Personal Imaginitive Coursework

I trekked slowly across scorching sands; the beach was bare and inert, the searing sun too much for most, who took refuge in the shade. My mouth parched and dry, I licked my lips; my sweat tasted too salty. I dragged my unwilling limbs further along. In the background I could hear weary birds groaning under the sun,s ruthless blaze, they seemed to be circling me slowly, waiting to pounce. The vast, clear waters seemed lifeless, there were no amiable waves; there were not even small ripples. The ever present fish had decided to seek safe haven in the ocean's limitless shelters. I felt alone, secluded and dejected. I gently closed my eyes: Where was it? Would she be there? Was I late? These questions overwhelmed me. I quickly opened my eyes. In the distance stood a very small and trivial hut, I could barely make out any significant detail, however I knew it was where I needed to be. I started walking, with a new found energy, towards it ignoring the surroundings. The hot and heavy sand baked my bare feet subsequently causing me great pain. The humid and muggy air caused my eyes to water as I focused all my attention on the hut. As I got closer to the hut I could make out its finer details; it seemed a battered old construction with little in terms of modern architecture. The substandard paint that covered its cheap bricks was peeling at the far edges. The decayed wooden panels had lost their pristine newness long ago and had now become antiques that belonged in a museum of a desolate town. The ocean's rage was reflected in its rotting foundations. The hut had seen it all over the decades. She was already there and I was late. On viewing the fetid diving suits I was shocked. The suit was muddy and grimy. Its surface was no-longer new; it was instead coated in a thick layer of mire that had partially dried making the suit rigid. Reluctantly I put it on. Its tough fabric caused my skin to itch frantically. I ignored all of this as much as I could by focusing my thoughts elsewhere. For what seemed like an eternity I had played with the thought of being deep underwater: Would I feel crushed under the weight of the ocean? Would I run out of oxygen and suffer an excruciating death? I had my questions and I was soon going to find out the answers to them. The old engine roared deafeningly behind us as we travelled out to sea. I could feel its uneven vibrations running through me, adding to the nervousness I was keeping concealed inside. The beach was a distant memory and the heat no longer seemed to exist. I looked over at my diving partner. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was as anxious as I was. We stopped in the middle of a vast ocean, the coast was no longer visible; we were alone. The suns powerful reflection dazzled all around us. We put on our goggles and set up our tanks. As soon as we had done this we positioned ourselves on the edge of the boat. I closed my eyes, ready, and dropped into the blue world beneath. It was like going to sleep and waking up in a surreal dream. It can only be described as illusory. I felt completely different; my whole body felt tranquil, sharing a unity with the ocean. I followed her deeper and deeper into the ocean's depths; every thing I saw was new to me. I saw a shoal of sapphire coloured fish swimming by swiftly beneath me. Their presence created a gap in my mind; I wanted to find out more about the ocean and its colourful inhabitants. After several more minutes of diving down we reached the bed. It was littered with coral. A diver will never find two corals exactly alike. It is in this mysterious and irregular aura which makes coral of significant beauty. It was very difficult to examine what was amongst the coral as light was partially absent there. The sand on the bed was in a wave-like pattern. Around me there were various fish swimming around almost purposefully, fish were appearing and disappearing every few seconds. There appeared to be small dwellings where groups of fish congregated amongst themselves. It seemed as if the fish had their own society, distant from the human world. I felt a gentle palm rest on my shoulder. She was pointing apologetically to the surface. It was clear that neither of us wanted to leave. We rose much quicker than we had descended; the oceans upward thrust almost throwing us out of its territory. As we approached the surface, I felt as if I had got to known the ocean and appreciate its hidden wonders. We surfaced and climbed onto the boat. I felt sad; as if I had left a part of me behind.

Care-Giver Burden Essay

Healthcare in America is an issue of finances. Healthcare is an issue, especially for the financially strapped family. The following paper will focus on the care-giver burden of a patient who cannot afford to be taken care of because of lack of insurance or lack of funds in general. In the following pages care-giver burden will be addressed using several articles concerning care-giver burden and three theorists; Martha E. Rogers, Imogene King, and Dorothy E. Johnson. The articles are in design stressing the issue of guilt and depression when a family decides they don’t have the time or the money to keep a loved one at home and must face putting them in a care facility (Sanders article Shouldering the Burden of Care). Other articles address the issue of keeping a family member at home (child) and the upkeep cost that entails such as home health aid cost, medications, or leaving a job (Wilson, Leslie S. et al. The Economic Burden of Home Care for Children with HIV and Other Chronic Illnesses). Also, the review of patient care for nurses and the burden of lack of authority in administration this presents is another form of care-giver burden (Welchman, Jennifer & Glenn G. Griener, Patient Advocacy and Professional Associations: Individual and Collective Responsibilities). Each of these issues involves a direct relationship to the patient and their concerns for the burden they may become for their family, or for themselves in regards with money and insurance. There are many facets to unravel in the primary care system but for this paper, care-giver burden is the primary concept in terms of money. Three Approaches to the Concern Approach of Martha E. Rogers. Roger’s theory involves four postulates: energy fields, openness, pattern, and pandimensionality. (Barrett et. Al 2000). Each of these postulates involves the client’s concern over their health and the relationships they form with not only the nurses but with their own families. Rogers goes on to explain that power is at the core of each of these relationships, â€Å"(power)†¦is the capacity to participate knowingly in the nature of change characterizing the continuous patterning of the human and environmental fields. The observable, measurable pattern manifestations of power are awareness, choices, freedom to act intentionally, and involvement in creating change† (Barrett et al. ) Most care-giving authority is given to nurses; both in a hospital setting and during stay at home cases. The preceding concept or the patient is its important to have a strong trusting relationship with the care-giver in order for them to feel more comfortable and also feel their issues and concerns are being heard. If the patient does not feel comfortable then the care-giver burden becomes apparent in scowling-unreceptive-to-therapy patients. However, in Welchman and Griener’s article, Patient Advocacy and Professional Associations, a rising concern over nurses’ burden when taking care of patients begins to be seen, â€Å"†¦nurses are being taught to be patient advocates and both nurses and patients are the worse for it. The nursing profession’s redefinition of the nurse’s role from loyal handmaid to patient advocate in the 1980s was supposed to protect patients by empowering nurses to think and act autonomously in their dealings with other health professionals. †¦individual nurses have been burdened with a responsibility that most professions assign†¦to their professional associations. It is not a responsibility that individuals can readily fulfill. Unless or until the duty of advocacy is taken off the shoulders of individual nurses and returned to the professional bodies that represent them, nurses and patients will continue to suffer unnecessarily†(2005). The nurses’ role in patient care involves everything a patient needs or may potentially need (feeding, bathing, bathroom visits, company) and according to Rogers’ theory making the patient part of the active choice of their own health. Therefore, in the context of this theory there is no control, because control is not held one over the other (nurse over patient) but power is shared, as Rogers’ theory states, â€Å"†¦people can knowingly participate in creating their reality by actualizing some of their potentials rather than others. In this theory there is no control; control is an illusion since other persons or groups and their environments are likewise simultaneously also participating in what is being created†. Each of these duties cannot be accomplished without proper support from family/administration, and without this support and the lack of performance in a nurse’s duty a patient will lapse in trust. This is the contention in the make-up of care-giver burden; nurses cannot fulfill their role to maximum potential without the backing of the hospital rules. The burden is twofold for the nurse and the patient. As Welchman and Griener state in a final cul-de-sac, â€Å"Advocacy for improvements in access to and deliver of health care is best viewed as a collective responsibility of health professions owed to society as a whole, not as the sole province of individual practitioners†(2005). Approach Imogene King. King’s theory lies in the clients’ perception of self. This perception ranges from their body image to their own growth and development before and after surgery or during care-giver visits. As such, the crux of King’s theory is that of communication. Her theory subsists of human beings as, â€Å"†¦open systems interacting with the environment† (Williams, Imogene King’s Interacting Systems Theory, 2001). Throughout the relationship of nurses and clients communication is the key to better health. This occurs through the patient forming several relationships with different people around them; these include personal systems, interpersonal systems, and social systems. Thus, King’s ultimate goal stated in the theory is goal attainment. However, there are outside factors that stand in the way of working and healthy relationships. In Wilson et al. ’s study of patient care for ill and HIV children the stats for financing reflects a tremendous burden, â€Å".. in-home care for ill children (ranging from approximately $19,000 to $36000) is higher than that of hiring caregivers for healthy children (approximately $10,000)† (2005). This burden is further emphasized for the family if they are not equipped to pay a professional care-giver and are dependent upon themselves for such care; this issue raises the other issues of job attendance (some families pass up promotions, decline extra working hours, or quit their jobs entirely in order to care for the ill which makes the financial burden that much more potent). These numbers also reflect the elderly who are put in homes or whose family members choose to have them stay at home. Thus, it is important within King’s theory that each relationship remains free from outside stress factors in order for the recovery of the patient to be successful. The dyad of the nurse and the patient must remain free from concerns of money, otherwise the nurse is seen as merely a worker and not a concerned care-giver and the patient is stressed because they may not have coverage for certain operations or insurance to properly cover the care-giver’s assistance. In King’s theory, communication led to recover, â€Å"King believed that interactions between the nurse and the client lead to transactions that relate in goal attainment. Furthermore, King proposed that through mutual goal setting and goal attainment, transactions result in enhanced growth and development for the client† (Williams). Therefore, the issue of money cannot come between the dyad.

