Lightning Bolts, Dragons, And Sea Gods - 1094 Words

Kyra Reifenberg Matthew Wilkens CLT 3370-0003 29 January 2015 Lightning Bolts, Dragons, and Sea Gods Oh My! : The Nature Myth Theory For hundreds and hundreds of years people have been fascinated with all the aspects of the ancient Greek culture and mythology. Because of this avid interest in ancient Greek mythology, people have developed several different theories to explain these ancient myths. These theories range from trying to view myths in a rational way and interpreting them to explain natural occurrences to viewing myths using metaphors and psychology. While no one theory is correct or wrong for that matter, some theories fit certain myths better than others do. The ancient Greeks used many myths to try to explain what they could†¦show more content†¦However why would the ancient Greeks choose to create a god that is wrathful, vengeful, and has an uncontrollable temper? As the myths go, Zeus has lightning and thunderbolts that are formed by the Cyclopes that he is able to wield, and do with as he pleases. By examining, these my ths in a Nature myth standpoint the Greeks created the myth of Zeus’s lightning and thunderbolts to explain certain weather occurrences. While today, a storm is not necessarily a major problem or catastrophe because we have warning systems and fortified shelters and housing, that was definitely not the case in ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks did not have a weather radar to warn them of an upcoming storm nor did the really understand what caused a storm to hit them. When a bad storm hit, it could lay waste to several homes and people. Furthermore, because of the location of Greece they were frequently hit by all kinds of storms. Through creating the god Zeus and his lightning bolts, the Greeks could attribute to what they thought the abrupt nature of storms to Zeus’s faulty personality. Also by making the incidences of bad weather due to Zeus, the ancient people also thought they might be able to appease him by making sacrifices, and therefore receive fair skies and weather in return. However due to the fact that the Zeus was created to make some sort of explanation for lightening, thunder and storms these sacrifices in actuality did nothing and this also attributed to the idea of

