The Black Death and its aftermath Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Black Death and its aftermath - Essay Example The religious view argued that the "Black Death" was created by the Jews so that they could eliminate all the Christians from this world. They believed that the Jews had poisoned all the wells and springs. Therefore, they persecuted the Jews demanding them to confess their evil schemes. Many of the Jews confessed that they obtained this lethal poison from a foreign land but it was done without the knowledge of the Jewish community. Many communities had to pray hard for rain so that their people could have pure water to drink and cook. Some of the regions that were severely affected by this disease believed that God would want the Jews to be punished for this act. So they began to burn the Jews for poisoning all the wells and springs. As a result of the torture, many Jews were adopted to the Christian faith through baptism in order to avoid undeserved punishment 2 (Horrox, 1994). The religious view also argued that the plague was a punishment from God. They believed that the human race deserved to be punished because of their disobedience to God. People lived lifestyles that were sinful, unrighteous and not pleasing to him. Because of this, God had to demonstrate his sovereign power by allowing humanity to suffer. People could be cured from this disease but in order to be healed they had to humble themselves and totally submit to His authority. In comparison, the practitioners from Egyptian and Mesopotamian nations had 'medicine' to make peace with the gods. They believed that performing certain rituals and incantations before the sick person would cause him to be delivered from the demon spirit, for they all believed that diseases were caused by demons 3 (Horrox, 1994; & Longrigg, 1998). The medical theory presented two main explanations on the plague. Firstly, they believed that the cause of 'Black Death' was associated with "miasma" which means "bad air". They said that when a person inhales 'bad air' it goes directly into their lungs before it gets transmitted into their blood stream. Therefore, it starts to affect the patient's body by generating various symptoms such as headaches, coughing up blood, and a rain increase in the pulse rate. 2 The disease also would spread quickly into the air when the afflicted patient exhaled. This medical theory supported the fact that the air was not the main cause of the plague; instead, the plague was a direct result of the pollution or bacteria in the air that which was the cause for the disease. So when a normal individual contracted the disease through an afflicted person, they were both required to immediately leave the town before they passed it on to more people4 (Horrox, 1994). The medical theory also claimed that the plague was caused by an imbalance in the individuals' diet. For instance, individuals with inadequate nourishment were more vulnerable to the plague than people with malnutrition. People who consume an adequate amount of water were less susceptible to the disease. This indicated that the socioeconomic status was a significant factor in determining the rate at which the disease spread. Therefore, people from low class families were mainly blamed for the elevation of 'Black Death'. The medical view

Impact of Culture on Marketing

Impact of Culture on Marketing The impact of culture on how the products or services might be marketed in various regions around the world. Nandos is a multi-national food chain restaurant with thousands of restaurants across the globe. Nandos are a South-African food chain that has expanded globally over the last 15 years. The Impact of culture on how this food product/service has been viewed in various countries around the world had originally had a negative effect when Nandos first tried to expand to different countries. When expanding a business globally one of the main objectives to making an impact on the market is to take into consideration that countries culture. This is what Nandos failed to do and hence cost the in terms of how fast the company expanded. It has rigidly and excessively stuck to its corporate culture exhibited in South Africa. It failed to note that South Africans national culture is not the same thing as what applies in countries in European and Asian states . (Cross Cultural Management Report On Nandos Cultural Studies Essay) A time when Nandos did adjust their product or service to have an impact on a particular culture was when they collectively targeted people in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan. The company knows that during the month Ramadan takes place, Muslim people do not eat during sunlight as it is part of there religious beliefs. Nandos open there restaurants right up to midnight to offer a better service to the customers as they feast at sundown. This years Ramadan will run from Friday 26th of May till Saturday 24th June. With Social media being at the forefront of communicating today that is where Nandos do most of their advertising as it costs less than any other source of advertisement. The problem with this is when Nandos releases and ad online it must cater for all the different cultures of the countries in which they have restaurants in and countries they wish to expand to. They must not cause worldwide unrest. A time when the food chain did cause a huge global cultural problem was on March 26th 2016 when the released a paper print advertisement that was in the English Daily newspaper. The print read: We dont mind if you touch our buns, or breasts, or even our thighs. Whatever youre into, enjoying any Nandos meal with your hands is always recommended, read the advertisement. The headline read: Try something you can grab with both hands. Source: (NandoS Cheeky Print Ad Stirs Up Trouble; Ends In Public Apology) This little piece of advertisement placed in an English newspaper grabbed headlines in India it was that controversial. The topic was covered by the indianexpress.com Nandos received severe backlash from people on social media as many people viewed this as being sexist towards women. This resulted in Nandos issuing an apology to its followers. Source: (NandoS Cheeky Print Ad Stirs Up Trouble; Ends In Public Apology) This is just one cultural issue that Nandos got wrong when marketing not only in the UK but globally that had a negative effect on customers. This shines the company negatively that will see customers and potential customers boycott the brand thus, delays the company from growing and building cultural relationships with countries. The Impact of culture on how an organisation might be managed from a HR perspective. When an organization is growing internationally, culture must be instilled within the core of an organization. Culture is a huge part of business, especially big international companies as it is tough to take all the determinants of culture into account of a whole country, youve got to make sure you are not insulting anyone and all the barriers have been successfully resolved.The norms of culture are: religion, political economic philosophies, education, language and social structure. The norms and values of culture evolve overtime.It is vital a manger tells their employees what these values and norms are so that they can carry out their duties how the mangers want the company to be seen by its customers. The Nando s management in the South African headquarter had given no room for the management of its firms in other countries to operate freely this has given them no room for innovative strategic marketing planning in observance to the environment in which they operate in . The national culture of South Africa has greatly influenced the corporate culture of the Nandos organization and it thus constituted a negative impact when its adherence and transfer to other national culture that is not compatible , led to the unprofitable business operations in these countries . (Cross Cultural Management Report On Nandos Cultural Studies Essay) The impact of culture on issues such as negotiations with local suppliers and agents. Nandos are a company that basis themselves on serving their customers with fresh never frozen chicken but this has come under scrutiny. Nandos came under fire in 2013 when a Daily Mail reporter wrote an article describing the whole story about why Nandos chicken isnt as wholesome as you think (Daily Mail, 2013). They suggested that Faccenda, one of Nandos main chicken suppliers, kept the chickens in poor conditions, (NandoS Ethical Practice And How It Could Be Improved) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦these birds will have been bred in hangar-like sheds, never setting foot outdoors in the six weeks it takes them to reach their genetically engineered slaughter weight. (Daily Mail, 2013). If this was through it would have a knock on effect when the company went to negotiate with other suppliers and would maybe cause customers to go elsewhere for natural fresh chicken. For example Nandos main fresh chicken suppliers (uk) as posted on their website are: Cargill, Moy Park, Faccenda, Freemans of Newent and 2sisters. The other suppliers of the fresh chicken may boycott the company as they dont want to be labelled with suppliers such as Faccenda as it could have repercussions on their trade in the future. This could leave Nandos with suppliers cancelling their trade agreements. Another impact this could have with negotiations with local suppliers and agents is with this article being released the other suppliers may demand more money as they are supplying fully fresh chicken compared to Faccenda suppliers. Nandos also came under scrutiny in 2014 when the guardian released an article questioning how ethical Nandos is. Recently the Enthoven family, who owns Nandos, has been found to have a secretive offshore  £750m trust located in a Channel Islands. This offshore trust means that family can avoid UK inheritance tax on all their fortune (The Guardian, 2014). However the restaurant group pointed out that they paid  £12.6m in UK corporation tax last year. This also could have had an impact on Nandos when they want to expand in the UK in terms of taxes and the relationship with the government. Suggestions       Nandos actions on social media is one of the main areas that needs to be adjusted in order to entice more people to eat in their restaurants. Social media connects everyone around the world. People of all cultures so Nandos must be careful want content/ads they release online as it could be seen as funny by one nation and disrespectful by another. Nandos is known for releasing these controversial adverts around the world. From my findings this is the main area the company needs to adjust or rethink. Whoever looks after the social media on behalf of Nandos make sure they have the necessary training it takes to operate these profiles. From my findings another area I havent mentioned a lot is the Nandos menu. It is almost the same all across the world. 90% of the menu is the same as it is here in Ireland. I think a good idea would be to introduce more types of food options on menus in countries based on the culture of the country that Nandos operate in. For example: India already has 5 restaurants, with Nandos planning on expanding their. Integrate Indian delicacies to the menu to cater for that country to try entice more of the locals that are not fans of the Portuguese food Nandos serve. Bibliography: Leigh, David, James Ball, and Leila Haddou. Nandos Using Secretive Tax Haven Trust To Avoid Inheritance Tax Bills. the Guardian. N.p., 2017. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. NandoS Ethical Practice And How It Could Be Improved. rmtheory2practice. N.p., 2017. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. NandoS Cheeky Print Ad Stirs Up Trouble; Ends In Public Apology. The Indian Express. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2017. Cross Cultural Management Report On Nandos Cultural Studies Essay. UKEssays. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2017.

