Create Your Own Weight Loss Pill Essay

In 2004, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranked obesity as the number one health risk facing America. Obesity currently results in an estimated 400,000 deaths a year in the United States and costs the national economy nearly $122. 9 billion annually. Childhood obesity affects more than 15 percent of the population under 18 years old that is classified as overweight. Obesity not only impacts lifestyle but can also lead to lower self-esteem, cause depression and discomfort in social situations, and significantly diminish quality of life. Obesity also increases a person’s risk for developing serious obesity-related health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome. With this information and obesity playing such a role in today’s society I have decided to research and design my own weight loss supplement, using ingredients, herbs, extracts and vitamins that I know to be not only effective in helping men and women lose weight, but also relatively healthy considering how many different weight loss products and options there are for sale in America today. For my weight loss supplement I chose to use 5 select ingredients that I have personally used in some form or another through my time as a personal trainer and work out fanatic. My five ingredients are as follows; Caffeine Anhydrous, Green Tea Extract, L-Carnitine, Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D3. My rationale for choosing these five ingredients is partly due to the restriction and limitations given to me by this assignment, but also because as I stated before I personally have seen weight loss results and know the potential benefits with each ingredient I listed and think they not only help individuals with weight management, specifically weight loss and appetite control, but also feel as though they are safe enough for the majority of men and women to take on a daily basis in order to help expedite the weight loss process, which can be so very difficult for people, specially as they age and their metabolism slows down. This supplement I will provide not only enhances metabolism but also directly targets fat on the persons body for use as energy during a workout, which in turn will help speed up the potential for weight loss and success in that persons exercise program, Obviously results will vary as with any supplement depending on the persons diet and consistency with their workouts, genetics, and potential other health limitations. Once again the five ingredients I chose were Caffeine, Green Tea, L-Carnitine, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3. I will now discuss each supplement individually, their dosing in my product and exactly how each one will potentially help benefit the consumer in their weight loss efforts. I will then talk a little about the possible negative side effects and any other pertinent information someone might need while using this product. First, the king of all the metabolism boosting supplements, Caffeine Anhydrous; in my opinion nothing can potentially help people lose weight quicker and more effectively than good old Caffeine. Bodybuilders will actually use instant coffee grounds in their pre workout shakes sometimes in order to get that quick buzz of energy before a workout. It is in almost every weight loss product in stores today and everyone knows its positive side effects, primarily energy. The way I see it the more energy and higher metabolism you have during the day the more likely you are to go workout, eat less and more importantly lose fat in the process. The body loses weight fairly scientifically for the most part, calories in versus calories out. If someone is able to boost their metabolism and therefore burn more calories in a day than they are supposed to be consuming then weight loss should occur. Although research about the connection between caffeine and weight isn’t definitive, there are several theories about how caffeine might affect weight, including: †¢ Appetite suppression. Caffeine may reduce your desire to eat for a brief time, but there’s not enough evidence to show that long-term consumption aids weight loss. Calorie burning. Caffeine may stimulate thermogenesis — one way your body generates heat and energy from digesting food. But this probably isn’t enough to produce significant weight loss. †¢ Water loss. In some people, caffeine can act as a diuretic, which means it increases the amount of urine you excrete. This increase in urine output, mostly water loss, may temporarily decrease your body weight, but it doesn’t result in the loss of body fat. As you can see Caffeine on its own isn’t a total cure all for weight loss but its potential positive benefits far outweigh the negatives and combined with the 4 other ingredients in my supplement I believe weight loss will occur. I would dose the Caffeine Anhydrous at 150mg per pill, with that pill being taken twice daily on an empty stomach, hopefully once before a workout. My next ingredient in my weigh loss product is Green Tea Extract, specifically Camellia Sinensis, which is the pure extract form. I would combine this with the caffeine at 250mg per pill, also taken twice daily. Most importantly is the EGCG in the Green Tea. I would dose 125mg of the 250mg of Green Tea specifically as the EGCG form. EGCG is short for Epigallocatechin gallate, one of the active ingredients found in green tea. Recent studies on green tea and on EGCG itself have supported EGCG’s ability to assist in weight loss. ECGC has anti-oxidant properties. Anti-oxidants protect the body’s cells from free radicals. Free radicals are believed to be responsible for many diseases and conditions in the body including cancer, auto-immune diseases, and heart disease. EGCG is found in many weight loss aids in varying strengths. As well as being an anti-oxidant, EGCG, along with the caffeine in green tea, produce a thermogenic response in the body. Thermogenesis creates heat in the body and boosts the metabolic system, increasing the speed of adipose (fat) tissue breakdown. Several studies have backed up this claim and green tea and EGCG are considered the front-runners of weight loss ingredients. Next up on my list of ingredients in my weigh loss product is L-Carnitine. I would add 1000mg of L-Carnitine to my supplement, also to be taken twice daily. L-carnitine is a substance, made from amino acids, which helps your body burn fat for energy. Taking a carnitine supplement could potentially help promote weight loss and improve your exercise performance. L-carnitine works to convert fat into energy in your body and is used in many parts of your body, particularly your muscle tissues, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Carnitine is found in dairy products and meats, but your body manufactures all it needs from methionine and lysine. In some people, carnitine production is inhibited, creating a deficiency. People who have certain genetic conditions, diabetes, liver cirrhosis and heart conditions all tend to have carnitine deficiencies. L-carnitine could help you lose weight by improving your fat-to-muscle ratio, or body composition, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Carnitine supplements are also sometimes used to improve athletic or exercise performance. Carnitine might potentially help to reduce your body’s fat mass and increase muscle mass, as well as reduce fatigue, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center. Having taken Carnitine myself for many years I have always felt that this supplement worked well on it’s own, but ultimately better when stacked in conjunction with other thermogenic and weight loss supplements such as Caffeine and Green Tea, which is why I chose to combine the three together for my weight loss product. Not only will there be potential health and weight loss benefits, but the negative side effects are few and far between which is hard to say for some of the more controversial weight loss supplements out there. Lastly I will talk about the two Vitamins I chose to add to my weight loss product; those being Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3. Both of these vitamins are excellent for ones overall health but also may help increase metabolism and weight loss in individuals. Vitamin D3 stands out as one of the most overlooked yet most important nutrients for weight loss and a whole host of other disorders. The body has thousands of different receptors for vitamin D3 and its metabolites all over the body, helping to explain the wide variety of benefits attributed to the vitamin. It has been shown to benefit insulin resistance, cancer and autoimmune conditions, as well as maintaining strong bones. However, a vitamin D3 metabolite is also required to activate the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. Without this enzyme, the body cannot make dopamine. Low mood and reduced metabolism are the consequences (incidentally, this is what is commonly ‘diagnosed’ as Seasonal Affective Disorder and sees patients plied with anti-depressant medication). Vitamin D3 deficiency is on the rise throughout the Western world, as increasing numbers of individuals work through the daylight hours in offices, then cover themselves from head to toe in sunscreen when on holiday. Many other issues can play a role in the inability to lose weight, such as hormonal imbalance, fungal infection, dehydration, stress, but naturally all these issues are made worse by a lack of minerals. Nourishing your body with the level of vitamins and minerals it has evolved with should remain your first priority in any regime, especially when it comes to weight loss. I would add 1000IU of Vitamin D3 to my weight loss supplement to be taken twice daily.

Naturalistic Observation Essay

Using the Naturalistic Observation my hypothesis was simply is the children’s choice a naturally driven behavior in an active aggressive or active passive ways. By watching a group of 7 year old boys and girls in a daycare setting over a few days, I was able to see the different behaviors. I thought I would discover that girls are just as aggressive as boys but that is not necessarily so. Ethically speaking, I was able to ask the parents if I may observe the children (not using their names or the location of the daycare) for the class assignment and showed them the assignment. Informed consent is a process in which a participant consents to participate in a research project after being informed of its procedures; risks, beneï ¬ ts, and dignity are all protected. Yes, 7 year old boys seem to be hard-wired for more active and aggressive pursuits than 7 year old girls. Boys are more physically active than girls, in infancy and throughout childhood. They kick, swing their arms and race around the house noticeably more than girls do, as many exhausted parents can testify. Girls are quite content to sit there and play with their dolls where the boys like trucks and wrestling around. Given a choice of Power Rangers, Tonka, and a Barbie beauty set, the 7 year olds, boys and girls, actually prefer the gender appropriate choices. In fact, children’s gendered toy choice is one of the largest sex differences in behavior.

Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Paraphrase - Essay Example Some of them included: the American Standards Association, Crystal Eastman’ Work Accidents, and United Mine Workers. The era was marked by the perception that workers’ safety was necessary and that accidents at the workplace were mental. Safety concerns in the agricultural sector, the steel industry, and several other manufacturing industries had outstanding records. Of these industries, the Steel one led the way with the ideas by Fredrick Taylor making major contributions in creating a safe environment for the management. Taylor developed a favorable interaction between management policies, various processes, and worker schedule (McGerr, 2010). In addition, the researches in this period discovered that most accidents were psychologically made and that the only remedy was to create awareness and train individuals about the issue. However, the 1930s made it difficult for workers to sue those who violated the safety regulations due to the introduction of thoughts from the West. The Judiciary became stricter in ruling out cases, since they would consider the level of fault from both sides of the coin; the workers and the company in question. Following such challenges, there was little evidence that the psychological wa y of looking at safety was convenient. It was also a hard task for researchers to convince people that science and investigation would precisely solve the issue, thus the occupational approach became less popular. The Energy exchange theory consists of ideas related to modern science. It developed a connection between human injury and the various forms of energy. According to this theory, the first set of injuries meddles with the whole body. The energy exchanges establish the environment in which people’s fears, personalities, and goals play out. For example, when one kidney fails, the activities of the entire body are interfered with, since energy is not equally distributed or some chemical functions are not in order. In the

Managing Projects Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Projects - Term Paper Example B. Activity Timing Calculation for Earliest Finish Time (EFT) and LST (Latest Start Time) are shown in the appendix 1. In such context, Field and Keller (2007) gave the following equation to calculate the float time; Float Time= LFT –EST - Duration Generally, float time is defined as the amount of slack time allowed in project or it can be said that amount of time that can be delayed without delaying the completion time of the project. Total float time for the project has been calculated as 29 days and the calculation is given in the appendix 2 section. C. Critical Path It is evident from the research work of Takim, Akintoye and Kelly (2004) that measurement of critical path or the longest route to complete the project plays vital role in project management. Float time has been taken as zero while calculating the critical path. In such context, the path passing through activity points such as A, B, C, F, G, K, L, M, N, O, Q and R has been identified as critical path for the pr oject. Hence, by joining the time scales of these critical activity points we get 50 days as the completion time for the project. At least 50 days will be needed in order to accomplish the project. D. Project Completion Time Project starts on Monday 15th July, 2013 and the project team will work for 5days a week (supposing there will be no holidays except weekend holidays). Taking account of the 50 days project completion period, it can be said that the project will be completed on 20th September, 2013 (Friday). Calculation of the end day of the project has been given in the appendix 3 section. E. Delay in Activity Float time for activity E (not a critical activity) is 2 days which means that maximum 2 days can be delayed for completion of E activity hence delaying activity E for 1 day will not affect the project completion time. Float time for activity P (not a critical activity) is 3 days which means that maximum 3 days can be delayed for completion of P activity hence delaying ac tivity P for 2 days will not affect the project completion time. Q lies in the critical path hence reduction or increase of the duration of the activity will affect the completion time of the project. 1 day early completion of the project Q will help the project to be completed 1 day early. However, delay in activities will definitely increase the cost of the project hence project managers should try to complete each activity on time in order to control the cost of the project. F. Network Diagrams- Limitations Taylor (2006) showed doubt over the usability of network diagram in complex projects while other research scholars pointed out that network diagram is basically probabilistic in nature. Taylor (2006) also pointed out that using network diagram in big project increases the complexity and also creates problem for project members to understand the flow of activities. In such context, limitations of the network diagram can be depicted in the following manner; Concept of Poisson di stribution is used in order to understand the

Financial Resourcs Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial Resourcs Management - Essay Example It is therefore important to evaluate some of the risks and complications that arise as a result of operating in several countries when making capital financing decisions. Foreign exchange rates as a result of operations spanning several countries are a major risk for MNCs even when they are considering their capital structure and financing issues. A country with exchange rate controls means that the MNC will have difficulties with international capital low and the solution can only be the use of debt. The use of equity financing in such a country will affect the company’s ability to invest in other countries since there are limitations to the flow of capital from the country to another (Horcher, 2013). One of the major complications of financing MNCs related to the government or political environment is the taxation policies of the foreign country. Taxation has been viewed by various researchers as one of the major factors that influence the capital structure of an MNC. The debt to asset ratio of an MNC is positively related to the tax rate applicable in the host country and negatively related to that of the home country. This means that in case the corporate tax rate in a foreign country is high, a company will prefer to use debt financing in place of equity financing as a source of capital as it will reduce its tax liability and thus increased earnings (Huizinga, Laeven & Nicodame 2008). Legal issues may also bring about complications for MNCs such as the issue of repatriation of profits. If a country finances its operations using equity financing and the legal requirements in a country are that there are limitations to the repatriation of profits, this may affect the ability of the company to pay dividends to shareholders outside the country. Another issue is that using equity financing in a country that regulates operations in terms of employment of local people means that the MNC might

Late Ming and Qing Period painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Late Ming and Qing Period painting - Essay Example The essay "Late Ming and Qing Period painting" analyzes the painting of the late Ming and Ging period. In the analysis and comparison of late Ming and Qing painting traditions, it is important to understand that both traditions were influenced by preceding cultural, socioeconomic and political events. The late Ming period embraced many artistic traditions and branches that originated in the early Ming period, namely scholar painters at the Hongwu court (1368-1398), the the professionals at the Xuande (1426-1436), and Chenghua courts (1436-1465) (Lin, 1967). However, from the critical perspective, Wumen School has been the most influential artistic school for the formation of late Ming period distinctive painting style. Although this school emerged in the middle Ming period, it has had profound long-lasting effect on Chinese painting tradition that extended not only to late Ming period, but had significant manifestation in Qing painting period (Lin, 1967). Historically, despite great variety in numbers and geographic locations, the artistic schools of late Ming can be limited to a few most distinctive ones, namely Xu Wei School, Don Qichang School, Huating School, Zhao Zuo, Susong School, and Chen chun School. Walter Benjamin has argued that the Art for Art’s Sake movement in the later half of the nineteenth century was a reaction to the commercialization of culture and the possible threats it posed to the elite’s exclusive claim to art. The commercialisation and popularisation of art apparently.

Traditional Pastoral and Missional Ministries Essay

Traditional Pastoral and Missional Ministries - Essay Example From this study it is clear that the  advantage is determined by the realization of giving pastoral care. As the pastor performs the role of the counselor, he is able to pay maximum attention to the person who needs his assistance, and, dependently on his time, he can provide the person in need with the necessary and relevant help. The benefit here is that the pastor as a clergyman and as a shepherd seldom uses severe criticism as a means of help providing, which promotes the help seekers to reveal the essence of the problem to full extent and without any fear of being negatively accepted. This is similar to a psychological phenomenon of a client-centered therapy when a person is accepted without any prejudice and negative assumptions which facilitates better problem revealing, detecting and treatment.This discussion highlights that  the advantage of traditional pastoral ministry is also seen in the field of organization of the work of the church. When a pastor is the one person responsible for governing and management of the work of the church and its structures and other clergymen, he is able to perform his organizational work automatically and to full extent because he does not have to share ti with other people and to combine the results of work of different persons later on.  The thing that is also definitely advantageous is the pastor’s way of delivering the messages of the religious sources.  

What ever Article is found Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What ever is found - Article Example Nortel’s shares peaked at 124.50 Canadian dollars in July 2000 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. On Wednesday, Nortel closed at a market price of 12 Canadian cents, or 1.2 cents after adjusting for a stock consolidation. While the current economic slump contributed to Nortel’s decision to file for protection in both Delaware and its hometown, Toronto, the company’s problems began in 2001, when it was hit by the technology stock price collapse and became mired in an accounting scandal that led to criminal charges against three of its former executives. There have sometimes been problems at Nortel, as there have been in any company that is more than 100 years old. An accounting scandal a few years ago put a dent in the company’s reputation. This, however, was an anomaly. Nortel has learned from its mistakes. It has a strict business and ethics code which goes a long way to restoring the company’s reputation. It is not necessary to tie Nortel down in a web of social responsibilities that will seriously cut into its margins. Those who suggest that Nortel should change its policies in order to pay pensioners first instead of real creditors are missing the big picture and are getting in the way of Nortels efforts to manage what assets it has in a way that can be considered for the greater good. It is in a sense understandable that people would ask Nortel to do this, but that is more of an emotional response than a reasonable one. There are many unintended consequences for those who push the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. It does not always lead to the results that we might expect. Let businesses be businesses and let charities be charities. It is simply too confusing and leads to too many unintended consequences for things to be set up in any other manner. The bottom of a company sometimes falls out there: there are no sure things in life. These are dark economic times and it is important for Nortel

Egypt and Mesopotamia before 3000 BC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Egypt and Mesopotamia before 3000 BC - Essay Example Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were ruled by kings at a time before 3000 BC; they were also ruled by priestly castes during this period. The powers of ruler ship were shared amongst a few erudite elites. The economies of these two civilizations were slave-driven as slaves formed the major manpower for their productions. Their societies were formed into status groups as they formed castes based on status and it was the privileged people that were at the upper end of the caste system. The religious edifices and palaces of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia civilizations were constructed for governmental and ceremonial purposes. Division of labor was also the basis of production of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Ancient writings of Mesopotamia and Egypt also influenced modern day writings. 1 In the political system of the two civilizations, the Egyptian civilization was ruled by a powerful centralized government, while Mesopotamia was ruled by the governments of regional city-states. The literary tradition of the Mesopotamians was greater than that of the Egyptians. In architecture, the Egyptians built more monumental structures than the Mesopotamians and this was also due to the belief of the Egyptians in the afterlife as they built these structures to honor the dead.

