Å"I'll bring your cloak.† Lear sagged in the saddle now, spent now from his ranting. â€Å"Go, good Pocket. Have my knights prepare.† â€Å"So I shall,† said I. â€Å"So I shall.† I left the old man there alone outside the castle.

Autobiography – My earliest memories

It was a beautiful summer's day and the birds were singing sweetly like a church choir of angels. My elder brother, Narvair suggested to my mother and father to go birthday shopping for presents as it was nearing my fifth birthday. As we sauntered down the long drive to the blue Vauxhall Cavalier, the blazing sun almost blinded us. We could feel the intense heat so much that sweat was pouring down our faces. As we travelled and approached the motorway, I enquired about our destination, but I was informed that it was a surprise. On the way we passed many fields where there were numerous horses, sheep and cows were grazing. In the far distance I could see the roofs of many houses and the tall pointed steeple of a church. Through the sun roof I could see the cloudless calm blue sky. As we left the motorway, I realised that we were heading for Meadow Hall. At this moment I was full of excitement, but this soon fizzled away, as it took such a long time to find a parking space.  Like read about memories? Read also  Flashbulb memory! Eventually we entered the large, brightly lit shopping mall, jam-packed with people hustling and bustling in and out of the shops. I immediately held my mummy's hand in case I strayed away. As we tried to pass the people I peeked through any small spaces in between the busy bodies looking for toy shops. Further along the mall, my grip loosened on my mum's hand, as my attention drew towards my brother. Whilst playfully tussling with my brother, I kept a close eye on my mum and dad's whereabouts. My mum entered the clothes shop and my dad browsed the sports shop adjacent to it. As we were playing, a bouncy ball fell out of my pocket and rolled down the precinct. Without hesitation I let go of my mum's hand and sped after the ball not realising I had soon left my parents and brother well behind. The ball bounced and rolled on being kicked by the on going people. In the long run I caught up with the ball as a gentleman trapped it under his foot. I thanked him and aimlessly ran in random directions seeking my mum and dad. Suddenly I discovered I was all alone and began to shed tears running in and out of shops bellowing for my mum, to no avail. Some time later, I saw a lady clothes shop where there was a lady wearing Indian garments. At this moment I felt relieved and hoped I had found my mum. Spontaneously I dashed towards her, only to find it was a shop window dummy. Amidst the confusion and the strangers, I began to cry and screech but no one would help. Further on the shopping mall I stepped onto the escalator leading up to the top floor. Looking over the railings I had an overview of the ground floor; however I could not see any members of my family. At this point I decided to ask all the passing people of my parent's whereabouts, but nobody knew. With exhaustion and blurry eyes I sat on the cold hard floor with my legs through the railings, eager to locate my parents or my brother. Suddenly a security guard crouched down beside me and informed me that it was not a good idea to have my legs dangling through the railings. He then asked me why I was crying. Having told him I had ran away from my parents to find my ball and now was lost. The guard offered to help, comforted and escorted me to the customer service desk. Here he announced over the shopping mall's tanoy system: â€Å"Can Mr and Mrs Birdi please come to the customer service desk immediately?† On seeing my parents coming I darted towards my mother and clung to her with a tight grip. My parents were very much relieved and delighted to see me. â€Å"Sandeep, where have you been? We have been looking for you,† exclaimed my dad. â€Å"I ran after my ball dad,† I replied sobbing. â€Å"Don't ever do it again, let us know where you are going. Now stop crying,† my mum said hugging and kissing me. After comforting me, my parents and my brother marched on towards the toy shop. I ran into the toy shop like a charging bull with my brother, but my mum insisted that I calmed down. Still excited I tried to take in all the toys around but eventually I carefully chose a special edition Action Man. It was a large present with many gadgets such as recording radio and a firing machine gun. I had been longing for this present and could not let anyone else handle it. I was really proud and could hardly wait for my birthday, so that I could play with it amongst my other toys. This made me the happiest five years old in the world. To this day I have still kept the Action Man in excellent condition and working order. Even now it is a pleasure to play with it, although I remember how I found my self lost in the huge shopping Mall.

Juvenile Delinquecy and Its Best Strategies Essay

Juvenile Delinquecy and Its Best Strategies - Essay Example Youth offense is a major issue and an element of crime which be given huge concentration from the politicians and news media. â€Å"Delinquency is not an inherited trait, like some forms of diseases or alcoholism. It is acquired through parental neglect, poverty, environment, frustration at society, and, perhaps most important of all, peer pressure† (Hass, 2010). In the US, a juvenile criminal is a human being, who has not yet attained the age of eighteen and whose activities have been tagged as juvenile delinquency by any court. The particular requirements are different from state to state. In the US, the federal government enacted legislation to unify the conduct of juvenile delinquents through the Delinquency Act of 1975 and juvenile justice. History of juvenile justice and approaches to its Prevention: The formal method of juvenile justice has been in existence in the US for almost 200 years. â€Å"The early reformers envisioned a regime in which young offenders would rec eive treatment that would cure them of their antisocial ways—a system in which criminal responsibility and punishment had no place. Because of the juvenile court's rehabilitative purpose, procedures were informal and dispositions were indeterminate† (Scott, 2008). ... Before the nineteenth century, the abnormal behavior of teenagers was handled in a casual manner inside the family and not through a formal juvenile justice method. The growth of the society for renovation of juvenile delinquents and other like minded civic organizations to deal with the rising problem of juvenile delinquency, reflected society’s usual concern with instilling straight outlook behaviors in its adolescents. This was chiefly true throughout the 20th century when the term juvenile justice was adopted. The origins of juvenile delinquency are difficult to comprehend as well as are not frequently well implied and consist of psychiatric, family and other such issues or a mixture of all these. It is significant to recognize the interplay of these factors for adolescence, when planning facility delivery, in order to congregate the desires of the youth. The 1990s have brought a propagation of forensic mental health experts who concentrate in psychiatric evaluation of tee nagers involved at various points in the juvenile justice method. These practitioners are trained to concentrate on assessing the legal and mental health issues as well as to give essential information that will help attorneys and judges to decide whether the individual is a convict or not. These evaluations can also be crucial in assisting contributors who are involved in planning a method of care for an adolescent along with his or her family. Then again, professionals are concerned with juvenile justice population in an assortment of settings and can intervene in methods that facilitate more efficient care giving. An exhaustive examination of all stakeholders to juvenile delinquency and a complete description of the issues addressed: The

Philippines history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philippines history - Essay Example Rizal was gifted in numerous field and participated in hundreds of learning activities both in Spain and Europe. The case Jose Rizal is a unique one since he never forget his native culture and the livelihood of his mother country, despite learning from different cultures. Having studied over twenty languages, Rizal still cherished his mother language and knew that it was important to safeguard indigenous culture and develop it. A critical analysis of the Noli Me Tangere provides several elements of indigenous culture that are evident in both religion and the society. From the Noli Me Tangere, we can identify that practices such as hospitality and courtesy are well pictured. Rizal (6) notes that Captain Tiago organized a dinner party, which was attended by many people. Hospitality is among the pillars of indigenous culture in Philippines, which lies on the principle that, people should live as members of this same family. The Philippines native culture recognizes members of the society as one social unit that should share the available resources. The old man who was welcoming guest during the party organized by Captain Tiago, showed respect and humbleness to the quest. He was courteous when welcoming the ladies invited to the party, and executed the assigned duties without despair or discrimination. The culture provides that people should join hands when attending to societal problems such as hunger, disease and education. In essence, people should enjoy good times together, and when it comes to tough times, they should mourn together. The Catholic Church recognizes the practice of maintaining upright morals and way of doing things, just like the indigenous Philippines culture. This can be proven by how the sitting arrangement was organized at the house of Captain Tiago during the dinner party. Men had to sit on a separate side from that of the women to avoid a chance that might

