The Role & Effectiveness of Practical Work & Outdoor Learning in the Dissertation

The Role & Effectiveness of Practical Work & Outdoor Learning in the Teaching & Understanding of Geography for Primary School Students - Dissertation Example ...................... 3.3 Phase 3............................................................................................................................. 3.4 Results............................................................................................................................. 3.5. Discussions..................................................................................................................... 3.6 Ethical Issues................................................................................................................... 3.7 Limitations of Research †¦.............................................................................................. Chapter 4 Results............................................................................................................................... 4.1 Phase 1............................................................................................................................... 4.2 Phase 2........ ....................................................................................................................... 4.3 Phase 3............................................................................................................................... Chapter 5 Discussions......................................................................................................................... 5.1 Phase 1............................................................................................................................... 5.2 Phases 2 & 3...................................................................................................................... 5.3... The paper tells that teaching geography to young school children comes with a number of advantages. It helps young children to build certain core competencies that supports them in their future study and also assists them to become more responsible citizens in the future. â€Å"Geography is about the locations of things. Students (present and future business people, voters and elected officials) should learn how to choose locations and designs for buildings, roads, parks, election districts and other things in ways that are fair, safe and efficient and even beautiful†. On a local level, the students we teach in primary schools deserve to have the ability to discern and take decisions that will help them in future. Although geography's worth is often underestimated in most parts of Britain, it plays a subtle role in the development of national structures in the future. Our school children need to have a good connection with the concepts and ideas of geography in order to fundam ental understanding in the course and make the best use of them after they are out of the educational system and enter their adult lives. Geography also prepares our children for international opportunities. It grants them the provision of knowledge on locations, conditions of places, insight into foreign cultures and interconnections with different parts of the world. â€Å"Throughout the world, geography is a highly regarded field of enquiry†. This assertion supports the position that geography involves learning and is known through pragmatic methods that utilize the senses to analyse and feel things and conclude on them.

Property law and trust question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Property law and trust question - Essay Example According to English, C. (2005, 211), â€Å"Personal property includes all property other than freehold estates and interests in land. Personal property was called chattels by the common law and often referred to as movable goods, which included such items as money, debts, clothing, household goods, food, and all other movables and the rights and profits related to them† (Halsbury, Laws of England, 1960) b) The Japanese-style summer house and pagoda Under the law, Sarah has the right to demand for the Japanese style summer house and pagoda  because they are considered as immovable properties and they follow the land. The deed of sale entered by Sarah and the couple, Matt and Jane, has for it object a parcel of land, which is considered a real property or otherwise known as an immovable property. English, C. (2005,211) defined â€Å"real property as land and whatever is attached to the land, fixtures, rights and profits annexed to or issuing out of the land†. Therefore , Sarah is allowed by law to the recover permanent fixtures attached to the land, after purchasing the cottage. Hence, if the structures on the land are by nature, fixed and cannot be moved from one place to another, they are considered part of the property which was newly purchased. ... â€Å"The statutory requirements for a valid contract for the sale and purchase of land are the following: Capacity, Offer and Acceptance, Consideration and Legality† (Cummins, 1997, p. 44). b) Explain whether there is a valid contract between Sarah and Peter for the sale and purchase of the London flat    Yes, there was a valid contract between Sarah and Peter for the sale and purchase of the London flat. All elements for a valid contract of sale are present, namely: Capacity, Offer and Acceptance, Consideration and Legality. In the case at bar, there was a meeting of the minds between Sarah and Peter the moment Peter agreed to sell his flat to Sarah for the consideration of ?180,000. The fact that Peter accepted the offer tendered by Sarah in the amount of ?180,000, there was already a perfected contract as she signed the letter that she is willing to buy the property. To consider an offer to be acknowledged, â€Å"a valid act of acceptance must be made by the offereeâ₠¬  (Gillies, 2004, p. 149). This was further clarified in the case of Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co., (1893) 1 QB 256. â€Å"The first requisite of a contract is that both parties have reached an agreement. There are three essential requisites to the creation of a contract, namely: agreement, contractual intention and consideration† (Oughton and Davis, 2000, p. 21). Here, all the essential requisites to make a contract perfected are present. Therefore, there was a valid contract entered by both parties, giving rise to the cause of action by Sarah against Peter for breach of contract and to compel him to fulfill his obligation to deliver the flat. 3.) Explain the nature of the rights if any, which peter has to keep his horse in the paddock Peter has

History of Social Psychology

History of Social Psychology Social psychology as a discipline began towards the end of the 1900s when scientists began to carry out experiments to measure human behaviours. According to Kassin et al (2013: 6), â€Å"social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context†. This definition brings an important aspect of social psychology, which is different from the other artistic and humanistic attempts that try to understand human behaviour, in that the discipline itself is a science. It systematically observe, describe and measure the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of human beings as pointed out by Kruglanski and Stroebe, (2011). Another definition that was given by Gordon Allport (1954) cited in Hewstone et al (2012: 5) defined social psychology as â€Å"the attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings†. Although the d efinition can be argued based on the two perspectives of critical and experimental social psychology, Allport (1954) tried to bring out the notion that much of behaviour is influenced by social roles and cultural norms. However it still remains that the two perspectives of critical and experimental social psychology have divided opinions, ‘are antagonistic and cannot be integrated’ as pointed out by Rogers (2011). Social Psychology began in the 19th Century in America with an early experiment on behavior by Triplett (1898). In this experiment that took place in the early years, Triplett studied individual’s behavior when placed in competition with others and he used cyclist to study the behaviors. It was from the results of this study that, carefully controlled experiments began as pointed out by Kassin et al (2013). The next decades which were dubbed the Coming of Age, saw the continued refinement of the discipline with Lewin (1936) developing strategies and studies that focused more on the dynamic interactions that existed between people. In one of his studies, Lewin (1946) looked at the influence that situational variables have on person variables. The relationship between the two led him to conclude that behavior of a person at any given time is influenced by both his/her characteristics and the social situation they find themselves in. Other studies that took place around this time focused on the issues of conformity (Sherif 1936). However it was during the period of rapid expansion between the period of 1949-1969 that saw experiments obedience (Milgram 1974) and the prison experiments (Zimbardo et al, 1973) that really demonstrated the power of the social setting. Also as this field was an evolving field, it was not long before it was embroiled by crises and reassessment based on the different approaches to understanding human behavior by the different Social Psychologists. One of the most fundamental contestation in the field was the demand for the field to become more relevant to target societies of study. Such lack of relevance is what made Fishbein (1997: 77-91) to comment that â€Å"accusations of engaging in experiments that are trivial and lacking originality have been often labelled against the field of Social Psychology†. It was more like researchers were developing studies to pursue their own gains at the expense of finding solutions to real life problems affecting people something that led to the â€Å"emergence of crisis of confidence† in experimental social psychology as pointed out by Elms (1975). It was therefore the development of such and other crises that brought about the two perspectives of critical and experi mental Social Psychology, with different scholars and researchers aligning themselves to the perspective they believed to be the perspective that best study and explain human behaviour. Most of the researchers that carried out experiments believed in the experimental field of Social Psychology that had led the way in the development of the field before the emergency of the critical social psychology side of the field. There was a strong belief in them that the only way to gain valid knowledge about social phenomena, processes and events is by using scientific methods something the critical followers disagreed with. The critical followers believed that science is not the only way to get knowledge especially when it comes to Social Psychology. The experimental followers further believed that the knowledge gained was ideologically neutral. This position stood in sharp contrast with the critical followers who believed that all knowledge, whether experimental or critical, was inherently positioned ideologically as pointed by Rodgers (2003: 11). The last of the elements that stood in between the two perspectives was to do with the experimental side believing in the social world being separate from the individual acting within it. This was at odds with the critical followers who believed that the social world is shaped by the people through their interactions with each other. Therefore it is the difference in these elements that has led to the two camps to be at parallel with each other when it come to Social Psychology and its study on human behaviour. Early experimentalist believed in the objectivity and neutrality that quantitative research methods in Social Psychology brought to their research methods. This believe came about because of the traits associated with quantitative research that there is always a quest for objectivity and distance between the research and his test subjects something that led to the avoidance of bias (Bryman, 2001). However the main problem that arose from the use of such quantitative methods was on the generalizability of the results to all similar situations and settings something that was refuted by critical thinkers. Mkhize (2004: 25) commented that, â€Å"in the quest to emulate the natural sciences that psychologists construed their discipline as an objective, value-free and universal science and in so doing considered issues to do with culture as an impediment†. There was also a belief with the critical scholars that the experimental approach under modernism that assumed science is capabl e of discovering the real things and real happenings out there in the world was flawed. Critical scholars believe that knowledge is constructed and not simply discovered through science and the knowledge discovered through science was biased and based on what the scientists choose to observe, interpret and tell as observed and found. Therefore it was the denying of the modernism approach under the experimental perspective that led to the postmodernism approach and the emergence of the critical thinkers. The critical thinkers had their commitment in social justice ideology that sought to gain knowledge from all social groups regardless of background and social standing. Their approach used qualitative methods that sought to better understand human behaviour without being objective. The approaches were mainly more on the inter-relationship of the individual and their particular social context they live in whilst recognising the boarder social structures in order to understand meanings of certain situations as pointed out by Gough and McFadden (2001). This was a clear move away from the quantitative experimental approach that relied on white middle class American students for their experiments which they later generalised to cover all in the social setting. Although they did not wholly disagreed with all the knowled ge discovered through scientific means, they pointed to instances where scientific knowledge was not useful. For example, critical thinkers pointed to â€Å"many diseases of modern life such as chronic fatigue syndrome that could not be diagnosed through scientific tests because they are socially and culturally constructed, defined and experienced† as pointed out by Rogers (2003). Reference List Kassin, S., Fein, S. and Markus, H. (2013). Social Psychology, 9th edition. Published by Cengage Learning. Bryman, A. 2001). Social Research Methods. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Kruglanski, A., Stroebe, W. (2011). Handbook of the history of social psychology. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. Triplett, N. (1898). The Dynamogenic factors in Pacemaking and competition. American Journal of Psychology, 9(4), 507–533. Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. New York, NY: Harper Row. Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. New York, NY: Harper Row. Haney, C., Banks, C., Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69–87. Fishbein, M. (1997). Predicting, understanding and changing socially relevant behaviours: Lessons learned. In McGarty, C. and Haslam, S.A. (eds). The message of Social Psychology. (pp 77-91) Oxford: Blackwell. Hewstone, M., Stroebe, W and Jonas, K. (2012). An Introduction to Social Psychology: An Introduction to Social Psychology, Wolfgang Stroebe Volume 17 of BPS Textbooks in Psychology. Published by John Wiley and Sons. Rogers, S. W. (2011). Social Psychology. Published by McGraw-Hill International. Rogers, S. W. (2003). Social Psychology: Experimental and Critical Approaches. Open University Press Maidenhead Philadelphia Elms, A. C. (1975). Cited in Faye, C. American social psychology: Examining the contours of the 1970s crisis. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (2011), doi: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.11.010 accessed via http://lchc.ucsd.edu/MCA/Mail/xmcamail.2012_04.dir/pdfQIRyaPOkWx.pdf on 19/11/2014 Lewin, K. (2008) [1946]. Resolving social conflicts Field theory in social science. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Mkhize, N., 2004, ‘Psychology: An African Perspective’, in D. Hook, ed., Critical Psychology, Landsdowne: University of Cape Town Press. Gough, B., and McFadden, M. (2001). Critical social psychology: An introduction. London: Palgrave.