Information security Essay Example for Free

Information security Essay Most organizations today are adopting and integrating technologies in their production with an aim of improving production, efficiency, profitability and the competitive advantage in the market. This has been accelerated by the increasing globalization and innovation of new technologies which pose a major competitive threat to many organizations. Also, formulation of environmental standards as well as increased expectation on the standards and quality of goods and services by both the government and customers has also necessitated adoption of new technologies to ensure this is met. New technologies in use today like the web 2. 0 and also the new internet as well as wireless technologies have led to increased efficiencies as well as increased productivity for most organizations. However, despite the advantages which accrue from introduction and use of new technologies in organizations, they pose major security threats to an organization. Data hijack by criminals as well as terrorism threats are some of the challenges that organizations are facing during new technology implementation processes (Bazelon, Choi Canady, 2006). Security issues in regard to new technologies implementation in an organization Security is a top concern for most business since it may lead to destruction of a company’s reputation thus affecting the competitiveness of an entity. With increased globalization and increased terrorist threats, security risks have increased posing a major threat to most organizations. One of the major threats that companies face while implementing information technologies are the risk of losing or protecting sensitive data. Information technologies especially via internet and other wireless technologies are accessible globally which poses a major threat to an organization. Organizations hold private and sensitive information regarding their employees, production processes and also marketing strategies which are vital for competitive advantage. However, with technology implementation, and the dynamism in technology, such data may be accessed by unauthorized individuals causing a business great harm in terms of profitability. This also exposes the employees as well as an organization’s customers’ at risk of fraudulent activities via technologies. Information security experts insist that just like information networks operate or cross borders with no regard for the provincial and national boundaries, also security vulnerabilities and threats pass in the same way thus necessitating greater and stern security measures to ensure that the threats are minimized (Hinojosa, 2005). Another threat that organizations are facing is terrorist attacks and threats. Currently, there are many terrorist groups which operate globally and they employ high technologies to carry out their tasks and to harass businesses and employees as well as the customers. An increase in global terrorist organizations in the world that are connected via the new technologies poses a major security threats to most organizations in the world. Terrorists may not only be interested with soliciting the financial and production processes of an organization, but also the structural and day to days activities of an organization with an aim of identifying weak areas or points which could be used to attack an organization. This is made possible by new technologies which enable then to tamper the security measures taken by an organization to ensure that it is protected (Sussman, 2008). Phishing and data mining is also another information security risk that is faced by organizations during implementation of technologies in an organization. Phishing refers to the unauthorized use of personal information of another person which is obtained through networks. It also involves alteration of an individual’s computer software with an aim of obtaining the computer owner’s personal information by scrupulous individuals and for the purposes of defrauding the person or harming their reputation or career. With implementation of new technologies in an organization, the entity is enabled to sell its goods and services online and all the transactions are carried without having to meet the customer or the client. While making the payments, a client gives his private financial data depending on the mode of payment which he or she uses. Computer criminals have a way of tampering with or gaining access of such information which they can manipulate to make purchases while pretending to be the clients. The business thus faces a risk of being sued by a client on such grounds and for lack of adequate protection measures. This has increased the cost of implementing technology especially with different cases of security breach being reported today. Organizations are supposed to ensure that the private information of their clients and employees are well protected and that their privacy is upheld despite the cost this may involve (Ena, 2008). Risk of loss of important documents by an organization has also been a major security issue while implementing information technology. Apart from the risk of terrorist threats and phishing, an organization also faces the risk of losing vital information through dangerous programs such as the viruses which are transmitted via the internet and other networks. If such programs find their way to the computers and other technologies in a company, a company may risks losing most of its vital information as these programs corrupts the whole network system in an area. This could be dangerous for and organization as it may lead of reduced productivity, increased costs and reduced earnings (Blankespoor, 2005). With increased awareness of information security threats increasing in the world, the attackers have changed their tactics posing even a major threat to an organization. Most of the attackers are usually professional information technologists who invent new methods of accessing data from an organization despite the security measures taken. As mentioned earlier, technology is changing at a very high speed and so are the security threats to an organization. The dynamism of technology is a risk which cost organizations heavily as they try to keep pace with it. While implementing new technologies, organizations are also faced with the problem of testing the validity of the technology. Most of the cases involving security breach end up being the problem in an organization. IT companies exonerate themselves by arguing that lack of adequate security policies in an organization are the major causes of any cost that an organization may incur (Wallace, Lusthaus. Kim, 2005). Conclusion Information technology is a major strategy that has enabled most of the businesses to perform well in terms of growth and expansion. New technologies have been on high demand in the recent past especially as most organizations go global which necessitates networking. Technology improves the efficiency, effectiveness and the overall productivity of an entity. However, it poses major threats to the privacy of a company as well as its clients and employees. Stern security measures should be taken to ensure that technology implantation in an organization does not turn out to be more costly. This can be done though formulation of technology security policies and procedures to ensure privacy is upheld.

