Introduction to Woman's and gender studies Essay

Introduction to Woman's and gender studies - Essay Example Though it expounds broadly on the contributions of women towards the awarding of the right to vote to women, the documentary â€Å"One Woman, One Vote† does not expound on how men assisted women in juggling their right to vote demand. However, the narrative â€Å"the women’s suffrage movement† in Angela Davis’ book, â€Å"Women, Race and Class† provides detailed information on the contribution of men towards the success of women groups (Davis, 2011). Unity was one of the fundamental elements that lacked in the suffrage movement. Throughout the movement ensured that different groups of suffragettes worked against each other. For instance, one group of women fought for federal amendment whereas another one thought of working state by state. The variation in workability was as a result of the existence of variation in the group members. For instance, some groups consisted mainly of middle and upper class women whereas others constituted of only working class women. Unfortunately, this segregation in groupings only benefited the whites who did not want the black men to be liberated from slavery. According to the majority of the women, white women were supposed to vote because of their race. However, the formed groups also advantaged those who were not only educated, but also with monetary funds. Fortunately, all groups worked towards attaining the same goal; ensuring the movement succeeded despite their differences. The different demands of the women contributed significantly towards the success of the movement. For example the desire of the black women to get rid of the oppression they were going through made them participate effectively in their group towards ensuring that they had a chance of participating in voting. Additionally, black women wanted to take part in the voting exercise so that they can protect their bodies as well as lives from the

Influence to the Indian populace Essay Example for Free

Influence to the Indian populace Essay His influence to the Indian populace was so great that when he met an accident while filming the movie, Coolie, the whole nation prayed for his recovery. There was also a great number of Indians who donated blood for the actor. During the taping for the movie, Bachchan wanted a scene to be realistic so he suggested how the punch should be undertaken unfortunately, the acting got so intense that he ended up in pain. For several days, the doctors cannot find the source of Bachchan’s hurt, until one day, a doctor was able to detect a dark spot on his intestine. The dark spot was his undigested when the punch in his abdomen was made. After seventy-two hours of pain, the undigested food could have turned into poison (Mishra 142-143). His intestine was also ruptured as a result of his fall on the steel table after the punch administered by the stuntman (Chopra n. pag. ) The doctors opted for an immediate operation, however, while he was in the operating table, he lost signs of life. He was declared clinically dead until his wife, Jaya shouted that he saw him move his toe. After this remarkable statement of his wife, the doctors were able to revive him (Mishra 142-143). Throughout the period that he was in the hospital, his supporters speculated that the punch that he received was real and intentional—that it was meant to hurt him. However, no proof was established to back up the claim. After the recovery, Bachchan continued filming the movie to where he left off. He also thanked those who offered prayers for his recovery and the support that the entire nation devoted to him. To date, he is the only movie actor who received such sympathy. People from all walks of life showed all the support they can give and it was as if life in India stopped for Bachchan. Life only returned to its normal shape when it was declared that he is already safe (Mishra 142-143) Aside from acting, Bachchan also tried his luck in politics after he was swayed by his friend Rajiv Gandhi, whose mother was assassinated and won by sympathy vote. Bachchan was elected to a Parliamentary seat, however, this prestigious position did not prove beneficial to him as his name was included to a political controversy. Bachchan, his brother and Rajiv were accused with bribery. It was rumored that the Boffors company bribed Indian politicians to ensure that the government will buy tanks and other military equipment from them (Mishra 144). This hullabaloo seriously injured the name that Bachchan was able to established through time so he decided to quit politics two years after he first explored it. After his flop in the field of politics, Bachchan returned to his first love—film making. Bachchan is well loved by the Indians and his acting widely accepted, however, these love and acceptance were not enough to keep his star shining after the political controversy he faced. Mishra, however, points out that his breakdown in politics is not the direct cause of his collapse as a star. Just like the period when he started his sensational career as an actor, the people then were looking for variety, for something new to watch, the Indians also felt this way at some point when Bachchan was the king of the charts. The people were worn-out with the constant revenge and anger theme in his movies and were looking for something new—for a new approach in movies. This was the time when the need to revive Romanticism was felt. The revival of romance in the films brought back the idea of a character and once again motivation replaced generic predictability, something which Bachchan turned his back on (Mishra 138). For Bombay cinema to survive, the romantic twist had to return. And so, as Bachchan’s star waned, romance returned (Mishra 138). After his political stint and cinema flops, Bachchan shifted his attention to a new venture. He created a multi-faceted commercial enterprise known as the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited or ABCL. The company delved in production and distribution of films and other ventures that involved the movie industry. For sometime, the company enjoyed success in producing movies and even catered the Miss World pageant in India in 1996. However, in its latter years, it faced so many debts that it reached bankruptcy (Indiaoye). His failure both in the political and business worlds, prompted him to go back to where he established his name—the entertainment industry. At 55, he filmed his comeback movie, Mrityutada. It was not as successful as his previous movies but it was enough to sustain him in the entertainment field. Two years after his comeback film, he was named in a BBC poll as the Superstar of the Millennium. This title placed him in equal footing with Sir Lawrence Olivier, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando. Aside from this, he is also the first Asian actor to be included in Madame Tassaud’s wax museum (hindi lyrix n. pag. ). According to Mishra, Bachchan’s success in his career is not only because of his talent in acting but also because of his skill in building his image outside the theater houses. The author suggests three stages in the life of Bachchan that moulded his image as an actor. First is his relationship with his leading ladies, particularly Rekha. Rekha, the daughter of the Hindi actor Ganeshan, is a tall and good looking woman who exhibited real acting talent. She was one of the few actors then who brought â€Å"real sense of character to the films†. She was suspected by journalists to have established a romantic relation with Bachchan and this suspected relationship was â€Å"extensively documented in the fanzines†. Mishra suggests that this added to the growth of the â€Å"quietly sanctioned counternarrative† by the actor himself. However, Bachchan imposed censorship when journalists began to pester him (Mishra 140). The affair of Rekha and Bachchan was better revealed in the movie Silsila (Continuity, 1981). In this movie the actors showed what they could not reveal in real life—depicting the love triangle that exists between Jaya, the wife; Bachchan, the husband; and Rekha, the mistress (Mishra 141).

Interstellar Pig :: essays research papers

Barney, a teenage boy, and his parents rent a summer cabin in Dunstable. Him and his parents are staying in a house that belonged to Captain Latham. Captain Latham had a trading ship when Dunstable was an important port. The captain’s stupid younger brother was a sailor on his ship. And he went crazy and was locked in the front bedroom where barney sleeps for 20 years. When the Captain was out in the South Pacific they picked up a shipwrecked sailor. The guy they rescued bunked with the crazy brother. And the next morning the sailor was dead the brother had strangled him. The crazy brother was sentenced to be keelhauled but he did not die was just permently brain damaged. And clawed around the windows for the rest of his life. They realize from Ted (the guy the are renting the house from) that their neighbors wanted this cabin a lot but Barney and his parents ended up getting it. When Barney meets his neighbors he thinks that they are a little bit weird but his parents don’t think that they are too bad of people in fact they sort of like them. Barney describes them as animal like the way they move and that they seem to be fasenated in the sky and water. Barney is observing the neighbors and states that they had a purplish cast in the fading light, which is strange because humans aren’t purple unless there defective. After several hours Zena knocks on the front door and barney describes her eye color as deep lavender. His neighbors also have a strange game they play that’s called Interstellar Pig. Their neighbors are about in their mid-twenties there is one girl, Zena, and two boys, Joe and Manny. Barney is rummaging threw the neighbors house when they leave to try and find out why they are so interested in the house and why they just stopped and was like in a trance when they saw the markings on the window. Barney finds some old document when he is searching threw their house and finds out that these neighbors wanted his house because there is some hidden secret in it, which Barney doesn’t have a clue what it is till he is looking at the scratch marks around the window and relies that they point to a large boulder at the southern tip of the island.