King Lear as a Commentary on Greed Essay -- King Lear essays

King Lear as a Commentary on Greed   Ã‚   In Chapter 4 of a book titled Escape from Freedom, the famous American psychologist Erich Fromm wrote that "Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction" (Fromm 98).   Fromm realized that avarice is one of the most powerful emotions that a person can feel, but, by its very nature, is an emotion or driving force that can never be satisfied.   For, once someone obtains a certain goal, that person is not satisfied and continues to strive for more and more until that quest leads to their ultimate destruction.   For this reason, authors have embraced the idea of greed in the creation of hundreds of characters in thousands of novels.   Almost every author has written a work centered around a character full of avarice. Ian Fleming's Mr. Goldfinger, Charles Dickens' Scrooge, and Thomas Hardy's John D'Urberville are only a few examples of this attraction.   But, perhaps one of the best exampl es of this is found in William Shakespeare's King Lear.   Edmund, through his speech, actions, and relationships with other characters, becomes a character consumed with greed to the point that nothing else matters except for the never-ending quest for status and material possessions.    Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester, embodies the idea of avarice from the very beginning of the play almost until the end.   In fact, Edmund seems to become more and more greedy as the production progresses.   When Edmund is first introduced in person on stage, after a short exposition of his character by Gloucester and Kent in the first scene, the audience immediately finds Edmund engaged in a plot to strip his father's inheritance from his... ...gain his freedom from this addiction.   And only through his life and death does Shakespeare paint a picture to which anyone can relate and a picture on which everyone must act.    Works Cited and Consulted "Fromm, Erich." The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations.   CD-ROM. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. Harbage, Alfred. " King Lear: An Introduction." Shakespeare: The Tragedies: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood: Prentice-Hall, 1964: 113-22. Knight, Wilson. "King Lear and the Comedy of the Grotesque." Shakespeare: The Tragedies: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prentice-Hall, 1964: 123-38. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. New York: Scholastic, 1970. Shakespeare, William. "King Lear: A Conflated Text." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York:    W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 2479-2553.   

Efficiency of the Video Camera

We usually use the video camera in order to save the important moment. Before using the video camera, the written record had been used as a documentary tool. You couldn’t completely observe the important social event and only predicted through the sentences. Video recording are more accurate and convincing than a written record. The Video camera provides some advantages in the contemporary life. First of all, the video recording is a more important means of documentary tool in the contemporary life. For example, we saved the important events such as the big match and the historical ceremony. We had the time capsule in the Jangchung-dong, Seoul at the turn of this millennium. Our â€Å"The video camera provides such an accurate and convincing record of contemporary life that it has become a more important form of documentation than written records. † According to the speaker, the video recording is a more important means of document hag contemporary life than a written record because video recordings are more accurate and convincing. Although I agree that a video provides a more objective and accurate record of an event's spatial aspects, there is far more to document ha life than what we see and hear. Thus the speaker overstates the comparative significance of video as a documentary tool. For the purpose of documenting temporal, spatial events and experiences, I agree that a video record is usually more accurate and more convincing than a written record. It is impossible for anyone, no matter how keen an observer and skilled a journalist, to recount ha complete and objective detail such events as the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl, a Ballanchine ballet, the Tournament of Roses Parade, or the scene at the intersection of Florence and Normandy streets during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Yet these are important events in contemporary life the sort of events we might put ha a time capsule for the purpose of capturing our life and times at the turn of this millennium. The growing documentary role of video is not limited to seminal events like those described above. Video surveillance cameras are objective witnesses with perfect memories. Thus they can play a vital evidentiary role in legal proceedings–such as those involving robbery, drug trafficking, police misconduct, motor vehicle violations, and even malpractice in a hospital operating room. Indeed, whenever moving images are central to an event the video camera is superior to the written word. A written description of a hurricane, tornado, or volcanic eruption cannot convey its immediate power and awesome nature like a video record. A diary entry cannot â€Å"replay† that wedding reception, dance recital, or surprise birthday party as accurately or objectively as a video record. And a real estate brochure cannot inform about the lighting, spaciousness, or general ambiance of a featured property nearly as effectively as a video. Nonetheless, for certain other purposes written records are advantageous to and more appropriate than video records. For example, certain legal matters are best left to written documentation: video is of no practical use ha documenting the terms of a complex contractual agreement, an incorporation, or the establishment of a trust. And video is of little use when it comes to documenting a person's subjective state of mind, impressions, or reflections of an event or experience. Indeed, to the extent that personal interpretation adds dimension and richness to the record, written documentation is actually more important than video. Finally, a video record is of no use in documenting statistical or other quantitative information. Returning to the riot example mentioned earlier, imagine relying on a video to document the financial loss to store owners, the number of police and firefighters involved, and so forth. Complete and accurate video documentation of such information would require video cameras at every street corner and in every aisle of every store. In sum, the speaker's claim overstates the importance of video records, at least to some extent. When it comes to capturing, storing, and recalling temporal, spatial events, video records are inherently more objective, accurate, and complete. However, what we view through a camera lens provides only one dimension of our life and times; written documentation will always be needed to quantify, demystify, and provide meaning to the world around us.

SME Challenges to Access to Finance

1. SMEs usually have limited financial resources compared to a large company. Often it is hard to finance the standard model for software process improvement (SPI) activities. They try to avoid excessive overhead for the full custom standard process implementation. 2. The proven best practices for the large companies might be too expensive or time consuming to perform in SMEs because of their limited resources and business model. 3. The majority of small companies are independently financed. That causes a tight financial situation for many small businesses. So they can’t always afford to buy required expertise that possesses the skills required in a particular position. 4. A first step toward process improvement is identifying the strengths and weaknesses of organization software processes. For this, an assessment to examine the processes against a reference model which helps to determine the processes capability to meet the required quality, cost, and schedule goals is required, but small companies have difficulty running those. 5. The small size of a company not only causes for the challenges of networking, marketing and business issues for small software companies. It also creates problems for gaining and leveraging technological know-how. 6. Large companies can improve the work efficiency using all needed toolkits. Small company also need these tools in every step of software process but high licensing costs often put their project cost over expectable levels. 7. SMEs suffer from the lack of literature and publications describing efforts on an improvement initiative. But adoption of internationally accepted software process practices is essential for the success of all software companies to compete in the global software development market. 8. Many SMEs have multiple business operations like service, product, and consultancy. A given employee may have to change the projects more frequently. This leads to additional challenges to improve the required level of competence for different projects with different technologies. 9. A given employee of SMEs may simultaneously play multiple roles. For that, he may ignore tasks or consider many tasks as low priority. Thus many important tasks may be left undone. In some cases, these tasks may be contradictory or mutually exclusive (e. g. A person is responsible for product cost reduction and improvement of customer service simultaneously). 10. In SMEs the average project duration is shorter than in large companies. Manager faces challenges to reallocate employees more frequently to different projects.

