Sex Education Essays (590 words) - Sex Education, Fertility

Sex Education What is comprehensive, reality-based sexuality education? True comprehensive, reality-based sexuality education seeks to assist young people in understanding a positive view of sexuality, provide them with information and skills about taking care of their sexual health, and help them acquire skills to make decisions now and in the future. Ideally, sexuality education is taught in ways that are age- and experience-appropriate in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is taught by trained teachers who teach about: sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, and gender roles. The goal is to help young people grow into sexually healthy adults. Being sexually healthy includes preventing the negative consequences of sexual intercourse, and also includes a broad range of life-enhancing skills, such as assertiveness, effective communication, critical thinking, decision-making, and the capacity to build relationships. Comprehensive sexuality education doesn't happen in one place -- it involves parents, educators, and other adults in the community. Planned Parenthood urges parents to be involved in monitoring their children's school programs, and advocating for curricula they want to have in their children's schools. We help parents to discuss sexuality appropriately and accurately with their children in community-based programs for families. We can't expect children to become sexually responsible if the adults in their lives are uninformed about sex or uncomfortable talking about it. What are the values of comprehensive sexuality education? Among the values inherent in reality-based sexuality education are personal responsibility, respect for oneself and others, and the value of emotionally supportive relationships. The following list of values concerning sexuality was developed by the National Guidelines Task Force: Sexuality is a natural and healthy part of living. All persons are sexual. Every person has dignity and self worth. Individuals express their sexuality in varied ways. In a pluralistic society like the United States, people should respect and accept the diversity of values and beliefs about sexuality that exist in a community. Sexual relationships should never be coercive or exploitative. All children should be loved and cared for. All sexual decisions have effects or consequences. All persons have the right and the obligation to make responsible sexual choices. Individuals and society benefit when children are able to discuss sexuality with their parents and/or other trusted adults. Young people explore their sexuality as a natural process of achieving sexual maturity. Premature involvement in sexual behaviors poses risks. Abstaining from sexual intercourse is the most effective method of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Young people who are involved in sexual relationships need access to information about health care services. [Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, National Guidelines Task Force, SIECUS, 1991.] Why should schools be involved in sexuality education? While more families are talking openly about sexuality, most parents still avoid the issue -- or unintentionally hand down harmful myths and fear. Keeping children ignorant endangers their lives -- especially for the millions of teens who have already begun having sex -- 61% of male high school students and 48% of female high school students. (CDC, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS - UNITED STATES, 1990. MMWR 1992; 40; 885-888.) Schools can give young people the facts and the relationship skills they need to become responsible adults, and can break the cycle of ignorance, denial, and shame that often passes from one generation to the next. Most parents say they want their children to receive sexuality education in school. One poll found that 89% of American adults support sexuality education in schools, and 73% want schools to make contraceptives available to students. (Louis Harris and Associates, PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD TEENAGE PREGNANCY, SEX EDUCATION, AND BIRTH CONTROL. May 1988.) Human Sexuality

