Monday, September 30, 2019

Asian Countries Essay

Many Asian countries such as Singapore, HK, and South Korea have achieved tremendous economic growth in the last forty years of development. One of the key success factors has been macroeconomic stability in these countries. Multiplier effect — population Talk aboit the characteristic of Asian countries-past 40 years –deveoping country –vast raw material 1.  Economic growth is defined as an increased in the level of production of goods and services by a country over a certain period of time. Economic growth can be in terms of real economic growth or potential economic growth. I agree with the author that one of the key factors that have allowed many Asian countries to have achieved economic growth has been macroeconomic stability such as low inflation, low unemployment rate and stable exchange rate in the currency market. However these Asian Countries have achieved tremendous economic growth are also due to other supporting key success factors such as globalisation and political stability enjoyed in these countries which I will explain in this essay. 2.Low Inflation I agree that macroeconomic stability due to low inflation is one key success factor that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. Inflation is defined as the sustained increased in general price level. When there is low inflation in these Asian countries, it helps to ensure a competitive export industry. This implies that its exports will have a higher price competitiveness over their trading partner hence its export will increased. For example, Singapore, a small and open economy with no natural resources depends mainly on its trade for its economic growth. Hence having a low inflation allows Singapore goods to be relatively cheaper than foreign goods and this cause the net export of Singapore to increase.Low inflation protects domestic industry away from foreign goods competition as the price of the domestic goods is cheaper than foreign goods will cause the demand for imports to fall. Thus low inflation would result in an increased in net export (X-M Low inflation also leads to an increase in the investment expenditure. Since Singapore has low inflation ,it implies that Singapore tends to be more stable and there is less uncertainty, firms and foreign direct investors will find it easier to estimate the costs and revenues of  investments. Hence when inflation is low it will give a good business sentiments and this leads to an increase in investment expenditure. Since net export (X-M) and investment expenditure are components of aggregate demand when net export (X-M) increased and investment expenditure increased, AD will also increase. ( Graph figure1 ) As seen from figure 1,when AD curve shift right from AD1 to AD2 the general price level increase from p1 to p2 and real GDP increases from Y1 to Y2.Thus,Singapore experience real Economic growth as a result of macroeconomic stability due to low inflation. Thus, I agree with the author that one of the key success factors leading to economic growth in many Asian countries is due to macroeconomic stability. 3. Low unemployment Another key success factors that leads to economic growth has been macroeconomic stability due to low unemployment rate. Unemployment is defined as the number of people who is willing and able to work but is unable to find a suitable job and is contantly searching for a job. Asian countries for example Singapore have a low unemployment rate. The low unemployment rate allow the economy in Singapore to produce a larger amount of output and implies a large amount of people in Singapore have income. Thus, having low unemployment rate that the consumers in Singapore have higher spending powers due to higher disposable income and more people having the ability to spend as they holds a job. Thus consumption level in Singapore will increase. In addition, when the unemployment rate in Singapore is low, the government will be able to collect more tax revenue. Also, lesser unemployment benefits is needed to be given to the unemployed and these tax revenue and unemployment funds could be used by government to improve the infrastructure of Singapore which would attract more foreign direct investor. Since consumption( C ) ,(G) government expenditure and (I) investment which are components of AD, when C,G and I increase, AD will also increase. An initial increase in AD will leads to a more than proportionate increase in the real national income through the multiplier process. However for Asian countries like Singapore the mulitiplier size is small due to a small population size and large leakage of the circular flow of income. Hence the extent of shift of the AS curve is greater than the extent of  shift of the AD curve. As seen from figure 2 ,when AD curve shift from AD1 to AD2 and AS curve shift from AS1 to AS2 , the general price level decrease from P1 to P2 and the real GDP increases from Y1 to Y2.Thus , there is econonomic growth where hence there will be increased in real GDP thus there is in the short run there is real economic growth in the short runwhereas In the long run, the increase in investment expenditure will cause an increase in potential economic growth due to the increase in productivity and productive capacity as a result of the increase in capital goods. Hence , Asian countries like Singapore experience real economic growth in the short run and potential economic growth in the long run as a result of macroeconomic stability due to low unemployment. Thus I agree with the author that macroeconomic stability due to low unemployment is one of the key success factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. 4. Stable exchange rate Another key success factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries like Singapore has been macroeconomic stability due to stable exchange rate. Stable exchange rate provides good business sentiments for firms and investor as the outlook of the economy is optimistic. Also, stable exchange rate is important especially to investors who depend heavily on importing raw materials for production of their goods. This is because stable exchange rate allows these firms and investors to estimate ahead the costs of operations and the returns in the long run. Thus having stable exchange rate in Asian countries like Singapore provide confidence to investors and hence stable exchange rate serve as an incentive to attract foreign director investor. Since investment expenditure is a component of AD when investment increased, AD will increased in the short run and AS will increase in the long run as investor brings in new technology and more efficient production methods which helps to i mprove the productivity and increase the productive capacity. As seen in figure 3,when AD curve shift right from AD1 to AD2 and AS curve  shift right from AS1 to AS2 ,the general price level decrease from P1 to P2 and the real gd* increases from Y1 to Y2.Since real GDP increased,it implies that there is economic growth. For Asian countries like Singapore, where we are small and open with no natural resources we depend heavily on foreign direct investment apart from trade to achieve economic growth.( Investment revenue statistic how much Investment contribute to GDP†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦)Thus, I agree with the author that macroeconomic stability due to stable exchange rate is one of the key success factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. 5.Globalisation However, to achieve tremendous economic growth in many Asian countries based solely on macroeconomic stability is not enough, hence there are other supporting key success factors such as globalisation and political stability that helps to contribute to the tremendous economic growth in many Asian countries. Globalisation is a phenomenon where the markets of global economy become more integrated. With globalisation it also means that there will be faster diffusion of ideas, information, and technology across the world. Globalisations have led a reduction in trade barriers. Globalisation helps to increase international trade between countries which is especially important for countries like Singapore who depends heavily on export revenue for economic growth. Globalisation has allow the production costs to lower because countries specialise in goods which they have comparative advantage in producing and allow them to import the cheapest raw material helps them to lower their cost of pro duction. Singapore has no natural resources this means that Singapore import all of its raw materials. Thus, the process of globalisation helps Singapore to lower its cost of production and allow the price of its final goods and services to be cheaper. This will increase the price competiveness of Singapore exports as they are relatively cheaper than foreign goods. Since the export revenue will be higher than the import expenditure net exports(X-M) will increased. Net export is a component of AD, thus AD will also increased. As seen from figure 4,when AD curve shift right from AD1 to AD2 the real GDP increases from Y1 to Y2.Thus,Singapore experience Economic growth as a result of macroeconomic stability due globalisation. and real GDP will increased hence economic growth is achieved. Thus globalisation is undeniable playing as key success  factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. 6.Political Stability Political stability provides the outlook of the economy of the country. Many Asian countries like Singapore has very good governance with strict rules and regulations together with the sound infrastructure making it a conducive place for investment. When there is political stability there will be good business sentiments as investor are able to plan ahead their expected costs of operations of the business and the returns in the long term. Politically stable country means the likelihood of civil war or political war is low hence the operation of the firms will be stable and there will be low risk of facing the possibilities of shutting down. Hence foreign direct investors are attracted to politically stable country because of the stability of the business outlook. Since investment expenditure is a component of AD an increase in Investment expenditure will lead to an increase in real GDP and help Singapore to achieve economic growth. Thus Asian countries that are politically stable acts as a key success factors to support other factors to help Asian countries like Singapore to achieve economic growth. 7.Conclusion I agree with the author that one of the key success factors has been macroeconomic stability that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. However with macroeconomic stability alone, without globalisation and political stability in these Asian countries,it is unable to achieved tremendous economic growth.This the tremendous economic growth is achieved as these key success factors exist together and support each other.If not the tremendous economic growth if based on macroeconomic stability will only be in the short terms but globalisation and political stability allows the tremendous economic growth to last in the long run.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Accounting for Small Business Essay