Power of Children in the Tourism Industry

Power of Children in the Tourism Industry Introduction Across the world, tourism is a major economic activity, which contributes significantly to the economic growth of many countries that have tourist attractions. Since people are social beings, they like travelling to various tourism destinations as tourists.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Power of Children in the Tourism Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since routine schedules of workplace and businesses are boring, people use tourism as a means of rejuvenating, gaining motivation, and reflecting about their lives. Over the recent past, tourism has experienced outstanding changes in terms of consumers and their preferences. One of the main entrants into the tourism and hospitality market is the set of consumers that comprise of families and young children. As opposed to the past, where fathers made major decisions concerning holiday destinations, mothers and children are now active participants in decision-making and even have the power to influence the choice of destinations that families visit during holidays. Therefore, the essay describes the families as potential consumers of tourism products and cites the influence that children have in choosing tourism destinations. Influence of Children in Holiday Decision Making Children are part of the family and make up an influential segment of decision makers in the family and thus they participate actively in decision-making. Remarkably, the number of families that visit tourist destinations and hospitality facilities has risen over the recent past to a significant level. The rising demand for tourism and hospitality products that cater for the needs of families has led to shifts and adjustments in various establishments, which provide tourism and hospitality products in the quest to meet family expectations.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Some of the ways that children affect the decisions that families make on holiday destinations include their preferences, purchasing decision, buying behaviours, choice of locations, accommodations, activities, and influences from their peers. According to Blichfeldt et al. (2010), children have varied preferences in terms of location and activities, as well as the types of products that they like consuming. These differences usually determine the holiday choices of parents since they have to consider the differences when making decision about holiday destinations. Purchasing decisions and buying behaviours of children are different from that of adults. As opposed to adults, who do not engage in impulse buying, children tend to purchase various products irrespective of the holiday budget. Additionally, children love products such as snacks and games, which may not be in the set of adult preferences. Due to the existing differences in buying patter ns and behaviours, families decide holiday destinations to visit based on the differences. Several hospitality and tourism establishments are currently aligning their services so that they can provide services that do not only meet requirements of adults, but also satisfy the needs of children (Kang, Hsu, Wolfe 2003). The alignment of services by hospitality and tourism facilities happens because children are currently among the major consumers of tourism products. The influence of children in families has compelled several families to visit those destinations that offer services, which match the desires of both adults and children. Children influence the choice of locations, accommodation facilities, and the type of activities that families engage in during the holiday. The influence that children exert transpires because of the diverse tastes, likes, and dislikes of adults and children.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Power of Children in the Tourism Ind ustry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Families that are on holidays usually try to ensure that each individual in the family enjoys the holiday. Therefore, families prefer visiting a destination that has the facilities, which satisfy adult and child requirements. Theme parks, arboretums and other tourism facilities and establishments, which offer services such as face painting and bouncing castles, make up the main types of destinations that families prefer visiting. Conversely, destinations that only meet requirements of adults receive several adults as opposed to families. Philips, Canter, and Abbott (2011) argue that the numbers of hotels that provide family facilities are increasing in several tourism and hospitality establishments. The power of children in families implies that they dictate the locations that families visit, the type of accommodation facilities, and the type of activities that families undertake during the holiday. Pee r influence is another factor that affects the choice of holidays among families, especially children. Since children are vulnerable to influences and coercions from their friends, they are likely to use the pressure from friends to determine holiday destination for families. Children can compel a family to visit a destination that their colleagues visit, as they need the company of their friends and peers. As a result, children are currently dictating the choices that families make concerning the locations and places to visit during holidays (Marino 2003). In some instances, families compromise their likes and preferences with a view of satisfying the needs and demands of their children. The compromise that parents make regarding their preferences and needs evidently outlines the force and power that children have on the holiday choices.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Probability of Common Decision Making Due to the diverse perceptions, motives and interests towards tourism and hospitality establishments, parents and children often vary in terms of locations to visit. The variance can lead to dissatisfaction among parties in the family, who feels oppressed or undermined in line with the choice of place or holiday destination (Boterhill Haven 2003). However, there is a chance of families coming to a mutual agreement on the destination that they want to visit during the holiday. Compromise, involvement, safety, and attractions are some of the factors that families can use to achieve a common decision on the place to visit. Since it is impossible to satisfy the needs of all individuals in a family, parents can compromise and adjust their perceptions, likes, and preferences so that they ensure that their children enjoy their holiday and the choices they make. Families can involve their children in the decision-making process as it enables them to un derstand various needs and expectations that their children have concerning the choice of place to visit during holidays. Poor participation of children in families on aspects like holiday destinations results in assumptions from parents, who believe that a certain place is good for their children when children hold contrary opinions. Therefore, it is very crucial to involve all the stakeholders in the family, which are the children and parents, in holiday decision-making. When all individuals in a family take part in the decision-making process and present their opinions, feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment develops in their minds. The feelings develop because the individuals know that other people in the family respect and honour their points of view. According to Goh et al. (2010), every individual has diverse opinions and perspectives on the types of tourism products that they love consuming. Therefore, child involvement in decision-making is very instrumental in achieving a common decision in the choice of place to visit during family holidays. Safety is another factor that compels families to make a common decision as it overrides personal preferences and likes. Regardless of the tourism and hospitality products offered by a tourism attraction, insecurity renders the subject location unsuitable for tourism. Children and parents in the family opt to visit destinations, which are safe and secure for the safety of their families is crucial factor that they cannot overlook. Onder, Yoldorom, and Ozdemir (2013) explain that safety is one of the major factors that determine consumer’s choices of tourism locations. Presence of insecurity in a destination drives tourists away from the region because it is a push factor in tourism. Travel advisories, and embassies are very important in the passage of information to the society on safe locations to visit. The common agreement is obtainable in the context of safety because parents and children believe in the importance of peace and tranquillity and loathe the outcomes orchestrated by insecurity. External Factors that Prompt Holiday Decision-Making Families just like other types of tourists respond in similar ways to externalities that affect other tourists in decision-making. Some of the externalities that affect families in deciding the locations to visit include induced image of a destination, push and pull factors, pricing, and flexibility of tourism and hospitality establishments. Families are likely to visit regions or establishments that have good reputation and image. Good reputation and image emerge due to the services provided by the facilities to consumers, who market them through a word of mouth to other potential consumers (Bjork Jansson 2008). The marketing image that a destination receives from past consumers and the level of advertisement influence the willingness of consumers, especially families. It is imperative to understand that the image of a destination is dep endent on factors such as security, economy, and the interrelationships among countries that service providers cannot manipulate or change. Push and pull factors are those factors that either drive tourists away from the tourist attraction or bring them to the attraction. Goodrich (2014) asserts that the push factors scare tourists away from the attraction, while the pull factors attract tourists to an attraction. Insecurity and conflicts among countries, recession, language barriers, and the inflations are some of the push factors that increase unwillingness of families to visit certain tourist destinations. On the other hand, good relationships among countries, economic balance, and good security are among the factors that increase the willingness and the tendency of families to visit and consume tourism products in subject regions. Remarkably, push and pull factors are not within the control of service providers in the tourism and hospitality industry, and thus, they have no cont rol or power over the factors. Pricing determines the choice of destination that families choose to visit because families are among the types of tourists, who value their money and need effective utility. As opposed to past consumers, who focussed on the quantity of products that facilities offered, modern consumers emphasise on the quality of the services in relation to their attached value (Marino 2003). In this regard, consumers often go for services that promise value for their money. Costs associated with labour and raw materials determine the price charged on a good or service. The rise in cost of raw materials causes a corresponding increase in the cost of production (Ballantyne Packer 2009). The increase compels service providers to increase the cost of services that they offer. The fact that food prices and the prices of other tourist services like sightseeing and transport depend on the changes in the economy and global product prices implies that service providers have very little influence on the price. Flexibility of service providers in the tourism and hospitality industry is one of the essential factors that influence families using certain facilities and consume the services offered. If a facility is flexible, then it quickly adjusts to the prevailing consumer requirements and provides consumers with what they expect, and thus, satisfy them (Ballantyne Packer 2009). Tourism destinations also need to be flexible so that they can deliver what is best for the consumers, who comprise of children and adults. When families realise that a destination quickly adopts modern technologies and copes with their changing requirements, their willingness to visit the destination increases. According to Fuller et al. (2007), consumers in the tourism and hospitality industries are very trendy and ever changing, therefore, service providers in the industry must be flexible and adaptive. The need for flexibility in hospitality and tourism establishments is due to the changes that consumers portray in the industry, which are unstoppable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable. Conclusion In the recent past, a new type of tourism has developed in the field of tourism. The new type of tourism comprises of families, which are increasingly travelling to various destinations and consuming the services provided by the establishments of tourism and hospitality. As a new entrant in the tourism and hospitality market, families pose a challenge to the industry since they require the creation of new facilities that cater for the requirements of children and adults. Remarkably, children have also changed the choice of holiday destinations that families visit as they dictate the families to choose places that meet their needs and preferences. References Ballantyne, R, Packer, J 2009, ‘Trends in Tourism Research’, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 149-152. Bjork, P, Jansson, T 2008, ‘Travel Decision Making: The Role of Habi t’, An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 11-34. Blichfeldt, B, Johansen, A, Pederson, B, Hansen, L 2010, ‘Teens and Vacation Decision Making’, Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-20. Boterhill, D, Haven, C 2003, ‘Virtual Learning Environment in Hospitality, Leisure, Tourism, and Sport’, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, and Tourism Education, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 75-92. Fuller, D, Wilde, S, Henlon, J, Mason, S, Armstrong, B 2007, ‘Destination Choice An Exploratory Examination of Visitor Behaviour in Coastal Tourism Destination on Australia’s East Coast’, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 45-52. Goh, D, Ang, R, Lee, C, Lee, K 2010, ‘Determining Services for the Mobile Tourists’, Journal of Computer Information Systems, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 31-40. Goodrich, J 2014, ‘The Relationships between Preferences and Percepti ons of Vacations, Destination: Application of a Choice Model’, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 8-13. Kang, S, Hsu, C, Wolfe, K 2003, ‘Family Traveller Segmentation by Vacation Decision Making Patterns’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 448-469. Marino, E 2003, ‘The Strategic Dimension of a Destination Image. An Analysis from the Italian Tourists Perceptions’, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 47-67. Onder, E, Yoldorom, B, Ozdemir, M 2013, ‘Multi-Criteria Approach for Evaluating Tourism Destinations in Turkey’, Academic Journal of Tourism and Management Research, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-15. Philips, W, Canter, D, Abbott, J 2011, ‘Hospitality and Tourism Research Ranking’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 381-416.