Outcome and Assessment Information Set Data that Predict Pressure Research Paper

Outcome and Assessment Information Set Data that Predict Pressure Ulcer Development in Older Adult Home Health - Research Paper Example According to the American Geriatics Association (2005), â€Å"Pressure ulcers are areas of tissue damage that develop when the skin and soft tissues (eg, muscle) are squeezed between the bones and the surface that is in contact with the body, such as a mattress.† These ulcers occur around areas such as hip, heel and buttocks. Methods The results of the research by Bergquist-Beringer and Gajewski, which was conducted among 5395 non-hospice patients of 60 years or older showed that bowel incontinence, needing assistance with grooming, dependence in ability to dress the upper body, dependence in ability to dress the lower body, dependence in toileting, inability to transfer, being chairfast or bedfast, and the presence of a PrU on admission were positively associated with new PrU development (Bergquist-Beringer and Gajewski, 2011). The factors raised in the researcher were therefore concluded as the risk factors for pressure ulcers for patients in home healthcare. In a similar re search conducted among 1711 nonhospice patients 60 years or older, Bergquist (2003) however came out with results that were not directly in line with the risk factors pointed out by the former researchers. Unlike the first researchers but not in sharp contrast to their results, Bergquist pointed to the risk factors for pressure ulcers for patients in home healthcare as Limitation in activity to bed, dependence in dressing, urinary incontinence, and needing assistance with transferring predicted Stage I pressure ulcer development (P

What are RayJay Walsh's strengths and weaknesses as the narrator of Essay

What are RayJay Walsh's strengths and weaknesses as the narrator of Beamish Boy What ideas about thinking and making meaning does the choice of RayJay as a narrator raise - Essay Example His vocabulary is not developed and language used is simple and even crudely innocent at times. The reader then is able to create a highly realistic picture of the scenarios described in the book. This can be inferred from the beginning of the story itself: â€Å"My kite is black and plastic spread out flat and black against the grass and underneath the wind is shaky. Wind is a snake. Water is a snake and grass is a snake and snake is wind and water but snake is not grass. Upon reading this, the reader can picture the kite trailing behind the little boy flying along the grass. To his mind the blips, twists and bops of the kite as it skims the surface of the grass seems to be that of a snake moving, like water and wind make things move, he associates such movements with the only things he understands. The narrator repeats similar ideas and sentences, reinforcing the scene in the writers mind. The child that he is, his mind is very easily distracted oscillating from one idea to another and back gives a sense of a whirlwind of ideas, as is with any 5 year old, making the story highly realistic. He is as any young boy fixated on his kite. His thoughts move from his kite to the ocean to his sister and back to his kite. Further, the multiple use of the word ‘and’ only increases the descriptive nature of the story. The reader does not have to use his imagination, the story paints a picture; â€Å"There are no trees except the ones far away, just a clothesline and flat yellow grass and big grass hissing in the back†. This in itself is evidence of where the family was vacationing. The use of the word ‘and’ as well as multiple adjectives to describe the same situation lends to the story a higher degree of realism. This can be seen further â€Å"When I open the refrigerator, fog falls out the way the sun does here† The use of highly descriptive words are almost poetic in the way that they convey an emotion or activity, as only done by a

Challenges in Hiring Talent Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Challenges in Hiring Talent - Research Paper Example Prince (25), states that there has been a 10 % decline in the average quality of a worker since 2004. This has prompted companies to redouble efforts aimed at hiring the best candidates for the job at whatever cost. Between 1946 and 1964, America experienced massive economic growth that triggered the emergence of more companies and the increase in profitability of businesses in the country (Yates 47). During this time, a new breed of talented and driven managers, entrepreneurs and personnel also emerged, supported by the emergence of ‘baby boomers’ that propagated economic growth and increase in population. The last decade has seen the retirement of a large percentage of these individuals, and a large vacuum has been left that may not be filled as soon as is expected. Businesses have therefore found it paramount to ‘fish’ for the best and most qualified people by employing whatever means necessary to make them a part of their vision. Apart from a decline in the quality of workers available and the shrinking of the pool from which companies used to draw their workers, there has been a great shift in the type of individuals required in the workplace. Between 1946 and 1964, there was a massive increase in manufacturing, spurred by an increase in demand for industrial products and goods (Gilmore 34). A lot of emphasis was therefore laced on the need for workers who could support the manufacturing process, and this called for individuals who mainly had to follow procedures and carry out instructions as required. Little reasoning and judgment was required in these types of jobs that can also be referred to as transactional or transformational. A change in needs, priorities and focus has left companies with no option but to scout for intelligent and clear-thinking people who can make decisions on their own and come up with solutions to problems without relying on their seniors. These types of workers are also good team players who are capable of working with other employees for the benefit of the company (Noe 76). This can be attributed to the emergence of a new type of jobs that are classified under the tacit category, in which intellectual capability and contribution is preferred over physical labor. Question 2: Incentives (apart from salary) that a Company may use to Encourage a Prospective Employee to Accept a Job Offer With the changes taking place in the workplace, companies appreciate the fact that better or higher remuneration is no longer sufficient when looking to hire employees. Other factors have now been found to play a huge role in the ability of a company to not only hire but also retain the best workers (Hunt 59). These factors include opportunities for growth, good working conditions, good moral and ethical values and an appreciation of current and prospective employees. Employees need to know that they can grow in a company and become better at what they do. Nobody wants to work for 10 years in the sam e position when there are other avenues for growth elsewhere. For instance, I may be paid $100,000 a year to head the sales and marketing department in a company, but I may not be willing to remain in the same position (especially if I deserve to be promoted). If a sales representative rises to be my deputy and I am still holding the same position I have had for the last 10 years then I am not growing on my job. The salary may be attractive but growth is more important. When hiring

Great Wall Golf & country Club Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Great Wall Golf & country Club - Case Study Example The development of Great Wall was intended to integrate the hotels and sports facilities with business and convention functions in the form of one modern community. Some of the key Human Resource policies at Great Wall include job design, change management, recruitment and selection, training and development, recognition and rewards, communication, managing discipline and retirement and termination. Great Wall has managed to achieve its staffing needs but staff retention is a larger problem. Therefore Great Wall employs various HRM practices which help in achieving its strategic goals. The goal of Great Wall is to not just maintain its status but also to evolve, grow and get better. It has therefore defined several strategic goals like business results, customer loyalty, employee loyalty and core competency/effectiveness which it aims to achieve in future. 1. How do the HRM practices at Great Wall fit together strategically?   Great Wall’s core goal is to provide high qualit y service to each of its employees as well its customers. High class and successful Chinese business people, their spouses and guests expected a high quality service in order to compensate for the premium prices they paid as membership dues. Delivery of such high quality services was very challenging because such facilities were very difficult to access in China which could be easily available elsewhere. Therefore this situation made the need of friendly, responsive and high quality service more crucial. Great Wall deploys various training and development programs in its organizational structure whose aim is to provide practical and language training to its employees which help them gain self confidence and instills in them a service-oriented mindset. Managers are responsible for training staff in their departments. This reiterates the Group philosophy and mission and also results in longer employee retention and higher employee satisfaction. This ultimately leads to providing high quality service to everyone. Apart from providing transportation, meals, accommodation and recreational activities to its employees, Great Wall also provides non-monetary incentives such as English lessons, medical plans, comfortable housing, good food environment, security and entertainment. Also, working conditions and environment are far more pleasing at the resort and golf club of Great Wall than in the industrial settings. This helps in gaining employee confidence who would give his best to provide high quality service to its customers. Great Wall also conducts reward giving sessions for its managerial staff as well as rank and file employees wherein employees are appreciated and rewarded for performing well. For managerial recognition, the executive committee recently introduced a managerial bonus structure which involves a bonus accompanied by an increment in salary. The reward system for rank and file employees includes the â€Å"Employee of the month† award which rec ognizes the employee’s achievement and provides him with financial reward of one month’s salary. Achievers and star performers are invited to a party each month and their photographs are hung at a place where they can be conveniently viewed by guests and all visitors at the club. For