ABSTRACT SMEs play a very important role in India’s economy and have a great potential for strengthening the real sector in India. But there has not been appropriate infrastructure yet which is accounting system to show the business feasibility. Traditional business in Indian Villages had been started by a family and ancestors, but has gotten bigger now. This business has many strengths and weaknesses. Based on the condition and background, the proposed-accounting system has been developed. It has been also successfully tested for a month transaction and revised. Adding knowledge management into accounting system is an alternative way to develop the proposed-accounting system. The four modes of knowledge creation will facilitate the business and its owner to add some modules in accounting system and to reengineer the business process. See more: Distinguish between problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping Essay INTRODUCTION: Small business plays a very important role in India’s economy, particularly in aspects increased employment, income generating, economic development. In addition, this sector is considered as a driving force for the rural economy. But until now there are still many problems to hinder the small business growth. Facts in the Asia Pacific region revealed that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) employ about 60 percent of the workforce. Only 10 percent of the total companies in Asia Pacific which is a big business, the rest are SMEs. For India, according to Small & Medium Business Corner (SMBC) data in 2012 the numbers of micro, small and medium enterprises develop into 130 Lakhs (http://www.smeindia.net/export_schemes/OverviewofMSME.html) by giving employment to 410 Lakhs people and able to contribute to the total national GDP amounted to 8-9 percent in 2012. Basic problem of management in small business is inability of owners to determine their management style that appropriate with the business need and development stage. In early stage of business, family management style leads to one-man show. According to improvement of business environment, that conventional style could not be pushed longer. Especially in financial management, the business owners could not be able to separate the financial management of business and family yet. Besides, they have not well planned, managed and reported periodically yet. It is caused by there is no appropriate infrastructure which is accounting system. The impact is that the owners of small business have difficulties to cooperate with external such as bank or another financial institution. The owners have difficulties to show their feasibility business when they want to propose credit or make a business contract with another business. Based on the importance of an accounting system, this research results a proposed-accounting system which can be applied by owners of small business in India. The proposed-accounting system is a generic model of purchasing and selling system that should be enhanced according to business need and by refer to the knowledge management approach. LITERATURE REVIEW: ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: According to Gillespie, accounting system is an organization of document, form and report which is managed to provide information for management. Based on that definition, elements of accounting system are documents, forms and reports, but still concern with procedure and internal control. Therefore, proposed-elements in this study will refer to it. SMALL BUSINESS: Under the law of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (2008), definition of SMEs in India is explained by the table below. Based on the definition, the research object is categorized as a small business. DEFINITION OF SMES IN INDIA Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services (i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh; (ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs.10 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 2 crore; and (iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs. 2 crore but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore. Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production, processing or preservation of goods (i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh; (ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore; and (iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore. SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT: System development in this study will follow the three main steps a.System analysis: Activities in this stage are initial study, feasibility study, requirement definition, and specification system arrangement. b.System design:   After finishing system analysis, the next activities are system design, system building and system testing. c.System implementation:   Based on system testing, a revised system will be established. Finally, system is implemented and operated. At this stage, company will conduct maintenance activity. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Since this study wants to develop a proposed-accounting system, â€Å"Research and development† approach which is applied in this study is a research program that is followed by a development program. It is a combination of descriptive study that describes the actual phenomenon in an object and exploratory research that develops a proposed -accounting system. A proposed-accounting system is focused on purchasing and selling system since those are the main activities in the business. The location of this study, Traditional small business in Indian Villages, was chosen on purpose, because this business in the Villages has significantly improved in sales and human empowering, also government is paying attention by giving assistantship for both management and technology. Primary data of this study was the results of guided interviews and observation. The steps of this study are designed as follow: a.Initial study Preliminary research was conducted to comprehend previous studies and literature, guided questionnaire drafting, and Traditional business understanding. b.System requirement defining At this stage, the data was obtained by interview with business owners and observation directly to the business. By understanding the research object condition and background, also the strength and weakness, the accounting system requirement could be defined. c.Development of proposed-accounting system At this stage, development of proposed-accounting system was managed by interviews, observation, and group discussion among owners, researcher and government, related to main accounting system elements, which are document, form and report. In its development, knowledge management approach was proposed to use since it can facilitate business daily operation into business standard operation. The result of this stage was a proposed-accounting system. d.Testing and implementation Testing was accomplished by implementing the proposed system to handle a month transactions. Owners and their staff used it to run transactions of purchasing and selling for a month. By running the system, problems were found and then they were used to revise the system. At this stage, a revised-accounting system was established. e.Conclusions and recommendations In the final stage of this study, conclusions and suggestions from all research processes were stated. RESULT AND DISCUSSION: PROFILE OF TRADITIONAL BUSINESS IN INDIAN VILLAGES: India is one of the major exporter and supplier of handicrafts and gift products to the world market. The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labor intensive and decentralized, being spread all across the country in rural and urban areas. The sector is considered as the second largest employment-generating sector after agriculture with numerous artisans engaged in craft work on a part-time basis. The industry offers employment to over 6 million artisans, including a large number of women and people from the weaker sections of society. The present day handicraft tradition of India is a perfect example of assimilation between the traditional designs and modern techniques. The fast growing demand for Indian handicraft and gifts products have made this sector a full-fledged large scale organized industry that is growing day by day. History The rich history of India’s craft tradition has evolved over the centuries offering a legacy of Indian culture promising everything – beauty, dignity, form and style. The variety is comprehensive and ranges from age-old stone carvings to modern handicrafts making use of glass flints and mirrors. The most popular crafts, include metalware, earthenware, pottery, sculpting, woodwork, hand-printed textiles and scarves, embroidered and crocheted goods, shawls, zari products, stone carving and imitation jewelry. There is a myriad of art and craft traditions in India that depend on social, economic and regional factors. The present status of the sector in India owes much to the rich crafts history and tradition of the past. Majority of the crafts from the past continues to flourish due to their utilitarian characteristics, availability to the common people and popularity in domestic and global markets. Today, some of the sectors within the craft industry have even become full fledged industries in their own, like – carpet weaving, traditional textile (Banarsi silk sari, Chikankari etc), gem cutting and polishing, jewelry making, the world famous diamond cutting and polishing industry, brassware, jute products, etc. The growth of these industries is due to their ever-increasing demand and the popularity of Indian crafts in the domestic market and overseas. Gems and jewelry, carpet making, metalware, leather products, jute products etc. are some industries, which are growing rapidly.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Comparison between First and Last Covenants of the Old Testament Term Paper

Comparison between First and Last Covenants of the Old Testament - Term Paper Example The Old Testament views God’s commands decreed upon Adam, the father of humanity, during his stay in the Garden of Eden, as the first covenant issued by the Lord to the humankind. The covenant assured bestowing of God’s countless bounties and blessings upon man, against which it imposed only one single restriction on him i.e. not to taste the fruit of the forbidden tree (of knowledge). (Genesis, 2: 16-17) Additionally, God blessed Adam with the mandate of remaining fruitful and multiply subsequently, as the Old Testament reveals that God said to Adam to â€Å"be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth† (Gen. 1:28). Similarly, the Lord made His covenant with King David, which is stated to be the last covenant described in the Old Testament; according to which God would not only send Messiah from the line of David, but also the rulers and kings would also belong to the same line. Additionally, messiah would also rule over the entire world, and all the races would be as his subjugated ones. Hence, God would bless Davidic seed with the spiritual and materialistic domination for the future generations to come. â€Å"The Davidic king would be the one to defeat all the Satanic enemies of God and establish the kingdom of blessing all over the world (Ps. 2, 89:21-29; 110). He would be the seed of the woman who would defeat the seed of the serpent and save the world. Not only a king, he is also a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110). It is even hinted that He would offer Himself as the sacrifice for sin (Isaiah. 52:13-53:12).† (Quoted in Smith, 2009: 8) This prophecy pointed to the futu re work of the Lord Jesus Christ. By closely examining both the covenants, it becomes crystal clear that Adam’s covenant maintains several similarities in with the Davidic one. God had blessed Adam and his children with the supremacy over every creature. On the other hand, King David was also favored with the same bounty, as he and his son king Solomon were not only granted the crown, wealth, power and prestige, but also they had domination over the djinns, ogres, humans and beast alike. King David intended to build a house for God, though the Lord refused the offer. Instead He blessed David with glorious house, power and throne, and a wise and powerful son in the person of King Solomon. â€Å"God promised to give him a son who would ultimately reign on the throne of David for ever and build a house of worship for all nations of the world.† (Quoted in the kingdom divided) Hence, God blessed a comfortable dwelling to David, according to the Covenant, as He had blessed A dam an outstanding abode in heavens. God had allowed Adam to reside in heavens and get involved into every type of activity of his own choice from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn. Consequently, Adam and Eve led a very exuberant life in heaven. Somehow, since man has been created frail and weak, the first parents of humanity could not constrain themselves from the covenant they had made with their Creator, and thus broke their allegiance with the Lord by eating

Friday, September 27, 2019

Critical Review of The Balanced Scorecard -Measures That Drive Essay

Critical Review of The Balanced Scorecard -Measures That Drive Perfornnance - Essay Example This essay declares that BSC helps to identify what does not work so that corrections to the communication plans may be made immediately. Long-term communication policy can be ascertained and the communications strategy can be streamlined with the corporate strategy. This paper makes a conclusion that the BSC was initially developed as a comprehensive measurement system that incorporated a set of financial and non-financial performance measures which covered different organizational functions and perspectives. However, as organizations started using it, several factors came to light. It was found that it is not viable for smaller organizations because of the costs involved and because they do not have a corporate strategy in place. For larger organizations, it is essential that the different business units are pursuing the overall corporate strategy. The BSC has been successfully implement on both private and public sector organization, in businesses as well as in the health care and the education sector. However, The BSC does have certain critical success factors. These include the involvement of members in the team having diverse skills sets. The scorecard must be linked to the corporate goals and objectives without which the reports generated may not serve the purpose. The senior management should have a clear view of the potential of the BSC because it has been found that unless they are sure of the benefits, they would not be involved or would not be able to encourage others to use it.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Introduction to Sociology of Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to Sociology of Religion - Essay Example attributed to the fact that, similar to sociological tradition in studying religion, the book shows a sound rationality how religion in society can be related to most of the social institutions and social groups. However, this is not to justify how true or false a religion can be, but instead, narrows the understanding of religion in the social context. Therefore, this book gives a reflection of how the society perceives sociology. It mainly concentrates on the culture of the Americans and how it interacts socially with the other religions and cultures. In a reflection, the different sections in religion can be analyzed through demographics and ethnography cultural perspectives not excluding the modernized political and economic perception to it. It is thus important to indicate that, Johnstone’s effort to simplifying the relations of society and religion is because based on the fact that it needs to be understood well. Therefore, he clarifies on some key issues that drive some sense into most individuals and even groups in evaluating why some of attitudes, social actions and thoughts can be affected by religion (Johnstone 90). Thus, religion can be defined in a variety of ways. The definitions of religion are based on all the previous general definition of religion in the social context. First, religion can be considered to be only the sacred things that happen in life, other than the evils. This is Durkheim’s first definition which gives a difference on how sacred can be viewed differently from the other actions which can still be part of a religion. This definition includes those that are widely accepted by the other sociologists. These sociologists view religion as what exactly life can be and what is more into it after death. This is the broader perception of the whole issue. Another key vital definition of religion in a sociological context is how it relates to religion in supernatural ways. It consist more of interpretation of beliefs that are