United Colors of Benetton Controversial Advertising Campaign

United Colors of Benetton Controversial Advertising Campaign MOHAMED RAFIQUE BIN RAMLAN The United Colors of Benetton Controversial Advertising Campaigns: An Analysis on Power of Determining the Meaning of Media Text The need to effectively sell to consumers throughout many cultures across world borders compelled businesses to tailor their advertising strategies to appeal to different geographic markets. The United Colors of Benetton however, has been employing the opposite strategy by trying to impart a single, what the brand perceived to be universally accepted message that would generate positive responses from all consumers regardless of their geographical, sociological, psychological, cultural, and economical make-up. Ironically, historically speaking, the brand’s campaigns, which had a reputation of being controversial despite claimed as an effort to promote universally positive values have consistently sparked negative responses from their audiences (Boches, 2011). The reason for this disconnection between the expected results and actual outcomes is that the campaigns depicted perceivably negative images so explicitly that they ended up misleading the audiences away from the brandâ €™s well-intended meaning. According to Hall, the apparent meaning (how the meaning is ultimately perceived by the audience, regardless whether it aligned with the intended meaning) of a media text is not solely inherent in the text itself nor the institution responsible for its production. It varies according to the interpretations of its audiences. It highly correlates with and dependent on the audiences’ cultural background, economic standing and personal experiences, and everything else the audiences had already identified and acknowledged (Hall, 1973). Hall added that the audiences are capable and often do distort the messages themselves through collective action, whether consciously or subconsciously. Thus, the audiences effectively became active participants in decoding media texts’ messages as they impose their own social context in their interpretations. Thus, the thesis of this essay is that the power to determine the meaning of a media text lies primarily with the audience. This essay analyzes three of the brands campaigns, focusing on the formation process of audiences’ perceptions on each campaign, which can be categorised into three different positions as proposed by Stuart Hall’s model of communication theory. In 1980s, acclaimed photographer Olivero Toscani captured the image for the brand’s notorious campaign, which the brand claimed to be an effort to raise awareness on social issues pertaining to race and effectively promote the value of racial integration (Elliot, 1991). The print ad for the campaign portrayed a depiction of a (apparently Caucasian) white skinned girl innocently posing side-by-side with a (apparently of African ethnicity) black skinned girl. At face value, this print ad seemed to be just another print ad promoting multi-racial value. With closer inspection, the print advert added to the negative representation of black people in the media. The black skinned girl appeared to be somewhat dark and grimy. There is no representation of happiness in the look in her face. The eyes giving the expression of emotionless and cold with her insipid stare, half of her appearance hidden by dark shadows with no smile on her face and hair styled with spikes which somewhat resem bles a pair of tiny horns. This connotation of obscurity is reflected to the arbitrary meaning with malicious in society. In addition, somewhat societies claimed the looks appeared to be somewhat devilish because they associated darkness with negative appearance. (Moore, 1991) However, the white skinned girl quite apparently enhanced with digital editing appeared to look happy and healthy. Her blond curly haired and a smile underneath her rosy cheeks brands her to look innocence and radiant in person. This resembles her to be styled and edited to look somewhat angelic with her cupid-like look. (Moore, 1991) Especially in the U.S., the promotion of racial integration value from this particular print ad was less apparent in comparison to the sensational outburst created by this print ad by apparently reinforcing negative stereotypes on black skinned people. One might argue that portraying obviously negative stereotypes undermines against them rather than reinforces them, but tense racial dynamics in the United States resulted in dominantly negative perception towards the meaning of the print ad. The intended meaning of the print lies at which Hall established as ‘the negotiated position’, where the meaning is in a position that compels the audience to both accept and reject the intended meaning. The portrayal of the black skinned girl as explicitly and unnaturally devilish proved to be counter-productive to the intention of the print ad to promote the values of embracing other cultures and ethnicities. To a certain extent, the audience do recognized and acknowledged the intended meaning, but simultaneously resisted and modified the meaning in a way which reflects their own experiences, interests, and biases (Hall, 1980). Hall stated that â€Å"decoding within the negotiated version contains a mixture of adaptive and oppositional elements†: while the audiences somehow recognized the abstract idea behind what they were perceiving, the formation of meaning in their minds operated at a more restricted, situational condition, establishing new rules which ultim ately shaped the meaning of the media text. In the 1990s, the controversy ignited by the brand’s shocking campaign intensified. The brand’s shift in focus towards more gritty social issues ranging from dying AIDS patient to image of blood-smeared clothes (Mezzofiore, 2011) faced not only negative reaction from audiences, but sparked public protests and banned by many governments across the world. The print ad which depicted the blood-smeared clothes of a dead Croatian soldier was intended as a part of a campaign that promotes anti-war effort (Associated Press, 1994). One argument which could justify the explicitly gory depiction of the print ad is that it makes for an intense emotional appeal to the consumer, evoking feeling of compassion in them and to perceive the brand as sympathetic and with conscience, ultimately increasing brand appeal and loyalty. Ironically, the German court ruled that the print ad could not be published anywhere in the country on ground that using such intense emotional appeal to sell pr oduct is immoral (Walsh, 1995). Many audiences perceived the image as too disturbing to reflect the value of peace the brand claimed to promote and they could not make any sensible connection between print ad and the product the brand is actually selling. In this case, the intended meaning of the campaign was within ‘the oppositional position’ when channelled through a medium ready to be perceived by its audiences. One of the prevailing philosophy of the brand’s advertising strategy was that ‘there are no shocking pictures, only shocking reality’ which reflected the brand’s effort to expose realities that people refuse to see and face. The brand’s campaign strategy relied on the assumption that the value that it is promoting through this campaign is universally positive, and that it is immune to any interpretations (whether or not they are misleading) formed by the audiences on the basis of their overall make-up. In this oppositional position, the audiences understood only the literal meaning of the image and blinded themselves from the intended meaning. The audience decoded the message and formed interpretation in a way the campaign did not foresee. The audiences’ sociological mak e-up has placed the meaning in the oppositional position as to what the meaning was supposed to be. Although some may actually understand the intended meaning, the text of the medium did not speak in the same language as the audiences’, thus they ended up rejecting it. (Hall, 1980) After consistently recorded low sales, presumably due to a string of high-profile yet unpopular ad campaigns (Maguire, 2003), the brand finally employed a drastically different advertising strategy with its ‘Unemployee of the Year’ campaign in 2012 that addressed the issue of youth unemployment. The campaign was also a contest in which unemployed youths could win EUR 5,000 that they would use to implement a project that would create a positive impact on their community (Lidbury, 2012). The campaign featured a series of thematically focused print ads which depicted close-ups of youths paired with captions such as â€Å"Valentina, 30, non-lawyer from Italy†. The brand campaign â€Å"presents a realistic portrait of todays society by actively tackling a current problem, that of youth non-employment and the potential conflict between generations, in order to show it in a new light and create value for the immense human capital of young people.† This time, the c ampaign generated more positive responses in comparison to the previously mentioned campaigns which were perceived as exploitations of social issues that do not attempt to create solutions. In this case, the audiences were located within the dominant point of view where the audiences took the actual meaning of the media text directly and decoded it exactly the way it was encoded. The audience fully shared the text codes and successfully reproduced the text’s intended meaning (Hall, 1980). Since the issues of youth unemployment are arguably universal, misunderstanding during interpreting media text did not occur as both the sender and receiver have the same cultural biases. The sharp turn of strategy made by the brand was evident by criticism that the print ads for the campaign are too boring (Mahdawi, 2012) and did not represent what they have recognized the brand for: controversy. However, this criticism was overwhelmed by the overall positive response towards the brand’s effort to provide solutions to youths’ unemployment. Marketers predicted that the campaign would help the brand build a lasting relationship with its target consumers. The Reception Theory which focuses on the reader’s reception of a literary text or media established that the process of negotiation and opposition of meaning take place when the reader is interpreting the text. A text- be it a book, film, or other creative work are interpreted by their respective audiences who are not behaving passively, but acting as active participants in interpreting the meanings of the text (Morley, 2015) based on their individual make-up. In other words, the meaning of a media text is not inherent within the text itself, but is created within the relationship between the media text and the audience. A correct interpretation of the meaning of a specific text could only occur when the audiences have a shared cultural background and interpreted the text the way the producer of the text presumed it would be interpreted. The less shared heritage an audience has with the producer of the media text, the less likely the audience will be able to recognize the pro ducer’s intended meaning. Two audiences with vastly different cultural, sociological, economical, psychological, and geographical background will extract two very different meanings from the same text. Thus, the power to determine the meaning of a media text lies primarily with the audience. References: (Word Count: 1638) 1. (Fabrica) http://www.seouldesign.or.kr/EBOOK_DATA/pdf/fabrica_seminar.pdf 2. Boches, E. (2011) Three Ways to Look at Benetton: The Cause, The Creative, The Controversy, Creativity Unbound. [Online] Available at: http://edwardboches.com/three-ways-to-look-at-benetton-the-cause-the-creative-the-controversy. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 3. Gianatasio, D. (2011) Benetton is Not Feeling the Love for its Unhate Kissing Campaign; Pope Ad is Quickly Pulled, Adweek. [Online] Available at: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/benetton-not-feeling-love-its-unhate-kissing-campaign-136587. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 4. Crawshaw, S. (1995) Benetton Sued Over Shock Ads, The Independent. [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/benetton-sued-over-shock-ads-1569139.html. (Accessed December 17th 2014) 5. Walsh, M. W. (1995) German Court Bans Shocking Benetton Ads; Law: Panel Labels as Immoral the Clothiers Campaigns on HIV, Oil Slicks and Child Laborers, Los Angeles Times. [Online] Available at: http://articles.latimes.com/1995-07-07/news/mn-21071_1_benetton-ads. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 6. Moore, L. W. (1991) Is Ad Theme Racial Harmony or Angel/Devil Stereotype?, Philly.com. [Online] Available at: http://articles.philly.com/1991-09-12/news/25799573_1_benetton-campaign-racial-harmony-oliviero-toscani. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 7. Elliot, S. (1991) The Media Business: Advertising; Benetton Stirs more Controversy, The New York Times. [Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/23/business/the-media-business-advertising-benetton-stirs-more-controversy.html. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 8. Mezzofiore, G. (2011) Benetton: A History of Shocking Ad Campaign, International Business Times. [Online] Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/benetton-history-shocking-ad-campaigns-pictures-252087. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 9. Kenna, A. (2011) Benetton: A Must-Haves becomes a Has-Been, Bloomberg Business Week Magazine. [Online] Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_12/b4220021488483.htm. (Accessed: December 17th 2014) 10. Hall, Stuart (1980): Encoding/decoding. In Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (Ed.): Culture, Media, Language. London: Hutchinson. 11. Schrà ¸der, Kim Christian. (2000). â€Å"Making sense of audience discourses: Towards a multidimensional model of mass media reception†. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 3:233 12. Salkeld, Richard , 2014. Reading Photographs: An Introduction to the Theory and Meaning of Images. 1st ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp64-65 13. Benetton Group Website. [Online] Available at: http://www.benettongroup.com. (Accessed: January 11th 2015) 14. Maguire, M. (2003) United Colors of Benetton: A Company Of Colors And Controversies. GRIN Verlag. 15. â€Å"A campaign to combat the culture of hate†, unhate.benetton.com 16. Mahdawi, A. (2012), ‘Benettons Unemployee of the Year is a Flimsy Attempt at Brand-Aid’, The Guardian, [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/19/benetton-unemployee-campaign-flimsiest-brand-aid. (Accessed: January 11th 2015). 17. Lidbury, O. (2012) ‘Benetton Launch ‘Unemployee of the Year’ Campaign’, Fashion. [Online] Avalable at: http://origin-fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/olivia-bergin/TMG9552570/Benetton-launch-Unemployee-of-the-Year-campaign.html. (Accessed: January 11th 2015). 18. AP News Archive (1994). ‘Latest Benetton Poster Provokes Croat Outrage With Am-Yugoslavia’. [Online] Available at: http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1994/Latest-Benetton-Poster-Provokes-Croat-Outrage-With-AM-Yugoslavia/id-83dd11f663e4b97caf2026954d083f9d. [Accessed 11 January 15]. 19. Morley, D. (2015) ‘Audience Research’, Museum Of Broadcast Communications [Online] Available at: http://www.museum.tv/eotv/audiencerese.htm. [Accessed 11 January 15]. 20. Hall, S. (1973) ‘Encoding/Decoding; Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972-79’, pp. 128-138.

EasyJet Essay -- Business and Management Studies

EasyJet EasyJet has become the European leader in a no frills frenzy for low cost, cheap air travel. This market however has since the mid nineties gone from strength to strength and we have witnessed the arrival of a number of low cost airline companies which cater for the no frills approach. In Europe the top two competitors in this market are EasyJet and Ryan Air which serve their customers from London Luton and Dublin respectively. They offer a differentiated product compared with the major traditional airlines and the key to their success has been to offer the lowest cost/fare structure possible and the differentiated â€Å"no frills† product is purely a consequence of the implementation of this rigorous low cost strategy. Background information about the companies is listed below: Comparative Company statistics EasyJet Ryanair Date of commencement 1995 1985 Date of IPO 2000 1997 Passenger Numbers 20.3m 15.7m Number of Staff 3,453 1,897 Aircraft 73 67 Routes served 109 133 Source: http://www.easyJet.com, http://www.Ryanair.com Comparative Key Financial Data EasyJet ( £) Ryanair (Ââ‚ ¬) Share Capital 758,461,000 563,732,000 Earnings per share 8.24pence 31.71cents Operating revenue 931.8m 842.5m Retained profit 32. 4m 239.3m Source: Company Accounts 2004 Both airlines have adopted similar business models and strategies. Key common features of the business model of both companies are: - Point to point se...

