International Policy statement-development (Canada) Essay

International Policy statement-development (Canada) - Essay Example veloping countries, Canadian organizations, institutions and business, as well as international organization and agencies (Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA], 2005). One of the most significant tasks of the CIDA is the crafting of Canada’s international policy statement which serves as the platform of the country’s international development efforts. This year, the agency releases its International Policy Statement which was designed to promote its thrusts suited to the current world situation. CIDA’s policies are geared in promoting international development. This year’s international policy statement is focused on Canada’s foreign policy as â€Å"the world is changing, quickly, radically, and these changes matter to Canada—not in abstract terms, and not only to students of international relations but tangibly to everyone (Canada’s International Policy Statement [CIPS], 2005).† The country has recognized that its security, prosperity and quality of living are greatly influenced by drastic global transformations. As the world is more and more becoming a â€Å"global village,† Canada is affected by all global occurrences from international terrorism, virulent disease, climate changes and disappearing fish stocks (CIPS, 2005). By incorporating these considerations in its international policy statement, Canada gears itself in embracing the challenges posted by the fast paced 21st century. CIDA’s policies are categorized to represent three important goals—revitalize friendship with North America, making a change in the global arena, and changing the way it works. These three categories have overlapping objectives which tackles Canada’s relationship with North America, defense and international security, trade and commerce, international assistance, the new multilateralism, and making a difference (CIPS, 2005). Revitalizing friendship with North America includes a collaborative effort between the two nations to protect the North

Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Example for Free

Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface, flows vast reservoirs of one of our planets most sought after commodities. In ancient Babylon there are writings of a dark elixir oozing from the lands surface, even then the people understood how precious this material was. Oil, along with Natural gas, are exceptionally rich sources of energy. A gallon of oil surpasses the output of five kg of coal, ten kg of wood, and over fifty times the amount of energy that fifty humans can produce. The richest oil can actually provide one hundred more times the energy, than the resources used to extract it from the ground. Currently the US is entering one of the largest modern oil booms the world has ever seen. Unfortunately unlike in ancient Babylon, oil today does not simply ooze out of the ground and into our cars. New advances in science and visualization technology have given us a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Also known as horizontal drilling, or fracking, these new techniques have caused a great controversy and sparked a public debate over the potential risks â€Å"fracking† could ensue on our environment. Despite the negative pictures environmental lobbyists have painted, hydraulic fracturing is essential for the future of America’s economy. Its main purpose is to create jobs, a stable market, and advance the future of clean energy in the United States. Currently, there has been a focused attention on the negative environmental impacts fracking could potentially carry with it especially in the water supply. There are hundreds of on-going investigations taking place to ensure the protection of the environment as well the health of citizens who currently populate near sites that are using a horizontal drilling method. Most of the negative impacts on the environment, associated with fracking, are poorly understood by the general public. The water supply has been one of the main concerns voiced by lobbyists and various media outlets. Currently the United States government has issued extensive research on the matter through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has focused much of its attention on the sustainability of the water supply and soil surrounding current and former drilling sites. The EPA recently released on their main website a statement  confirming the following: The EPA currently is working closely with indus try partners to identify locations and develop research activities for prospective case studies. In prospective case studies, research at the site begins before hydraulic fracturing occurs, and then continues during and after hydraulic fracturing activities. The studies to date have shown no correlation to contaminated water supplies before or after the process of hydraulic fracturing. According to the New York Times, â€Å"Shale gas is accessed at depths of thousands of feet while drinking water is extracted from depths of only hundreds of feet. Nowhere in the state have fracking compounds injected at depth been shown to contaminate drinking water.† It is important to understand the process at which the gas is extracted to understand where the areas of risk occur. â€Å"Each well contains multiple layers of steel casing and cementing to effectively protect groundwater.† (API 1) This is essential to the protection of our water supply. It is important to understand the access large oil companies have to advanced equipment and the most brilliant minds. Each year bill ions of dollars are spent on research towards the extraction and containment of natural gas as well how to dampen the carbon footprint left after drilling. Many natural gas operators have chosen to disclose the ingredients of their cocktails to the website FracFocus.org, it is operated by the Groundwater Protection Council. This website includes a public record that can be examined by drill site or well location, individuals can effortlessly view the components used to fracture detailed wells. â€Å"As of early 2012, nearly one hundred companies have already provided information about approximately ten thousand wells and that number increases every day.† (API) Companies in our modern society understand the importance of transparency. Access to websites and detailed logs have given the public the ability to make their own judgments on the safety of individual operators. This makes large and independent companies held to higher standards than ever before. While there are greenhouse gases released during the extraction process they are significantly less than our current coal-fired plants. â€Å"Shale gas emits half the carbon diox ide per unit of energy as does coal, and coal burning also emits metals such as mercury into the atmosphere that eventually settle back into our soils and waters.† (New York Times) This is of great importance to understand especially as one of the oldest and largest coal-fired plant operates in  west Texas. Advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club are fighting to shut down these highly destructive plants. â€Å"Coal and gas-fired power plants emit more than 2.3 billion metric tons per year of carbon pollution, approximately 40% of total U.S. energy-related carbon pollution.†(SierraClub.Org) Because of intense restrictions any emissions from oil and gas wells must stay within agreed state and federal restrictions to guarantee the health and well-being of residents. â€Å"Natural gas is considered a clean burning fuel because of its comparatively low emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.†(API 1) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, natural gas-fired electricity generates half the carbon dioxide of coal-fired production. As a country we have gained a dependency on energy and as we grow new techniques will have to be discovered to maintain our consumption rate. Hydraulic Fracturing brings us closer to clean energy while having an instanta neous benefit to our atmosphere and environment by making dangerous coal-fired plants obsolete. The oil and natural gas industry resources are considerably valuable to the United States ‘economy as one of the country’s major employers and buyers of imports. Maintaining its growth through a struggling economy, Americas oil and natural gas operators carry on to deliver well-paying employment, returns to administrations and share growth for millions of Americans. â€Å"With increased access to U.S. oil and gas resources we can create 1 million new jobs in the next ten years alone.†(Green 1) That means if the nation could regulate the practice of fracking, while protecting the environment, it in return would create one million American jobs. That would not only raise our unemployment rate exponentially, but would insert millions of tax dollars back into the economy for improved infrastructure or education. â€Å"Expansion of oil and natural gas shale assets sustained more than 2.1 million jobs in 2012.†(API 1) Affordable, native natural gas is vital to refreshing the chemical, manufacturing, and steel industries. These great industries have supported our nation in the past and will continue into the future. The American Chemis try Council determined: A 25 percent increase in the supply of ethane (the liquid derived from shale gas) could add over 400,000 jobs across the economy, provide over $4.4 billion annually in federal, state, and local tax revenue, and spur $16.2 billion in capital investment by the chemical industry That added boost to  the job market is a gift long overdue to our struggling economy. Similarly, the National Association of Manufacturers estimated that high recovery of shale gas and lower natural gas prices will help U.S. manufacturers employ 1,000,000 workers by 2025. This will directly stimulate small town communities by offering technical job positions with life-long benefits. As well the added income will help to slowly relieve the burden of debt many families are suffering from. An IHS report, America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy, estimates that: â€Å"Mainly due to lower energy prices, average disposable income per household increased by more than $1,200 in 2012.†(IHS 4) This has continuously been omitted from the main stream media. Numerous industry sponsored reports are connecting gushing oil and natural gas production brought on by fracking is lifting the United States economy by dropping energy costs for clients and producers. It has a direct correlation as we produce more on shore energy our costs and high import taxes decrease. This in affect has a trickle-down policy when oil costs less to extract, ship, and use then household energy bills go down. President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address the President claimed recognition for governing the leading decline in oil imports in current times and for accomplishing the lowest use of need on oil imports in sixteen years. He accredited that notable outcome somewhat to improved oil production in North and South Dakota but mainly to the substantial surge in gas production that has directly stemmed from hydraulic fracturing. There is a clear indication that the risks of fracking are reducing day by day as the benefits continue to increase. The crash of 2008 brought our economy to a grinding halt. There is currently no other market that could stimulate the economy as much as the energy sector. The United States Economy will progress substantially over the next ten years due to the shale boom. Hydraulic fracturing will reduce the cost of energy while raising manufacturing. Most importantly it will reassure chemical and technology companies will receive higher endowments givin g us an edge over our competitors. Fracking will also reduce the cost of transportation by fueling our vehicles with clean natural gas. By performing quality due diligence we can omit the fears associated with hydraulic fracturing once and for all. Joint cooperation from the US Department of Energy and the International Energy Agency will contribute access to up to date reports on the environment and public safety. Hydraulic fracturing offers us hundreds of years producing clean, dependable, sustainable energy. It will directly affect the following generations while having a positive effect on our current economy. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing is the future without it, we would lose 45 percent of domestic natural gas production and 17 percent of our oil production within 5 years.†(API 1) Some view hydraulic fracturing in an undesirable context. I am confident in hydraulic fracturing and see it as a window of opportunity for America that will help boost the economy while giving an immediate reduction in greenhouse gases. The benefits and rewards of hydraulic fracturing simply outweighs the risks. Works Cited Brantley, Susan L., and Anna Meyendorff. The Facts on Fracking. Nytimes.com. New York Times, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Efstathiou, Jim, Jr. Bloomberg. Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. . Green, Mark. Energy Tomorrow Home. Energy Tomorrow Home. API.ORG, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Hassett, Kevin A., and Aparna Mathur. American Enterprise Institute. AEI. Aei.org, 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Larson, John W., and Richard Fullenbaum. Americas New Energy Future. Rep. no. Vol. 3. IHS.com, Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Pierce, Richard J., Jr. Scholarly Commons. Site. Gwu.edu, 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. . Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet. Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet. Sierraclub.org, 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Department of the Enviroment. Progress Report Webinar. Epa.gov, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. . Zobak, Mark. American Petroleum Institute. American Petroleum Institute. API.ORG, Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Grandmother With the little things. It's the little things that make up a year, and the years which make up a life. It's the little things that make up the memories. And I have an abundance of those. Sitting on the green couch listening to stories. Stories from her childhood, from the war years and beyond. Stories of playing with mice in the attic of the house -- her refuge as none of her siblings would go up there, stories of being tied up and gagged with a pickle in the mouth and shoved behind a cupboard by an exasperated older brother. Stories of shooting peas at the women in her father's factory. Of being found awake too early by her father one Christmas morning and being punished by having the presents taken away. Only she cried so much she was allowed to keep the doll. Of having some painful ailment and being carried kicking and screaming into the ocean by Sally because "Salt water will cure it." Of playing on a raft and having it sink. Everyone got off except May. They stood on the bank and watched it sink with May stubbornly repeating "I'm not going to swim". Grandma always laughed so much telling that story! Stories of the war. Protecting the patients from bombs by putting them under the stairs. But the mothers and newborn babies went under their beds. Of bringing corn back after a visit back home and carrying the two pieces round the wards so every soldier could have a bite. Of working with blind children. Of going out into streets full of rubble. ("Were you scared, Grandma?" "No. I was always too busy looking after others to be scared.") Of meeting an Australian soldier during a dance in England. Of getting married. I was fascinated by those stories. She told them so well. Over and over. She never seemed to get tired of me asking. Christmas time. Luke, Grandma and I, then later Chloà « and Laura. Lying in front of the fire writing letters to Santa and "posting" them up the chimney then racing outside to see the charred remains carried away by the breeze. Snooping around trying to find the Christmas stockings she made out of old orange bags. Pouring boiling water over almonds then "shooting" them out of their skins. They used to go all over the kitchen! Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Grandmother With the little things. It's the little things that make up a year, and the years which make up a life. It's the little things that make up the memories. And I have an abundance of those. Sitting on the green couch listening to stories. Stories from her childhood, from the war years and beyond. Stories of playing with mice in the attic of the house -- her refuge as none of her siblings would go up there, stories of being tied up and gagged with a pickle in the mouth and shoved behind a cupboard by an exasperated older brother. Stories of shooting peas at the women in her father's factory. Of being found awake too early by her father one Christmas morning and being punished by having the presents taken away. Only she cried so much she was allowed to keep the doll. Of having some painful ailment and being carried kicking and screaming into the ocean by Sally because "Salt water will cure it." Of playing on a raft and having it sink. Everyone got off except May. They stood on the bank and watched it sink with May stubbornly repeating "I'm not going to swim". Grandma always laughed so much telling that story! Stories of the war. Protecting the patients from bombs by putting them under the stairs. But the mothers and newborn babies went under their beds. Of bringing corn back after a visit back home and carrying the two pieces round the wards so every soldier could have a bite. Of working with blind children. Of going out into streets full of rubble. ("Were you scared, Grandma?" "No. I was always too busy looking after others to be scared.") Of meeting an Australian soldier during a dance in England. Of getting married. I was fascinated by those stories. She told them so well. Over and over. She never seemed to get tired of me asking. Christmas time. Luke, Grandma and I, then later Chloà « and Laura. Lying in front of the fire writing letters to Santa and "posting" them up the chimney then racing outside to see the charred remains carried away by the breeze. Snooping around trying to find the Christmas stockings she made out of old orange bags. Pouring boiling water over almonds then "shooting" them out of their skins. They used to go all over the kitchen!