Writer's choice Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Writer's choice - Article Example s scheduled in which people engaged in different party activities such as listening to music and dancing, drinking, eating besides sharing stories among other amusements. All the expected people were in the scene besides everyone seeming to be in a party mood depicted from their facial expressions. This was a very amazing event to me because it was the first I witnessed besides that attracted many people including some from the neighboring community. Additionally, it had a programed unlike many other such ceremonies that I had ever attended before besides was followed to the latter. Through the entire process, I learned that people have their own way of doing things as well as doing different things from the normal you would get a dissimilar result. This is because most ceremonies that I had attended there before lacked good planning and in mostly resulted to vices such as fights and injuries. Whatever one encounters little experiences out of lecture, which he or she gets while in the university, counts much in his or her future life. This is because such experiences equip an individual with knowledge hard to earn or achieve in class work. Moreover, students ought to indulge in such activities provided they do not harm them because they are also part of

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

A change in the way you deal with other people Essay - 1

A change in the way you deal with other people - Essay Example It is rare indeed of a person who does not respond in kind or in the same manner, an aberration. It is the purpose of this paper to examine and discuss the phenomenon of dealing with people. Social scientists who wanted to study the attitudes and behaviors of people previously faced a serious quandary on how to effect positive change in them. However, because nobody in effect exists in a vacuum, it is used as a foundation or starting point to improve peoples lives by making changes in how they deal with other people. This change in attitude has many practical applications, such as in schools, in workplaces and in fact, in the day-to-day affairs of all of us. A teacher who faces a recalcitrant student needs to have patience to achieve positive change in the said student by a series of positive reinforcements, so to speak. A word of encouragement, praise and coupled with genuine interest and empathy can achieve far greater things in the student than using threats such as reporting him or her to the principal and to the parents. Many entrepreneurs and successful businessmen realize that their continued success to a great deal depends on how they deal with their customers and other stakeholders. Honesty in all their dealings will cause their customers to patronize their products and services; it begets loyalty and favorable word-of-mouth free advertising. A businessman who cheats his clients can do such perhaps only once; sooner or later, customers will wise up and stop buying. In other words, there is a circular causality in how we deal with other people; some call it as the law of karma or to put it more simply, what goes around, comes around. The causality is the basis for patterns of human behavior that in turn leads to interpersonal cycles (Negele, Fricke & Schulz, 2000, p. 320). There is a feedback mechanism in these cycles, and depending on the nature of the feedback, can either be positive (virtuous) or negative (vicious), with shorter

Monday, September 23, 2019

Free trade agreements' negative effects on U.S economic Assignment - 1

Free trade agreements' negative effects on U.S economic - Assignment Example This forms the need to write this report. NAFTA is an example of trading bloc in USA, which came into effect in January 1 1994. It is the largest trading bloc in the world and for this reason; we have used it as a basis of our argument. We have also used other trade deficits to back up our arguments. A free trade area is a form of integration in the countries represented. The countries enter to either a bilateral trade agreement or multilateral trade agreement. We shall define the meaning of the two different types of trade and give an example on each. USA has entered into a number of agreements with different countries for reasons such as: boosting trade, gaining a wider market for its finished and unfinished products among others. Trade barriers such as customs duty and tariffs have been removed facilitating free movement of goods and services in the countries (Davidson 1990). Agreements such as NAFTA agreement that was precendented by United States – Canada trade agreement has had both positive and negative effects in the growth of economy of the country. In the next pages we shall look both at the positive impacts of trade agreements made by USA and dwell more on the negative impacts of the trade. We shall use the NAFTA agreement as the basis of our arguments and othe r trade deficits to backup these arguments. Also illustrations will be used to show the situation in the ground. Business free trade agreements are treaties made between two people or countries to remove barriers of trade between them. These barriers may include tariffs and taxes. These free trade agreements between countries also allow people to move freely with minimum or no restrictions in member countries. The business free trade agreements help in liberalization of international movement of goods and services across countries. Countries that have business free trade agreements sign a

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Writer's choice - Essay Example The short cuff gloves exposed the wrist to potential injury prompting players to start attaching specially molded plastic to the front part of their elbow pads to protect the lower part of their forearm (National Hockey League 9). Ideally, the evolution depicts the significance of plastic material in making hockey skates where plastic pads and fiberglass replaced leather shoulder and elbow pads to enhance protection. With a specific focus on the impact of plastics material on hockey sticks, pucks, skates, and safety, we can derive how plastics revolutionized ice hockey. Indeed, plastic has revolutionized traditional hockey sticks that were initially wooden via nanotechnologies that enhance the durability and speed of handling hockey sticks (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1). Moreover, manufacturers use plastic material to make hockey pucks through modern technologies like vulcanization. Most specifically, plastic materials advanced hockey skates that initially had leather with metal blades (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1). Unlike old skates, the modern skates have a protective plastic cowling made of a major polymer, high-end polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1 ). Indeed, the PVC is dominant in covering the lower half of the hockey boot (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1). Modern manufacturers of hockey skates rely on PVC polymer subject to its good insulation properties. Indeed, PVC can only start decomposing when the temperature exceeds 140 Â °C since it has a melting point of about 160 Â °C. Moreover, the polymer has a small linear expansion coefficient and good flame retardancy that enhances the sliding action of the skate blade and skating speed. This relates to its high hardness and good mechanical properties. Indeed, with a thermal coefficient of expansion of 80 x 10-6 and density of 1.38 g/cm3, PVC promotes the production of hockey skates that generate less

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Warrior Maiden Essay Example for Free