Research on Ginger in Meghalaya Free Essays

string(65) " and then properly dried and added with sugar to add as topping\." Report on the field study of Ginger and Turmeric in Meghalaya PREFACE Meghalaya is a state which is rich in natural resources, be it from flora to fauna to the mineral resources, the state has it in abundance. Agriculture, including crop and animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry and agro processing constitutes the very basis of socio economic lives of India. One of the major activities in the state is cultivation of horticulture crops which includes that of Ginger and Turmeric. We will write a custom essay sample on Research on Ginger in Meghalaya or any similar topic only for you Order Now Ginger is being predominantly grown in Ri Bhoi District while almost the whole belt of Jaintia Hills, the best quality of Turmeric found in the whole country with the reported cucurmin content up to 7. 6%. However amidst plenty of what we have, there are too many missing links in between for the state to realize the full potential in terms of commercial activities in revenues and most importantly to address the issues of the farmers to increase the income for better livelihoods in the villages. Therefore the market access team from MBDA along with the staffs of Appropriate Technology India (ATI) made a visit to some of the important cultivation belt of ginger and turmeric of Ri Bhoi District and West Jaintia Hills District for assessment of production which includes cultivation practices as well as understanding the organic practices for the potential of organic certification for premium pricing of the products, post harvesting and processing aspects as well as marketing aspects for improving livelihood security in the state. The visit was spanned in six days and within these six days; the program was conducted in the following order: 12th February 2013 On this day the team comprising of three interns from MBDA and five ATI workforce under the supervision of Mr Iai Majaw, the Horticulture Officer with the Government of Meghalaya, left Shillong at around 10 AM and visited the Ginger belt of Ri Bhoi District. Firstly we visited the farm house which is located next to the Highway to Guwahati at Umsning. There we met and interacted with around twenty five ginger cultivators in and around Umsning. These villages are located within the distance of 1 to 3 kilometers from Umsning. The farmers start sowing ginger from the last week of April throughout the month of May. We came to know that they inherited the ginger cultivation practices from their fore fathers seeing that the climate is conducive for the crop to thrive and that there is a market for all of their produce from year to year. The main area of concern for them is that, the plant is frequently getting infected with root and stem rotting, thus spoiling their effort in time and money. Stem rot is more frequent than root rot and occurs in between the months of June to September. They don’t have any solution to tackle these kind of infections, the only activity that they do is to uproot the whole crop and throw it as far as possible from the cultivation land and sometimes even burning that particular crop but it seldom help the cause as the infection will start to spread to the whole row and even at times the whole field. They practiced Jhum cultivation with the belief that it softens the soil and helps in the ploughing activity. They also have a fair idea of the reason behind crop rotation and practiced it once in 3 years. They do give manure to the crop once in a while in the form of poultry, pig and cow droppings. They said that they have received training from the horticulture officers but most of the time they apply those methods being taught to them in the beginning phase but revert back to their traditional method of cultivation. They stored the seed in a proper way and have no problem with the occurrence of seed spoilage before the cultivation period. The nearest market for them is the Umsning market which is being held once a week. At the weekly market, traders which are middle men come to purchase their crop at rates of 1,100 – 1,200 rupees per 40 kgs which is a standard unit of weight being applied in terms of ginger and turmeric in the whole area. However, when they feel that a better price is available at Iewduh market in Shillong or when there is a need to go Shillong for personal work, they carry along the ginger which fetched them a price of around 1,500 – 1,600 per 40 kgs. From there the team moved to Sohpdok village which is approximately 5 kms from Umsning. Here we interacted with the headman of the village and around 15 farmers in the processing unit which is next to the SSA school premises and found out that the ginger cultivation was enlarge by the intervention and help of RRTC, Umran. There are 3 driers, 2 slicers and 1 pulveriser at the processing unit which is not yet functional as they have just received the machines from North Eastern Hill University. The problems and practices regarding the cultivation practices are the same as the ones which have been described above. However, the people said that they rate of ginger that they sell at the village when traders come to collect from the village is around 900 – 1,000 rupees per 40 kgs. The last visit for the day was at Regional Resource Training Centre (RRTC) Umran, which is run by the Catholic Church and presently headed by Father James. The center spans around 400 acres campus and facilitates in imparting training to various livelihood and entrepreneurship program and one of the main activities is the food processing centre which includes turmeric and ginger processing. The ginger after undergoing a series of treatment which includes peeling, trimming, weighing, washing, and processing by boiling with citric acid is then mildly dried and mixed with fine sugar in specific proportions and then properly dried and added with sugar to add as topping. You read "Research on Ginger in Meghalaya" in category "Essay examples" It is then packed and labeled as Ginger Candy. The ginger candy is retailed at an MRP of 35 rupees for 100gms. When asked about the costing, the staff who is taking care of the processing unit said that the whole cost of labour and various activities from start to finish is around 120 – 150 rupees/kg, while the retail cost is 350 rupees/kg thus making a profit of 200 rupees/kg. The ginger is also converted into powder form firstly dipping the dried ginger in Sodium Carbonate solution to increase the shelf life of the product and then grind to powder and packed. The same goes for turmeric which is simply grind into powder form and retailed at the stores. Their main area of concern is marketing, which they say they have a limited penetration to the market through their retail outlet next to the national highway and some retail shops in and around Shillong. 13th February 2013 The team left for Nongpoh and along with the existing ERPs of MBDA went to Umkon village which is 23 kms away from it. Here we interacted with just around 5 farmers as there is a funeral in the village. Almost each and every ousehold practice ginger cultivation in large scale and turmeric cultivation for their own consumption on a lower scale. Almost all of the households exceed 500 kgs of ginger production in a year with some of them going up to 3 or 4 tonnes. The main market is at Umden in which the price of the ginger is around 1,000 rupees/40 kgs while the seed is being sold at 35 rupees/kg. The seed is being sold among the farmers from nearby areas and new farmers wh ile the raw ginger is being bought by middlemen and commission agents who then supply either to Guwahati or Kolkata directly. The main areas of concern for the farmers is again the same issue of their inability and lack of knowledge how to tackle diseases such as stem and root rot. However, they shared their success story of how ginger cultivation has improved the general living conditions in and around the area. There is no value added activity for the ginger being produced in the area. Then at around 4 pm we left for Byrnihat to visit the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC). There is a processing plant to extract ginger oil from fresh or raw ginger. The plant capacity is around 3 to 5 tonnes per day, yielding 1. 5 liters of oil which retails at 7000 – 9000 rupees/liter. The major problem that they are facing is the availability of raw ginger as most of the ginger which is produced within the region is being sold to middlemen at a higher rate. 14th February 2013 The team left Shillong at around 8 AM for the turmeric belt of West Jaintia Hills District. We stationed at CTC hotel and then under the supervision of Mr Lyngdoh, a horticulture officer with the Govt. of Meghalaya, proceeded to Wahiajer village where we interacted with 2 farmers, one farmer just started the ginger cultivation activity since he saw that there is a market and the soil is very good for ginger to grow, so keeping in mind of the above factors he started cultivating ginger and after harvesting the produce, decided not to sell any of it but to keep it as seed for the next year. When we arrived there we interacted with him and asked him to show us the place where the seed is being store and when he dug up some of the seed, even though the ginger quality and size is good, it was found that the whole ginger is moist and wet and infected with fungus, budding has also begun to take place. He said that he has received no training on how to cultivate, harvest and store the ginger so he is not aware of what procedures and process to follow. Then we told him to take out the whole lot of ginger stored there and to dry it in the shade and treat it with organic chemicals which might be available at the horticulture office in the block. Being a starter in the activity he is unaware of the whole system, except the price that he might get if he is to sell the product at the local market. He also practices slash and burn cultivation like the rest of the farmers are doing in the whole area. We then met with another farmer who has been practicing the ginger cultivation activity for quite some years but he confessed that he is quite disheartened with the activity as there is no help from the government side in monetary terms nor in training facilities, so he is contemplating of shifting his cultivation activity from ginger to that of tomato as there is a better market currently prevailing in the whole area. The horticulture department is also neglecting the ginger farmers in the area while promoting that of the tomato. We then proceed to Laskein grinding and processing centre which has a Federation comprising of 9 clusters, 30 villages and around 100 SHGs. The Unit was set up in 2007 with the objective of improving livelihood and income within the area. The processing unit was set up with the help of MRDS which also helps in the training of man power as well as marketing activities. The unit is well equipped with Dryers, Slicers, Pulverisers and for the first time this year an Oil extractor machine is being set up which will be functional from this year onwards, the staffs also are yet to get training how to utilize the machine. The steps in the processing of ginger in the unit here are as follows: WASHING BOILING SLICING DRYING GRINDING PACKAGING The production of turmeric powder last year was around 3 tonnes and this year they aimed at a higher quantity. Each and every cluster of villages which falls under the association have a commitment to bring the produce of raw turmeric to the processing centre and the Federation buys it at a rate of 30 rupees/kg, when the turmeric is being sold in powder form at 250 rupees/kg as of last year, 230 rupees is being given back to the farmer and 20 rupees is being kept by the federation. The packaging is done in quantities of 1/4th kg, ? kg and 1 kg for the local market while it is packed in gunny bags of 40 kgs each for the lot which is supposed to be transported to Guwahati. 15th February 2013 The team accompanied by Mr Remi from MRDS went to Umsalait village which falls under Iakitlang cluster, comprising of two villages, Umsalait and Umsaroo which has 245 and 70 households respectively. There are 6 SHGs in the cluster, out of which 5 groups consist of women and 1 group that of men. The team interacted with around 30 farmers and learnt that they have been practicing the cultivation of turmeric from generation which they inherited from their forefathers but increased the activity to a larger scale as soon as they see that there is a market and it contributes to the generation of income activity. The problems faced by the farmers are almost the same throughout the state in which the major issues are that of diseases and not knowing how to tackle them. They are quite grateful to MRDS which helped them in imparting knowledge and funds even if it’s in small mount, the intervention has helped them to increase their income for a better living conditions. 16th February 2013 The team visited Mr W. Nongspung processing centre situated at Laitkor which is roughly 12 kms from Shillong. Mr Nongspung took advantage of the PMEGP scheme from DIC, Shillong and set up his processing centre there. However, fewer spices products are being processed at his unit since he only supply dry turmeric to a company in Guwahati known as Amalgamated Plantations, located at Christian Basti on a commission basis. His commission stands at 20 rupees/kg. He supplies around 30 tonnes of dry turmeric in a year and the company financed the money entirely in advance. Owing to this, he processed dry turmeric at a very less amount. He then started processing fruit juices such as star fruit, cherry as well as pickling of ginger, radish, chillies and bamboo shoots. His products have Organic tags along with them, while there is no proof of paper work that his products are organic certified. He sources the packaging materials from Industrial estate in Guwahati and get the label locally printed in Shillong. According to him, the major difficulty he is facing is that he doesn’t know how to market his products in a big way and he has no idea about branding at all OBSERVATIONS Below are the few parameters of observation prevailing in the production areas where the team has visited a) AREA AND PRODUCTION Most of the households in the villages which fall under the area that we have visited do not have a fair idea of the size of their respective plot under ginger and turmeric cultivation. From the conversation that we had we could make out that the minimum area of cultivation per family is around 1 acre up to 4 to 5 hectares. As far as production is concerned, the quantity that each household produces ranges from 750 kg to 5 tonnes. b) LAND USE The land that is used is normally rotational and at times shifting and bun cultivation is a normal practice which is traditional in nature. The area to be cultivated is first covered with the soil on top of the leaves and then slowly burned and often left overnight so as to soften the soil in the ploughing process thus easing the tilling process. This practice also helps in sterilization of the soil. The agricultural land is mostly owned and controlled by individual farmers and some of them have been leased by people who are not engaged in agricultural activities who are mostly traders or government servants or who have migrated from the village on a nominal fee or in exchange for the products the cultivate. ) LAND PREPARATION Ginger and turmeric is normally cultivated in slopes and terrains under the shade of some trees. The land is normally not ploughed but just holed and dug up to 6 to 7 inches for the seed to be buried inside. Very few farmers added manure of animal dung to the crop while the rest just leave it as it is. There are no proper irrigation facilities to retain the water content during the rainy season, th us leaving the crop to absorb as much water as ossible during the rainy season and dried throughout the rest of the months. d) SELECTION OF SEED After the harvest is done, rhizomes which are large, healthy, free from any injury spots and more buds are selected to be stored as seed. The seeds in the case of turmeric are simply stored under the shade above the ground and normally very few infections would occur on turmeric seed, whereas in the case of ginger it is more complicated as the seed is normally infected with fungus and budding usually takes place before the sowing season. The method of storage is traditional in practice as the seed is stored under a pit dug below the ground and simply covered with a thin layer of soil thus attracting moisture and fungus to infect the seed. There are many cases in which farmers have complained that the seed gets spoiled before the sowing season starts. e) PLANTING Planting is usually done in the month of April to May just at the start of the rain. The rhizomes are planted in about 6 inches apart from each other and 6 to 8 inches deep and then covered with soil. During plantation the rhizomes are broken and make sure that they at least have 4 to 6 budding sprouts. The turmeric and ginger is normally cultivated along some other vegetables in the field such as beans, maize and pumpkin. f) HARVEST The harvest is done in when the crop attains maturity, the sign given by the death of the stem and leaves. It usually starts from early November and goes till the end of January. The seed is normally left till end of February to attain maximum maturity. Farmers also sometimes look at the market demand and when they know that there is a demand for the product in the market, they normally harvest the crop as and when required. ) MARKETING The marketing of ginger and turmeric usually happens in weekly local markets which are near to the villages and sometimes at Iewduh, in Shillong. Commission agents, middle men and traders purchase the products at a wholesale rate from local markets and then sort out and grade the lot according to the quality and packed them in gunny bags to be transported outside the state. In case of turmeric, trade happens mostly as a dry material in the form of slices or in powder, whereas in case of ginger trade happens at the raw or fresh ginger state. Thus we can see that the middlemen control the market of ginger and turmeric in the whole state. h) COSTING 1) Cultivation-(umsalait) For 1 hectare land, they need around 10 people for 60 days and labour cost is Rs 200/day. (a) Labour 10 x 60 = 600 (b) Labour Cost 600 x 200 = Rs 1,20,000 (c) Seed Cost Rs 30 x 2000kg = Rs Rs 60,000 ————————————————————————– DIRECT TOTAL COST = Rs 1, 80,000 The production from 2000kg seed is around 5 tonnes. And the cost of raw turmeric is Rs 30/kg PRODUCTION OUTPUT= 30 x 5000 = Rs 1, 50,000 Therefore we can see that the expenditure exceeds sale, thus instead of benefitting from the agricultural activity, the farmers are suffering losses, which they cannot understand as there is no costing method being followed. 2) Processing-(laskein) Cost of raw turmeric is Rs 30/kg. if 100kg is taken for processing, then cost of procuring raw turmeric will be Rs 3000. kg of raw turmeric when dried will produce only 1kg. Therefore 100kg will produce 17kg of dried turmeric. a) Cost of dried turmeric = 3000 / 17kg = Rs 176/kg b) Other Indirect Cost = Rs 100/kg (sorting, washing, drying, slicing, grinding, packaging, transportation, electricity bills and other miscellaneous fee) ___________________________________________________________ TOTAL COST PER KG = Rs 276 SELLING PRICE OF 1kg POWDERED TURMERIC = Rs 250 Thus over here we can also see expenditure exceeds sale which results in a loss for the farmers. From the above analysis, it can be concluded that there is a need to reduce the DIRECT COST and to increase the Seed to Production Output in order to generate higher revenue. Interventions like introduction of power tillers, is not feasible because the cultivated areas are located in far away terrain and slopes, which are not motorable. ORGANIC PRACTICES AND SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION As the method of cultivation in the whole state is mostly organic in nature and with the awareness on importance of organic certification that organic products fetches a premium price in the market, there is a need to promote and to create awareness among the farmers to opt for organic certification so as to increase their income from selling their products. While discussing with various farmers, it is found out that organic farming, although practiced, is mostly done using traditional methods which consist mainly of slash and burn and composting. However, the â€Å"slash and burn† method is not considered as organic method because it kills the microbes which fertilize the field. Also, they have no access or awareness about organic pesticides like Trichogramma which is available from the State Biological Control Laboratory in Shillong. And Trichoderma which is use mainly for Ginger and Turmeric is still in the testing stage and will be available shortly. Some of the reasons that the farmers have not under gone organic certifications are mentioned below- 1) No awareness about organic certifications and its potential. ) The farmers have not received any training methods regarding organic farming. 3) They are also not aware of the market and its demand for organic products. 4) The certification process is quite long which takes up to three years. On top of that, the certificate has to be renewed every year. 5) It is also quite expensive. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE FARMERS/ PRODUCERS AT PRODUCTION LEVEL 1) Low yield of the horti cultural crops in which the ratio is 1:2. ) Prevalence of bacterial and fungal infections which affect both stem rot as well as root rot 3) Unsuitable farming practices with poor drainage system to retain water 4) Very seldom crop rotation to replenish soil nutrients 5) Jhum cultivation in which the soil microorganisms died in the process 6) No organic manure is being given to the crops 7) There is no treatment of the seed before sowing 8) There is no capacity building measures being taken to tackle infections and other diseases. POST HARVESTING AND PROCESSING ASPECTS 1) 99% of the farmers sell ginger as a raw produce while turmeric is often converted to dry slices or at times into powder form but at a lower scale. 2) The market is being dominated by the middle men 3) There is no system of grading the ginger based on size and quality 4) The seed to be stored is not harvested at the right time so as it is mature enough to resist spoilage and not properly dried to resist fungal infection 5) Lack of knowledge and training how to store the seed ) Lack of knowledge regarding value addition activities which will fetch a premium price 7) Lack of appropriate technology and infrastructure in many aspects of modern storage. SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAINING/MBDA INTERVENTION CULTIVATION LEVEL 1) Treatment of the seed with organic chemicals such as Trichoderma, one day before sowing to control any seed infection later on. 2) Use of organic compost manure to increase the yield and productivity 3) Proper inter-culture activities f rom month to month ) Digging of horizontal drain-like pit of about ? ft depth perpendicular to the cultivation rows in terrain areas for water and manure retention. 5) Training in capacity building measures to tackle infections and diseases of both root and stem. 6) Practicing rotation cultivation of turmeric and ginger with leguminous plants on a yearly basis to replenish the nitrogen content of the soil 7) The seed which has to be stored needs to be harvested when it has matured. POST HARVESTING ) Grading and segregating the harvest if needed 2) Proper drying of the seed for a week under the shade to avoid moisture content in order to prevent fungus infection during storage. 3) Modern method of storage to maintain the health and freshness of the seed, by digging a hole up to 1 ? ft deep inside the ground and covered with lumps of soil up to 1 ft height and then plaster with a thin layer of wet mud to prevent entry of moisture. 4) Costing method should be taught. 5) Record keeping and internal assessment. ) Awareness of the importance of value addition process post harvesting. 7) Exposure visit. 8) The officers at various levels in District headquarters should play a pro-active role in imparting training and looking at various aspects where there could be an intervention. CONCLUSION In both cases of Turmeric and Ginger, there is hardly any value addition that is being done in the State. Middlemen control the market and influenced the fluctuation in price of both these items. In the case of Ginger alone, except for a meager percentage which gets converted into Ginger Candy at Regional Resource Training Centre (RRTC), Umran and North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC), Byrnihat, there is no other value addition activity being practiced in the State. The whole amount of raw ginger is being packed into sacks of gunny bags of 40kgs and transported directly to Guwahati and Kolkata, thus we are deprived of the real value of what ginger could have fetched if proper knowledge, skills and machineries are being set up for value addition activities within the state. Whereas in terms of Turmeric, people are more aware of the better price which powder turmeric fetches in the market. Beside few turmeric processing units at the village level which were set up by Self Help Groups (SHG) at the cluster or village level, such as one at Laskein Block in West Jaintia Hills and smaller individual Grinding units at Shangpung and Laitkor, there are many small entrepreneurs who take their produce of dry turmeric to grind at any of these grinding units and sell at local markets as well as in the main market, Iewduh in Shillong. Of what we observed, most of the farmers involved in cultivation of turmeric and ginger, are women which comprises of around 70 percent workforce, the men are usually involve during ploughing activity which is more related to strength but as soon as the sowing season started they shifted to other kinds of works or migrated to other villages in search of work. Thus there is a lot desired and to be done in order to improve livelihood security through integration in growth value chains and market linkages in Meghalaya. ______________________________________________________________________ How to cite Research on Ginger in Meghalaya, Essays