The Teaching of Saint Gregory Essay -- Christology, God, Creation

A. â€Å"The Teaching of Saint Gregory† contains many theologically concepts as God and Creation, Christology, human Sin and salvation, eschatology and resurrection. Owing to the limited space, I will only explore some key elements which I think are worthy to be discussed. First, Gregory depicts the God’s attributes – it begins with the faith of Trinity- God created the world and humankind, the Son saved humankind and the Spirit sustained the world (259, 263, 362). There is no one before God and there is no creator (259). God is incomprehensible and almighty (259, 366). God created two kinds of creatures: visible (the creatures in the world) and invisible (angels, include the evil â€Å"Follower behind†) (262, 278). Second, man was created in God’s image–which gave man rational mind and independent will so that man will be aware of God. (273), praise God (261) and live in a good life with God. (Enoch’s life 294). Third, in Christology, Gregory emphasizes the incarnation of the Son is not a sudden idea, not a phantom (402) but an eternal redemption plan of God. All the prophecies was foreshadowing Christ (342) and concerning Christ (377). Gregory skims the life and teaching of Jesus but emphasizes much in Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus humbled Himself to the indignity of death (385, 587-595), came to bridge the separated, to build up what was destroyed (591). In Gregory’s view, the cross of Christ is the anti-type of the tower of Babel. The tower stands for scattering, represents God’s wrath of human’s sin; the cross stands for gathering that Jesus redirects people back to God (584, 585). With the promise of God’s spirit dwelling in the believers, Gregory further insists the Martyrs live and intercede for men (596-597) which ... ...however, find a light to solve the problem of illiteracy. Armenians is the only nation who maintains Christianity as the national religion to recent decades. Reasons for success are many, like a distinct geography, recurred prosecutions, and the martyrs linked with national pride could be the dominant factors; but also, the book of Teaching of St. Gregory is definitely a significant reason to keep the Armenians’ faith in the long history. Its â€Å"non-difficult,† comprehensive, systematic way explaining God’s demand, human’s sin & responsibility, God’s protection with whom in prosecution; provide reason, strength and faith for Armenians to live their lives faithfully. Another important thing the church can do is to adopt new technology, A-V computerized aids to polish the traditions of Christian faith and provide a fresh expression of Christianity to our neighbours.

Electrinic and Digital Media Paper Essay

Historically the role of media in our society was one of delivering news and information for the sake of knowledge. According to Vivian, the news media served as the major watch dog in the gathering and sharing of information across the world. Traditions of a culture, such as China, have long been created an opportunity for free creative and artistic expression as a means of media exposure in countries where there is great government regulation. Now in a more contemporary role, media has become so integrated in people’s lives that many are swimming in a mass media ocean of communication. Media multitasking has become such of a normal routine for most people, that without media their lives would be empty (Vivian 2011). Over the years mass media has advanced in so many areas, becoming the technological assisted transmission of messages to mass audiences (Vivian 2011) of photography, sound, and transmission. Technology has been the foundation of mass communication in the media industry for years. If not for the invention of the printing press, books and newspapers may have never been published. Mass media has become almost solely dependent on the technology of today. Technological development of the Internet offers the potential, if appropriately utilized, to be an enabler of a more sustainable future (Ahmed 1999). Mass communication has evolved through the years with the emergence of various technologies such as printing, chemical, digital, and electronics. These technologies have contributed to media growth far beyond what anyone could believe early in the history of Mass communications. Particularly with the emergence of Chemical and Electronic technologies movies became popular and the radio and television mediums sky rocketed in popularity. Photography early on helped to increase the power of the printed word by bringing words to life by leading the charge in producing pictures in books, newspapers and magazines. The recording industry has evolved from the phonograph to the iPod allowing for radio to be everywhere and communication being transferred through airwaves for audiences which printed sources could not reach. Much of the technologies from above have become more of a necessity rather than a luxury by which only a few persons can benefit. With the invention of the printing press the newspaper industry has been able to mass produce a product from an initial template of an idea. Cameras and projectors have moved past capturing a moment into creating a moment vision, by understanding the eye retains a vision of a period of time, and if multiple photos could be taken, linked together, and flipped quickly, the human eye could be tricked into visualizing motion of an object. Creating a continuous motion, which later became known as â€Å"Film† and now digital photos. With the development of digital technology there has been great efficiency brought to various aspects of many people’s lifestyles. (Vivian 2011). Bell Labs lead the way in revolutionizing a new media avenue known as â€Å"The Net†. The internet in the early 1990’s was vastly evolving into the next means of mass communication. Bell Labs was in the forefront of the digital age by walking us into a media convergence. Where bits of data, we commonly refer to as messages, could be transmitted over the internet in large capacity at a certain rate of speed and reassemble as readable text upon reception at its destination. Now in 2012 because of the efforts of Bell Labs the digital age has advanced throughout time to where we once dialed a phone number from memory, we now speak a name and our phones dial for us. Smartphone devices have opened up a new world where everything is truly at your finger tips. Where Companies once relied on Trucks and warehouse for logistical need for distributing their products, they now have cut cost by utilizing the internet. Products such as books, magazines, and newspapers, printed media, have bought in to the immediate delivery of their brands in a matter of minutes versus days or weeks even. In the last 20 years all of the new trends and developments within the electronic and digital media industry the role of mass media has changed but yet still remains the same in its function. Persons, who once in casual conversation referred to their business as the newspaper business, now have restricted their verbiage and now work in the news business. References CREATIONISM — Study & teaching; MASS media; GREAT Britain; ROYAL Society (Great Britain); RELIGION & science; REISS, Michael Ahmed, Pervaiz K.; Hardaker, Glenn. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc). Jan1999, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p75-81. 7p Vivian, J. (2011). The media of mass communication (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