Britain and the EU Essay Example

Britain and the EU Essay Example Britain and the EU Essay Britain and the EU Essay Assignment 1: 1. In 1957 the EU was fashioned to elevate the living standards of its members by encouraging peace, democracy and equality for the countries that had joined the partnership. Its aims were to end war and repair the division of the European continent. It has become a unique economic and political partnership consisting of 27 European countries with around 500 million inhabitants (see figure 1 in appendix). This map shows the 27 (coloured) EU countries (Grey countries are candidates) It was not until 1973, the EU’s first enlargement, that the UK became involved on account of the then Prime Minister, Edward Heath. The UK did not join the EU from the start as it chose to stay with a rival group called the European Free Trade Area. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that it became apparent the living standards of France and Germany surpassed those of the British and their Government (under Macmillan). Additionally, French president Charles De Gaulle vetoed their first application (1963) considering the UK as inappropriate candidates – not a good asset and a liability to the union. Despite the assistance it provided other countries during the war and its eventual success, Britain suffered post-World War II with stunted economic growth, high inflation and poor industrial relations; her position in the hierarchy of the world had dropped and it was a difficult matter to cope with. The empire was falling and so was its trade. Also, the US encouraged the UK to join, due to fears of France trying to take control of Europe, in attempt to balance out the power struggle. It was Edward Heath’s opinion that due to its economic and political ills Britain would benefit from joining the EU; economically to increase trade and politically to form unity and stability for the failing empire. British membership was sealed by a referendum in its favour held in 1975. The general advantages of its membership include Free movement of goods and capital with other EU countries, without boundaries or border controls. A circuit of diverse and new goods (through international trade) and equipment, skills, services and workforce/people – more workers results in a boost in tax revenue. If more jobs are available people will be contributing in taxes rather than extracting with benefits. Ease in the exportation of goods leading to a more competitive market and reduced prices for consumers. An increase in population helps domestic demands – more products bought, more services needed. Disadvantages of joining EU UK cannot afford increase in populati on – heavy demand on schools, NHS and benefits. Influx of immigrants leads to high competition for jobs, fewer jobs for British, more people requiring benefits, impact on UK residents – squeezing funds. Tax increases to fund extra services needed. Exchange rates can influence the balance of payments negatively. Free movement of labour could weaken the economy. Loss of independence. Draining of resources. Since joining the EU the UK’s trading market has suffered a deficit. Overall trade post-1984 has been substandard. Benefits of international trade not shared equally. Outsourcing. Workers and services bought overseas for lower cost meaning UK suffers/loses trade. The balance of payments is the record and measurement of payments and transactions between one country and the rest of the world. It includes imports and exports of goods (visibles) and services (invisibles), tracks the flow and balance of finances ranging from dividends and interest to investment, loans, transfers and trade credit, and the transactions and transfer of capital. These are categorised into three accounts: current, capital and financial. The UK’s gross domestic product rose by 0. 5% in 2011, a rise following two consecutive quarters of negative GDP said to be the oot of the recession. Surplus is when the production of goods or services exceeds the consumption or when goods are in excess of their requirement. A deficit is a deficiency in amount, for example when a company, government or individual’s spending exceeds its income. Long-term deficits stack up huge debts that will have to be paid off eventually causing problems for future generations. Debts must be paid off ideally money would be earned from exportation however sometimes this is not possible and the country will have to borrow or invest to reach repayments. A good example of the result of a long-term deficit is Greece – currently have no advantage in trade of visible goods, their advantage in tourism is not enough to cover their arrears so at first money can be borrowed to make up the difference but then as the loans escalate Greece has to default on its loans knowing they can never repay the money. A rescue plan is now being debated. The largest surpluses in UK trade 2004 were with USA at ? 17. 1 billion. The largest deficit recorded was Germany at ? 12. 3 billion and France (explored later) at ? 3. 2 billion. A country’s wealth is affected by international trade, which is important because of an introduction of new resources, greater efficiency due to competition, greater choice for consumers, greater output through comparative or absolute advantage, specialisation and division of labour. An absolute advantage is when a country is superior at producing a good or service and can make equal or more goods at a lower cost or with fewer resources. Alternatively, a country may have the absolute disadvantage and be totally inefficient at producing anything in comparison to its trading partners. A comparative advantage is when a country specialises in a good or service that it is least inefficient at when compared with producing other goods or services. UK’s absolute advantage is in financial services with a 70% growth it is the UK’s biggest area of exports. International trade is necessary as a business will eventually ‘hit the ceiling’ and simply cannot expand any further in one country. The gains, and sometimes losses, distributed to trading countries are indicated by the terms of trade. It can be defined as a ratio of the country’s average price of exports to the country’s average price of imports. Ideally the price of exports would be greater than the price of its imports, this is known as movement in a ‘favourable direction’. The terms of trade depend upon the global demand and supply of goods. A fall in the price of a product exported by a country can cause a balance of payment deficit, especially when the foreign exchange earned in its exports is used to pay for its imports. Generally over the past 20 years the UK’s terms of trade have been improving, meaning export prices have risen relative to import prices. This is partly due to the fact globalisation has had less impact on export prices of UK invisibles compared to the price of its visible imports. The exchange rate, or rate one currency can be converted into another is constantly changing due to many factors including interest and inflation and the political and economic state of the country in question. A business will want payment in the currency of its country so if the value of the pound falls (meaning less euro for every pound) the UK importer will end up paying more a negative impact on the UK’s finances. The British pound to euro exchange rate on 31/12/09 was 1 GBP = 1. 2 EURO. As of 3/11/11 it stands at 1 GBP = 1. 16 Euro the increase signifies a current benefit to the UK (exchangerates. org. uk). China currently keeps its exchange rate low to have a positive effect on its balance of payments. Generally since 1990 the UK has suffered with a deficit in its balance of visible trade. The figures from The Pink Book show th at in 2004 the UK’s deficit increased to a record ? 58. 6 billion due to a rise of 1 ? % in the value of exports compared to a rise of 5 ? % in the value of imports compounded by a higher ratio of imports to exports. The whole world suffered, with a 2? % increase in exports and a 9? increase in imports in non- EU countries so although the UK had a deficit it was sheltered from extreme rises experienced outside the EU, â€Å"The deficit with non-EU countries widened from ? 22. 0 billion in 2003 to a record ? 29. 5 billion in 2004, the deficit with EU countries widened from ? 25. 8 billion in 2003 to a record ? 29. 2 billion in 2004. † The deficit on goods is far bigger than the surplus on services resulting in an overall decrease on the current trade. The fall of the value of exports in the EU was partly caused by the crackdown on MTIC fraud (businesses wrongfully buying goods VAT free) by UK Revenue and customs. Overall between 1981–2001 export volumes increased. However a decline in economic activity abroad caused the growth in exports to slow during 1991- 1993. By 2004, import volumes had risen significantly more than export volume. A 50% increase in the price of crude oil in 1999, which elevated to 70% in 2000 (The Pink Book 2005 p39) had a huge impact on the UK with both imports and exports due to its ongoing effect on the price of manufacture and distribution of goods. Until 1996 there had been a surplus in the export of crude oil. By 1998, following problems in the North Sea reducing production levels; the surplus had been reduced by ? 5. 0 billion. The figures yo-yoed for the following several years and although there was still a surplus it was significantly reduced with drops in the export of crude oil and an increase on imports. Looking at trade in goods other than oil during 1992 and 1999 there was a steady surplus but there has been a considerable deficit thereafter. In the past decade trade in motor-cars, and other consumer and intermediate goods has been in deficit even though from 1994 – 2004 import in motor- cars has risen; this is visible trade. Figure 2. 6 in the pink book illustrates that the balance of imports (visible trade) were considerably higher than exports (invisible trade), both of which are rising, imports more rapidly than exports, creating an overall growing deficit. As indicated by preceding figures it seems the EU has protected the UK. The deficit in this country has not been as bad as that outside the EU even though trade has worsened since 1984 and our deficit is due to joining the EU. The UK’s absolute disadvantage lies in travel and tourism as people go out of the UK for a holiday. The idea of having one common currency, the Euro, was to evade exchange, interest and trading tariff rates, to have shared monetary policies (including costs of goods and wage rates) and to ease trading in general. With several different currencies things were too intricate and complicated; one currency would eliminate these problems. The UK opted out of joining the euro from the beginning and although the subject is still under debate it looks unlikely that the UK will adopt the Euro. The UK would have to answer to the European Central Bank and lose any monetary control. It is the opinion of some that this would create further economic crises. Greece with its current financial issues blames the Euro and wishes to return to the drachma. 2. The EU has increased from 15 countries to 27. 