My first Sonne and Mid Term Break Essay -- English Literature

My first Sonne and Mid Term Break In this essay I will be comparing and commenting on the poems ‘My first Sonne’, by Ben Johnson and ‘Mid Term Break’ by Seamus Heaney. These poems are all a reflection on a close relative’s death and portray the poet’s emotions, feelings and thoughts. However while Ben Johnson loses a son Seamus Heaney loses a brother, from these poems we see two different types of emotions. Mid term break is an autobiographical poem written by Seamus Heaney when thinking back about the death of his little brother. ‘My first Sonne’ is also autobiographical, but is about the death of Ben Johnson’s seven year old son. Despite the fact that both poems are about death the poets’ emotions are very different, ban Johnson regrets loving his son and Heaney finds peace when he sees his brother once again. In life there is a moral order of death, which is that parents should never have to bury their children, but both the poems are the opposite of the moral order. Even though both poems are different responses to death I think that they are both equally effective. The poets’ use of lexis, structures and themes help make their poems effective. Meaning is important in both poems, it shows us that death can strike at any time and can have a great impact on us. I think both poems have straight forward meaning- we see Benn Johnson trying to create meaning in his poem for why his son died. Ben Johnson blames himself for loving his child too much, even though we know that infant mortality was high at this point. Johnson does not take into mind the context of the time he was living in. Structure is important in poems as it affects the rhythm and the tone, this could affect the whole meaning of a ... ...e Gods with Jesus’. Even though the reader may not be religious the use of expressions makes it easier to understand than Mid Term Break. Heaney in his final line uses alliteration to end the poem, this final stanza gains our sympathy and we empathise with him. Johnson uses a similar technique, using his final line to gain the views understanding and sympathy. Both poets use words which describe what has happened and how they feel, for example Johnson describes his son being ‘exacted’. This is another meaning for collecting, debt collecting. I feel that both poems are effective in their meaning- however personally My First Sonne gains my empathy more than Mid- Term Break. I think this is because it is more understandable and not as complex. Having lost a close person I can understand what Johnson feels- a rush of anger followed by love and regret.

Trail of Tears and the Five Civilized Tribes

During the early years of 1800s, valuable gold deposits were discovered in tribal lands, which by previous cessions had been reduced to about seven million acres in northwest Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and southwest North Carolina. In 1819, Georgia appealed to the U. S. government to remove the Cherokee from Georgia lands. When the appeal failed, attempts were made to purchase the territory. Meanwhile, in 1820 the Cherokee established a governmental system modeled on that of the United States, with an elected principal chief, a senate, and a house of representatives. Because of this system, the Cherokee were included as one of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes. The other four tribes were the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and the Seminoles. In 1832, in spite of the fact the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Georgia legislation was unconstitutional, federal authorities, following Jackson†s policy of Native American removal, ignored the decision. About five hundred leading Cherokee agreed in 1835 to cede the tribal territory in exchange for $5,700,000 and land in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Their action was repudiated by more than nine-tenths of the tribe, and several members of the group were later assassinated. In 1838 federal troops began forcible evicting the Cherokee. Approximately one thousand escaped to the North Carolina Mountains, purchased land, and incorporated in that state; they were the ancestors of the present-day Eastern Band. Most of the tribe, including the Western Band, was driven west about eight hundred miles in a forced march, known as the Trail of Tears. The march west included 18,000 to 20,000 people, of whom about 4000 perished through hunger, disease, and exposure. The Cherokee are of the Iroquoian linguistic family. Their economy, like that of the other southeastern tribes, was based on intensive agriculture, mainly of corn, beans, and squash. Deer, bear, and elk were hunted. The tribe was divided into seven matrilineal clans that were dispersed in war and peace moieties (half-tribes). The people lived in numerous permanent villages, some of which belonged to the war moiety, the rest to the peace moiety. In the early 19th century, the Cherokee demonstrated unusual adaptability to Western institutions, both in their governmental changes and in their adoption of Western method of animal harvesting and farming. Public schools were established and in the 1820s, a tribal member invented an 85-character syllable script for the Cherokee language. Widespread literacy followed almost immediately. In 1828 the first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, began publication. Today in Oklahoma, much of the culture has remained the same. Their traditional crafts are most strongly preserved by the Eastern Band where their basketry is considered to be equal to or better than that of earlier times. In Oklahoma the Cherokee live both on and off the reservation, scattered in urban centers and in isolated rural regions. Their occupations range form fishing to industrial labor to business management. In North Carolina, farming, forestry, factory work, and tourism are sources of income. As of 1990 there were 308,132 Cherokee descendants in the United States. Another member of the five tribes is the Seminoles, a Native American tribe of the Muskogean language family. Most now live in Oklahoma and southern Florida. The Seminole tribe developed in the 18th century from members of the Creed Confederacy, mostly Creeks and Hitchiti, who raided and eventually settled in Florida. After the United States acquired Florida in 1819, the territorial governor, Andrew Jackson, initiated a vigorous policy of tribal removal to open the land for white settlers. After the capture of their leader Osceola in 1837 and the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842, several thousand Seminole were forcibly moved west to Indian Territory. At the end of the Third Seminole War in 1858, about 250 more were sent west. The rest were allowed to remain, and their descendants signed a peace treaty with the United States in 1935. In 1964 the Miccosukee signed a 50-year agreement with national Park Service that allows the Miccosukee access to more than 300 acres of the Everglades. The Florida Seminole have five reservations. They farm, hunt, fish, and some run tourist-related businesses. Many still live in thatch-roofed, open-sided houses on stilts and wear patchwork and applique clothing. The Seminole in Oklahoma were given a smaller reservation after the American Civil War. In the late 19th century they yielded to pressure to divide their tribal land into individual allotments and cede the surplus to the United States; this land was opened to settlers in 1889. In 1990 Seminole descendants numbered 13, 797. Many were Baptists, but both the Florida and Oklahoma groups retained traditional Muskogean observances. The three remaining tribes, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and the Creek, are all close in relationship. All tribes are of the Muskogean linguistic family and all occupied an area that now includes Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky. The Chickasaw lived in dwellings constructed alongside streams and rivers rather than in villages. They obtained food by hunting, fishing, and farming. The Creek were an agricultural tribe, living in villages consisting of log houses. Creek women cultivated corn, squash, beans, and other crops, and the men hunted and fished. The Choctaw were less warlike that their traditional enemies, the Chickasaw and the Creek. They lived in mud and bark cabins with thatched roofs. They were also agricultural people, probably the most able farmers of the southeastern region. They also raised cattle, fished, and hunted. In 1990 the Chickasaw and their descendants numbered 20,631, the Creek heritage numbered 43,550, and a large number of Choctaw and their descendants live principally in Oklahoma and also in Mississippi and Louisiana. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Choctaw were forced to move farther and farther west to avoid conflict with European settlers. By 1842 they had ceded most of their land to the United States and were relocated in Indian Territory, land set aside for them in present-day Oklahoma. Here the Choctaw became, along with Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole, part of a group of Native Americans known as the Five Civilized Tribes, so called because they had organized governments the establishment of public schools and newspapers.

Importance and Evolution of Human Resource Accounting

Human resource accounting comprise accounting for outgos related to human resource as assets opposed to traditional accounting attack which treats these costs as disbursals that will cut down net incomes of organisation. Importance and engagement to growing in HRA to growing have been clear in figure of states. Human Resource Accounting ( HRA ) comprise accounting for outgos of human resources as assets on the other manus traditional accounting attack which treats costs of human resource as disbursals that will cut down net incomes of organisation importance and parts to growing in HRA have been plain in a figure of states Importance and engagement to growing in HRA to growing have been clear in figure of states. Since the constitution of globalisation of concern and services, human rudimentss are going more of import input for the success of any organisation. It helps the direction to construction policies for human resources. Human resource accounting is a procedure of placing and mensurating informations about human resources. Measurement of the investing in human resources will assist to measure the charges in human resource investing over a period of clip. HRA is non a new issue in the field of concern. Economists think about human capital as a production factor, and they explore different ways of mensurating its investing in instruction, wellness, and other countries. Accountants have accepted the value of human assets for at least 70 old ages. Cardinal words:Human Resource Accounting, Human Capital accounting, Human resource. Introduction The success of economic undertakings and accomplishing its ends depends mostly on the efficiency and effectivity of human resources, and as the human component is a existent provider of any undertaking, and material resources are contribution factors, adult male what owned the accomplishments and enjoyed by the desire to work is a important component to accomplish production efficiency and profitableness, the undertakings spent a batch of money in the enlisting and choice and preparation of workers. The traditional accounting position these charges treated as current outgos charged to the income of the fiscal period when ciphering the net net income, although it represents investing disbursement in order to make assets of the establishment, and hence to promote the an organisation to see human resources as Capital Assets. When doing determinations on the assets they expect to acquire all the future benefits, every bit good as promote the organisation to making an incorporate system o f human resources accounting. Need of HRA and its applications Human Resource Accounting provides helpful information to the disposal, fiscal analysts and human resources on the undermentioned issues. 1.Human Resource Accounting helps the direction in the Employment, turn uping and use of human resources. 2.It supports in make up one's minding the preparation, publicity, and retrenchment of human resources. 3.It provides a footing for planning of human resources. 4.It helps in measuring the costs incurred for leaving furthermore developing in employees. 5.It supports to find the causes of high labor turnover at assorted degrees and taking defensive steps to incorporate it. 6.It helps in turn uping the existent cause for low return on investing, like improper or under-utilization of physical assets or human resource or both. 7.It supports in apprehension and measuring the interior strength of an organisation and helps the direction to maneuver the company good through most inauspicious and unfavourable fortunes. 8.It provides valuable information for individuals interested in doing long term investing in the house. 9.It supports employees in bettering their public presentation and bargaining power. It makes each of them to understand his part towards the improvement of the house vis- & A ; agrave ; -vis the outgo incurred by the house on them. Develop of HRA reappraisal Although human resource accounting ( HRA ) is a comparatively new field, its development has already passed through several discernable phases. The first phase of growing, from 1960 to 1966, was distinct by involvement in HRA and the beginning of basic HRA constructs from related organic structures of theory, The initial impulse for the development of HRA came from a assortment of beginnings, including the economic theory of human capital, the new human resource point of view, and a concern for human assets as constituents of corporate ( flamholtz, 1999 ) .there was many phase during development of Human resource accounting as followers: First period ( 1960-66) : This characters the foundation of academic attending in the country of Human Resource Accounting. though, the centre was chiefly on derive Human Resource Accounting constructs from other surveies like the fiscal theory of capital, psychological theories of leadership-effectiveness, the lifting constructs of human resource as dissimilar from forces or human dealingss ; every bit good as the measuring of concern good will. Second period ( 1966-71 ): The focal point here was more on lifting and validates different theoretical accounts for HRA. These theoretical accounts enclosed both costs and the pecuniary and non-monetary value of HR. The seek was to develop some tools that would assist the organisations in measuring and organisation their human resource/assets in a more rational mode. One of the first surveies here was that of Roger Hermanson, who as portion of his Ph.D. studied the job of mensurating the value of human assets as an component of good will. Inspired by his work, a figure of research undertakings were undertaken by the research workers to develop the constructs and methods of accounting for human resource. Third period: ( 1971-76 ) This period was distinct by a extended attending in the field of HRA taking to a speedy growing of research in the country. The focal point in most instances was on the issues of application of HRA in concern organisations. R.G. Barry experiments contributed well during this phase. ( R.G.BarryCorporation:1971 ) Fourth period ( 1976-1980 ) : This was a period of diminution in the country of HRA chiefly because the multipart issues that needed to be explored needed much deeper experiential research than was required for the old simple theoretical accounts. The organisations, nevertheless, were non ready to back up such research. They set up the thought of HRA interesting but did non happen much usage in pump in great amounts or puting batch of clip and power in back uping the research. Fifth period ( 1980 onwards) : There was a unexpected regeneration of attending in the field of HRA to some extent cause of most of the developed economic systems had displacement from fabricating to service economic systems and perceived the criticalness of human plus for their organisations. Since the endurance, increase net incomes of the organisations were evident to be reliant more on the rational assets of the organisations than on the physical assets ; the demand was felt to hold more true steps for HR costs, investings and value. An of import result of this renewed involvement was that unlike the old decennaries, when the involvements were chiefly academic with some practical applications, from mid 90s the focal point has been on greater application of HRA to concern direction. Different types of theoretical accounts to accommodate the specific demands of the organisations have been developed integrating both the touchable and the intangible facets. Besides, larger figure of organisations really began to utilize HRA as portion of their managerial and fiscal accounting pattern. Today, human and rational capitals are perceived to be the strategic resources and hence, clear appraisal of their value has gained important importance. The increased force per unit areas for corporate administration and the corporate codification of behavior demanding transparence in accounting have farther supported the demand for developing methods of mensurating human value.