Air Pollution: a Damage Resulting from Economic Development Essay

This term paper is about the impacts of emission of harmful gases like sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide etc. due to the development of industrial business in Bangladesh. Here, the study has been based on the regression analysis of percentage of carbon dioxide emission per metric ton and GDP per capita of eight Asian countries to determine that how environmental pollution is increasing because of industrial progression. And it has been found that they have positive relation. The motto of this term paper is to remind of the fact that only thinking about the economic development of the country should not be welcomed unless the importance of environmental welfare is being realized. The relationship between economic growth and the environment is debatable. Traditional economic theory posits a trade-off between economic growth and environmental quality. Since the early 1990s, however, the rapidly expanding empirical and theoretical literature has suggested that the relationship between economic growth and the environment could be positive and hence growth is a prerequisite for environmental improvement. But on the other hand, growth could be an affective reason of environmental pollution. This paper depicts the empirical pattern that at relatively low levels of GDP per capita, pollution level (and intensity) initially increases with rising income. The dominant theoretical explanation is that when GDP increases, the greater scale of production leads directly to more pollution, but, at a higher level of income per capita, the demand for health and environmental quality rises with income which can translate into environmental regulation, in which case there tend to be favorable shifts in the composition of output and in the techniques of production. Air pollution can be occurred in two ways-increasing of suspended particular matters (dusts, fumes, mists and smokes) and emission of gaseous pollutants. Among these two components, air pollution due to gaseous pollutants is a severe pollution of modern era. Air pollution is one of the causes of environmental pollution and because of environmental pollution; people face various kinds of fatal diseases which may decrease the productivity level of them. As a result economic development of a country could be hampered. Sustainable development has been one of the alarming concerns in the twenty-first century. It has significant implications on the extent of economic activity in the future. Anderson and Brooks (1996) have given the statement, â€Å"scientific basis supporting the relationship between business activities, resource depletion and the environment has grown stronger in recent years.† Grossman (1995) offers three main explanations as to how air pollution due to economic development affects one country’s environment- First is the â€Å"scale effect of income on the ‘environment’. As more outputs are produced, more inputs are (natural resources included) are required and more wastes and emissions by products are created during the process. Second is the technology composition effect. This refers to the technology as a percent of GDP. Third is the technique effect. Technique pertains to the research and development of a country. Air pollution measurements for eight Asian countries (China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Thailand) are calculated by collecting the percentage of carbon dioxide emission (per metric ton) and GDP per capita of one particular year from the World Bank data. Here, carbon dioxide emission is the dependent variable and GDP per capita is the independent variable. And then from regression analysis the result has been occupied.

Humanism: Link between Religion and Science Essay

Humanism is probably the greatest contribution of the Renaissance period which changed not just the political and religious climate of the era but also started the scientific explorations that lead to the advancements in science we enjoy today. The American Humanist Association defines humanism as â€Å"a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity. Humanism is said to have paved the way to the ideological, political and religious explorations during the Renaissance and Reformation periods that eventually gave birth to Scientific Revolution. To better appreciate the role of humanism in the advancement of science, we need to look at the events surrounding the Renaissance period. Renaissance, which refers to the period 1400 to 1650, is between medieval Christian era and Scientific Revolution. It is a period between religious domination and enlightened exploration. According to Kreis in his lecture on Renaissance Humanism, it is a period between â€Å"faith and reason. In medieval Christian civilization, only one church existed- the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope, who is the head of the church, governs everyone. People rely on God and prefabricated doctrines for every decision. Everyone is demanded to obey and believe. In the society, individuals are subordinate to the majority. Collective thoughts and decisions reign over individual preferences. Laws and customs regulate everything that happens in the land. People have no individual rights. Questioning authorities is not permissible. People are not allowed to think for themselves and explore their potentials. Renaissance period gave birth to humanism. According to Kreis in Renaissance Humanism, humanism promoted â€Å"independence of medieval tradition. † It shattered every fabric of the medieval influence. It brought people from blind obedience to progressive thinking. Humanism reformed the mind of people. It gave individuals a new way of looking at themselves and the world. It promoted self worth and confidence to the individual. It encouraged people to think for themselves, explore new ideas, learn new things and express their thoughts. It gave people the opportunity to view themselves apart from the church and society. This freedom bred doubts about the old system. People started challenging the norms and laws of society that held them captive. They started to question the authority and teachings of the church. Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the thinkers of Renaissance wrote â€Å"God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us† (p. 95). This is a humanist statement challenging God and his authority. Machiavelli mentioned â€Å"free will† which is opposed to the collective decision and religious obedience of medieval Christians. Furthermore, he also referred to the â€Å"glory which belong to us† encouraging people to recognize their worth instead of subjecting themselves to the dictates of society. The freedom to challenge norms and explore new things started by the humanists instigated the Protestant Reformation that divided the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, it also led to interests not only in personal development, politics and religion but also in the natural world. People started to notice their environment and find new things. This new-found curiosity about nature set up the Scientific Revolution.

Business Papers and Essays

Business Papers and Essays In business, writing is a tool used to get things done. Because its fundamental goal is to help people do business, good business writing has efficiency as its hallmark. Writers should assume that their readers are busy individuals who have little time to spend extracting information from a document. Thus, an efficient business document makes its point quickly, often telling the reader what he or she needs to know in the opening paragraph. Extensive background information and detailed explanations are typically saved for later sections of the document. If you are studying for Business Administration degree or some other related business degree, most probably you will need lots of business term papers or essays that will require the special use of language and that will assume your audience to business people. As every paper, business term paper should go through the specific writing process that will make your paper to achieve your goal. Whether you are studying business or working in business, you may be asked to write a variety of types of documents. Some of the most common ones are memoranda, letters, employment documents such as job-application letters and resumes, and reports. For you as a student these documents will be assigned for studying purposes and will be in the form of business term papers that you will need to complete during your semester. Although you are only learning how to write your business letters, it doesn’t mean that you should not follow the common rules and tale into attention general principles for writing business papers. The reason is simple – your resume or memo will be graded as usual term paper and this mark will influence the grade for the whole course. In this section we would like to tell about general strategies that the writer should follow while writing his or her business term papers. You need to write more reader-oriented (rather than writer-oriented) prose. As a business writer you should have good instincts, based on your own reading experiences, about how readers read; you should try to write that way your business term papers if you want them to be good and match the business style writing. You need to get a better fix on the rhetorical context of a document before you start writing it. In your business term papers or essays you will need to start your writing processes by addressing the big-picture issues. For example: Who are your readers (both now and later)? What are you trying to accomplish? What are the key issues you, as writer, need to clarify and stress? What are the traps you need to avoid? To what extent does the situation call for heightened attention to visual issues? You need to plan the superstructures of important documents before you start drafting them. You will need to use more planning guides and outlines as drafting guides especially given the constant interruptions/disruptions of the writing process in the workplace. While writing papers you need to remember that arrangement decisions have visual, logical, and rhetorical effects. When you write in response to a particular piece of writing, you need to avoid allowing the arrangement of it to automatically control the arrangement of your response to it. You Need to Place Key Ideas in Up-Front and Highlighted Positions. In your business term papers you will need to write more directly, deductively, and non-narratively. Use more preview statements, and visual cues such as headings, boldings, bulletings, boxings, underlinings, etc. (as long as you use them wisely, sparingly, and consistently). You will need to reduce the number of visual-indexing cues; that is, the number of imaginary vertical lines running down a given page. You Need to Unpack, Deflate, Decompress, and Simplify Sentences. You will need to break the one-sentence-solution habit if you have one. As a revision strategy for your business term papers, you need to learn how to isolate your key idea, look at what is smothering or obscuring it, eliminate unnecessary or repetitive elements, and reconstruct what is left. In business papers or essays you will also need to be shown how references, disclaimers, qualifiers, and so forth can be moved into parentheticals, footnotes, and separate sentences. You Need to Be Vigilant About Both Common and Personal Little-Picture Error Patterns. You will need to learn how to identify and avoid your most chronic personal mechanical goofs and, if you are working in the group on your business paper or project, you need to be on the lookout for semicolon goofs, comma-set goofs, and the confusion of similar words. In the process, you will need to come to a better understanding of the differences between rules, house rules, and tastes.