Bank Reserves and its Role on Money Supply Research Paper

Bank Reserves and its Role on Money Supply - Research Paper Example Ignoring this function is like assigning financial intermediaries merely a passive role in the financial system (FRBSF, 2001). In recent days, in the midst of the economical crisis, it has become more and more apparent that such a passive perception of banks is unwarranted. Also, the volume of broad funds in the financial system is due to the interaction of the banking system (counting the central bank) with the money-holding segment, comprising of non-financial organizations, households, the general government instead of the central government and non-monetary financial institutions (Gerali et al., 2010). Broad funds include currency in circulation, along with close substitutes, like bank deposits, and are instructive for aggregate spending and inflation (Lipsey & Chrystal, 2011). It, therefore, goes past those assets, which are mainly recognized means of payment to incorporate instruments, which work mainly as a store of value (FRBSF, 2001). Before we move forward, it is vital to u nderstand the concept of bank reverses, and then after that we will learn the importance of these reserves in money supply. This paper is divided into two sections, one which centers on the operations of commercial banks and their banking reserves and that other which dwells on the bank reserves and their roles on money supply. Bank Reserves Bank reserves refer to currency deposits that are not loaned out to banks’ customers. A small portion of the entire deposit is held within the bank or deposited to the Federal Reserve (central bank) (Gerali et al., 2010). Minimum reserve obligations are dictated by the central bank so as to make sure that banks and other financial institutions are able to offer clients cash upon their request (Levin & Wieland, 2005). The main goal of banking reserves, also known as holding reserves, is to avoid bank runs and mainly appear solvent (Schwartz, 2008). The Federal Reserve and central banks of other nations place such restrictions on banking in stitutions since they can earn a much greater return on their capital through loaning out money to customers instead of holding cash in their deposits or depositing it to other financial institutions or the Federal Reserve. Bank reserves drop during times of economy expansion and enhance during recessions (Gerali et al., 2010). The amount of funds kept in bank reserves or the Federal Reserve is dictated by the Reserve Requirement. This is the amount of funds, which a depository institution (bank) should hold in their reserve against specific deposit liabilities (Levin & Wieland, 2005). The obligatory reserve ratio is, at times, utilized as a tool in monetary principles, influencing a nation’s interest, as well as borrowing rates, through amending the amount of money available for banking institutions to offer as loans (White, 2008). Western central banks hardly alter the reserve requirements since it would lead to instant liquidity issues for banking institutions with small e xcess reserves (Gerali et al., 2010). They mainly opt to use open market operations such as buying and selling government-granted bonds in order to execute their monetary policy (Lipsey & Chrystal, 2011). In the U.S., their reserve requirement, which they also refer to as liquidity ratio, is the least amount value, determined by the Federal Reser

Maccabees and the Struggle with Paganism Essay Example for Free

Maccabees and the Struggle with Paganism Essay Maccabees were found in the books of the Old Testament. It narrated the Jewish historical struggle in their religious traditions. Around 175 B. C. there was a monarch known as Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus the third of Syria that ruled the Jews. Jewish people were known to be faithful in the Law given by Moses. During their times, Roman empires were expanding and it included Judea in its empire. The Greeks and Romans both practice polytheism and paganism while the Jews were known as monotheistic. These major religious differences brought conflicts among the different civilizations and cultures. Antiochus and the Suppression of Judaism King Antiochus image as a king was that of a tyrannous, greedy and eccentric ruler. He was the foremost oppressor of the Jews. Even if Roman Empires were tolerant of other existing religious sects, the suppression of the Judaism occurred in their times. At first the Jews were free to exercise Judaism even with the presence of pressures in the virtues of Hellenism. But according to the book of First Maccabees there appeared in the land of Israel a group of traitorous Jews who had no regard for the law and they started to break from their customs. They came in terms with the Gentiles and followed their ways. They even asked the king for permission to follow their customs. This led them to built stadium similar to the Greeks. They even performed surgery to hide their circumcision and they also stop observing the Sabbath. Afterwards Antiochus performed other terrible things in the people of Judea and Jerusalem. He murdered the men in Jerusalem and plundered them with their gold, silver and other valuable things. He even destroyed the Jewish temples and force people to worship other gods and forget about their teachings and moral laws. â€Å"The Awful Horror† was committed to the Jewish people by King Antiochus. The Hasmonean or the Maccabees were the heroes that rebelled against paganism and restored Israel’s religious traditions.