Physical Education Important in Schools free essay sample

According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the bill identified the following subjects as the â€Å"core academic subjects†: English, reading or language arts, math, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography (NASPE). Leaving the subject Physical Education clearly missing from the list. Did this mean that the congress did not consider Physical Education to be an academic subject? It certainly got states, school boards, and educational policy makers believing so. Unfortunately this made it legal for states to cut funding for PE and according to NASPE â€Å"gave many school boards the incentive (and political cover) to reduce or eliminate requirements for students to participate in PE classes† (NASPE). I have already begun to experience the effects of funding cuts. The first thing that went was funding for High School sports. For the last two years I have had to pay for traveling fees, support fund raisers, and purchase uniforms, just to name a few, in order for my son to participate. We will write a custom essay sample on Physical Education Important in Schools or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This makes it less desirable for lower income families to encourage their children to keep active in sports. This just simply adds fuel to the fire; our youth can already opt out of Physical Education and now in order to participate on a school team, they have to pay their own way. With these obstacles in our youth’s way, the risk for health problems increases dramatically. Physical activity has been proven to be a great way to control and improve a sea full of issues including obesity, physical health, mental health, and academics.The National Association of Sports and Education explains that â€Å"PE was first offered as a subject in U. S. schools in the early part of the 19th century. State education agency mandates for PE became common after World War I, when many young men were found to be unfit for military service†(1). Since then the majority of us has gotten to experience this curriculum and it is just as important now in the 21st century as it was in the 19th. Physical Education plays an important role on constructing a well rounded individual. By well rounded I mean a student who not only knows the importance of getting good grades in their core curriculums, but who also knows the importance of staying healthy through being actively involved in physical exercise. You do not necessarily have to be the most athletic person to participate. You just have to give it your all and do not give up. If you follow your teacher’s instructions and play by the rules, PE can have very rewarding outcomes. Or if you choose not to participate the outcomes can have a negative outcome including obesity.With our obese society being at an all time high, Physical Education could not be more important. According to Centers for Disease Control childhood overweight and obesity rates have tripled from just one generation ago which means that obesity affects 17% of all children and adolescents in the United States. Childhood obesity tends to reflect the likelihood of being overweight as an adult. Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease which is one of the leading causes of death of adults in the US. Obesity can also cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, and joint problems.CDC also mentions that obese children have low self esteem, social problems, and are the targets of bullying. Keeping the students actively involved in PE will initiate a stepping stone to fitness and decrease chances of obesity. (CDC â€Å"Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Childhood†) Physical health can be achieved by good nutrition and physical activities. In school the Physical Education curriculum mostly emphasizes physical health through physical activities. The type of curriculum standards that are taught differs between states. Idaho has their standards separated by grade levels.These levels are as followed 2nd grade, 5th grade, 8th grade, and 9th-12th. According to the Idaho State Department of Education by the completion of 12th grade students should be able to â€Å"demonstrate health-related fitness components (cardio respiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition) by improving, meeting and/or sustaining gender and age-related contemporary fitness standards†. This does sound like a lot to have to learn through your school career, but by staying consistent and taking it seriously this can be achieved.To benefit from physical activity, the Office of Disease Preventions and Health Promotion suggests engaging in aerobic, age appropriate muscle strengthening, and bone strengthening for a period of at least 60 minutes daily. Chances of becoming physically fit increases with consistent pa rticipation in these activities. This reduces the chance of becoming overweight and dramatically improves self confidence. Physical activity not only benefits physical health, but it also helps with mental health. Mental Health is an important factor for well being and overall health.Getting out of the classroom for exercise or even just for a breath of fresh air will help clear the mind. Exercise is beneficial to mental health issues like depression and mood. According to CDC â€Å"research has shown that doing aerobic or a mix of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities 3 to 5 times a week for 30 to 60 minutes can give you these mental health benefits† (CDC). Exercise stimulates positive energy through your body. While this energy is being released, neurotransmitter chemicals called endorphins are simultaneously being released. According to Medterms. om â€Å"endorphins are one of the bodys own painkillers, an opioid (morphine-like) chemical produced by the body that serves to suppress pain, this in turn leads to a happier person and reduces the risks of stress and depression† (medterms. com). Good mental health is not only beneficial to a student in general, but it is also necessary in order to well academically. Physical Education can improve your overall academics. There are studies that link the benefits of working out to grades. For starters I found a Doctor/Author named John Rate that has done studies on this exact subject.In an interview with USA Today, Ratey says â€Å"fast-paced workout boosts the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. I call it Miracle-Gro for the brain, and physical activity is one of the best ways to release this brain-nourishing protein† (Fackelmann, Kathleen). He backs his finding up by stating the following â€Å"Studies show that regular physical activity may increase the production of cells in the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in learning and memory† (Fackelmann, Kathleen). Ratey was just one among the many that I found that linked Physical Activity to academics.A two year study was done on Percentile Changes in Body Mass Index and Academic Performance. The American Journal of Public health states their objective â€Å"We assessed the effects of a school-based obesity prevention intervention that included dietary, curricu la, and physical activity components on body mass index (BMI) percentiles and academic performance among low-income elementary school children. † (AJPH) The results overall were that the intervention school children had significantly higher math scores both years. These results alone state my case on the positive effects that physical activity has on students.My son who is in eleventh grade has given me a firsthand reason to believe that all these findings are accurate. He plays three sports at his high school along with taking a weight class each semester. He is in great physical and mental shape and maintains an overall grade point average of 3. 6. Granted he does need to maintain good grades to qualify to play, but with feeling healthy and good about himself he doesn’t think twice about doing otherwise. He fills his time with school work and sports leaving him not much time to get in trouble and fall out of line.Although not every kid is going to be able to participate in a team sport, there is no reason that they can’t participate in Physical Education given that they don’t have physical limitations. Physical education budgets are being cut even though it has clearly been proven that students who actively participate in Physical Education from Kindergarten through twelfth grade not only improve their overall health, but also strengthen their academic achievements. I am a strong believer that Physical Education is a very important academic curriculum.