17 of which have adopted the euro. Currently there are talks about further enlargement of the EU. There is no evidence that the enlargement has helped Britain however we have benefited from cheap labour and great opportunities to UK business and consumers. However this has also been a drawback to UK residents during the recession as jobs were lost as it was much cheaper to take the labour abroad. One of the benefits is foreign direct investment; an example of this is Toyota. Once the company had broken through and cracked the EU market it became the world’s most profitable and second largest manufacturer of automobiles. Examples of businesses that have successfully expanded to France include; BP, ICI, Zeneca, Glaxo-Wellcome, Barclays, RMC, Abbey National and The Woolwich. Some say the EU is ill equipped to deal with its rapid growth being unable to offer sufficient jobs subsequently giving too much away regarding healthcare and benefits. The diversity of the EU in regards to economies, cultures, languages and demographics will get too complicated and global powers will clash. The EU has been accused of being greedy, focusing on size rather than economy, allowing weak states with low GDP growth to become members. The UK has lost most of its manufacturing industry, a recent example is Bombardier who cut more than 1,400 jobs as the last train manufacturing plant in Derby failed to secure a deal which was won by Germany. The UK is not competitive in the industrial market, which is not good for the British economy. The contributions to the EU from the UK are high and some feel it is unbalanced. Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher fought to reduce inflation and increase the amount the UK received by the EU in comparison to its contributions. An enlargement could mean that more countries are going to have to be subsidised by the UK. Advantages of an enlargement lie strongly in unification of states. Being more than a redistribution of wealth, it is a politically, economically and culturally diverse union. Intended to be equal and balanced with an understanding of common good it is a strong way to fight terrorism, in addition to the increased availability of goods to trade freely. Word count: 2,243 3. The Steeple analysis (see appendix figure 2) identifies the current business environment in France. 4. My action plan (see appendix figure 3) examines ways in which a business, using the example of Marks and Spencer, needs to adapt to be successful in France. Appendix Figure 1. Member States of the EU (year of entry) [pic]Austria (1995) |[pic]Latvia (2004) | |[pic]Belgium (1952) |[pic]Lithuania (2004) | |[pic]Bulgaria (2007) |[pic]Luxembourg (1952) | |[pic]Cyprus (2004) |[pic]Malta (2004) | |[pic]Czech Republic (2004) |[pic]Netherlands (1952) | |[pic]Denmark (1973) |[pic]Poland (2004) | |[pic]Estonia (2004) |[pic]Portugal (1986) | |[pic]Finland (1995) |[pic]Romania (2007) | |[pic]France (1952) |[pic]Slovakia (2004) | |[pic]Germany (1952) |[pic]Slovenia (2004) | |[pic]Greece (1981) |[pic]S pain (1986) | |[pic]Hungary (2004) |[pic]Sweden (1995) | |[pic]Ireland (1973) |[pic]United Kingdom (1973) | |[pic]Italy (1952) | | Figure 2. Steeple analysis effecting business in France Social / Demographic |Current population at 2011 stands at 62, 448, 977 | | |20th most populous country in the world in 2003 the natural birth rate of France was responsible for almost all the population| | |growth in the EU. Exploredia. France Population (2011) [online] http://exploredia. com/france-population-2011/ [accessed 3 | | |November 2011] | | | Continuous population growth – 12. 29 births/1,000 population compared to 8. 76 deaths/1,000 population | | |64. 7% of population according to the CIA world fact book (2011) is ranged between 15-64 slightly more males than females 18. 5%| | |are aged 0 – 14 years old again more males than females. 16. % of population is 65 years old + and is the only age range that | | |has more females than males | | |Unemployment stands at 9. 814% Economy Watch Content (2010) France Economy. [online] | | | economywatch. com/world_economy/france/ [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |Employment percentages rank highest in services (71. 8%), industry (24. 3%) then agriculture (3. 8%) | | |Low migration levels 1. 6 migrants/1,000 population | | |Welcomes at least 75 million foreign tourists with Paris as the world’s number one tourist destination. | | |Etiquette and approach to business is more formal than that in the UK however it is important to be polite and welcoming, UK | | |retail staff are more standoffish than those in France. | | |French companies are committed to keeping French culture, or la Patrimoine, taking pride in the products and services they | | |produce and turning over a profit for their shareholders. | |Attitudes to work are more laid back than in the UK, they are more for living life, working only what is necessary, According | | |to the French book, Bonjour Paresse (Hello Laziness), | | |a company can fire you at anytime, you dont owe them any more than the bare minimum in terms of work and devotion. They are | | |nonchalant about time keeping and punctuality. How to understand French culture. EHow contributor. [online] | | | ehow. com/how_2085611_understand-french-attitudes-towards-work. tml#ixzz1cfGP4jjJ [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |Abides by EU standards in terms of minimum wage, qualifications, product testing | | |Language barriers- the French are very proud of their culture and language signs information etc tends to be in French. Often | | |English films and cinema is dubbed. | |Technological |France is a leading exporter in nuclear technology Encylopedia of the nations. (2008) France – Science and Technology [online]| | | nationsencyclopedia. com/Europe/France-SCIENCE-AND-TECHNOLOGY. html [accessed 3 November 2011] | | | Pioneers in the development of high speed transportation systems such as the Concorde and the TGV high speed train | | |Industry includes electronic and automobile products. | |Agriculture made up 2. 1 percent of GDP, while industries contributed 19 percent, 78. 9 percent came from the service sector. | | |(economy watch) | | |High tax subsidy rate to businesses for research and development | | |Large share of research and development expenditure on defence France – center for local development (2011) France. [online] | | | cgdev. rg/section/initiatives/_active/cdi/_country/france [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |Second most developed market for logistics outsourcing in Europe | | |Channel tunnel links UK to France which is high speed and convenient for logistical purposes. | |Economical |France economy is found to be one among the top ten economies over the world in terms of its value of Gross Domestic Product | | |at $2. 555 trillion in 2010. | | |Hosts more than 22,000 forei gn companies. | | |Paris home to a large number of multinational HQs | | |Free market economy with a tendency for state intervention (capitalism). | |Elected officials key to business in country providing funding, state aid and infrastructure to attract businesses | | |The Global Competitive Index 2009-2010 reports favourably on France’s infrastructure as third best globally | | |The Global Competitive Index 2009-2010 reports adversely on labour market flexibility | | |GDP grew by 0. 3% in 2008 and contracted by about 2. 2% in 2009 compared to 4. 8% for UK | | |GDP per capita $33, 100 (2010 est. | | |Grants for industry and services are distributed by the DIACT | | |EU funding programmes include European Social Funding which is aimed at improving social and economical unity and equality by | | |concentrating on improving less-developed areas. Its aims are to increase job availability, quality of jobs and inclusiveness | | |of the labour market. 10% of the EUs spending is used on this type of funding. The Common Agriculture Policy grants payment | | |for crops and land. Its aims are to give farmers a good standard of living and ensure quality of food and fair prices to | | |consumers. Currently 48% of the EUs budget is used on this type of funding. | | |Taxes and other revenues are 48. 8% of GDP (2010 est. ) | | |France inflation rate in 2010 was 1. 64% but declined in 2011 to 1. 61%. | | |The EU is supplied by France for 25% of the total of agricultural products In 2010 France was the 6th largest exporter and 5th| | |largest importer of manufactured goods Economy Watch Content (2010) France Trade Imports and Exports [online] | | | economywatch. om/world_economy/france/export-import. html [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |High levels of FDI types of business, rose by 22 per cent last year, making it the most successful European country at | | |attracting overseas companies. Integrated Financial Services (2011) (FDI) in France [online] | | | ifs. ie/news-articles-and-information-archive/38-fdi-in-france. html [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |The UK sterling to euro foreign exchange rate is currently (GBP/EUR) 1. 6 | |Environmental |An introduction of carbon tax to sup port environment agendas | | |High oil prices and inadequacy of domestic supply creates a current high trade deficit | | |Weather – cool winters and mild summers, hot summers more predominant on the Mediterranean coast | | |Natural hazards; flooding, avalanches, midwinter windstorms, drought, forest fires in south near the Mediterranean | | |Some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, | | |agricultural runoff | | |Low greenhouse gas emissions per capita | |Political |Nicolas Sarkozy elected on a reform agenda – tasked to free French government from its admin burden | | |Aims to increase medium-term growth rate from 2% 3% | | | Aims to achieve full employment by 2012 (with an unemployment rate of 5% at 2010 it was 9. % ongoing affects of the | | |recession) | | |For the sale of goods, or the provision of furnished lettings, a Micro-BIC (Benefices Industriels et Commerciaux) applies, | | |whereby if gross income is less than â‚ ¬81,500 a flat 71% of income is deducted leaving only 29% to be taxed. Angloinfo. (2011) | | |French Income Tax [online] http://riviera. angloinfo. com/countries/france/intax. asp [accessed 3 November 2011] | | |The government also renounced some of its reform efforts, which ultimately led to a reduction of the GDP by 0. 7% | | |France still has one of the highest tax systems in all of Europe. |Legal |Reforms in labour laws such as Sunday trading – emergency services and police and stores selling perishable goods are | | |authorized to open Sundays otherwise regarded as a day of rest, working hours extending the 35 hour week allowing employees to| | |work overtime, business tax and research and development tax credit. | |Ethical |Faith, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion must not influence companies or institutions. | Figure 3. A business plan to be successful in France |Aims |Action |Results | |â€Å"Make what we sell† approach |This will be achieved by employing a French agent or distributor who will know and |High tourism figures would | | |understand the culture and attitudes towards retail and services. Advice regarding |mean that UK travellers would | |Have to appeal to the French |attitudes to staff and the appropriateness of self-service checkouts – may not be |feel comfortable shopping | |market – this includes French |favourable here as the French are more formal (steeple analysis). Fully serviced changing |abroad. Eventually MS would | |cuisine and fashion. Perhaps |rooms, which were not a priority originally. Stores should consider French signage and |become a worldwide-recognised | |introducing an equivalent to |labelling (steeple analysis). Taking all this into account franchising would be a route to|brand. | |the UK’s â€Å"Per Una† range, |take. | | |which fulfils

Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Final Project - Essay Example It is clear that the risk factors associated with the Coca Cola Company are either external, or internal. External factors related to Coca Cola mostly depend on the decisions made by other beverage companies, but internal factors arise from the poor strategies, as well as actions, that Coca Cola company implements. Some of these factors include market rates, government regulations, credit, liquidity and cash flows (Adams, 2005). Market rate is the leading financial risk with regards to Coca Cola. The market changes depending on customer interests, demand, supply and new technology, as well. When these factors reduce, it becomes intricate for Coca Cola Company to acquire loans or credit. This might affect them financially. Government regulation is yet another vital financial risk for the Coca Cola Company. It is, however, an external risk. Governments frequently change existing tariffs, and this put new financial regulations in place. Some modifications are beneficial, but it might ta ke a while before companies adapt to the changes. In addition, this creates a financial risk to Coca Cola (Adams, 2005). Techniques that Coca Cola has incorporated to overcome these factors include improving technology, imposing techniques of attracting customers and increasing their supplies (Adams, 2005). The two-year pro-forma financial statement that this paper looked into suggests that the world is totally dollarized (Academic & Students Affairs, 2012). According to the statement, the world is turning into a free market economy with low inflation. The world is mainly anchored on the service industry, heavily weighted on commerce and tourism (Academic & Students Affairs, 2012). According to the pro-forma statement, the world today is founded mainly on a well-developed service sector, which accounts for roughly 80% of the worlds businesses. According to the statement, the output of products, in an

External Analysis of Shin Shin Training Center Assignment - 1

External Analysis of Shin Shin Training Center - Assignment Example This professional’s help the training institute in ensuring the required skills are laid out for the trainees. It also ensures that the proper staff is hired who are professionals in the services that they provide. There can be new markets that have better yields and may attract new firms. This creates a new platform for new entrants that decrease the profitability for all companies in the industry. There are factors that may affect new entrance that include barriers to entry like rights and patents. The Shin Shin firm has experienced new entries in the market that have their services for data analysis. The company should ensure that they identify the new ways other companies are using and introduce them in their company that will attract new customers. However, since the feedback of services at the center it has remained intact because its proper placed. Products that are outside the common product may increase the customer’s propensity in having alternatives. This creates potential factors of buyer switching costs, price performance, and buyer substitution. Other effects may be a depreciation of products and creating substandard products. Shin Shin company has a variety of courses, and the students can choose from, that are of quality. Their courses are not expensive which attract new customers due to price performance. This refers to the market of outputs where customers put the firm under pressure in terms of price changes. Companies can have the power to reduce buyer power using loyalty program. This means that when a buyer has many alternatives then their buyer power increases (Porter, 2008). The students who apply to the center for training usually compare prices with other firms. However, the Shin Shin Company has seen its loyalty programs remain intact since the value it gives students is high. Suppliers bargaining power is described as the market inputs where they can be a source of power in the firm when