A Cultural History of the Zoot Suit

A Cultural History of the Zoot Suit In the 1944 Tom and Jerry short The Zoot Cat- only the thirteenth cartoon ever made starring that famous duo- Toms would-be girlfriend lays it on him straight:  Boy, are you corny!  You act like a square at the fair, a goon from  Saskatoon.  You come on like a broken arm.  Youre a sad apple, a long hair, a cornhusker.  In other words, you dont send me! The sad cat goes out and buys himself some new duds from Smiling Sam, the Zoot Suit Man, prompting his wide-eyed gal pal to do a one-eighty.  Youre really a sharp character! A mellow little fellow. Now you collar my jive! Around the same time on the American scene- but, culturally speaking, light-years away- a young Malcom X, then known as Detroit Red, also sang the praises of the Zoot Suit, a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet-pleats, and shoulders padded like a lunatics cell. (Apparently, people in the 1940s liked to rhyme more than they do today.) In his widely read autobiography, Malcolm X describes his first Zoot Suit almost in religious terms: Sky-blue pants thirty inches in the knee and angle narrowed down to twelve inches at the bottom, and a long coat that pinched my waist and flared out below my knees... hat angled, knees drawn close together, feet wide apart, both index fingers jabbed toward the floor. (We wont even mention Cesar Chavez, the famous Mexican-American labor activist who wore Zoot Suits as a teen.) What was it about Zoot Suits that united such disparate cultural icons as Malcom X, Cesar Chavez, and  Tom and Jerry? The origins of the Zoot Suit, characterized by its wide lapels, padded shoulders, and baggy pants tapering down to narrow cuffs- and usually accessorized with a feathered hat and a dangling pocket watch- are shrouded in mystery, but the style seems to have coalesced in Harlem nightclubs in the mid-1930s and then worked its way out into the wider urban culture. Essentially, Zoot Suits were the pre-war equivalent of the sagging, low-hipped pants sported by some African-American youths in the 1990s or the huge Afro hairstyles popular in the 1970s. Fashion choices can be a powerful statement, especially if youre denied more mainstream modes of expression because of your race or economic status. Zoot Suits Move Into the Mainstream By the time they  were referenced by Tom and Jerry, Zoot Suits were well-ensconced in mainstream culture; you can bet that the studio execs at MGM would never have green-lighted  this cartoon if the style were still restricted to Harlem nightclubs. The apostles of Zoot, you might say, were early 1940s jazz musicians like Cab Calloway who played in front of white and black audiences and were emulated in their dress by youths of all races, though not necessarily their elders. (Before and during World War II, jazz was the dominant cultural musical idiom in the U.S., much like hip-hop still is today, albeit in vastly mutated form.) At this point, you may be wondering from whence the zoot in Zoot Suit derives. Most likely, it was yet another token of the vogue for rhyming in wartime America; zoot simply seems to have been  a jazzy repetition of suit. The young people who donned Zoot Suits as a mild form of rebellion surely enjoyed mystifying their parents with their snappy language and the strange names they assigned to household objects, the same way kids who spend all day texting like to throw out random, impenetrable acronyms. Zoot Suits Get Political: The Zoot Suit Riots In late 1930s Los Angeles, no ethnic group adopted Zoot Suits with more enthusiasm than Mexican-American teenagers, some of them low-level gang members known as pachucos. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, however, the U.S. government instituted strict wartime rationing of wool and other textiles meaning Zoot Suits, with their wide lapels and copious folds, were technically off-limits. Even still, many Angelenos- not only Mexican-Americans- continued to wear their old Zoot Suits, and obtained new ones from the black market. Around the same time, L.A. was convulsed by the Sleepy Lagoon trial, in which nine Mexican-American pachucos were accused of murdering an innocent civilian (also Mexican). In the summer of 1943, these explosive circumstances detonated when a group of white servicemen stationed in Los Angeles viciously attacked random pachucos (and other ethnic minorities) wearing Zoot Suits in the so-called Zoot Suit Riots. Ostensibly, the aggressors were incensed by the waste of fabric entailed by Zoot Suits, as well as the flaunting of rationing laws by the youths wearing them. The anti-Mexican feeling stirred up by the Sleepy Lagoon trial, combined with the unabashed racism of small-town soldiers stationed in a big city, were more likely explanations. Amusingly, after the smoke had cleared, a California state senator alleged that the riots had been instigated by Nazi spies trying to estrange the U.S. from its Latin American allies! The Afterlife of the Zoot Suit In the U.S., no fashion trend ever goes truly extinct- even if there are no more 1920s flappers sporting bangs and curls or pachucos dressed in Zoot Suits, these fads have been preserved in novels, newsreels, magazines, and are occasionally resurrected as fashion statements (either seriously or ironically). The Cherry Poppin Daddies landed their only Billboard hit in 1997 with the song Zoot Suit Riot, and in 1975, Zoot Suit was a cut from The Whos ambitious rock opera Quadrophenia. In 1979, a play called Zoot Suit- based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the Zoot Suit Riots- lasted for 41 performances on Broadway. Whats more, the outlandish garb sported by inner-city pimps in countless exploitation movies is based on the Zoot Suit. And, of course, you can always watch The Zoot Cat on YouTube, not to mention various electrifying performances by Cab Calloway in full Zoot Suit regalia.

Habits and Traits of Owlet Moths

Habits and Traits of Owlet Moths The owlet moths (family Noctuidae) account for over 25% of all butterflies and moths. As you might expect in a family this large, theres a good deal of diversity within this group. Though there are exceptions, most noctuids share a common set of traits outlined here. The family name, Noctuidae, derives from the Latin noctua meaning little owl or night owl (which in turn derives from nox, meaning night). What Do Owlet Moths Look Like? As youve undoubtedly already deduced from the family name, owlet moths tend to be nocturnal. If youve ever tried black lighting for insects, you must have collected some noctuids, because most will readily come to lights. The owlet moths are robust, stout-bodied insects, usually with filiform antennae. The fore wings tend to be mottled in color, often cryptic, and slightly longer and more narrowed than the hind wings. In most, the hind wings will be brightly colored but kept hidden under the forewings when at rest. Some owlet moths have tufts on the dorsal surface of the thorax (in other words, theyre furry!). For those readers who enjoy confirming their IDs by studying wing venation details, you should note the following traits in the owlet moths you collect: The subcosta (Sc) arises near the base of the hind wing.The subcosta (Sc) fuses briefly with the radius near the discal cell in the hindwingThree medio-cubital veins extend to the distal edge of the hind wing As David L. Wagner notes in Caterpillars of Eastern North America, there are no unique identifying traits of caterpillars in this family. In general, noctuid larvae are dull in color, with smooth cuticles and five pairs of prolegs. Owlet moth caterpillars go by varied common names, including loopers, earworms, armyworms, and cutworms. Owlet moths sometimes go by other common names, such as underwing moths or cutworm moths. The family is divided into several subfamilies, although there is some disagreement about their classification, and some sources may consider these groups separate families entirely. I generally follow the classification system found in the latest edition of Borror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects. How Are Owlet Moths Classified? Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder – LepidopteraFamily - Noctuidae What Do Owlet Moths Eat? Noctuid caterpillars vary greatly in their diets, depending on the species. Some feed on foliage, living or fallen, some on detritus or decaying organic matter, and still others feed on fungus or lichens. Some noctuids are leaf miners, and others stem borers. The family Noctuidae includes some significant pests of agricultural crops and turfgrass. Adult owlet moths usually feed on nectar or honeydew. Some are capable of piercing fruit, thanks to a sturdy, sharp proboscis. One very unusual noctuid moth (Calyptra eustrigata feeds on the blood of mammals. You only need to worry about these blood-sucking moths if you live in Sri Lanka or Malaysia, fortunately. The Owlet Moth Life Cycle Noctuid moths undergo a complete metamorphosis, just like any other butterflies or moths. Most owlet moth caterpillars pupate in the soil or leaf litter. Special Adaptations and Behaviors of Owlet Moths The nocturnal noctuids can detect and avoid hungry bats, thanks to a pair of tympanal organs located at the base of the metathorax. These auditory organs can detect frequencies from 3-100 kHz, enabling them to hear a pursuing bats sonar and take evasive action. Where Do Owlet Moths Live? Globally, the noctuids number well over 35,000 species, with the worldwide distribution you would expect within such a large group. In North America alone, there are approximately 3,000 known species of owlet moths. Sources Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson Caterpillars of Eastern North America, by David L. Wagner Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, by Eric R. Eaton and Kenn Kaufman Family Noctuidae, North Dakota State University. Accessed January 14, 2013. Family Noctuidae, Butterflies and Moths of North America website. Accessed January 14, 2013. Family Noctuidae, by Dr. John Meyer, North Carolina State University. Accessed January 14, 2013.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in Everyday Life

GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in Everyday Life GIS According to Canalys there were approximately 41 million GPS units sold in 2008, and in 2009 the number of GPS enabled cell phones in use had exceeded 27 million. Without even thinking, tens of millions of people access directions and look-up local businesses from these hand-held devices every day. Lets tie this back to our big picture here, GIS. The 24 GPS satellites orbiting earth are constantly broadcasting data about their location and exact time. Your GPS device or phone receives and process the signals from three to four of these satellites to figure out where it is located. Points of interest, addresses (lines or points), and aerial or road data is all stored in a database that is accessed by your device. When you submit data, such as posting a geo-Tweet (a location-based Tweet on Twitter), checking in on Foursquare, or rating a restaurant you are adding data to one or more GIS data sources. Popular GIS Applications Traditionally desktop GIS has dominated the GIS mindset. People think of ArcMap, MicroStation, or other enterprise-level GIS applications when they think desktop GIS. But the most prevalent desktop GIS application is free, and quiet powerful. With over 400 million total downloads (according to GeoWeb 2008 keynote speech by Michael Jones) Google Earth is by far the most used GIS application in the world. While many people use Google Earth to look for fun things such as a friends house, crop circles, and other oddities, Google Earth also allows you to add georeferenced images, view parcel data, and find routes. Georeferencing Photos Even before the average computer user was using GIS on a near daily basis, everyone has benefited from it. The government uses GIS to decide voting districts, analyze demographics, and even time street lights. The real power of GIS is that it is more than a map, it is a map that can show us exactly what we want to see. How has GIS become such an integral part of society almost seamlessly? Google, Garmin, and others were not creating products with Hey, the mass public needs GIS in mind, no, they were meeting needs. Humans think geographically. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How those are the five Ws right? Place is extremely important to people. When studying how human populations have acted over the past millennia it is easy to see how geography dictated culture. Today, place still dictates much of our lives: property values, crime rates, education standards, these can all be classified by place. It is interesting to see when a technology has become so ingrained in a society that people dont consider it when they use it, they just use it; like with cell phones, cars, microwaves, etc. (that list could be very long). Personally, as someone who loves maps and loves computers and works in the GIS field I think it is great that an eight-year-old has the ability to look-up their friends address and sho w their parents exactly where they are going, or for family members to be able to see pictures of those they love where they were taken, and so many more cool things that GIS allows us to do without thinking. Kyle Souza is a GIS professional from Texas. He operates TractBuilder and can be reached at kyle.souzatractbuilder.com.

Excellent Communicator Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Excellent Communicator - Assignment Example They are able to strategically and competently relate to the individual and adapt the conversation to better convey the message they are attempting to impart. Great communicators are often charismatic and funny – interesting people to listen to. Effective communicators are also effective listeners, as it’s impossible to communicate without verifying that the message is being received as you intended. I believe ineffective communication begins by the person attempting to communicate not having a thorough enough understanding of the situation, or simply not allowing for a dialogue to occur that facilitates communication. During my first week as a teacher, I had an Assistant Principal who called me into her office to discuss observations made during one of my classes. She had an issue with the way a particular lesson was organized and proceeded to discuss its faults. While elements of her criticism were effective, a great deal of it was misdirected as it was founded on erroneous assumptions. It fell short in that it didn’t leave room for a dialogue to occur that could create a constructive solution. Instead, the observations were relayed in a way that spoke to the necessarily limited perspective of one individual. For work place communication to be effective, open communication among workers within the organization must be promoted. Without this collaborative environment, th e workplace becomes dry and monotonous and the creativity necessary for beneficial improvements is

Developing Professional Practice and Using Information in HR Assignment

Developing Professional Practice and Using Information in HR - Assignment Example 1. What are the key social trends that might be causing these problems? Try to find facts and figures to support your answer. The key social trends include the fact that employees have largely been unwilling to apply their own selves towards work and this is the reason why the employee turnover rate is quite high at Davidsons. Davidsons is a name that is renowned throughout the United Kingdom and all out efforts are required by its management to make sure that the employees and workers remain on board no matter how tough or trying the circumstances turn out to be. The social trends need to change and this is something that will work in the favour of Davidsons because it will be able to derive the benefits and extract profits in the future. The facts and figures that can be used to support this anomaly surround the basis of understanding where Davidsons is going wrong and how it can have a better and more constructive relationship with the employees that join its ranks. The social trends can only get better when there is more energy and dynamism shown by the Davidsons’ top hierarchy so that success sh all happen in an easy way. Perhaps the attitudes of the officials are one thing that must be deciphered in an adequate sense because this sets the basis for achieving harmony and success across the board. It is also one of the reasons why Davidsons is losing out on its popularity within the United Kingdom and thus staunch efforts are needed to make amends.... The employment issues will come up time and again if the employees and potential workers know that they will be treated differently, and their domains would be sabotaged by the ones who exist in the workplace realms. The social trends therefore have a huge say in asking the employees where they might like to see changes within the relevant contexts. The social trends essentially dictate the difference between the good initiatives at work and the bad omens which have come about due to a number of factors. On the part of Davidsons, it is of paramount significance to comprehend that these social trends are rectified for the best interests of the employees and so that the new ones also acquaint it from time to time, whilst retaining the old ones. The impact of these social trends on employment issues therefore happen when the company is going through a tough time and there are no friends for its basis in the long run. This is the time when the social trends need to be aligned in such a w ay that there are only benefits to gain from. 3. What would you recommend Davidsons do to address these social trends? Davidsons needs to make a number of changes within its fore as far as the social trends that exist within its fore are concerned. This will mean that the employees need to be given more security which they look forward to receiving at the hands of the Davidsons’ top management. They must feel good when they are at work because higher motivation levels ensure that things are working fine within the realms of Davidsons. I would recommend Davidsons to go all-out in its quest to bring up changes because its own reputation is now at stake. It must make sure that these changes do not hamper its working realms. This

Language development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Language development - Essay Example In all of these aspects of language acquisition, language imbalance should be considered when gauging the extent and ability of child in the process of learning a second language. Language imbalance is brought about by a conflict between two or more languages that a child is exposed to in the development process (Hoff, 2009). Influences on vocabulary are characterized by a myriad of factors in a child’s life both at school and at home. Vocabulary development is influenced by language socialization that takes two general styles of child-rising that are child-centered and situation centered. In child centered approach, adults use two strategies of self-lowering through baby talk and child rising by interpreting unintelligible gibberish(Barrett, 1999). The situation-centered approach does not require adults to simplify their language, but children are expected to learn, understand and produce adult like speech mannerism. The culture surrounding a child has a significant influence on the development of language in a child because it influences the development of their identity. Cultural influencers, in society, determine the personality and identity that a child forges for self in line with what the societal norms dictate (Barrett, 1999). Young English language learners should be encouraged by their educators, caregivers and parents to achieve a more rounded language development process. Teachers need to be good models of language use and encourage learners to interact with other children as much as possible (Hoff, 2009). This is aimed at reinforcing their vocabulary repertoire. Second language learners can be exposed to meaningful learning activities that encourage them to practice their new language