Online Business Issues

Big Data and eBusiness Relevance Nowadays, more people get to know the term Big Data and try to understand its essence and make use of it to benefit in the chosen activities. According to Yin, Jiang, Lin, Luo, and Liu (2014), Big Data makes it possible to open a new era of science and human abilities to discover it through data-driven computing.  Many scientists and researchers offer their ideas on how to develop the Big Data paradigm and why people need pay more attention to this concept.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Online Business Issues specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, Jao (2014), the CEO of one of the retention automation platform for eCommerce, admits that Big Data is beneficial from a variety of perspectives: it helps to improve business, choose the best advertising, decide on the marketing strategies, control customer retention, etc. It is hard to imagine the world of eBusiness, and eCo mmerce in particular, without Big Data. Its impact remains to be huge, and the following examples can prove its urgency.  First of all, the organisation of information can be facilitated. For a long period, different companies have been challenged to collect, save, and keep data from different sources at one place. It was necessary to spend much time analysing each piece of the source chosen. Big Data helps to extract a certain value from data given (Nwokpoku 2015). People, who are involved in eBusiness, win a lot with Big Data concept due to the existing relevance by means of which people can combine data from browsers, social media, and different records and underline those ideas that become more important.  Secondly, Big Data provides business people with an opportunity to make decisions that are more informed and data-driven. The key features of this concept are variability, velocity, variety, and value (Gandomi Haider 2014). They show that each piece of information is a po werful combination of different credible facts that may touch upon different spheres of life and help people make fast and properly-grounded decisions. Such ability is necessary for the world of eBusiness; therefore, this relevance cannot be neglected in the analysis. Thirdly, the personalisation of information becomes possible with Big Data. Though some people may think that such general concept with a variety of sources can hardly promote privacy or similar issues, Big Data is created to help sellers observe the changes of users’/consumers’ behaviour and make the necessary connections to realise what can be done more to achieve more efficient results. Finally, it is wrong to believe that Big Data and eBusiness relevance is only about some positive aspects. All people, who are going to use it, should remember that Big Data is a complex mechanism that can work only for those, who know how to use it, when to stop or change a direction, and how to make the correct soluti ons. Big Data, as well as eCommerce, is a big world of information from different regions. It is so hard to get lost, and people should be ready for any challenge.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More How to handle Big Data for a company As Chief Information Officer (CIO), I want to underline that it is not an easy task to handle Bib Data for any company. Each manager has to be ready to learn a lot and improve personal knowledge constantly because the majority of technical errors happen because of people, who make mistakes, not because of some technological glitches. I want to underline that Big Data should be treated in two different ways: on the one hand, it is a marketing term that involve people, their needs, interests, and offers; on the other hand, it is a technical term because it depends on technologies and the way they can work.  To benefit from Big Data, it is import ant to pay more attention to a company’s informative lifecycle process. It is not enough to check the quality of information; it is necessary to consider the insights and criticise them on a professional level. The company should have powerful leaders, who can set the goals clearly, choose the most talented managers, who can organise the work with information, and underline the importance of a company as a whole because Big Data is for a team not for one person (McAfee Brynjolfsson 2012). Impact of the Internet on Porter’s 5 Forces Model The sphere of eBusiness undergoes considerable changes because of the Internet and people’s burning desire to use it all the time. Still, the changes are not always positive. The Internet is one of the most unpredictable inventions on the earth, and it is hard to guess if it is a chance or a challenge. As many business models and strategies, Porter’s model undergoes certain changes as soon as the Internet spreads its pow er over people. Though Karagiannopoulos, Georgopoulos, and Nikolopoulos (2005) found out that the Internet did not promote significant changes, and this traditional model can be used for the examination of business and its peculiarities. Porter’s model is a powerful attempt to analyse the world of business with its threats of entrants and substitutes, power of buyers and suppliers, and rivalry that has been developing during a considerable period (Hax 2009). It helps to understand if the company is profitable enough for competitions and investments. The modern world of business depends on how its people can use Porter’s model and choose the most appropriate ways to succeed. At the same time, the modern eBusiness world has been dramatically changed because of the Internet and the opportunities available. Therefore, the impact of the Internet on the Five Competitive Forces remains to be crucial and cannot be controlled by those, who know a little about actual abilities o f the Internet.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Online Business Issues specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More All business students are provided with knowledge about the Internet’s direct impact on business. Though students spend much time learning and analysing the current opportunities and technological progress, they cannot understand how exactly this issue defines the quality of all work done. Not all business people are ready to compare the possibilities of the past with the possibilities of the future to make the correct decision today. Porter’s model is about the analysis, and if the Internet changes the compositions of the analysis, it will change the essence of the analysis itself. It is wrong to believe that no dramatic changes can happen to the model. It is inappropriate to believe that the change of one aspect can lead to the change of another aspect. It may happen that the Internet can infl uence the bargaining power of buyers or substitutes and has nothing to offer to change the threats of entry. Therefore, the analysis of each dimension is necessary. How the Internet Changes the Game The Internet has enough powers to impact business games modern people are so eager to play day by day and promote economic benefits (Bernard Souza 2009). Even if people do not want to agree with the fact that they are the players that can win or lose one day, all business people want to use their thinking abilities and chances to achieve more (Werbach Hunter 2012). Each dimension of Porter’s model changes because of the power of the Internet to business. The bargaining power of customers and buyers may be considerably increased due to a variety of information available through the Internet. The threat of new entrants and substitute products may be also changed, still, it is hard to predict what kind of changes can be. On the one hand, it is easier to enter a new market with the Internet because there is no necessity to open a real store or business centre or something else (Morais, Pires, Moreira 2012). It is enough to create a captivating site and make people learn about their possibilities for the services offered. On the other hand, people can get access to many e-business companies that can offer the same services at more reasonable prices. Therefore, the level of substitutes and abilities of business players can be dramatic for each other. The peculiar feature of the Internet is its ability to create unexpected outcomes and influence the whole system in the most unpredictable way. And if Porter’s model has been always about something that is expected and can be explained, it cannot stay this way because of the Internet opportunities for people, who develop e-business.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The rivalry achieves a new stage because of the Internet as well. People have to think how to spread their services and offers globally. It is not enough to achieve some local benefits. It is more important to inform as many people as possible to underline the urgency and success of the chosen business. Reference List Bernard, RRS Souza, MP 2009, ‘Dominance in online business games competitions’, Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, 36, pp. 287-294. Gandomi, A Haider, M 2014, ‘Beyond the hype: big data concepts, methods, and analytics’, International Journal of Information Management, vol. 35, pp. 134-144. Hax, AC 2009, The Delta model: reinventing your business strategy, Springer Science Business Media, Cambridge, MA. Jao, J 2014, ‘Why big data is a must in ecommerce’, The Big Data Landscape. Web. Karagiannopoulos, G.D., Georgopoulos, N. and Nikolopoulos, K 2005, ‘Fathoming Porter’s five forces model i n the internet era’, Info, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 66 – 76. McAfee, A Brynjolfsson, E 2012, ‘Big Data: the management revolution’, Harvard Business Review. Web. Morais, EP, Pires, JA, Moreira, R 2012, ‘E-business maturity: constraints associated with their evolution’, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 280-300. Nwokpoku, J 2015, ‘Big data: driving e-business through open access’, Vanguard. Web. Werbach, K Hunter, D 2012, For the win: how game thinking can revolutionize your business, Wharton Digital Press, Philadelphia, PA. Yin, H, Jiang, Y, Luo, Y, Liu, Y 2014, ‘Big data: transforming the design philosophy of future internet’, IEEE Network Magazine, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 14-19. This report on Online Business Issues was written and submitted by user Leilani Pennington to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