Music of the Lost Prophets essays

Music of the Lost Prophets essays Lost Prophet has been experiencing a meteoric rise to stardom in recent years due to an underground music craze following the lack of real metal music within the music industry. Many fans of old style metal bands such as Metalica wanted to move on a modern update on metal music and this led to the emergence of nu-metal. The Lost Prophets play within this genre by combining the influences of punk music with metal to create a very unique blend. The blending of heavy metal with punk vocal and lyrics characterize this type of music. It is not nearly as powerful as traditional metal because the vocals for Lost Prophet are nearly as prominent as other aspects of the music. Nu-metal originally started as an underground movement in Great Britain, and Lost Prophet is considered one of its early pioneers. They emerged onto the music scene in early 2000 and soon gained an audience with fans of Metalica by playing in mostly local stages. The acceptance of nu-metal in America has been rela tively slow, but because punk is so prominent in the music scene many fans have both genres have turned to nu-metal as their music genre of choice. Lost Prophet has been able to stick to their brand of music by playing with many different artists and through their endorsement by Columbia Records. They have made nu-metal the new trend in metal music especially in Great Britain. They are viewed now as a household name, and take a very important role in both Ozzfest and Leeds festivals, which is the traditional music arena for metal bands. The leader and front man for the Lost Prophet is Ian Watkins who is the vocalist for the band. He lived in Pontypridd, where he and several of his band members grew up. This is a very remote ex-mining town in the Welsh Valleys. Originally Ian was a drummer who focused on playing for metal bands in the late 1990s. His first band was called Public Disturban...

Carnaval Celebrations Worldwide

Carnaval Celebrations Worldwide The word Carnaval refers to the numerous festivities that occur in many Catholic cities every year prior to the Lenten season. These festivals often last several days or weeks and are widely popular celebrations of local history and culture. Residents and visitors prepare for Carnaval festivities throughout the year. Revelers both young and old can enjoy numerous organized activities or party in the city streets with their families, friends, community members, and strangers. Religious and Historical Significance of Carnaval Lent is the Catholic season that represents the forty days prior to Jesus death on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which usually falls in February. On certain days of Lent, Catholics are supposed to abstain from eating meat as a physical and spiritual reminder of Jesus sacrifices. The word Carnaval likely originates from the Latin term carne levare, or to remove meat. On the day before Ash Wednesday (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday,) many Catholics ate all of the meat and fat in their home  and held large parties in the streets as one last celebration before the penitential Lenten season. It is a time when all social classes could disguise themselves, congregate, and forget their usual tribulations. Carnaval originated in largely Catholic Southern Europe and spread to the Americas during the age of exploration and colonization. Carnaval Traditions All places that celebrate Carnaval generally have the same activities, but each Carnaval is infused with elements of local culture. During both day and night, revelers in the streets listen to music and dance, eat, and drink. Many cities hold balls and masquerades. The main tradition of Carnaval includes parades through the city streets. Many cities hold parades with floats, which are enormous, decorated vehicles that can carry dozens of riders, who often wear very elaborate, colorful costumes and masks. Parades usually have themes, which often parody current local political and social problems. What follows are some of the worlds most famous and popular Carnaval celebrations. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is home to the worlds most famous Carnaval and what many people consider to be the worlds biggest and best party. The basis of Rios Carnaval is the samba school, which is a social club named after the famous Brazilian samba dance. Samba schools are based in different neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, and rivalry among them is fierce. Members work throughout the year to create the best themes, floats, costumes, and dance performances. Over the four day celebration, schools parade and compete against each other in the Sambadrome, a building that can hold 60,000 spectators. Millions of people also party throughout the city and on Rios famous beaches, Ipanema and Copacabana. New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana is home to Mardi Gras, the most popular Carnaval in the United States. Dozens of social clubs, called krewes, parade through the streets of New Orleans over a six week period. The people on the floats or on horseback throw small presents to the spectators, such as beads, plastic cups, and stuffed animals. Revelers party in the citys French Quarter. Mardi Gras still occurs annually, even after Hurricane Katrina impacted the city in 2005. Trinidad and Tobago The two small islands of Trinidad and Tobago are known for having the best Carnaval in the Caribbean Sea. Trinidads Carnaval has been influenced by African cultures due to the slave trade hundreds of years ago. On the two days before Ash Wednesday, revelers dance in the streets to the sounds of calypso music and steelpan drums. Venice, Italy Since the 12th century, Venices Carnaval has been well known for intricately created masks and masquerade balls. Throughout history, Venices Carnival was banned numerous times, but since 1979 the event has occurred annually. Many events occur in the citys famous canals. Additional Carnavals in the United States Although New Orleans has the most visited Mardi Gras in the United States, some smaller celebrations include those in: Mobile, AlabamaBiloxi, MississippiPensacola, FloridaGalveston, TexasBaton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport, Louisiana Additional Carnavals in Latin America Besides Rio de Janeiro and Trinidad, many more cities in largely Catholic Latin America celebrate Carnaval. These include: Salvador, Recife, and Olinda, BrazilOruro, BoliviaBuenos Aires, ArgentinaMazatlan, MexicoSome cities in Colombia, Uruguay, Panama, and the Dominican Republic Additional Carnavals in Europe Many more cities still celebrate Carnaval on the continent where it originated. These include: Viareggio, ItalyTenerife Island, part of Spains Canary IslandsCadiz, SpainBinche, BelgiumCologne, GermanyDusseldorf, Germany Carnaval Entertainment and Imagination The activities of the Carnaval season, developed over centuries from religious and cultural rituals, have become enormously popular in several cities around the world. Large crowds congregate in the streets to enjoy the extravagant parades, rhythm of the music, and colorful costumes. Its an exciting, creative spectacle that no visitor will ever forget.

Personal description of a change in YOUR life - The Big Change and How Essay

Personal description of a change in YOUR life - The Big Change and How I Faced it - Essay Example His visit was for two months and I decided to accompany him since I had my vacations. This vacation was to leave a very important lesson in the diary of my life. It brought with it a big change for me and I faced this situation in the best possible manner utilizing all my skills. The lesson was the importance of humanity and the fact that every being in this world has a duty towards his fellow being in suffering. The things that I came across when I visited Haiti were important for me and my life. My father was assigned along with his team to reach the earthquake struck country on the 1st of February that is just approximately two weeks following the earthquake. I insisted on going with him and he agreed to the fact. I believe that his agreement to my demand was due to the fact that my father also wanted me to see the world and learn from the happenings of the world. I believe that he actually wanted me to have firsthand experience of the happenings and the suffering of other human b eings so that I incorporate the importance of human lives within my character. He also wanted me to understand the fact that it was our duty to assist those in need. When we reached Haiti, I was very surprised and taken aback by the situation. The people were living in extremely poor unhygienic conditions with no proper clothing and shelter. They had still not gotten over the grief of the loss of their loved ones. To further aggravate their conditions, there was no proper food for them and it could be understood from their circumstances that disease spread would reach its peak if proper measures were not taken to assist these people. As soon as we reached, my father and his team started their work with the supply of sources that they had. It was the first time I had been to such a place and the firsthand viewing of human suffering had put me in a state of shock. I was very depressed and I did not go out of our residential camp for the next three days as I did not have the courage to go and see the pain and plight of the people. Till that day I was living in a world of my own and it was now that I had actually seen that what difficulties a person could face in his life. On the fourth day, I gathered strength and I had decided what actually needed to be done. I was a very different person from what I had actually been when I had reached Haiti. I analyzed the importance of human lives and I understood that we have a greater duty towards this world of being of assistance to all those in need. Every human being has a duty towards his fellow beings. I incorporated this important belief in my mind that it was our duty not to just see people suffering but actually utilize all our skills to be of assistance to them with all the resources in our reach. We should not just think about their suffering but we should actually practically help them by all possible means. It needs to be understood that just seeing the suffering make us sad and what would be the situation of th ose people who are actually facing all these difficulties in their life. I walked out of the residential camp as a different person and I knew it for a fact that this change in my personality was to stay with me forever. I went out and my father was very happy to see me. When he saw me, I think he also understood that he had achieved what he had wanted and he could see the change in me. I went and saw all the aid activities that were