landscapes essay :: essays research papers

Take-Home Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world we live in today is always changing, whether it be technology or the land. As these changes take place, society must adapt to them. Many things begin to change as a result of this and society beings to turn into something completely different. One of the most overlooked changes that takes place is that of the environment and landscape. The landscape is one of the most important parts of our society’s culture and has a great effect on how we live. It seems that nowadays, many individuals are taking advantage of the land and nothing appreciating it for every thing that it is worth. Its true that not everyone is going to look at the environment and landscape in the same way, however that is no excuse to disrespect it. Then again, a whole new argument can start from that, as different individuals are going to have different views on what disrespecting the land. Many positive things have come from taking advantage of the land, and a lso, there have been many negative things to come as a result of this. It all depends on how you look at it. One thing is for sure though, no matter what the case is, the land and environment we live in plays a huge part in each of our everyday lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our landscape is constantly changing, since the Big Bang Theory to present day. There are many different factors which can a huge impact on the shaping of the land. There are many natural disasters such as floods, typhoons, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even wildfires. They can change the face of the landscape and they can change the shape of the landscape. Then there is also the human factor. Many huge companies and businesses are always taking advantage, or as Denis Wood refers to as in â€Å"The Spell of the Land,† the raping of the land. It is a very rare sight to being driving nowadays and not see some type of building being built or a future sight of some type of business. There is nothing that can be done when looking at the natural disaster factor, but as for the human factor, there are steps that people can do to prevent the â€Å"raping† of the land. Again, like I touched upon in the introduction, not all usage of the land by companies is a negative thing. landscapes essay :: essays research papers Take-Home Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world we live in today is always changing, whether it be technology or the land. As these changes take place, society must adapt to them. Many things begin to change as a result of this and society beings to turn into something completely different. One of the most overlooked changes that takes place is that of the environment and landscape. The landscape is one of the most important parts of our society’s culture and has a great effect on how we live. It seems that nowadays, many individuals are taking advantage of the land and nothing appreciating it for every thing that it is worth. Its true that not everyone is going to look at the environment and landscape in the same way, however that is no excuse to disrespect it. Then again, a whole new argument can start from that, as different individuals are going to have different views on what disrespecting the land. Many positive things have come from taking advantage of the land, and a lso, there have been many negative things to come as a result of this. It all depends on how you look at it. One thing is for sure though, no matter what the case is, the land and environment we live in plays a huge part in each of our everyday lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our landscape is constantly changing, since the Big Bang Theory to present day. There are many different factors which can a huge impact on the shaping of the land. There are many natural disasters such as floods, typhoons, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even wildfires. They can change the face of the landscape and they can change the shape of the landscape. Then there is also the human factor. Many huge companies and businesses are always taking advantage, or as Denis Wood refers to as in â€Å"The Spell of the Land,† the raping of the land. It is a very rare sight to being driving nowadays and not see some type of building being built or a future sight of some type of business. There is nothing that can be done when looking at the natural disaster factor, but as for the human factor, there are steps that people can do to prevent the â€Å"raping† of the land. Again, like I touched upon in the introduction, not all usage of the land by companies is a negative thing.

Chinook Salmon :: essays research papers

Chinook Salmon Environmental Science Wednesday, February 26, 1997 Among the many kinds of fish harvested each year by commercial fisheries is the Oncorhynchus tshawytscha or Chinook salmon. The United States catches an averages of about three hundred million pounds of salmon each year. However some Chinook salmon have been recently listed as threatened. Man has been the main cause for the decline in Chinook salmon populations. The populations of Chinook salmon have declined for several reasons. Hydropower and it's destructiveness to the environment, pollution, and overfishing are the three main causes for the decline. The Chinook salmon is known for traveling the greatest distance back to its spawning grounds, often traveling one to two thousand miles inland. This long journey is now often interrupted by hydroelectric plants. Hydropower is a very good alternative resource for power, however it is very damaging to our salmon populations. The dams block off rivers, which block the salmon's path back to their breeding grounds. The salmon go back to the same areas, just as their ancestors did, to lay their eggs. The hydropower plant's turbines are also very dangerous to young salmon. Many of them are killed by the giant turbines on their way back to the ocean. Killing off many of the salmons new generation. Pollution is also a killer of many Chinook salmon. Pollution caused by sewage, farming, grazing, logging and mining find it's way into our waters. These harmful substances kill many species of fish and other marine life. The Chinook salmon is no exception. The chemicals are dumped into the rivers and streams and eventually these chemicals find their way to the ocean, polluting and effecting each area they pass through. The largest contributor to the decline in the Chinook salmon population is the commercial fishing industry. From a period of 1990-1992 815,000 Chinook salmon were caught by commercial fisheries. This does not include the 354,000 recreational catches. Commercial fishing is a big industry. Commercial fishers use nets, which they pull by boats. Some nets are designed so the holes in the nets are large enough for the head of the fish to fit through, and then the mesh gets caught in the fish's gills. Others are designed to circle around a school of fish and then is drawn shut. New technologies have developed factory stern trawlers which easily haul netloads of up to 100 metric tons of fish. However, when catching the salmon, fisherman use pound nets to catch the fish on their way to their spawning grounds. The average annual salmon catch in just the United States is about 300 million pounds, of that about 60 percent is canned.