BRITISH WOMENS BATTLE WITH, AND FOR THEIR GOVERNMENT IN THE essays

BRITISH WOMENS BATTLE WITH, AND FOR THEIR GOVERNMENT IN THE essays BRITISH WOMENS BATTLE WITH, AND FOR THEIR GOVERNMENT IN THEIR STRUGGLE TO ACHIEVE EQUALITY During the dynamic years of the early 1900s when the First World War was complicating womens relationships to the state, many feminists and suffragists were supporting the war in light of patriotism and the opportunity they capitalized on to demonstrate their civic responsibilities and gain their right to vote. Womens selfless service to country over identity during a time of great need in their country played a major part in Britains ability to sustain a German attack and was not to be overlooked. During this time, women proved to play an important role in the forward progress of the British nation. Women supported the war effort out of patriotism and the fact that a strong contribution from them would go a long way in bringing about social reformation. By playing such key roles in the success of Great Britains military, womens relationship to the state became one that consisted of a considerable amount of clout. The rights of British women, which had been an ongoing topic of debat e, were brought to the attention of the state after making such important contributions during the First World War and eventually led to the first enfranchisement of women. During the First World War, duty to country overcame the self-righteous fulfillment in duty to self within the women of Great Britain, causing the relationships between women and the state to become ever more complicated. The women, who had been deep-rooted in fighting an ongoing battle for enfranchisement, reassessed their priorities, and after the announcement of war in August of 1914, decided against their prior stance on war which was that of pacifism, and proclaimed a suspension of suffrage activity to focus their energy towards the war effort and free the government of the worries and hassles they caused them. ...In exchange, the government...

An Introduction To Knowledge Workers Management Essay

An Introduction To Knowledge Workers Management Essay For the main part of the 20th century, the industry was depended on the performance of manual workers in manufacturing. During this time the most important contribution of management was to increase the productivity of these workers to make the organization profitable and to sustain their continuity. (Drucker, 1999) But a shift has taken place. Nowadays, in the 21st century, the economy starts increasingly to depend on the performance and productivity of knowledge workers. Most businesspeople believed in the importance of knowledge workers and saw that knowledge workers are vital to organizational success which includes organizational sustainability and growth. For this reason â€Å"knowledge workers† become essential in nowadays economy (Helton, R 1988, Drucker, 1999). But what does this relatively new term ‘knowledge workers’ means? In the literature there is no common or specific definition found. (Ramirez Frey, 1997). According to their need of autonomy it i s the role of the knowledge worker to learn, constantly updating – and developing new skills, and transfer this knowledge to others in the organization. By doing this, they will make them valuable to the organization ( James, 2002). At last a knowledge worker can be defined from the perspective of an individual activity. In reference to this perspective, the balance between ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ activities regarding their job is examined (Kelloway & Barling, 2003). However the work of knowledge workers is defined as work with high levels of cognitive activities (Helton, 1988) and where they will work with information to make decisions and create idea’s (Fox, 1990). For this reason knowledge workers tend more to the side where activities are related to ‘thinking’

Value. Bankruptcy. Investment Price Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Value. Bankruptcy. Investment Price - Essay Example On the other hand, the US system is supposed to be more debtor-friendly, where the courts play a significant role in the restructuring of the distressed company (Bourguignon & Pleskovic, 2007). In the US, bankruptcy is managed under the Bankruptcy Code, formed by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Under this Act, a company could be restructured and reorganized or else liquidated. A financially distressed company can get protection from the creditors under the Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The company can then attempt to rise above its financial hardships and also sort out the payments to its various creditors. Conversely, if the company files under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, the assets of the company are liquidated and the proceeds are allocated to the creditors. The major trade-off in the bankruptcy act is between providing protection to a distressed company and ensuring bondholders with adequate security to extend credit. Providing protection to the financially distress ed company from its creditors and helping them to start afresh is an important driver of private enterprises. Many entrepreneurs would not take up the risk of forming a business if they had a possibility of facing unrestricted liability. However, the partial liability cancellations and bailouts of the bankrupt companies hurt the interest of the bondholders because they receive only a fraction of the value actually owed. Many a times, the liquidation of the company’s assets also does not help the creditors to acquire the total amount they owed to the company. This consequently makes the creditors more risk averse and the restructured company finds it difficult to locate investment post its bankruptcy. Therefore, regardless of liquidation, reconciliation of liability claims or Chapter 11, the lenders do not get back what they originally owed to the company (Damodaran, 2005). Answer 2 A company is said to be bankrupt when it is not capable of fulfilling its contractual liabiliti es. The assets of such a company are generally liquidated and the earnings from the liquidation process are utilized to meet the overdue claims. The cost involved in the process of going bankrupt is obscure and hence difficult to quantify. The legal expenditures involved are known as the direct cost of bankruptcy. These costs occur in the form of cash outflows at the moment of bankruptcy of the company. Therefore, the direct costs of bankruptcy consist of legal as well as administrative expenditures and also the interest payments for the payment of the overdue cash flows. However, the major part of the bankruptcy cost takes place prior to the company’s bankruptcy declaration. The direct costs of bankruptcy of large companies are considerably small considered to their indirect costs of bankruptcy. When the suppliers, the buyers, the consumers and also the

Fitzgeralds Translation of Omar Khayyam Coursework

Fitzgeralds Translation of Omar Khayyam - Coursework Example The best part of his poems was composed during his youth in the quiet and beautiful landscape of Nishpur. The translated version of his famous Rubaiyat (Quatrains) was first published by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859, which made him famous throughout the Western world. "If the mood expressed in the famous Quatrains", says Gibbs, "is not the most heroic or exalted, none-the-less they caught the exact tone of the age, and voiced it as perfectly as eight centuries earlier they had voiced the published hedonism of the cultured society of Isfahan". "Postcolonialism" is the revaluation of Western culture's conception of itself in the light of the repressed history of exploitation of "other" peoples on which Western economic well-being and distribution of wealth is based (Robert 2003, p. 1). Postcolonial criticism is characterized by a skepticism concerning those liberal notions of moral and political justice which historically co-existed happily with iniquitous colonial practices. Consistent with this critique, it also tries to reformulate more plausible concepts for understanding what actually took place under colonialism, redeeming past events from colonial ideologies of improvement from liberation, and evolving new categories for mapping a resistant world from the colonized point of view. In discussing historical work of Omar Khayyam it becomes more and more natural to equate historical differences with cultural differences. The problems faced by the Edward Fitzgerald crossing historical boundaries are so similar to those of the cultural anthropologist that no apology for this conflation looks necessary. Both hermeneutical acts are so closely allied in procedure and intent that we easily forget their differences, or that one must, in some sense, be a metaphor for the other. Or perhaps 'metonym' for the other is more accurate, if assumption of that continuity with the past enabling dialogue is extended or reinforced by the parallel of interpreting Omar Khayyam's cultures. Since cultures are frequently contemporaneous with out own, they can, if allowed, talk back in a more straightforward manner than the past. Equally, interpreters of historical difference (like Fitzgerald) maintain the parallel at their end by understanding as a king of translation the effort by which they try to register the Omar's voice in which the past replies to their questions, a translation which may involve alterations to the language into which the translation passes. When Edward Fitzgerald entered the altered landscape of another culture, he chose not only to translate classical meanings into English meanings but also to "transpose"1 certain alien habits of speech and thought. He did this because, like all great poets, he cared about language and form, and knew that the language of English poetry itself would be strengthened and enriched by the minor violations to which he was willing to subject it. He also found the ancient world itself was far from being a uniform field. Edward Fitzgerald risks distorting the English language under the pressure of translating into it an alien form. But the deterrent of confronting difficulty is a strengthening and enriching of the poet's language. This