How to Use the Perl Array Grep() Function

How to Use the Perl Array Grep() Function The Perl  grep() function is a filter that runs a regular expression on each element of an array and returns only the elements that evaluate as  true. Using regular expressions can be extremely powerful and complex. The grep() functions uses the syntax List grep(Expression, array). Using Grep() Function to Return True Expressions myNames (Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Mathew, Alexander, Andrew); grepNames grep(/^A/, myNames); Think of the myNames array as a row of numbered boxes, going from left to right and numbered starting with a zero. The grep() function goes through each of the elements (boxes) in the array and compares their contents to the regular expression. If the result is true, the contents are then added to the new grepNames array. In the above example, the regular expression /^A/ is looking for any value that starts with a capital A. After sifting through the contents of the myNames array, the value of grepNames becomes (Alexander, Andrew), the only two elements that start with a capital A. Reversing the Expression in a Grep() Function One quick way to make this particular function more powerful is to reverse the regular expression with the NOT operator. The regular expression then looks for elements that evaluate to false and moves them into the new array. myNames (Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Mathew, Alexander, Andrew); grepNames grep(!/^A/, myNames); In the above example, the regular expression is looking for any value that does not start with a capital A. After sifting through the contents of the myNames array, the value of grepNames becomes (Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew). About Perl Perl is an adaptable programming language frequently used to develop web applications.  Perl  is an  interpreted, not compiled, language, so its programs take up more CPU time than a compiled language- a problem that becomes less important as the speed of processors increases. However, writing in Perl is faster than writing in a compiled language, so the time you save is yours.

Advantage of Music

Advantages of music Affecting the brain waves According to studies it has been proven that your brainwaves can get stimulated with strong beats. The stimulation takes place to resonate in sync with the beat. Sharp  beats ensure sharp concentration and it can help you attain a meditative and calm state. Music and your heart rate: Due to alternations taking place in brainwaves, other bodily functions also get affected. Functions like heart rate and breathing that are controlled by the autonomic nervous system can be altered with music. Mozart effect The skills you learn through music get transferred to your communication skills, study skills and cognitive skills. According to a Harvard University study, the spatial-temporal reasoning gets enhanced when children start learning music. Such reasoning tends to improve in a temporary manner when an adult listens to a particular type of music. This study was named as the â€Å"Mozart effect† and it suggested that spatial reasoning and music have a neurological and psychological connection. Other Advantages Music therapy  is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health. In some instances, the clients needs are addressed directly through music; in others they are addressed through the relationships that develop between the client and therapist. Music therapy is used with individuals of all ages and with a variety of conditions, including: psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical handicaps, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging. It is also used to: improve learning, build self-esteem, reduce stress,  support physical exercise, and facilitate a host of other health-related activities. Music Genera A  music genre  is a categorical and typological construct that identifies  musical  sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music

Environmental issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental issues - Essay Example The amount is relatively high when compared to other developed nations. The reasons for unsustainable cost are due to pressure on health institutions that arises due to excessive admissions. The health system has not invested enough in primary care, and health promotion thus reducing preventative measures. The high cost of services and low quality of care is critical for Americans. In recent past, the system concentrated on secondary and tertiary care. As noted, the primary care system is underdeveloped. The need to offer affordable care to all citizens regardless of their economic status prompted reforms in the health sector. The reforms include the Medicare Bill and the Affordable Care Act that aimed to cover the inefficiencies and equal access to healthcare. Successive governments have been under pressure to mitigate the drawbacks in the health system. The proposed and implemented options include health insurance, health promotion and advocating primary care as a means to reduce pressure on health

The Pros and Cons of the Implementation of Fat Tax in the UK Essay

The Pros and Cons of the Implementation of Fat Tax in the UK - Essay Example This essay discusses that the United Kingdom is becoming ‘fat’. According to the National Health Services (NHS), obesity is one of the biggest problems confronting UK in the 21st century; obesity causes several diseases or health problems. As this problem is growing, there are many attempts to control it. There is a suggestion in the UK that a tax on junk food is the only solution to mitigate this problem. This essay critically evaluates the arguments for and against such proposal. People who support ‘fat tax’ argue that this proposal is likely to be effective because this strategy has been used to alcohol and cigarettes quite successfully. According to Jofre, the UK is considered to be the ‘fattest’ nation in Europe. In line with this, the rate of obesity in the UK is growing steadily, and time is short, which implies that ‘fat tax’ could be the perfect solution for obesity. For instance, Denmark is one of the slimmest countries in Europe because it implemented ‘fat tax’. It is also argued that ‘fat tax’ has an impact on health for it is widely known that sugar and fat are the main reason for obesity. Thus, the basis for the proposal becomes obvious. As stated by Jofre, if the public cannot take care of their health, then the government is obliged to take action. In contrast, people who are against this proposal believe that it is their choice, and not the responsibility of the government. But what are the real advantages and disadvantages of implementing ‘fat tax’ in the UK? An obvious advantage of ‘fat tax’ is the revenue it could generate. ‘Fat tax’ would probably have to be quite large so as to make a difference on food preference, producing additional revenues (Leicester & Windmeijer 2004). Such revenues could be used for obesity prevention and treatment agendas, or to fund the promotion of nutritious foods. There is logical argument for th e possible success of implementing ‘fat tax’ in order to lessen consumption of unhealthy foods. One of the main factors affecting food preference is price, together with ease, quality, and taste, and, to a lesser degree, health (Jofre 2010). ‘Fat tax’ has been proven to be successful in Denmark. However, implementing ‘fat tax’ is difficult. It is hard to determine what foods should be taxed. However, even though difficult to implement, Denmark, and other countries, have shown success in adopting ‘fat tax’. This proposal is disapproved of by other people for wrongly troubling the poor, for poor people consume higher quantities of junk foods and would hence be held back by ‘fat tax’ (Leicester & Windmeijer 2004). Yet, poor people may profit as well since price is more precious to poor people in choosing foods to eat, and thus ‘fat tax’ may result in major change in consumption behaviour for poor people in co mparison with rich ones who can buy nutritious foods. Especially, nutritious food decisions would have to be cheap and easy to get to. If not, poor people, who remain incapable of buying nutritious foods, will either be pushed to starve or shell out more to sustain a harmful diet. If obesity is a real major problem in the UK, it is more helpful to think of other ways, since the ‘fat tax’ proposal looks weak. In particular, ‘fat taxes’ that financially support obesity prevention and treatment agendas, and complaints against food businesses, appear quite financially advantageous for the individuals supporting them, such as attorneys and public health advocates, without essentially solving the obesity crisis (Press Association 2011). What’s more, a lot of people eat wisely, so why should they be burdened of the taxes intended to discipline irresponsible consumers? And there are no sure proof that obesity is caused by the failure of food businesses to in form consumers that hamburgers and ice creams are fatty foods. It appears that the most

Strategic management final exam bachelor degree Term Paper

Strategic management final exam bachelor degree - Term Paper Example This relationship identifies validity of the statement from the perspective that organizations can focus on their microenvironment and manage the factors to overcome any possible effects of the macro environment. This is because microenvironment such as organizational behavior and employee efficiencies are easily manageable as they are under organizations’ powers. A consideration of a business’ long-term scope and effects of the macro environment however invalidates the statement because micro environmental factors influence many organizational activities. The economic environment that includes economic conditions and economic policies is the first significant factor to organizations. Factors such as inflation rates, unemployment rates, trade regulations, and interest rates have significant effects on productivity of and profitability of an organization and therefore affect sustainability. Political environment is another significant macro environment factor and plays a significant role in influencing success of business organization. Political stability establishes investors’ confidence and therefore facilitates commercial activities, especially at global level and political ideologies and relations with other countries facilitate ties for favorable business environments. Socio cultural environment that include people’s preferences, â€Å"family systems, caste systems, education, marriage,† among other social and cultural factors determines markets and revenue levels to businesses (Mukesh and Trehan n.d, p. 12). Technological environment with its characteristic advantage of facilitating operational efficiency and demographic factors that determine volume and trend of demand for products is also very important to business’ organizations’ lives. The significance of macro environment that dictates sustainability and efficiency of organizations’ internal factors therefore identifies relevance of the environment to businesses. This means

Instrumentation Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Instrumentation - Lab Report Example Two probes of a voltmeter can be connected to the plate in opposite directions to the other sides of the plates [1]. When there is no magnetic field perpendicular to the plate, as shown in situation (a) in In case where there is a magnetic field present, the voltmeter will show a reading as shown in the (b) part of the diagram. This phenomenon is known as the Hall-effect. A Hall probe can be used to measure the Hall-effect that was demonstrated above [2]. When an electric current runs in a conductor in a magnetic field, a traversal force is exerted [2] on the charge carriers by the magnetic field. Therefore the charge carriers are pushed on one side of the conductor [2] as shown in the (b) part of the diagram. This phenomenon was discovered by E. H. Hall in 1879 [2]. This is the basic principle used in the operations of Hall-effect devices. A sensor used for measuring thickness or the compactness based on Hall-effect has been developed; this sensor is called in situ sensor [3]. Whenever there is a change in the magnetic force being applied, the Hall sensor, which is works as a transducer [3], generates an output voltage. This output is variable and is dependent upon the thickness of the material being measured and the force of magnetic field being applied. The distance between the sensor and the magnetic source is the main determinant of the output voltage [3]. Vacuum failure and vacuum bag leaks can be detected with the use of the sensor [3]. This sensor is primarily used in the quality control departments and cure cycle [3] of the factories producing different material which need a reliable sensor. Most of the times, the sensor is paired with a monitoring device to demonstrate the readings. For the purpose of online monitoring and compaction of a curing composite, the sensor is quite successful. This device is being used in the quality control departments and the manufacturing departments of many businesses. They