Mary Wollstonecraft: Views on Feminism Essay

1) Mary moved around a lot during her childhood, had no real friends and her father was an abusive husband. 2) Meets a girl named Fanny, similar to Mary’s situation except she was educated, teaches Mary to self-educate. 3) Mary has a public affair and says that women shouldn’t get married anymore until the law change (one flesh doctrine) 4) Writes a short book named â€Å"Vindication of the Rights of Women† Rewrite as a short paragraph/a few clear sentences. Mary Wollstonecraft grew up with an abusive father and moved a great deal during childhood, causing her to not being able to make any real friends and was deprived of family love. Later on, she meets a girl named Fanny, who led a similar life excluding the fact that Fanny had an education and teaches Mary to self-educate. Soon afterwards, Mary becomes a writer and is able to support herself; she becomes fascinated by the ideas of the enlightenment and writes a short book named â€Å"Vindication of the Rights of Women†. It would’ve been a success if it weren’t for her scandalous love affair with a married man, which led her to declare that marriage should be invalid until the law changed and the one flesh doctrine was removed. Sub-arguments 1) Restate the 1st sub-argument from the thesis as a clear, well-written topic sentence. Mary Wollstonecraft believed that marriage was parallel to legalized prostitution. List 1 quote from your sources which proves this sub-argument. â€Å"Business of various kinds, they might likewise pursue, if they were educated in a more orderly manner, which might save many from common and legal prostitution. Women would not then marry for a support, as men accept of places under government, and neglect the implied duties; nor would an attempt to earn their own subsistence, a most laudable one! Sink them almost to the level of those poor abandoned creatures who live by prostitution.† (Wollstonecraft, â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,† 222) Paraphrase one piece of information from your sources which proves this sub-argument. Wollstonecraft argued what may well be her most famous line, â€Å"To marry for support is legal prostitution.† She contended for intellectual companionship and friendship to be the ideal of marriage. She argued for an end to social prejudice against women which would, in turn, lead to women’s being defined by their character and work rather than by their marriages and social status. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 79) List 1 point of your opinion, supported by one of your sources which proves this sub-argument. Although marriage appears to be sacred, women in society would be deemed to be prostitutes somewhere along the continuum; it was merely a question of degree as to how much a woman sold herself to one man, and how much she relied on him for support. Marriage can be viewed as really just a form of prostitution in which women received poor recompense for their work, are more vulnerable to violence (from their husbands), and had less control over their daily lives than professional sex workers. (Wollstonecraft, â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,† 222) List one additional point: your choice of evidence style (may be a quote, paraphrase, statistic, or your opinion, but must be backed up by a source). Wollstonecraft points out that in her society, marriage alone brings women prestige and power. The only way women can rise in the world is by marriage. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 81) 2) Restate the 2nd sub-argument from the thesis as a clear, well-written topic sentence. Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women were capable of being equal to men, if given the proper education. List 1 quote from your sources which proves this sub-argument. â€Å"If women were more broadly educated, they would be better placed to carry out their educative duties as parents and to cooperate with men in this role. Part of Wollstonecraft’s defense of female emancipation, therefore, consists of arguing that freedom, equality, and education would make women better mothers.† (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 83) Paraphrase one piece of information from your sources which proves this sub-argument. Wollstonecraft stated that the boundaries on women’s education greatly affected their maturation. She noted that aristocratic women were not in fact confined to any particular â€Å"sphere† but traveled freely in public, going from place to place in order to better â€Å"display their finery.† Such a fine lady was useless to society not because of where she went or what she did, but because she never matured. â€Å"If she has any maternal tenderness, it is of a childish kind,† Wollstonecraft wrote. â€Å"Though she lives many years she is still a child in understanding, and of so little use to society, that her death would scarcely be observed.† With this grim assessment, Wollstonecraft concluded her argument that female education could best be improved by training young girls to become independent adults. Only then could they develop virtue in themselves and command the influence necessary to inspire others. (Field, â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† 203-204) List 1 point of your opinion, supported by one of your sources which proves this sub-argument. Women are seen as inferior to men and held in a state of ignorance. Women are not educated nor are they allowed to think for themselves. Without the ability to reason, women cannot achieve virtue or morality and society as a whole suffers. If women were allowed to reason and think independently, both women and men alike would share the benefits. Wollstonecraft’s central goal was for young girls to grow into independent women, she challenged artificial barriers to female maturity in numerous spheres simultaneously: in families, where the laws of marriage required wives to obey husbands; in education, where girls received inferior training to boys; in religious institutions, where male clerics demanded female obedience; in market relations, where employers paid women too little to support themselves; in the state, where men denied women independent political standing; and in civil society, where men discounted women’s opinions. (Field, â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† 201) List one additional point: your choice of evidence style (may be a quote, paraphrase, statistic, or your opinion, but must be backed up by a source). Wollstonecraft argues that â€Å"boys and girls, the rich and the poor† should all be taught â€Å"the elements of religion, history, the history of man, and politics† in common—using â€Å"conversations, in the socratic form†. (Field, â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† 211). Wollstonecraft concedes that if women had a proper education and could develop their reason and attain independence, they might not marry at all, but could still live happy, fulfilled lives. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 84) 3) Restate the 3rd sub-argument from the thesis as a clear, well-written topic sentence. Mary Wollstonecraft claimed that friendship and companionship is vital to a marriage and is the key to raising a healthy family. List 1 quote from your sources which proves this sub-argument. â€Å"If women marry for friendship, coquetry and flirtation would not become a way of life. Not compelled to seek male approval and adoration, they could become dedicated wives and mothers.† (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 83) Paraphrase one piece of information from your sources which proves this sub-argument. Wollstonecraft’s arguments about making women better wives and better mothers are mutually reinforcing, for she believes that if men and women marry by choice and for companionship, the husband is more likely to be at home and to be a better father to his children. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 83) List 1 point of your opinion, supported by one of your sources which proves this sub-argument. A marriage that consisted of friendship and satisfaction would liberate its partners from petty jealousies and allow them to channel their energies outward to the fulfillment of their duties as wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers. Although such a relationship might not offer romantic love’s grand passion and high excitement, the type of care it offers is precious: Wollstonecraft claims that when the passion of romance subsides into friendship there develops a â€Å"tender intimacy, which is the best refuge from care; yet is built on such pure, still affections† (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 84) List one additional point: your choice of evidence style (may be a quote, paraphrase, statistic, or your opinion, but must be backed up by a source). Thus young people contemplating marriage should â€Å"look beyond the present moment, and try to render the whole of life respectable, by forming a plan to regulate friendship which only death ought to dissolve†. A freer, more rational approach to marriage would produce stronger marriages because the people in them would be partners, indeed friends, who would value one another for their virtues of character rather than their physical beauty, status, wealth, or femininity or masculinity. † (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 84) Conclusion Write one sentence to remind the reader of your central argument. Mary Wollstonecraft strongly argued that marriage was parallel to legalized prostitution, that education was essential to a happy and moral life, and that friendship is a crucial aspect to a healthy marriage. Write one-three sentences to focus the reader’s attention on the most important evidence(s) you have offered. Mary Wollstonecraft argued that by marrying for financial support and social status, women are fundamentally committing prostitution. Moreover, she states that education is essential for women to live free and moral lives, for they will be able to learn to think for themselves and become rational thinkers. Lastly, friendship and companionship is vital in a marriage, it is only then will a marriage be successful. Bibliography/Works Cited (Wollstonecraft, Mary. â€Å"Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society.† A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Peter Edes for Thomas and Andrews ,Boston, 1792. 222.) (Abbey, Ruth. â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† Hypatia. 1999. Volume 14, Issue 3. 78-95) (Field, Corinne. â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth. Spring 2011. Volume 4. Issue 2. 197-198) (Ford, Thomas H. â€Å"Mary Wollstonecraft and the Motherhood of Feminism†, WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly. Fall/Winter 2009. Volume 37. Issues 3 & 4, 189-204)

Your pick of this week's news week 7 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Your pick of this week's news week 7 - Assignment Example that this decline has been experienced due increase in use of contraceptives as well as the recession being experienced by United States and the changes in rules and regulations regarding abortions. The main idea of the article is that the rate of abortion has and this decline has taken place due to use of contraceptives and recession. The author states that the number of abortions during 2011 stood at 1.1 million as compared to the period of 2008 when the number of abortions were 1.21. The article even states that the number of abortion has even declined in comparison to the rate at which they were occurring during 1981 when the rate was 29.3%. The article suggests that this decline is caused due to contraceptives and recession and laws have had little impact as laws were enacted after 2011. The author has satisfied the requirement of providing facts regarding the decline, but has failed to provide details regarding why the decline has stated and has simply made assumptions or highlighted suggestions provided by the research. The report has not focused on the side that is in favor of abortion or is in favor of relaxed laws for abortion. To a certain extend the report is biased as the report has used one side of the view and ignored the other side. the article is a hard news story as it focuses on what researches have stated but it lacks information on why the decline in abortion has taken place as no statistics are used in that context. The article is quite informative but requires more in-depth details about different reasons of decline in abortion and the correlation between rate abortion and different factors that contribute to its decline. Eckholm, Erik. "Log In - The New York Times." Nytimes.com, 2014. Web. 16 Mar 2014.

Regulatory, Legal, Ethical, and Accreditation Issues in Research Assignment

Regulatory, Legal, Ethical, and Accreditation Issues in Research - Assignment Example not tell what/when/why and how the situation been study came about .It is mainly used in calculating frequencies, mean and other statistical derivations. For the case of homeless people, the point-in-time count falls under this research method, as it will only give the number of homeless people in the streets and not how or why they are there. Analytical statistics on the other hand answers the questions why/how/when a characteristic happened. It shows co-relation between two events whose occurrence affects the other. It entails taking calculated action on the agent affecting the subject been studied. It focuses on coming up with ways to improve the future state of the subject matter (Clark, 2007). For instance in the case of the homeless, analytical research will come how they end up in the streets in the first place. It will also bring about an inter-relationship for instance why some people from certain background are more likely to end in the streets than the rest. Evaluative research on the other hand seeks to study whether measures or programs put in place are efficient in curbing the agent affecting the subject matter. It uncovers the effects of a process or agent on a population. Concerning the homeless, this research method will cover on the necessary programs put in place to ensure the homeless either are completely off the streets or are able to receive necessary