Coexistence of Private and Public Sectors

New Economic PolicyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For the Malaysian New Economic Policy, see Malaysian New Economic Policy. Soviet Union This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Soviet Union ——————————————————————————– Government[show]ConstitutionGovernment MinistriesState CommitteesExecutive OfficerCouncil of People's CommissarsCouncil of MinistersCabinet of MinistersState CouncilPresidential Council Communist Party[show]Communist Party CongressHistoryGeneral Secretary PolitburoCentral CommitteeSecretariatOrgburo Leadership[show]LeadersPremiers CabinetsPresident (List) Vice PresidentCollective leadership Legislature[show]Congress of Soviets Central Executive CommitteeSupreme Soviet Soviet of the UnionSoviet of NationalitiesPresidiumCongress of People's Deputies Speaker1989 Legislative election Judiciary[show]Law Supreme CourtPeople's CourtProcurator General History[show]1917–1927 RevolutionCivil War1927–1953 World War II1953–1964 Khrushchev Thaw1964–1982 Era of Stagnation1982–1991 Dissolution Ideology[show]State Ideology Soviet democracyMarxism-LeninismLeninismStalinism Economy[show]Economy AgricultureConsumer goodsFive-Year PlanKosygin reformNew Economic PolicyS cience and technologyEra of StagnationMaterial balance planning Society[show]Culture DemographicsEducationFamilyPhraseologyReligionTransportRepre ssion CensorshipCensorship of imagesEconomic repressionGreat purgeGulag systemCollectivizationHuman rightsMass killingsIdeological repressionSuppressed researchPolitical abuse of psychiatryPolitical repressionPopulation transferPropagandaRed Terror ——————————————————————————– Atlas USSR Portal view  ·talk  ·edit The New Economic Policy (NEP) (Russian: , , Novaya Ekonomicheskaya Politika) was an economic policy proposed by Vladimir Lenin, who called it state capitalism. Allowing some private ventures, the NEP allowed small animal businesses or smoke shops, for instance, to reopen for private profit while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade, and large industries. [1] It was officially decided in the course of the 10th Congress of the All-Russian Communist Party. It was promulgated by decree on 21 March 1921, â€Å"On the Replacement of Prodrazvyorstka by Prodnalog† (i. e. , on the replacement of foodstuffs requisitions by fixed foodstuffs tax). In essence, the decree required the farmers to give the government a specified amount of raw agricultural product as a tax in kind. [2] Further decrees refined the policy and expanded it to include some industries. The New Economic Policy was replaced by Stalin's First Five-Year Plan in 1928. Contents [hide] 1 Beginnings 2 Policies 3 Disagreements in leadership 4 Results 5 End of NEP 6 See also 7 Multimedia 8 Further reading 9 Footnotes 10 External links [edit] Beginnings This section requires expansion. The NEP replaced the policies of War Communism. Whilst some leading Bolsheviks were opposed to it, it seemed necessary due to circumstances to allow limited private commercialism in the form of the NEP. [edit] PoliciesThe laws sanctioned the coexistence of private and public sectors, which were incorporated in the NEP, which on the other hand was a state oriented â€Å"mixed economy. † [3] Rather than repossess all goods produced, the Soviet government took only a small percentage of goods. This left the peasants with a marketable surplus which could be sold privately. [4] The state, after starting to use the NEP, migrated away from Communist ideals and started the modernizing of the economy, but this time, with a more free-minded way of doing things. The Soviet Union stopped upholding the idea of nationalizing certain parts of industries. Some kinds of foreign investments were expected by the Soviet Union under the NEP, in order to fund industrial and developmental projects with foreign exchange or technology requirements. [5] The move towards modernization rested on one main issue, transforming the Soviet Union into a modern industrialized society, but to do so the Soviet Union had to reshape its preexisting structures, namely its agricultural system and the class structure that surrounded it. The NEP was primarily a new agricultural policy. [6] The Bolsheviks viewed traditional village life as conservative and backward. The old way of village life was reminiscent of the Tsarist Russia that had supposedly been thrown out with the October Revolution. With the NEP, which sought to repudiate the â€Å"old ways,† methods were put in place which promoted the pursuit by peasants of their self-interests. However, the state only allowed private landholdings because the idea of collectivized farming had met with much opposition. [7] edit] Disagreements in leadershipLenin considered the NEP as a strategic retreat. [8] However, he justified the NEP by insisting that it was a different type of capitalism. He i nsisted that this form of â€Å"state capitalism† was the last stage of capitalism before socialism evolved. [9] Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin disagreed over how to develop the Soviet Economy after the World War and the Civil War. Trotsky, supported by left-wing members of the Communist Party, believed that socialism in Russia would only survive if the state controlled the allocation of all output. Trotsky believed that the state should repossess all output to invest in capital formation. On the other hand, Stalin supported the more conservative members of the Communist Party and advocated for a state run capitalist economy. Stalin managed to wrest control of the Communist Party from Trotsky. After defeating the Trotsky faction, Stalin reversed his opinions about economic policy and implemented the First Five-Year Plan. [10] [edit] ResultsAgricultural production increased greatly. Instead of the government taking all agricultural surpluses with no compensation, the farmers now had the option to sell their surplus yields, and therefore had an incentive to produce more grain. This incentive coupled with the breakup of the quasi-feudal landed estates not only brought agricultural production to pre-Revolution levels but surpassed them. While the agricultural sector became increasingly reliant on small family farms, the heavy industries, banks and financial institutions remained owned and run by the state. Since the Soviet government did not yet pursue any policy of industrialization, and did not allow it to be facilitated by the same private incentives that were increasing agricultural production, this created an imbalance in the economy where the agricultural sector was growing much faster than heavy industry. To keep their income high, the factories began to sell their products at higher prices. Due to the rising cost of manufactured goods, peasants had to produce much more wheat to purchase these consumer goods. This fall in prices of agricultural goods and sharp rise in prices of industrial products was known as the Scissor crisis (from the shape of the graph of relative prices to a reference date). Peasants began withholding their surpluses to wait for higher prices, or sold them to â€Å"NEPmen† (traders and middle-men) who then sold them on at high prices, which was opposed by many members of the Communist Party who considered it an exploitation of urban consumers. To combat the price of consumer goods the state took measures to decrease inflation and enact reforms on the internal practices of the factories. The government also fixed prices to halt the scissor effect. The NEP succeeded in creating an economic recovery after the devastating effects of the First World War, the Russian Revolution and the Russian civil war. By 1925, in the wake of Lenin's NEP, a â€Å"†¦ major transformation was occurring politically, economically, culturally and spiritually. Small-scale and light industries were largely in the hands of private entrepreneurs or cooperatives. By 1928, agricultural and industrial production had been restored to the 1913 (pre-World War I) level. However, unemployment skyrocketed under the NEP and a wider gap was created between classes. [2] [edit] End of NEPBy 1925, the year after Lenin's death, Nikolai Bukharin had become the foremost supporter of the New Economic Policy. It was abandoned in 1928 after Joseph Stalin obtained a position of leadership during the Great Turn. Stalin had initially supported the NEP against Leon Trotsky, but switched in favour of Collectivization as a result[citation needed] of the Grain Procurement Crisis and the need to accumulate capital rapidly for the vast industrialization programme introduced with the Five Year Plans. It was hoped that the USSR's industrial base would reach the level of capitalist countries in the West, to prevent them being beaten in another possible war. (Stalin proclaimed: â€Å"Either we do it, or we shall be crushed. â€Å") Stalin proposed that the grain crisis was caused by the NEP men, who sold agricultural products to the urban populations for a high price. An alternative explanation for the grain crisis (which is more popular among western historians)[citation needed] revolves around the focus on heavy industry creating a significant consumer goods shortage; which meant peasants had nothing to spend their resources on, thus resulting in the hoarding of their grain. For Lenin and his followers, the NEP was intended as an interim measure. However, it proved highly unpopular with the Left Opposition in the Bolshevik party because of its compromise with some capitalistic elements and the relinquishment of State control. [2] They saw the NEP as a betrayal of communist principles, and they believed it would have a negative long-term economic effect, so they wanted a fully planned economy instead. In particular, the NEP created a class of traders (â€Å"NEP men†) whom the Communists considered to be â€Å"class enemies† of the working class. On the other hand, Lenin is quoted to have said â€Å"The NEP is in earnest and long-term† ( — ? ), which has been used to surmise that if Lenin were to stay alive longer, NEP would have continued beyond 1929, and the disastrous collectivization would have never happened, or it would have been carried out differently. Lenin had also been known to say about NEP: â€Å"We are taking one step backward to later take two steps forward†, suggesting that, though the NEP pointed to another direction, it would provide the economic conditions necessary for socialism eventually to evolve. Lenin's successor, Stalin, eventually introduced full central planning (although a variant of public planning had been the idea of the Left Opposition, which Stalin purged from the Party), re-nationalized much of the economy, and from the late 1920s onwards introduced a policy of rapid industrialization. Stalin's collectivization of agriculture was his most notable and most destructive departure from the NEP approach. It is often argued[citation needed] that industrialization could have been achieved without any collectivization and instead by taxing the peasants more, as similarly happened in Meiji Japan, Otto von Bismarck's Germany, and in post-World War II South Korea and Taiwan. [edit] See alsoEconomic calculation problem Planned economy [edit] MultimediaVladimir I. Lenin: About Natural Tax (Text of the speech in Russian, Record (help ·info)) [edit] Further readingDavies, R. W. (ed. ) (1991). From tsarism to the new economic policy: continuity and change in the economy of the USSR. Ithaca, N. Y. : Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801426219. Fitzpatrick, Sheila, et al. (ed. ) (1991). Russia in the Era of NEP. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 025320657X. NEP Era Journal: http://www. d. umn. edu/cla/NEPera/main/index. php Nenovsky. N,(2006). „Lenin and the currency competition. Reflections on the NEP experience (1922-1924),â€Å". International Center of Economic Research Working Paper,Torino, No 22, 2006 [edit] Footnotes1. Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor; Anthony Esler (2007). â€Å"Revolution and Civil War in Russia†. World History; The Modern Era. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. 483. ISBN 0-13-129973-5. 2. ^ a b c Service, Robert (1997). A History of Twentieth-Century Russia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 124–5. ISBN 0-074-40348-7. 3. ^ V N. Bandera â€Å"New Economic Policy (NEP) as an Economic Policy. † The Journal of Political Economy 71, no. 3 (1963):. http://www. jstor. org/stable/1828984 (accessed Mar 4, 2009), 268. 4. ^ Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984; pg. 95. 5. ^ Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution, pg. 96. 6. Vladimir P. Timoshenko, Agricultural Russia and the Wheat Problem. Stanford, CA: Food Research Institute, Stanford University, 1932; pg. 86. 7. ^ Sheldon L. Richman â€Å"War Communism to NEP: The Road from Serfdom. † The Journal of Libertarian Studies V, no. 1 (1981): (accessed Mar 4, 2009), 93. 8. ^ New economic policy and the politprosvet's goals. Lenin V. I. Collected Works v. 44. p. 159 9. ^ Sheldon L. Richman â€Å"War Communism to NEP: The Road from Serfdom. † The Journal of Libertarian Studies V, no. 1 (1981): (accessed Mar 4, 2009), 94. 10. ^ Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolut ion, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984), 115. [edit] External links

Detrimental Effects of Social Networking

Social networking is all the rage with society. It is a main outlet for both personal and professional networking. Whether its job related and trying to put the word out for prospective employers or just connecting with a long distance friend via instant message, there aren’t too many people who have not taken advantage of this option to connect with others. There are not many households without the technology to take advantage of this option in communication. It seems to be the main form of contact within society today. The problem with this method of communication is that it does not allow for strong face to face interaction and allows society to in a sense to hide themselves. This inherently has led to a society with lower self esteem and has put a wall up with its users lowering standards of social interaction. It has had such a negative impact and should be used with greater caution especially within the teenage and young adult generation. Such sites as Facebook, Myspace and orkut have had an extremely negative impact on society and what should be perceived as acceptable. Social Networks and the ideas and activities associated with these networks have become profoundly detrimental to society today. It has escalated into much more impressive problems such as cyber bullying, intense obsession and lessened interpersonal communication skills. Let’s first examine a less extreme, but equally important problem with social networks. Interpersonal communication is imperative for growth and self confidence in an individual. Social networking and the sites associated with this practice have greatly diminished the growth process of interpersonal communication. Nurturing a younger group to be more secure with themselves and aid in shaping those who are to be the future leaders of our society is harder due to lack of communication skills. This lack stems from excessive use of these internet sites. Social network sites, chat rooms, instant messaging allows for the user to hide behind a screen name or online profile, lessening personal communication, instead using the computer as a crutch for relating with peers and new contacts. (Acar, 2008). These networks have made it possible for people to hide and not have to give 100 percent of themselves. It creates a negative impact when it comes time for important events such as interviewing for a job or giving an important speech for a class. Young adults are so in tuned with who is doing what and where others are dining out at for that moment versus developing the necessary skills to be a productive member of society. A theory known as the anxiety and uncertainty management theory (Gudykunst, 1985) deals with interpersonal communications with different cultures, but it also provides helpful insight into communication with strangers as a whole. According to Gudykunst’s (1985) theory face to face communication with strangers or other people not known personally or professionally by the individual lessens anxiety and increases social skills necessary for growth as a human being; thus trying to relate through a computer is proven detrimental to social growth and diminishes interpersonal communication skills. The extreme continual use of these networks as a social means is going to lead to a profound number of angst ridden individuals trying to function in society. Social network sites, chat rooms and online communities have created an obsession factor. The online community is so hyped up and popular, if you don’t have an online profile one way or another you are not considered as part of that â€Å"in crowd† when it comes to online communities. It’s likened to the new pair of basketball shoes youth must have in order to fit in at school. Some people have become so obsessed with being online it has shaped their life and consequences have proved to fatal. This leads into the obsession factor of these networks. Short of being a drug, some people are so hooked on online gaming and competing against others or building their farm or getting a high score, the real world takes a back seat. Normally playing a game wouldn’t be a bad thing; however the fixation of beating or â€Å"one upping† your other 65 friends in an online game has had detrimental effects. This was proven when a Jacksonville Florida woman age 22 was playing Farmville on Facebook and was thoroughly engrossed in the game. Her 3 month old son was distracting her and as she stated â€Å"interfering with her game† to a point that she violently shook him which resulted in the infant’s death. (Jamison, 2010). Internet addiction is a very serious condition. Social networking sites contribute o this by adding games and online activities that entrance the user to become a habitual user and assist in the addiction. It’s been stated that internet users are becoming addicted the same way an addict becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol. (Renee, 2010) Another facet of social networking that is becoming a trend that most definitely needs to be stopped is cyber bullying. Cyber bullyin g is using digital technology and online forums to harass another individual. (McQuade, Colt, & Meyer, 2009) Networking has opened a new door for teenage criminal activity and given them the opportunity to harass and hide behind a screen name. Online communities allow users to â€Å"pose† as someone else, becoming misleading and deceptive to the person being harassed or bullied. A strong supporting case of this was the Megan Meier case, where a young girl was in belief that she was talking to a boy who was interested in her, only to find out it was an ex friends mother was in fact portraying herself as a boy seemingly interested in Megan to gain her trust and then began taunting and teasing the 15 year old Megan who then took her life because of such intense harassment. Cyber bullying is such a horrific occurrence and just one more thing that teens are faced with, and social networking is the gateway for the heinous act. Another facet of cyber bullying is occurring with Facebook, where there is bullying or teasing because of lack of friends. Facebook shows users how many friends each other have. If one person has a lower amount, teens are known to harass and chide them for it (Zay, 2011) While there are many users of social networking that have benefitted, the cons of this communication far outweighs the pros. It has produced a less educated more stressed society and this is most prevalent in teens and young adults. To secure a more educated, socially aware and confident society, these networking sites and mediums should be used sparingly and the younger generations should develop relationships more fluidly through face to face communication to enhance self esteem and strengthen moral skills.ReferencesAcar, A. (2008). Antecedents and Consequences of Online Social Networking Behavior: The Case of Facebook. Journal of Website Promotion, 3(1/2), 62. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Gudykunst, William. (1985). A model of uncertainty reduction in intercultural encounters. Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 4(2), 79-97. Jamison, K. (2010, October 27). Farmville addicted mom shakes baby to death. Retrieved from Games.com: http://blog.games.com/2010/10/27/mother-shakes-baby-to-death-for-interrupting-farmville/ McQuade, S., Colt, J. P., & Meyer, N. (2009). Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adult s from Online Bullies. Westport. Renee. (2010, September 5). The Addictive Nature of Social Networking Sites. Retrieved from Online Conference on Networks and Communities; Department of Internet Studies, Curtin University of Technology: http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2010/05/the-addictive-nature-of-social-networking-sites-has-facilitated-the-downward-spiral-of-communication-skills/ ZAY, S. (2011). What Sticks & Stones Can't Do, Facebook Will-and More!. USA Today Magazine, 139(2790), 56. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Acquaint yourself with the characters in the story Essay