Staff Development Plan Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Staff Development Plan - Personal Statement Example So basically I have to be highly skilled and provide interaction and engagement. Also in order to effectively develop my staff I have to be familiar with the content that is what is being taught in class rooms and the context that is the environment in which this content is delivered and the issues surrounding this content. It is only when I know what areas need development would I be able to suggest and bring about a change. (NSDC, 2008) Although I do encourage my staff to attend seminars, orientations and work shops but in addition I have now planned on introducing job embedded development as it is a professional learning experience that relates to the teachers daily work. Job embedded development is a more effective type of staff development as it connected to what the educator is doing in class on a daily basis so teachers can practically apply what they have learned which in turns help sustain their learning. Some of the main characteristics of job embedded development are teachers working together in groups and holding regular meetings. Research shows that these development activities lead to better problem solving as the problems that exist with in the school are better solved by those who work there and have a one on one interaction with the students. Also teachers working in groups get to analyze the students work more carefully and thus result in an overall increase in student achievement. (Galloway, n.d.) I would also want to help my staff develop through coaching and on job instruction and for that purpose I will appoint staff developers. According to researches staff developers have a huge impact on what students and teachers learn. Staff developers can work with the teachers to increase student achievements, to reach the goals of student improvement programs and to provide on going coaching to teachers who are struggling or teachers who want to enhance certain skills. In my opinion the best thing about staff developers is that they are not in evaluating positions and thus the teachers will be encouraged to be open and honest with them about their problems and weaknesses and in this way a more effective development can take place. (Galloway, n.d.) I would also encourage distributed leadership rather than a top down approach. I would encourage interaction between teachers, students and my self not only with in the school but also with other schools, I would also encourage the parents to participate in order to facilitate better learning and development. I would be open to suggestions brought in by the teachers, the parents and even the students. I would give students and teachers a chance to voice their opinions. I will hold regular meeting with the staff and coaches so as to always be in sync with the progress that is taking place. And I would also arrange regular meetings with the parents and students so that they can also be involved in the development process. (NSDC, 2008) Apart from all the above I would encourage regular assessments to be held in the form of closed book quizzes or tests. Theses quizzes would be made up of fill in the blanks, MCQS and short questions that would require the students to recall what they learned in class. These quizzes would facilitate in students as well as teacher learning. Based on the results of the quiz teachers would have an idea of the concepts that the whole class collectively has a problem with and

Ethology on monogamy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethology on monogamy - Essay Example In the work of Eibl-Eibesfeldt it is arguable that men have a higher reproduction potential as opposed to women (235). This means that men can produce as many children as possible as opposed to the women (Eibl-Eibesfeldt 235). Ethologists also argue that men hold the perception that they can produce children, not take care of them and get away with it. The society in this case, has been categorized as a patriarchal one that sees propagation of genes, by the ones in control of the natural resources the means of production in the society (Eibl-Eibesfeldt 235). This trend needs to be replaced by monogamy. On the contrary, I would argue against this fact by indicating that women also have a way of accessing means of production, and having the number of children they wish as opposed to the archaic times. This will prevent the rising of groups of promiscuous men in the society. Adultery should, therefore, not be termed as a norm in the society. Eibl-Eibesfeldt says that in the globe today, women are also polyandrous, whereby women can marry as many men as they wish (236). Systems have in this case been reversed. On another viewpoint, Eibl-Eibesfeldt indicates that hyper-sexualization is immoral (235). In human beings, sexual behavior is as well for bonding as opposed to procreation exclusively. Besides the need to have children, there is need for a couple to have extended needs with their couples. Both the man and woman are able to care for children, usual for Homo sapiens. Group marriages are then disqualified; thus, man is not allowed to fall in love with other females (Eibl-Eibesfeld t 236). Sexual freedom is then confined to one person; an argument that leads to Eibl-Eibesfeldt indicating that patriarchal families need to be dissolved as they are unnatural and exploitive (236). Monogamous families are victorious, as one gender mostly the woman paves way for the leadership of the male as the head of the family, as opposed to the polygamous families, that have various centers of power. Jensen says that in monogamous marriages, both males and females bond for a while, and that both parents contribute to caring for the offspring (80). This clearly indicates that the males have no justification of leaving the child behind with the mother on the basis that the women need to care for the children. The males then have no time to look for other women but contribute equally in caring for their offspring. This concurs to the thoughts of Joanna, who indicates that monogamy is not an exception, but to a certain extent, a rule that ought to be adhered to by humans (256). Joa nna also indicates that females, without paternal assistance are clearly unable to raise their off springs in the right manner (263). The research also indicates that males and females need to take turns in caring for the child, an aspect that leads to the males having no option, but to care for their child, and not shift their attention to other females. Adultery, in this case, is forbidden. On a lighter note, Jensen indicates that men ought not to be monogamous as males will only maximize their reproductive prowess by assisting their mates in a joint offspring upbringing (80). Breeding with a huge number of females, creates a harsh situation whereby the females cannot defend themselves against competitors of the means of production, with the existing scarce resources. Additionally, males should not be polygamous as the physical environment is too insensitive and callous in a manner that the females cannot provide for their offspring single- handedly. Monogamous men are also instru mental in the planning of breeding dates; thus, ease the

Definition of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition of Art - Essay Example It communicates not only the artist ideas but also its emotion. It is largely based and facilitated more by intuition than reason as the receiver is more dependent on the experience and feeling evoked by the art. While art can be interpreted by logical reasoning as what was impressed to the spectator, the experience, however, is still subjective and relative to the interpretation of the receiver. Such, while the intellectual faculty is stimulated by the impression of a particular art form, it still appeals largely on emotion. And unlike the Scientific subject, art is generally organized in accordance with the technique or medium rather than the specialization of knowledge. Artistic technique refers to the degree of fluency of the artist in rendering the art through a medium. For example, with regard to its classification according to the medium, art can be categorized as the performing arts or literature. With regard to other media such as the material or component in rendering the a rtistic by-product, it can also be classified as â€Å"painting† in reference to the medium of paint of rendering the artistic impression. Art also requires a loftier sense of ability or mastery of its medium. It can be the well-versed articulation and adept use of a language to impart meaning and substance that moves the readers. That mastery of the language, whether it be the creative style or the originality of the approach of rendering the thoughts, or a combination of the two, has been best exemplified by the works of William Shakespeare as it enables the reader to grasp his meaning while regurgitating the manner it was conveyed with words. The fluency of technical execution can also be construed as art and even a requirement as manifested in Leonardo da Vinci’s works. For art is subjective and relative to the experience of its viewers, making the judgment about its value can be difficult. The quality or value of art is difficult to determine for the criteria of w hat makes good or bad art is also relative; whether it is the technical fluency of the artist or the intent and impact of the art to its receiver determines a good or bad art is difficult to say. Perception differs from one person to another. But regardless of its subjectivity, it is commonly agreed that what is not aesthetically satisfying cannot be considered as an art. Aesthetic satisfaction is not only confined to beauty, however; gory and horrible images that are intended for social or thought-provoking intention can also be considered as art although its prime motivation is not the aesthetic pursuit. The classic example to this would be Pablo Picasso’s Guemica (1937) In the twentieth century,  where he utilized arresting cubist  techniques and unembellished  monochromatic oils, to portray the dreadful result of a contemporary bombing of a small, ancient Basque town. Even blasphemous rendering can still be considered as an art as exampled by   Andres Serrano's  Piss Christ  (1989) where a photograph of a cross which is considered holy to the Christian religion, depicted  Christ's sacrifice and final suffering in a manner that is immersed in the artist’s own urine.  Ã‚  

Marketing plan for Nike (running shoes) Coursework

Marketing plan for Nike (running shoes) - Coursework Example Since the inception of Nike Company, the firm has been able to expand its market base to different parts of the world. Despite the increasing levels of globalization which results from liberalization of markets, efficient flow of information, and integration of economies, the firm has been able to maintain its strong competitive base. This is through the use of audio, visual, and print media in order to reach its target customers (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2012). Nike competitive advantage in the market are based on its strong goals which are to carry out on its legacy of innovative thinking whether is through developing products that will help athletes reach their potential or even to create a business opportunity that provide values to its shareholders. The company has an objective of helping the athletes unleash their potential irrespective of their background. Moreover, the firm focuses on improving the lives of less fortunate through participating in corporate social responsibility. Nike has been able to improve its competitive advantage through diversifying its markets. For instance, the company has positioned its running shoes strategically in the Europe and American markets (Lamb, 2012). This provides the company with a reliable source of revenue, an aspect that has enabled it to create a barrier of entry to other interested investors. Nike’s corporate strategy focuses on innovation and research. Over the years, the company has invested heavily on innovating new products through intensive research. This has enabled the firm to come up with innovative running shoes that helps in eliminating injuries and enhancing the comfort of the athletes. In addition, the strategy focuses on expanding the operations of the business in different parts of the world. Over the years, the firm has expanded to different markets across the world. This has reduced the risks and uncertainties associated with concentrating on a single market. The company’s business strategy

Definition of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition of Art - Essay Example It communicates not only the artist ideas but also its emotion. It is largely based and facilitated more by intuition than reason as the receiver is more dependent on the experience and feeling evoked by the art. While art can be interpreted by logical reasoning as what was impressed to the spectator, the experience, however, is still subjective and relative to the interpretation of the receiver. Such, while the intellectual faculty is stimulated by the impression of a particular art form, it still appeals largely on emotion. And unlike the Scientific subject, art is generally organized in accordance with the technique or medium rather than the specialization of knowledge. Artistic technique refers to the degree of fluency of the artist in rendering the art through a medium. For example, with regard to its classification according to the medium, art can be categorized as the performing arts or literature. With regard to other media such as the material or component in rendering the a rtistic by-product, it can also be classified as â€Å"painting† in reference to the medium of paint of rendering the artistic impression. Art also requires a loftier sense of ability or mastery of its medium. It can be the well-versed articulation and adept use of a language to impart meaning and substance that moves the readers. That mastery of the language, whether it be the creative style or the originality of the approach of rendering the thoughts, or a combination of the two, has been best exemplified by the works of William Shakespeare as it enables the reader to grasp his meaning while regurgitating the manner it was conveyed with words. The fluency of technical execution can also be construed as art and even a requirement as manifested in Leonardo da Vinci’s works. For art is subjective and relative to the experience of its viewers, making the judgment about its value can be difficult. The quality or value of art is difficult to determine for the criteria of w hat makes good or bad art is also relative; whether it is the technical fluency of the artist or the intent and impact of the art to its receiver determines a good or bad art is difficult to say. Perception differs from one person to another. But regardless of its subjectivity, it is commonly agreed that what is not aesthetically satisfying cannot be considered as an art. Aesthetic satisfaction is not only confined to beauty, however; gory and horrible images that are intended for social or thought-provoking intention can also be considered as art although its prime motivation is not the aesthetic pursuit. The classic example to this would be Pablo Picasso’s Guemica (1937) In the twentieth century,  where he utilized arresting cubist  techniques and unembellished  monochromatic oils, to portray the dreadful result of a contemporary bombing of a small, ancient Basque town. Even blasphemous rendering can still be considered as an art as exampled by   Andres Serrano's  Piss Christ  (1989) where a photograph of a cross which is considered holy to the Christian religion, depicted  Christ's sacrifice and final suffering in a manner that is immersed in the artist’s own urine.  Ã‚  