Poetry from Other Cultures Essay Example for Free

Poetry from Other Cultures Essay Poets who were born in Britain dont usually write about slavery or how important water is to them. Many poets who are not originally into a traditional English culture use English in many different ways. Night of the scorpion, Limbo and Sacrifice all seem like they are poems that have been written to represent beliefs or a way of life. They have all got rhythms and beats and some even use nursery rhymes or chants as a basis for the poem. Language is extremely important to some people especially poets. Sometimes you can see by looking at a poem that it is not written in Standard English. At the beginning of Night of The Scorpion, a child is talking about how it remembers the night when its mother was stung by a scorpion. The child mentions Ten hours of steady rain has driven him to crawl beneath a sack of rice. Here, the child is describing the scorpion and the reason for its arrival. The child points out that the scorpion parted with its poison which literally means that the scorpion has stung someone. Throughout the poem, the scorpion is described as an evil being; The flask of diabolic tail in the dark room shows this. When the mother was stung, the villagers are described as swarming flies. This may mean they were running to help the mother or running away from the scorpion. The villagers chant the name of god to the mother, chanting the name of god in some cultures, is said to bring luck or hope to the person they are chanting for. In the poem it also states that the villagers used torches and lanterns to try and find the scorpion. As the villagers moved around with the torches and lanterns, the scorpion left shadows on the mud baked walls. The villagers could not find the scorpion so they started to make a clicking noise to try and draw the scorpion towards them. In one part of the poem, it mentions that the scorpion was controlling the poison that was inside the childs mother. With every movement the scorpion made, his poison moved around the mothers blood. The villagers seem to believe that the scorpion controls the poison that is inside the mother so they think that if they capture the scorpion, the poison inside the mother will also stop moving. They state that they want to stop the scorpion on line 18, May he sit still. After line 18, a series of sentences are started with the word may. In Standard English, this word usually introduces a polite request. The villagers all sat round whilst the mother laid there. It is described that there is a look of understanding on all of the peoples faces, which shows that they are supporting the mother, hoping she will be fine. In some cultures it is believed that if you catch the scorpion that has poisoned someone, the victim will recover. This may be why the villagers were so keen to capture the creature. The poet then describes how everyone is trying to help the childs mother recover. My father, sceptic, rationalist, trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid. He even poured a little paraffin wax upon the bitten toe and put a match to it. I watched the flame feeding on my mother this is one of the most effective quotes in this poem as its dramatic and metaphorical. Again, the poet describes how people are trying to help the childs mother by writing; I watched a holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation. The p poet gives the effect that the poison has been inside the mother for a long time by saying; After twenty hours, it lost its sting The last three lines of the poem have had a large amount of thought go into them, as its unusual to normally end a poem like this. The poem Limbo, tells the story of slavery in a rhyming, rhythmic dance. It is ambiguous and complex. There are two main narratives running in parallel; the actions of the dance and the history of a people which is being enacted. Going down under the limbo stick is likened to the slaves going down into the hold of the ship, which carries them into slavery. In Roman Catholic tradition, Limbo is a place to which the souls of people go, if they are not good enough for heaven but not bad enough for hell, between this is Limbo. It has come to mean an unpleasant place or a state of mind or body from which it is difficult to escape. The story of slavery told in the poem is very easy to follow, yet full of detail and action. The poem has a very strong beat, suggesting the dance it describes. The rest of the poem tells a story enacted in a dance. These lines are greatly rhythmic and almost every syllable is stressed, until the very last line, where the rhythm is broken, suggesting the finish of the dance and the end of the narrative. This poem is suited to a dramatic performance there is the dancing under the limbo stick and the acting out the voyage into slavery. The poem can be chanted or sung with a rhythmic beat to give the best effect. The poem refers to a drummer which may be suitable. The poem is laid out on the page in a very peculiar fashion; this is related to the poem being chant like. Parts of the poem are echoed or at least rhyming in a repetitive way to suggest that this may not be any song or dance, but one of an African like culture. From the start of the poem, it seems pessimistic, but as you read on towards the end of the poem, it gradually stats to change into an optimistic look onto what will happen. The music is saving me could mean that the songs of their cultures were what gave them hope or the fact that the drummer was beating a rhythmic beat was what got them to carry on. The first line of sacrifice is an unusual line to start with because describing a goat having a knife dragged across its neck isnt the sort of image you would want to convey for the opening sentence. The persons point of view throughout the poem seemed to switch between two characters, a young boy and a goat being sacrificed. Two spadefuls of dirt will cover me up forever I can feel its point on my throat. Many cultures bless their house or have some kind of ceremony once the house is built. Also, there are still some cultures today that sacrifice animals to their gods. We stand in a tight circle around the animal to be sacrificed this short sentence is a great example of this. It seems that the child in question seems to dislike the idea of animals being sacrificed. The heat and the smell of the blood make me dizzy. Again, there is a whole paragraph describing just how the animal in question is sacrificed. The writer of the poem has made a strange choice by putting both children and the theme of sacrificing together, as usually a poet would not normally do this. The children are fascinated by the tableau. Here, a drama convention is used. A tableau is a still image that can be used at the beginning, during or at the end of a piece of drama. Again, the idea of ceremonies are used; A white bearded man chants something holy. The cameras click. This short sentence sounds wrong when put into context with the theme of the poem. The idea of people taking pictures of an animal that has just been sacrificed is disgusting. The ending of the poem is unusual because it seems that it is from the boys point of view because it describes the house as an unnecessary killing. We are not laying the foundations of a house but another dachau. A Dachau is a Nazi concentration camp where thousands of Jews were exterminated.