The Warrior Maiden Essay The Oneida tribe is a Native American people that belong to the Iroquois Confederacy, which settled originally in upstate New York. The name that the people give themselves is derived from Onayotekaono, meaning the People of the Upright Stone. The story of the Warrior Maiden is not necessarily specific to the Oneida tribe, but it is actually a rather common legend among the Native American peoples. However, the story is to be found in different versions that are, for their most part, dissimilar and adapted to the particular tradition of each tribe. The Southern tribes, such as the Hopi people who are based in Mexico, have an almost entirely different version of the Warrior Maiden story. The Oneida version of this legend offers a memorable and very beautiful example of a true heroine: the young maiden, named Aliquipiso saves the Oneidas from their rival tribe, the Mingos, through unsurpassed courage and self-sacrifice. The legend has a great significance for the history and the culture of the Iroquois and of the Oneida people especially. Thus, first of all, the story gives an example of a perfect heroine of the people, a maiden that was respected not only by those that knew her and saw her brave heart and her pure spirit, but also by all the following generations that remembered her name. Aliquipiso literally saves her people from dying of hunger, during a war with their most dangerous enemies, the Mingos. The legend is set evidently to a time before the arrival of the white colonizers. As the story has it, after a devastating invasion, the Oneida people found refuge from their enemies in the depths of the forests, in caves and desolate mountains where they were indeed protected but where they could die of hunger because of the lack of provisions. The only option for the tribe seemed to be either to perish in their hiding places by starving or to go out and get killed by their invaders. During the council, the young maiden named Aliquipiso came forward and told them that she herself is willing to sacrifice her life i n order to lure the Mingos up to where the Oneida people were hiding, and thus get them all killed and deliver her people. The warrior maiden acts according to her plan, and, in order to enhance her credibility in the eyes of the enemies, she even takes the fire torture that the latter submit her too, pretending to surrender in the end because of the unbearable pain. Her valor and her willingness to be  sacrificed for the safety of her people are so great that she lets herself be killed in the attack along with the enemy tribe, as it was inevitable. Thus, the warrior maiden stands out as an example of wisdom, courage, purity (as the fact that she was a maiden indicates), moral integrity and self-sacrifice in the name of her people. The young woman fits therefore a pattern common to most of the Native American legends: she represents strength combined with purity, as the title that is given to her also indicates. She is a maiden, therefore she is morally and spiritually intact, but at the same time, her modesty is combined with the absolute strength given by her limitless courage. These two essential qualities obviously hint at the heroic ideal according to the Oneida culture and tradition. Also, the warrior maiden is a model for her people and she represents national pride. Besides the notion of heroic ideal, the legend of the Warrior Maiden contains a very significant allusion to the very foundations of the Oneida culture. Thus, the very name of the tribe is derived, as already indicated, from the phrase People of the Upright Stone. The plot of the story becomes thus very symbolic: the enemies are destroyed with the help of the maiden that lures them to the secret and inaccessible hidings of the Oneidas, by crushing them with giant rocks fell from the mountain top. This particular means of destruction can be interpreted as a hint to the title that the tribe gives itself: the phrase upright stone has multiple interpretations, ranging from the idea of uprightness, justice and correctness, to that of unbeatable and crushing strength given by the moral force and purity of the members of the tribe: We are hiding on top of a high, sheer cliff. Above us, the mountain is covered with boulders and heavy sharp rocks. You warriors wait and watch here. I will go t o the Mingos and lead them to the spot at the foot of the cliff where they all can be crushed and destroyed.(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253)A third and even more significant connection between the legend of the Warrior Maiden and the traditional culture of the tribe is the fact that the Iroquois societies were, for their most part, matriarchies. Thus, for example, the council of the tribe was chosen by the clan mothers or matriarchs, the female leaders of the people. Moreover, the gendered division of the labors and attributions of each tribe member also hint at the strong tradition of the Oneida that gave a favored  place to women in society: Iroquois societies were strongly matrilineal: women controlled agricultural lands, the election of leaders and, to some extent, warfare [†¦] The gender-based division of labor made women responsible for agricultural work and housekeeping, while men hunted, fished, and traded, although there were also women traders. Government and warfare [†¦] were also male activities although the clan mothers heavily influenced decision-making. It is essential to note therefore that in the Iroquois society women had very important roles: besides the fact that they were wives, mothers and housekeepers they also controlled agricultural work, and to some extent, warfare. Women thus played an active part in society, as influential leaders. In this context, the legend is easier to interpret: the Oneida, as a people that honors women will be expected to give them a special place in their mythology. Thus, the warrior maiden takes here the place of a true leader of the people and a commander that orders the attack on the Mingos and thus, in a way, she plays the part of a man also: The Mingos crowded together in a dense mass with the girl in the center. Then Aliquipiso uttered a piercing cry: Oneidas! The enemies are here! Destroy them!(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) The warrior maiden becomes a symbol of the brave women, as the story tells us: The Great Mystery changed Aliquipisos hair into woodbine, which the Oneidas call running hairs and which is a good medicine. From her body sprang honeysuckle, which to this day is known among her people as the blood of brave women.'(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) The warrior maiden hair and body transform into woodbine and honeysuc kle respectively, both of which are considered to be medicinal plants that have a great healing power. As it is widely known, for most of the Native American cultures, the plants play a very important role in medicine but also in various types of religious rituals and invocations of the spirits. Moreover, the metamorphosis of the maiden into these plants is in concordance with the strong agricultural tradition of the Iroquois. The transformation of the maiden into these two plants also signals the status that the warrior maiden has inside the Oneida culture: she is much more than a heroine; she is a mythological figure, symbolizing the purity and the strength of the female. The maiden is also, like most of the legendary heroes, an embodiment of the divinity, the Great Spirit in this case, which speaks and acts through her as the members of the clan acknowledge: The  Great Spirit has blessed you, Aliquipiso, with courage and wisdom, he said. We, your people, will always remember you.(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) The legendary figure of the maiden is thus a symbol, something for the future generations to remember with honor and to set as an example: The story of the girls courage and self-sacrifice was told and retold wherever Oneidas sat around their campfires, and will be handed down from grandparent to grandchild as long as there are Oneidas on this earth.(Erdoes and Ortiz, 253) She is at once the pure maiden, the matron, the chosen heroine inspired by the Great Spirit, and a courageous warrior. The fact that it is a woman who saves the whole people from perishing in the hands of the enemy tribe is very significant. Although women were not associated with physical strength or with skills on the battlefield, they are praised and honored for their spiritual qualities and their purity. This combination between purity and strength demonstrates that one of the most important characteristics of the Oneida culture is the belief that physical or mere heroic strength is not the greatest virtue. Perfection comes thus from the spirit or wisdom, paired with honor and courage and the devotion to noble causes. Thus, the warrior maiden is a symbol for many different virtues that put together form the perfect heroine. The legend itself tells very significant things about the Native Indian cultures in general and the Oneida culture in particular. The story offers at once hints to the heroic ideal of the Iroquois, to the cult of the female gender specific to some Native American peoples and to the metaphoric significance of the tribes name. The most important conclusion to be derived from the analysis of the story is therefore the fact that there is a tight connection between the legend and the values and ideals specific to the Oneidas. Other versions of the Warrior Maiden legend, such as the variant told by the Hopi tribe, also render the image of feminine modesty combined with spiritual strength. In the Hopi tradition, the maiden actually fights against the enemies of her people, because she is left alone at home with her mother, who at the time of the attack was just combing her hair. Once more, this feminine detail emphasizes the delicacy of the maiden, as well as her hidden strength. Thus, although the details of the plot differ, the main contention of both the Oneida and the Hopi versions of the legend is that strength can come from the spirit,  as well as from the body. The legend thus demonstrates the importance of the female cult for the Native Americans, to the extent that these people have created a mythology to explain female braveness. Works Cited: Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon Fairy Tales and Folklore Library, 1984. Oneida Culture. Indian Country Wisconsin. http://www.mpm.edu/wirp/ICW-57.htmlOneida Culture and Language. http://www.native-languages.org/oneida.htm