Read through the story and write down a few points that summarise the plotof the story. Acquaint yourself with the characters in the story. plot The structure of the storyline, the way in which the action develops. This will usually include the settings, the development of character, crisis or climax and resolution   The plot is about two young people, Sandra and Kerry, who belong to the Good Neighbours’ Club.   They go to do volunteer work at Mrs Rutter’s house. She is an elderly lady who lives past Packer’s End, a field that was said to be haunted. Sandra is not pleased that it is Kerry she is working with, as she had hoped it would be her friend, Susie.   After some time, Mrs Rutter tells them the story of what really happened at Packer’s End during the war.   An enemy plane was shot down over the field and she and her sister (Dot) went to investigate the crash.   They found the plane, but also found one of the soldiers in it still alive.   Because it was the enemy and because her own husband had been killed in the war, Mrs Rutter leaves the soldier to die overnight. When they arrive at the scene the next morning, he is still alive, but they don’t get any help for him. * The young people are shocked by what she tells them and Sandra suddenly sees Mrs Rutter in a new light, but she also sees Kerry in a new light. Sandra She is a young girl who is a volunteer at the Good Neighbour’s Club. She tells us that she is â€Å"nervy† and we see this when she walks past Packer’s End. She describes how when she was younger she had thought there were wolves and witches and tigers in the wood. This changed and when she was about twelve she heard that a German plane had gone down there, but had also heard stories about gypsies and rapists. She is a conventional young girl who would like to have a â€Å"bit of a giggle† with her friend, Susie, and is disappointed that Kerry Stevens with his â€Å"blacked licked-down hair and slitty eyes† was joining her at Mrs Rutter’s. Kerry is described in detail in lines 135 – 139. What does this description suggest to you? It is mostly about his appearance – acne, pale flesh – all that Sandra is concerned with is his appearance at first. This changes at the end of the story. She doesn’t know how Kerry can stand having dirt and grime under his nails from working on cars and â€Å"she thought of oily workshop floors, of the fetid underside of cars† (line 207). She thinks that Mrs Rutter will be old and kind and thinks that â€Å"old Mrs Rutter with her wonky leg would be ever so pleased to see them because they were really sweet, lots of the old people† (lines 93 – 94). Mrs Rutter She is seen at first to be a typical old lady who lives at Nether Cottage and is described as â€Å"a dear old thing, all on her own† (lines 4 – 5). Her behaviour and the setting of the cottage (see Setting) portray her as ordinary. She is described as â€Å"a cottage-loaf of a woman, with a face below which chins collapsed into one another, a creamy smiling pool of a face in which her eyes snapped and darted† (lines 97 – 99). This description of her appearance certainly doesn’t convey anything but a gentle old woman. Kerry Stevens He is a typical teenage boy with acne and â€Å"blacked licked-down hair† who is pleased when he gives Sandra a fright when they meet at Packer’s End. He is shocked by Mrs Rutter’s story and vows never to go â€Å"near that old bitch again† (line 364). Setting Packer’s End and Nether Cottage are where the story takes place. Packer’s End is described as a scary place where dreadful things have happened – â€Å"You didn’t go by yourself through Packer’s End if you could help it, not after teatime, anyway† (lines 30 – 31). Nether Cottage is described as being filled with sweet ornaments and pictures. Look at the description in lines 101 – 105 and try to imagine what the room looked like. Does this tell us anything about Mrs Rutter? The room is cluttered, but quite homely. The ornaments are all of rabbits and kittens and milkmaids and children – these are hardly sinister. She comes across as someone who likes collecting memorabilia Look at the description in lines 144 – 145 â€Å"a composite chintzy mass from which the cushions oozed and her voice flowed softly on. † This is a cosy description which portrays her as a nice old woman. The structure of this story relies on the reader ‘getting to know’ Mrs Rutter as a gentle woman who lives alone and is quite helpless because of her â€Å"wonky leg†. When she does tell us the horrific story of the plane going down and her and Dot’s failure to save the man who is still alive, it becomes all the more horrific and we realise, with Sandra, that people are not always what they seem and that there is definitely â€Å"darkness out there. † This makes the realisation that much more startling and effective. â€Å"Everything is not as it appears, oh no† (line 384). We are also then able to comprehend why Sandra sees such a change in Kerry. The change in Kerry is also well set up as in the beginning, from Sandra’s descriptions, we are led to believe that he is not special and yet at the end Sandra says things like â€Å"He had grown; he had got older and larger. His anger eclipsed his acne, the patches of grease on his jeans, his lardy midriff†¦ † (lines 373 – 375). Look at the last two paragraphs: pick out the images of darkness. How do these images link to the story and to the title? â€Å"You could get people wrong and there was a darkness that was not the darkness of tree shadows and murky undergrowth†¦ † (lines 375 – 377) â€Å"†¦and the next you glimpsed darkness, an inescapable darkness. The darkness was out there and it was a part of you and you would never be without it, ever. † (lines 380 – 382) These quotations refer to darkness, because the speaker in the story has just glimpsed inescapable darkness herself in the form of Mrs Rutter. This has changed the way she thinks about other people and the way in which she will view the world from now on. She says it will be with her for ever and she will never be without it now that she knows what it is. She will never be able to see a person, no matter how nice and innocent they look, as just that. This story deals with a young girl’s realisation about life. Her whole outlook on life changes at the end of the story. Choose one other story in the anthology that deals with this issue and show how the authors present this issue to us. Describe what the issue is and look at how their characters deal with it. (A good comparison would be Superman and Paula Brown’s Snowsuit. ) Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Joseph Conrad section.