Characteristics Of Porters Five Forces Model

Characteristics Of Porters Five Forces Model This report aims to discuss the characteristic of Porters Five Forces model which had greatly contributes to strategic management. Porter (1980) sees competition in an industry being governed by five different sets of forces and an industrys attractiveness is contingent on the strength of these five forces. Nevertheless, this model is being debated since it is purely derived from industrial perspective. To be the market leader, resource- base theorists suggested organizations must aware of its intrinsic strength and weakness therefore enable them to formulate strategy efficiently. Apart from perspective imperfect, Porters five forces also limited by some factors when applying in certain industry. To present the contributions as well as limitations of Porters five forces framework, this report will examine the five forces of soft drink and airline industry. All the information is collected from text books, journals, articles, annual report and websites. 1.0 Introduction All purpose of strategy is to help an organization survives and be profitability in the industry. An industry is a group of firms that produce a similar product or service, for instance cosmetics or financial services. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006). The understanding of the industry structure and its competition environment is a critical ingredient of a successful strategy. Firms need to examine the level of profitability of the industry they are entered, whether it is potentially high profitable in the future. Michael Porter (1980), a Harvard strategy professor contended that the industry profitability is determined by five forces of competition, they are the competition from new entrants, competition from substitutes, and competition from established rivals as well as the power of suppliers and power of buyers. (M. Grant R., 2008). By examine the strength of five forces reveal why an industry is attractive and only then can organization formulates strategy to gain competitive advantage in the market place. Unfortunately, Porters five forces framework has been involved into several criticisms. Some of theorists argued that Porters Five Forces framework is lack of rigorous since it is based on Industrial Organisation (IO) economic perspective and in reality, the strength of the forces may differ from business to business. (Campbell D., Stonehouse G., Houston B., 2002). The prediction of industry attractiveness based on the five forces is unclear and lack of trustworthy. To judge whether Porters five forces framework is useful to predict the industry potential profitability, this report will applying this model into soft drink and airline industry. 2.0 The Values of Porters Five Force Framework Porter Five Forces framework was derived from Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) paradigm of IO which concerned on the industry structure was influence by conduct and performance of organizations. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007). Insight into organization heterogeneity in terms of market attractiveness evaluations and understanding of market entry enable them to make better decisions and prevent from potential loss or go into liquidation. (Dixit A, K. Chintagunta P., 2007). Michael Porter indicated that the industry structure grows out of a set of economic and industrial characteristics that bring out the strength of each competitive force and the forces are threat of new entrants, threat of substitute, the rivalry among existing competitors, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers. (M. Grant R., 2008). The strength of the five competitive forces can determines the long-run profit potential of an industry by how much of economic value retained by companies in the i ndustry versus bargained away by customers and suppliers, threaten by substitutes or forced by new entrants. (E. Porter M., 2008). The stronger of these forces, the more limited the organizations ability to set higher price and earn greater profits. The low forces, in contrast, become an opportunity for organizations to generate strategies. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006). In order words, this framework suggested the source of organizational profits is market positions, and the positions protected by barriers to entry into the market. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007). Many strategic analysis tools formed based on the industrial perspective as Porters five forces did, for instance the PESTEL analysis is the useful environment scanning tool that examine the external factors influence an organization. Game theory, which founded by Von Neumann and Morgenstern (1944) contends that the rivalry among competitors is interdependent, but the issue is generally concerned with a firms external environment. (M. Grant R., 1998) 3.0 Five Forces of Soft drink industry 3.1 Rivalry amongst competitors Porter described the rivalry amongst existing competitors is jockeying for position, where they compete in the form of products price, products innovation and differentiation, advertising and promotion as well as after-sales services slugfests for purpose of scramble for market share and earn superior profits. The degree of rivalry in an industry is determined by several variables; they are the degree of competitors concentration, the level of rivalry, products differentiation, the industry growth rate and exit barrier. (G. H. Richard., 1983) Soft drink industry considered a consolidated industry, where the industry is leading by few large companies, such as Coca-cola, Pepsi-cola and Cadbury Schweppes. These companies who seize large proportion of market share had earned superior profit. In order to gain competitive advantage from competitors, Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola have spent large investment in advertising and promotion to build strong brand identify among consumers and become a barrier for new entrants. Coca-cola build customer loyalty by it unique coke recipe while Pepsi-cola serving different soft drink to capture market share of Coca-cola. The unique recipe of soft drinks had gained many loyal customers which uneasily duplicate by competitors. In the position of market leader, they can determine the price of soft drink and thus avoid price war. (M. Grant R., 2008) According to Agarwal and Gort (1996), the late entrants have relatively lower survival rates because the exit barrier is formed in competitive intensify. (Dixit A, K. Chintagunta P., 2007) The exit barrier in soft drink industry is significant because firms require large capital investment to achieve economic of scale in order to compete with strong competitors. Yet, according to the average return on invested capital (ROIC) of US industries, the profitability of soft drink industry increase consistently indicates that the market value of soft drink tends to grow in future. (Kindly refer to Appendix V). 3.2 Threat of Entry A high barrier to entry benefits the existing players in an industry because the competition is stable and established companies can take advantage of this opportunity to raise prices and generates favorable returns. The established companies who run a larger production may benefit from economic of scales and create barrier to the new comer. Others, the government regulation can also be a barrier to entry. (Johnson G., Scholes K., Whittington R., 2008) The barrier to entry can be created by existing companies by build strong brand loyalty. Although there is no significant restriction from government towards soft drink business, the efforts of Coca-cola and Pepsi-Cola to built brand loyalty have significantly threatened new companies to enter the business. (Kolter p., Armstrong G., 2008). Further, when the new companies intend to enter the market, both companies have take retaliate action by cut down the prices and forcing the new entrant to curtail expansion plans. (M. Grant R., 2008). Since the barrier to entry is high based on strong market leaders, the industry is considered attractive. 3.3 Threat of Substitute When the use of product can be wholly substitute by products out of the industry, customers will switch to substitute if the price of the product goes up. To the extent that switching costs are low, substitutes may have significant impact on the profitability of an industry. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006) Through industry innovation, incumbents are struggling to produce diversity beverages to satisfy different consumers taste. The soft drink seems gradually substituted by carbonated beverage. In responding to the competition of substitute, Coca-cola expanded its business through alliance and acquisitions like Coke-Nestea and Coke -Minute Maid. Meanwhile, Pepsi-cola diversify their products flavor such as Pepsi with orange juice. (Meghan E., Deichert M, Ellenbecker M, Klehr E., Pesarchick L., Ziegler K., 2006). Yet, Coca-cola had builds extremely strong customers loyalty in the flavor of Coke since the early 1960s, there are no visible beverages can substitute Coke and it has been the top-selling soft drink over centuries. (Coca-cola, 2010). Briefly, substitutes become less of a threat because of the concentrated manufacturers effort in diversification. 3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers Buyer power is determined by switching costs, the relative volume of purchases, the standardization of the product, brand identity, and quality of service. (Thompson J., Martin F., 2005) Companies are not merely selling their products to consumers, but large proportions of products are distributed to retailers such as supermarkets. Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola mainly distributed their soft drink products to supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury. Although these retailers purchase soft drinks in large quantity, they do not have much bargaining power because they need different kind of soft drink products to generate consumer traffic, especially the popular brand name like Coke and Pepsi. Vending, basically deals with fixed price, was the most profitable channel for the soft drink industry. With no buyers to bargain, Coke and Pepsi bottlers could sell directly to consumers through machines owned by bottlers. (Meghan E., Deichert M, Ellenbecker M, Klehr E., Pesarchick L., Ziegler K., 2006). Therefore, the position of buyers in soft drink industry is weak because companies are not heavily relied on single distribution channel, but other route like vending machine or fast f ood chain. (Soft drink Industry, 2010) 3.5 Bargaining Power of Supplier The suppliers are powerful if they are in the position of well brand name, less competitors and high product differentiated. (Mike W. Peng, 2006). The main inputs of soft drink making are sugar and packaging. Sugar can be obtain from many sources and if the price of sugar increase, soft drink manufacturers can alternatively switch to corn syrup, as happened in the early 1980s. Thus, suppliers of nutritive sweeteners do not have much bargaining power to soft drink manufacturers. In contrary, they need to built long term relationship with soft drink manufacturers to make long-run profit in the business, for example, Monsanto signed long term Nutrasweet sweetener supply contracts with Coca-cola. (M. Grant R., 2008) Soft drink packaged by aluminum can and bottle. The manufacturers of aluminum can and bottle are almost similar and therefore they engaged in price competition to survive in the industry. With more competitors vying for supply contract with large soft drink manufacturers, soft drink manufacturers are able to negotiate extremely favorable price and thus suppliers bargaining power is relatively weak. (Meghan E., Deichert M, Ellenbecker M, Klehr E., Pesarchick L., Ziegler K., 2006) 3.6 Summary on Five Forces of Soft Drink Industry Overall, in soft drink industry, the rivalry is moderate since the concentrated producers had avoided significant price competition. The industry is considered attractive because high entry barrier prevent new entrant from fragment profits, there is no visible substitute and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers are relatively weak. Cott Corporation is a good example who earned favorable profits in this industry. Cott recognized the unique Coke taste to the mind of consumers thus established its private-label cola called RC Cola and successfully taking 5.5 percent shares of U.S. soft drink market in year 2005. (M. Grant R., 2008). Cott Corporation has proved that Porters five force framework is useful to predict industry profitability, which in accordance with the SCP concept of Porter. 4.0 Debates and critiques on Porters Five Forces Framework As outlined that Porters Five Forces Model was derived from industry perspective and it is therefore expected that the model is limited when applied at the firm level. In the early eighties, strategic management was much dominated by IO perspective, where the organizations performance is contingent on its external environment and thus loses the sight of organizational perspective. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007) The resource-based view, in contrast, examines the link between the internal characteristics of an organization and organizations performance. (Campbell D., Stonehouse G., Houston B., 2002) It highlights the core competency of an organization are the main sources of sustainable competitive advantage. (Kotenlnikov V.). Hamel and Prahalad (1994) explained that core competence does not appear on balance sheet, distribution channel or even brand and patent, but an aptitude to manage them may be one. Correspondingly, Penrose (1959) argued that a firm is a collection of resources and that a firms performance depends on its ability to use them. (Jenkins M., Ambrosini V., Collier N., 2007). In addition to the industry competition structure, resource-based approach examine deeply into the skills and competences of each competitor, the design of value-adding activities, the technologies employed and strategic groupings. The strategic analysis model like value-chain and SWOT analysis are contri butions of resource-based view which provide a greater understanding of organizations core competences and enable organization well manage their resources and capacities to formulate appropriate strategies. (E. Spanos Y., Lioukas S., 2001). Baden-Fuller C. and Stopford J. (1992) said that it is not industry matter, but the firm itself, as happened in airline industry. (De Wit B., Meyer R., 2005) 5.0 The Five Forces of Airline Industry 5.1 Rivalry amongst competitors The intense rivalry in airline industry caused by undifferentiating products and services, for instance, most of them were using similar aircraft like Airbus A320 family. (Shawn S., 2004)To be the ideal choice of customers, airlines had competing in fare price and their on-board products and service. They struggle to enhance their frequencies and timing of flight to avoid their competitors a frequency advantage. The barrier to exit is one of the significant factors that result fierce rivalry. The capital investments are a large sum and it is difficult to dispose the assets suppose the carriers are suffering in loss. Trans World Airline is the example of company who can remain competitors for three more years before gone into liquidation. (Ridderbusch K., 2006) The reason of high fixed costs significant influence the profitability of industry, like revealed in Appendix V, the ROIC of airline industry is slightly five percent and therefore the industrys growth rate is slow. 5.2 Threat of Entry The main entry barriers of airline industry are capital requirement and retaliation from established airlines. To establish an air transport business is a huge investment, including the expensive assets of airplane and safety facilities. This barrier had been reduce by bank institutions who encourage airline carriers by extend credit. (Vecchio J.D., 2000) There is not significant entry control in international airline industry such as US and Europe, but airport slot can be a barrier to entry. The condition of congested slot in hub airport has makes it difficult for new entrant to gain access to attractively-time slot. However, the congested slot issue has benefits the existing airlines. (Shawn S., 2004). Incumbents enlarge their business by hub system and thus they could serve more cities from their hubs and offer greater frequency flight to satisfy different customers need. (Vecchio J.D., 2000) 5.3 Threat of Substitute Apart from oversea reason, people tend to choose rail transport although they can reach destination in shortest time by air transport. Railway became a good substitute of airway as it provide city centre to city centre travel which makes convenience to consumers and its fare price is always cheaper that airlines. The market of airlines became worse when the development of rail transit. Through constantly innovation and development in railway industry, people today can choose long haul rail transit to reach destination in short time, as air transport did. (Shawn S., 2004) 5.4 Bargaining Power of Buyer Airline offers transportation service to two groups which are travel agents and consumers. Traditionally, travel agency system is overwhelming because it is the main distribution channel for airline. The airlines who much depends on travel agents forced to reduce fare price to keep long-term relationship that able to sustain competitive advantage in the market. The available of internet benefits consumers as they can access to the fare price and compare with each other. Many customers choosing airline travel because they can reach destination in short time, thus they always find for price discrepancy of the same exact flight. Considered airline travel is relatively luxurious trip, the fall in fare price would significantly increase the demand, especially those plans for a family vacation. Since the trend of demand is elastic, customers switching from each other is visible suppose the market fall into price war. (Vecchio J.D., 2000) 5.5 Bargaining Power of Suppliers The suppliers in airline industry are concentrated producers such as Boeing and Airbus. These suppliers became a threat to airlines because they provide high quality airplanes and pilot training services. (Johnson G., Scholes K., Whittington R., 2008) The power of supplier can determine by labor union. Industries which depend massive on employees are low profitability because the more skill people the more they need to pay. Aviation industry required high talent people such as pilots and have a high percentage of employees unionized and it is therefore less profitability. (M. Grant R., 2008) 5.6 Summary on Five Forces Analysis of Airline industry Through exploring five forces, airline industry is easy to entry but hard to exit, threaten by powerful supplier and buyer as well as substitute, and the rivalry is intensified. Therefore airline industry is extremely unattractiveness and all organizations stuck in the industry and are likely to suffer. In reality, however, Ryanair has survived and successfully seize significant market share in Europe. (Mike W. Peng, 2006) The key success of Ryanair is its concept of no-frills, low fares and hassle-free which effectively take cost advantage and perform better punctuality than competitors. However these strategies are zero without the effective management team and good employees performance. Ryanair implemented a third year of pay freeze to achieve cost saving however satisfy its cabin crew by maximize their time off. Despite lowest fares price, Ryanair continues maintain a safe and reliable air travel to meet customers need. (Ryanair, 2010) The successful of Ryanair in such an unattr activeness industry are its peoples competencies that make sustainable competitive advantage, as suggested by Hamel and Prahalad. 7.0 Other Limitations 7.1 Hyper competition Another critique is that competition is a dynamic process of rivalry that constantly reformulates industry structure. Joseph Schumpeter viewed competition is the dynamic forces of innovations which continuously restructure industry and tends to unstable. (M. Grant R., 1998, 2008). Since it is based on the industrial perspective in the eighties, the five forces model is ineffective to predict competition and profitability if the industry structural transformation is rapid like High-tech industries. (Recklies D., 2001). Todays IT and software industry are continuous being revolutionized by innovation. Organizations struggle to gain competitive advantage comes from an up -to-date knowledge of environmental trends and competitive activity tied with a willingness to risk a current advantage for a possible new advantage. This fast growing market structure indicates that is difficult to master the market trends and it is therefore limited for Porters five forces to predict the attractivenes s of the industry. (L. Wheelen T., D. Hunger J., 2006) 7.2 The Complement as an important force Traditionally, Porter contends that the industrys attractiveness is driving by the potential suppliers of substitute good and service. This force is doubtful that as the presence of substitute reduce the value of the products, complements value will increase. Andrew Grove, the former CEO of Intel suggests complements should be added into Porters forces framework because it contributes visible impact, like the available of software add value to hardware. Yet, apart from IT industry, complements influence the competitiveness in other industries, for example the value of water heater increase if consumers access to gas supplier and service. Given the characteristic of complements is crucial to most products, the analysis of competition environment should take them into account. Organizations should reduce the bargaining power of complement suppliers in order to stimulate the demand of the products, like the strategy took by Nintendo. Nintendo controls the operation of games software pro ducers by provides developer licenses and through development of games software successful augments the demand for Nintendo video game console. (M. Grant R., 2008) 8.0 Conclusion and Recommendation Generally, Porters five forces are lack of rigorous and limited by its industrial perspective. In the case of Cotts triumphant in soft drink industry is not merely the commercial market, but much depend on its intrinsic management who wisely distribute its product in grocery channel which saving cost in term of no advertising and promotion. Cott popular with affordable soft drinks and their revenues increase dramatically through the growing of grocery retailers like Wal-Mart. (Cott, 2010). Therefore, Porters five forces seem lack of reliability relative to resource based analysis model. However, as Barney and Zajac (1994) said, the examination of strategy implementation skills (i.e., resources and capabilities) cannot be understood independently of strategy content and the competitive environment within which the firm operates. (E. Spanos Y., Lioukas S., 2001). In conclusion, managers should conduct the strategic analysis not simply based on Porters five forces, but examining in combination with other intrinsic perspective strategic analysis tool like SWOT analysis. SWOT model emphasized the elements of Strength-Weakness of an organization in addition to the Opportunities-Threats from external source. Furthermore, managers may apply PESTEL framework to supply the lack of Porters five forces model. (Trundy G., 2006). PESTEL framework emphasize the important elements of Politic, Economic, Social, Technology, Environmental and Legal to carry out a deeper external environment scanning that may influence organizations performance in the market.

Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - The Three Witches :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth: The Three Witches William Shakespeare has been by far the world's most popular playwright for more than 350 years. His ingenious ability as a playwright has captivated audiences and will captivate audiences for years to come. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. The specific date of his birth is not known but is celebrated on the feast of St. George, April 23. Little is known about his boyhood, but through examination it is thought that he collected a lot of his information from books and from daily observation of the world around him. During his life Shakespeare wrote many brilliant tragedies. He died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. One of these brilliant tragedies was Macbeth. It is thought to have been written between 1603 and 1606. Macbeth is considered the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, but not less powerful in its depiction of evil, greed, jealousy, and the madness these emotions bring to a person. (Shakespeare, pg. v) In any work of literature or drama there is usually foreshadowing. Foreshadow can be defined to be, "a sign of something to come: indicate or suggest beforehand; prefigure; presage." (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia) Playwrights use this technique to give the audience a sense of what is to come or what exactly is going to happen to a character. Foreshadowing can be easily detected or it cannot be noticed at all until the end of the play or story. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the prophecies of the witches and thoughts of Macbeth himself to foreshadow within the play. And Macbeth himself detects them somewhat as does the audience. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the three witches as main sources foreshadowing. In the play they are conveyed as prophecies. The audience experiences a little of these prophecies almost immediately in the opening scene and act of the play. When they talk about meeting Macbeth they say they will greet him, "when the battle's lost and won." (Shakespeare, pg.1) And then they yell together, "fair is foul, and foul is fair."(Shakespeare, pg.1) These two examples foreshadow that some sort of evil will be coming and that there will also be a victory of sorts, but the audience doesn't know specifically what yet. These also suggest a great battle is to be fought against good and evil and the events that follow will unfold at a rapid pace. This foreshadowing can be detected by the audience because they can feel the emotion of doom and evil rising. The actual prophecies given by the witches occur in the third scene