Routine Vaginal Examination in Labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Routine Vaginal Examination in Labour - Essay Example Vaginal exams have become routine during pregnancy in most parts of the United States. Interpreting labour progress is complex and requires experience, knowledge, and judgment, which are aided by continuity of care from a midwife to the pregnant woman (Dixon & Foureur, 2010). In this essay we will be focusing on the vaginal examination in labour. It has been observed that vaginal examinations in labour are used as a procedure through which the healthcare professionals demonstrate the progress of labour and the condition of labouring women. Vaginal examination helps and guides the doctors and midwives to estimate the time left in labour. The care and importance that a woman experiences during her pregnancy always has a great influence on her (Beech & Phipps, 2004). The regular examination of vagina to evaluate the progress of labour is one such care. The woman through this examination can assess the length, strength, position, and intensity required to take it to the end. Vaginal exam ination is not just a routine practice; rather it is undertaken to get variety of information for the well being of a mother and her child. The information that the healthcare professionals get from it are the fetal presentation, information on cervical effacement, consistency and dilatation of cervix, head movement of the fetal, and position of the nuchal cord. The doctors and midwives get to know what is happening to the patient and her labour with regard to the intensity of contraction (Thorpe & Anderson, 2006). They can identify the length of cervix dilatation and the time remaining for the labour. Vaginal examinations remain the most traditional and acknowledged method of measuring progress in... This report stresses that the resistance from the leaders and the key people is logical while implementing the change. Resistance is also made from the individuals and groups in terms of emotions, and social ties, etc. The resistance that is valuable for leadership and organization in terms of rules, and structure of change is fairly reasonable. The building relationship of trust between supervisor and those who are working with them is also necessary. The midwives cannot adopt a change until they have seen the supervisor practicing it. For this purpose, the supervisors and leaders have to provide them with support and guidance. This paper makes a conclusion that the midwives’ practice and role is accounted as the most major during this process, even more vital than a doctor. It all depends on midwives whether they feel the need for a vaginal examination or not. Mostly, they are so experienced that they can anticipate about the progress of labour through the breathing and condition of a patient. Vaginal examination is considered to be an essential clinical assessment tool through which the progress of labour is determined. Before introducing a change, the supervisors and the key people have to make plans for its implementation and a strategy through which the midwives can easily adopt the change. For this the supervisors have to prepare themselves for the meetings, research the ways through which they can convince the midwives, and prioritize the actions. Bringing a change is not easy, and to implement a change, the change has to be valid and have proper consents.

Nathan Forrests Monument Tribute to Selmas Defender or Wizard of Ku Essay

Nathan Forrests Monument Tribute to Selmas Defender or Wizard of Ku Klux Klan - Essay Example Nathan Forrest’s Monument – Tribute to Selma’s Defender or Wizard of Ku Klux Klan In my perspective, laws of justice and humanity conflict with dedicating a monument to a man whose name epitomizes America’s tragic history of racial prejudice and bloodshed. In order to comprehend this controversy, it is imperative to analyze the myriad of aspects surrounding it, such as first amendment, American history, political drama, and society’s reactions. The issue is that the Forrest Monument has always stirred drastically conflicting sentimental reactions amongst Americans. During the civil war, Nathan Bedford Forrest rose from a private soldier to the rank of lieutenant general in the Confederate Army. He was acclaimed for being a self-educated, valiant, and brilliant cavalry leader. Prior to the war, Forrest was an affluent planter, real estate backer, and slave trader. Despite lacking military education, Forrest rose to high ranks due to his innate strategic and tactical abilities. He pioneered novel policies for mobile forces, which earned him the title o f â€Å"The Wizard of the Saddle† (United Daughters of Confederacy 90). For some Forrest is a brilliant Civil War hero and quintessence of bravery and decisiveness. Todd Kiscaden, a friend and advocate of Forrest monument stated, â€Å"I recommend this man to model his life after. He always led from the front. He did what he said he was going to do. He took care of his people, and his people included both races (Allen).†... An extract from the letter of a confederate soldier, Achilles Clark, verifies these facts as he wrote that the slaughter was awful. He, with several others, tried to stop the brutalities of war and partially succeeded, but General Forrest ordered blacks to be shot down like dogs, and the carnage continued. Although some historians have glossed over his devious, inhumane crimes against negroes, the fact is that Forrest was not cruel, racially prejudiced slave dealer (Loewen and Sebesta 280). Likewise, Forrest is also infamous for being the Grand Wizard of Ku Klux Klan, a clandestine vigilante group that conducted a terrifying reign against African-Americans, Republicans and people who moved to south after the war (Ashdown and Caudill 39). Therefore, constructing his monument is â€Å"boldly racist† as Malika Fortier, a leading opponent in this struggle, quotes. In spite of the afore-mentioned facts, there are legal hindrances in preventing further work on the Forrest statue. Th e most imperative lingering question is that of land ownership. Proponents of the statue contend that the local authorities of Selma awarded the United Daughters of the Confederacy an acre of cemetery in 1877. As opposed to this, protestors argue that no legal documents exist to evidence the transfer of ownership to the United Daughters of the Confederacy (Brown 13). Although the question of land ownership is for now the most crucial, it constitutes only the basic queries and legal consequences that shall ensue. For instance, if the land were deemed as private property, passersby would not be aware that this cemetery contains Confederate Circle. In plain terms, the cemetery might be construed as public property even if it is

Conflict Diamond Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Conflict Diamond - Speech or Presentation Example In the late 1990s, this trade caught the attention of the world as the protracted conflict in Sierra Leone reached its devastating climax. It is not just Sierra Leone that has suffered – diamonds have fuelled or exacerbated conflicts in Angola, Liberia, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. These diamonds are regularly produced through the forced labor of men, women and children, or stolen during violent attacks on legitimate mining operations (geology.com). They have, on several occasions, been the main source of funding for brutal rebel groups. Due to the huge amount of money at stake in the illegal diamond trade, bribes, threats and torture often accompany the mining. In Liberia, between 1989 and 2003, there were two civil wars which killed perhaps 250,000 people, while displacing a further 1.3 million (globalwitness.org). Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has used his diamond mines to fund a military campaign against civilians in L iberia and Sierra Leone, and is currently on trial in the International Court of Human Rights. In Ivory Coast, a civil war was sparked off in 2002, and even now, the country remains divided, with widespread human rights violations. Sierra Leone is perhaps the worst example of what blood diamonds can do to a country. Legitimate diamonds once provided the mainstay of the government’s revenues. Gradually, as rebel groups in the east of the country gained control over the mines, these revenues were reduced to nothing. By August 1993, even before the civil war had escalated, the total revenues reaching the government in Freetown amounted to some $8,000 (Dowden, 294). Meanwhile, in the mines, children were being sent down into tiny tunnels, while soft gravel above them regularly collapsed and buried them. The greed engendered by the illegitimate trade in diamonds led to a breakdown of traditional society. Visiting a village in 1993, Richard Dowden spoke to a local doctor who commen ted, ‘There is no trust – not even between these brothers who dig together. We have many killings. A lot of people disappear’ (296). Once Civil War broke out, all this worsened. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) ruined the country’s interior. Bankrolled by diamonds, it raided villages, killing the inhabitants or cutting off their hands. Children were forced to become soldiers, and to kill their families and take drugs. They murdered and raped their way through the country, so that, by the end of the war, it was at the bottom of the United Nations Development Index. Let us consider the alternative. If diamonds are mined legitimately, under license from a popularly-elected and accountable government, and processed legitimately, and sold legitimately, to Western jewelers who insist upon certificates confirming the provenance of the diamonds, the revenues from these sales will be fed back into the revenues of the resource-rich states. A country currently re eling from decades of devastating war can use such revenues to build and rebuild schools, hospitals, roads, railways, and even to rebuild lives, by offering those scarred by the conflict a second chance. By taking the diamonds out of the hands of brutal militias, and into the hands of legitimate governments, we can promote sustainable development in a troubled and impoverished region. For confirmation of this, we need only look to those African countries which have managed their

My part of team assignment week 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My part of team assignment week 2 - Essay Example A way to ensure that the transportation company provides its best effort is by establishing long term relationship with the company. Internal factors that can cause variability in the JIT system include employees, machines, and inaccurate specifications. The JIT inventory system is used by accountants as a measure to lower inventory costs in order to increase profitability. Too much inventory hurts the liquidity of an enterprise. The company that made famous the JIT inventory system when it began to use it as a tool to improve the productivity of the company is Toyota Corporation. Toyota realized that in the auto industry the nature of the business implied that there were many different types of inventories. There are many parts in the auto assembly process. All cars are made up of hundreds of different parts. The JIT system at Toyota allowed the company to saved money by reducing the amount of inventory in the company’s warehouses. After Toyota introduced JIT in the 1970’s many companies followed suit and implemented the system. JIT inventory can be applied to any business industry, but it has greater applications in the manufacturing sector. The JIT system was adaptive at Toyota allowing the company to adjust inventory levels based on the size of the production batches. To take further advantage of the JIT inventory model Toyota designed car models with compatible