Friday, September 20, 2019

Protecting the Polar Regions From Melting Ice

Protecting the Polar Regions From Melting Ice Should We Protect Environment from Climate Change in The Polar Regions? Kiwoong Lee Thesis Statement: We should protect environment from melting ice in the Polar Regions because if the glaciers of Polar Regions keep melting, we will lose the earth’s ecosystems. These days, reckless destruction of nature by human being has brought ecological catastrophe. For this reason, the Earth has gotten many problems such as destruction of the environment. Melting ice in the Polar Regions is the most important among other problem. Many people are not particularly concerned about melting ice in the Polar Regions because it is too huge. A lot of people out of apathy increase the problem that present the Polar Regions condition. Causes of melting ice in the Polar Regions are destruction of the environment. Thus there are several phenomena like greenhouse and increase carbon dioxide. This situation bring bad thing that increase the temperature, rapid sea-level rise and destroy wildlife habitats. We should protect environment from melting ice in the Polar Regions. Glacier is that polar and alpine regions of the compressed stack of them are a long time ago to move lower by gravity and weight. Ice shelf ice is made up by large chunks of ice. 10persentage of the entire area of ice in Antarctica are labeled as ice shelves. The present Arctic condition is not good because of climate change. â€Å"The Arctic is one of the places where conditions are changing the fastest of any climate system in the world,† says Edward Blanchard-Wriggles worth, a UW doctoral student in atmospheric sciences. â€Å"Current trends are so strong that it takes five years to establish a new mean† (Science Teacher 16). The Arctic is melting so many animal lose their habitation because the Arctic is made up enormous masses of ice. Thus many Polar animals can move possible. However according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), North Pole glaciers are melting down very quickly. They are losing their resting area so several kinds of animals is die from a drowning accident. And global warming is also contributing to the rise in sea levels by melting the glaciers of Polar Regions, and inhabitants of coastal area are losing their homes. Some scientists predict the area could be largely ice free in sum mer within years. In response, the Antarctica is not different from the Arctic. The Antarctica is more serious than the Arctic because Antarctica is a continent of land, surrounded by seas. â€Å"Melting at the base of Antarctica’s fimbul ice shelf is driven by warm surface water, as well as intermittent pulses of warmer, deeper water ( Brown 143). Why is melting the natural and anthropogenic factors are factors. The Earth’s axis of rotation is about 20.5 degrees, this is now always constant, but gradually changes to that. Earth’s orbit is an ellipse rather than a circle, do not schedule too. In other words, changing the amount of incoming solar energy the Earth’s temperature may increase did not. Anthropogenic factors are global warming. Of course not cause global warming, environment al issues, but it is not melting because of environment pollution. Melting of glacier is caused by factors that did environmental problem. Global warming emissions from human sources of gree nhouse gas such as water vapor, carbon solar rise in global temperatures is as a result. â€Å"The research involves the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers on the West Antarctic ice sheet, two of the five largest glaciers in Antarctica. Those two glaciers are important because they drain a large portion of the ice sheet. As they melt from below, they also gain speed, draining the ice sheet faster and contributing to sea level rise. Eventually that could lead to global sea level rise of as much as 6 feet, though that would take hundreds to thousands of years† (Vince Stricherz). It is serious situation because melting of Antarctica is getting faster and faster. Now the Antarctica area is remaining 40persentage of the previous area. Global warming is the biggest cause of melting ice in the Polar Regions. It is kinds of environment pollution. Thus what is the global warming? It means that Earth’s average temperature is about 15degree in the ground to maintain controlled from solar radiation energy. Over the past 20 years, there were 0.5degree a rise in temperature but the mid-21st century predicts 1degree a rise in temperature. This is called global warming. The global warming generates to increase carbon dioxide. Increased carbon dioxide not only warms the climate but it also dissolves in sea water making it more acidic. The global warming has been made, as increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb radiant energy released to outer space. This is the greenhouse of short-wavelength, which come from outside as the greenhouse effect is long wavelength of light reflection off from the surface, but passage is by absorbing the light of the internal temperature. Carbon dioxide can be called as a main ca use of the greenhouse gases, but Chloro Fluoro carbons, nitrogen oxides, and methane gas are also other causes of them. Due to destruction of the Antarctic ozone, global warming continues to accelerate, so that the glaciers are being melted at the high speed. Because ozone is the thing made by sunlight, the ozone density over the South or North Pole is lower than other latitudes, especially circulation of atmosphere in the winter stratosphere of the southern hemisphere makes a circle around the South Pole. This circulation of atmosphere prevents the middle stratosphere’s air containing lots of ozone from flowing into the center of the South Pole. This phenomenon is similar to that the eye of typhoon is separated from the outside. At the air of Antarctic stratosphere separated in this way, formation of ozone stops during winter without solar energy. Therefore, climate changes; and ecosystem is destroyed gradually. Increased carbon dioxide is one of the problems causes of melting ice in Polar Regions. Carbon dioxide has increased by 1.5ppmv every year; and it seems that the rate of increase also has risen noticeably since 1980. In other words, average degree alteration of the concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was in less than 10% before industrialization for one hundred thousand years, but almost increased by 30% in two hundred years, compared before with after industrialization after 19th century. As the change of the world population, economy, technology, and social trend, it is expected that the concentration of greenhouse gases will be changed considerably for many years to come. According to forecast of PCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), regarding Carbon dioxide which influence mostly on the atmosphere, under a condition that the world population becomes double by 2100, and that economic growth rate be retained 2~3%, seventy hundred million tons of total carbo n dioxide emissions in 1990 will increase by two hundred million tons in 2100; the concentration in the atmosphere will be more than double by 2030, more than three times by 2100. Moreover, if the carbon dioxide emissions freeze like the level of 1990’s, the time when the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is double can be postponed, but it was reported that the concentration will increase continuously for next two centuries. Due to this growth of carbon dioxide, the air temperature already increased by 0.3~0.6degree from 1860’s to 1990’s; sea level also grew 10~25cm. Furthermore, it was expected that this changes is getting more noticeable exceedingly, compared with earlier 1900. In accordance with IPCC’s prediction, the air temperature will have increased by 1~3.5degree averagely; sea level will have grown by 15~95cm approximately from 1990 to 2100. Given that the air temperature changed in less than one degree for ten thousand years before industrialization, it can be said that this seriousness of the climate change caused by global warming is so big. As trade winds is getting weaker, the sea surface temperature in the middle pacific ocean near the equator is higher than the normal temperature (23~27degree); so that it is known that the frequent occurrence of El Nino phenomenon is also deeply related to the enhanced greenhouse effect. Depending on whether preconditions is realized or not, there might be a change of accuracy of results; but as this abnormal temperature and the growth of sea level are significant changes, numerous changes that a human-being has never experienced can be brought down by destroying the physical and ecological balance which have been retained so far. As global warming and carbon dioxide are increasing, glaciers have collapsed from every quarter. The melted ice is flowing into the ocean at transcending speed. The reason why sea level grows is that glaciers are white; white color reflects heat very well, so that the heat which the glaciers absorb will be decreased if the glaciers are melted. Therefore, thermal expansion happens because seawater absorbs the heat. For instance, if all of the Antarctic glaciers melted, sea level would increase by 60m. However, this old great ice wall has withstood offenses of global warming many times. Few years ago, scientists thought that the glaciers were so huge and dense that it was not too dangerous forthwith. Nevertheless, according to recent research, it can be predicted how high sea level becomes by simple calculation. The ocean will be wide with a growth of sea surface temperature for next one hundred years. If the entire world mountain glacier melted, sea level would increase more than 30cm . Thus, it is predicted that sea-level will increase by about 1m for the next one hundred years. It seems that the increase is not very noticeable, but more than one hundred million people are still living in lower than 1m’s sea level altitude. Many cities should invest an astronomical expense to establish a line of shore defense. According to climate change receive threat the Polar Regions ecosystem. Animals and microbial receive the highest damage. For example, polar bear lost their rest area as glaciers disappear. The polar bear will die out because it is getting more difficult for them to hunt prey. The microbial in Antarctica not differ because they decrease their number of an individual. If food chain is broken by environment, the Earth ecosystem will have a great damage. In conclusion, the Polar Regions is damaged their ecosystem by people out of apathy. We should protect from climate change in Polar Regions because our place to find peace is on the road to extinction. So that’s problem we will solve in the future. Many people participate to protect from climate change in Polar Regions. There is some several remedy such as conserving electricity, planting a tree in order to reduce carbon dioxide and using transportation, etc. we can protect our hands. We should have interest in this problem. Works Cited â€Å"Arctic sea ice (Headline Science: Current News in Science Research)(climate change and the condition to the Arctic sea ice).† Science Teacher. 78. 8. (2011):16-16. Print. Brown, Culum. â€Å"Climate Change: Why Antarctica is melting.† Nature. 487. 7406. (2012): 143-143. Print. Melbourne-Thomas, and Andrew Constable. Etc. â€Å"Testing Paradigms of Ecosystem Change Under Climate Warming in Antarctica.† PLoS ONE. 8. 2. (2013):1-9 Print. Philip L. Munday, Mark I. McCormick and Nilsson Goran E. â€Å"Impact of Global Warming and Rising CO2 levels on Coral Reef Fishes: what hope for the future?† Experimental Biology, 13 August 13: 1. Web. 1 June 2014. Vince Stricherz. â€Å"Tropical Sea Temperatures Influence Melting in Antarctica† LexisNexis Academic. 6 June 2011: 1. Web. 29 May 2014.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

My Reality Check Essay examples -- Personal Narrative

My Reality Check Two things didn't mix well in my life. One was being a full time student and the other an athlete. It was great not having parents around telling you to do your homework or to go to class, of which I never did. I had a choice, which was more important, playing lacrosse or studying. Like any first year college student I picked lacrosse. At that point I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. Who at that age would know either? My worst nightmare came true in the summer of 1989. I was academically dismissed from the university. I thought to myself "no way, this could never happen to me, I played lacrosse, had a girlfriend, and I was popular, how could this have happened". The worst part of the whole experience was the car ride home from the post office. The feeling of emptiness overwhelmed me, I felt as if I had nothing inside my body. I thought, "what am I going to do?" Then I had to face my parents, boy was I scared. What was I going to tell them? Sorry mom and dad but I wasted your money; I had no excuses so I told them the truth. What happened after that changed my life forever. It was either the military or go to a community college and try to redeem myself. I wanted to do neither, but I had to choose. The military was off my list and going to a community college sounded o.k. So I registered and the rest of that summer I had to deal with the fact that I had not accomplished anything in the past year and this was wake up call an...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

should cookies be banned :: essays research papers

Over the years internet privacy has been major concern worldwide. Even with such advanced technology we still can’t perfect the intrusion technology. But first before we try to ban cookies we should realize what we tend to loose. All cookies are not intrusive but a navigation tool as well. Internet cookies are extremely valuable to consumers and website operators alike, despite concerns that they threaten web users’ personal privacy. Without cookies, the Internet would be slower, the electronic marketplace, a difficult place to navigate and the entire online experience frustrating. The Internet Alliance urges lawmakers not to regulate cookies but to work with industry to address the underlying issues: privacy and security. Together we must alert consumers on how to use technology and common sense to protect their own personal privacy online. First, it is important to understand what cookies are and how they benefit the web browser. A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your browser when you access a particular site. When a cookie arrives, your browser saves this information to your hard drive; when you return to that site, some of the stored information is sent back to the web server. But a cookie is not an executable program; it cannot scan your hard drive or be used to find out information you have not given the web site. Without cookies, a consumer in an online bookstore, for example, could not put items in a shopping basket. Each item would have to be selected and purchased separately. The common practice of refining queries through a search engine would not be possible because without a cookie, there would be no record of the previous query. Cookies also allow web servers to collect and add specific data about a consumer and their browsing habits. Some use that data to send marketing information to consumers. It is this practice that raises privacy concerns. The Internet Alliance believes that consumers should be able to set the level of privacy they want when surfing the Web. If they want to be anonymous, they should have that right. Only technology can make that possible. Only an educated consumer, armed with technology can establish real online privacy protection. So what should consumers do? First, Web servers can and do track who visits their site. They collect information. So browsing habits determine the cookie you receive, who has access to your information and what advertising you get.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Invisible Man Essay -- Literary Analysis, Ralph Ellison

Equality between individuals is a primary step to prosperity under a democracy. However, does this moral continue to apply among differences and distinct characters of the total population? In the novel, Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, the protagonists suffers from the lack of acknowledgement guaranteed to African Americans in both the North and South regions of North America during the early 1900s. The Narrator expresses the poignant problems that blacks face as he travels to the North. An anti-hero is created on his voyage of being expelled from college, earning a job at Liberty Paints, and joining the organization group called Brotherhood. The Narrator begins to follow the definition others characters give to him while fighting for the possibility of black rights. On a hero’s journey to a tragic downfall, the Narrator attempts to help the community of Harlem despite of his black individuality, invisibility, and alienation in society. Family and childhood experiences are the backbone to one’s interests, personality, and view of the world in which they live in. Ralph Ellison’s biological grandparents were part of the movement of colonialism as slaves. His father, Lewis Ellison, brought the family to Oklahoma when he became a construction foreman. Ralph Ellison was exposed to the life of his parents fighting to keep segregation laws nonexistent in the Oklahoma constitution as a child. Ralph Ellison’s father named him after Ralph Waldo Emerson in hopes that his destiny would bring him to become a poet. The start of his interests in literature first came when his mother worked for a minister who owned many books or when she cleaned the homes of those who owned magazines. Oklahoma did not have slavery during the movement when Ralph... ...ibility for an ordinary black. According to David LittleJohn, the novel is not an assault on the demeanors of a white society. On the contrary, the novel shows how blacks are not free from the racial discrimination and combat. With restrictions, the Narrator follows the path of leadership under a race war. People are not accepting of the achievements that can result from the same equality among whites. Each person in the general public has the responsibility to stop the alienation occurring. Each human being should have the same rights in the world. The enemies of man are those that separate and categorize each group of people by ethnicity. When this happens, each group of people is labeled by an instable social order (Littlejohn, David. "Criticism by David Littlejohn." DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2011).