Communication Between Agencies Essay Example for Free

Communication Between Agencies Essay In order to be successful having great communication is the key to that success. Our country has endowed many tragedies with many of them due to the poor communication. Many lives had been lost because of poor communication or the first responder’s not being trained properly for a situation as this. Communication problems became the focal point of our nation’s emergency management improvement ever since September 11. Every day in cities and towns across the Nation, emergency response personnel respond to incidents of varying scope and magnitude. Their ability to communicate in real time is critical to establishing command and control at the scene of an emergency, to maintaining event situational awareness, and to operating overall within a broad range of incidents (National emergency communications, 2008). Communicating messages to the general public is a critical yet underdeveloped aspect of effective emergency management. Such messages fall under three basic categories: risk, communication, and warning and crisis communications. Risk communication involves alerting and educating the public to the risks they face and how they can best prepare for and mitigate these risks in order to reduce the impacts of future disaster events. Warning involves delivering notice of an actual impending threat with sufficient time to allow recipient individuals and communities to take shelter, evacuate, or take other mitigated action in advance of a disaster event. Crisis communication involves the provision of timely, useful, and accurate information to the public during the response and recovery phases of a disaster event (Bullock, 2009). The emergency management community as a whole has vast experience in practicing risk and warning communications. Preparedness programs have been an active part of emergency management in this country for decades, and public education programs conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, local fire departments, and other public and private sector agencies have disseminated millions of brochures and checklists describing the risks of future disaster events and the steps that individuals and communities can take to reduce and prepare for them (Bullock, 2009). In our text Bullock States, â€Å"The National Commission on terrorist attacks on the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, found that inadequate communications contributed greatly to hindering the ability of responding agencies to respond to the events that unfolded, and led directly to the high number of police and fire department employees who were killed when the towers collapsed† (Bullock, 2009). From this you can conclude that information was not passed along fast enough so as a result many people lost their lives because of this. There were also language barriers many of the different agencies did not use the same â€Å"lingo† and because of this confusion information was not passed between them correctly.

Software Piracy Essay -- Computer Software Copyright Violation

Software Piracy Software piracy is the copying and selling of copyrighted software. There are many types of software that can be pirated including operating systems, application programs, internet downloads, including music, software, or movies. Many people do this knowing that they are partaking in something illegal; however some people have no clue that they are breaking the law. In some cases a person may have inadvertently purchased pirated software. The consequences of having or distributing pirated software can be serious in some cases. Software piracy is a common practice that can be easily avoided. Software piracy is an equal offense to downloading of music, movies, books, magazines, or any other copyrighted material. It is as simple as downloading a program from the internet, or using a friend’s copy of Office. Software piracy can also be as complex as a computer store re-selling software with a fake or counterfeit product key or registration code. To avoid this look out for software that seems less expensive than it should be or software that comes with a key generator. If you suspect software piracy you can contact, The Software & Information Industry Association, on their website http://www.siia.net/piracy. On their website they are actually offering rewards of up to $50,000 to any person that reports a company that is using pirated software. People partake in software piracy because it as an easy way out of purchasing software. Some software programs can cost over a thousand dollars, whereas some only cost twenty or thirty dollars. Software piracy has said to have begun around the 1960’s. Over time it has grown and it accounts for â€Å"25% - 50%† of software curr... ... 83% Tunisia 82% Kenya 80% Thailand 80% Nicaragua 79% El Salvador 79% Bolivia 78% Guatemala 77% Lebanon 74% Romania 73% Morocco 73% Honduras 73% India 73% Philippines 72% Venezuela 70% Works Cited "Learn About Piracy." Prevent Software Piracy. 2005. Intuit. 8 November 2005. . "What is Piracy?" Anti Piracy. 2005. The Software & Information Industry Association. 8 November 2005. . "Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty in New Hampshire Software Piracy Conspiracy." Software Piracy. 2005. U.S. Department of Justice. 8 November 2005. .