Higher education in the USA Essay Example for Free

Higher education in the USA Essay Faktorami, opredelyayuschimi yavlyaetsya li uchrezhdenie odnim iz luchshih, ili odnim iz menee prestizhnyh, yavlyayutsya: kachestvo obucheniya fakultetov, kachestvo oborudovaniya dlya issledovanij, uroven finansirovaniya bibliotek, specialnyh programm, i t. d. , a takzhe kompetentnost i chislo pretendentov na priem, to est naskolko dannoe uchrezhdenie svobodno v vybore studentov. Vse `eti faktory dopolnyayut drug druga. Voobsche v Soedinennyh SHtatah priznano, chto est bolee i menee predpochtitelnye uchrezhdeniya dlya obucheniya i polucheniya vysshego obrazovaniya. Bolee predpochtitelnye uchrezhdeniya obychno, no ne vsegda, yavlyayutsya bolee dorogostoyaschimi, i okonchanie odnogo iz nih mozhet prinesti znachitelnye preimuschestva, poskolku kazhdyj chelovek ischet vozmozhnost zanyatosti i socialnuyu podvizhnost v predelah obschestva. Konkurs na postuplenie v takoj kolledzh pobuzhdaet milliony starsheklassnikov sdavat SAT kazhdyj god. No nedavno akcent na vstupitelnyh `ekzamenah shiroko kritikovalsya v Soedinennyh SHtatah, potomu chto `ekzameny pozvolyayut opredelit kompetentnost v matematike i anglijskom yazyke. V zaschituispolzovaniya   `ekzamenov kak kriteriev pri postuplenii, rukovoditeli mnogih universitetov govoryat, chto ispolzovanie SAT pozvolyaet spravedlivo reshit, kogo prinyat, kogda imeetsya 10 ili 12 pretendentov na odno mesto. Mogut li kolledzhi i universitety Ameriki osnovyvatsya na ih rezultatah? Priblizitelno 12 millionov studentov v nastoyaschee vremya poseschayut shkoly vysshego obrazovaniya v Amerike. Oni studenty v obschestve, kotoroe verit v svyaz mezhdu obrazovaniem i demokratiej. Odnako, mnozhestvo amerikancev ne udovletvoreny sostoyaniem vysshego obrazovaniya v ih strane. Vozmozhno, naibolee shiroko rasprostranennoe nedovolstvo vyzyvaet uchebnyj plan kolledzha v celom i shirokij diapazon dopolnitelnyh zanyatij v chastnosti. V seredine 80-yh godov proshlogo veka Associaciya Amerikanskih Kolledzhej (AAC) vypustila doklad, v kotorom prizyvala k prepodavaniyu bazovoj chasti obschih znanij vsem studentam kolledzha. Nacionalnyj Institut Obrazovaniya (NIE) vypustil podobnyj zhe doklad- Uchastie v obuchenii. V svoem doklade NIE zaklyuchil, chto uchebnyj plan kolledzha stal chrezmerno professionalno-tehnicheskim i svyazannym s rabotoj. V nem takzhe preduprezhdaetsya, chto obrazovanie kolledzha bolshe ne mozhet razvivat v studentah razdelennye cennosti i znaniya, chto tradicionno svyazyvayut Amerikancev vmeste. Sereznoe obvinenie. Dejstvitelno li `eto tak? V nekotoroj stepeni na dannyj moment `eto vozmozhno. Konechno, nekotorye studenty zakanchivayut svoe obuchenie bez kursa po Zapadnoj Civilizacii, ne upominaya drugie mirovye kultury. Drugie ostavlyayut kolledzh, ne izuchiv nauku ili pravitelstvo. V otvet, mnogie kolledzhi nachali peresmatrivat osnovnoj uchebnyj plan, s kotorym vse studenty dolzhny spravlyatsya. `Eti problemy priznak togo, chto vysshee obrazovanie v Amerike menyaetsya, kak `eto imelo mesto vsegda v ego istorii. I, kak v proshlom, `eto izmenenie mozhet idti v neozhidannyh napravleniyah. Puritane osnovyvali kolledzhi, chtoby obuchat ministrov. No ih studenty proyavili sebya kak osnovopolozhniki pervoj v mire konstitucionnoj demokratii. Kolledzhi predostavleniya zemli byli osnovany, chtoby prepodavat selskoe hozyajstvo i proektirovanie stroitelyam Amerikanskogo Zapada. Segodnya, mnogie iz `etih kolledzhej yavlyayutsya veduschimi shkolami v nauchno-issledovatelskom mire. Amerikancy vsegda delali stavku na sozdanie sistemnoj raboty. Oni imeyut osobo veskie prichiny dlya vypolneniya `etogo v oblasti obrazovaniya. Lyudi v Soedinennyh SHtatah segodnya stalkivayutsya s vazhnymi voprosami: CHto yavlyaetsya nadlezhaschej rolyu Ameriki kak strany s samoj staroj v mire konstitucionnoj demokratiej; s samoj bolshoj `ekonomikoj; yavlyayuschejsya pervoj yadernoj derzhavoj? Amerikancy uvazhayut svoe pravo vyrazit mnenie po vsem `etim problemam. No lyudi Soedinennyh SHtatov takzhe gluboko osoznayut, chto takie problemy dolzhny rassmatrivatsya v komplekse. CHtoby prinimat uchastie v novyh voznikayuschih problemah, bolshinstvo amerikancev chuvstvuet, chto oni nuzhdayutsya vo vsej informacii, kotoruyu oni mogut poluchit. Kolledzhi i universitety naibolee vazhnye centry takogo izucheniya. I nezavisimo ot togo, chto mogut trebovatsya usovershenstvovaniya, ih buduschee polnostyu garantiruetsya amerikanskoj zhazhdoj progressa i horoshej informirovannosti. Fakticheski, sleduyuschej zadachej amerikanskogo obrazovaniya mozhet stat tendenciya dlya lyudej prodolzhit ih obrazovanie v kolledzhe dlya dalnejshej zhizni. Slovar. A Accept Prinimat Achieves Dostigat Accomplishment Vypolnenie Account Schet Adequate Adekvatnyj Admission Dopusk Admitted Dopuschennyj Advantage Preimuschestvo Agriculture Selskoe hozyajstvo. Amount Kolichestvo Applicant Pretendent Application Zayavlenie Association of American Colleges(AAC) Associaciya Amerikanskih Kolledzhej Available Dostupnyj Aware Znaya B Bachelors degree Stepen Bakalavra Be either Byt takzhe Beyond Vne Bond Obyazatelstvo C Certainly Konechno Community Soobschestvo Competition Sorevnovanie Competence Kompetentnost Complete Polnyj Comprise Vklyuchit Condition Uslovie(sostoyanie) Contain Soderzhat Conversely Naoborot Costly Dorogostoyaschij Criticized Kritikuemyj Currently V nastoyaschee vremya Curriculum Uchebnyj plan D. Demand Trebovanie Democracy Demokratiya Desirable ZHelatelnyj Determining Opredelenie Distinction Razlichie Duration Prodolzhitelnost E Elective Izbiratelnyj Emphasis Akcent Employment Zanyatost Equal prestige Ravnyj prestizh Excessively vocational and work-related CHrezmerno professionalno- tehnicheskij i svyazannyj s rabotoj Exist Suschestvovat G Graduate Diplomirovannyj specialist Government Pravitelstvo H Higher education Vysshee obrazovanie I Impression Vpechatlenie Independent Nezavisimyj Interviews Intervyu Issued Vypuschennyj L Lead Liderstvo. Majority Bolshinstvo Masters degree Stepen mastera Measure Mera Mention Upominanie Merely Prosto Might Mog by N National Institute of Education(NIE) Nacionalnyj Institut Obrazovaniya Nuclear power YAdernaya derzhava O Offer Predlozhenie Obtain Poluchit Opinions Mneniya Opportunities Vozmozhnosti Outstanding Vydayuschijsya P Painfully Gluboko Particular Specificheskij(osobennyj) Percent Procent Perhaps Vozmozhno Proper Nadlezhaschij Provide Obespechit Public Gosudarstvennyj(obschestvennyj) Puritans Puritane Private CHastnyj R Receive Poluchit. Recently Nedavno Recognized Priznannyj Recommendations Rekomendacii Regard Otnoshenie Reinforce Ukrepit Respect Uvazhenie S Satisfactory Udovletvoritelnyj Satisfied Udovletvorennyj Seek Iskat Similar Podobnyj Simply Prosto Scholars Uchenye Scientific research Nauchnoe issledovanie Social mobility Socialnaya mobilnost Success Uspeh T Traditional bind Tradicionno svyazyvayut The shared values and knowledge Razdelennye cennosti i znanie Q Quality of research facilities Kachestvo sredstv obsluzhivaniya issledovaniya W Whether Li Widespread SHiroko rasprostranennyj.