Sociological Perspective of Body Language Research Paper

Sociological Perspective of Body Language - Research Paper Example There are several schools of thought concerning the role of nonverbal communication regarding everyday communication patterns. For example, in Nonverbal Behavior and the Communication Process (1974), Charles Duke explains the different viewpoints held by psychologists and anthropologists regarding these roles. â€Å"Members of the psychological school view nonverbal communication as simply the expression of emotions, but those individuals in the communicational school – mainly anthropologists and ethologists – are concerned with behaviors of posture, touch, and movement as they relate to social processes like group cohesion and regulation† (Duke, 1974). The study The Challenge of Non-Verbal Research (1971), by Charles Galloway, outlines the various difficulties inherent in attempting to decode nonverbal behavior, what produces the meanings, how to differ from verbal communication and under what circumstances they are used. ... s excessively noisy as a more effective means of gaining attention than shouting over the noise or of holding a finger to their lips to indicate she wishes the students to fall silent. Other examples of body language that teachers of all cultures and areas of the world use on a widespread basis include: staring at students for prolonged periods of time as a means of demonstrating disapproval, crossing their arms tightly in front of their chest too, again, symbolize disapproval and pointing at students to get their attention. â€Å"82 percent of the communication that happens in the classroom is nonverbal and hand gestures used in conjunction with speech help listeners remember the message much longer than speech alone.† (Zoller, 2004) Students, universally, have demonstrated a widespread awareness that the best method to get attention in the classroom is to raise their hands high above their heads and are often observed doing this same action outside of the classroom when they have something urgent (to them) that they want to say. â€Å"These signals are well understood by students and any observer can see the results† (Galloway, 1971). To establish how the superior (boss) in an office environment while not indicating any type of ‘classier’ styles or other symbols of position was able to express the sense of superiority was addressed in the book Body Language (1970) by Julius Fast, a study of the power and status theory. The study utilized silent films portraying two actors, one acting as the visitor, the other playing the part of a corporate senior management. It was viewed by audiences who were filling out a questionnaire concerning how they ‘read’ the scene. A number of patterns became apparent from the answers provided.  Ã‚  

The Lincol Memorial as an art object Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Lincol Memorial as an art object - Essay Example t and would not have been strong enough to support the structure of the Lincoln Memorial, supports for the structure were built by embedding them down almost 100 feet into bedrock, thereby creating cave like formations under the stairs that exist under the stairs and forms stalactites and stalagmites of calcium carbonate.(www2.nature.nps.gov) As pointed out by Professor Smith (1996), the Lincoln Memorial is built in the neo-classical style of art, derived from the Greek high, classical art forms as evidenced in the Parthenon. The Lincoln Memorial is built with similar fluted columns and represents an attempt to sanctify an American President by making Lincoln sitting within a recess behind the columns in the same manner as the statute of Athena sits within the Parthenon.(Smith, 1996). The Memorial is erected as a Temple, representing the dawn of a new age, in much the same manner the construction of the Parthenon in Greece represented the dawn of a new era of freedom and enlightenment among the Greeks. The art form of the Lincoln Memorial is also filled with symbolism. For example, the 36 columns comprising the structure represent the 36 states that were in existence at the time that Lincoln died (Nathan, 1998). The attic above the columns however contains 48 stone festoons which are intended to represent the number of states that existed during the time that the monument was actually constructed. The murals on the monument are also symbolic in nature and the figures represented in the murals stand for justice, fraternity, charity immortality and unity.(Nathan 1998). The murals titled Emancipation and Reunion are painted by Jules Guerin. The painting Emancipation which hangs on the southern wall is of the Angel of Truth standing with her arms stretched out above her head and slaves breaking free within her wings.(www2.nature.nps.gov). The words contained in Lincoln’s Gettysburg address are engraved on the limestone wall. The painting Reunion on the other

Sociological Perspective of Body Language Research Paper

Sociological Perspective of Body Language - Research Paper Example There are several schools of thought concerning the role of nonverbal communication regarding everyday communication patterns. For example, in Nonverbal Behavior and the Communication Process (1974), Charles Duke explains the different viewpoints held by psychologists and anthropologists regarding these roles. â€Å"Members of the psychological school view nonverbal communication as simply the expression of emotions, but those individuals in the communicational school – mainly anthropologists and ethologists – are concerned with behaviors of posture, touch, and movement as they relate to social processes like group cohesion and regulation† (Duke, 1974). The study The Challenge of Non-Verbal Research (1971), by Charles Galloway, outlines the various difficulties inherent in attempting to decode nonverbal behavior, what produces the meanings, how to differ from verbal communication and under what circumstances they are used. ... s excessively noisy as a more effective means of gaining attention than shouting over the noise or of holding a finger to their lips to indicate she wishes the students to fall silent. Other examples of body language that teachers of all cultures and areas of the world use on a widespread basis include: staring at students for prolonged periods of time as a means of demonstrating disapproval, crossing their arms tightly in front of their chest too, again, symbolize disapproval and pointing at students to get their attention. â€Å"82 percent of the communication that happens in the classroom is nonverbal and hand gestures used in conjunction with speech help listeners remember the message much longer than speech alone.† (Zoller, 2004) Students, universally, have demonstrated a widespread awareness that the best method to get attention in the classroom is to raise their hands high above their heads and are often observed doing this same action outside of the classroom when they have something urgent (to them) that they want to say. â€Å"These signals are well understood by students and any observer can see the results† (Galloway, 1971). To establish how the superior (boss) in an office environment while not indicating any type of ‘classier’ styles or other symbols of position was able to express the sense of superiority was addressed in the book Body Language (1970) by Julius Fast, a study of the power and status theory. The study utilized silent films portraying two actors, one acting as the visitor, the other playing the part of a corporate senior management. It was viewed by audiences who were filling out a questionnaire concerning how they ‘read’ the scene. A number of patterns became apparent from the answers provided.  Ã‚  