Free Euthanasia Essays: Problems With Assisted Suicide :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Problems With Assisted Suicide Americans want to know what the report card says, in other words, what are the results of the Netherlands and Oregon experiments with assisted suicide. Let's sift through the data and relevant studies in order to arrive at a conclusion which either affirms or rejects the practice. Although the New England Journal of Medicine article (2/24/00) was the first time a major medical journal in the United States had recounted problems associated with assisted suicide in the Netherlands, there had been prior warnings: In 1995, Dr. Pieter Admiraal, who has practiced euthanasia in the Netherlands for years, warned of the risk of failure associated with assisted suicide. After explaining the preparations that must be made for an assisted suicide death, he wrote: "In spite of these measures, every doctor who decides to assist in suicide must be aware that something can go wrong, with the result being a failure of the suicide. For this reason, one should always be prepared to proceed to active euthanasia. In other words, the doctor should always have at hand thiopental and muscle relaxant" (to administer in the form of a lethal injection). (Admiraal) Â  Barbiturates are the most common substances used for assisted suicide in Oregon and in the Netherlands. Overdoses of barbiturates are known to cause distress: Extreme gasping and muscle spasms can occur. While losing consciousness, a person can vomit and then inhale the vomit. Panic, feelings of terror and assaultive behavior take place from the drug-induced confusion. Other problems can include difficulty in taking the drugs, failure of the drugs to induce unconsciousness and a number of days elapsing before death occurs. (NEJM) Dr. Katrina Hedberg, a co-author of Oregon's two official reports on assisted suicide, denies that there have been complications in assisted suicide deaths in Oregon. "Those things have not materialized," she stated. (Oregonian) But news reports from Oregon indicate otherwise: * A man experienced difficulty during his assisted suicide death and his brother-in-law had to help him die. "It doesn't go smoothly for everyone," the person who helped explained. "It would not have worked without help." [Oregonian, 1/17/99 and 3/11/99] * In another case, after a man took the drugs intended to induce death, his physical symptoms were so disturbing that his wife called 911. He was taken from his home to a hospital where he was revived.

Achieving Visibility in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man :: Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison’s â€Å"Invisible Man,† as told by the â€Å"invisible man† himself, is the story of a man’s quest to separate his beliefs and values from those being pressed upon him. The narrator never gives his name in the story, which is shown later to have great significance. The narrator is a well-educated black man who has been kicked out of his college, and lied to by the school officials. While wandering around Harlem searching for some sort of closure, he encounters a black couple, unjustly evicted from their home. A crowd has gathered, also upset by the injustice, and seems to be ready to riot. Instead, the narrator speaks to them, and they rush the house systematically. This is his first true display of independent thinking and action in the story. He speaks his honest feelings to a crowd, and is backed by them. The narrator’s actions, however, don’t remain so uninhibited throughout the story. The narrator is later approached by a representative of a group called the Brotherhood, who wish for the narrator to join them as a black leader. In the beginning his ideas are respected, but in time his superiors order him to follow their instructions, placing aside his own ideas and feelings. For a while, the narrator regresses from his independence, simply content following orders. He comes to realize, however, that he is being stifled by the Brotherhood, desiring free action once again. The narrator’s will suddenly conflicts with the will of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood essentially wants to act more pacifistically, taking a less dangerous approach to the raging will of the black people. Rather than rectifying the changed Brotherhood, the narrator decides to sabotage it from the inside. His actions doing this once again represent those of a strong-willed individual, rather than his previous conformist following. The effect on the Brotherhood is shown when many of their members begin to leave, empowered now to stand against the corrupted Brotherhood. The end result is a huge riot in the streets of Harlem, between different affiliations, races, and communities. The narrator, along with his briefcase containing items of his past, is chased into a sewer during the riot. He looks through his items and realizes he has been deceived and made some poor choices in the past. He burns the items, saying goodbye to his past and embracing a new desire to understand himself, as well as his place in the world. Achieving Visibility in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man :: Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Ralph Ellison’s â€Å"Invisible Man,† as told by the â€Å"invisible man† himself, is the story of a man’s quest to separate his beliefs and values from those being pressed upon him. The narrator never gives his name in the story, which is shown later to have great significance. The narrator is a well-educated black man who has been kicked out of his college, and lied to by the school officials. While wandering around Harlem searching for some sort of closure, he encounters a black couple, unjustly evicted from their home. A crowd has gathered, also upset by the injustice, and seems to be ready to riot. Instead, the narrator speaks to them, and they rush the house systematically. This is his first true display of independent thinking and action in the story. He speaks his honest feelings to a crowd, and is backed by them. The narrator’s actions, however, don’t remain so uninhibited throughout the story. The narrator is later approached by a representative of a group called the Brotherhood, who wish for the narrator to join them as a black leader. In the beginning his ideas are respected, but in time his superiors order him to follow their instructions, placing aside his own ideas and feelings. For a while, the narrator regresses from his independence, simply content following orders. He comes to realize, however, that he is being stifled by the Brotherhood, desiring free action once again. The narrator’s will suddenly conflicts with the will of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood essentially wants to act more pacifistically, taking a less dangerous approach to the raging will of the black people. Rather than rectifying the changed Brotherhood, the narrator decides to sabotage it from the inside. His actions doing this once again represent those of a strong-willed individual, rather than his previous conformist following. The effect on the Brotherhood is shown when many of their members begin to leave, empowered now to stand against the corrupted Brotherhood. The end result is a huge riot in the streets of Harlem, between different affiliations, races, and communities. The narrator, along with his briefcase containing items of his past, is chased into a sewer during the riot. He looks through his items and realizes he has been deceived and made some poor choices in the past. He burns the items, saying goodbye to his past and embracing a new desire to understand himself, as well as his place in the world.

“Budget Cuts” The leading problem facing our educational System Adriana Cruz

Budget cut has been the leading problem facing our educational system today. I think that students should be given top priority to learn, excel and benefit from school and not depriving them of their right to learn. Budget cuts in education will mean lesser funding for students in classrooms, the classroom will have a bigger student population and the school maintenance will have lesser spending. Budget cut in education in California will not benefit the students of California, and this will include my three school age children, who will suffer the consequences of such cuts. Each student is allocated a certain amount of money for one school year which includes reference materials like books and library materials. I started noticing how my kids had to share supplies such as books and little things as color pencils. Teachers were sharing supplies between them as well such as projectors, computers and television. I think that’s when I started to understand the big impact that the budget was having on schools. With a lesser budget, there will be limited resources for each student. We decided to move to South County, where according to the media, schools were given more funds than in the Northern part. We had to raise our expenses such as rent and food in order to give our children a better education. Unfortunately things are starting to look the same. I am mystified there is not more outrage about this issue. No money for counselors, paper or textbooks? No lunchtime aides, which means inadequate supervision? How can this even be legal? I hear all the people say the system is broken, and we need to fix it, but not on the backs of our children. Research shows that class size makes a huge difference in the quality of education for students for several reasons. Forcing educators to teach large classes increases the possibility of disruptions and decreases the ability of an educator to help struggling students. The current trend of using cooperative learning groups becomes hard to manage in large classes. I have a dyslexic child who really needs to be part of learning groups and a lot of support to succeed in school. . Unfortunately, these programs, which help keep educators abreast of new teaching methods and techniques, suffer from limited funds. As a result, students suffer too. It makes me really sad knowing that funding issues prevent districts from hiring more educators and many are providing less professional development opportunities. I have also noticed that school infrastructure showed to suffer the most in areas like restrooms, graffiti-covered walls, internal heating and cooling, classrooms and desks. I have to personally pay for sports uniforms more than other school items. With all these budget cuts I am sure that cleanliness, repairs of roofs and chairs, paints and classroom supplies will be most likely affected. They don’t seem to realize that a clean and safe surrounding will be very much conducive to learning because a student who is in this kind of environment will be able to concentrate more. There is a noticeable discrepancy between what us as parents and students think schools should cut versus what school officials have on their to-ax lists. The top three items we think schools should cut are school newspaper or broadcast outlets, summer school and field trips, in that order. The last items on students' â€Å"should-cut† lists, starting from the bottom, are teachers, administrators, guidance counselors and sports. All items that schools have shown to most commonly choose to cut first. As a mother of three, the education of my children is one of my highest priorities. Like every parent, I want the best for my kids. I want them in good classrooms with good teachers where they will flourish, and by the time they graduate high school, will be prepared for the challenges the future will bring them. I feel that student’s ability to reach their academic potential should not be determined by the school they attend, all schools should provide the same quality of education, regardless of the neighborhood or financial status of the parents. I think that education is the basis for future growth, protection, and development of any nation. I do not understand why school districts should take hits of cuts when we have legislators giving themselves raises. Every student, no matter their background, deserves a fully prepared and qualified teacher, a quality education with proper resources, and the right infrastructure.