Customer Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example The paper tells that privacy refers to a state of personal information being kept free from unsanctioned intrusion. It is concerned with the handling and protection of personal information that is sensitive. Individuals often give such information in the course of everyday business. On the other hand, data security is a means of ensuring that personal data is kept safe from corruption and access suitably managed and controlled. The differences between privacy and data security are important in handling customer information. This is the reason many organizations have staff responsible for data security totally separated from those in charge of privacy. The differences will ensure that the company responsibly uses customer data to avoid legal suits related to misuse of customer information. It will also help in building customer trust. Building customer trust is vital for the company’s success. This is because it has the impact of building or breaking customer loyalty with the c ompany. For this reason, customers prefer that their private information be kept secret, only being disclosed to authorized persons under their consent. It is, therefore, important that the company maintain both data privacy and security. Customers mainly trust those companies that they believe maintain a high degree of privacy and security of their information. However, companies that do not maintain security and privacy of customer’s data may not be able to ensure customers’ trust. This in most cases resulted in legal action by customers who feels aggrieved by leakage of their personal information... Selladurai, (n.d) notes that companies that apply mass customization realized many positive outcomes. The advantages they attribute to the fact that mass customization increased their market share, customer satisfaction, expanded customer knowledge, and reduced their order response time. Others reported reduced manufacturing cost, which resulted in increased profits. Customers benefit from the fact that they are reasonably priced, and products are manufactured in accordance with their personal preferences and specifications. Disadvantages of Mass Customization Companies that practice mass customization reported a number of disadvantages. Most notable one is the fact that it increases the cost of production. This is due to the use of premium cost that the manufacturing system incurs for factoring in the flexibility of customization, and for sacrificing a certain degree of cost efficiency that is associated with standardization. Mass customization also lowers on time delivery to the cu stomers. It lowers supplier delivery performance due to uncertainty in customer specification, which result in increased order response time. The method may also result in low product quality. On the customer’s point of view, mass customization result in increased lay over time. This makes the product take longer to reach them. Customers are also not given a chance to return a customized product in case they are unsatisfied with the quality (Selladurai, n.d). Types of Mass Customization Component Sharing Modularity Mass Customization In this case, component swapping modularity is used to customize products by reusing a functional module across a variety of products. It can be a single motor across the power tools or in case

LETTER OF LEGAL ADVICE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

LETTER OF LEGAL ADVICE - Essay Example In most cases, acceptance must be absolute and unconditional – all the terms of the offer should be accepted without setting any conditions or changing the terms of the offer. However, the person being given an offer may require that the terms of the contract be changed or the offeror fulfill some conditions before acceptance of the offer (Abdul, 2011). Acceptance completes the process of forming a contract and allows both parties to be bound by the contract. Once an acceptance has been made, none of the parties can withdraw from it without incurring a liability to the other party. In that case, acceptance comes has its own unique elements that makes it different from other elements of a contract. Acceptance in a contract takes different forms depending on the way they are communicated and the terms of agreement involved in the contract. When an offer is made, ways of communicating the acceptance and any terms involved are stated. In that case, acceptance in a contract can be in the form implications, set conditions or expressed acceptance. These forms of acceptance must always be very clear and should not be with any kind of ambiguity neither should it be unequivocal. As it is seen in the case of Malago Pty Ltd v AW Ellis Engineering Pty Ltd [2012] NSWCA 227, there was ambiguity in the expression on the area whose ownership was to be transferred; that is ‘Gross Marine berth income.’ This was then one of the issues that appellant of the case argued that it rendered the agreement void. The court of appeal however, resolved the issue based on the circumstances that led to the agreement after it after construition of that expression. Therefore, the company should ensure that acceptance is always clear without ambiguity. Conditional form of a contract is the type of acceptance made under conditions set to the offeror by the party to whom an offer has been made as terms that must be made for the other party to accept the offer (Michael et al,

Customer Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example The paper tells that privacy refers to a state of personal information being kept free from unsanctioned intrusion. It is concerned with the handling and protection of personal information that is sensitive. Individuals often give such information in the course of everyday business. On the other hand, data security is a means of ensuring that personal data is kept safe from corruption and access suitably managed and controlled. The differences between privacy and data security are important in handling customer information. This is the reason many organizations have staff responsible for data security totally separated from those in charge of privacy. The differences will ensure that the company responsibly uses customer data to avoid legal suits related to misuse of customer information. It will also help in building customer trust. Building customer trust is vital for the company’s success. This is because it has the impact of building or breaking customer loyalty with the c ompany. For this reason, customers prefer that their private information be kept secret, only being disclosed to authorized persons under their consent. It is, therefore, important that the company maintain both data privacy and security. Customers mainly trust those companies that they believe maintain a high degree of privacy and security of their information. However, companies that do not maintain security and privacy of customer’s data may not be able to ensure customers’ trust. This in most cases resulted in legal action by customers who feels aggrieved by leakage of their personal information... Selladurai, (n.d) notes that companies that apply mass customization realized many positive outcomes. The advantages they attribute to the fact that mass customization increased their market share, customer satisfaction, expanded customer knowledge, and reduced their order response time. Others reported reduced manufacturing cost, which resulted in increased profits. Customers benefit from the fact that they are reasonably priced, and products are manufactured in accordance with their personal preferences and specifications. Disadvantages of Mass Customization Companies that practice mass customization reported a number of disadvantages. Most notable one is the fact that it increases the cost of production. This is due to the use of premium cost that the manufacturing system incurs for factoring in the flexibility of customization, and for sacrificing a certain degree of cost efficiency that is associated with standardization. Mass customization also lowers on time delivery to the cu stomers. It lowers supplier delivery performance due to uncertainty in customer specification, which result in increased order response time. The method may also result in low product quality. On the customer’s point of view, mass customization result in increased lay over time. This makes the product take longer to reach them. Customers are also not given a chance to return a customized product in case they are unsatisfied with the quality (Selladurai, n.d). Types of Mass Customization Component Sharing Modularity Mass Customization In this case, component swapping modularity is used to customize products by reusing a functional module across a variety of products. It can be a single motor across the power tools or in case

WEEK 4 INTL 6000 - RESEARCH PART 4 Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

WEEK 4 INTL 6000 - PART 4 - Research Paper Example KCNA, the North’s official news agency, announced it had no option, but to renege on the armistice, due to persistent war maneuvers by the US (Grinker 45). The current tensions re-started when KCNA declared that their military would invalidate the agreement, referring to the puppet forces in the South and the US imperialist’s violation of the armistice, citing the joint exercises as a declaration of war. This latest flare up, according to the author, comes from tough sanctions that were passed by the Security Council in the UN in response to continued nuclear tests, which North Korea carried out in spite of global condemnation (Grinker 46). This cold war era conflict continues to affect international political dynamics. To find the exact reason for the 2013 flare up of rhetoric from the North and the military deterrent drills by the South, it is important, therefore to trace the beginning of the conflict. This is because the rhetoric used by the North is reminiscent of the Cold War-era tactics that the country used. Therefore, it is certain that North Korea still views the South the same way it did then and that the conflict, for the North Koreans never ended (Armitage 32). Continued isolation by the North Koreans has seen them perfect their Cold War-era tactics that included the creation of a crisis, escalation of tensions, and extractions of concessions and payments to re-affirm their status. The current tensions are no different, as seen by the North’s reluctance to follow through on their rhetoric. This strategy has always worked for the North and it seems to be working this time, as seen by China’s and the US’s exhortation to go back to dialogue and the increased aid prese nted by the Chinese. The Chinese, who took over from the Soviets as the North’s main benefactor, continue to support their Socialist model and would not want to see the North fall to the American-backed South. For this reason,