First meeting Issues

In the first meeting of the Land Committee held on 22nd December, 2004 it was decided to hold public hearings with recognized political parties, civil society organizations and peoples? unions working on land issues of the poor to understand the various issues on land reforms. The Committee held public hearings in Hydrated, Wrangle, Vigilant and Atrophic. The visits to the districts and public meetings were followed by field visits to districts and villages to get a firsthand knowledge of the land issues affecting the poor.In an overwhelming response, political parties and civil society organizations attended all the public hearings and cutting across party lines, have demanded that land issues affecting the poor required immediate attention by the Government. Commissioning of Studies In order to understand the land issues in greater detail and also the relevance and use of the existing Revenue Acts, the committee has commissioned studies on various aspects of land issues by speciali sts and experts.Studies have been conducted on Board Standing Orders and Revenue Acts, Tribal land issues, issues of Tenancy, the phenomenon of absentee landlord's and that of plain paper transactions (Sad bambina transactions), functioning of the legal system and state of the endowment lands (Terms of References of the studies and consultants/consulting organizations conducting the study enclosed).Recommendations immediately operational in nature While commissioning the studies the Land Committee was very clear that recommendations evolving from the studies would not be theoretical in nature and focus shall be on operational issues. The Committee has tried its best to cover the important and pressing land issues. The recommendations of the committee while not exhaustive nevertheless cover substantial ground. Page 3 of 101 Land still the single most emotive issue in rural areas It has been the Committee?s experience that the issue of land continues to be the single most emotive issu e in the rural areas.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Company: Bembos

Peru has several fast food chains that compete with the North American fast food chains like McDonalds and Burger king. One of the best local competitors is Bembos. Bembos sells burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches, the usual fast food, but with plenty of Peruvian flavor and style. Bembos is the company that I chose because it’s a successful business. It’s the leader of all the Peruvian fast food restaurants nationwide. Bembos has its unique twist that combines American flavor with our cuisine. The purpose of this essay is to show the theoretical model, facts analysis and the proposed decisions for the company. If we start with Bembos’ history, Bembos was established in 1988, with its first restaurant opening in the Miraflores district of Lima. Bembos mixes in spices with their meat, giving the patty a distinct taste and appearance. For example, their hamburger called â€Å"Bembos a lo pobre† includes a fried egg and fried plantain with the lettuce and tomato. The â€Å"Bembos Parrillera† is a burger topped with chorizo. Bembos meals primarily come with French fries or yuquitas (made from yuca root). As their website states, they can be found all over the Lima area. They also deliver orders to private houses. On the other hand, Bembos has 30 restaurants in 6 cities, mostly in Lima. In July 2007, it had opened a restaurant in the center of Cusco, becoming the first national or international fast food establishment in the city. Bembos has recently opened restaurants outside of Peru, located in India and Panama. Bembos’ prosperity allows it to ask for loans and be able to afford them. As I mentioned before they took this advantage and made an investment of expanding its growth in the international market. Bembos’ marketing plan relies on the fact of being always the number one, having propagandas and commercials on TV all over Peru. Their theoretical model relies on its 4p’s, which means: price, place, promotion and product. They focus on having a good location, in a nice and commercial area that can attract people. Bembos places are big and colorful and have a parking lot. They are easy to recognize because of its colors and style. When it comes to quality, they try to offer, in this case, bigger hamburgers with better quality but with a slight more expensive price than McDonalds, KFC, and Burger King. The strategy they use is by satisfying their costumers’ needs, by having good prices for their big hamburgers and asking for their preference. Bembos is always trying to get better as time goes by. They never get stuck into the same product; they continue renovating their products and offers. They have in mind that people will eventually get bored of having the same products, in this case, each year they come up with a different kind of hamburger, salad or ice cream. Moreover, they also have a good relationship with people that have power in the government, in order to avoid problems with them. Moreover, Bembos has never had any issues with the environmental people because of polluting the environment and animal cruelty. It’s always very important to take into account, that Bembos should even be considered not only a fast food restaurant, but a restaurant in general, since they just don’t offer hamburgers or ice cream, but they also offer â€Å"salads†. Therefore, that makes them approach for a bigger market, in case someone’s on a diet, they can eat in Bembos too. When it comes to the human resources and financial area. So far, they’ve done such a great job, since it’s never been reported that they’ve had any kind of trouble in those areas. Bembos employees are friendly and they offer to the customer a good service. They are trying to make customers happy when they come to Bembos. In conclusion, the main keys of success for Bembos are: high profits, good quality and service, wise marketing strategy, and good relationships. Also, they’ve always had a clean reputation, since they’ve never been issued with any person, like getting intoxicated and the like, which makes them have a great image for their costumers. Plus, they have a great staff, the workers are very nice people who make the costumers want to come back, which’s essential, since if we offer a good service, people will want to come back, and it’ll eventually create more sales, which’s essential for all kinds of businesses.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Case Study of McDonald’s Essay