The Importance Of Environmental Scanning Marketing Essay

The Importance Of Environmental Scanning Marketing Essay Marketing oriented firms mostly focus on marketing planning method through which a thorough analysis of market environment is carried out to scan opportunities within market environments, audit the skills and resources of the firm needed to maximize these opportunities, formulating marketing objectives and designing how firm offerings will be positioned among consumer segments when targeting them, and subsequently developing plans to implement and control them to sustain competitive advantage ( Dibb and Simkin, 2008). history of Just Us! Cafes Just Us! Cafes a coffee Roasters Cooperative was co-founded by Debbie and Jeff Moore in the year 1995 (Just Us!, 2012). The cafà © whose headquarter is located in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, Canada was incorporated under the Cooperative Association Act as the first company (see Appendix 1) with a fair trade coffee roaster in Canada in 1996 (Just Us!, 2012). The vision of Just Us! Cafes is to be a market leader in fair trade business that stands for quality, fairness, professionalism and innovation while the mission of Just Us! Cafes is rooted in authenticity, cooperation, community, and justice (Just Us!, 2012). Just us! Cafes offers products include Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Sugar, and pastries. Just Us! has 4 Cafes in Nova Scotia, Canada located in Grand Pre, Wolfville, Halifax and Barrington Street (Just Us!,2012). Just Us! has received many awards such as EK chamber of commerce Award as a Best Large firm in Kings County (2000), Ethics Award (2005), Acadia University President Award for Entrepreneur (2005) etc (Just Us!, 2012). 1.0 Critical Evaluation of the Importance of Environmental Scanning. Environmental scanning is simply the method through which marketing environment of an organisation is been closely monitored and carefully analysed (Jobber, 2007). The importance of environmental scanning are; Provides an understanding of Consumers Choice Criteria Body shop (a cosmetic industry) in its environmental scanning through market research in Canada, identified that 34% of consumers use ethical behaviour of companies (in addition to quality of product) as their choice criterion upon which their buying decision is based (Strandberg consulting, 2009). In addition, the impact of firms activities on the ecological habitat of consumers has been another criterion employed by consumers in their buying decision as consumers in Canada tend to embrace moves that decrease Co2 footprint in their environment (Bonini and Oppenheim, 2012). Environmental scanning reveals a paradigm shift in consumers value, attitude and beliefs about products as ethical issues have become a yardstick in their buying decision. The need to be highly sensitive to rapidly changing specific and general business environmental factors is a pre-requisite to the survival of an organisation where a quick change in product/ service line must be matched with changing consumer re quirements (Goyal, 2007; Albright,2007; Jobber;2007). Helps in Identifying Business Trends and Opportunities In 2008 alone, products (such as Flowers, Cocoa, Coffee, Rice, Shea butter) that were fairly traded was said to be imported from 59 countries (Eric, 2012). It takes a thorough environmental scanning of Canadian market to obtain this useful information about the fast growing fair trade business in both the food and non food segment (for example, fashion industry). With environmental scanning, Just us! Cafes and its competitors (Kicking horse, Kraft foods, StarBucks etc) were able to capitalize on the fair-trade opportunities and thus get sensitized on the drastic changing needs and expectations of their consumers. Environmental scanning offered these market players qualitative and quantitative information about the needs of their consumers, enabling them to strategise on how these needs could be met and as a result the image of these organisations were improved through a clear definition of what they stood for in Canadian fair trade wholesale and retail market (Costa, 1995). This is a n evidence that environmental scanning is linked to improvement in organisational performance (Slaughter, 1999). Provides Basis for Segmenting Consumer Markets Part of the achievements of Cafes in Canadian markets attributed to environmental scanning is ability of these brands to segment their products and services effectively and efficiently well. For example, all brands of Cafes in Canada (Kraft foods, Just Us!, Kicking horse, StarBucks etc) have been able to adopt a behavioural segmentation in the consumer markets where fair trade is used in one way or the other to gain market share as consumers beliefs, values and perception are rooted in fair trade. Psychographic segmentation that entails the strategy by which consumers are grouped base on lifestyle and personality characteristics (Jobber,2007) has been exploited by brands where Just us! Cafes had been targeting young, well educated consumers that are willing to offer premium price for fair trade products (Ethical Consumer, 2011) while Kraft Foodservice are caught romancing college students (perceived to be part of socially and environmentally conscious customers) with its All Life 100 % Colombian coffee brand (Rain Forest Alliance, 2004). Brands utilise Profile Segmentation where geographic variables like areas local names and culture (Jobber, 2007) are been used to differentiate their coffee from competitors and thus adapting their services and products to customers taste and culture, and locating their outlets in close proximity to their target consumers. Helps an organisation to identify it shortcomings and address them Through environmental scanning, Just Us! Cafes has been able to identify emerging issues and conditions leading the company to a dead end. This led management of Just Us! to develop an organisational structure where roles are allocated to employees based on their competencies and skills (e.g. the need for Juliet to handle the marketing functions of Just us! Cafes) to be able to deal with emerging issues confronting Just Us! Cafes. Limitation of Environmental Scanning. However, environmental scanning does not totally lead to an accurate prediction of business future and it does not guarantee effectiveness as witnessed in situation where many competitors of Just us! Cafes located in the heart of Nova Scotia had to close down their businesses when they couldnt survive in the midst of heated competitions. But businesses should ensure frequent environment scanning so as to increase their sensitivity to environmental signals rather than relying on analysis of historical data or predicting how such data will change (Johnson et al. 2008). 1.2. Internal and External Challenges Confronting Just Us! Cafes. Internal challenges are issues that focus on resources and competence (capabilities) of a company, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of such company while external challenges are concerned with the external environment in which the company operates, predisposing its activities to threat or presenting it with opportunities ( Hill and Joney, 2008). SWOT analysis of Just Us! Cafes Strengths Just Us! Cafes brand over the years has successfully won strong customer loyalty with strong preference for its products, services, and what the business stands for in Nova Scotia (fairness, justice and quality). The founders of Just Us! Cafes (Jeff and Debbie Moore) have a sound background experience in social and community development well aligned with their humanitarian philosophy (people before profit) enough to equip them in fulfilling their business mission (quality, fairness, and justice). The products and services (that are fairly traded and F.L.O certified) which Just us! Cafes offer her customers are immensely differentiated from competitors and thus give Just Us! Cafes a crystal clear market advantage over all her competitors. Just Us! Cafes management has a deep understanding of it distribution channel and an intimate relationship with wholesale and retail stores (Atlantic Superstore and Sobeys). Just Us! Cafes is equipped with employees that are committed to delivering products and services in a manner that meets and surpasses consumers expectation. Just Us! Cafes operates in favourable locations that are in close proximity with her consumers such as Grand Pre, Halifax, Wolfville and Barrington Street as well as a very strong presence in 3 key universities of Canada in Nova Scotia. Weaknesses Inability or lack of capability of Just Us! Cafes to expand it business to new markets within Canada. Just Us! Cafes doesnt have enough financial resources and competence as compared to some of its competitors tapping into the fair trade market. Just Us! Cafes have 4 Cafes (Wolfville, Halifax, Grand-pre and Barrington Street) just in Nova Scotia province. This is limiting its ability to reach enough consumers with its fair trade products as compared to Tim Hortons and Second cup who have 170 and 360 stores respectively. In the area of advertisement, Just Us! lacks experience and expertise. The reduction of revenue and the inability to defend and extend their core business shows lack of a good business strategy. Just Us! is too dependent on stores like Loblaws (also Just Us! competitor) and Sobeys as its distribution channel in the retail market. Threats Just Us! could face scarcity of fair trade products as a result of wide swing in commodity market. Transporting fair trade products from developing country to Canada may be stopped due to the need to lessen carbon emission to the environment. If importation of fair trade raw materials are stopped, the fair trade mission and strategy of Just Us! will be in jeopardy. The fair trade and organic business of Just us! Cafes have become fiercely competitive as competitors struggle intensely to attract and retain consumers in order to benefit from the attractive fair trade market. Fair trade certification is not recognised by the government of Canada and as such, no government policy has being designed for it and thus resulting in unfair practices among Just Us! competitors who portray their products as fair trade when they are not in the real sense. Consumers preferences for Just Us! products is changing rapidly resulting in fast decline in new product life cycle. Opportunities Majority of consumers in Canadian market are interested in fair trade products, presenting huge opportunities for Just Us! to increase their revenue through fair trade. Consumers are willing to offer premium price for fair trade products of Just Us! if they better informed. There is an increasing trend in the number of fair trade farmers from developing countries and thus leads to availability of fair trade products. There are still wide gaps or opportunities to explore by Just Us! in the fair trade market if a right strategy is put in place. PESTEL of Just Us! PESTEL Framework (Political, Environmental, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental (green) and Legal) are external factors/challenges that is common to all businesses. Political In Canada, though government policies contain rules and regulations for activities concerning healthy lifestyle of citizen as well as environmental protection, policy for fair trade market has not been developed by Canadian government. For example, CISO (2012) stated that Canadian Federal and Provincial Agencies (CFPA) are guided by respective purchasing departments in their purchasing decisions. At Federal level, Public Works and Government Service Canada (PWGSC)-who have standing offers (open contract) for many goods and purchase them on behalf of other Department-, make green purchasing or recommendations to the department through their office of Greening government operations but their recommendations do not include fair trade products Evidence of lack of attention given to fair trade in Canada is shown in the table 1.1 below. This made it easier for Just Us! competitors who are not dedicated to fair trade (maybe due to cost associated with it) to portray their offerings to the market as fairly traded. Country Policy or Guideline Specifies Certified Fair Trade Canada Federal à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Policy on Green Procurement (as of April 1, 2006 for all federal departments) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sustainable Development Strategies (prepared by all federal departments every 3 years) and Departments Environmental policies and Departmental Performance Reports à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Environmental Petitions by Canadian Residents à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Department of Foreign Affairs Green Procurement checklist à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Department of Foreign Affairs Kit for Ensuring Green Conferences à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Environment Canada principles or practice on green purchasing, as well as a standard clause for product tenders and service contracts Provincial à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Sustainable Development Act (Manitoba and Quebec) and related Sustainable Development Procurement Policies Local à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ethical Purchasing Policies (Vancouver, Toronto, Black Diamond) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No (for Foreign Affairs, others unknown) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Yes (no for Toronto) Table 1: Examples of Relevant Guidelines and Policies that Encourage Social and Environmental Purchasing in Canadian Government Agencies (CISO,2012). Economy Between 2010-2011, Canadas GDP was said to have grown by 2.8% a year (which was more than economies of other rich country, most especially U.S). However, in 2012, Canadas economy has been discovered to have a slow GDP growth of 1.9% as a result of lower prices for Canadas resource exports, weak demand of its goods from Europe and its strong currency (The Economist, 2012). This has led to recession presently in Canada, preventing Just Us! Cafes from implementing her expansion strategy. Also, Recession in Canada due to decline in GDP could result in budget pressure and spending cuts leaving consumer with little or no disposable income to spend on premium fair trade products that Just Us! offers, since availability of consumers purchasing power absolutely relies on income, prices, debt and savings (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Social-Cultural Over the last 3 decades, the main driver of fair trade is expressed to be the highly growing trend of ethical consumerism (Burke and Berry, 1974, cited in Opal and Nicholls, 2005, page 23).Consumers values, attitude and lifestyle are rooted in high quality, ethically sourced and healthy products. The preference for these attributes has created a great opportunities for fair trade markets and thus resulted in a highly competitive fair trade market that is becoming too heated for Just Us! the early player. Technological. From between 2002-2008, there was no record that reveals that Just Us! Cafes integrated e-commerce into their customer service operation despite the fact that e-commerce that includes online service had been the major driver of supply chain in coffee industry in the 21st century. However, Just Us! has integrated e-commerce into their customer service operation where customers orders are received and fulfilled via e-commerce. Environment and Legal The current trend in Western Europe involves series of public actions (legal) to reduce Co2 emission to the environment, seeing majority of firms been taxed heavily on the basis of Co2 emission that their activities (majorly machinery) dissipate to the environment (co2gram/kilowatt/hour). However, opportunities abound for organisations that can reconcile profitability with the protection of their business environment (Kottler and Keller, 2012). But this trend towards greener activities is partly a threat to Just Us! fair trade as the need to source for raw materials locally rather than sourcing from distant developing countries (which is the basis of fair trade) to lessen Co2 emission to the atmosphere due to transportation is becoming an emerging issue presently. On the other hand, weather is becoming quite unpredictable and this is a threat to farm productivity. For example, the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) the worlds largest agricultural commodities traders recently got its net profits reduced by 60% due to a sudden drought in the U.S that hampered farm productivity (Financial Times, 2012). This can also pose threats to the fair trade markets, resulting in scarcities in the commodity markets, high prices for food and high cost of raw materials. Porters 5 forces for Just Us!. The Porters 5 forces as shown in Fig 1.1 below is used by businesses to indentify how profitable a particular business is (Johnson et al. 2008). Threat of New Entrants to Fair Trade Market There is a high threat of new entrants to the fair trade market with a growing trend in the demand for fair products. As a result of this, small, independent and well established cafes are competing with Just Us! as a result of this. Threat of Substitute for Just Us! products and Services As barriers to fair trade market are getting weaker, competitors are offering a similar fair trade product as Just Us! thereby presenting consumers with opportunities to replace Just Us! products if they do not meet their expectations. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The number of farmers producing farm produce has been reported to be growing. In 2008 alone, 59 countries have been reported to have supplied Canada. Thus, as the growing trend increases, the bargaining power of buyers becomes higher than the farmers. On the other hand, bargaining power is also dependent on the availability of produce. If there is scarcity of fair trade produce, then the bargaining power of farmers become higher. Bargaining Power of Buyers Logically, as barrier to new entrants gets weaker and threat of substitute get higher, end users may not be able to offer premium price for fair trade products of Just Us!. This gives consumers the ability to determine price. Threat of Rivalry Since competitors of Just Us! offer similar products to same group of consumers, competitive rivalry is certain. 1.3 Extent to which Challenges threaten the Future of Just Us! Up to a very large extent, challenges in the form of fierce competition (which is promoted by government policies), constant change in fair trade market (occasioned by rapid change in consumers preferences for coffee and other products) and lack of sustainable strategy of Just Us! to address these issues will lead to lower consumer base, reduction in market share and profit and as time goes on, Just Us! fair trade business will cease to exist in Canada. 2.0. Appropriate Framework of Analysis to Analyse Competitive Strategy Adopted by Just Us! In analyzing the competitive strategy adopted by Just Us!, marketing mix strategy (7Ps) will be adopted. Products: Just Us! satisfied the wants and needs of consumers with fair trade and organic products like Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Sugar, and Muffins. Just Us! adopted a distinctive product differentiation strategy through provision of fair trade and organic products to its customers that are willing to pay premium. Just Us! also have specialty products lines such as Coffee (Rwanda Cafà © Femenino, Tarrazu Honey, Mexican Morning, Wisdom, Rainforest Rhapsody, etc), Teas (Chai Tea, Early green, Darjeeling loose, Maritime Breakfast tea etc) that meet various tastes of consumers. Price: For all Just Us! fair trade products and added services (atmosphere adapted to consumers taste), a premium pricing strategy was adopted by Just Us! where consumers are charged for added value in form of organic and fair trade products provided to them. Place: With respect to place, Just Us! pursued an adaptation strategy where atmosphere of different locations (Wolfville, Halifax, Grad Pre and Barrington Street) were adapted to taste, culture of consumers and making it comfortable as incubator for developing relationships among consumers within their communities. Just Us! adopted two types of strategic alliance in a bid to make their products available to consumers and in a bid to expand. The two types of strategic alliance adopted were; a.Logistical Alliance: where Just Us! formed alliance with wholesales and retail outlets (e.g. Loblawas, and Sobeys), health food shops, churches, universities (Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Mary University etc) that offer logistical service to ensure the availability of Just Us! products all around Canada. b. Product and Service alliance: although this type of strategic alliance failed Just Us!, Just Us! had once partnered with a local businessman in Toronto as part of their expansion strategy into Toronto market. Just Us! also formed partnerships with Acadia Cinema Cooperative to use the cinema service as a means to sell fair trade products. Promotion: In a bid to promote Just Us! fair trade offerings, 10% of its profit was allocated for opening fair trade coffee museum where consumers are enlightened about the advantages of fair trade. On top of this, a non-profit organisation known as JUDES (Just Us! Development and Education Society) was developed to create awareness for fair trade and societal development. Just Us! through JUDES also used documentary and educational activities to enlighten social institutions on the importance of fair trade. Just Us! also used newspaper, magazines (student magazines and discount coupons), outdoor advertising (board in Grand Pre), point-of-purchase advertising (Valentine, Christmas and other seasonal events), internet (www.justus!cafes.com), sales promotion (reduced Christmas merchandise) and PR, events and sponsorship (during CEDIF meeting). People: through proper recruitment and selection process, Just Us! was able to attract talented staff and committed employees which were subsequently trained to deliver finished products (e.g. Coffee and Tea) in a way that expressed quality and care. Process: part of the process of Just Us! aimed at preserving and delivering fresh and quality coffee to her consumers includes roasting Coffee for example in small batches after which they were packaged in the plant and subsequently sent to consumers. Process of Just Us! also involves close supervision of coffee quality at every stage of the production process (from raw materials to finished products) Physical Evidence: This is essentially environment that surrounds the fair trade products and services that are offered by Jut Us! (Richard and Gilligan, 2005). This includes; fair trade coffee museum in Grand Pre, the brown coloured logo of Just Us! that differentiated them from competitors, coffee bean manufacturing plant in Grand Pre , Just Us! theatre, gift shops and other facilities and equipment (tangibles) that communicate message concerning fair trade that Just Us! stood for. 3.0 Strategic Options Available to Just Us! Despite the continuous growth of consumers in fair trade segments since 2008 (now around 44% of consumers in Canada), Just Us!, a distinctive fair trade food business that was incorporated under the Cooperative Act and certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organisation (FLO) has seen it growth slightly increased between 2008 to 2011 (Figure 1.1) in the midst of competitors (Kicking Horse, Tim Hortons, Second cup, Kraft, Nestle etc) that are not deeply committed and consistent to fair trade model witnessing a high revenue from the fair trade market. For example, between 2009 to 2010, sales revenue grew by 1.72% to $7,103,981 with an increasing cost from 4,257,282 in 2009 to 4,310,222 in 2010 (Figure 1.2). Figure 1: Revenue of Just Us! between 2002 to 2011(Just Us!, 2012) Figure 2: The End of Year Statement of Just Us! Coffee Roasters (Just Us!,2012). To address these problem, Just Us! can engage one of these options; Consolidation This is the situation where Just Us! can strategise on defending their existing fair trade products (coffee, chocolate, tea, sugar) in their existing market in the province of Nova Scotia (Wolfville, Barrington Street, Grand Pre, and Halifax) . According to Safah (2008), this non-growth strategy is aimed at maintaining the business status quo to protect a business status in its environment. Just Us! can achieve consolidation through either; Defending their market share: Through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) , Just Us! can build a protective wall around its customer base (Smith and Zook, 2011) through effective management of individual consumers information in order to maximize loyalty ( Kotler and Keller,2012). Just Us! should invest in communication technology where consumers database will be housed and used effectively. For example, automated greetings should be programmed to respond to any occasions consumers are celebrating. CRM management should go beyond business transaction to personal affection and care for consumers welfare. Through this CRM, Just Us! will be able secure their consumers. Even CRM can also be done through social media where Just Us! club can be formed for the purpose of a two-way communication between Just Us! and existing consumers. Downsizing or Divestment In Figure 1.2 above, cost of good sold, administration and members expenses all constitute a higher cost to Just Us! Cafes. Just Us! could seek to consolidate by pruning its staff size to reduce cost of human resources or it could hold on to 20% of Just Us! products that contribute 80% of its revenue while the rest are shed off the Cafes product line. For example in Table 1.2 below, between 2004- 2007, fairly traded Tea and Sugar (though sugar is perceived to have adverse impact on health and thus fair trade honey could be a good substitute) have been observed to contribute a less margin to revenue and hence less growth to fair trade market in Canada. So Just Us! could remove these products from it portfolio while they concentrate on Coffee and Cocoa. Growth 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total market share % market rank Cofee 41% 56% 61% 55% $ 9,083,836 80% 1 Cocoa 115% 96% 91% 0% $ 1,253,849 11% 2 Sugar 139% 158% 97% 63% $ 789,150 7% 3 Tea 54% 74% 68% 339% $ 173,642 2% 4 Total Revenue 49% 65% 67% 50% $ 11,300,477 100% market share % 100% market rank Table 2: The growth of fair trade products in Canadian Market Market Penetration. Just Us! could also increase sales of their current fair trade products in the province of Nova Scotia in which they are presently operating (Halifax, Barrington Street, Wolfville and Grand Pre) through winning competitors consumers by planning and implementing effective promotion or distribution strategy or they could cut prices of their products Promotion A good promotional strategy with an appropriate channel to reach target markets will be one of the appropriate methods by which Just Us! can attract competitors consumers. Through integrated marketing communication, Just Us! can better coordinate its marketing tools in order to deliver its social and environmental responsibilities, quality, fairness and equity message in a clear and consistent manner to all consumers. For example, Just Us! is the only Cafà © business that is incorporated under the cooperative act which seeks greater fairness and poverty eradication in developing countries and on top of this, all fair trade products of Just Us! were certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organisation. Just Us! could choose to deploy it resources towards creating awareness about what it stands for and this could stimulate interest, desire and repeated purchase of its products. The landing page of Just Us! site (www.justus.com) should be decorated with prestigious awards obtained by Just Us! to affirm what they stand for and this could lead to customer conversion upon arrival to the landing page. Just Us! should also use social media to communicate their messages while using emotional adverts on Tv and Radio station to preach fairness in addition to what JUDES does for them. For example, over 4 years, Cadbury Schweppes had attributed its high revenue to high expenditure on promotional efforts. Distribution According to Chopra and Meindhl (2007), distribution has been expressed to be the major driver of an organisations overall profitability since it directly determines both supply chain cost and consumer experience. The presence of Just us! in 4 places within the province of Nova Scotia alone is not an effective means of reaching potential consumers of Just Us!. Tim Hortons (170) and Second cup (360) within Nova Scotia have been able to decentralize their shops in every nook and cranny to better reach their consumers and increase response time and convenience and through this, they have been known as a quick service restaurant in Nova Scotia. There is no point in having good quality fair trade products without reaching enough consumers. Even if there is no fund to lease or build more cafes, Just Us! could form more partnerships (logistical or product and service alliance) with more retail and wholesale outlets in Annapolis, Pictou, Inverness, Yarmouth, Antigonish, Hants etc. For example, Sainsbury has emerged as market leader in UK grocery market due to its ability of Sainsbury to open more convenience stores all around UK. Pricing strategy Just Us! could also use price to penetrate and attract competitors consumers. Just Us! involving itself in a price war wont go too well for the Cafà ©. However, a psychological pricing strategy could be adopted to increase demands for its quality fair trade products. For example, Apple used price to penetrate the market when it launched its 3G iphone at a cheaper price ($199) as compared to its competitors that were offering $399 for 2G iphones (Jobber,2007) Market Development Market development is another strategic option that Just us! can explore to increase it market share by selling fair trade products to new markets beyond the shores of Nova Scotia or outside Canada. For example, in Vancouver and Black diamond, Just Us! can seek to expand their Cafes to these provinces where there are ethical purchasing policies that favour their fair trade business model (as indicated in Table 1) unlike Nova-Scotia. Mergers or acquisition will be a fast way through which Just Us! can sell its existing products to Vancouver and Black diamond swiftly. For example, Just Us! could merge with Earths Choice a fair trade coffee roaster business in Vancouver or Cinnamon spoon in Black diamond . Other