War On Terror by Kenneth Waltz Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

War On Terror by Kenneth Waltz - Research Paper Example The first image proposes the individual nature of man as the primary cause of wars which is why it can to be known as ‘individual level of analysis’. As Waltz say in his book Man the State and War â€Å"the locus of the important causes of war is found in the nature and behavior of man†. This analysis coincides with the point of view of numerous philosophers such as Spinoza, Rousseau and Niebuhr who believed that war was the direct result of human aggressiveness self-interest, misdirected and stupidity to achieve a peace in a self intellectual level. Hence according to this level man must change his psyche, however this theory cannot be declared entirely true as Waltz himself later argued that the importance of human nature as an individual cause of wars is reduced by the fact that the very same nature explains a variety of events. Waltz then analyses another reason for war, that is the second image. He proposes that war is a product of internal structure and domestic strife within countries. ‘With many sovereign states, with no system of law enforceable among them, with each state judging its grievances and ambitions according to the dictates of its own reason or desire - conflict, sometimes leading to war, is bound to occur.’ He assumes that the nature of a states political institutions and how it is governed will determine whether the state will be at war or peaceful however the most logical counter argument to this analysis is that it assumes that â€Å"bad states lead to war†¦that good states mean peace in the world,†.... He assumes that the nature of a states political institutions and how it is governed will determine whether the state will be at war or peaceful however the most logical counter argument to this analysis is that it assumes that â€Å"bad states lead to war†¦that good states mean peace in the world,† ( Waltz 159) which in itself is a highly doubtful proposition. His third level of analysis emphasizes the anarchical international system composed of states and the interdependence of the policies of all states, namely the structure of the international system is the root cause of war. Analyzing political issues from the third image means relying on the international organizations, forums, and treaties that nations abide by. Major governmental and non governmental organizations are analyzed when seeking the causes of war and conflict according to third level of analysis. Waltz draws heavily upon the work of Rousseau and states that just as individuals act upon their immediate interests to the detriment of the general group interests, states should follow a rational course of action. Harmony in anarchy exists when not only is every state rational but every state assumes that every other state is rational too. Moreover, â€Å"To allow...for the irrational acts of others can lead to no determinate solution but to attempt to act on a rational calculation without making such an allowance can lead to (my own) undoing†(Waltz 169) I believe the most important cause lies in the third image i.e., the imperative influence of anarchy is the ‘underlying’ or ‘permissive’ cause of war. Many of the causes of war can be explained by the pressures exerted on states by the anarchic

The United Nation’s Constitutions’ article 1, Section 6, Clause1 Essay Example for Free

The United Nation’s Constitutions’ article 1, Section 6, Clause1 Essay The following is a discussion on basic principles under the constitution on the above clause. The amendment of the clause was done under amendment 27 – limiting the congressional pay increases. The 27th Amendment which was first proposed on September 25th 1789, as an article of the then Bill of right did not pass since it failed to meet the number of states required. For this reason it sat, without ratification but did not have an expiry date for a period of past 80 years until Ohio ratified it in protest of a congressional pay rise. Â  In 1978, Wyoming ratified it but there still lacked follow-up by the other states and in the early 1980’s Gregory Watson, who was an aide to a Texas legislator, took up the proposal of an amendment’s cause. Â  Between 1983 and 1992, the required number states ratified the amendment, and it was declared a ratified amendment on May 7, 1992. Â  The Article gives all senators and Representatives a right to receive a compensation for their services to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases except Treason (the attempt to overthrow the government of one’s nation), Felony (serious crime such as murder) and Breach of peace be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and coming out of the same, and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place’. This exempted all Senators and Representatives from arrest on their way and out of the House a privilege that helps them attend the house session without interruption as long as the said offences are not in place. It is important for the Representatives and Senators salaries to be got from the United States Treasury something that guarantees that the figures received are well looked into as it is a law already passed and written. This also meant that the senators and representatives may get a increase on their salaries on when the treasury declares and sees that it can afford the funds for the period in question. Â  The clause continues to state that ‘No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof have been increased during such time, and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of the House during his Continuance in office’. Â  This second part of the clause very clearly disapproves a person who is already appointed to any civil authority becoming a member of the House. At least this way equal chance for people is supported since one can only have one government job at a time. This will make the Senator or the Representative fully dedicated to serving the people since they can only have this as the single source of income from the government. It also forbids any person who is already elected in the House as a senator or representative from ‘benefiting’ from money meant for the civil office. This will result in more transparency as far as the government and funds is concerned. This clause states that the Senators or representatives will be well compensated so this way their needs are well met for the term they happen to be in the house and since they are allowed to enjoy a two term incase they still make it to the house then it becomes the responsibility of a senator or representative as to what they deliver during their term/s.