U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low in 2016

U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low in 2016 In a trend that has some demographers worried, the birth rate in the United States dropped to its lowest level ever in 2016. Dropping by another full 1% from 2015, there were only 62 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. Overall, there were a total of 3,945,875 babies born in the United States during 2016. â€Å"This is the second year that the number of births has declined following an increase in 2014. Prior to that year, the number of births declined steadily from 2007 through 2013,† noted the CDC. According to an analysis issued by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), birth rates in all age groups under age 30 fell to all-time record lows. Among women ages 20 to 24, the decline was 4%. Among women ages 25 to 29, the rate fell 2 percent.   Drop in Teenage Pregnancy Drives Trend In an analysis issued by the National Center for Health Statistics, researchers report that birth rates declined to record lows in all groups under age 30. Among women ages 20 to 24, the decline was 4 percent. For women 25 to 29, the rate fell 2 percent. Driving the trend, the fertility and birth  rate among teenagers and 20-somethings fell by 9% from 2015 to 2016, continuing a long-term decline of 67% since 1991. While they are often used interchangeably, the term â€Å"fertility rate† refers to the number of births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 occurring in a particular year, while â€Å"birth  rate† refers to the fertility rates within particular age groups or specific demographic groups. Does This Mean the Total Population is Falling? The fact that the all-time low fertility and birth  rate puts the United States population below the â€Å"replacement level† - the balance point between births and deaths at which the population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next - does not mean that the total U.S. population is falling. The annual U.S. immigration rate of 13.5% in 2017 still more than compensates for the lower fertility rates. Indeed, while the birth  rate continued to fall consistently throughout the period from 1990 to 2017, the nation’s total population increased by over 74 million people, from 248,709,873 in 1990 to an estimated 323,148,586 in 2017. Potential Dangers of a Falling Birthrate  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite a growing total population, some demographers and social scientists worry that if the birth  rate continues to slide, the U.S. could face a â€Å"baby crisis† resulting in cultural and economic pathos. Far more than an indicator of societal trends, a nation’s birth  rate is one of the most significant gauges of its overall demographic health. If the fertility rate falls too far below the replacement level, there is a danger that the nation will lose the ability to replace its aging workforce, leaving it unable to generate the amount of tax revenue needed to keep the economy stable, maintain or grow the infrastructure, and become unable to provide essential government services. On the other side, if birth  rates get too high, overpopulation can strain the nation’s available resources such as housing, social services, and safe food and water.   Over the decades, countries like France and Japan, experiencing the negative effects of a low birth  rate have applied pro-family policies in attempts to encourage couples to have babies. However, in nations such as India, where fertility rates have fallen slightly over the last few decades, residual overpopulation still results in wide-spread starvation and abject poverty. US Birthrates Up Among Older Women The US birth  rate is not falling among all age groups. According to the CDC’s findings, the fertility rate for women ages 30 to 34 rose by 1% over the 2015 rate, and the rate for women ages 35 to 39 went up by 2%, the highest rate in that age group since 1962. The birth  rate among older women ages 40 to 44 also increased, up 4% over 2015. In addition, the fertility rate for women ages 45 to 49 increased to 0.9 births per thousand from 0.8 in 2015. Other Details of US Birthrates in 2016 Unmarried Women: Among unmarried women, the birth rate fell to 42.1 births per 1,000 women, down from 43.5 per 1,000 in 2015. Falling for the eighth consecutive year, the birthrate for unmarried women has now dropped by over 3% since reaching its peak in 2007 and 2008. By race, 28.4% of white babies, 52.5% of Hispanics, and 69.7% of black babies were born to unmarried parents in 2016. Preterm Birthrate: Describing babies born before 37 weeks of gestation, the preterm birth rate increased for the second consecutive year to 9.84% per 1,000 women from 9.63% per 1,000 women in 2015.  This slight increase in preterm births came after a decline of 8% from 2007 to 2014. The highest rate of preterm birth was among non-Hispanic blacks, at 13.75% per 1,000 women, while the lowest was among Asians, at 8.63% per 1,000 women. Use of Tobacco by Mother: For the first time, the CDC reported data on mothers’ use of tobacco during pregnancy. Of the women who gave birth in 2016, 7.2% reported smoking tobacco at some point while pregnant. Tobacco use was the most common earlier in pregnancy - 7.0% of women smoked in their first trimester, 6.0% in their second, and 5.7% in their third. Of the 9.4% of women who reported smoking in the 3 months prior to becoming pregnant, 25.0% quit smoking before pregnancy.

Free Essays on Trying To Fit In

Adapting to a new country is really hard. You need to learn the new country’s language and culture in order to integrate into its citizenship. In the essay â€Å"The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl,† Elizabeth Wong describes her tough experience of trying to fit in while her mother is trying to remind her that she has Chinese roots and she should not forget about them. For example, she is forced to go to a Chinese school in order to learn her family’s language. However, she does not believe Chinese is the language that is going to help her to fit in the crowd. Besides, people at Chinatown always congratulate her for being a young lady who speaks English. This, gave her more enthusiasm to become an â€Å"All-American Girl†. At last, she finally reaches her main goal by being allowed to stop attending the Chinese school, however, she still not happy. Although my experience did not involve attending any school, I had a similar experience that relates to the author’s. When I was a child my mom would buy me as many books as she could so I would not forget to speak Spanish. First, Wong says that she is forced by her mother to do things that she did not want to do, â€Å"everyday at 5 p.m. instead of playing with friends, [her] brother and [she] [had] to go to a Chinese school†(114). As the author I was also lectured by my mother every time she had an opportunity to do it. I must admit that it was really hard for her to keep me on track due to the fact that at school I did not use the language. Moreover, I did not believe I needed to learn Spanish because we were in America. Likewise, Wong believes that Chinese is not the language she needs in order to succeed, â€Å"Nancy Drew, [her] favorite book heroine, never spoke Chinese† (115). Diaz 2 Unlike the author, I remember I used to argue with my parents about why it was so important to them that I learn Spanish. In fact, I remember my parents telling me that just because I liv... Free Essays on Trying To Fit In Free Essays on Trying To Fit In Adapting to a new country is really hard. You need to learn the new country’s language and culture in order to integrate into its citizenship. In the essay â€Å"The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl,† Elizabeth Wong describes her tough experience of trying to fit in while her mother is trying to remind her that she has Chinese roots and she should not forget about them. For example, she is forced to go to a Chinese school in order to learn her family’s language. However, she does not believe Chinese is the language that is going to help her to fit in the crowd. Besides, people at Chinatown always congratulate her for being a young lady who speaks English. This, gave her more enthusiasm to become an â€Å"All-American Girl†. At last, she finally reaches her main goal by being allowed to stop attending the Chinese school, however, she still not happy. Although my experience did not involve attending any school, I had a similar experience that relates to the author’s. When I was a child my mom would buy me as many books as she could so I would not forget to speak Spanish. First, Wong says that she is forced by her mother to do things that she did not want to do, â€Å"everyday at 5 p.m. instead of playing with friends, [her] brother and [she] [had] to go to a Chinese school†(114). As the author I was also lectured by my mother every time she had an opportunity to do it. I must admit that it was really hard for her to keep me on track due to the fact that at school I did not use the language. Moreover, I did not believe I needed to learn Spanish because we were in America. Likewise, Wong believes that Chinese is not the language she needs in order to succeed, â€Å"Nancy Drew, [her] favorite book heroine, never spoke Chinese† (115). Diaz 2 Unlike the author, I remember I used to argue with my parents about why it was so important to them that I learn Spanish. In fact, I remember my parents telling me that just because I liv...