First Knight And The Ox-bow Incident :: essays research papers

First Knight and The Ox-Bow Incident In the novel, "The Ox-Bow Incident," and the movie, "First Knight," the differences by far out weighed the similarities. Some of the more evident similarities Round Table had a set book of laws and rules that all knights must abide by, regardless of their feelings were, the characters seemed to both have a leader which they followed, Tetley in "the Ox-Bow", and King Arthur in "First Knight". Both groups seemed to follow what their so-called "leaders" said. Nobody wanted to stand up to Tetley nor King Arthur, they just did what they were told, regardless of whether or not they felt that it was moral or not. Some of the differences range from; law, their feelings toward others, and their ethics and morale. The first difference is the two groups view on the law. The Knights of the about them. Whereas, the cowboys had a set of unwritten laws, which they changed whenever there was something that they wanted to pursue. Most of them felt that the law was wrong and too slow, so they often decided to take law into their own hands and form posses. If the majority of the people believed that a certain person is guilty or not, they would act upon him/her without a fair trial. Their view of the law was that it "just gets in the way" and should be abolished all together. The Knights believed that the law was good and is there for a reason, while the cowboys felt the law was wrong and took action into their own hands. The two groups both showed a special friendship for each other, yet their friendships were based on different feelings. They were always ready for action and didn't have the time to express their friendship to others. Their friendships were almost always a temporary thing, meaning one minute they could be your best friend and the next, your worst enemy. They also didn't express their love like the Knights did. They showed their appreciation through the respect of others while the Knights expressed their feelings through trust. The Knights, on the other hand, showed a great deal of love and friendship. Their relationships were based on assurance and trust, whereas the cowboys didn't rely on anyone. The Knights were also willing to sacrifice their lives for each other, while the cowboys would let each other die. So, in comparing the relationships of the two groups, they both had strong relationships with each other, yet they were based on two totally different ideas. The last major difference between the Knights and the cowboys was one of

Definition Of Good And Evil Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout human existence, questions have arisen concerning the nature of good and evil. Many scientist, philosophers, and theologians have been intrigued by these questions. Through Augustine’s Confessions and E. O. Wilson’s In Search of Nature, one is accessible to two distinct perspectives concerning the nature of good and evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustine sets up an argument in his Confession that attempts to define evil. God is the author of everything. Augustine says, â€Å"nothing that exists could exist without You [God]† (Book I, Chapter II). Nothing in this world exists apart from God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For Augustine, God is good because everything He made is good. Everything about God is good. No aspect of Him is lacking, false, or not good. However, the question of evil and from where it came still remains.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustine then asks himself where it was that evil came. Evil could not have come from God; it must have come from another source other than God. Because we clearly see evil in this world, did God allow it to enter? This would seem that God is not omnipotent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Originally Augustine believed that evil had substance. However, his views changed later where he says, â€Å"If they were deprived of all goodness, they would be altogether nothing; therefore, as long as they are, they are good. Thus whatsoever things are, are good; and that evil whose origin I sought is not a substance† (Book VII,...

Essays --

Today, college sports are no longer just fun and games; these sports are a business. But this business comes with a price. Arian Foster, a running back from the Houston Texans has recently come out stating that he took money on the side while playing football at the University of Tennessee. Fosters reasoning to why he took money on the side was that he was a college athlete who sometimes had no money to eat, "I really didn't have any money or food at times.. Our stadium had like 107,000 seats; 107,000 people buying a ticket to come watch us play.. We had just won. Signing autographs, taking pictures. Then I walk back, and reality sets in. I go to my dorm and open my fridge and see there's nothing there." (Rockwell) Foster argued that employees should be paid for their work and that he saw nothing wrong in what he did. He states that he was just a college athlete trying to get buy, trying to pay his bills and have food on the table. These college students are working for the schools a s athletes; they are putting their health on the line, providing revenue for the school and are working twice as hard as regular students at the school so they should not be punished for taking what the NCAA considers to be improper benefits. Firstly, in accordance to the rules set by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA, an extra or improper benefit can be described as any special treatment or arrangement by an employee or a representative of the institution that provides the student-athlete a benefit that is not given to the other students of the institution and that is not authorized by the NCAA. The rule book goes on to say that â€Å"if the student-athlete receives an extra benefit not authorized by the NCAA legislation ... ...aybe shoes or even a free meal. In conclusion, â€Å"being a student athlete is tough because one represents the school, and the way one carries oneself will say a lot for one’s self and one’s school program. Being an athlete is not just playing the game, it is more like a job,† (McCleod). At the end of the day, whatever brings in money should be compensated accordingly, for any business. These student-athletes do not have to receive million dollar contracts but the universities and the NCAA should not punish these students for accepting improper or extra benefits whether it is from fans, employees of the institution, or recruiters. These athletes are not only students, but they are employees to their universities, they do not necessarily need to receive monetary value for their playing but being punished for accepting benefits that they earn and deserve is outrageous.

How does Miller present ideas about settling for half in the play? Essay

One of the strongest messages that Miller presents about ‘settling for half’ is that there is a need to settle for half between Sicilian morals and the US Law system. At the beginning of the play, the chorus figure, Alfieri, states how ‘we settle for half and we like it’, and this ‘settling for half’ is again repeated at the end of the play. It is likely that Alfieri is a figure of authorial intrusion, and so these views about ‘settling for half’ are likely to be Miller’s own. Because Alfieri is a ‘lawyer’, he is naturally a symbol of the US Law system. He is described to be ‘in his fifties, turning gray’. This is possibly used by Miller to suggest that the US Law system is 50 years out of date, and the fact that he is ‘turning gray’ could be symbolic of how the US Law System is becoming increasingly out of date. Furthermore, the illustration of ‘gray’ hair could be a blend between the ‘black and white’ US Law system, and so, through this, it is likely that Miller is trying to convey his own thoughts of the workings of the US Law System. However, Miller also criticises the Sicilian moral code, by portraying Marco’s downfall. Initially, the audience are told that Marco arrives to earn money to provide for his family. However, his belief in Italian Morals, and the belief that ‘all the law is not in a book’ results in him killing Eddie, and therefore, having no choice but to be deported back to Italy. He even states that ‘in my country he would be dead now’, and this is used to highlight the severity and ruthlessness that the Italian Morals can operate with. Through the fact that neither men get what they want through the US Law system, and Alfieri states that ‘there is nothing you can do’ and that ‘the hearing is just a formality, but also that the reliance on Italian morals leads to the downfall of both men, it is possible that Miller is trying to showcase the need to settle for half between the US Law system and the Italian moral code. Furthermore, Miller portrays messages about settling for half through the portrayal of Beatrice, and especially suggests ideas about the need to settle for half between the roles of a loyal housewife and a strong female personality. From the outset of the play, Beatrice is portrayed as a loyal, somewhat stereotypical 1950s housewife. She is seen to ‘start into the kitchen’, and state that ‘I was gonna wash the walls’, showing how she is responsible for housekeeping, but she is also portrayed as independent in the way that she is seen to do these things without any prompting or command. However, she is also portrayed as someone who is not afraid to challenge Eddie. Throughout the poem, she is seen to say phrases such as ‘She’s no baby no more’ and ‘When am I gonna be a wife again’. The fact that she questions somewhat masculine responsibilities such as Eddie’s sexuality and the future of the children is somewhat unstereotypical of a 1950s housewife, and so, this would be somewhat shocking or surprising to the audience. In fact, at the end of the play, Beatrice’s ‘final thrust is to turn toward him instead of running away’, which shows that she is the only one in the play to challenge Eddie’s questionable behaviour, in a play full of ‘turning away’ and ‘covering the eyes’, and this leads to Beatrice assuming a sort of ‘heroine’ role in the play, and in fact, Beatrice’s actions are those which bring about Eddie’s catharsis – characteristic of a Greek Tragedy-style play. This causes Eddie to realise his love for Beatrice, and while he dies, he calls ‘Oh, B, My B’, which is indicative of the rebirth of Eddie’s affection for Beatrice. However, this unstereotypical yet powerful behaviour leads to Beatrice becoming quite a tragic character in the play, with Eddie dying in her arms, and so, Miller is possibly trying to suggest that there is a need to settle for half between the roles of an independent powerful figure and a loyal housewife. In addition, Miller presents the need to settle for half through the presentation of Eddie. Initially, we can see that Eddie’s love for Catherine may not be purely platonic, as he greatly enjoys the event of Catherine showing off her new dress to him, and states that he thinks it’s ‘beautiful’. It is down to the actor whether this phrase is mutter subconsciously or not, but it is evident that Eddie’s emotions and feelings for Catherine are possibly overflowing and he cannot keep them in. However, when Rodolpho enters the scene and essentially takes Catherine away from him, Eddie is unable to ‘settle for half’, and his fatal flaw, which is his desire for total control, causes him to inform on the immigrants, which eventually leads to his own demise. The fact that he is unable to settle for half in a familial loving relationship with Catherine, and still allow Catherine herself to be in a loving relationship with Rodolpho is essentially the deciding factor in Eddie’s death, and the actions of Rodolpho, as well as this inability to ‘settle for half’ is what essentially accelerates Eddie’s tragic demise and his catharsis. Perhaps, through this, Miller is trying to suggest that an inability to settle for half will only in our demise.