A Modest Proposal Essay Example for Free

A Modest Proposal Essay This is a beautiful land for millions that grants its people plentiful opportunities to start a wonderful life. The United States of America is the most honorable country to live in; we have been credited for our vast amount of freedom to all. America can easily be claimed the greatest nation in the world. We do, however, have an issue, an issue with the homosexuals. The true American people need to do something about this blasphemy. It continues to frustrate me on a daily basis to see them everywhere. Homosexuals all over the place are an abomination. I was truly appalled to find out that they think they could gain equality rights to normal people; it is outrageous. Maybe, as a solution, for the greater good of our community, we take away this problem. Put them away; build isolated communities to house the gay. The government can go about this the same way they did the Japanese and the internment camps. Homosexuals are a threat to society, to the value of marriage and the proper structure of family. If we as a community let this stand, it will ruin the lives of thousands. Children will grow up wrong and heterosexual marriages will never be the same; this affects everyone. America has a history of poor civil rights decisions: slavery, segregation, women’s suffrage, racism, and discrimination. Now is this country’s chance to learn from history and protect the civil rights of heterosexuals! We cannot stand down and let the wrath of the seemingly harmless and loving Homosexuals need for â€Å"equality† reign down on future generations. The only solution, which is an obvious one, is to relocate any gay out of the public’s eye. This is a surefire way to handle such a controversial issue.