The impact of reverse logistics in retail industry

The impact of reverse logistics in retail industry 1. Background In todays business world, Companies are looking for ways to improve there businesses by reducing costs, and improving labour efficiency. This enables the companies to implement supply chain management into the business. Supply chain management is a process which binds and links the entire process from supplying a product until it gets delivered to the end customer. Reverse logistics is a very essential process which is included in the supply chain management process. Reverse logistics is the process which involves planning, implementing, cost effective flow of stocks and machinery, finished goods, in-process inventory and related information from the point of supplying to the point of final consumption. Remanufacturing and refurbishing are the two vital aspects of reverse logistics which helps in reutilisation and reselling of a product. It also involves recycling of programs, machinery fault or similar asset problems. Few more terms, often used with reverse logistics are: Reconditio ning the machinery when it is not performing up to its mark, repairing it and then using it again. Refurbishing is working on the same product and enhancing and changing it from inside completely. Remanufacturing is similar to refurbishing but may require completely disassembling the product. Reselling is done after one or more of the above three. Recycling happens only when the product is not in condition where it can be worked on like reconditioning, refurbishing, remanufacturing so as to resell it. Reverse logistics is also about keeping the environment healthy by not disposing too much waste, reducing the waste particles or reusing them. 2. Literature Review According to the Reverse Logistics Executive Council, reverse logistics is â€Å"the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal† (Xiaoming Li, Festus Olorunniwo, 2008).   The reverse material movement from end customers to suppliers has received much less attention (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 2001).   Most returned products are processed to put back to shelf. Two alternative waste management policies are studied and compared. The first policy deals with the recovery chain, that is, the flow of used products from consumers to recovery facilities. The second policy deals with the disposal chain, in which used products are carried to landfills (Murphy, P R. and Poist, R F.2003).There exists a range of ordered sequencing that different companies adopt depending on which activities are engaged in by the firm. Most of the companies set up their processes based on some knowledge of materials flows: inbound receiving, sorting, testing, storing, and outbound shipping. Different products may go through different routes; same products with different types of damages also may undergo different operations. Companies have operational procedures for machine centres; however, returns flows among machine centres are informal in many cases or many factors are not considered (Trebilcock, 2002).   Using the information, we develop a generic returns process flow by integrating various broad factors: demand, package and product conditions, test and repair, secondary market, vendor, charity giving, recycle, and disposal. Now a days, managers reactions were not quite strong as to whether recycling materials that are un-useable generate considerable revenues or if channel clearing considerably reduces obsolete items inventory, and if repaired item s yield reasonable profits in secondary markets. These set of responses are quite surprising because they are contrary to observations from the experiences reported in the trade literature (Reese, 2005). Murphy and Posit (2000) have reported that recycling of materials, reducing consumption and reusing materials are the three most commonly utilized green logistics strategies. Design for recycling (DFR) has become an important dimension for some manufacturers in the recent times (Masanet, 2002).   The ultimate goal of reverse logistics programs is to produce reverse logistics. Resource reduction refers to the minimisation of materials used in a product and the minimization of waste and energy achieved through the design of more environmentally efficient products (Carterand Ellram, 1998).   The increase of eco-efficiency leads to reverse logistics activities in the firm. The outcomes of the eco-efficiency calculations will help authorities in formulating criteria for collection of disposed products and in monitoring end-of-life performance of take-back systems (Huisman, 2002).   Companies must recognize that reverse logistics has become an important source of opportunity for improving visibility and profitability and lowering costs across the supply chain.   Reverse logistics offers an opportunity for improving visibility and profitability while lowering costs across the supply chain. A reverse logistics system will enable us to plan in advance, often as early as the design process, the way to handle returns efficiently and ways this can most effectively feed into the product design plan. Returns provide a revenue generating opportunity via value recapture- return, refurbish, recycle. Sophisticated returns automation systems enable you to leverage a products value by quickly placing it in another product for resale before values depreciate (Anderson, Pat, 2009).   Formerly, firms have been spending significant time and money in improving their forward supply chains while ignoring their potential reverse supply chains. However, in todays competitive business environment, it is important that firms study the profitability and benefits of implementing a reverse supply chain while considering the uncertainties   associated with the supply and composition of used products, disassembly time, recycling or remanufacturing time, and demand for recycled or remanufactured goods(Pochampally, Kishore K. Gupta, Surendra M., Dhakar, Tej S,2009). Few research studies have published specific empirical data regarding the reverse logistics practices of companies.   This multi-stage study employed interviews, site visits, and a mail survey to collect responses from 230 members of the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) regarding their reverse logistics practices.   Results suggest that in spite of the growing importance of reverse logistics, few executives have product return processing as their primary responsibility and often u ndertake this activity along with other job responsibilities.   Most firms handle the product returns process themselves and typically within the same facilities that handle forward logistics. Returning items directly to stock, repackaging and returning to stock, and selling as scrap, were the three top disposition options employed by firms.   Results indicate that, contrary to general understanding, the majority of retailers and wholesalers reported a recovery rate of over 75% of product cost (James R. Stock and Jay P. Mulki, 2009).   If a firm is not able to resell the items, they often end up in land fills, or perhaps recycled. Also, the profit margins could be lower for the manufacturer because in addition to the refurbishing cost, the product often must be sold at a lower price. In view of this, manufacturers desire to maximize profits often dictates the proportion of product that gets refurbished (Vorasayan and Ryan 2006).   Retailer emphasis on training customers in t he proper use of their products which can help in improving customer relations as well as decreasing costs of product returns. Retailers can help a great deal by initial sorting and by making decisions on processing versus returning to manufacturer. This could reduce the uncertainty in the timing and quality of returns that has been blamed for the unpredictability of reconditioning and refurbishing returned products (Guide and Van Wassenhove, 2002).   A reverse logistics flow is much more active, with much less visibility. Retail stores like primark do not initiate reverse logistics activity as a result of planning and decision making on the part of the firm but in response to actions by consumers or downstream channel members.   When a customer returns an item to a retail store, the store collects the items to be sent to a centralized sorting facility.   At the time of return, information about the item and its condition may be entered into the retail stores information syste m, and forwarded to the returns processing centre (Ronald S. Tibben-Lembke and Dale S. Rogers, 2002).   3. Research questions Do you typically return a whole system, or rather just a subset of components, and where should the items go next?   What is the importance of reverse logistics in cost reduction? How reverse logistics influence environmental and social retail environment? How to improve supply chain management with the help of reverse logistics? How to encourage customer loyalty using reverse logistics? 4. Expected Contributions Primark, is a well known retail stores were people do a purchase in bulk due to its low prices.   Demand is changing with a high pace; customer may like something today and something else tomorrow and to keep up with this pace organizations need to adopt returns management. For a clothes store like Primark, which go as per the market demand, they need to update themselves with time as customers these days are all looking for style, current trends and so on. This isnt easy to predict, no one can really forecast what is in today and out tomorrow, this is where returns management comes in picture. A company should know how to reuse or resell by doing some refurbishment. Retail stores and even other suppliers have exchange policies or payback policies which provides customer with an ease of exchanging goods and supplies, once these items are returned, it then goes to production houses for refurbishment or to see what can be done with them in order to reuse or resell them. Organizations in order to survive the competition and to maintain a good customer relationship have to be good at exchange policies and need to shorten the time from accepting the returns to the actual supplier so that they can reduce the operational costs and increase profitability. The important task of management is to mind the gap between returning of products till the time it reaches the supplier; this plays an important role in reducing the costs and increasing the profitability. Keeping the customers happy is the only source of income, so satisfying all they need is really very important. A recent case study implies that Primark is looking for a solution which would facilitate an increase in its volumes which were projected to grow by 30% per annum- from 45,000 cartons daily to levels of 100,000 by 2010. 5. Methodology 5.1 The research method This piece of study or investigation emphasizes more on the utilisation of the reverse logistics approach in retail business like that of renowned store primark. The investigation consists of field as well as desk study. The field study will be done on evaluating companys annual turnover, sales and collection of relevant data via companys website, conducting interviews with various decision makers of concerned departments. Desk study or research will consider examining literature collected via the website of the retail store, retail industries journals, press, statistics and magazines and other media sources. 5.2The concept of interview An analytical study via interview will be conducted for the collection of primary data. The concept is to evaluate the validity and implementation of current reverse logistical operations in the retail business of primark.   Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participants experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses (McNamara,1999). The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and the meanings of central themes in the life world of the subjects. The main task in interviewing is to understand the meaning of what the interviewees say(Kvale,1996). 5.3 Interviews The store manager of primark. The manager of marketing department. The manager of finance department. 6. Proposed study timetable Period Aim Task Duration (days) February, 2010 -March, 2010 Collect key principles and research strategic data Finding relevant literatures and evaluating it, online survey methods, interpreting research questions. 15 March, 2010 April, 2010 First meeting with supervisor Finalizing the benchmark of the research area. Discuss the coursework and the research subject of the dissertation. 15 April, 2010 May, 2010 Utilisation of resources Strategic and Statistical analysis of the data and writing the output. 25 May, 2010 July, 2010 Analysing and justifying key findings Interpreting and formulating the relevancy of the collected data for making the supreme structure. 55 July, 2010 Second meeting with supervisor Following the guidelines of the supervisor step by step and implementing the necessary changes to be made. 25 August, 2010 Third meeting with supervisor Fully utilising the resources in-order to follow the concept and application. Completing   the initial draft and heading towards next step. 25 September, 2010 Final meeting with supervisor Finishing the remaining part and Submitting the two copies with a CD of softcopy on 24th September, 2010. 10 7. Resource Implications It would be more helpful to make the use of newsletters, online forum, regular meetings through events, telephonic calls. All this is done to analyze the data and to know how often does primark change its outstanding stocks on the shelves, check the unsold stock to avoid wastage in-order to make improvements in the reverse logistics processes. The presence of application system is important now-a-days in order to maintain and analyze the huge amount of data collected through staff meetings. 8. Evaluation It is quite clear that in the future, more firms will lavish considerable attention on reverse logistics. Many firms have only become aware of the importance of reverse logistics relatively, and have yet to realize the strategic importance of reverse logistics.

University Living as the Third Gender :: Journalism Journalistic Essays

University Living as the Third Gender In Thailand, they are called Kateoy or â€Å"Ladyboys.† In Burma, they are the Hijra and have the power to bless a child with fertility or curse it with impotence. In America, they are called transgendered, but the definition of the word is hard to pin down. â€Å"There are as many ways to be trans as there are trans people,† said Michael*, a 21-year-old Newton resident to Northeastern University’s bisexual, lesbian, gay, straight, transgendered, queer and questioning alliance (NuBiLAGA) meeting on Nov. 18. But Michael, who was born a female but now lives as a male, has his own definition. â€Å"A transgendered person is someone who does not fit with or identify with the gender identity or gender roles assigned at birth,† Michael said. The American Heritage Dictionary defines transgender as â€Å"Appearing as, wishing to be considered as, or having undergone surgery to become a member the opposite sex.† While often confused with cross-dressers who masquerade as the opposite sex on occasion, transgendered persons wish to permanently live as the opposite gender. Some opt to have surgery to match their anatomy with their lifestyle, some do not and just adopt the mannerism of the opposite gender. Scientific statistics and studies on transgendered persons border on non-existent. Since transgendered people often identify simply as male or female, it is difficult to get an accurate count of the trans population using official censuses which don’t denote â€Å"biological male/female† or â€Å"cultural male/female.† Transgendered people also cannot be included in counts of the gay and lesbian population, because if a person was biologically female, but identifies as a male and is attracted to females, they would consider themselves heterosexual and not a lesbian. As Michael addressed the group, his partner, Bailey*, a 21-year-old female to male transgendered resident of Jamaica Plains, drew four parallel lines on the dry erase board. One by one, Michael explained the significance of each line: sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. The visual is what Michael uses to distinguish to people the differences between the terms and how each can function mutually exclusive from the others. He explained to the group that sex is dictated by chromosomes and genitalia. On one end of the spectrum is male, on the other is female and in the middle is intersex, commonly referred to hermaphrodite. On the gender expression line, Michael and Bailey created a spectrum from masculine to feminine, with androgynous or gender neutral in the middle; sexual orientation often divided between attraction to men or women.