In the early 1940’s, two brothers opened a burger restaurant that was based on standardized preparation called the Speedee Service System. This â€Å"burger restaurant† is now globally known as McDonald’s. In 1976, McDonald’s introduced the breakfast menu as a way to diversify sales and product selection. Today this multinational corporation serves nearly 54 million customers every day in 120 countries around the world. McDonald’s first international venture was in Richmond, British Columbia, during 1967. Two of McDonald’s main products were introduced in 1968, the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin Sandwich. When the first McDonald’s opened in Hong Kong in 1975, they were the first restaurants to consistently offer clean bathrooms, which drove customers to demand the same standards of other restaurants and institutions. McDonald’s continually builds its brand by receiving customer input. This is why McDonald’s is known as one of the most recognizable brands in the world. This case study illustrates how McDonald’s marketing process works and how they overcome problems in the process. This case analysis will include a SWOT analysis of McDonald’s, which looks at the internal environment of strengths and weaknesses and the external environment of opportunities and threats. It then examines alternative solutions to correct weaknesses, threats, and opportunities and concludes with recommendations with exact steps and a brief conclusion. S.W.O.T. AnalysisThis analysis was developed from the McDonald’s website and various other online sources. Other information was provided by the textbook, Organization Behavior by Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kinicki. SWOT stands for internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats. It will illustrate the opportunities and threats in McDonald’s current environment, and compare it to their internal strengths and weaknesses. We will then discuss creative strategies to align their internal environment with their external environment and provide multiple alternatives and a recommendation. Internal AnalysisMcDonald’s Corporation is a multimillion dollar global business because of the fact their strengths greatly outweigh their weaknesses. McDonalds is known globally because it is dedicated to the unparallel levels of quality service, cleanliness and values. McDonalds is also globally known because it is financially sound and recognized by the Fortune 500 and the Hoovers 500. We will provide the strengths and weakness of the McDonalds Corporation. We will also show the effect they have on their expansion throughout the globe and the direct impact it has on their financial records. This will be presented in descending order of importance throughout the strengths and weaknesses. McDonald’s SWOT AnalysisStrengths1.The Company’s developed global strategya.60% of McDonald’s sales and all of its top 10 restaurants, (in terms of sales & profits) are now overseas. b.McDonald’s adapts to each country’s specific needs & cultural differencesi. For example: In Japan, McDonald’s had to substantially adapt it’s original U.S. style menu to include a McChao(a Chinese fried rice dish). When McDonald’s introduced rice meals in Japan, sales jumped 30% in one year, and it continues to innovate in Japan with Teriyaki McBurger and Chicken Tatsuta. ii.The menu price has been adapted for each country. iii.The average Big Mac price for the U.S. is $3.00; China $1.26; Switzerland $5.64c.In 2005 McDonald’s was ranked 8th out of the top 30 global brands. 2.Adaptation to cultural preferences and trendsa.Within the past 3 years, McDonald’s has made several adaptations to their strategy by adding a more appealing breakfast menu, specialty coffees, and healthier menu options. b. McDonald’s has also managed to adapt their individual franchises to the current trends and concerns in their individual geographical locations, simultaneously cutting costs. i.For example: In Europe, McDonald’s discovered that children were content  with a simple word puzzle on a menu tray or a small stuffed animal and did not require more expensive Happy meal promotions that they used in the U.S. c.This year the world’s largest restaurant chain, with 31,000 locations, will spend $1.9 billion to open 800 restaurants and reinvest in existing locations. 3.The company’s attention to global health concernsa.McDonald’s menus offer a variety of food products that can fit into balanced, active lifestyles. Restaurants typically serve several types of hamburgers, grilled and fried chicken products, and fish and, in many cases, salads, fruits, and additional sandwich options. i.Many European countries have launched Salads Plus menus, including meal-size salad choices, a side salad, fresh fruit bag, and other options. ii.McDonald’s Canada offers Toasted Deli Sandwiches. iii.McDonald’s Hong Kong has a Fresh Choices Menu, with two salads and fruit yogurt. iv.McDonald’s Australia offers a QuickStart breakfast menu, including a choice of cereals, juices, reduced fat or nonfat milk, and yogurt. v.McDonald’s Taiwan serves a Toasted Rice Burger. vi.Apples are served whole or with other foods in more than 20 countries around the world. b.Many local business units are adding new salad, fruit, and vegetable offerings. c.Local business units are also expanding Happy Meal choices to include new sandwich, side, and beverage alternatives. These reflect a System-wide goal of ensuring that Happy Meals remain a choice moms feel good about and  children enjoy. 4.The Company has high environmental standards:a.Delivery Vehicles which can carry fresh, frozen and chilled food have resulted in fewer deliveries, enabling them to reduce diesel costs and fuel emissions. Also, fixed delivery schedules reduced the distance traveled in 1993 by 310,000 miles. b.Each McDonald’s restaurant is carefully designed individually to fit into its local environment. This means listening to local concerns, fitting in with local scenery and landscaping drive-thru restaurants. Over 120 McDonald’s restaurants are in conservation areas and over 30 are in Grade II listed buildings. c. McDonald’s uses a minimum of 50% recycled content in corrugated cardboard boxes and ask that their suppliers do the same. All McDonald’s food boxes and cartons are made from 72% recycled material, carry out bags are unbleached and made from 60-80% recycled material, while napkins and tray liners are 100% recycled paper. Additionally, all their picnic benches, drive=thru lane traffic bollards and most of the fencing panels are new restaurants are made from recycled polystyrene. d. McDonald’s have made a commitment that, by 1995, they had reduced the volume of solid waste by 50%. They achieved this by using the three R’s: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. 5.High percentage of minority employmenta.McDonald’s has the largest number of minority and female franchisees in the quick service industry. b.More than 40.7% of all McDonald’s US Owner/Operators are women and minorities. Weaknesses1.Worker shortagea.In all employment areas, there is a high demand for qualified workers. b.A new development that is creating even more employee demand is the new  immigration laws for the country and state. 2.Employee turn-overa.It is difficult to keep the employees already employed with McDonald’s. i. McDonald’s has a turnover rate of about 35 to 40 percent. b.People consider working at McDonald’s embarrassing and look for employment elsewhere. c.Minimum wage doesn’t keep good workers around. i. $5.85 per hour beginning July 24, 2007ii.$6.55 per hour beginning July 24, 2008iii.$7.25 per hour beginning July 24, 20093.Customer trends change and so do their choicesa.Quality and taste of products is declining. b.People are generally tired of the same brands that they had been using over the years, so when they do not see the expected innovation they migrate to new brands. c.People see McDonald’s every where and this over exposure might also be a reason for abstinence. Moreover maintaining the standards of such a huge chain becomes feasible and when there is lack of quality service in one store it effects the whole brand. External Analysis The constant improvements in technology and the competitive marketplace challenge McDonald’s with many opportunities and threats. McDonald’s has a great management team that constantly looks for new opportunities because McDonald’s is the industry standard on technology. Other opportunities for McDonald’s would be to expand to all developing and developed countries around the world. Among the current and future threats, there are thousands of fast-food chains in the world, most of the new fast-food franchises are concentrating on having a healthy image, so therefore McDonald’s needs to continue to improve  their healthy choice menu. This will be presented in descending order of importance throughout the opportunities and threats. Opportunities1.New Technologiesa.Computers that are also tablesi.These computers that are also tables will be very handy because people do not like standing in lines and having to wait to order. Now all customers have to do is find a table and sit down and start ordering. This will pay off even more because customers will be able to special order their food easier which will in-turn reduce the mess up orders because customers will do it themselves. ii.These computer tables will also make it very easy for customers to pay for their food or even split the bill if they want to. All customers will have to do is lay their credit card or debit card down on the table and then pick what food you want to pay for and drag it over to where your card is laying and then click ok that is correct then use your finger to sign for the bill. 2.International Expansion and Franchisinga.There are only 17,000 McDonald’s around the world and only located in 119 different countries. i.There are 194 countries in the world and McDonald’s has lost of room to expand there restaurants to new countries. ii.McDonald’s main concentration of expanding is in the ever growing in population of China. McDonald’s wants to build as many drive thru’s there as possible for the fast passed living. They have done research that there are 30,000 filling stations to put them in. b.Selling corporate owned McDonald’s and turning them into franchises at home and abroad. i.Sold 18 businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean’s. As a result these two countries will in turn franchise 1,600 restaurants. 3.New Food Items and New Programsa.Here in America we are accustomed to one of the programs that they are trying to add all over the world. This would  be known as the dollar menu. In Europe they are calling it the â€Å"Eurosaver†, China has the RMB 5, and Latin America features the McMenu. b.In Latin America they are experimenting with something called McAhorro. This is a program of special pricing of certain products during certain times of the day or on carious days of the week. c.In Egypt their McDonald’s are trying something completely new to McDonald’s and this is having a carryout. Other countries also doing this now are Turkey, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. d.New food items that became popular in Latin America are the McCafe coffee and dessert concepts. Which are Expanding to other McDonald’s in other countries to see how they fair. e.New Healthy Foodsi.Toasted deli sandwiches have now been put on a couple of McDonald’s menus in Canadaii.McDonald’s are starting to cook their French Fries in healthier oils and finding ways to cook their hamburgers to have less grease in them. iii.Mediterranean – inspired Pitamac, a square pita bread sandwich that is open at the top and filled with spiced beef, grilled vegetables or chicken. iv.Introducing veggie burgers to more of their restaurants. v.Introducing water-based instead of oil-based salad dressings for their new premium salads. vi.Introducing healthier option with their meal instead of fries such as: salads, baked potatoes, yogurt, fruit, ect. Threats1.The biggest threat for McDonald’s domestically is the lack of growth opportunitiesa.The market in the United States is well saturated and there is not a whole lot of room for growth. 2.Healthier eating habits. a.People are more worried about their health in today’s society than they have ever been. McDonald’s has introduced salads and other low fat items but it is hard for people to make the switch because the other food that McDonald’s offers tastes great. 3.Fast food restaurant franchises as upcoming competition. a.The biggest competition would be taco and burrito franchises. This would be a threat because individuals get tired of eating hamburgers and fries and they want something different. b.McDonald’s has the upper hand on most fast food restaurants because they serve breakfast. Recently Taco Bueno has added a breakfast menu and that could also be a threat for McDonald’s. 4.Terrorisma.With McDonald’s being a big retail food store with a lot of customers in the store daily. b.This could be a major threat not only to the store itself but to its customers also. 5.Global Competitiona.Through out the globe McDonald’s is facing more and more competition because of other fast food chains entering the global markets. i.Burger King is the number two burger chain. It is located in over 65 countries now. In the US alone it has more then 11,200 locations. ii.Subway is the second largest quick serving restaurant. It has an astonishing 27,700 location abroad spanning over 85 countries. Another huge threat that this makes is that it now has more locations in the US than McDonald’s. b.With global expansion McDonald’s not only has to deal with other abroad competitors but the own countries fast food chains. McDonald’s also has to get accustomed to the local eating habbits and taste so they will be able to satisfy their wants and needs. This means McDonald’s will have to come up with new menu items for each country to fit their customs. i.Items that they have came up with to fit the taste and customs of consumers in Japan was to introduce the Mega Teriyaki Burger and the Triangle-shaped Mango Custard Pie. AlternativesAlternative 1- Technology UpdateImproving and Buying New Technology – McDonald’s has been improving many things at their restaurants in the past couple of years such as: remodeling, new menu items, and a drive-thru order speaker that shows you what you have ordered. McDonald’s needs to make sure that they deep up with today’s society and the new technology. One of the newest technology that McDonald’s needs to consider purchasing is called Microsoft surface. This new technology well not only cut down on employee cost but it will help them keep up with the new way of life that time is money. ProsA. With Microsoft Surface computer tables in place it will make business quicker. i. People can sit down and order their food at the tablesii. There will be no waiting in lines which in turns saves people time. iii. Customers can pay at the end of their meals incase they want more food after their first order instead of going and standing in line again. B. Offer more things to do while waiting on your food and after you are done eating. i. Microsoft Surface also offers things to entertain your kids such as playing music to painting with their fingers. ii. Business people will find it handy because they can get on the internet and find thing they need or to get directions to their next destination and then can transfer it to their phones of PDA’s. iii. Will older people like the new technology because it will be something new to them and will have to learn how to use it properly. ConsA. Microsoft Surface will be brand new technologyi. The cost of Microsoft Surface will have a very expensive price tag along with it. ii. Since it is a new product this means it will still have a few bugs in it that have not been found or worked out. B. How reliable with this new technology bei. Seeing how this is going to be used not only to order off of it will as be used as a table to eat and drink off of. Will the Surface be durable enough to handle messy food and drinks that will be spilled on it?Alternative 2- Improve Healthy menu OptionsMore Attention for America’s Healthy Menu Options- McDonald’s has been successful in adding healthy menu options around the globe. However, throughout our study we have found that the healthy menu options for Americans are quite limited, and even more limited for the children in the United States. The PlanA.We feel that adding some healthy menu combination meals would really improve McDonald’s sales. Americans don’t want just a salad or chicken wrap as a meal, so why not add a combination meal that includes a salad, wrap, grilled chicken breast, or toasted deli sandwich with their choice of a healthy side, such as a fruit salad, yogurt, vegetables, or baked potato. B.Don’t forget about our children. Mom’s aren’t just concerned about what they are putting in their mouths, their children’s health is just as important. If a mom can go to McDonald’s and get a healthy meal, but there isn’t anything healthy to feed her children, most likely she’s going to choose a competing fast food franchise. Happy meals need to have options such as, a beef pot pie, turkey sandwich, or grilled chicken fingers.  Choices of sides could include a healthy macaroni and cheese, vegetables, fruit & marshmallows, or even cottage cheese and strawberries. McDonald’s could also really score some big points with parents if they added healthy lifestyle tips for kids on the happy meal sacks, or provided toys that promote exercise. Pro’sA.American’s love variety and choices. That’s exactly what this plan is giving McDonald’s customers. Variety and healthy choices will not only satisfy current customers, but it will attract more business. B.One of McDonald’s biggest customer bases is America. Providing these options for this customer base will also increase their profit intake. C.This plan also shows the people in the U.S. that McDonald’s cares about their customers concerns. This is just one more way to attract business. D.Since the release of the movie â€Å"Super Size Me† McDonald’s has been known as the fast food restaurant that makes Americans fat. The best way to improve this bad image is to implement the healthy menu options in America. Con’sA.Adding more options to a menu also means adding costs for the business. It is more expensive to keep vegetables and fruits fresh than it is to keep the food they currently serve fresh. B.Even though American’s are very concerned about their health, there is a large number of people who don’t want to do anything about it. People aren’t looking to be healthy when they go out to eat at McDonald’s, and because of that, the new healthy food options may not sell as well as other well established items on the McDonald’s menu. Alternative 3 – Increasing WagesIncrease starting wages and implement frequent raises – McDonald’s has always been considered one of the worst paying jobs with the lowest skill level. Even though the working conditions are favorable, qualified workers do not want to work at McDonald’s because it is embarrassing, but mainly because McDonald’s does not pay their  employees enough. We think starting salaries should be increased as an incentive to want to work for McDonald’s and turn the job into a career. ProsA. More dependable employees as applicants. i. The country is experiencing a huge worker shortage, but not only a worker shortage, but qualified, dependable workers. This alternative should help remedy that situation. ii. With higher starting wages and frequent raises for the employees, there should be a less percentage turn-over rate. If the employees are happy, they won’t be looking for other positions elsewhere. ConsA. This increase will cost the corporation more financially. ii. This could limit the amount available in dividends to stockholders hurting future investments. RecommendationsTechnology updateIn order to remain in competition with not only fast food restaurants, but other restaurants as well, McDonald’s will have to keep up with the growing technological society. This means taking advantage of any fast food advances that pertain to their area of service. The new technology will have to keep the pace of today’s fast moving society, in which time is money. A specific technology that we recommend McDonald’s take advantage of is the Microsoft Surface computer tables. This technology will be costly, if implemented in metropolitan area’s it will be beneficial to not only the corporation, but also to McDonald’s customers. Microsoft Surface computer tables will increase the contribution margin of the corporation by saving time, money, and order errors. McDonald’s should gradually begin the implementation of the Microsoft Office table in major cities throughout the globe. As McDonald’s begins to reap the benefits, and work out the kinks of the tables, the corporation should  gradually apply this product throughout smaller restaurants. This process will be very slow moving and costly, but it is key in ensuring McDonald’s continued domination in global fast food service. ConclusionsIn today’s fast paces, highly technological society McDonald’s has been able to stay on top of the fast food service industry, while providing quality service, and timely deliverance of food. It is not an easy task to stay on top of technologies and changing tastes of customers. McDonald’s will need to continue to research the changing eating habits and styles to attract new customers and keep the business of current customers. McDonald’s has proven it’s concerns for customers and employee’s by experimenting with new facilities and foods they are proving to society that they are concerned with not only their health but their prosperity. McDonald’s has a very promising future ahead of them and if they continue to adapt to society and new technologies. Refrences www.mcDonalds.com