ACT Prep for ESL and Bilingual Students

ACT Prep for ESL and Bilingual Students SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Unless a 4 year college has a test flexible policy, it requires the ACT or SAT from all its applicants. Since the ACT is meant to measure your academic skills for college classes that will be taught in English, there's no option for ACT dual language or ACT instructions in another language. ESL and bilingual students have to take the ACT for many colleges. In a lot of cases, they have to take the TOEFL or IELTS, as well, to demonstrate their English language proficiency. The ACT is a tough test for all students, and its time and verbal demands make it especially challenging for English language learners. Luckily, prepping for the ACT, once you have sufficient English language skills, can go a long way toward improving your scores. Let's go over what the ACT is all about and what you can do to get ready. What's Tested on the ACT? If you're looking for an ACT ESL or ACT in Spanish version, unfortunately you're out of luck. There's no option for ACT dual language for bilingual students. Having limited English proficiency doesn't count as a reason to get extended time, either. Only students with a documented disability may be approved for time accommodations. The ACT has four sections, all of them in English: English, Math, Reading, and Science. They always come in that order. There's also the option of taking the ACT with Writing, which adds a 30 minute essay at the end. A lot of non-native English speakers prefer the ACT to the SAT for a few reasons. One is that the essay is not required and not a part of the overall score, unlike on the current SAT. A second reason is that the ACT doesn't test as advanced, high level vocabulary as the SAT. Finally, a lot of students appreciate that the ACT has a Science section, which is more quantitative and less heavy on verbal skills. The English section tests your knowledge of grammar rules and structure. You'll have to identify and fix sentence errors within paragraphs, along with rearranging ideas for a more logical organization. The Math tests pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry and comes in one long 60 minute section. After Math is the Reading section. Reading presents passages and asks questions about main purpose, vocabulary, and inferences, among others. Finally, the Science section asks about biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences, but focuses less on facts and more on reasoning and interpretation skills within the field of natural sciences. It doesn't test very advanced content knowledge, so you may have all the scientific background you need by 9th or 10th grade. Because of the Science section's emphasis on skills of interpretation and reasoning, it's sometimes likened to the Reading section even more than to the Math. Even so, a lot of ESL students find they can score more highly on the Math and Science sections. The ACT is a time intensive, fast-paced test. You'll have to answer a lot of questions under limited time. this means you also have to have the language skills to answer questions accurately and quickly. The good news is that the test is very coachable, and preparation goes a long way. Before starting to prep, you should ask yourself, What's my English level? Am I ready to start prepping for the ACT? First step: measure your ESL level. What's Your English Level? What would you consider your level of English to be, beginner, intermediate, or advanced? Apart from your level in your classes at school, another way to measure your English skills is by taking the TOEFL. Many ACT experts agree that you aren't ready to start prepping for the ACT until you've scored between an 80 and 90 on the TOEFL. The minimum TOEFL score I've seen colleges require is a 79, while an Ivy League school like Yale requires at least 100. While ACT prep is essential and can help you achieve large score improvements, you have to have enough knowledge of the language to prep effectively. Let's look at what you can do to prepare yourself at each of these three levels. If you're High Beginner or High Intermediate, you can take advice from both sections and determine which approach best applies to you. ACT Prep for Beginner English Language Learners If you're in beginner level ESL, then you're probably not ready quite yet to start prepping for the ACT or to go directly into college level courses. You should focus on improving your English language reading, writing, listening, and speaking. You can begin to familiarize yourself with what's tested on the ACT, and that way you can make sure to learn relevant information, like math terms and grammar rules. Overall, the best approach you can take at this level is to continue learning English. If you're already a senior in high school, you might consider an ESL bridge program. A lot of colleges, like UMass Boston, University of New Hampshire, and Roger Williams, offer programs for ESL students to study English before moving into the undergraduate program. Another option is enrolling in community college, which may require the TOEFL but won't ask for the ACT. You can keep improving your English there and gaining college credits. When you're ready, you can then transfer to a 4-year college. In the end, your diploma will be from the 4-year college. As a beginner ESL student, you should contine building up your vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing skills, and knowledge of English idioms. Once you approach the intermediate and high intermediate level, you can begin to do more focused prep for the ACT. Start early to give your skills time to grow. ACT Prep for Intermediate English Language Learners If you're an intermediate ELL, then you could benefit from some ACT prep, but still will have challenges with English, Reading, and, if you choose to take it, essay section. If you want a more precise measure of your readiness, you might take the TOEFL or try sample TOEFL questions to see if you make that benchmark of 80 to 90. The first step in prep should be familiarizing yourself with exactly what's tested on the ACT. What do you need to know for the English, Math, Reading, and Science sections? Find out about the types of questions, what the instructions say, and how much time you have. Eventually, learn about strategies to save time and narrow down your answer choices. As I mentioned above, ESL students typically score higher on the Math and Science sections than on the English and Reading. For these sections, you want to make sure you've learned the content, like geometry and trigonometry, as well as brush up on your math and science vocabulary. You may be a whiz at trigonometry, but if you don't understand what a question is asking, you won't be able to show it. Native and non-native English speakers prepping for the ACT should focus their prep on the areas where they need it most. If reading comprehension and essay writing are most challenging for you, then spend the most amount of time reviewing, practicing, and going over your mistakes in those sections. For the English section, study grammar rules and read as much as you can with an eye for structure and organization of ideas. Another way you can root out your strong areas and weak points is by taking official ACT practice tests. Score them and find out where you did well and where you need to improve. Most intermediate students will still have a tough time scoring highly on the ACT, as it really requires advanced English skills. Your prep can help you improve both your performance on the ACT and your English at the same time. While you prep, though, you want to make sure you're using the most effective method. Let's consider the options. Choose the method of test prep that will best get you from Point A to Point B. Methods of ACT Prep for Intermediate Students There are a few main methods of prep for the ACT: self-studying with books, classes, online prep programs like PrepScholar, and one-on-one tutoring. Of these four methods, I would only recommend the last two for intermediate ESL students, online programs and one-on-one tutoring. The ACT is a challenging test, and coming up with and sticking to a study plan is tough as well. With books, you don't know if you're tackling the material in the best way. You also will probably run into confusion and not have anyone to help clear it up. A major part of test prep is reading through answer explanations and analyzing your mistakes. If you're unsure why you made a mistake, then you won't learn for next time. Instead, you'll repeat it over and over. The problem with classes is that few are geared toward ESL students. They move at too fast a pace and don't offer a ton of individualized attention. A class could end up discouraging you more than it teaches you. With online programs and one-on-one tutoring, you have the help and explanations you need. PrepScholar's program starts with a diagnostic pre-test, and then customizes the curriculum and study plan to best meet your needs. You'll know exactly how to prep, use high quality material, and have access to lots of strategies. Plus you'll get feedback on ACT essays. Tutors can also customize curriculum for you. The best ones have experience working with ESL students. The limitation here is the cost of tutoring, the skill of the tutor, and potentially infrequent meetings. With an online program, you can access it anytime you have internet. Prep takes a lot of time, dedication, and structure to do well. If possible, you should start a year or two out and leave yourself time to take the ACT more than once. Finally, this brings us to ESL students who are in the advanced level and/or fluent. How should advanced ESL students prep for the ACT? ACT Prep for Advanced English Language Learners The ACT is a demanding test for native and non-native speakers of English. Advanced ESL students sometimes have an advantage over native English speakers, because they usually explicity study the grammar rules and conventions of English. If this sounds like you, this technical understanding can help you out a lot on the English section. As an advanced student, you should start by learning about the ACT and then taking a practice test. Score your test and find out where you need the most prep. Take the time to thoroughly understand your mistakes and find ways to fill in your gaps in knowledge. While you shouldn't leave out studying for the Math and Science sections, you probably want to focus especially on English and Reading. Outside of using ACT materials, you should read widely to continuously improve your reading comprehension and ability to understand the meaning of vocabulary words in context. ACT Word of the Day and ACT Question of the Day are also a convenient way to gradually build up your knowledge. Advanced ESL students may benefit more than intermediate students from self-studying with books and in classes, but I'd still recommend online programs or tutoring to have that extra element of support. Not only will these last two options offer you help, feedback, and a customized plan, but you'll also get, at least with PrepScholar, feedback on practice essays. ACT essay scorers are looking for as few errors as possible in grammar, structure, and spelling. If you score highly enough on the Reading and English sections, then yourcolleges might waive the TOEFL requirement. For instance, Johns Hopkins waives the TOEFL if you achieve the high ACT bilingual scores of 30+ on both sections. Check with admissions offices to make sure you understand exactly what tests are expected of you as an ESL student, even if you're already fluent and took only one ESL course in high school. Determine your target ACT scores early and start reviewing content and learning new strategies. Read on for a possible game plan for your study schedule. Make a Plan for Your ACT Prep Consider how much time you have and your budget for test prep, along with what method works best with your study style. I recommend finding that extra support, if financially possible, that comes with an online program or a qualified, experienced tutor. The extra help and explanations you'll get will be a huge help in improving your scores. Based on your English level and potential colleges, you can figure out your target scores by section and composite score. Weigh the amount of time you have against the available test dates. Remember that the fall of senior year is probably your last chance to test ahead of college deadlines. To give yourself a lot of time to prep and retest, you could take the ACT for the first time in the spring of sophomore year after studying a few hours each week throughout the year. Unless you're satisifed with your scores, you could study more intensively over the summer and take it again in the fall of junior year. Then you might have about two more chances to test, in the spring of junior year and fall of senior year. There are more test dates in between, but you shouldn't have to take the official ACT many more times than this. You'd be better served putting your time into studying and taking practice tests. This schedule might be too early if you haven't learned the algebra, geometry, trigonometry, or lab skills yet to tackle the Math and Science sections. Again, familiarize yourself with the test to know if you have the content knowledge to understand the material. All of this prep for the ACT will help you not just earn the test scores you need for college, but also further sharpen your English language and study skills. All of this will help you succeed once you reach the college level. What's Next? We have a ton of free resources for ACT prep and strategies for students at all scoring levels. Check out these guides and explore the many more articles we have to help you excel on the ACT! The 21 ACT Tips You Should Be Using Today How Science/Math People Can Do Well on ACT Reading The Ultimate Study Guide for ACT Science: Tips, Practice, and Strategies The Complete Prep Guide for ACT Reading The Full Study Guide for ACT English What ACT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Math The Best Way to Approach the ACT Reading Passage ACT Writing Tips: 15 Strategies to Raise Your Essay Score Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