Compare the way Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s Essay

In this play, Hamlet, Shakespeare shows us the different ways that madness can be portrayed and the various ways that others surrounding the central characters can perceive it. From the beginning it is explained that Hamlet would â€Å"put an antic disposition on† and this signifies that Hamlet’s madness would just be an act, not something that is actually true. Hamlet confides in Horatio and asks him not to look knowingly if he sees Hamlet behaving oddly by saying â€Å"some doubtful phrase† that might be â€Å"ambiguous† in its meaning. This immediately reinforces the notion that Hamlet is only play acting his apparent madness and in actual fact, is sane. Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s â€Å"antic disposition† as a means for Hamlet to bide his time and figure out how to avenge his father’s murder â€Å"by a brothers hand. † Hamlet’s madness is not meant to be seen as madness by us, but as something that has a purpose i. e. it could enable Hamlet to kill Claudius and it could be perceived by others that the killing was unintentional and was because of Hamlet’s â€Å"madness†. However, in the case of Ophelia, Shakespeare presents her form of madness as something that is real and tangible. She has a reason to be mad; her father is â€Å"dead and gone. † Shakespeare enforces the idea that Ophelia really is mad by having her enter in Act 4 Scene 5 â€Å"distracted† and singing a song about the death of her father. Ophelia’s madness is supported by what the gentleman says to Gertrude at the beginning of Act 4 Scene 5 about Ophelia’s state of mind; that she â€Å"winks and nods and gestures† and that â€Å"her speech is nothing, yet the unshaped use of it doth move the hearers to collection†. Even Laertes is appalled by Ophelia’s madness and wonders â€Å"is’t possible a young maid’s wits should be as mortal as an old man’s life? † Ophelia’s actions and what she says causes those around her to doubt her sanity and believe that she really is mad. There are many words that are used by the main characters to describe Hamlet’s madness. He describes it as his â€Å"antic disposition† whereas Polonius calls it â€Å"lunacy† and Claudius calls it â€Å"distemper† and a â€Å"transformation†. Although everyone perceives Hamlet as mad, Polonius and Claudius at one point doubted that Hamlet in actual fact was indeed mad. Claudius had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spy on Hamlet, whilst when Polonius spoke to Hamlet he thought that â€Å"though this be madness, yet there is method in’t†. This shows that madness within Hamlet is not really madness at all, but is just an act; a performance on Hamlet’s part. Shakespeare adds this doubt to Hamlet’s madness whereas in Ophelia’s case there is no doubt about her state of mind to those around her. It is believed that mad people have a tendency to have suicidal feelings. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he desires that his â€Å"flesh would melt† and would have killed himself had not â€Å"his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter†. In his first soliloquy, he says â€Å"to be or not to be, that is the question†-in this line, Hamlet wonders whether or not to commit suicide. These suicidal feelings beg the question â€Å"had Hamlet actually gone mad? † I, like many others believe that Hamlet was not mad, as even though he displayed suicidal thoughts, he did not carry those thoughts out, signifying a sane state of mind. Ophelia however ended up committing suicide by drowning herself in a lake while â€Å"she chanted snatches of old lauds as one incapable of her own distress†. This seems to indicate how fragile her state of mind actually was and how she was driven to madness by her father’s death and Hamlet’s actions. The gravediggers in Act 5 Scene 1 thought that Ophelia committed suicide and â€Å"if she had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o’ Christian burial† as suicide is considered as an unholy crime. Shakespeare seems to want to show us that Ophelia really was mad by having her act, speak and behave in a way that was not seen as ‘normal’ to Elizabethan society as well as society today. It also seems that Shakespeare, maybe unwittingly, shows us that women were weak-minded individuals whereas men were the stronger sex, mentally as well as physically. Even though Hamlet is knocked with strong emotional surprises, such as finding out that his stepfather killed his father, Claudius, Hamlet still remains strong in public. This is a very sharp contrast to how Ophelia behaved when she suffered acute trauma due to the sudden death of her father. Whilst Hamlet remains strong, Ophelia transcends towards madness as her fragile state of mind had shattered. Maybe, this was the way Shakespeare viewed both sexes or maybe those were the views of Elizabethan society as a whole. Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s â€Å"antic disposition† as something very different to how Ophelia’s madness is presented to us. Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a strong character who has the ability to deal with emotional trauma, whereas Ophelia was portrayed as weak and symbolised what Hamlet once remarked: â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman†. Shakespeare presents Hamlet and Ophelia in contrasting ways to show us the differences between an â€Å"antic disposition† and actual madness. By using these contrasts, Shakespeare seems to be reflecting on the attitudes and views of Elizabethan society and also seems to be offering us his definition of madness.