Chicano Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chicano Movement - Essay Example Luis Valdez was a Mexican American who hailed from a family of migrant farm workers. Valdez’s parents, Francisco and Armida Valdez, moved from farm to farm as hired hands where Valdez was also expected to help out in order the support to the big family of 10 children that his parents had. Even though Valdez was expected to both work and read and his schools kept changing, Valdez attained a strong position for himself as a student excelling in performing arts (Meier, 230). Luis Valdez is the father of Chicano Theatre. This is because he formed the El Teatro Campesino which served as the first platform for performing arts for the Chicano Movement. Valdez’s love for the performing arts began when his school teacher introduced him to puppet art. Later during his college and university days, Valdez pursued the love and created his own theatre group. The purpose of this theatre group was to bring the plight of the Mexican Americans to the forefront. Valdez began working in theatre during his college days at San Jose State College. In 1963, he introduced his first play. The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa was one play that Valdez directed and wrote during his time in San Jose State College. After leaving college, Valdez went on to join a Mime Troupe based in San Francisco. It was from here that Valdez learned the method of using theatre as a platform for expressing his own pent up anger. It was on the basis of this work that Valdez formed his theatre group in 1965. This was a group that toured different cities and enacted short one-act plays, also known as an actor.

Company Background And Market Analysis Of Mcdonalds

Company Background And Market Analysis Of Mcdonalds McDonalds is the leading global foodservice retailer and the worlds largest chain of hamburgers fast food restaurant. It is founded in year 1955 by Ray Kroc. McDonalds serves more than  60 million people with more than 32,000 local restaurants in 117 countries each day. It employs more than 1.5 million people. More than 75% of McDonalds restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women. Source From the table above, since year 2004 until year 2008, even until now, McDonalds is still the number choice of customers when come to fast food follow by Burger King and Wendys. In year 2008, Subway took over Wendys place and ranked at number three. Besides that, The Star Online stated that McDonalds is ranked in the top 10 most valuable brands in 2010 and it is placed at number six. Top 10 most Valuable Brands in 2010 Rank Brand Value ($bn) 1 Coca-cola 70.45 2 IBM 64.73 3 Microsoft 60.90 4 Google 43.56 5 GE 42.81 6 McDonalds 33.58 7 Intel 32.02 8 Nokia 29.5 9 Disney 28.73 10 HP 26.87 Source: Company Situation Mission Statement: McDonalds vision is to be the worlds best quick service restaurant experience.   Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile. Values: We place the customer experience at the core of all we do. We are committed to our people. We believe in the McDonalds system. We operate out business ethically. We give back to our communities. We grow our business profitably. We strive continually to improve. Management Overview McDonalds management is very successful as it exports its brands throughout the globe. The company operates McDonalds restaurants as well as franchises. There are 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries at year-end 2009, and there are 26,216 were operated by franchisees and 6,262 were operated by the Company. Under franchise arrangement, a portion of the capital have to be provided by franchisees to invest in their restaurant businesses for the equipment, signs, seating and decorations, reinvesting in the business is needed from time to time. Financial Situation Revenues by geographic Segment: McDonalds largest geographical market is Europe, accounted for 41% of the total revenues in the year 2009 which is mainly driven by France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Revenues are generated through other geographic segments: United States (US),  Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) and other countries and corporate are 35%, 19% and 5% respectively. From McDonalds 2009 annual report, we can see that its total revenues from the US reached $7,944 millions in year 2009, a decrease of 1.7% over year 2008. Revenues from Europe were $9,274 million in year 2009, a decrease of 6.5% compared to year 2008. While revenues from APMEA reached $4,337 million in year 2008, an increase of 2.4% compared with year 2008. Revenues from other countries and corporate reached $1,190 millions in year 2009, a decrease of 7.8% over year 2008. The total operating income and assets in US shows favourable results where the figures keep increasing since year 2007 to year 2009. Total capital expenses in US show improvement as well where the expenditure is lesser in year 2009 compared to year 2008. Market Share: According to Jim Muehlhausen, McDonalds had occupied 19% of the total market share in the fast food industry. While its closest competitors: Burger King and Wendys accounted 2% individually. Pie Chart below shows the market share of the major players in the fast food industry. Source: Market Situation Sector Trends The land size of United Statess is at 3.79 million square miles, according to U.S. Bureau of Census, with the total population of 307,006,500 in July 2009, it is the third largest both by land area and population. The table on the left shows the population in United States in July 2009 according to states. Segmentation The market is segmented by demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural. Targeting McDonalds target market is people who love fast food. The demand of fast food is increasing nowadays as everyone is practicing faster paced lifestyles. Macdonalds target market is: children, students, working adults and families who are from five to seventy years old. Students tend to spend their time to socialize with their friends in fast food restaurants compare to other restaurants as it offers affordable prices and trendy ambiences. Besides that, due to the hectic schedule, fast food restaurant is always the number one choice for working adults to have their meals as it offers quick services. Kids simply love fast food, hence, the parents will bring their children to fast food restaurants to have family meals. Positioning McDonalds outlets are located mostly in high population states such as: Florida, New York, Texas, Illinois and Ohio. They were built near office buildings, schools, in shopping malls, etc., which are high visibility, traffic volume and ease of access areas. State July 2009 population Alabama 4,708,708 Alaska 698,473 Arizona 6,595,778 Arkansas 2,889,450 California 36,961,664 Colorado 5,024,748 Connecticut 3,518,288 Delaware 885,122 DC 599,657 Florida 18,537,969 Georgia 9,829,211 Hawaii 1,295,178 Idaho 1,545,801 Illinois 12,910,409 Indiana 6,423,113 Iowa 3,007,856 Kansas 2,818,747 Kentucky 4,314,113 Louisiana 4,492,076 Maine 1,318,301 Maryland 5,699,478 Massachusetts 6,593,587 Michigan 9,969,727 Minnesota 5,266,214 Mississippi 2,951,996 Missouri 5,987,580 Montana 974,989 Nebraska 1,796,619 Nevada 2,643,085 New Hampshire 1,324,575 New Jersey 8,707,739 New Mexico 2,009,671 New York 19,541,453 North Carolina 9,380,884 North Dakota 646,844 Ohio 11,542,645 Oklahoma 3,687,050 Oregon 3,825,657 Pennsylvania 12,604,767 Rhode Island 1,053,209 South Carolina 4,561,242 South Dakota 812,383 Tennessee 6,296,254 Texas 24,782,302 Utah 2,784,572 Vermont 621,760 Virginia 7,882,590 Washington 6,664,195 West Virginia 1,819,777 Wisconsin 5,654,774 Wyoming 544,270 Total 307,006,550 McDonalds target market and its market segmentation: Children Youth Adults Elderly Demographic Age 5 to 12 13 to 25 26-54 55-70 Occupation Students Students/Part-timers Part-timer/Full-timer/Self-employed Retired Income 1000 to 2500 >2500 Pensions and savings Geographic Within United States Psychographic Interests Entertainment Entertainment, leisure Entertainment, leisure Enjoyment Lifestyle Dependent Aggressive Aggressive Slow and steady Behavioural Occasions Birthday party Birthday party, gathering Gathering, anniversary Anniversary McDonalds SWOT analysis Strengths Strong global presence with its nearest domestic competitor being only half of its size. The market leader in both domestic and international markets. Strong brand recognition Ranked number one in Fortune Magazines 2008 list of most admired food service companies Having more than 32,000 local restaurants in 117 countries. First to come out with nutrition facts information on its products. Weaknesses Lack of product innovation. High cost for employee training due to high employee turnover. Opportunities Its outlets are located in high visibility, traffic volume and ease of access areas. International market Advances in technology Threats Saturated food industries. Price competition between competitors. More health conscious customers and fast food is categorized as unhealthy food. PESTLE implications Political According McDonalds 2009 annual report, foreign currency translation had a negative impact on McDonalds consolidated operating results in year 2009 which is driven by the Euro, Russian Ruble, British Pound, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. While in year 2008 and 2007, the foreign translation had positive impact on its consolidated operating results. The table below shows how the foreign currency translation affect McDonalds consolidated operating results. Economical With its franchises in US, McDonalds provide a lot of job opportunities to the US people to reduce the unemployment level in that country. McDonalds is hiring up to 600 part-timers to work in its outlets throughout the Las Vegas area which is with 14.2% of unemployment level. Social Fast foods lead to obesity problems in America as they are high in fats, calories, sugar and salt. Rates of obesity in America are keep increasing obesity will leads to other diseases like heart diseases, diabetes, etc. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) said that a person will gain an average weight of 10 pounds if he or she ate fast food two or more times in a week. Pew Research Centre reported that almost 20% of Americans eat fast food at least twice a week after the survey is conducted. As the health concern is increased among the Americans, they tend not take less fast food as it have been seen as unhealthy food. To conquer the problems, McDonalds comes out with nutrition facts charts on selected packaging and menu information for customers to have guidelines for the food intake and meet their nutrition desires. Sample nutrition facts are shown in the pictures below. Technology With the technology, McDonalds serves burgers and fries to the customers in minutes time, McDonalds was the first to have touch-screen computers at the front counter and drive-thru to serve customers faster and easier when they ordering food. There are also touch screen self-ordering kiosks for customers to order food by themselves. Besides that, McDonalds uses Wayport for high speed connectivity to the internet. Legal McDonalds has been involved in legal cases which most of them are trademark disputes where many food businesses are using Mc or Mac because of McDonalds strong brand recognition. Environmental To reduce the impacts on environment, McDonalds uses 3Rs approaches: reduce, reuse and recycle. There is 82% of McDonald packaging are made from renewable materials at the moment. Besides that, cooking oil is recycled to be reused in variety products such as environmentally friendly biodiesel. Competitors situation and SWOT McDonalds closest competitors are Burger King Corporation and Wendys International Incorporation. Burger King Burger King is founded in year 1954 by McLamore and Edgerton. It has more than 12,200 outlets in 73 countries, however, 66% of its outlets are located in United States and 90% of them are privately owned and operated. It is having more than 38,800 employees serving about 11.4 million customers in daily basis. Strengths Second largest fast food hamburger restaurant Strong brand equity Weaknesses Heavily concentrated in US market Relies heavily on its franchises Opportunities International market Advances in technology Threats Changing consumer habits towards healthier food choices Intense competition with the competitors Increasing labour costs Wendys Wendys is founded in year 1969 by Dave Thomas. It is an international fast food chain restaurant which ranked as the worlds third largest hamburger fast food chain. In year 2009, there are 6,541 restaurants worldwide where 1,391 are company restaurant and 5,150 are franchise restaurants, majority of them 77 are located at North America. Wendys employs 46,000 people worldwide. Strengths Third largest hamburger fast food chain restaurant Global brand Strong supply chain Weaknesses Concentrated in North America market Having management problems Relies on franchises Opportunities International market Advances in technology Threats Strong competitors Increase in beef prices Fast food have been seen as unhealthy food Objectives and Assumptions Assumptions During the preparation of a marketing plan, there are few assumptions being made upon it where there will be no large fluctuation particularly on Foreign Exchange variance. Besides that, it is crucial to take variances such as economy crisis, natural disasters that will have impacts on McDonalds business into consideration during the preparation of a marketing plan. Objectives These marketing objectives are what McDonalds is trying to achieve on the three following years of its operations by using SMART criteria which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely: Marketing: Specific To increase market share. To increase new product awareness. Measurable To increase the market share by 5%. To have an increase of 18% on new product awareness. Achievable Advertisements on the new product to grab customers attention. More franchisees to open new franchises. Realistic Fast-paced lifestyle leads to higher demand as more customers prefer fast food nowadays. Timely To increase market share by 5% yearly start from 2010. To have an increase in product awareness by 18% start from 2010. Financial: Specific To increase overall sales revenue. To reduce cost of sales. Measurable Increase sales revenue by 8%. Reduce the cost of sales by 5%. Achievable Higher demand for fast food. Realistic McDonalds order raw materials in bulk to get cheaper prices and reduce cost. Advertising stimulate customers appetite and increase sales. Timely Sales revenue increases by 8% annually start from year 2010. Cost of sales reduces by 5% yearly start from 2010. Societal: Specific Provide healthier fast food. To make product more environmental friendly. Reduce electric and water consumption and wastage. Measurable RD at 8% of sales on healthier food recipe in year 2010. Reduce energy consumption and wastage by 3%. Achievable Reduce in fats, calories, sugar and salt in the products. Electric and water consumption is reduced by using them wisely Realistic 82% of McDonald packaging are made from renewable materials Timely Electric and water consumption and wastage is to be reduced by 3% monthly start from January 2010. Strategy Marketing Mix Marketing mix is all about putting the right product in the right place, at the right price and at the right time to boost sales and hence generate higher profit. Product McDonalds primarily sells hamburgers, chicken products, cheeseburgers, breakfast items, lunch items, french fries, soft drinks, shakes and also desserts. McDonalds should innovates its products continuously as people tend to change their preference and tastes from time to time. Without product innovations, customer will get bored to eat the same food over and over again. With its strong brand recognition, McDonalds serves its customers within minutes from ordering until they get their food with world class food quality by using fresh ingredients and excellent product features. Its staffs are trained to provide fast and excellent services to the customers. McDonalds product packaging is environmental friendly and 100% recyclable to reduce the negative impacts on the environment. Questionnaires have to be prepared from time to time to get feedbacks from the customers so that McDonalds have an idea to improve on its products and environments by following customers preferences. As people starts to practice healthy lifestyles, McDonalds includes salads, wraps and fruit into its menu. Besides that, McDonalds comes out with nutrition facts table and charts for people to have guidelines for their food intake and to meet their nutrition desires. The sample nutrition facts table for McDonalds USA is shown below. Source: Price McDonalds uses value-based pricing and psychological pricing on its products. One example for psychological pricing is $3.59 instead of $3.60 and $4.99 instead of $5. In customers perception of saving, they look at the items with prices ending with  £0.95 or  £0.99 more favourable as compare to  £1.00 as example although there are only  £0.05 and  £0.01 difference. The prices are set where they are reasonable and affordable by the customers. It uses value pricing strategies  on some of its products where they are cheaper to buy in a set compared to ala carte such as: happy meal, combo meal,  family meal, breakfast and lunch sets to increase overall sales volumes. Discounts coupons should be given out from time to time to attract new customers and to boost sales in those particular periods. Place McDonalds outlets are located in high visibility, traffic volume and ease of access areas. Most of its outlets consist of the distribution channels. It is important so that the product is available to the customer all the time. In United States, there are nearly 50% of McDonalds outlets can be reached by driving within three minutes. McDonalds gives certain level of satisfaction, fun as well as happiness each time they dine at McDonalds as it offers better ambience, hygienic environment and also great services. Free Wi-Fi with high speed connectivity to internet is provided to customers for them to access to internet to do business and entertainment when they are dining. Besides that, children will not easily get bored when they just sit and eat as they can have fun at the playgrounds in the restaurants while their parents have some time to spend together. Every McDonalds outlets have Drive-Thru to make customers who want to take away more convenient and fast. Besides that, quick del ivery to households is provided with a little charge. Promotion McDonalds uses various promotion channels to effectively communicate the product information to the customers as it has clear understanding of the customer value that helps to decide whether the promotion cost is worth spending or not. McDonalds three main advertising objectives are to make people aware of its product, having position perception about it and remember it. It does its advertising promotions through televisions, radios, hoardings and also bus shelters. Printed ads in newspapers and magazines and television programmes are one of its important marketing medium too to stimulate customers appetite. Besides that, McDonalds is doing sales promotion too. Customers can enjoy McDonalds breakfast and lunch sets in cheaper price in a certain period of the day. Besides that, discount coupons will be given to customers from time to time for them to enjoy McDonalds foods in cheaper prices. Kids simply love to celebrate their birthday parties in McDonalds. Hence, McDonalds can give special discounts and gifts to the birthday kids so that they will come back next year and tell it to their friends. Forecast and implications McDonalds three years forecasts and budgets (Dollars in millions) 2009 2010 2011 2012 Objective comment Sales 7944 8580 9266 10007 Improve by 8% yearly Cost 659 626 595 565 Reduce by 5% annually Profit 7285 7954 8671 9442 Increases by around 8% yearly It is forecasted that McDonalds in United States will meet its financial objective where its sales increase steadily by 8% yearly start from year 2010 while its cost reduces by 5% annually. Hence, the profit will be increasing by around 8% yearly start from 2010. Metrics McDonalds is using metric strategy in order to measure whether it can achieve its objectives or not. Marketing metric: Objectives Metrics To increase market share Measure by number of new franchises opening yearly Increase product awareness among target audiences Calculated by the sales of the particular product after advertising promotion is done Financial metric: Objectives Metrics Increase sales revenue Product sales is measured by dollars annually Reduce cost of sales Cost of sales is measured by dollars yearly Societal metric: Objectives Metrics Provide healthier fast food Measure by the percentage of fats, calories, sugar and salt in the products Reduce electrical and water consumption and wastage Calculate by the electric and water bills monthly More environmental friendly Measure by the percentage of its packaging that using recyclable materials Conclusion As the conclusion, although McDonalds is number one in fast food industry, it should keep improving its business in term of marketing, financial and social to be better in the future. McDonalds can get feedback from the customers to know what they prefer, how they want McDonalds to change so that McDonalds know what action it should takes to improve itself. With new product innovations and healthier fast food, McDonalds will be more successful. Word Count: 2275 words