Sexual Harrassement vs. Public Relations

Public Relations vs. Sexual Harassment Eric Reidenbach CGD 318 Professor LaKisha Bryant August 12, 2010 Public Relations vs. Sexual Harassment Sexual Harassment can be a huge distraction and could destroy a businesses work environment. The effects are damaging to an organization and do not only affect the individual being harassed but also fellow employees, the harasser, and the organization. Sexual harassment is when someone uses sexual behavior to control a person, whether it is behavioral or physical in nature, which makes you feel uncomfortable.This paper on this issue will include what exactly sexual harassment is, the effects on the sexual harassment has on the person, employees, and workplace, and the different procedures and processes to prevent such cases. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sexual harassment is define as: â€Å"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexu al harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either emplicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individuals employment: (2) submission to, or rejection of, uch conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual: or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment (Paludi, Michele A. , Barickman, Richard B. , page 3). † Some of the most common forms of sexual harassment charges come because a person feels they are being harassed or singled out when they lose their job, benefits or privileges or more commonly when they are fired because they reject a sexual advance from a superior.This form of sexual harassment is the most common in that a superior often times will promise a person job security if they do sexual favors for them. However, if that person refuses the advances the boss or supervisor wills often times fire that person figuring that they do not want that person telling others what happened and by firing them they have control of the situation. Most times sexual harassment is a sense of power for the accused and they feel that with the power they have that they can sway the judgments of others, and often times do so until someone stands up to them.The second type of sexual harassment is when the harassment interferes with an employee’s ability to perform his/her job duties and it creates an intimidating work atmosphere. Often times this is caused by fellow employees, supervisors, or outside vendors or business people. This type of harassment usually involves flirting, physical contact, whistling, sexual pictures or jokes, and so on. As stated previously, there are two types of sexual harassment that may occur in the workplace. Sexual harassment can occur in any number of circumstances. For example, the victim as well as the harasser may b e a woman or a man.The victim does not necessarily have to be of the opposite sex either. In addition, the victim does not necessarily have to be the one being harassed, but could be anyone that is offended by a persons conduct, and the harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome. While the conduct of the harasser must be unwelcome, it must also be undesirable. The harasser’s intent and behavior are based on the perception of the victim. Many times the one being accused of harassment may not even know he did anything wrong if he was just telling a joke to a friend and a fellow co-worker was near by and overheard the joke and took offense to it.In addition the harasser’s intent or joke may not be sexual in nature at all, but their actions may be taken as sexually suggestive or uncomfortable by others. Therefore, we turn to how sexual harassment affects the person being harassed. In general, most people would assume that women are the ones in this economy to be sexually harassed then that of men, and you would be right. However, More then 200 men file sexual harassment charges each year with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, that’s about one-tenth of the number of cases filed by women.But more men will experience sexual harassment over the coming years as women assume more positions of power in corporate America. In addition to this stat The American Psychological Association estimates that 71 percent of working women will be subjected to sexual harassment during their careers. These stats alone show how sexual harassment is typically known as just being a problem for females, but as times change and women become more valuable and highly regarded in the workplace, that sexual harassment is now becoming more of a problem for men as well.The effect on an individual who is being harassed is crippling and can affect them in many ways. When being sexually harassed the victim’s job performance, life, and family and social relat ionships could be negatively affected. A person’s job performance will almost definitely be affected as they may be afraid to say anything to anyone there as they may feel that no one will ever believe them and that they are just trying to damage their supervisor’s reputation. Not only will they be hesitant about saying anything, but they will also be weary of all that they do as not to lead on the person dealing the harassment.The effects of sexual harassment will not end there as when the victim goes home they may feel as if they are cheating on their spouse by not saying anything or taking action against the harasser and it may make them irritable and ruin their relationship at home. Even in the case were the person does report the harasser they may still deal with issues outside the workplace in the case that the supervisor is well respected among the community and no one may believe the victim and think they are just making up stories to get ahead in life.It is be cause of these perceptions of sexual harassment that many people keep sexual advances and harassment to themselves and do not say anything. In many cases as well, the victim may choose not to say anything as they will be afraid of how the workplace will take the accusations and how the news would affect the company. For this reason it shows how the person is not the only person impacted by a sexual harassment accusation but how the workplace is affected as a whole as well.When a case of sexual harassment arises everyone is affected including fellow employees, supervisors, and managers as they will all be questioned and asked if they have ever noticed anything going on before. This is what you call a hostile work environment and no one ever wants to work in that type of a workplace. When this happens the productivity almost always diminishes, integrity and trust is tarnished as a whole, it becomes difficult to manage, and the public’s image of the company is at risk.For these reasons this is why many companies when faced with sexual harassment charges choose to deal with the case outside of court and make a settlement that way. If the company chooses to fight the charges then they risk them losing the case and ultimately losing valuable respect within the publics image in the situation that they lose the case. I guess you could call this way of settling a fail-safe as the company does not want to give up but they also do not want to lose the case and in return lose customers and business and go bankrupt or close.By settling behind closed doors and out of court the company ends up saving possibly millions of dollars and being able to move on without having the whole world knowing about what happened. Once this is dealt with it is then up to that company to deal with the problem inside its doors and getting the companies employees moral back up and back to working. So, in the case that you are being sexually harassed you should simply start by asking the p erson that you feel is harassing you to stop what they are doing and if they do not that you will be forced to take action and file a complaint.Many times this simple act can save a lot of trouble for both parties and the work force. However, if the problem does not end there then you will be forced to report the issue to higher authorities and have them investigate the situation and take care of it. This is why it is very important that every job addresses their employees on how to deal with harassment in the workplace, because harassment charges adversely affects all components of the organization. Everyone in the organization should understand what harassment is, the danger, and how it can be prevented.Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace, and the employers should take all the necessary steps in order to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. There are a few steps that can be instituted by organizations to prevent sexual harassment from o ccurring. The first step is to develop a written sexual harassment policy prohibiting harassing conduct, action, and behavior. The policy should be distributed to all the employees and state how they have the right to work in an environment free from harassment.It should also inform them how when they report harassment that they are also safe from retaliation from reporting a person and that any type of retaliation is a violation of state and federal law. The second step is to communicate these policies to all the employees in the workplace. This can be done in many ways and the most common form is by providing training seminars annually to keep these policies fresh in everyone’s minds so that they know what can happen to them if they choose not to listen.Other ways to communicate these policies to the employees is by having it in the employees handbooks, and by having the policies posted and many different places throughout the companies buildings and workplace. The third an d fourth steps are to have a procedure that all the employees know on how to file a complaint. In addition to that step then the employer then should take appropriate remedial actions to investigate an employees complaint or allegation.By the human resource department and employer taking action they show the other employees that they do care about their employees and decrease the likelihood that something like this will happen again in the future. In conclusion I felt that a case study would best describe a lot of what I have just talked about and in this case the book from the ebrary called Internal Affairs: The Abuse of Power, Sexual Harassment and Hypocrisy in the Workplace. In this book they talked about a case in which a 28 year old woman filed a sexual harassment case against her manager and stated: My personal relationships suffered so much that I can’t really talk about it. I know that I am having trouble trusting people, certainly men. I hope I will be able to go to work for someone again, someday, but I just don’t know. I’ve lost my passion for work, I guess. Within a year, I have been sexually harassed, lost my job, my health insurance, and my credit rating, and was faced with great debt and a long climb back to where I was, careerwise. I won $113,000, in the end. How much did it all cost me? In my heart, it cost me everything I was, everything I had, and everything I hoped to be someday.You tell me how you can convert that into money. You Can’t. No one can (p. 197). † Maggie’s situation is one many women and men are faced with after a sexual harassment case in which even if they win they are stuck with many bills and many other difficulties in wondering if they are less superior then others. Many times when someone is faced with the question on whether or not to file a case they will look at a case like this and figure that it may be best to just keep quite and ride it out. No one ever wants to lose their pe rsonal relationships, job, or respect for just being honest and open about someone else victimizing them.Unfortunately, our world is cruel sometimes and we have people that are just in it to protect themselves no matter how much it hurts others. To every case however, there is another side of the story so I found it very interesting to see how Maggie’s work superiors responded to her case. The owner of the business responded and said: â€Å"My legal fees are averaging five figures a month. Our public relations agency has added to our needs a crisis plan with a $200,000 budget attached to it. I’m in for a million dollars, at the very least, and Shawna’s t her desk, figuring out on her calculator how much she can keep after after taxes. The other employees are split on how they feel about her, Frank can’t manager her anymore, so she’s free to do whatever she wants. other employees resent that she’s not doing her share of the work. We havenâ⠂¬â„¢t had decent numbers come out of that office since the claim was filed (p. 198). † The companies response to the claim being filed against their manager, Frank, shocked me as it seemed as though they were only focused on the money they were losing and the work not happening because of the case.It seemed as though they were forgetting the issue at hand and just looking for ways to rebuild there name and keep the business alive. I understand as a growing company you need to do all you can to keep the respect of your business to protect your name for your publics, but at some point I think you need to address the issue and the harasser as well. In the end, Maggie won less then a third of what she was looking for and lost her sense of who she was and many of her friendships, she was no longer comfortable working.On the other side the company lost it’s credibility and many of the employees resented their job and did not feel like they were being treated fairly with Magg ie just sitting around not doing much of anything. In addition to the millions of dollars for attorneys and human resource people, the company also had to budget $200,000 for a crisis management with public relations. This is why many times you see companies just settle outside of court so that they save all that extra money and are not forced to budget in all those additional legal fees.It does not say how the company made out after this case but I would assume that they lost the respect of their other employees and the respect of many of their clients in knowing that there was a sexual harassment case going on inside the workplace. Overall, sexual harassment is a crippling subject for workplaces and no penny should be left unspent in educating the employees on the varying forms of sexual harassment and what could happen if you do not take heed to the warnings.There is ultimately no end to sexual harassment ever coming in my mind and the only way to ever tackle this problem is to j ust keep on telling the employees about the problems with it and what may come of it if they choose to not listen to the warnings. Maybe more articles about the harassers in sexual harassment cases and how it affected them and how no place would hire them because of their past, maybe that will put a scare into people and keep them from sexually harassing others.Books talking about cases such as Maggie’s and telling us how her life is no good anymore is not helping people want to report sexual harassment cases and are only helping the harassers feel like they can get away with it. Bibliography Barickman, Richard B. , and Michele A. Paludi. Academic and Workplace Sexual Harassment: A Resource Manual. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1991. Cameron, G. T. , Wilcox, D. L. , Reber, B. H. , & Shin, J. Public Relations Today: Managing Competition and Conflict. Boston, MA: Pearson Edu. Inc, 2008. Hearn, Jeff R. , and Pauline Wendy Parkin. Gender, Sexuality and Vio lence in Organizations: The Unspoken Forces of Organizational Violations. 1 ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications ltd, 2002. Neville, Kathleen. Internal Affairs: The Abuse of Power Sexual Harassment and Hypocricy in the Workplace. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. Saguy, Abigail C. What is Sexual Harassment? : From Capitol Hill to the Sorbonne. California: University of California Press, 2003. Taylor, Joan. Sexual Harassment: A Non-Adversarial Approach. NYU Press, 2001.

“Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou Essay

Maya Angelou is the author of thirty best-selling books. In a famous autobiography she wrote a novel titled I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this story she composes a chapter remembering her childhood called â€Å"Champion of the World.† This chapter is a memoir during the late 1930’s when Joe Louis became an African American hero by defending his heavyweight title against a white contender in a boxing match. Throughout â€Å"Champion of the World† Maya Angelou uses language, rhythm, and actions of character to create suspense, tension, and anticipation for the reader. First, Maya Angelou implies a strong rhythm to the story. The reader can easily recognize when suspense is occurring because the sentences become shorter. For example, when Angelou and her family thought the Joe Louis was about to lose the sentences were about three to four words long. â€Å"My race groaned. It was our people falling.† â€Å"We didn’t breathe. We didn’t hope. We waited.† The choppiness of these sentences grew very dramatic. Though, as things were getting better for the African American boxer, the sentences grew longer; â€Å"There were a few sounds from the audience, but they seemed to be holding themselves in against tremendous pressure.† When the sentences lengthened, the suspense diminished. Despite the volume of sentences throughout the story, Maya Angelou also uses ellipses to form rhythm. Ellipses were used a few times in the story, but it is greatly emphasized at the end of the match. â€Å"Here’s the referee. He†™s counting. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven†¦ Is the contender trying to get up again?† â€Å"Let’s get the microphone over to the referee†¦ Here he is. He’s got the Brown Bomber’s hand, he’s holding it up†¦ Here he is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The winnah, and still heavyweight champeen of the world†¦ Joe Louis.† All of these sentences are building up tension to keep reading because the reader can feel the anticipation of the ending. Furthermore, the language in this piece is unusual. The author uses the words â€Å"rape, whip, lynching, clutched, maimed and penetrate† as if the story was about a rape. Ultimately, using these words helped illustrate the meaning of winning this battle and defeating Joe Louis’s opponent with no mercy. It was not only for the boxer but for the people too. Maya Angelou introduces racial comments as well. â€Å"White boy† and â€Å"cracker† were used in  the story. This language helped correlate with the black versus white aspect. In this time period, blacks and whites were very segregated. The reader can easily discover the unequal disparity between blacks and whites through the language, especially when Joe Louis wins and all his African American fans felt just as equal in the world as white people. â€Å"If Joe lost we were back in slavery and beyond help. It would all be true, the accusations that we were lower types of human beings.† Winning t his battle was not just for the title when it came to Joe Louis and his black community; it was for their pride. Lastly, the author uses the setting and the actions of the characters to recognize the importance of the fight in â€Å"Champion of the World.† They watched the match in Maya Angelou’s Uncle Willie’s store. Angelou gives a clear image in the reader’s head of how crowded the story was of family and friends. The radio was turned up to the last notch so that the children sitting on the porch outside could hear. The women sat on chairs, stools, and wooden boxes, men had to lean on shelves or on each other, while babies were perched up on every lap possible. Maya Angelou stresses the family rule of quietness during the fight. No one was aloud to use the cash register to ring up customers because it was simply too noisy and it might â€Å"shake up the atmosphere.† So when the unusual customer dragged along Maya or her brother would lay the coins down on the cash register instead.