Criminal Sentencing Essay Example for Free

Criminal Sentencing Essay A basic question in criminal sentencing is â€Å"What are the purposes of criminal sentencing?†Ã‚   Scholars, too, reflect on the purposes of punishment. There are commonly four identified purposes: Retribution. The oldest but considered the most important purpose for sentencing is retribution, that is, inflicting on an offender suffering comparable to that caused by the offense. An act of social vengeance, retribution is grounded in a view of society as a system of moral balance.   When criminality upsets this balance, punishment exacted in comparable measure restores the moral order, as suggested in the biblical dictum â€Å"An eye for an eye. † While contemporary critics of retribution sometimes charge that this policy lacks the force to reform the offender, it still remains a strong justification for punishment. A second purpose for sentencing, deterrence amounts to the attempt to discourage criminality through punishment.   Initially, deterrence arose as the banner of reformers seeking to end what they saw as excessive punishments based on retribution.   Critics asked, â€Å"Why put someone to death for stealing if that crime could be discouraged with a prison sentence?†Ã‚   As the concept of deterrence in sentencing gained widespread acceptance, execution and physical mutilation of criminals were gradually replaced by milder forms of punishment such as imprisonment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two types of deterrence, specific deterrence demonstrates to the   individual offender that crime does not pay while in general deterrence, the  punishment of one person serves as an example to others. Rehabilitation. The third purpose for sentencing, rehabilitation, involves reforming the offender to preclude subsequent offenses.   It resembles deterrence by motivating the offender to conform.   But rehabilitation emphasizes constructive improvement while deterrence and retribution make the offender suffer.   In addition, while retribution demands that the punishment fit the crime, rehabilitation focuses on the distinctive problems of each offender.   Thus identical offenses would call for similar acts of retribution but different programs of rehabilitation. Social protection. A final purpose for sentencing is social protection, or rendering an offender incapable of further offenses either temporarily through incarceration or permanently by execution. Like deterrence, social protection is a rational approach to punishment and seeks to protect society from crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The different forms of sentencing used in different jurisdictions include institutional sanctions—time to be served in prison or jail; and noninstitutional sanctions—fines and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime, and service of the sentence in the community in the form of probation or parole. Recently the arsenal of punishments has been considerably enlarged by the creation of mixed sanctions and alternatives to either institutional or noninstitutional sanctions. The following are the variety of options for sentencing: Death penalty. In thirty-six states (as well as the federal courts), courts may impose a sentence of death for any offense designated a capital crime, for example, first-degree murder. Incarceration. The defendant may be sentenced to serve a term in a local jail, state prison, or federal prison. Probation. The defendant may be sentenced to a period of probationary supervision   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   within the community. Split sentence. A judge may split the sentence between a period of incarceration and a period of probation. Restitution. An offender may be required to provide financial reimbursement to cover the cost of a victim’s losses. Community service. An offender may be required to spend a period of time performing public service work. Fine. An offender may be required to pay a certain sum of money as a penalty and/or as an alternative to or in conjunction with incarceration. This leads us to the next question, â€Å"What are some reforms that have been proposed? A recent reform growing out of the victims’ rights movement in the sentencing process is the consideration of statements by the victim, known as â€Å"victim impact statements† (VIS). Twenty-six states have mandated the use of VIS in criminal cases, while another twenty-two states have adopted so-called â€Å"victim bills of rights† that include recognition of the right of a victim to present a VIS. In the VIS, the victim provides a statement about the extent of economic, physical, or psychological harm suffered as a result of the victimization. The victim also can make a recommendation about the type of sentence an offender should receive. Usually the VIS is incorporated into the pre-sentence investigation report written by the probation officer. Research has revealed that a judge’s choice of a sentence is influenced much more by legal considerations than by victim preferences in cases where VIS has been presented (McGarrell, 1999). The third reform proposal is â€Å"restorative justice.† Restorative justice has been a feature of justice systems for a long time, though it was little used until a group of criminologists in the United States and the Commonwealth countries brought the idea back to life. The term restorative justice was virtually unknown a decade ago, and it is still in search of a commonly accepted meaning. Yet, the literature related to this subject has grown rapidly, so that we venture to define it in terms offered by Howard Zehr, published in a symposium of The Justice Professional, entitled â€Å"Criminology as Peacemaking.† Zehr provides contrasting paradigms between the traditional, retributive sense of justice and the newly emerging (or reemerging) restorative sense of justice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the proposed reform of restorative justice were adopted, where would that leave us with respect to the traditional â€Å"aims† or â€Å"justifications† of criminal justice? As to retribution (or just desserts), we would still be limited to never imposing an obligation (sanction) that outweighs the harm done. As to incapacitation, even the staunchest advocates of restorative justice recognize that some offenders are far too dangerous to be returned to the community and that their separation from the community is necessary. But the prison population could be vastly reduced. As to resocialization or rehabilitation, the very idea is built into restorative justice, which aims at   Ã‚  restoring the community. Some of the current issues in federal sentencing according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission at https://www.ussc.gov. are the following: The issue on the amendment pertaining to offenses involving cocaine base (crack) and the amendment pertaining to certain criminal history rules, see 72 FR 28558 (May   21, 2007); 72 FR 51882 (September 11, 2007), should be applied retroactively to previously sentenced defendants. The issue of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the and the United States Sentencing Commission has decided to establish a standing victim’s advisory group pursuant to   28 U.S.C.  § 995 and Rule 5.4 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. It was stated that the purpose of the advisory group is (1) to assist the Commission in carrying out its statutory responsibilities under 28 U.S.C.  § 994(o); (2) to provide the Commission its views on the Commission’s activities as they relate to victims of crime; (3) to   disseminate information regarding sentencing issues to organizations represented by the   Ã‚  advisory group and to other victims of crime and victims advocacy groups, as appropriate; and (4) to perform any other functions related to victims of crime as the Commission requests. The victims’ advisory group will consist of not more than 9 members, each of whom may serve not more than two consecutive 3-year terms. The issue on New Yorks Rockefeller laws to curb the drug trade – which directly contributed to a dramatic increase in the states prison population costing the state millions of dollars, but failing to impact drug trafficking. According to a New York   Times editorial, â€Å"New York has made incremental changes to the Rockefeller laws in recent years, but has stopped short of restoring judicial discretion.† A governor-appointed commission charged with studying state sentencing practices, however, has produced a report calling for the end of â€Å"indeterminate sentencing† – the process by which a judge imposes a minimum and a maximum sentence and the Parole Board decides when to release an offender. It further suggests that nonviolent offenders be considered for community-based treatment instead of prison. Finally, Gov. Elliot Spitzers commission recommends restoring prison-based educational and training programs as a means of helping to lower recidivism rates. The website of the Sentencing Project at http://www.sentencingproject.org. mission is to promote reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration through their advocacy and research. Moreover, the Sentencing Project provides defense lawyers with sentencing advocacy training and to reduce the reliance on incarceration. Hence, the Sentencing Project has become the leader in the effort to bring national attention to disturbing trends and inequities in the criminal justice system with a successful formula that includes the publication of groundbreaking research, aggressive media campaigns and strategic advocacy for policy reform. As a result of The Sentencing Projects research, publications and advocacy, many people know that this country is the worlds leader in incarceration, that one in three young black men is under control of the criminal justice system, that five million Americans cant vote because of felony convictions, and that thousands of women and children have lost welfare, education and housing benefits as the result of convictions for minor drug offenses.   Thus, the Sentencing Project is dedicated to changing the way Americans think about crime and punishment which coincide with the interests of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates. References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   McGarrell, E.F. Restorative Justice Conferences.   Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute, 1999; Edmund F. McGarrell, â€Å"Cutting Crime through Police-Citizen Cooperation,† American Outlook, Spring 1998, pp. 65–67. The Sentencing Project at http://www.sentencingproject.org. U.S. Sentencing Commission Available at https://www.ussc.gov. Zehr, H.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Justice as Restoration, Justice as Respect,†The Justice Professional 11,   Ã‚  Ã‚   nos. 1–2 (1998), pp. 71–87.