Essay on Verbal and Situational Irony in The Pardoner’s Tale of Chaucer

The Pardoner’s Tale:  Ã‚  Use of Verbal and Situational Irony  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale,† Geoffrey Chaucer masterfully frames an informal homily.   Through the use of verbal and situational irony, Chaucer is able to accentuate the moral characteristics of the Pardoner.   The essence of the story is exemplified by the blatant discrepancy between the character of the storyteller and the message of his story.   By analyzing this contrast, the reader can place himself in the mind of the Pardoner in order to account for his psychology.   In the Prologue of the tale, the Pardoner clearly admits that he preaches for nothing but for the greed of gain.   His sermons revolve around the biblical idea that â€Å"the love of money is the root of all evil† (1 Timothy 6:10).   Ironically, however, the Pardoner condemns the very same vice that he lives by, as he proclaims â€Å"avarice is the theme that I employ in all my sermons, to make the people free in giving pennies—especially to me†.   Thus, covetousness is both the substance of his sermons as well as the mechanism upon which he thrives. He clearly states that repentance is not the central aim of his preaching, by mentioning â€Å"my mind is fixed on what I stand to win and not upon correcting sin†. Rather, his foremost intention is to acquire as many shillings as he can in exchange for his meaningless pardons.   In this regard, one can argue that although the Pardoner is evil, he is not a dissembler.   His psychology is clearly not guided by hypocrisy because he does not conceal his intentions under false pretences.   Chaucer clouds the genuine nature of the Pardoner’s psychology in ambiguity.   Upon r... ...nations of his thought processes, it is clear that the Pardoner does not practice what he preaches.   It is ambiguous, however, as to whether the Pardoner believes what he preaches, but just doesn’t follow his preaches or whether he doesn’t believe what he preaches at all.   It is evident, though, that the Pardoner has an astute mind.   He is highly effective in what he does.   Although he exploits the church for his own personal designs, he succeeds at obtaining that which he pursues.   The efficacy of his strategy is confirmed by Chaucer’s description of the Pardoner as being a â€Å"noble ecclesiastic† and as being unmatched in his trade .   Thus amidst all of his flatteries, there exists a spark of genius that complements his minimal level of ethics.   This intellectual finesse is the riverbed from which all of the products of his mind flow.