Cadbury plc: An overview

Cadbury plc: An overview 1. Introduction Cadbury Plc has constantly been in the spotlight since August this year when its share price rose by more than 200 pence when Kraft placed its hostile takeover bid worth $17 billion. Since then other rivals such as Hershey, Ferrero and Nestle have also made interest for acquisition of the company. It is probably happening due to the facts that Cadbury Plc has been facing liquidity problems that prohibited rapid expansion, while at the same time having exceptionally strong presence in emerging markets and having strong brands. Cadbury Plc operates in a very competitive confectionery market characterised by fast-changing consumer attitudes and values. Hence the need for a strategic perspective on marketing never lessens. Moreover, (Financial Times, 2009) the confectionery industry is struggling in the recession as consumers seek out cheaper foods limiting discretionary spending on confectionery. These cheaper alternatives, coupled with the â€Å"derisory† takeover bid from Kraft foods, has caused a deep cloud of uncertainty to linger on Cadbury Plcs future, further compounding the need for a strategic perspective on marketing. 2. Business Strategy Business strategy can be defined as the direction and scope of the business over the long-term,which achieves advantage for the organisation through its arrangement of resources within a suitably challenging environment, to satisfy the needs of the market and fulfil stakeholder expectations (Brassington et al., 2006). Strategy can exist at different levels in a business entity: Corporate strategy concerns the allocation of resources within the organisation to achieve the business direction and scope specified within corporate objectives. It helps to control and coordinate the different areas of the organisation such as finance, marketing, research and development etc. Quite often corporate strategy is explicitly envisioned in a mission statement†. (Creating Brands People Love, 2009) For example Cadbury Plcs vision is to be the biggest and the best confectionery company in the world. Competitive strategy (business unit strategy) determines how a business competes successfully, in a particular market with particular regard to the relative positioning of competitors. Marketing strategy defines target markets, what direction to be taken for a defensible competitive position, compatible with overall corporate strategy within those markets. The strategic management process comprises three main components as shown in Figure 2 below: Strategy Implementation is often the hardest part in the strategic management process. However, this report only concentrates on strategy analysis and choice. 3. Strategic analysis Strategic analysis involves the analysis of the business strength, position and understanding the preponderant external factors that may influence that position. The methods below were used to assist in a strategic analysis for Cadbury Plc: FiveForces Theory a technique for identifying the forces which affect the level of competition in an industry developed by Michael Porter. Analysis of the Human Resources. Corporate and Operational issues. International Export Dimension. Swot Analysis. 3.1. The Five Forces Analysis Lindt Sprungli SpA Fujiya Co., Ltd. HARIBO GmbH Co KG Hsu Fu Chi International Limited Kraft Foods Inc Lotte Confectionery Co Ltd Nestlà © SA Perfetti Van Melle SpA The Hershey Company Tootsie Roll Industries Inc Mars Inc In pursuing an advantage over its rivals, Cadbury Plc has in the past adopted such tactics as: Changing prices to gain a temporary advantage (docstoc website). For example, a price reduction by three rupees for a mini Perk a Cadbury Plcs brand in India helped Perk penetrate the rural market increasing Cadbury Plcs market share in India by 1% with a further 10% rise in overall chocolate sales. Improving product features Cadbury Plcs brand, Dairy Milk, is the worlds most famous brand name and the companys leading chocolate bar by revenue. The company has used this to its advantage by creating new Dairy Milk varieties such as Wispa and Fruit Nut. Creative use of channels of distribution various outlets such as supermarkets, vending machines and convenient stores have been effectively utilised by Cadbury Plc and its rivals. Consequently, creative advertising has been the key factor in increasing market share. (Adbrands website) Advertising Age estimated global advertising expenditure by Cadbury Plc to be in the region of $425m in 2007, making it the worlds 83rd largest advertiser in advertising expenditure. Threat of substitutes in Porters, model substitutes refer to any products in other industries with lower prices or better performance parameters for the same purpose. According to confectionery news website, a growing trend towards healthy products by consumers has resulted in a drop in the value of the overall UK confectionery. Consequently, dark chocolate which is perceived to have great health benefits, has had an increase in popularity. As a matter of fact, in 2008 Cadbury Plc re-launched its Bourneville brand (dark chocolate) to counter this imminent threat and capitalise on the popularity of dark chocolate. Consumer power this is the impact that buyers pose on a production industry. The magnitude of the impact can be due to several factors. A big factor in the confectionery industry is that of a well educated consumer perception of the product. (The Epoch Times)This was so evident when consumer pressure resulted to Cadbury New Zealand backing down from an initiative to substitute cocoa butter to vegetable fat and palm oil. The latter would have increased palm oil production and the associated growth in plantations could lead to extensive destruction of plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. Moreover, the consumers were not only unhappy with the products new taste and texture, but also the weight of each bar had significantly reduced. Supplier power suppliers refer to the entity that provides the industry with the raw materials. Powerful suppliers can exert an influence on the production industry by selling raw materials at a higher price to capture some of the industrys profit. Barriers/threat to entry as a firm operating in the free enterprise world, any firm should be free to enter and exit the market. However, industries exhibit some features that protect high profit firms thus inhibiting the entry of new rivals. Barriers may arise from the: Government which can develop and implement policies in relation to several macroeconomic influences, in turn affecting markets and organisations such as Cadbury Plc. Cadbury Plc have to operate according to the rules and regulations stated by the governments. Their products have to conform to the safety laws, for example, manufacturing processes in Cadbury Plc are subject to pollution controls. The government implicates Fiscal policy, which involves altering government expenditure/taxation. For Cadbury Plc to see an increase in profits in the future, they will want the government to implicate expansionary fiscal policy whereby the government would raise government expenditure, leading to an increase in aggregate demand or by cutting taxes, which would leave consumers with more money to spend on products such as those made by Cadbury Plc; in turn raising aggregate demand and therefore profits (Advisors in Fiscal Policy). The government could however introduce Contractionary Fiscal policy which would see aggregate demand be reduced by cutting governments expenditure or by raising taxes and hence reducing consumers expenditure. For Cadbury Plc to increase their profits, they will be against the government introducing Contractionary Fiscal policy. The Government also provide Cadbury Plc with incentives to open new factories and other work opportunities where there is a high unemployment rate. Patents and propriety knowledge ideas that provide competitive advantage are treated as private property when patented. Hence others cannot use them, which creates a barrier for entry. Cadbury Plc is strongly positioned due to a large product patent basis and their heavy investment in their research and development department. Expensive capital potential entrants are reluctant to commit to acquiring highly specialised expensive machinery. As a matter of fact, even though Cadbury Plc being one of the largest confectionery companies in the world, it is facing liquidity problems hindering their expansion into new regions (Data Monitor Cadbury PLC, 2009). 3.2. Human Resource The biggest human resource issue facing Cadbury Plc today is the loss of job security amongst many of their employers. As demonstrated in Maslows hierarchy of needs, a popular and accepted motivational theory, job security is an important factor in the motivating and well-being of a firms employees (Mottershead et al., 2006). With respectable newspapers and other informative media (The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, BBC etc.) predicting large job losses in Cadbury Plc should a potential takeover succeed, many employees are currently fearing for their jobs and this may affect their performance (Rohwedder, 2009; No Author, 2009; Clark, 2009). Cadbury Plc union leaders have met with Kraft (a US based business bidding to takeover Cadbury Plc) in order to protect Cadbury Plc employees and ensure that their employees jobs are still secure should Krafts proposed bid be accepted. However, this action in itself demonstrates the amount of scepticism that exists within many Cadbury Plc employees and highlights the lack of job security with many of the workers. This cynicism may be due to the fact that employees are unable to understand how Kraft can make their potential quoted savings without a significant loss of jobs (No Author, 2009; Griffin, 2009). The loss of job security may not only affect factory workers but may also affect managers and employees in higher positions within Cadbury Plc. During a takeover there is a lot of restructuring within all companies involved and many jobs tend to be lost as companies find that roles overlap. These job losses occur at all levels of employability and there tends to be a period where the company has a very high employee turnover level. Although Kraft is the strongest bidder for Cadbury Plc, Hershey and Ferrero (an Italian based business) have recently released independent statements revealing their interest in a potential takeover of Cadbury Plc. However as both businesses are significantly smaller than Kraft, sources close to both firms have revealed that Hershey and Ferrero have been in talks about a potential joint bid for Cadbury Plc. Although, Cadbury Plc union leaders remain steadfast in their belief that the best option for Cadbury Plcs many employees is for Cadbury Plc to remain an independent company (Clark, 2009). As we enter a more technological era, the ever constant fear for factory workers is the fear that they will be replaced by computers. This is a smaller human resource issue facing Cadbury Plc; however it is ever present and therefore is an issue that must be consistently paid attention to and addressed. At a recent visit, to the Bourneville site of Cadbury Plc, students were able to visit both the modern factory and the older one. At the older factory, it was clear to the students that more human interaction with the product existed. While in the modern factory students saw that a lot of the human interaction had been replaced with faster and more efficient equipment. It is important that the human resource department in Cadbury Plc address the above issues as the motivation and overall well-being of the employees will affect the companys performance in the long term. As Cadbury Plcs is the biggest confectionary company in the world (Cadbury plc, 2009) they stand to lose a lot. 3.3. Corporate and Operational Issues With different businesses attempting to takeover Cadbury Plc, there are a lot of different factors that will affect the way Cadbury Plc is viewed as a corporation and in turn how they operate should a potential takeover succeed. One of the main selling points for Cadbury Plc in Britain and Ireland, who account for 24% (Cadbury plc, 2009) of their revenue, is the fact that Cadbury Plc began and has remained a British business (up until today) and therefore it lends an authenticity to the brand that most competitors do not have. British favourites, such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, may begin to lose out to competitors should Krafts proposed takeover succeed. This is because a lot of the public in the United Kingdom do not support the proposed takeover and some MPs have even gone as far as requesting a motion that ensures that Cadbury Plc remains in British hands (No Author, 2009; Rohwedder, 2009). Cadbury Plc have also had negative publicity towards the takeover with Felicity Loudon who is a descendant of John Cadbury (the founder), publicly stating that Cadbury Plc is a â€Å"brand that is synonymous with Britain† and should the Kraft takeover succeed it will â€Å"become a commercial wasteland†. These are strong words and may dissuade people from buying the once popular Cadbury brand (Rohwedder, 2009; No Author, 2009). As a result of the negative publicity potential takeovers have received, Cadbury Plc will be forced to use a different marketing strategy should a takeover bid be accepted as some of the British authenticity that Cadbury Plc as a brand previously had will be lost in the takeover. Cadbury Plc must be prepared to face losses in the UK market as customers may choose not to buy Cadbury Plc brands due to the takeover and the potential loss of jobs at Cadbury Plc UK sites. However, if Cadbury Plc is able to launch a successful marketing strategy, then they may be able to limit the loss caused by a takeover. 