The most important part of Emergency Planning Introduction

The most important part of Emergency Planning Introduction Planning refers to sufficient use of time, energy or talent as a resource at a person’s disposal relative to what is important. It deals with concepts like goals and success.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The most important part of Emergency Planning Introduction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Planning is important in an organization as well as in an individual’s life for self worth, satisfaction, and for continuous strife to achieve requisite potential needed to succeed in life. This paper explores why planning is the most important in emergency planning. Planning may be perceived as attending, searching or paying attention to an environment in order to make sense of it and derive an outcome or a conclusion in terms of disaster management (Oliver, 2010). Such a view on planning involve the result of contact with stimuli in the environment which causes an individual to attend to it either through me ntal activity, interpretation or communication (Hooijberg, Lane Diverse, 2010). This way, perception can be seen as an outcome of attending or as an attending process. At work place, these views help the employers and the employees to know how to perceive issues in their environment as well as how to understand each other. There are several factors that may affect either an individual or group perception. To begin with, our perception can be influenced by the unique characteristics of the perceiver. One of the intrinsic characteristics of the perceiver is the mood.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The latter can affect how we perceive people, events or even situations in life (Oliver, 2010). For instance, individuals tend to behave and perceive differently when they are happy or depressed. Secondly, attitude is yet another driving factor that may affect the charact eristics of the perceiver. Some people have negative or positive attitude towards various gender roles. For example, while some believe that women can also perform male oriented jobs; there are those who may categorically differ with women’s ability to perform male-based tasks such as masonry. Other personal characteristics include self-concept, motives, interest, cognitive structure and expectations (Monson, 2010). The other two broad factors that influence perception include characteristics of the situation as well as the characteristics of the target. In terms of expectations, it is highly likely that our perception can be influenced by the kind of outcome that we expect from a given situation. Research findings on this area have found that it is quite cumbersome to see others in an accurate way unless you know yourself well. In addition, the characteristics seen in others are likely to be one’s own intrinsic behavioral patterns. Finally, it is possible to see (or p erceive) positive characteristics in other people once an individual has positively accepted him or herself. Whatever is being observed can also be affected by the characteristics of the target situation or person. One such example is the external looks or physical appearance of an individual. People who are attractive are likely to be perceived in a favorable way compared to those who are unattractive either by the way they dress or generally appear. Moreover, size, sound and motion associated with the target also affect how we see things around us.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The most important part of Emergency Planning Introduction specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Communication Communication is also an important part of planning at workplace since it is important as it involves exchanging bits of information between two or more parties. Communication of information can be through various forms of mass commun ication, through spoken words between groups of people or individuals or it can be through written materials (Hooijberg, Lane Diverse, 2010). In this regard, it is important to point out that communication is an important tool in an organization as it ensures maintenance of personal relationships as well as the aspect of ensuring efficient transmission of messages. Therefore, everything that a business or an organization does is controlled by communication. Communication can be verbal or non-verbal. For instance, facial expressions, gestures and body postures can be actual communication existing between two individuals without them actually talking. Non-verbal communication can be more genuine and extremely powerful than actual talking (Monson, 2010). References Hooijberg, R., Lane, N. Diverse, A. (2010). Leader effectiveness and integrity: wishful thinking? International Journal of Organizational Analysis 18 (1): 59-75. Oliver, A. (2010). Culture Change From the Top. Professional 55(10) : 21- 22.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Mondavi Business Model Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mondavi Business Model Analysis - Essay Example Robert Mondavi Winery manufactures a range of wines like the $125-a-bottle Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve for the discriminating connoisseur or the $5 Woodbridge table wine for the average American who have come to enjoy a glass or two on steak dinners. This disparity in prices reflects the profitable but unfocused approach to marketing to two distinct but demographically opposite consumer groups, which eventually undermined the wine brand's premium image, despite its commercial success among the low to mid end wine consumers. This unfortunate turn of events led the elder Mondavi to lament its success in the winery's latter years prior to its acquisition by Constellation Brands.2 The bungled marketing strategy notwithstanding, the Robert Mondavi Winery is nothing less than a stellar success, a multi-billion dollar wine brand that has done more to change the liquor-consuming game in the post prohibition America. II. THE ROBERT MONDAVI WINERY BUSINESS MODEL The Robert Mondavi Winery infrastructure is pretty much a relic of the old world vineyard estates albeit with a few technological modifications like state-of-the-art processing and bottling facilities that ensure consistent manufacturing quality regardless of volume. The To Kalon Vineyard, which means "the highest beauty" in Ancient Greek, is the vineyard that provides Robert Mondavi Winery with most of the grapes for its world-class Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, and Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon and is the exclusive source of Sauvignon Blanc for the estate bottled Fum Blanc Reserve and I Block Fum Blanc. It consists of over 550-acres, parts of which were originally planted in the middle of the 19th century, in the Oakville region. The Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville and specifically from To Kalon Vineyard has been found to be some of the finest in the Napa Valley. The other vineyard is a 400-acre Wappo Hill Vineyard in the Stag's Leap region which supplies much of the Merlot and the Sauvignon Blanc for the winery's Napa Valley Fum Blanc. 3 Fig. 1. The Robert Mondavi Winery Business Model (prior to 2004 acquisition) The wineries, where the actual processing of the grapes are done, were located in Oakville and a little time later in Woodbridge. One unique feature of the Robert Mondavi Winery in its primary location in Oakville is the California mission-styled building designed by Cliff May. Taking inspiration from the missions along the California Coast, the building features a classic arch and bell tower that serve as a lasting tribute to the Franciscan missionaries who originally introduced wine to California.4 This edifice is also the venue for the Mondavi's great cultural showcases where the famous Mondavi Summer Music Festivals and the 40-year running Napa Valley Symphony fundraisers are held. The estate also features the fabled

Reserch Paper on Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reserch Paper on Abortion - Essay Example â€Å"The question which we must answer in order to produce a satisfactory solution to the problem of the moral status of abortion is this: How are we to define the moral community, the set of beings with full and equal moral rights, such that we can decide whether a human fetus is a member of this community or not? What sort of entity, exactly, has the inalienable rights† (Warren, 1996). This report will look at this and other arguments around the general issue of abortion, providing answers to these questions and also posing new questions through the process of intensive research. In terms of Western philosophy, abortion has historically been a social issue that was mixed up with the time at which a fetus is said to gain a soul or become a human. Issues of morality were less important to these thinkers in terms of aborting a fetus that was seen not to yet have acquired a soul, which was seen to take form anywhere, by time, after four months post-conception. Therefore, American law, having a Western precedent in terms of philosophical and social maintenance of ideals in its beginnings, adopted this neutral morality in its own policies involving abortion, which was not the subject of penalty under early American law. In thinking of the psychology of morality in a political sphere, it is interesting to think of morality at the same time appearing in a social-scientific sphere of psychology, in terms of past and present ideals. It is the purpose of a psychological and social perspective to discuss these ideals in terms of a polarized national debate about abortio n, asking vital questions: â€Å"Is it better to be born as the result of a pregnancy that at least one parent intended or one that neither parent intended? If intentions diverge, do infants whose conception was intended by their mother fare better than those whose conception was intended by their father?† (Korenman, 2002). One must think of the serious social and psychological toll of unintended