The head as medium and metaphor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The head as medium and metaphor - Essay Example A Cultural Inquiry It is with this premise—that art object contains cultural significance that interests to art pieces become an anthropological and historical inquiry in a sense. Such in a way that questions does not only revolves regarding information about specific art object—‘Where did it came from?’, ‘How was it made?’, ‘What material?’, ‘Who made it?’ but broader inquiry about the relation of the art object to the aspect of human life or the culture that it represents or belongs to—i.e. ‘What is its historical significance?’, ‘Is it a religious or sacred object for worship?’, ‘What symbolisms are attached to it?’ these questions means studying art in its cultural context (Hatcher 1999). For this paper, I would try to study the use of head as medium and metaphor in practice of art through its cultural context drawing upon example from two ethnic groups from Africa, the Ife and Yoruba. First, I would put into perspective the context of using the head as a symbol through historical account on the development of head as a symbol and how it transcends to art. Then I would specifically relate these cultural and historical symbolisms on the cultural interpretation of Ife and Yoruba as represented in the use of head in their art. Head as Symbol A severed head had been for most part of human history, the most typical religious symbol, decapitation have likewise been a ubiquitous theme on literature that have been prevalent in various genre. From the Middle Stone Age, to early medieval times, archeological findings have suggested that man have been for the longest time have strong fascination with severed head or have long found strong symbolism with a decapitated head. For a warrior, claiming a severed head of the enemy meant valor in battle, prestige, and a sign of power. As such, various art with motifs that have severed head on them; in Celtic sculptu re for instance the Pfalzfeld pillar â€Å"is adorned with carved heads on each side, and must have been crowned by another head, which has now disappeared† (Koch 2006). In medieval art, head is often times used to symbolize two things, one is the mind, and the other is the spiritual life. This is why decorative art during this period consists of heads of saints. In stark contrast, Plato assumed that the human head is representative of the world, as he writes in his Timaeus. To back up Plato’s assertion, Leblant postulates that the skull—the crown of the human body signifies the heaven as depicted by its spherical shape. Clearly, both Plato and Leblant see the head and its sphere-shape as symbolic of oneness (Cirlot 2002). The same concept of oneness is present in Egyptian hieroglyphics wherein the eagle’s head had been constantly used as an emblem and solar symbol to represent emanation of the cosmic flame and the universe’s spiritual fire. A repr esentation of two or more heads means a more intense head-symbolism. Thus, the Gemini—represented by two heads signifies the duality of nature; Hectate on the other hand has three heads representing the heaven, earth, and hell. Here we see that an invisible, eternal, and deeper meaning is attached to the symbolism of the head that it boarders to religion. It goes beyond simply looking at the appearances and goes deep into

Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conclusion - Essay Example It is quite apparent from the study that Primark has indeed created a niche for itself even in these challenging times. In fact, the strategy of competitors to label Primark as a 'cheap' brand while making efforts to label their own brands as premium ones' has not worked to their advantage. Instead Primark seems to have taken a lead in understanding the requirements of the common consumer and offering them value for money. Primark seems to believe in market penetration strategy, while passing on maximum benefits to the consumer and thus playing the volume game. Primark has opened up stores in UK and Ireland at vantage points, the places most frequented by the common consumer. Thus saving on the marketing communication costs to a great extent. Today marketing communication forms an integral cost component of any business proposition. If a company can save on this expenditure to some extent while making itself visible amongst the existing and prospective customers, then it helps in lev eraging the economies of scale. These costs can be passed on to the workforce, which motivates them for pooling their efforts in a better manner, thus coming out with quality products. In fact this chain of events has been quite ably used by Primark to the advantage of its own business prospects as well as to the advantage of its workforce. Motivational theories discussed during the study clearly suggest that if the needs of the fellow human beings are taken care of, they are bound to come out with their optimum performance. Effective management of the workforce lends credence to the notion that a company is being managed professionally. Primark, while charging less from its customers, has maintained good industrial relations. As the returned questionnaire indicates, the workforce is not too unhappy with the HR policies of the company, which appear to be employee friendly. As pointed out in the study, the kind of attention paid to employees' care, by the MNCs is an indication towards the level of competition and the innovative methods devised to sail ahead in these competitive times. The higher levels of turnover of the workforce, in Parimark, could be explained by the fact that in an intensely competitive world the rival companies are always on the lookout for experienced workforce. The workforce, particularly the yout h segment, also is on the lookout for making quick bucks, so they don't attach too much importance to the loyalty part and hop on to the company with better payment packages. The higher levels of employee turnover also results in some cost escalation to the company, as it has to incur fresh costs on recruitment and training of the workforce. The newer workforce also requires some time to adjust to the working environment and this could have some effect on the efficiency of the service being provided to the customer. On the other hand, it can also be stated that the young blood brings renewed enthusiasm and more energy to the working environment. As the questionnaire points out the younger lot is there to make some quick money during their free time or vacation period. Therefore it good that Primark does attach too much loyalty strings to the job profile. This, in a way helps in offsetting the disadvantage resulting from the extra efforts being put into recruiting and retaining the work force. It goes to the credit of

PC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PC - Essay Example Evidently, this will make work easy especially for persons who keep struggling to type words and take too long to edit the same paper for so long. The benefit of these computers that can actually hear sounds and type the same into words would indeed be a plus for computer technology. A positive of the same would also happen for persons who do not understand various languages as the computers will be fed all languages then the users would simply read, the computer would listen and type what the user says. For instance, persons with English problems would benefit from this development. Data will be collected from online sources especially ones that include natural reader and how these readers are useful in computers. A good example is Seo’s work that explains the functioning of natural readers and how they include natural sounding voices (115-119). The author also continues to argue that the natural readers are very easy to use and can convert all manners of files into spoken words (Seo 115-119). With the reader being termed as about 99% accurate, this move is a plus for computer technology. Data will also be collected through interviews with persons who have used this technology before and how efficient the same has been to them. A good target group would be students who have enjoyed the reader through getting their notes typed with ease. Surveys on the benefits of this technology will also be analyzed especially on the education sector. Data will also be collected through telephone interviews to assess how this assistive technology will indeed make proofreading easy especially in large documents and how the technology will allow its users save much time as opposed to the traditional PCs. Observations will also be used as a way of collecting data especially observing the users and how well the software is making work easier for them. After this collection of data, it will be possible to make

Green Flash and Nuclear Winter Scenario Assignment

Green Flash and Nuclear Winter Scenario - Assignment Example Instead, there are different colors of light that move in different ways. Our atmosphere is not just empty air, either. So far as light is concerned it acts like a prism and causes light to refract. Since the different colored lights curve at different speeds, this accounts for how we can see this green flash during times when the sun sets or rises. In some cases, the atmospheric conditions around the viewer will cause different illusions to appear as well, like a flashing ray of light or a stretched-out and shaky mirage. The easiest places to see the green flash are those where the horizon is not blocked by buildings or other large objects. The ocean, above a layer of clouds, or on top of a mountain are all good examples. Green flashes do not last very long so it can be difficult to see them. At most, they last for a few seconds. Nuclear winter is a terrifying possible effect of nuclear warfare. Basically what would happen is that the dust and soot from the fires started by many nuclear bombs going off would leak into the far upper atmosphere. Due to being heated by sunlight after reaching the upper atmosphere, these clouds of debris would then rise even further, above normal weather conditions. Since they could no longer be washed away by rain or blown away by the wind, these clouds would stay in the air for many years, causing temperatures to drop around the earth. If there had been a very large nuclear war, the temperature change could be quite drastic, or it could be as small as a few degrees in the case of a smaller conflict. In addition to causing cooler temperatures, a nuclear winter would have an effect on rainfall, lowering it by up to 75% in some areas in the three months immediately following the cloud entering the atmosphere. Nuclear Winter would also have a devastating effect on the worlds ozone layer, decreasing it by as much as 20% overall across the globe. This would increase the amount of UV radiation that got