English Literature Coursework: “But why, Mum?” shouted Sonny

â€Å"But why, Mum?† shouted Sonny. â€Å"I love it here. I have loads of mates, all our family are here and I'm actually enjoying the school I'm at!† â€Å"We just can't afford to live here anymore, son. Believe me, I would love to stay here but it just isn't possible. Don't be angry, Sonny,† pleaded his mum. But it was too late; Sonny was already clambering up the stairs with tears in his eyes. Sonny's mum looked down to the floor and sighed with a feeling of guilt and depression. She felt terrible that she was the person who had to ruin his day. Meanwhile, Sonny was in his room, face in pillow, crying. He felt terrible. He was only just starting to enjoy school; he had just started to become popular and most importantly of all, his mum had found a long term boyfriend and had gotten engaged. He finally felt stable and happy in life but in a matter of seconds his world had been tipped upside down! In the car, on the way to Hackney, the car pulled up at some traffic lights. Whilst Sonny gazed relentlessly out of the window his eye was caught by a conker tree. He noticed the way that it had a hard, spiky, cruel exterior but contained a yielding, gentle and attractive centre. Sonny thought about his new life in Hackney and how he could never see the conker emerging from its shell. Despite this he still desperately hoped that it would be nice in Hackney and not be as spiky, cruel and hard as it is perceived to be. He thought longingly of the friends he was leaving behind and wished that all this was just a dream and that soon he would wake up. He was tossed back into reality a few seconds later when the family drove past a road sign labelled Hackney, twenty five miles. â€Å"Nearly there, Claire,† said Clarence, Sonny's ‘Dad'. â€Å"I bet you're exited, aren't you?† â€Å"Yeah, I'm thrilled.† replied Claire half heartedly and with a raise of the eyebrows. Sonny's eyes caught his mothers as she turned around to look at him. â€Å"What about you, Sonny, you looking forward to seeing your new home?† asked Clarence. â€Å"No, not really.† replied Sonny, rather bluntly, and then fell silent. â€Å"Hey, cheer up lad. It won't be that bad.† said Clarence reassuringly, â€Å"I'm sure that you'll love it here. We'll make the flat look like home in no time.† The car fell silent again and Sonny continued to look out of the window, his head held up by his hand. As the family pulled up onto the pavement Sonny realised that they must be at their new home. This thought emotionally overwhelmed him and the tears streamed from his eyes. His mum looked over at him and ran around the car to comfort her upset son. As she wrapped her loving arms around him she muttered to him: â€Å"I'm sorry, Sonny, I'm sorry. I have completely ruined your life and I'm sorry. We'll be alright. We'll be fine. I'm so sorry!† Clarence thought it was best to stay away and let them have their moment together. While he was waiting Clarence heard a call from across the street: â€Å"Mummy's boy, Mummy's boy. Oi, Mummy's boy, wot up wiv you? Ya lost ya cuddly toy? Eh?† shouted the first boy belligerently whilst the other two laughed simultaneously. â€Å"Go away!† snarled Claire. â€Å"Oh, sorry ‘ard!† hurled the second child whilst the other two drew out a pair of ‘BB' guns and shot Claire three times in the chest. Clarence's anger grew and he let out a huge roar as he sprinted after the three children. Unfortunately to his, Claire's and Sonny's disappointment he lost them after only a few yards! As Clarence walked back to his fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e and Sonny, he stared disappointedly at Claire. Sonny continued to frown and then began to walk towards the entrance of the block of flats and then to their new home. They finally got to the door of the flat and Claire put the key in the door. As the door swung open Sonny began to see inside bit by bit. Once the door was fully open Sonny stood in silence and just stared into the prison like room. The floor was cold, grey concrete, no carpets, the windows were small and didn't look like they could open very far, the walls were painted a dark blue but the paint was chipped and was beginning to crack off of the wall! Sonny felt like he had been hit hard in the chest. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. A sudden image of his old home in Windsor flashed through his head. He couldn't believe that his parents couldn't afford something better than this! He still hadn't entered the room when Clarence looked over at him and noticed the censuring expression on his face. â€Å"Don't worry, Sonny, the removal van will be here soon and we'll have this place looking like home in no time!† said Clarence heartily. Sonny just looked over at him, unimpressed, then continued to observe the beaten up cell which was to become his home. That night while Sonny lie in bed, he once again began to think of his old world which he missed so dearly. He knew that Hackney was a lot different; the only time that you heard about it was on the news being linked with murders and rapes! They had only been here for a few hours and they had already been shot by BB guns, someone had stolen the dust caps off of Clarence's car and eggs had been pelted at the patio doors of his first floor flat! Sonny knew that he would never fit in around here and that he was going to have to toughen up quickly. He had school in a weeks time and he had to prepare himself, there would be a lot of problems to face and he would have to overcome them. Sonny was tired so he turned over and cried himself to sleep ready for the bumpy road ahead. The week dragged by slowly and more of the kids around the area had begun to vandalise their property. The balcony wall had been sprayed with the words ‘Mummy's Boy', the kids had been shouting abusive words to him and when Sonny's mum was returning home from shopping, the kids jumped out and stole one of the bags from her! Had Sonny just stepped into a war zone? Was he behind enemy lines? Why was everyone treating him so badly? Clarence was getting angry but Sonny thought that he was too frightened to do anything. Whenever Sonny saw him he was always looking out of the windows checking that the kids were well away. Sonny was still feeling low and he became consternated instantly when he realised that he was going to his new school the next day. He swallowed hard and rushed to his bedroom. He spent most of the night wondering what to do and the only solution he could think of was to just accept that he would not be liked and try to stand up to them. Unfortunately, Sonny's plan fell to pieces the next day. â€Å"Oi, Mummy's boy!† As Sonny looked up his heart sank and his eyes widened. It was the same kid, along with his two mates, who shot his mum with the BB gun. â€Å"Yes?† replied Sonny as politely as possible. â€Å"What you doin' ‘ere?† snapped the first kid. â€Å"I go to this school now.† Sonny replied charily. â€Å"Yeah I nowe dat, it's just dat we own dis part o da playground, mate!† retorted the first kid. â€Å"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Please forgive me.† pleaded Sonny. â€Å"Oh, please forgive me,† said the second kid, mockingly, â€Å"Scared are you Mummy's boy?† Sonny breathed in heavily and took a step backwards. The third kid look nervously at the first kid and Sonny caught a glance from him as the gang begirded him. â€Å"Where ya goin' Mummy's boy? You ai n't gettin away from us! We're gonna make you pay for thinkin you can jus walk away from us when we're talkin to ya! Get im Joe!† The second kid, apparently named Joe, grabbed Sonny around the waist and then thrusted both of his arms behind his back. While Joe had hold of Sonny, the first kid gave him a few jabs to the ribs. Sonny's legs gave way in pain but Joe continued to hold him up so that the attacker could continue to castigate him. After a few minutes Sonny's lip was bleeding and the only support he had was coming from the boy behind him holding him up whilst the bully continued his attack. â€Å"Hey, guys, that enough now! He's already gonna collapse! Just leave him now, you've ‘urt I'm enough! Sam, get off of him!† Sonny felt heartened by this but his vision was beginning to blur and he knew that soon he was going to pass out, he had to do something. â€Å"Oh shut up, Zack! He deserves all dis!† replied Sam, apparently humoured by Zack's outburst. Suddenly, Joe fell to the ground with a thump. Sonny looked behind him and glanced up at Zack who was standing over Joe with a worried expression on his face. He realised that he had to take this opportunity to get away so he leapt to his feet and sprinted towards the toilets. As he ran he heard: â€Å"You wait, bitch, we'll av you!† The rest of Sonny's lunch hour was spent sitting on a hard, black toilet seat sweating with fear and using a tissue to clear up his bleeding nose and patch up a cut which had opened up on his forehead. Whilst he was there he thought about Zack. Why did he help him? There was no need to do that, what's going to happen to him? Sonny was in to much pain to think about the answers and so he sat there in the cubicle, in silence until the end of lunch. Sonny managed to avoid the gang for the rest of the school day but as he walked home that evening he froze when he heard a call from behind him: â€Å"Alrite Mummy's boy?† called Sam. â€Å"Did ya fink dat you were gonna get away from us today? We followed you outta school jus to finish you off.† At this Sam pulled out a blade. Sonny's eyes widened but his expression remained stern. Sonny ran for it but only to be pounced on by Joe and held down whilst Sam approached. Sonny was panicking and was beginning to think that this was the end. Just as this thought emerged, a shining, glimmer of hope floated around the corner. Sonny looked up and caught another glance into the intense, furious eyes of Zack. He looked dreadful! One eye was black and he had a huge gash across his left cheek. It was obvious what had happened to Zack but Sonny was definitely glad to see him now. Zack took one deep breath and then sprinted towards Sam. As Zack reached him he leapt at his right hand and grabbed hold of it. Sam stumbled and fell onto his knees as his hand was prised open by Sonny's helper. Sam eventually lost grip of the blade and Joe let go of Sonny as Zack walked forebodingly towards the bullies. Joe and Sam looked and each other and then decided to run for it. Once both the bullies had gone Zack helped Sonny to his feet. â€Å"Cheers.† Said Sonny â€Å"Ah, it nuttin. Dey do dat ta every new kid. If ya stand up to em or beat em when they start on ya they respect ya! It's kind of a test. Stupid if ya ask me.† replied Zack, looking over his shoulder as he spoke. â€Å"Well why did you help me out then?† asked Sonny. â€Å"How come you didn't join in with them?† â€Å"Them two av bin doin dat for agez now an it getz a bit borin after a wile. I started feelin sorry for the kidz az well.† Said Zack â€Å"Sum ov dem were coughin up blood every now an den! I realised dat dey were bein too physical an fought dat I shood do summat bout it.† As he spoke he gazed into the sky every now and then as if he was reflecting and looking back on old times. The pair of them spoke for a good half hour and Zack decided to walk home with Sonny. When they got near to Sonny's flat, Sonny thanked Zack for everything and told him that he would see him the next day. They exchanged respectful nods and turned their backs to one another and headed in opposite directions. When Sonny got in he smiled for the first time in weeks. His insides were warmed at the sight of his mum and Clarence sitting, cuddled up on the sofa watching T.V together and all their chattels put up around the flat. The ‘cell' looked a lot better now and that night he slept through the whole night without a tear! Sonny finally felt good to be alive!