If this is a Man, by Primo Levi Essay

 « Mais l’Allemand comprit, et parla d’un ton grave à   l’interprà ¨te en indiquant quelqu’un ; alors nous avons vu l’interprà ¨te avaler sa salive, puis il dit :  « L’adjudant vous demande d’à ´ter votre bandage, on vous donnera celui de M. Coen.  » Ces mots-là   avaient à ©tà © prononcà ©s d’un ton amer, c’à ©taient le genre d’humour qui plaisait à   l’Allemand.  » (P28) This passage is from the book written by Primo Levi, If this is a Man. Primo Levi was an Italian Jewish who had been deported to a concentration camp and then to a forced-labor camp near Auschwitz. He writes this book to show people from other religion and even people in general who didn’t know what was really going one, and tell the truth about those camps. In this book, Primo Levi talks about the ghastly conditions in which prisoners were living in and the atrocious treatment they suffered from. Unfortunately, Primo Levi was only one man in the middle of millions of other people who suffered from this racial policy. Even if they just arrived the deportees with whom Primo Levi was with, they assisted at the humiliation of one of them; in despite of the serious tone of the German, we can see that humiliating people is one of the jokes the Germans like. Or maybe, conversely, not all the Germans were approving this humiliation technique because he didn’t laugh at all when he said the ‘joke’, he didn’t even smile or look satisfied. But it is more likely that he was just trying to humiliate them, like he maybe did with lots of others prisoners before and after them. The fact that the German says to M. Bergmann, who had to wear a truss, that he had to remove it and take the one of M. Cohen rather come from mistreatment than other thing. This was one way the Germans felt that they had all the powers, that they would have been able to do everything, and humiliating Jewish was one of those things, to feel powerful and to take advantage of it. This can be a result of the end of World War I where the Germans had been humiliated to death, and they wanted a revenge and the Jewish where only a punchbag. The mistreatment and the humiliation add to the reality of this extract, the fact that Germans who hated Jewish humiliate and mistreat them was more likely to happen. The truss history is probably unique or it may have happen a few times but it’s not something people get easily. I think that it really happened and that, and even if it did not take place, there is a good probability that an event like this one really take place. This passage is typical for the mentality of the Germans, the way that they operate before with the concentration camp and the extermination camp but it is exceptional in the way that even if they make the Jews become like beasts the Germans are still trying to humiliate them a maximum and used everything from them, from their energy to their hair. [pic] Second Gobbet  « Et mà ªme si Null Achtzehn n’est pas particulià ¨rement à ©prouvà © physiquement, personne ne veut travailler avec lui. Car tout lui est à   ce point indiffà ©rent qu’il ne se soucie mà ªme plus d’à ©viter la fatigue et les coups, ni de chercher de quoi manger. Il exà ©cute tous les ordres qu’on lui donne, et il est fort probable que lorsqu’on l’enverra à   la mort, il ira avec la mà ªme indiffà ©rence.  » (P60) This passage is from the book written by Primo Levi, If this is a Man. Primo Levi was an Italian Jewish who had been deported to a concentration camp and then to a forced-labor camp near Auschwitz. He writes this book to show people from other religion and even people in general who didn’t know what was really going one, and tell the truth about those camps. In this book, Primo Levi talks about the ghastly conditions in which prisoners were living in and the atrocious treatment they suffered from. Unfortunately, Primo Levi was only one man in the middle of millions of other people who suffered from this racial policy. Null Achtzehn was a young boy when he first entered in the camp; normally children and adolescent don’t survive in camps because they are a too big threat for the Germans. In his case, the Germans make him become like a machine, he’s indifferent to everything around him, and he’s like the perfect prisoner they want everyone to be, only doing what you are ordered to do, always obeying to what they said, like if he wasn’t human anymore. The fact that he didn’t care about being tired or beaten add to the similarity between Null Achtzehn and a machine or moreover a zombie. No one in the camp wanted to work with him because they didn’t want to be affected and become like him, to become no one. Working with him could have made other prisoners give up on all their efforts to keep their humanity and to survive through all of this. A step to keep their humanity was too keep their names, trying to remember who they were. Null Achtzehn lost his humanity when people began to call him ‘Null Achtzehn’ which are the numbers zero and eighteen in German; they are the last numbers of his tattoo. It is a strange thing that the Germans let a young boy stay alive in a camp. Hitler was thinking that children could be a harm for them because, when they grow up, they could rebel against the German government. The Nazis assassinated 1.5 millions of children, in total. For them, they were only eating food for nothing because they were too young to work but exceptions can happen sometimes so it is no impossible that Null Achtzehn was young when he first came in the camp, and having no family or tutor to guide him may have help his transition into a machine and a number. This passage is exceptional, it is a really strange thing that the Germans let this child alive even if he has nothing human left inside him; maybe they saw no more harm in him anymore. http://www.lettres.ac-versailles.fr/spip.php?article468 http://craunkids.pbworks.com/w/page/23522934/Who%20did%20Hitler%20kill%20and%20why Third Gobbet  « Chacun de nous sort nu du Tagesraum dans l’air froid d’octobre, franchit au pas de course sous les yeux des trois hommes les quelques pas qui sà ©parent les deux portes, remet sa fiche au SS et rentre par la porte du dortoir. Le SS, pendant la fraction de seconde qui s’à ©coule entre un passage et l’autre, dà ©cide du sort de chacun en nous jetant un coup d’oeil de face et de dos, et passe la fiche à   l’homme de droite ou à   celui de gauche : ce qui signifie pour chacun de nous la vie ou la mort. Une baraque de deux cents hommes est  « faite  » en trois ou quatre minutes, et un camp entier de douze mille hommes en un aprà ¨s-midi. Moi, comprimà © dans l’amas de chair vivante, j’ai senti peu à   peu la pression se relà ¢cher de moi, et rapidement mon tour est venu. Comme les autres, je suis passà © d’un pas souple à ©nergique, en cherchant à   tenir la tà ªte haute, la poitrine bombà ©e et les muscles tendus et saillants. Du coin de l’œil, j’ai essayà © de regarder par-dessus mon à ©paule et il m’a semblà © voir ma fiche passer à   droite. Au fur et à   mesure que nous rentrons dans le dortoir, nous pouvons nous rhabiller. Personne ne connaà ®t encore avec certitude son propre destin, avant tout il faut savoir si les fiches condamnà ©es sont celles de droite ou de gauche. Dà ©sormais ce n’est plus la peine de se mà ©nager les uns les autres ou d’avoir des scrupules superstitieux. Tout le monde se prà ©cipite autour des plus vieux, des plus dà ©crà ©pits, des plus  « musulmans  » : si leurs fiches sont allà ©es à   gauche, on peut à ªtre sà »r que la gauche est le cà ´tà © des condamnà ©s.  » (P199-200) This passage is from the book written by Primo Levi, If this is a Man. Primo Levi was an Italian Jewish who had been deported to a concentration camp and then to a forced-labor camp near Auschwitz. He writes this book to show people from other religion and even people in general who didn’t know what was really going one, and tell the truth about those camps. In this book, Primo Levi talks about the ghastly conditions in which prisoners were living in and the atrocious treatment they suffered from. Unfortunately, Primo Levi was only one man in the middle of millions of other people who suffered from this racial policy. In the camp, you live in atrocious conditions, you’re undernourished, you have to work until you die of exhaustion and your life is controlled by men who can decide at any time if you will live or die. This is what happens in the passage, a SS just take the cards of the prisoners who are naked outside and just choose the ones who can continue to work or not; the ones who will survive in the camp or not. It was a terrible emotional ordeal for the prisoners, because they have one chance on two to survive, or they’ll die; all of it depends if the SS put their cards to the left or to the right but after the trick is to know which one of these stacks will die. The way the SS choose is not only because they like the prisoner or not but mostly on his capacity to work or not. This is how a life of a deported looked like in a forced-labored camp: you wake up every morning in a little bed that you’re sharing with someone you don’t even know in the middle of two hundred other men then, you go to work for the day – of course, during the day, you have meals but only in small quantities – then you come back to your ‘Block’ and you get back to bed with the stranger. And you repeat that until you are too tired or you get ill that you can’t work anymore and then you’ll be exterminate. This entire act is only to use the Jewish, make them work to death and then kill them and sometimes they play with them, like in this passage. This passage is more likely to have taken place because we often heard about the well-organization of the Germans. And the SS wasn’t completely taking cards and just saying that this person should die or not because he likes them or not, he was looking at if they were in good shape to work or not. I’m sure this passage had really happen, it coordinates perfectly with their mentality and how they acted before with the Jewish. We always heard that the Jewish were mistreated and this confirmed that they were taken as beasts. This extract was typical for the German’s way of thinking but exceptional for us to imagine that we let people do that to other human just on the pretext that their blood weren’t ‘pure’.

Free Essays on My Dad

My Dad The first six years of my life were the best. I lived with my dad, my mom, and my younger brother in an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Every season of every year is worth remembering. In the fall, Mom and I would go across the street to Central Park, stand among the scores of people, and cheer for Dad, who ran the New York City Marathon virtually every year. When my dad ran, he had self-satisfaction in his eyes and perseverence in his heart. In the winter, Dad would carry me on his shoulders through the snow-covered "Great Lawn" in the heart of Central Park. I remember one time when he took me ice-skating near there. In the spring, Dad would bike-ride through Central Park; I would be buckled in the seat behind him, loving every minute of our field trip. In the summer, we would all go to my cousins' house in New Jersey for a great family reunion full of kisses, hugs, games, and of course, barbeque. Every minute I spent with my Dad was a wonderful adven ture that was always exciting†¦especially the Harlem Globetrotters game that my best friend and I went to with our dads. I remember when I was about four, I always wanted to ride the Merry-go-Round in Central Park. Dad accompanied me there and I couldn't wait to sit on the horse as if I was a little cowgirl. As we stood in line, I felt the excitement in my bones. Then, it was my turn. I got on the Merry-go-Round, sat on my horse, and the Merry-go-Round began to "go-round". I flipped out. I wanted to get off that horse, it was scaring me so much. Dad got me down off the horse and we sat together in one of the seats on the carousel and enjoyed the remainder of the ride. Another time, when I was maybe in the third grade, my mom had to go away on business, so I had the benefit of spending the entire weekend with my dad†¦and my brother. Dad allowed me to have a few friends over for a sleepover at the apartment[with my mother's approval, of course... Free Essays on My Dad Free Essays on My Dad My Dad The first six years of my life were the best. I lived with my dad, my mom, and my younger brother in an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Every season of every year is worth remembering. In the fall, Mom and I would go across the street to Central Park, stand among the scores of people, and cheer for Dad, who ran the New York City Marathon virtually every year. When my dad ran, he had self-satisfaction in his eyes and perseverence in his heart. In the winter, Dad would carry me on his shoulders through the snow-covered "Great Lawn" in the heart of Central Park. I remember one time when he took me ice-skating near there. In the spring, Dad would bike-ride through Central Park; I would be buckled in the seat behind him, loving every minute of our field trip. In the summer, we would all go to my cousins' house in New Jersey for a great family reunion full of kisses, hugs, games, and of course, barbeque. Every minute I spent with my Dad was a wonderful adven ture that was always exciting†¦especially the Harlem Globetrotters game that my best friend and I went to with our dads. I remember when I was about four, I always wanted to ride the Merry-go-Round in Central Park. Dad accompanied me there and I couldn't wait to sit on the horse as if I was a little cowgirl. As we stood in line, I felt the excitement in my bones. Then, it was my turn. I got on the Merry-go-Round, sat on my horse, and the Merry-go-Round began to "go-round". I flipped out. I wanted to get off that horse, it was scaring me so much. Dad got me down off the horse and we sat together in one of the seats on the carousel and enjoyed the remainder of the ride. Another time, when I was maybe in the third grade, my mom had to go away on business, so I had the benefit of spending the entire weekend with my dad†¦and my brother. Dad allowed me to have a few friends over for a sleepover at the apartment[with my mother's approval, of course...