Power of Context Essay Essay

The power of context, written by Malcolm Gladwell, discuss’ many different social change theories such as the â€Å"Broken Windows Theory†, â€Å"Tipping Points† and the â€Å"Power of Context theory†. All of these theories were researched and studies performed to prove that we are influenced by the features of our immediate social and physical world, these shaping who we are and how we act. These theories have been seen in every part of town, Graffiti painted buildings and broken windows in vacant houses. Where there are news paper articles written about the few that have taken the initiative to turn their neighborhood around. Where neighbors rally to paint over graffiti, fix broken windows, make a park where once was a gang hangout. Where as sad as it may seem, most of the children fit into the description of the four youths who attempted to mug Goetz December 22 ,1984. Where Goetz was dubbed the â€Å"Subway Vigilante† after fighting back against he would be muggers, shooting them in the subway and later being acquitted on charges of assault and attempted murder. Goetz’ case has become a symbol of a particular, dark moment in New York City history, the moment when the city’s crime problem reached epidemic proportions or the â€Å"Tipping Point†. The â€Å"Tipping Point† where in epidemiology the â€Å"tipping point† is the moment when a virus reaches critical mass. Gladwell links these would have been muggers and the shooting to another theory, one that would change the atmosphere and quite possibly the culture of the neighborhood the thugs came from. The â€Å"Broken Window Theory† was the brainchild of the criminalogistics James Q Wilson and George Kelling. Wilson and Kelling argued that â€Å"crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. In a city, relatively minor problems like graffiti, public disorder, and aggressive panhandling, they write, are all the equivalent of broken windows, invitations to more serious crimes.† (Gladwell, 237) The â€Å"Power of Context† theory that Gladwell writes about and the â€Å"Broken Windows Theory† are one and the same We have all heard the saying, â€Å"You are what you eat†. The same would be true in you are what you surround yourself with. I feel that the â€Å"Power of Context† is true in the context that if you live in a home you are proud of, you will be more confident in your self worth. If you surround yourself with people more intelligent than yourself, you will increase your mental aptitude. Those that set goals and stick to them seem to achieve more than those who never set goals. I feel that Gladwell did a great job in personifying the theories and arguing their relevance. Works Cited Gladwell, Malcolm. Gladwell, Malcolm. The Power of Context. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Publishing Company, 2009. View as multi-pages

Writing for Professional Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Writing for Professional Practice - Essay Example This has resulted in the development of media and scientific literacies. While in the globalized world technologies spread at rapid pace, there are still over 860 million adults that are illiterate. Additionally, nearly 100 million lack access to school. The importance of literacy within contemporary society has not gone unnoticed. The United Nations has declared 2003-2012 the decade of Literacy as Freedom. The notion of literacy is witnessed in a variety of ways. This essay considers the various freedoms literacy offers in a globalized society. Analysis Considered from an overarching perspective literacy has been recognized as contributing to freedom in a variety of ways. An examination of literature on the subject of literacy freedom demonstrates thematic nodes. Many theorists have focused on literacy in terms of empowerment, including women’s right freedoms or emerging nations (Freire 2000; Freire 2005; Dighe 1994). Still, it’s clear that literacy extends to freedoms that relate to all elements of society. One freedom literacy affords individuals and populations is security. Indeed, insecurity has been prominently linked to illiteracy. This term is extended to insecurity in a variety of avenues. Not being able to read and write is a tremendously anxiety producing experience, as individuals fear social stigmatization, ridicule, or a variety of other conditions. While there is the potential that something awful may happen to an individual that is illiterate, Knobel (1999, p. 20) indicates that the very state of being illiterate is indicative of something terrible having happened. In many ways this perspective on literacy as granting the individual the freedom of mental and emotional help is not restricted to populations in Western societies, but can be extended globally, particularly in the emerging world. Bhasin (1984, p. 37) examined literacy in India. Specifically, she examined the construction and development of an educational institute named the Pratichi Trust. The study revealed that over time the girl’s that were admitted to the institute quickly gained the literacy skills of their male counterparts; in this way literacy afforded the freedom of gender equality. Gender equality, however, wasn’t the only freedom gained through this literacy. The study notes that soon the parents became involved and it encouraged a greater degree of community involvement and harmony. In Development As Freedom, Amartya Sen advances a framework that considers the relation between literacy and freedom (Sen 2000). The consideration of this framework reveals a number of prominent ways that literacy offers freedom in a globalized society. One of the central thorough-puts of Sen’s framework is the recognition that literacy often contributes to opportunities and options. The consideration in this way is that literacy must be considered in terms of development. This development extends to personal and professional modes and comprehensively influences the individual’s existence. Rather than specifically considering the way that literacy contributes to freedoms or the avoidance of unfreedoms, there is an emphasis on the social structures that the individual must navigate. The argument then is that development in literacy allows the individual the skills necessary for this navigation. Sen (2000, p. 284) writesn, â€Å"A child who is denied the opportunity of elementary schooling is not only deprived as a youngster, but also handicapped all through life (as a person unable to do certain basic things that rely on reading, writ- ing and arithmetic).† While Sen recognizes there are considerable freedoms that are achieved through literacy, perhaps even more important is the recognitio

Ozone issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ozone issue - Research Paper Example The depletion of the ozone layer is changing the pattern of life and survival on earth. There have been changes in the atmospheric condition due to the loss of ozone on a large scale and hence causing catastrophic disasters as well. ‘A second catastrophic view of the effect of ozone loss depended on the resultant increase in the UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface.’ (Parson, 2003, p.24) The existence of ozone is essential for shielding the earth’s surface from high energy UV rays for the living beings to survive on earth as well as under the ocean. In the 1960’s Berkner and Marshall based their observations too on this fact that during some ancient times the earth’s shift to an oxygen atmosphere forming an ozone layer thick enough to screen surface UV was necessary to let life on earth including that under ocean survive (Parson, 2003, p.24) It is evident that the existence of ozone would to a large extent determine life as well as affect the ecosystem in various ways sometimes even leading to serious diseases like skin cancer. If one follows the proverb, â€Å"Prevention is better than cure†, then he can realize the true significance of the existence of ozone layer and how it is good or bad for life on earth. In the earlier paragraph, a very serious threat which might be caused due to lack of sufficient ozone has been unmasked. In other words, as ozone prevents the harmful UV rays from bringing unwanted effects on life on the earth, it can be understood as to what might lead to a disease like skin cancer –â€Å"Ozone depletion means more UV from the sun gets to the ground, leading to more cases of skin cancer, cataracts, and other health problems† (Tabin, 2008, p.143). Besides, ozone protects the earth’s surface by absorbing the harmful UV rays emitting from the sun thereby facilitating life on the planet. If looked from a very far distant location, the earth actually looks like a beauti ful blue sphere, which accounts due to the greenery surrounding the earth, and the vegetation as well as forests which again are seats of the vibrant flowers and eventually indebted to the existence of ozone layer. (Tabin, 2008, p.39) Investigating into the factors causing reduction in ozone, it would be paradoxical to state that human beings play the role of disturbing the ozone layer by unknowingly emitting chemicals that bring unwanted changes in the layer thereby disrupting the delicate balance established by nature. (Tabin, 2008, p.40) During winter, the polar night zone or the zone in South Pole where a stream of air swirls, receives little or no light from the sun, which allows nitric acid and water to form ice crystal’s clouds called polar stratospheric clouds. Apart from this, â€Å"chlorine and bromine containing chemicals can lead to a significant depletion of stratospheric ozone† (Sinha, 1998, p.8). Chlorine gas is produced in the ozone layer as a result of the chemical reaction of the surfaces of the ice crystals, which begins to accumulate in winter releasing chlorine atoms during spring with the sunshine, finally reducing the amount of ozone, which again creates the ozone hole. J. Hampson also performed several experiments, and found out hydrogen compounds produced from water vapor are capable of destroying ozone on a rapid basis. However, the deadliest ‘enemy’ to attack ozone layer seems to be the invention of chlorofluorocarbons

Eco-Design's Cultural Context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eco-Design's Cultural Context - Essay Example All these factors have merged together to enforce a more compliant design of built environments and human processes. This paper will present the cultural context of â€Å"eco design† or ecological design as presented by Ken Yeang and other proponents of green or eco design. Discussion Ecological design emerged from the threat of industrialism as towns turn to cities and populations exploded. Social problems escalated as natural resources become depleted or damaged beyond repair. This called for emergency actions that pushed considerations for life outside of the earth. An early advocate for ecological design was African ecologist John Phillips who coined â€Å"the biotic community† as a holistic approach to ecology (1968, 17). It further provided links between individual actions and the dynamics of an entire biotic community. Philips introduced the holistic approach to architects and planners and the need to include ecology and all forms of life in their designs. It was said that Ian McHarg who wrote Design with Nature (1969) was influenced by Phillips and the lectures of Walter Gropius in Harvard who warned his students of the human greed that has interfered with the biological cycle of human community and the organic social structure (29). Gropius told his students to â€Å"love and respect the land almost religiously,† (Gropius, 1945, p20). He stressed that humans must act appropriately for survival and as true agent in evolution. Phillips enumerated the causes of the ecological crisis as the reckless laissez-faire economy, individualism, Western capitalist greed, chaotic urbanization, fragmentation of social structures, and lack of planning. His proposal was the oriental approach: non-anthropocentric, implicit but orderly planning, and respect for the biotic community. From here, McHarg promoted science-based modernist architecture and planning that integrated respect for nature such as that of the Tennessee Valley Authority in a time w hen space exploration was the trend globally, linking the moon traveller’s perspective of the Earth as a whole and not the westernized compartmentalism. McHarg’s proposal was for a landscape design of an organic community of plants, insects, fish, animals and birds that would allow human consumption based on the self-sustained capacity of the capsule equivalent to the self-sustained cabin. It mandates an inventory of the environment with energy as the currency thereby determining limitations, allowable and prohibited changes, and determination of stability and instability (McHarg, 1968, 93). He advocated a need for designers and architects to fit in well with the ecological system through their landscapes and buildings with design adjusted on the basic human needs. Enlightened but guided by space explorations, the 1970s had ecological designers adopted space technologies, analytical tools, and ways of living for a respite from the doomed industrial society: space cabin -like structures that could allow men to survive once Earth has become a dead planet like Mars. It was an ecological future outside of Earth exemplified by closed, artificial, liveable environments in space (Anker, 2005, 529). By 1969, the New Alchemy inspired by McHarg was launched with the slogan, â€Å"To Restore the Lands, Protect the Seas, and Inform the Earth’