Managing the bureaucracy Week 6 #11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managing the bureaucracy Week 6 #11 - Essay Example The advantage for elected officials is the fact that they know these people and how they work. They are simply pulling trusted people from the pool they know. The problem with patronage is that unqualified individuals may end up in the bureaucracy. Merit is the most highly approved method of forming a bureaucracy. The idea that government officials are competent in their jobs and worked hard to get them sounds great to voters. The problem of deciding what merits to measure becomes paramount when too much emphasis is placed on taking a test and accomplishing a certain score. There are skills that tests do not answer. It also eliminates talented individuals from government that did not have the chance to get a decent education. Executive leadership is often what is looked for in high level appointments to the President’s cabinet. These skills are vital for running huge organizations such as the Department of Education or the Environmental Protection Agency. The problem with appointment by executive leadership lies in the fact that governments and corporations are different. The executive in a corporation can eliminate 10,000 jobs and get a raise. The cabinet member that cuts 10,000 jobs in the Department of Education will be a liability for the President next

50 Cent-The Controversial Rapper Research Paper

50 Cent-The Controversial Rapper - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the theory that 50 Cent is more famous because of controversies rather than his music. Further, this paper will point out how harsh, negative lyrics of his songs have been the reason for him being criticized in the music circle but becoming famous among the people. The overall goal is to show that rather than being a talented artist 50 Cent is a clever artist who survives through all the controversies he’s involved in. 50 Cent has been known as the one straight out of streets. His biography and all the details about him are splashed with details about his difficult past and the way he had grown up in a family where his mother was a hustler. His mother died when he was young and soon his father died. He was left to be taken care of by his grandmother according to whom he’s a sweet child, much against the views of others. Having such a difficult past and having faced all the difficulties that do explain partly the way he is and the way he behaves. The refore, I think reading a person’s biography before reading other articles about him is essential in understanding the kind of person. In her article, Zonda Hughes (2003) describes the life of 50 Cent, a.k.a Curtis Jackson, explaining that his life can be summarized as being a compilation of 9 lives. Even though the article does not criticize the rapper artist as such but does provide a brief overview of the life of the artist. Right from being the son of the notorious drug trafficker to entering the same profession as his mother and being jailed to shooting to stardom with his hard hitting lyrics. Hughes mentions it all. 50 Cent has created an image of his that shows him as being the tough guy who has seen it all and it is this image that is the reason for his popularity. It is difficult to deny that his popularity is not based on his hard image as he himself has always proclaimed himself to be the one who has seen the toughest things and has gone through some of the most di fficult situations, surviving being shot 9 times is certainly a difficult situation. Whether making controversial statements like not being ashamed of being a drug trafficker or whether his own destiny that leads him to controversial situations, he definitely seems like controversies’ favourite child. He has been accused of starting the trend of gangsta rap again and is hated because he might have started the trend of gangster fights in the industry again that saw the death of many famous rappers. He has brought the era back when hip-hop industry saw hatred amongst each other. However, he does not seem perturbed about those accusations and instead glorifies his gangster image. Even though the rapper claims that his life was not his choice but he definitely loves being the bad boy and earning the popularity for being a bad boy. As both he and Hughes (2003) acknowledges, bad boys are famous with both women and men, with women because they seem more attractive and with men becau se they establish a sense of style. He is referred to as hip-hop entrepreneur in his biography and it is true that he is a clever entrepreneur who knows how to stay in the business by making shocking statements. Even though his hard work can not be ignored but his urge to become famous and rich means that he chooses to do so no matter what the means. He has been described in his biography as one having a viciously funny personality who will get rich or die trying. Adam Bernanrd (2003) notes how full

Managing the bureaucracy Week 6 #11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managing the bureaucracy Week 6 #11 - Essay Example The advantage for elected officials is the fact that they know these people and how they work. They are simply pulling trusted people from the pool they know. The problem with patronage is that unqualified individuals may end up in the bureaucracy. Merit is the most highly approved method of forming a bureaucracy. The idea that government officials are competent in their jobs and worked hard to get them sounds great to voters. The problem of deciding what merits to measure becomes paramount when too much emphasis is placed on taking a test and accomplishing a certain score. There are skills that tests do not answer. It also eliminates talented individuals from government that did not have the chance to get a decent education. Executive leadership is often what is looked for in high level appointments to the President’s cabinet. These skills are vital for running huge organizations such as the Department of Education or the Environmental Protection Agency. The problem with appointment by executive leadership lies in the fact that governments and corporations are different. The executive in a corporation can eliminate 10,000 jobs and get a raise. The cabinet member that cuts 10,000 jobs in the Department of Education will be a liability for the President next

An issue considered in the presentations or books Essay

An issue considered in the presentations or books - Essay Example This paper explores the concept of supply of labor, its dynamics, and key factors. Many economic theories describe supply of labor in unique ways owing to the dynamic nature of the concept. Perhaps it is imperative to note from the onset that the total hours and real salary rate are the fundamental components of supply of labor in any given economic system. The supply of labor curve, which is the graphical representation of supply of labor, depicts the theoretical wage rates versus labor. The vertical axis of the supply of labor curve represents the theoretical wage rate while the horizontal axis represents the amount of labor that workers are willing to toil for at any given wage rate (Chagny, Döpke, Plane, and Schmidt 61). The dynamics of the supply of labor depend on the compromise between leisure and labor. This tradeoff implies that workers earn more incomes by working for more hours and vice versa. However, such workers must cut down on the number of hours they spend on leisure in order for them to earn hire by dedicating more time for labor. Although this notion necessitates a delicate balance, it confirms the fundamental trade-off between labor and leisure. It means that a rise in the rate of real wage increases the opportunity cost for leisure. This trend leads to the substitution effect in the sense that the workers will develop a tendency to supply more labor (Soest, Das, and Gong 15). As workers dedicate more hours for labor, their earnings as well as their real wage rate goes up. Subsequently, the demand for ‘normal good’ leisure increases as the workers incomes rises. It means that workers will supply less labor in order to spend more hours on their ‘normal good’ leisure activities. They will develop the tendency of spending because of their higher income and they will dedicate more time (hours) on leisure activities. This tendency is called