The Most Populated Countries in the World

The Most Populated Countries in the World The world is a populous place (7.6 billion people as of mid-2017) and ever-growing. Even as some regions of the world grow slowly or are even shrinking (the more developed economies), other regions of the world are growing quickly (the least-developed nations). Add in the fact that people live longer due to improvements in medicine and infrastructure (such as sanitation and water treatment), and Earth is expected to see an increase in population for decades to come. Its slower growth than in decades past but still going up. Key Takeaways: World Population Asia has three-quarters of the worlds population.Global population is increasing, though slower than in past decades.Africa will likely be the location of most of the worlds population growth for the rest of the century.The poorest countries are expected to grow the fastest, straining their governments to provide services. Population and Measures of Fertility One measure used to forecast population growth is based on the fertility of a nation or the size of families that people have. Replacement level fertility of a population is considered 2.1 children born to every woman in a country. If a nation has a 2.1 fertility rate, it is not growing at all, just replacing the people that it already has. In highly developed industrial economies, especially those where there are more aged and elderly people than young people, the fertility rate is near the replacement level or below. Part of the reason why developed economies have lower fertility is that women there have more opportunities to contribute to the economy and put off childbearing until later, after higher education and entry into the workforce. Women in developed economies also have fewer pregnancies during their teen years. The world overall fertility rate is 2.5; in the 1960s, it was around double that. In the 25 fastest-growing countries, the fertility rate is 4.7 to 7.2 births per woman, according to World Bank data. Percentage-wise, the world is growing about 1.1% per year or 83 million people. The United Nations projects the world will have 8.6 billion by 2030 and 11.2 billion in 2100, though the growth rate has been slowing for decades. Where Population Is Growing The most populous area of the world is Asia, as its home to three of the top four and half of the top 10 most populated nations (placing Russia in Europe). Sixty percent of the worlds people live in Asia, or about 4.5 billion. More than half of the expected population growth of 2.2 billion people by 2050 will be in Africa (1.3 billion), and Asia will likely be the No. 2 contributor to the world population growth. India is growing more quickly than China (which is projected to be relatively stable until 2030 and then fall slightly thereafter) and likely will take over the No. 1 spot on the list after 2024, when both countries are expected to have 1.44 billion people. Elsewhere on the planet, growth is forecast to be more modest, closer to 1% than 2%. Africas increase in population over the coming decades will be due to high fertility rates there. Nigeria is poised to take over the No. 3 location on the most populous countries list by 2030, as each woman there has 5.5 children in her family. Population growth is expected to be high in the least-developed nations of the world. Of the 47 least-developed countries, 33 are in Africa. The UN expects this large amount of growth in the poorest countries to strain these countries ability to care for the poor, fight hunger, expand education and health care, and provide other basic services. Where Population Is Shrinking   The UNs projections for 2050 show only one region actually decreasing in population, Europe, especially some countries in eastern Europe, where numbers could fall more than 15%. The United States population is projected to fall as well when based on UN fertility projections, but longer life expectancies and immigration keep the population on the rise slightly in forecasts, according to Pew Research. The UN noted in its 2017 report: The ten most populous countries with below replacement fertility are China, the United States of America, Brazil, the Russian Federation, Japan, Viet Nam, Germany, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Thailand, and the United Kingdom (in order of population size).   Most Populous Countries These nations each have a population of more than 55 million and together represent about 75% of the worlds residents. The data are estimates from mid-2017: China: 1,410,000,000India: 1,339,000,000United States: 324,000,000Indonesia: 264,000,000Brazil: 209,000,000Pakistan: 197,000,000Nigeria: 191,000,000Bangladesh: 165,000,000Russia: 144,000,000Mexico: 129,000,000Japan: 127,000,000Ethiopia: 105,000,000Philippines: 105,000,000Egypt: 98,000,000Vietnam: 96,000,000Germany: 82,000,000Democratic  Republic of the Congo: 81,000,000Iran: 81,000,000Turkey: 81,000,000Thailand: 69,000,000United Kingdom: 62,000,000France: 65,000,000Italy: 59,000,000Tanzania: 57,000,000South Africa: 57,000,000 Source United Nations Population Division World Population Prospects

White paper on environmental friendly cars Research

White on environmental friendly cars - Research Paper Example As life kept going, different inventions took birth that enraptured the world. As a consequence, in the late 1600’s the first steam-powered vehicle was built. This led to the birth of a sequence of different generations of automobiles. Since the Industrial Revolution in 1760, fossil fuels replaced manual manufacturing processes, and in consequence of this car engines had started to be produced so as to run on the combustion of fossil fuels. For many years, even to this day, this has continued; initially the world had not known what unprecedented effect the excessive burning of fossil fuels would produce, but in the 1960’s a new discovery was made: this was Global Warming. This led environmentalists and scientists to thoroughly exhaust the subject and conclude that the excessive burning of fossil fuels is verily causing climate changes all over the world, and so it befitted the term ‘Global Warming’ (Sperling et al, 2009). In addition to this, it is also wor th noting that fossil fuels are non-renewable resources and a time shall come when the world will run out of fossil fuels, or that only the powerful will exert their absolute control over it on their own whim. In effect, the world or the poor nations, in the future years, might have to revert to former methods of transportation; that are bicycles, horses, carts, etc. When this implication was realized by environmentalists yet again, scientists again dove down and exhausted every source through which they could determine how to endure fuel shortages and still have automobiles. This has led to a breakthrough invention that can completely solve this problem. In reality the use of fuel-powered cars has never been easy for the general population. Only the wealthy have the means in current times to drive such cars. This is because several problems accompany the use of fuel-powered cars that heap heavily on a consumer with a moderate salary and a not-so-ostentatious lifestyle: one, they are expensive; this

Patented technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Patented technology - Essay Example The more "tolerant" patent approach in the U.S. defines non-obvious as sufficient to involve an inventive step. The European Patent Office has a more exacting interpretation of this term. A European patent application entails an inventive step by providing a solution to a technical problem in a non-obvious way.1 This difference may serve, in fact, to help avoid confusion and promote productivity in Europe, as well as discourage the sort of infamous patent infringement confrontations recently seen in the American software industry. Patentability requires an invention to be "novel" -original and new. Article 54 (1) of the European Patent Convention defines "novel" as being separate from the "state of the art," (existing and publicly available.) "Non-obvious" in U.S. law, or "inventive step" in European law, under the terms of the EPC, both designate the requirement that an invention be "novel," or genuinely original enough to justify the patent. Novelty is therefore prerequisite for inventive step. An invention may be regarded as having an inventive step only if it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art. Novelty and inventive step are, consequently, different criteria. This definition of inventive step has been a subject recently in question by the U.K. patent office, as it has often been found to give rise to patents lacking in significance. By the same count, however, greater facility in obtaining patents contributes to positive qualities of "innovation and competitiveness."2 "Useful" in U.S. law or "Industrially applicable" in European law designates that an invention must serve a function, or fulfil an application and is equally part of this basic framework of patentability criteria. The European definition is again more exact in practical terms, referring specifically to industry as the objective of the application. III. Patent Law -Actions and Reactions: The Patents Act of 1977 was passed to implement the PTT, (Patent Co-operation Treaty), EPC and CPC (Community Patent Convention), closely following these definitions of the EPC and was the first effort at standardization in contrast to previous provisions of the Statute of Monopolies of 1623, which up until 1949, merely affirm that a patent may be granted exclusively for a new method of manufacture.3 A concept further examined by Lord Hoffmann in Biogen Inc v Medeva plc [1997] RPC 1 (page 34), is that the definition of an inventive step may be dependant on the nature of the invention. An original invention is the result of adding a new concept to an existing reserve