How easy is it for Jews to keep their covenant with God in the Modern world? Essay

Jews are people who follow the religion of Judaism. Traditionally Jews trace their beginnings to Abraham (about 18 centuries BCE). In their daily prayers, Jewish people call to mind the patriarchs (fathers) of their faith. One of the most important events in the Jewish history, known as the exodus-took place under the leadership of Moses. Jews celebrate this each year in the Passover festival (Pesach). After their escape, the Jews wandered the desert for 40 years, before they reached ‘the promised land’ of Israel. It was in the desert that they received the Torah through Moses. The Covenant with God is Jews agreeing to do what He wants, and He will give in return. The 10 commandments is an example of this. It is the summary that God gave Jews to follow. History says that they were written on stones that Moses brought down from mount Sinai, according to the Torah. There are two accounts of the ten sayings. The Ten Commandments describe people’s duty towards God and each other. Moses also received the ‘Torah’, a holy book, on mount Sinai on his journey from Egypt to ‘the promised land’. This trip was one of the most important events in Jewish history, when they escaped from slavery, leaded by Moses. Jews celebrate this every year as the ‘Passover festive’. Food is very important in their daily lives. Jews have all sorts of foods to celebrate different festivals and different times of the year. In addition, all food Jews eat has to be Kosher. This means that certain laws govern the buying, preparation and eating of food. They cannot eat milk and meat products together. Here are some examples of kosher laws: * Animals must have cloven hooves and chew the cud. * Poultry may be eaten but not birds of pray. * Fish must have fins and scales and a backbone. Shabbat is another important festival, involving food. They have special breads, meats and wines. A prayer has to be made before the lighting of the candles and the start of Shabbat. The woman of the house normally performs this. Shabbat is the time between Friday sunset and Saturday sunset. It’s a family day on the Sabbath. You cannot do any work when Shabbat starts of before it ends. It is supposed to a stress free day with your family. Jews like to consider themselves a big family. They like to get together and have meals and it’s a big part of their faith. They claim that without their families, Judaism wouldn’t have survived. Through their children they pass on beliefs, knowledge and routine. Mothers teach about recipes and generally the children are brought up to be Jewish. To show that they are Jewish, they have a Bar Mitzvah when they become of proper age. A boy is considered as mature at 13 and a girl at 12. Therefore its when the ceremony is taken place. You can also recognize strict male Jews by their large sideburns and, all strict Jews, their black clothing. You can convert to be Jewish by spending time in a synagogue with a Rabbi, learning about the Jewish faith. Then you have to present yourself in front of a panel of Rabbis. The influences of the holocaust, or ‘Shoah’, are still shown a great deal today, There are still some people in the world that believe what Hitler believed in and fort for was right. Some people in the Jewish community are still not very fond of making a huge deal about their religion as it may start up buried hates and start new feuds. As the world changes, it also changes into something much harsher for religious communities. As there are so many different beliefs and stories about God there are obvious opportunities for arguments to be made. The state of Israel is poor. The richer countries like the United Kingdom and America, have been trying to put right the fighting between the Palestinians and the Jews, which is mainly over religion and land. As Israel is considered the holy land, to me it seems its is ridiculous to fight in such a holy place. I think it is quite hard for Jewish people to keep their covenant with God in the modern world because there are so many rules within their religion. There are many Jews now do not keep to all the rules around the Jewish faith and just do as much as they can in the modern world.

Basketball: Then vs. Now Essay

The sport of basketball was invented 113 years ago. The first original 13 rules of basketball are much different than the rules today. Not only have the rules evolved, but also the number of players, regulation time, and mainly just the dynamics of the game altogether. After explanation, you will be able to see how many changes basketball has truly undergone to become what it is now. The original 13 rules of basketball written by James Naismith are as follows: 1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. 2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist). 3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball when running at a good speed if he tries to stop. 4. The ball must be held in or between the hands; the arms or body must not be used for holding it. 5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed. 6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violation of Rules 3,4, and such as described in Rule 5. 7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the mean time making a foul). 8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds  into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal. 9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side. 10. The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5. 11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee. 12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves, with five minutes’ rest between. 13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made. Of course, if you have any common knowledge of how basketball is played, you know very well that today’s play is much different. Many of these rules have changed, including the dribble. Dribbling was created as an escape from the defense. Players could also run down the court tapping the ball in the air without it touching the floor, or could dribble the ball using both hands. Now days, you cannot move with the ball unless you are using a one handed dribble. Until 1916, a player could not shoot after dribbling. He had to pass the ball. Scoring has also changed much since then. In the beginning, field goals  counted for one point, and a player who fouled was sent to a penalty box, as in hockey. If a team fouled three consecutive times, the opponent got a field goal. This rule was eventually replaced by free throws. By 1895, field goals were worth two points and free throws one. For many years, each team had one player who shot all the free throws. That rule was changed in 1910 by a New York league that required who was fouled to shoot the free throw. This rule still holds today. There are also boundary lines on the basketball court marking in and out of bounds. Before the creation of those, when a ball went anywhere on the court, the team that got to the ball first gained possession. This caused teams to go crashing into the spectators, walls, and hallways. Today, we have out of bounds and whichever team caused the ball to go out of bounds, the opponents gain possession with a throw-in. Other changes such as uniform colors, dunking rules, regulations on backboards, time-outs, overtime, fouling out, backcourt rules, free throws, and three pointers were also engaged in change, some over and over again until they became what they are today. There was much controversy about the three pointer. It was invented for a catch up method when a team was behind. Indeed, this did work, and in 1980, Western Carolina’s Ronnie Carr drilled a three-point field goal, the first in the history of basketball. Few rules have ever impacted the game of basketball as the introduction of the three pointer. College coaches and many other personnel were interested with the three and there was never any talk of getting rid of it. Not only was it a great offensive weapon for teams, it was also very exciting, resulting in higher ticket sales, and it required more skill than the older popular attraction, the dunk. Basketball is a great American sport, and perhaps one that requires the most skill along with a great mental game. Personally, it is one of my favorites, and it is amazing how it has evolved from 1891 to 2004.