Anxiolytic Properties of L- Theanine in Albino Rats

Anxiolytic Properties of L- Theanine in Albino Rats Lakshmi Girija, Kiruthika, Arvind, Zaved Ahmed khan ABSTRACT Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling of nervousness, uneasiness accompanied by stress for anticipated events. Stressful conditions can increase anxiety many folds showing physically noticeable symptoms and drastically affecting cognitive ability. Several anxiolytic drugs are in the market whose continuous consumption may lead to problems in the long run. It is reported that L-Theanine, anamino acid analogue that was discovered as a constituent ingreen tea, has anxiolytic abilities. As L-theanine is an analogue of glutamate and glutamine, it is absorbed in the small intestine after oral digestion. It can cross theblood–brain barrier, and thereby directly register pharmacological effects. As it is able to cross theblood–brain barrier, psychoactiveproperties are reported for theanine. Many studies have revealed about its potential ability to reduce mental and physical stress. It can give better cognition and improve mood and cognitive performance. Diazepam is acommercially ava ilable benzodiazepine drug, used to treat a wide range of conditions,   including anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, seizures etc. In this paper, the anxiolytic properties of L- theanine was studies in the albino rats taking diazepam as a positive drug for anxiety. Poly lactide nano particle encapsulate theanine was also tested to see if it could cross the blood brain barrier more rapidly to reduce anxiety. Theanine proved to be an efficient anxiolytic drug equivalent to diazepam as it improved the performances of anxiety induced rats to match with that of the rats that were non anxious. Keywords:Theanine, anxiety, Diazepam,stress. Introduction Nowadays anxiety or stress have became one of the common important problem faced by the world today. Owing to busy schedule and workloads people are not able to stay calm and so the demand for anti-anxiety drugs are gaining importance. Most commonly used drugs include alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam and oxazepam. But all these drugs are not safe in the long run and hence there is a need for a good alternative. L-theanine, an aminoacid analogue of proteogenicaminoacids, L- glutamate and L- glutamine has found to have certain anti- stress effect properties. It was discovered as a constituent of green tea. Since it has multiple roles in the central and autonomous nervous system, it is receiving more attention. It was found that administration of L- theanine increases the alpha brain activity, depicting that L-theanine could render an alert and relaxed state [1,2].It was also found that stress can be reduced by inhibiting cortical neuron excitation [3].Stress can raise the blood pressure thereby activating the nervous system for producing large amounts of vasoconstricting hormones that will elevate blood pressure [4,5], L-theanine was able to reduce the blood pressure Various studies in animals revealed that L-theanine had an effect on serotonin and dopamine concentrations in the brain, anxiolytic effect [6,7]. Kimura (2007) reported that intake of L- theanine have reduced heart rate and salivary immunoglobulin production. In hypertensive rats L-theanine have found role in reducing blood pressure [8,9].. Hence, it can be hypothesized that L-theanine attenuates the stress responses in the autonomic nervous system induced by both physically and psychologically stressful tasks. Diazepam is one of the common benzodiazepine drug used for reducing anxiety. It reacts with the chemicals in the brain that causes anxiety. It also used for alcohol withdrawal symptoms. With other medications, diazepam is used to treat seizures. It helps to control symptoms of anxiety, so the people feel less agitated and less tense. It have sedative and an anticonvulsant properties. It can help relieve to muscle spasm. Diazepam should be used for the shortest period of time possible as it will cause tolerance, dependence and also sometimes withdrawal symptoms in some people. In this paper, the effect of theanine was tested in the albino mice taking diazepam as a positive drug for anxiety and then testing of theanine encapsulated with nanoparticle was done to check whether the drug crossed the blood brain barrier. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All animals used for this experiment were approved by the ethical committee for animals of VIT University. Animals subjects All rats used in the experiment were female albino Wistar from VIT animal house. The animals were in the age group of 6-8 months. The separated groups were kept in separate cages with 3 rats in each cage and were fed with food pellets and purified water from VIT animal house facility. All rats were healthy and free of any physical deformity or possible symptoms of any infection. The mean weights of the rats were 270  ±10 grams. Grouping of the rats for the experiment: The rats were divided into 5 groups with 3 rats per group for the experimental design. The details of the groups are as follows. Groups (Three rats/group) Induction of anxiety: Restrain stress model was used to induce anxiety into rats. All rats except the negative control group were induced with anxiety continuously for 5 days. The rats were locked and immobilised in the restrain stress chamber inside a silent dark room for 1 h each day for 5 consecutive days to induce anxiety. No animals were injured or handled harshly in the process. Each group of rats were subjected to the process at the same time each day and were then caged together in their respective group cages. Administration of drug: The drug was administered orally through eleven G syringe. Drug of 10 mg/ Kg of body weight was dissolved in 10 mL of distilled water and were fed orally to the rats. Tests performed: Open field test and elevated plus maze test was performed for each rat in every group for 3 consecutive days and the performance readings were recorded for each rat and represented separately in the group performance table to be compared with other groups to determine the relative anxiety levels of different groups in the experimental model. Open field test: The rats were introduced one at a time into the centre of the open field setup that consisted of 16 squares and a total accessible area of 1.6 sq m. The ambiance was maintained silent and was well lit with lights for ensuring visibility. Each rat was allowed to spend 10 mins inside the setup and the total number of square movements, fecal boli and rearings were recorded for the entire period of time spent inside the setup. Elevated plus maze test: The rats were introduced one at a time into the centre of the elevated plus maze setup elevated to 50 cm above ground that had an open arm of length 60 cm and a closed arm of length 60 cm with the total accessible area of 2.4 sq m. The ambiance was maintained silent and was well lit with lights for ensuring visibility. Each rat was allowed to spend 5 mins inside the setup and the total number of open arm entries, closed arm entries, total time spent in open arm and total time spent in closed arm were recorded for the entire period of time spent inside the setup. Results: The observations of the open field test and elevated plus maze test for all the groups of experimental rats are as follows. Group details Open field test: Parameters tested in open field test were No. of squares crossed No. of fecal boli No. of rearings Table 1 to 5 show the raw data of observation for the 5 groups for the open field test. Table1: Group I observation for OFT Table 2: Group II observations for OFT Table 3 : Group III observations for OFT Table 4: Group IV observations for OFT Table 5: Group V observations for OFT Determining the level of anxiety: Number of squares crossed: The mean value of squares crossed by the rats in each group is depicted in fig 1. As expected rats with no induced anxiety were able to show high movement by crossing a mean of 62.4 squares in 10 mins and rats induced with anxiety but not administered with any anxiolytic drug showed the least movement by crossing a mean of only 14.6 squares in 10 mins. The group administered with theanine as the anxiolytic drug out preformed as compared to the group administered with diazepam by crossing a mean of 48.4 squares in 10 mins showing reduced level of anxiety. The nano particle formulation does not show significant improvement in the performance as compared to theanine administered alone. Number of fecal boli: Fig 2. Shows the anxiety level of the different groups having fecal boli as the parameter for measuring anxiety. Maximum number of fecal boli was observed in group II where the rats were induced with anxiety but was not administered with any drug. Non anxiety induced rats in group I had the least number of fecal boli recording of 2. Theanine seems to be effective than diazepam in this test. Fecal boli is reduced by a mean of 0.11 as compared to the rats administered with diazepam. Nano formulation administered rats show increased fecal boli behaviour as compared to rats administered with diazepam or theanine. Number of rearings: Mean number of rearing behaviour for the 5 groups are shown in fig 3. Group I rats that were expected to show the least number of rearings showed rearing behaviour more than the test groups. Group II rats showed the maximum mean number of rearings fo 32.2 in 10 mins in the open field setup. Theanine and nano particle formulation of theanine reduced the rearing behaviour as compared to diazepam proving their efficiency as anxiolytic drug. The effect of normal drug and nano particle formulation were almost equal and nano formulation seems to show no improvement in crossing the blood brain barriers. These results from open field test confirms that the restrain stress model is effective in inducing anxiety in rats and the test drug theanine performs better than diazepam that is now being commertially used to treat anxiety. Elevated plus maze test: The parameters tested in the elevated plus maze test were No. of entries to open arm No. of entries to closed arm Time spent in open arm Time spent in closed arm Tables 6- 10 show the raw data collected for each group of rats in the elevated plus maze test. Table 6: Group I observations for elevated plus maze test Table 7: Group II observations for elevated plus maze test Table 8: Group III observations for elevated plus maze test Table 9: Group IV observations for elevated plus maze test Table 10: Group V observations for elevated plus maze test Number of open arm entries: Mean number of open arm entries by the 5 groups of rats in elevated plus maze test are depicted in fig4. Group I rats with no induced anxiety showed the maximum mean open arm entries of 13.4 times in 5 mins. The least number of open arm entries were observed in group II rats that were induced with anxiety but not administered with any drug. Diazepam was more effective in reducing the anxiety as the mean open arm entry for rats administered with it was 11.5 as compared to only 9.1 and 9.0 for rats administered with theanine and nano formulation of theanine respectively. Number of closed arm entries: The mean number of closed arm entries for the groups of rats are shown in fig 5. Number of closed arm entries were recorded maximum for group I rats without anxiety, these rats were very active in entering both the arms yet they spent most of the time in open arm chamber. Group II rats had least closed arm entries but they tend to spend more time without movement inside the closed arm showing high level of anxiety. Mean number of closed arm entries for the rats administered with diazepam was found to be 5.4 and the mean closed arm entries for rats administered with theanine and its nano formulation were found to be 6.1 and 3.4 respectively making the observations inconclusive without its correlation with the time spent in the closed arm for each group. Total time spent in open arm: The mean time spent in the open arm by each group of rats in the elevated plus maze setup is shown in fig 6. Rats belonging to group II that were induced with anxiety but were not administered with any drug spent the least time in open arm proving increased level of anxiety. Rats with induced anxiety and administered with diazepam, theanine or nano formulation of theanine spent mean time of 2.96, 2.7 and 2.93 mins in the open arm respectively. These are higher than 2.5 mins of time spent by group I rats that were not induced with anxiety. This proves that level of diazepam and theanine administered were able to reduce anxiety and also improve the performance of the test rats more than the control group in this test. Total time spent in closed arm: Mean time spent by different groups of rats in the closed arm of elevated plus maze setup is given in fig7. Group II rats spent the mean maximum time of 3.76 mins in the closed arm showing maximum level of anxiety as they were not administered with any anxiolytic drug. Rats administered with diazepam spent the least time in the closed arm that was about a mean value of 2.03 mins. Theanine and nano particle formulation of theanine showed no variation with respect to this parameter as both the groups administered with either one of the drug spent an equal mean time of 2.3 mins in the closed chamber. These values are lower than the time spent by the non anxious rats in group I thus making it clear that the amount of diazepam and theanine used have not only been anxiolytic but also have improved performances of the rats in the test. Relative time spent in open arm: Relative time spent in open arm for each group of rats with respect to non anxious rats were calculated and depicted in fig 8. Time spent by the non anxious rats in group I was taken to be 100 % and the time spent by the other groups were plotted relative to the group I rats. Relative time spent by the group2 rats with anxiety and no administered drug was lowest as expected. Rats administered with diazepam, theanine or its nano formulation showed 18 %, 8% and 17% high relative time respectively as compared to the non anxious rats used as control, showing the effectiveness of the drug against anxiety. Relative time spent in open arm: Relative time spent in closed arm for each group of rats with respect to non drug administered rats in group2 were calculated and depicted in fig 9. Time spent by the rats in group II that were induced with anxiety but not administered with any drug was taken to be 100% and the time spent by other groups were plotted relative to this. As expected all the other groups of rats showed lower relative time in the closed arm proving lower level of anxiety than the control group II. Rats administered with diazepam spent the least relativ