Emotional Labour

RESEARCH PROPOSAL – EXAMPLE 1 Project Title Emotional Labour and Gender in the Hospitality Industry Research Context The idea that there is an ‘emotional’ aspect to work seems to have only gained academic credence in recent years. Hochschild (1983) originally introduced the concept of emotional labour in her study of flight attendants and bill collectors. Since then various researchers have subsequently expanded the topic to various different types of workers including teachers (Blackmore 1996), nurses (James 1992; O'Brien 1994), lawyers (Pierce 1996), police (Stenross ; Kelinman 1989) and caterers (Phornprapha ; Guerrier 1997).Emotional labour could be seen as the management or display of appropriate emotions while working, requiring ‘one to induce or suppress feeling in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others. ’ (Hochschild 1983:7). A medium sized chain of English pubs has agreed to participate in th e study and will be referred to as the ‘Coaching Inn Company’ The company has grown rapidly, and developed a portfolio of approximately 170 individual units widely spread around England.Most of these outlets offer accommodation and food, often with a relatively low reliance on wet (alcohol) sales, reflecting the apparent trends of the pub-going market towards other revenue generators such as food and accommodation (Williams 1996). The company has a relatively ‘soft’ type of branding, with a number of individual outlets of differing character, each supporting a wide customer base. In the past it had been the policy of head office to give unit managers quite a free hand in the running of their property.However, there has been an increasing level of standardisation in some areas (with more standardised wine lists, menus, and accommodation offers, such as weekend breaks), and a central reservations system was increasingly used for accommodation. This approach t o branding, with the unit distinctiveness being valued by head office and seen as a marketing opportunity, provided an early hint about the organisation’s likely approach to emotional labour. Research AimThe project aims to explore the nature of emotional labour in service interaction in United Kingdom public houses, and explore the extent to which it is affected by the gender of individual staff members. Key research objectives 1. To identify the impacts caused by emotional labour among employees involved in pub service. 2. To discover and evaluate coping strategies utilised by service staff engaged in the performance of emotional labour in relation to those suggested by employers, trainers and in the literature. . To recommend measures that could be adopted by organisations and individuals to improve employees’ experience of emotional labour to the benefit of employers, employees and customers. Overview of the Literature Literature There are various different types o f emotional labour including ‘personalizing an impersonal relation’ (Hochschild 1983:109), refraining from reacting to abusive behaviour, and maintaining a perpetual, sincere smile’ (Macdonald ; Sirianni 1996:9).Hochschild (1983) introduced the term ‘feeling rules’ to explain emotional norms, although if Scherer’s (1996) definition of emotion, including not only feeling but also neurophysiological responses and motor expression, is to be adopted, the implied dominance of ‘feeling’ should be treated cautiously. Ashforth and Humphrey (1993:89) approach this issue by suggesting that ‘display rules’ is a more appropriate term, as emotional labour appears to be primarily concerned with ‘publicly expressed’ emotions.Both of these concepts appear to have value, although neither, taken individually, satisfactorily includes all the elements of emotion and emotional labour, and a combination of both seems more appr opriate. Display rules may seem more useful in the study of the subject, especially from a behaviourist point of view, but to fully understand their nature and impacts, actual feelings, cognition and physiological state should probably be examined as well. Various possible negative impacts of emotional labour on staff have been suggested including job stress (Adelmann 1995) employee burnout (Ledgerwood et al. 997), emotional exhaustion (Wharton 1993), and feeling ‘phony’ when portraying false emotion to customers (Hochschild 1983). It should be pointed out, however, that positive effects of emotional labour have also been suggested with staff often enduring some less pleasant aspects of service work for ‘the chance to interact with other people’ (Riley et al 1998) and gaining satisfaction from such work. Weatherly ; Tanisk (1993) examined various methods used by customer-contact workers to deal with role stress that seem relevant to emotional labour.These i nclude: 1. Actual avoidance of contact, perhaps by avoiding eye contact so as not to have to take an order or deal with a complaint. 2. Reacting to and/or educating the client – Hochschild (1983:127) recounts an incident when a flight attendant was asked by a customer why she wasn’t smiling; she tried to pass the role onto him, asking him to smile and telling him to ‘freeze, and hold that for fifteen hours. ’ 3. Engaging customers (e. g. asking them for help) in the service provision to distract them from making demands. . Mindlessness, relying on scripts and pre-programmed behaviour for fulfilling a role. 5. Over-acting, ascribing their actions to a role rather than themselves as individuals. Public Houses There has been relatively little academic research in the public house sector in recent years. This is of some concern given the considerable size of this part of the hospitality industry – it has been suggested that pubs represent the third most popular type of eating out establishment in the UK (Mintel Publications 1991).The public house environment seems likely to require a considerable amount of emotional labour when dealing with customers due to the consumption of alcohol that takes place. This is likely to lead to a level of ‘disinhibition’ (Smith 1985a:32) of customer behaviour that could cause problems for staff. The presence and relatively easy access to alcohol could also result in staff developing drinking problems which may affect their work performance generally and emotionally.Pub landlords seem especially susceptible to the demands of emotional labour as, it can be argued that ‘the publicans’ sociability and relational network is focused around the ‘regulars’ who form the dominant group of users’ (Smith 1985a). This suggests that the publican’s social life is dominated by work contacts, especially since most individuals live on the premises. This was partic ularly well demonstrated by Smith (1885b:295) when describing the publican of a ‘rough working-class pub’ who ‘was behind the bar less often than in front of it’ with his regular customers.Relatively little seems to have been written about other service employees in pubs, although these people are in the front-line of the service encounter, and as such, are likely to be able to offer valuable insights into emotional labour. Gender Gender issues have been addressed in much of the literature dealing with both emotional labour (e. g. Hochschild 1983; Pierce 1996) and pubs/alcohol (e. g. Hey 1986; Hunt ; Satterlee 1987; Gough ; Edwards 1998).Some (if rather dated) literature deals with gender differences in the pub trade. Hey (1986:43), for instance, suggested that the female bar staff member is expected to be a ‘sexually provocative, friendly, sympathetic, and ‘mature’, experienced woman’, while male bar staff ‘wear dark suits, bow ties, shake cocktail mixers and are monstrously efficient. ’ More recently, Folgero ; Fjeldstadt (1995) suggested that women employed in the service industry are likely to be subjected to sexual harassment by both colleagues and customers.Hey (1986:44) considered that women bar staff were expected to be ‘socially available’ and engage in ‘Pseudo-flirtation’ when a customer purchases a drink for them, although suggesting such expectations are limited to female staff appears to disagree with the researchers personal experience when working as a male bar person. Research Design This will be an empirical research. It is proposed to conduct a small number of case studies in a selection of public houses, preferably owned and operated by a single chain.A single case study may produce distorted results, as each pub is likely to have unique characteristics and pubs often have relatively small workforces from which to generate data. A detailed study of a l arge number of outlets also seems impractical given time and resource limitations. It is suggested that two pubs could be investigated over a two month period, depending on the type of access granted, allowing the researcher sufficient time to develop a reasonable familiarity with each, and generate sufficient and trustworthy data.It should be stressed, however, that this study aims to explore a relatively new area in considerable depth and will not seek to generalise any findings to the public house industry as the case study approach will be adopted in order to understand the phenomena to be studied rather than their ‘incidence’ (Yin 1989:55). Ethnographic techniques will be utilised with the researcher employing participant observation of the individual pubs to be studied.Fetterman (1998:1) described ethnography as ‘the art and science of describing a group or culture,’ relying largely on participant observation (observation by a field-worker who takes p art in the daily life of the society being studied) for data gathering, although numerous additional data collection techniques are available to the ethnographer for triangulation purposes. This is based on the idea that, by striving to find the locals’ point of view (Narayan 1993) the field-worker will be suitably equipped to understand why individuals within a social group do what they do, not simply recount observed phenomena.The participant observation will be conducted by working as a front-line bar person in each of the sampled pubs. Although this requires the co-operation of individual unit managers from the chain of public houses, major problems of access are not anticipated given the demand for experienced bar staff. This will enable the researcher to develop an in-depth understanding (Sandiford ; Ap 1998) of the outlets, their staff and the processes involved in the emotional labour conducted in the work environment.The participant observation will not be exclusivel y conducted in the work setting, as the social activities of staff are likely to provide a more holistic representation of the emotional demands and effects of pub work. Both informal and formal semi-structured interviews will be conducted with customers, service staff, line management and head office management to gain an insight into the views and experiences of different levels of employees throughout the company.Such interviews will also help audit the project’s findings at each stage of the analysis. Given the large number and different types of pubs in the United Kingdom, it is necessary to develop a view of the types of pub to be sampled. Primary consideration will be given to the size of pub, as, given the project’s objectives, it would be inappropriate to spend a long period of observation in a pub operated solely by a management couple with no, or very few, customer service staff.Giving an arbitrary minimum number of service staff at this stage also seems pre mature, although it is clear that the pubs to be studied should have a sufficient number of service staff, both full and part-time, to enable the researcher to address the research questions effectively. It would be desirable to target a mixture of geographical and demographic pub locations for the study, hopefully including one rural, and one urban setting which would provide different perspectives for the research and result in a variety of service phenomena for analysis.A flexible time plan has been developed, with the two months to review the literature more fully, conduct the pilot study and seek formal access to a pub company for the main study. The next 2 months will be used to collect the data, with on-going analysis, followed by 2 months for completing the analysis and the final report. Ethics Participant observation presents researchers with various ethical dilemmas, as to inform research subjects that they are being investigated can result in them behaving abnormally.Howe ver, it is felt that participating in the pubs to be studied for relatively long periods will help the researcher to integrate well into the work team even when known to be a researcher, and allow other members of staff to accept the researcher, thus minimising abnormal behaviour. Customers seem to present more of an ethical question, as it is not practical to explain to each one that they are being observed (Franklin 1985:9). In this project, however, staff and their reactions to the emotional demands of the job are the main foci of attention so it is felt that this is a relatively minor problem.Treatment of the Data The data will take various forms – the researcher will keep a daily personal journal containing field notes, personal observations and reflections on situations that arise; formal (and some informal) interviews will be recorded on audio tape whenever possible, and transcribed to avoid mistakes and mis-interpretations copies of these will be issued to interviewee s, when possible, for member checking, following a similar audit trail to that used by Sandiford (1997) especially related to the interpretation of data; relevant company documentation (e. g. raining manuals, policy statements, etc. ) will be examined, if permitted, to provide additional information related to emotional labour within the company. The data will undergo ethnographic analysis in order to develop a full picture of emotional labour. The researcher will follow the framework utilised in his MPhil research (Sandiford 1997) and outlined by Spradley (1980). Such a systematic approach to the analysis, through three major stages, will result in the reconstruction of audited cultural themes related to the phenomenon of emotional labour which will provide the basis for the resultant thesis.Planning See Gantt chart in Appendix A for a breakdown of the activities and the time required to complete them. Resources Required * Main researcher for 6 months, bar experience essential * Ty pist for 5 days to transcribe interviews * Access to academic library databases and Inter Library Loan * Digital voice recorder to record interviews (? 80) * Laptop to record daily logs while away from home (? 400) * Transport costs to and from Pubs, if pub not local (up to ? 200) * Accommodation if pub not local (? 1600) * Binding (? 100) Risk AnalysisRisk| Impact (I)| Prob (P)| I x P| Contingency| 4 week observation can’t be completed| 3| 1| 3| Organise stand-by pub, optionally delay completion of research| Data lost| 3| 1| 3| Ensure regular backups to secure source| Companies/Pubs won’t participate| 3| 2| 6| Establish possibilities early. Take advantage of 1:1 networking opportunities. Solicit help from members of ULMS| Technology fails| 2| 1| 2| Ensure backup solutions are available| Lack of co-operation with bar staff| 3| 1| 3| Ensure they understand the non-threatening nature of the study – not management driven.Provide support and understanding of their s ituation. | Quality Criteria Interview questions to be approved by supervisor and Head office contact before being used. Minimum of 6 weeks spent observing bar interactions Minimum of 6 interviews with customers Minimum of 8 bar staff interviews (at least 2 part-time and 2 full-time, and at least 3 males and 3 females) Minimum of 2 Bar manager interviews At least 1 interview with head office staff All interview transcripts to be approved by interviewee before being analysed All references to company to be made anonymous before publishing.Dissertation to be written using plain English, 12pt Roman, double spaced, Harvard Referencing, bound in maroon cloth covered boards with gold lettering. Monthly progress updates to supervisor and Head office contact. References Adelmann, P. K. (1995) ‘Emotional Labor as a Potential Source of Job Stress’, in, S. L. Sauter, L. R. Murphy (Eds. ) Organizational risk factors for job stress, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association , 371-381. Ashforth, B. E. ; Humphrey, R. H. (1993) ‘Emotional Labour in Service Roles: The Influence of Identity’, Academy of Management Review, 18, 1, 88-115. Blackmore, J. 1996) ‘Doing ‘Emotional Labour’ in the Education Market Place: Stories from the Field of Women in Management’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 17, 3, 337-349. Fetterman, D. (1998) Ethnography Step bySstep (2nd Ed. ) London: Sage. Folgero, Ingebjorg S. ; Fjeldstadt, Ingrid H. (1995) ‘On Duty – Off Guard: Cultural Norms and Sexual Harassment in Service Organizations’, Organization Studies, 16, 2, 299-313Franklin 1985:9). Gough, B. ; Edwards, G. (1998) ‘The Beer Talking: Four Lads, a Carry Out and the Reproduction of Masculinities,’ The Sociological Review, 46, 409-435.Hammersley, M. ; Atkinson, P. (1983) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, London: Routledge. Hey, V. (1986) Patriarchy and Pub Culture, London: Tavisto ck. Hochschild, A. R. , (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press, London. Hunt, Geoffrey ; Satterlee, Saundra (1987) Darts, Drink and the Pub: The Culture of Female Drinking,’ Sociological Review, 35, 3, Aug, 575-601 James, N. (1992) ‘Care = Organisation + Physical Labour + Emotional Labour’ Sociology of Health and Illness, 14: 4, Dec, 488-509. Ledgerwood, C. E. , Crotts, J. C. amp; Everett, A. M. (1998) ‘Antecedents of Employee Burnout in the Hotel Industry’, Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4, 31-44. Macdonald, C. L. ; Sirianni, C. (Eds. ) (1996) Working in the Service Society, Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Mintel Publications (1991) ‘Eating out,’ Leisure-Intelligence, 1, 1-28. Narayan, K. (1993), ‘How Native Is A Native Anthropologist? ’ American Anthropologist. Vol. 95, No. 3, pp. 671-686 O'Brien, M. (1994) ‘The Managed Heart Revisited: Heal th and Social Control’, Sociological-Review, 42: 3, Aug, 393-413 Phornprapha, S. & Guerrier, Y. 1997) ‘Restaurant Staff and their Supervisors: The Management of Emotions’, paper presented at The Fourth Recent Advances in Retailing and Services Science Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona, 30 June-3 July. Pierce, J. (1996) ‘Rambo Litigators: Emotional Labour in a Male-Dominated Occupation’, in C. Cheng, (Ed. ) Masculinities in Organizations, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 1-28 Riley, M. , Lockwood. , A. , Powel-Perry, J. , & Baker, M. (1988) ‘Job Satisfaction, Organisation Commitment and Occupational Culture: A Case from the UK Pub Industry’, Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4. 59-168 Sandiford, P. J. & Ap, J. (1998) ‘The Role of Ethnographic Techniques in Tourism Planning. ’ Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 37, No. 1, August 1998, 3-11 Sandiford, P. J. (1997), Social and Cultural Impacts of Imported Labour at the New Chek Lap Kok Airport Development, Hong Kong, Unpublished M. Phil Thesis, The Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Scherer, K. R. (1996) ‘Emotion’, in M. Hewstone, W. Stroebe & G. M. Stephenson (Eds) Introduction to Social Psychology, 2nd. Ed. , Oxford: Blackwell Smith, M.A. (1985a) ‘The Publican: Role Conflict and Aspects of Social Control,’ Service Industries Journal, 5: 1 March, 23-36. Smith, M. A. (1985b) ‘A Participant Observer Study of a ‘Rough' Working-Class Pub,’ Leisure Studies, 4, 3, Sept, 293-306 Spradley, J. P. (1980) Participant Observation, Orlando: Rinehart and Winston Stenross, B. & Kleinman, S. (1989) ‘The Highs and Lows of Emotional Labor: Detectives’ Encounters with Criminals and Victims’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 17, 4, January, 435-452 Weatherly, Kristopher A. & Tansik, David A. 1993) ‘Tactics Used by Customer-Contact Workers: Effects of Role Stress, Boundary Spanning and Control’, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 4, 3, 4-17 Wharton, A. S. (1993) ‘The Affective Consequences of Service Work: Managing Emotions on the Job,’ Work and Occupations, 20, 2, May, 205-232 Williams, C. E. (1996) ‘The British Pub: An Industry in Transition,’ Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 37, 6, 62-73. Yin, R. K. (1989) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, London: Sage. Appendix A – Project Plan