The Roles And Responsibilities Of Managers

The Roles And Responsibilities Of Managers It is very important if a manager wants cooperation from his team or employees, or to pay attention. A good manager practices empathy and respects the personal values, opinions and ideas of the people he interacts with. He should listen and respond and offer praises and encouragements when they make progress. By doing that he will enhance their self esteem and will build trust. As the boss, his ability to develop trust and confidence, resolve problems and issues will result in a productive, goal oriented work group. He should encourage his team to ask for help, get involved and participate. A capable manager is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it. Communication skill A manager is the middle person in between the top management level and the team that reports to him. He is also the teams link to the larger organisation. He must have the ability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure the success of the team and project. Through effective communication, manager supports individual and team achievements by creating guidelines for the career advancement of team members and for accomplishing tasks. He has to ensure that communication between the two layers is smooth and is conveyed clearly to avoid misinterpretations and dissatisfaction. Good communication skills are useful to develop his negotiation and customer service skills, especially if he deals with clients. A good planner In order for a manager to achieve long term goals and commit to strategies for substantial earnings, he has to communicate the vision of the company to his subordinates. He should break down and clarify the goals that each team or individual have to perform and assign work schedules and strategies to them. It also involves thinking and planning out strategies on how to improve quality and also being cost conscious and effective. Having goals and planning out the directions allow for effective time management and saves cost and resources. Setting deadlines and goals helps keep employees focused, busy and motivates them to do their work. A good manager should talk to each of his employees about the companys goals, and work with them to set individual goals directly linked to organizations target mission. He should make sure that the employees understand their professional growth path in the company. Decision Maker The daily routine of making decisions for a manger includes determining how to approach an employee who is not performing or lacking progress and how to bring about change to the organization and its team. His day to day decision is based on whats important, whats right and not whos right. Leadership skill This is one of the most important skill. His position entails him to guide and give direction so that the team can perform effectively. A good manager offers job coaching, training and support. In order for individuals to meet the needs and objectives, they may need extra input, information or skills. The performance of his team depends on his abilities to empower them. How well a person performs depends on his motivation. His task as the boss is to encourage and coach others to improve themselves and the quality of their work. He needs to implement in them the desire to excel and accept responsibility and self management. Appraiser A good manager need to have the capacity to evaluate and examine a process or procedure and decide on the best choice to produce an outcome. He looks at the importance, quality and values and then taking the best approach. He is also expected to track the progress of each individuals activities and effectiveness, review them and offer feedback and counselling. Recognize problems It is impossible for a manager to know about personality conflicts, lagging productivity or other problems in the office if he has his head in the sand. If he notices a change in an employees work habits or attitude, he should try to get to the root of the problem before that problem starts to affect rest of the staff. Provide Satisfaction The subordinates of a manager are happy when they are provided with the necessary tools and resource. They feel secure if the management puts priority to health, safety and cleanliness issues. And this in turn helps in satisfying customers by giving good quality of service or product and taking care of their needs. New methods and technologies A manager should keep himself updated on methods and technologies that can make him and his team more efficient. Proper use of power In order to achieve the goal expected from a manger, he must have power and authority to act in a way that will stimulate a positive response from the workers. A manager depending on the situation, exercises different types of power, viz reward power and expert power. Besides the formal basis, the informal basis of power also has a more powerful impact on organizational effectiveness. A manager is only effective when his subordinates obey his orders. So, the manager uses appropriate power so that his subordinates willingly obey the orders and come forward with commitment. Proper time management Time is the most precious and vital thing in management. There are three dimensions of time boss imposed time system imposed time self imposed time As the manager has a thorough knowledge of the principle of time management such as preparing time charts, scheduling techniques, etc., he should utilize the time productively in the organization. Relationship Managerial behavior implies the existence of a manager managed relationship. This relationship arises in an organization. A manager should have a very good relationship with all his subordinates. It is very important for both his personal and official life. Sources of influence In case of a manager, authority is attached to his managerial position. In other words, managers obtain authority from his followers or subordinates. Sanctions A Manager has command over all allocation and distributions of sanctions between employees. For Example, Manager has control over the positive sanctions such as promotion and awards for his task performance and the contribution to organizational objectives. Manager is also in a position to exercises the negative sanctions such as with- holding promotions, or mistakes, etc. A leader has different type of sanctions to exercise and grant. He can generate or with hold access to satisfying the very purpose of joining the groups social satisfactions and related task rewards. These informal sanctions are relevant to the individual with belongingness or ego needs: where as the organizational sanctions granted or exercised by the managers are geared to the physiological and security needs of individual. Competence Selection of managers in an organization is done on their ability to successfully lead others rather than on past technical expertise. A manager who has a winning track record is considered competent. Competence also requires expertise in management skills. A capable and competent manager has the ability to challenge, inspire, model, enable and encourage his employees. Cool under pressure In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with no major problems or obstacles to overcome. This happens due to a manager who takes all these problems in stride. When efficient managers encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting, they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity. They take these events as a challenge rather than a stress. To be an exemplary role model Managers who set high standards or goals and achieve them are great leaders by examples. The ability to tolerate stress and remain poise under job pressures and still maintain a high activity and energy level is the main quality of a manager. In order to be a respected and efficient manager, a manager needs to work hard in his personal growth. EFFECTIVE DEALING OF PROBLEMS BY A MANAGER In a workplace a manager suffers from a lot of problems from his employees. These problems may be personal or official. Some of the most common problems are briefed below : Poor performance People think that poor performance occurs due to lack of skill but it is not always like that, it may also occur as employees are disorganised. Proper guidance can correct this problem. If performance difficulties relate to a lack of skills, additional training or coaching can solve these problems. Job incompatibility Sometimes skills of an employee arent compatible with their assigned tasks or regular duties. In this type of cases, offering the employee additional training or assigning them a different set of tasks is usually the most appropriate course of action. Sloppy work Whenever a manager notices that, an employee has made some errors, he should point out the mistakes to the employee and monitor their work more closely. If the problem persists, he should speak with the employee and detail the most serious examples of problems with their work. A good manager always remains positive and remembers the employees contribution to the company. Create an effective message A managers message should fit executives, middle managers, supervisors and employees. An effective message by a manager should also explain the employees ´ day-to-day duties directly affect the companys performance and he should touch on the values and pride of the employees. A direct face to face interaction by a manager can help to inspire employees and to reinforce positive attitude in them. This interaction helps the employees to adapt any change in the organization. Listening to employees Employees feedback is very important in an organization in case of managing change. Holding focus groups with employees is a great way to gauge reaction and monitor the progress of change. A manager can also ask his employees to provide feedback through email or company intranet. Even a blog can be used for this purpose which is quite popular now. For a successful change management proper communication is very important. Talking to your employees is not an one-time event, a good manager should reinforce his message by communicating quite often and on a regular basis. EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT MANAGERS An efficient leader can be summarised as a person who has a lot of capability where as an effective leader is one whose works produce good results for an organization. Effectiveness and efficiency are mutually exclusive things. They are both fundamental preconditions for a manager. Being effective means that one has the ability to properly analyse the evolving environment and selecting the right things as the areas of strategic focus for the enterprise. On the other hand, being efficient requires a carefully carved cultural and operational framework which helps the manager to achieve a particular degree of success, given the level of resources applied to a particular objective. Both the terms efficient and effective refer to the ability of a person, enterprise, or process to perform a function well. High efficiency refers to an efficient person while an effective person has high effectiveness. However there is a small but very significant difference between these two measure of performance. Efficiency refers to the economy in use of resources for performing a task, and effectiveness refers to the total output generated. Efficiency is measured in terms of ratio of output generated divided by inputs used in the process for example, widgets produced per kilogram of raw material used. Effectiveness measures the total output produced for example, total widgets produced in a day. An example is given to understand the concept. Two different lathe operators, say X and Y, are assigned the task of making bushes on a lathe. Let us say A produces 200 bushes in a shift, and in the process uses up 8 kilogram of steel rod in the process. In comparison, B produces 120 bushes using 10.5 kilogram of steel rod. The effectiveness and efficiency of these two lathe operators based on their performance is compared in table below: Operator Effectiveness Efficiency X 200 Bushes per shift 25 Bush per Kg of Steel Y 320 Bushes per shift 18 Bush per Kg of Steel So, we see that operator A has higher efficiency but lower effectiveness. In management, both efficiency and effectiveness are very important. The relative emphasis to be given to efficiency and effectiveness depends from situation to situation. One more example will completely justify the concept. For example, we must be careful to control the quantity and cost of water used in a factory during routine operations. However, if the same factory is on fire, we will not think twice about using whatever water can be made available for putting out the fire. Effective Versus Efficient The difference between effective and efficient are loaded with some of the most important concepts : Efficient doing things right Effective doing the right things Both concepts are very important and both concepts are utilised in the management of work. These concept begins with organization and does not depend on the position of an employee whether he is a manager or a staff employee. The great business writer Peter Drucker defined five functions in his writings : Objective setting Organising the team or group Communicating and motivating Performance measurement Developing people Effectiveness means that the job was done correctly and was accomplished but does not regard whether the job was done inexpensively or on time. Whereas, efficiency means that the job was accomplished cheaply and on time yet may not be a very thorough and impressive accomplishment. Efficient is defined as working without waste or using a minimum of time, effort and expense. But, the definition does not define the goals of the operation. A person can be very efficient but still he cannot get a positive result because he is not doing the right things at the right time. Thats where effective comes in. Effective means having the desired result. Once the desired result is obtained, the tasks leading to the result can be isolated and these tasks can then be completed efficiently. Some characteristics of an efficient manager are : He is organized. He can find things quickly He know how to use the tools on his computer to the nth degree He writes readable and actionable emails His meetings are well run He processes all the financial reports properly and on a regular schedule He knows how to work well with his employees Some characteristics of an effective manager are : Meeting deadline for reports and contributions Making a quota Earning the amount targeted Leading the time to define and execute a project We will consider an example to clear out the difference between the two qualities, i.e. how a manager solves a problem efficiently : STEP 1: He defines the problem in detail. Once he satisfied that the problem is well defined, then he starts looking for a solution. STEP 2: The second stage is the alternative courses of action that solve the problem. In this stage multiple potential solutions are generated. This step involves some research and asking others about their ideas. Here, the manager comes up with 2-3 alternative solutions. STEP 3: The third stage is related with studying each option and the advantages and disadvantages related to it. One alternative may appear quicker but might be costlier whereas the other alternative might be less costly but requires a lot of effort and time. Proper understanding of each alternative helps to get the right solution. STEP 4: This step is related to the selection and implementation of the best solution. STEP 5: The final step is related to the monitoring of the implemented solution i.e. whether it worked or not. If the solution is not good enough then again need to follow step 1. CONCLUSION Efficiency and effectiveness are different but when combined leads to an unstoppable result orientation which feeds success. So, we can conclude that both efficiency and effectiveness are important for a successful manager. As a result of the managers hard work the employees work properly and in an efficient manner which as a result gives fruitful results to the company.

Good and Evil in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goodma

Good and Evil in Young Goodman Brown In "Young Goodman Brown." Nathaniel Hawthorne considers the question of good and evil, suggesting that true evil is judging and condemning others for sin without looking at one's own sinfulness. He examines the idea that sin is part of being human and there is no escape from it. Of the many symbols he uses in this story, each has a profound meaning. They represent good and evil in the constant struggle of a young innocent man whose faith is being tested. As the story begins, Young Goodman Brown bids farewell to his young wife "Faith, as [she] was aptly named" (211). When she " ...thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap" we associate the purity of "Faith" and the "pink ribbons" as a sign of the innocence and goodness of the town he is leaving behind (211). As he continues "on his present evil purpose" he sets off at sunset to enter the forest (212). A place "darkened by all the gloomiest trees," unknown territory, and a place where "there may be a devilish Indian behind every tree," with this we know the forest represents evil and sinfulness (212). His decision to enter the forest and leave his "Faith" behind is the first decision, of many, between good and evil that he must make. After entering the forest he meets a traveler whom he later finds out is the devil. He is carrying a staff representing evil, "which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself, like a living serpent" (213). When the traveler offers his staff to Young Goodman Brown he resists by replying, "having kept covenant by meeting thee here, it is my purpose to return whence I cam... ...the forest ultimately causes him to believe that he is better than everyone else and he disassociate himself from all those in the town as he judges them as being sinners. He becomes "a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man..." after his journey when he commits the ultimate sin of judging and condemning others without looking at one's own sinfulness. In the end "they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom (221). Works Cited and Consulted Benoit, Raymond. "'Young Goodman Brown': The Second Time Around." The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 19 (Spring 1993): 18-21. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Complete Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc.,1989. Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.

Pollution and Culture in Greenland :: Greenland Environment Ecology Pollute Essays

Greenland is contaminated with considerable amounts of pollution, caused by large-scale atmospheric circulations, especially in winter. The pollutants in the Arctic are primarily sulfur, which is highly acidic, in both gas and aerosol form. Most of these pollutants are from anthropogenic sources deriving mainly from industrialized areas in the Eurasian continent. In addition to threatening environmental stability, pollution is speeding the unraveling of traditional Inuit culture in Greenland. Climate change is affecting the entire world, yet Greenland is especially sensitive to slight fluctuations due to its dependency of the natives’ traditional lifestyles on the environment. Melting ice and permafrost restrict access to hunting grounds making a traditional way of life consisting of hunting seal and caribou more difficult.2 Every four years, the Inuit living in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Siberia convene the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) to discuss issues of concern. The ICC lobbied successfully to ban a dozen organic pollutants, carried north by winds, that do not evaporate in the Arctic cold. These pollutants were infecting meat and berries, staples of the Inuit diet, as well as the breast milk of nursing mothers.3 There are many more problems facing the sustainability of Greenland, such as trans-boundary pollution and the fact that the Inuit are not an effective lobbying group due to differences in culture, dialect, and lack of communication. In November of 2004, a report by 250 scientists warned that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average, which threatens to wipe out several species including polar bears, and melt summer ice around the North Pole by 2100.4 One of the reasons for the increased warming is that the dark water and ground in the arctic soak up more heat from the atmosphere than ice or snow. The levels of carbon dioxide today are about 379ppm and increasing, a comparable level to 55 million years ago when there was no ice on the planet due to the warmth of the atmosphere.5 If the Greenland ice cap melts, the sea level will rise six or seven meters. Although this is a worst-case scenario, it seems clear that steps must be taken to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in our atmosphere. Investigations of pollutants in Greenland during the past fifteen years show that the troposphere is burdened with high levels of trans-boundary pollution. The major anthropogenic contributors to this â€Å"Arctic haze† are central Europe, and northern Russia.