Two Major Unions in America Essay -- History Job Labor Work Unions Ess

Two Major Unions in America Unions in America were created to improve the working conditions of its labor force. These labor force consisted of the men, women, and children that were employed by the owners of industry. Many unions were established in the early 1800s, but due to the widespread fear of socialism and the repression from the courts, the majority of them eventually failed. Most capitalist, at the time, felt there was no need to share with its employees the profits of their businesses (Murrin et al. 2002:685-702). Management, for the most part, paid little attention to salary and provided few, if any, safety measures and health protection for the people actually doing the work. Employees worked long hours weekly, often twelve or more daily. These abuses and corruptions by owners towards the working-class were some of the reasons why the U.S. Department of Labor, the Industrial Workers of the World, and the American Federation of Labor came into existence. John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan, to name a few, started their fortunes during the 1800s. The methods used by these men to get rich stirred people to refer to them as â€Å"robber barons.† Rockefeller formed Standard Oil after buying several oil refineries with the enormous profits he made during the Civil War. Similarly, J.P. Morgan had his hand in creating several of the major industries of the day, which included investment banking, General Electric, and International Harvester (Murrin et al. 2002:685-686). The successes these men experienced were usually attained at the expense of the common laborer. With their wealth and influence, even the anti-trust government laws of the time that were supposed to dissolve monopolies, were used as weapons agai... ...ions. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1914: BoondocksNet Edition, 2001. Retrieved April 9, 2003 http://www.boondocksnet.com/editions/marot/ Murrin, John M., Paul E. Johnson, James M. McPherson, Gary Gerstle, Emily S. Rosenberg, and Norman L. Rosenberg. 2002. â€Å"An Industrial Society.† Pp. 685-686, 701-702, 704 in Liberty Equality Power. Harcourt College Publishers, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL. Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor.† U.S. Department of Labor. 9 Apr. 2003. Retrieved April 9, 2003 http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/Lawsprog.htm This is the AFL-CIO. 2003. Retrieved April 9, 2003 http://www.aflcio.org/aboutaflcio/about/thisis/index.cfm â€Å"Who was Samuel Gompers, Anyway?† Samuel Gompers Papers Project. 2003. Retrieved April 9, 2003 http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/colleges/ARHU/Depts/History/Gompers/page6.html

Ghana: The Gold Coast of Africa Essay -- Geography

Ghana: The Gold Coast of Africa The Gold Coast, now known as Ghana, is one of many civilizations of Africa. It was a British Colony until March 6, 1957, when it became independent as the State of Ghana. In 1471, the Portuguese invaded this area and became involved in gold trade, giving the region the name, The Gold Coast. They built forts to protect their monopoly of gold trade from merchants representing other nations. In 1642, the Dutch West India Company captured all Portuguese strong posts and they devoted their interests in slave trading rather than gold trading. In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, the Gold Coast was one of the chief West African sources of slave export. At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century the countries involved in slave trading began abolishing it as illegal and immoral. The British abolished it in 1807, the Danish is 1804 and the Dutch in 1814. In 1821, British forts were transferred from private ownership to government control. The Gold Coast became a British colony and the new government was known...

Elements of Constitutional Democracy Essay

In order for a country to be called democratic, essential elements should be complied with. These elements are popular sovereignty, majority and minority rights, limited government and institutional and procedural limitations of power. One of the essential elements that have a remarkable impact on my life is popular sovereignty. In a democratic country, the authority of usually emanates from the people. The authority is exercised through election or voting of the people who deserve to seat in the government. Popular sovereignty has remarkably impacted my life by being active in exercise my right to vote. Through voting, I have to study or review the background of the candidates as well as the party they represent. Apart from that, I also make myself aware of the political condition of the country and the policies introduced by the public officials. Furthermore, I tried to influence and convince my friends in using and making their right to vote powerful in order to introduce change in the future. As for me, it is rewarding to live in a democratic country because every citizen is part of shaping the future of the country. Another element is the institutional and procedural limitation on powers which covers due process of law. Through the due process of law, I am confident that my rights are protected from any abuses that any government authorities may have against me. Aside from that, through the due process of law, I am secured of achieving justice in case I will face a case one day. More importantly, I have earned confident and trust in the system of the government.

Foreign Direct Investment Essay

Case Discussion Questions: 1. Why, historically, has the level of FDI in Japan been so low? The relatively low FDI stock in Japan is partly the result of a history of official inhibitions on FDI. In some industries, inward FDI penetration, as measured by the share of employment accounted for by foreign affiliates, in Japan in fact is on par with the United States. However, a large number of â€Å"sanctuaries† with almost no foreign involvement remain, so that FDI penetration overall is still very low. While to some extent, this can be explained by Japan’s relatively isolated geographic location, historical factors play an important role. Throughout the centuries and until quite recently, Japan’s rulers have viewed foreign involvement in the economy as a threat and consequently erected various barriers to FDI. 2. What are the potential benefits to the Japanese economy of greater FDI? The potential benefits to the Japanese economy of greater FDI are the ones listed below: †¢ Faster revenue growth than domestic firms; †¢ Significantly higher profitability and sales margins than domestic firms; †¢ Greater capital investment per employee than domestic firms; †¢ Higher total factor productivity than domestic firms; †¢ Higher spending on research and development per worker than domestic firms; and †¢ Higher average wages than domestic firms. 3. How did the entry of Wal-Mart into the Japanese retail sector benefit that sector? Who lost as a result of Wal-Mart’s entry? It helped restructure Japan’s retail sector- boosting productivity, gaining  market share, and profiting in the process. Wal-Mart implemented its cutting edge information systems, adopted tight inventory control, leveraging its global supply chain to bring low cost goods into Japan, restraining employees to improve customer service, and extending opening hours. It was more difficult than Wal-Mart had hoped. Wal-Mart’s entry prompted local rivals to change their strategies. 4. Why has it been so hard for Wal-Mart to make a profit in Japan? What might the company have done differently? The company’s global marketing strategy has many flaws. Wal-Mart failed to grasp the consumer and retail environment in Japan. With a population of 127 million, the highest per capita income and the second largest economy in the world, Japan is a very attractive market for retailers. Perhaps more research into their cultural values and patterns could have helped avoid some of these mishaps.

Cracker Jack Case Analysis

The primary reason for the Borden Foods to divert itself from snacks is to emphasis its efforts and resources in the growth of their whole-wheat meal segments. Because of this valuation they had and a growth plan they had they decided to announce sale of Cracker Jack in 1997. The management team of Broaden also recognized that with the increase in competition they have not been able to successfully grow the sales figure in past five years. Also because the Cracker Jack brand has various packaging options and has been maintaining a huge product line of 32 Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs). However, currently Broaden production facility had only 32 percent of space allocated to Cracker Jack Products and has been operating at 32% of its full capacity.Cracker Jack Management believed that the broadened distribution was the most important element of their new strategy. They believed that Broaden sales force and broker/distributor network currently in use should be replaced by a direct-store-deli very sales force. It was believed that a DSD sales force would provide product placement in the grocery DSD snack aisles, which is the highest velocity snack aisles in supermarkets. However, a DSD sales force is more resource intensive than Borden’s present sales and distribution network. Borden Foods management was neither prepared to make the investment required nor equipped to handle a DSD sales force for Cracker Jack given the resource demands of other business opportunities.Problem identification and root causeFrito-Lay is the market leader in the salty snack food production having something different in their products will get a competitive advantage. Cracker Jack as a brand has a 97% awareness with people from the ages of 15 to 60 and a 95% awareness amongst the caramel popcorn users. This was a very well known brand even with a very few advertisements. There are other several reasons which is explained below why Frito-Lay decided to acquire the Cracker Jack. Frito-Lay sales and distribution team were starting to do the research as soon as the Cracker Jack acquisition opportunity became public. It was a great opportunity to fit in Cracker Jack in the existing Frito-Lay sales and distribution infrastructure. The Cracker Jack name registers virtually universal awareness and Cracker Jack has respectable brand equity due largely to its heritage and generally favorable image  foundation.It is a recognized brand with a positive reputation that has lost its momentum in recent years but still has that chance of growing to the peaks. According to the results of Simulated Test Market , almost 50% of the consumers are not buying this product because of no advertisements, non-availability in the area and product quality or value. Here is the best opportunity to improve and re gain that 50 % market share by winning over these customers. This might be one of the major reasons why Frito-Lay decided to acquire the Cracker Jack. Additionally the new division of the sweet snacks can create opportunities for the Frito-Lay by using appropriate existing distribution networks and marketing channels for the new add on product. Addition of Cracker Jack is one of the example of marketing enhancement which will create the additional retail selling points, giving Frito-Lay distribution opportunity in both salty and confectionery.SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong and Reputed Brand Name More Numbers of likes compared to dislikes of the products Brand awareness of 97% amongst the 15-60 years old A 100 years history of existence Huge room for expansion or addition of new products as has 50 manufacturing and processing plants Have tools and infrastructure to work closely with 480,000 retail trade locations weekly. Opportunities Stimulated test market Brand Extension Flavor extension Sales through different channels like small and large scale business. Weakness CJ has too many products SKU numbersThe weak financial position of Cracker Jack which incurred lo sses in 1995 and 1996 CJ increased the price of the product to maintain their net income resulting the Frito-Lay to decrease to remain competitive.Threats Competition Lack of adaptability Internal Developmental costs High price than other.Evaluation of AlternativeCracker Jacks sales will represent a tiny part of the Frito-Lay’s business currently, however the chances are high to get the numbers high from this division if proper decisions are made. Frito-Lay is the leader in the US market concerning market share and sales volume. So they can use their advertising and marketing experience to uplift CJ. CJ should be marketed as a stackable treat which is healthy as of natural ingredients like popcorn. Marketing researchers should focus on the small children as the target market as well. By launching the different sizes and convenient packages to the customers so that they can grab it and go rather than having a box. The CJ should be made available to as many stores as possible b y utilizing the same direct store delivery channels. A careful analysis has to be done to change any features like gifts in each bag and the flavor of the CJ, because that is the major point of CJ and most of the customers are attracted because of that particular features.RecommendationIn my opinion the Borden Foods will sell the company for above 30 million dollars based on the assets it has and the goodwill for the year ending 1996. However the Frito-Lay should only pay around 25 million dollars for acquisitions of the company. Because of the Cracker Jack current market shares and the popularity there is much more work needed to be done so that the product can gain the similar amount of sales figures as other general Frito-Lay products does. Also the price of the product has to be lowered to remain competitive which is another factor for Frito-Lay.