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Boy in the Striped Pjs

â€Å"The boy in the striped pyjamas† by John Boyne is a book about a nine year old boy called Bruno who is growing up in Berlin during World War II. He lives a very comfortable life in a large house with his parents and his sister, not forgetting the maid and the cook. But this all changes very soon when his father who is a very high-ranking soldier is promoted to â€Å"Commandant† and to Bruno’s sadness the family have to move to a place which Bruno refers to as out-with. Bruno immediately becomes very homesick for many reasons.He misses his grandparents, his house, his three best friends for life and of course his adventures. Bruno is a very curious boy and while looking out of his window one day he noticed that there were other people, lots of people. It isn’t long before Bruno decides to ask his father about these people but his father tells him that they are not people at all. It turns out that it is the extermination camp Auschwitz and due to Brunoà ¢â‚¬â„¢s curiosity and boredom he decides to explore and it is here at the fence that he meets and befriends a young boy called Shmuel.Almost every day he meets Shmuel and they talk by the fence both on separate sides but they are both desperate to play with each other and conveniently Shmuel’s father goes missing and he needs Bruno’s help to find him. They make a gap in the fence just big enough for a small boy to fit through and Bruno goes into the camp with a pair of striped pyjamas and it is then that something unimaginable happens. In this essay my task is to describe how well John Boyne has involved the reader throughout his challenging novel to ensure our sympathies for Bruno.

Friday, September 13, 2019

International Trade and Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Trade and Globalisation - Essay Example Overall levels of trade barriers have declined in recent decades, largely due to international negotiations (Reinert 2012). 11 This paper labors to discuss the concept of international trade among trading countries and how such countries benefit from the Principle of absolute advantage and comparative advantage, intra-industry which arises when the country simultaneously imports and exports similar types of goods or services has also been highlighted. A detailed discussion of the trade policy analysis has been shown in this paper mainly on the impact of imposing and removal of trade tariffs on the welfare of producer, consumer, and the government, who benefits and who loses. International trade is a term used to refer to the exchange of goods and services among the countries of the world (Reinert 2012, P. 30). International trade does not only involve exchange of goods such as steel, automobiles among others it also include exchange of services for example financial services, and engineering services among other services. International trade in goods and services is playing contributes a lot in development of the world economy. International trade is one of the four realms of the world economies the other three include international production, international finance, and international development (Reinert 2012, p 30). Thus to develop the worlds economies and to improve welfare and living standards of everyone, students and professionals must have a good understanding of the international trade. According to Giddens (1999) globalization can be defined as conceptualized in social, cultural, and political, not just economy. Globalization is the integration of economy activities such as international trade, development in financial and currency system, and labor outsourcing, which were supported by technological changes (Valacich &

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Make for me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Make for me - Essay Example In the poem â€Å"A Letter To Sir John A. Macdonald†, Dumont writes about the wrong things that politicians and businessmen did in the history of Canada. For me, the case is not only true for Sir John A. Macdonald, but also to countless other men who have done corruption and performed wrongdoings to the country. She begins the poem quite ironically, â€Å"Dear John: I’m still here and halfbreed,† the irony is because she is proud to say upfront that she is a halfbreed, while other people look down on such halfbreeds. She has also emphasized her being a halfbreed, or Metis blood meaning that she is a mix of Caucasian and American  Indian ancestry, in the ending where she says â€Å"we’re still here and calling ourselves halfbreed†. In order to properly appreciate this poem, one must have some knowledge of Canadian history, particularly on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, as well as the Metis uprisings. The railway was shutdown and never used, and what Macdonald did left scars in the people. Dumont pointed this out in her lines â€Å"because you know as well as I that we were railroaded by some steel tracks that didn’t last and some settlers who wouldn’t settle and it’s funny we’re still here and calling ourselves halfbreed.† Their history was one of oppression by a more pure race who looked down because their blood was mixed with different races. As for R. Zamora Linmark’s poem, it was around 1998, after the filming of Brokedown Palace in Manila, Philippines, that Claire Danes, in an interview with Premiere Magazine, said that "The city just fucking smelled of cockroaches. Theres no sewage system in Manila, and people have nothing there. People with, like, no arms, no legs, no eyes, no teeth.? Rats were everywhere...a ghastly and weird city." This prompted R. Zamora Linmark to write the ironic poem â€Å"A Letter to Claire Danes from a Fan in