Nike Company Analysis

Nike Inc. International Strategic Marketing 8 Prepared for: 22-03-2009 Prepared by: Table of contents Case summary3 Analysis Growth strategy4 Competitor Analysis6 SWOT analysis8 Five forces model9 Nike Case Summary Nike is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, and a major manufacturer of sports equipment. They have a market share in the United States exceeding 40%. Nike also distributes its products outside the US. In 140 countries, Nike sells products through independent retailers , distributors etc. In the ever changing markets, Nike is facing multiple challenges to remain market leader. Foot Locker was always a great partner for Nike. Foot Locker, as the world’s largest footwear retailer, was an perfect way for Nike to distribute and introduce their new products. But Foot Locker wants to meet consumer demands. So Foot Locker said that they would reduce the more expensive Nike shoes, and focus on more midpriced shoes. This caused a break in the close relationship between Nike and Foot Locker. Nike is basically a distributor. They do not produce their products by themselves. Nike’s products are manufactured by third parties. So the main focus at Nike is on R and marketing. Innovation, and making the consumer actually want the product is key for Nike. Nike products are manufactured in Southeast Asia. The producer of Nike products are independent contractors where Nike does not own any of. The main reason why Nike products are manufactured in these countries is because of the low wages. Low cost labor significantly increases the gross margin on their products. These low wage countries had some significant downsides, thought . When the working conditions, as well as allegations of abuse and harassment became public (done by activists) Nike suffered serious bad publicity. For a company that heavily relies on marketing and PR, this is a serious problem. While Nike tried to neglect these allegations, activist continued to blame Nike. Because the focus at Nike is heavily at marketing and R, Nike always tries to create the right image for the consumer. They do this by constantly innovating (such as the Nike+ series), and attaching famous sports players to the brand. Players such as Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Wayne Rooney. The last years Nike sees that competitions is catching up and in several segments demand is decreasing. While these are all external factors that influence the company, Nike remains stable in terms of sales, gross margin and operating profit (increased to 10,2 percent in 2002, from 9,3 percent in 2001). While Nike remains to have positive numbers, the industry growth is hard to predict. While, for example, women casual tennis footwear sees an explosive growth, premium priced athletic shoes is clearly declining. Also competition is not standing still. The main competitors of Nike are New Balance, Adidas, and Reebok. New Balance is a company focused on athletic sports. They operate in the market segments of running, walking , tennis basketball etc. Along with this, New Balance expanded their target market by acquiring Dunham Bootmakers. With this they were now also on the market of outdoors such as hiking, boat shoes and sandals. Another acquisition of New Balance took place in 2001 with PF Flyers which gave them acces to the casual market. Another competitor, Adidas, is the world’s number two on footwear and apparel worldwide. Adidas is very much comparable to Nike. With high end technology, and important sponsors. The last of the very important competitors is Reebok. Reebok is the largest growing company. The company changed of strategy when they got the exclusive NFL deal and stated sponsoring the in-field gear of NBA teams. The challenge for Nike is to remain ahead of the competition, continue to be innovative and make sure their image stays on top. Analysis Nike and its subsidiaries are selling an extensive line of sports products throughout the world. Nike is competing in the market with Adidas, Reebok, New Balance and many other brands. [pic] Growth Strategy Nike operates in several market segments. Within these segments Nike is always looking for ways to grow. Nike is an international company that makes sure they can sell their products in the best possible way. That is why Nike today has several different retail possibilities such as Nike factory outlets, Nike stores and others. In April 2002 Nike acquired the Hurley International and gained access to the market segment for surfing, skateboarding and other youth lifestyle extreme sports. Nike was already selling different products under brand names such as Bauer. But still Nike’s core business was athletic running shoes. But growth in sales in 2003 was not very large. Only the women tennis casual footwear was experiencing significant growth. But this was due to the fact that the casual lifestyle segment was gaining popularity at that moment. So Nike decided to shift some of its main focus to other markets in the casual market. The casual market is the market with the most potential growth according to analysts, but weak growth in equipment (basketball , running etc). The growth in the casual market takes place in the non-performance segment. Thus Nike has to adapt to the fact that Nike can also be seen as a fashion object. Nowadays Nike is still the company with the most market share not only in the US, but also globally. And with making innovations in the consumer market, Nike was able to increase the market share. An example is the ‘Air-Jordan shoe line ’ which became extremely popular. Nike should stay focused in analyzing the changing demands of consumers in order to maintain the market share. The Air Jordan shoe line were very popular, but when Jordan retired Nike should be ready to come up with a successor. Also, the company should not be afraid to shift to other markets. The casual non-performance market is clearly growing, and in the athletic market (Nike’s core business) growth is clearly declining. Internally, Nike should keep their focus on marketing and R, which is their strength. Nike does not produce its own products. Nike clearly made some mistakes in the past by hiring independent contractors they have no influence over. [pic] Nike has clearly suffered with the image of sweatshops in Southeast Asian countries. Because Nike does not produce the products by their own factories, they heavily rely on the image consumer has of the company. R is also a heavy factor for Nike. Nike is the global leader on the market, but they have to come up with constant new ideas product development and maintaining a high level of research in the desires of the consumer, Heinz will maintain successful. Competitor Analysis The market where Nike in is operating is high competitive. The athletic footwear, apparel and equipment segments are intensely competitive all around the world. Main competitors are the German-based Adidas, New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc and REEBOK. Adidas-Salamon AG The well known ‘three stripes’ Adidas is popular all around the world. Just like Nike, is Adidas producing all kind of products, most of them related to sports. Adidas is one of the largest competitors in the industry. One of the flagships of Adidas is still the ‘old-style’ sneakers (See picture). Also Adidas is working with sport stars in their marketing campaigns, in order to increase brand awareness and revenues. In 2002, this lead to an overall market share of 11% and global sales with a revenue of almost $7 billion. REEBOK In comparison with Nike and Adidas is REEBOK also producing casual clothes. With the brands Greg Norman, Rockport and Ralph Lauren, the company is selling casual clothes. Since 2000, the company is competing again with Nike. With the return of Paul Fireman, operating activities increased and Reebok was able to compete again. The company’s marketing budget for 2003 was reported to be $40 million. A high percentage of this amount is going to the basketball world. Reebok is sponsoring a lot of teams in the NBA in order to create brand awareness. Since 2005, Reebok is part of Adidas. New Balance Athletic Shoes For many years this company was working with the same shoe outlets. The shoe outlets were successful, but New Balance wanted more. Therefore the company decided in 2000 to include independently owned retail stores. In this stores, more products could be sold. By the end of 2002, New Balance was distributing their products to over 90 independent retail stores. With this new corporate strategy, the company was able to increase sales with 25% in 2001 and 2002. SWOT Analysis Nike Strenghts Brand awareness Nike is the most well known sports brand in the world. Everyone knows the Nike logo (the ‘Swoosh’) and the brand is popular because of its premium quality, design and image. Product range The company is offering many products on the market and therefore can compete in many segments. Because of the global market, Nike can produce on economies of scale. Nike does not own any factories, but chooses the cheapest location to produce (almost always Asia). When a cheaper location is found, Nike can easily switch because it does not own the factory. Research & development Nike is famous because of the nice design, and innovative products. Because the company is producing many products, a high amount of R is invested. But this money is worth it. Nike is always able to come up with innovative designs of clothes and products. Weaknesses Production circumstances Because of negative publicity, a lot of people nowadays associate Nike with bad working conditions for the people who manufacture the products. Child labor, unhealthy factories and dangerous work, all contributed to this image what some people have from Nike. The ethical responsibilities from Nike are important in order to create brand loyalty. Opportunities Product development Coming up with innovative products can be really profitable. Or producing so called ‘high profit’ margin products like watches and sunglasses. Threats Competition The market where Nike is in operating is very competitive. Especially the shoe market, has a lot of competition. Therefore Nike should stay focused on innovation, price/value ratio, marketing and customer service. Economic situation Most of Nike’s products are higher priced then comparable products. This mainly because of the brand image. When there is a recession, consumers are more persuaded to buy cheaper, comparable products from a different producer. 5-Forces Model [pic] The power of suppliers is low. For most products, Nike is using simple raw materials. These materials are available with many suppliers. Also Nike is famous for replacing its production many times. Nike produces the products, where it is the cheapest. [pic] The power of customers is also low. Because most of the sales are B2C, the buyers cannot concentrate and have low power. Only threat is that customers, can easily switch to other (comparable) products. pic] The threat of new entrants is low to moderate. The market is high competitive and dominated by a few large players. First of all, a high amount of investment is required. It is not cheap to produce such a high quantity of shoes, like Nike is doing. Next to this, the costs for R and marketing are extremely high. Therefore we can conclude, that a possible new entrant must possess over a lot o f capital, patience and qualities. [pic] The threat of substitutes is medium. Although the ‘switching costs’ for consumers are not there, Nike is noticing high brand loyalty. This is mainly because of the brand image, quality and with the shoes, the level of comfort. But consumers are price sensitive and are seeking for high value with their sports clothes and related products. In times of economic recession, consumers are seeking for ways in order to save money. This can be, searching for alternative brands. Therefore Nike must closely the monitor the consumer market and the domestic economy. [pic] The rivalry in the industry is high. Exit barriers are quite high, therefore the same players are already for a long time competing in the market. ———————– Market Share 2008