3.4. International Export Dimension As a leading global confectionary company with an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands, Cadbury Plc employ approximately 45,000 people and has direct operations in over 60 countries, selling their products everywhere around the world The company operates its business through four different business segments namely Britain, Ireland, Middle East and Africa (BIMA), Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. Britain and Ireland are the largest business unit in the group. The companys main markets in Middle East and Africa include South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria and Ghana. The companys American business comprises of the three largest confectionary markets in the world, US, Canada and Mexico. This also extends through Central America and the Caribbean and it also has operations in South American countries which include countries like Brazil, Argentina, Peru, etc. With a market share of almost 20%, the company is the leading player in South America. In Europe, the company operates in majority of Western Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey and Russia. The companys biggest European operating unit is in France. The Companys Asian businesses are concentrated in India, China, Malaysia and Thailand. In the Pacific regions, the companys operations are mainly located in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Cadbury Plc has a leading position in Australia with an overall 30% market share. (Data Monitor Cadbury PLC, 2009) In each of the four different segments, marketing is very important element in promoting the product and is done different to each other due to the products being sold in those areas. For example, Perk is a Cadburys product which is sold in India. The product is aimed at the youth. Marketing for this product is done in a way so it appeals to the Indian community. This includes advertisements which are shown their national language, Hindi and is normally performed by high prolific people of India like actors and actresses of Bollywood (Indian Cinema). 3.5. SWOT Analysis Strengths The main strength of Cadbury Plc is that they have a very good reputation and have a widely recognised brand name which has led them to become the worlds number one confectionary company having bought Adams (the owner of chewing gum brands including Trident and Stride) in 2003. They have unrivalled strength and breadth of participation. It is the market leader in the global confectionery sector with a market share of 10.5%. Cadbury Plc has a diversified product base as the company offers chocolate, gums and candy products; the company is well diversified in terms of revenue generation from all its operating regions. Cadbury Plc should aim to balance the share of revenue from its operating regions to gain global dominance (See Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6). (Cadbury PLC- Our Strengths). This shows the market share of chocolate between Cadbury Plc and their rivals. Cadbury Plc is currently number one, with Mars/Wrigley a very close second. (Cadbury PLC- Purple bi, 2009) It is clear that the main source of Cadbury Plcs revenue comes from their chocolate and cocoa beverages. However, it is clearly profitable to the company that they have diversified into other markets. (Cadbury PLC- Creating brands people love, 2009) Weaknesses However, Cadbury Plc has a weak liquidity position. At the year ending December 31, 2008, Cadbury Plcs current assets were $2,635 million compared to the current liabilities of $3,388 million. This could negatively impact the operational efficiency and growth initiatives. Another weakness is the companys employee efficiency, i.e. the total revenue per employee. It is considerably lower than rival companies such as Hershey, and Chocolade Fabriken Lindt Sprungli (Lindt). The low revenues per employee indicate relatively lower employee productivity. This can be solved by offering incentives to employees, i.e. bonuses for high productivity. Opportunities Due to the increasing awareness of dark chocolate and its health benefits, there is a fast-growing market in many parts of the world; combined with ethical concerns, the demand for organic and fair-trade chocolate have increased. Cadbury Plc has numerous amounts of premium chocolate products across the world so an increase in the customer preference for premium products would increase sales. Cadbury Plc can also look to increase sales and their presence in the US confectionary market; it is already well positioned to capture the growing demand for the confectionary in the region. Recently, people are becoming more conscious about their health which consequently results in a drop in sales for Cadbury Plc dairy products. This is a growing concern for the company and an issue that must be addressed. Cadbury Plc could possibly invest in a low calorie snack range which could boost sales dramatically. Threats The rising cost of many of Cadbury Plcs raw materials (especially cocoa and peanuts) could cause a serious impact on the companys profitability. Prices are expected to continue rising in the near future for cocoa because the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) reduced its estimate by 0.1 million tons whilst the demand for cocoa is increasing. At present, Cadbury Plc imports its cocoa products directly from third party suppliers so perhaps investing in their own cocoa farm would be beneficial in the long run. The confectionary market is highly fragmented with increasing competition. Many large businesses have merged together to gain more market share intensifying competition. Therefore Cadbury Plc would be under pressure to change prices of products, reducing its margins. Rising labour costs will dramatically cut into Cadbury Plcs profit margin because a majority of their employees are from the US and Europe. Minimum wage has increased significantly in both the US and the UK. Cadbury Plc needs to attract and retain efficient employees in all segments of its business to become even more successful. (Data Monitor Cadbury PLC, 2009) Looking at the data collected from the questionnaires, it is apparent that Cadbury products are easily accessible to the public (shown in Figure 12) so Cadbury Plc should look to keep this up. However, a large number of people do not know that Trident and Halls are part of Cadbury Plc. Figure 11 shows that members of the public would be more willing to buy Trident and Halls product due to the fact that it is part of a well represented company. More than half of the general public thought that Cadbury products were well priced, with mainly students thinking that Cadbury Plc overprice their products. Cadbury Plc should look into the possibility of issuing discount cards to students as this may encourage them to buy more Cadbury products. Figure 4 and 6 shows the share of revenue between Cadbury products and their global sites respectively. It is clear that chocolate and cocoa beverages are their main source of finance. Cadbury Plc need to concentrate on areas such as Asia and the Middle East as the share of revenue is 6% and 7% respectively. Cadbury Plc could sell their sites in those regions and concentrate on Europe, North America, Britain and Ireland, as these areas generate a combined total of 66% of Cadbury Plcs share of revenue. Figure 7 (in the appendix) shows that Cadbury Plc has had the biggest share movements over the past year compared to their main rivals. This shows the share of revenue across the world. Britain and Ireland current generate the most revenue followed by North America and then Europe. (Cadbury PLC Creating brands people love, 2009) 4. Business philosophy Cadburys Schweppes adopted a Managing for Value philosophy in 1997. They are committed to using their assets to exploit growth opportunities and to drive value creation. The main goal of Cadbury Plc is to consistently produce major shareholder returns. They support this by two other commercial goals: to profitably and significantly increase the global confectionary share and to secure and to grow the regional beverages share. Cadbury Plc had a strategic review of Europe Beverages its partner company, the conclusion being in the best interest of the shareholders to investigate the sale of the Europe Beverages business. The board decided Europe Beverages did not have a high enough potential growth and returns. The board also realised that the money made from the sale could help reduce the companys debts therefore on the 1st September 2005, Cadbury Plc announced they were selling the Europe Beverages group. Cadbury Plc currently possesses nine Board Members consisting of two Executive Directors and seven Non-Executive Directors. The Board of Directors are responsible for the overall management and performance of the company, and the approval of the long-term objectives and commercial strategy. They also delegate day-to-day management to the Chief Executives Committee (CEC). The CEC reports to the Board and are accountable for the day-to-day management of the operations and implementation of strategy. Driving high level performance of growth, efficiency and capability programmes are The CECs responsibility to the Board. (Cadbury PLC- Our Management) Cadbury Plc also adopts a policy of democratic management. All members of staff are made to work together as a team for the good of the company. Decisions are reached amongst the various groups by first taking into account everyones inputs, ideas and suggestions. This style of management works for Cadbury Plc because the workers feel as though they have power in decision making and therefore are more free and able to make suggestions that they feel could just alter the business this motivates workers and makes them feel more engaged with the company. 5. Branding Cadbury Plc as an organisation has developed a strong image for the Cadbury corporate name to act as a shelter for all its product brands. Branding is the creation of a three-dimensional character for a product, defined in terms of name, packaging, colours, symbols etc. Tthat helps to differentiate it from its competitors and helps the customer to develop a relationship with the product. As a result Cadbury Plc products benefit from both the affection that consumers hold for the corporate name and from the individual character developed for its products such as Cadburys Flake, Cadburys Hot Chocolate and Cadburys Dairy Milk (Principles of Marketing). Aspiring competitors of Cadbury Plc aim to build a strong brand. For example supermarket own-label products are packaged and branded in similar fashion to Cadburys; this has posed a threat to Cadbury Plc as often the supermarket own-label products are cheaper than Cadbury Plc products and, in todays economic instability, this could lead to them becoming more popular and therefore lead to a reduction in sales for Cadbury Plc. There is also a possibility that Cadbury Plc could become complacent with their branding and not seek to improve on it which could therefore lead to consumers becoming bored with the product or maybe even consumers needs could change which could lead to Cadbury Plc falling behind in the market. For Cadbury Plc their brand name is well known, but due to the reasons stated above their name is not enough to ensure that they remain the main brand in the industry. To stay on top of the market Cadbury Plc should constantly research into their brand name and look to invest money into improving the brand image to keep up with todays changing times. To compete with the lower priced supermarket own-label brands, Cadbury Plc may have to reduce their prices. However the problem for Cadbury Plc is that if they reduce their prices then that could be associated with deterioration in quality. One way Cadbury Plc could lower their prices to compete with its competitors without damaging the brand is to offer discounts on bulk purchases for example a pack of 5 Bounty chocolate bars for  £1.25 which equates to 25p each whereas the single Bounty bar would be sold at 45p each. The consumer recognises that the lower price is due to bulk buying and does not associate it with the brand quality. 6. Strategic Choice Involves identifying the strategic options, evaluating and selecting strategic options. 6.1. Possible strategies to consider and current business issues Recent bid from Kraft Foods Inc and possible new bids from Hershey Co, Nestle SA and Ferrero SpA have made the situation Cadbury Plc is facing today exceptionally complex and adds multiple choices of possible takeovers and mergers to strategies generally needed to consider. Kraft taking over CadburyPlc An offer worth $17 billion and placed by Kraft would provide Cadbury Plc with consequent advantages and disadvantages. For instance, recently Kraft stated that the ‘takeover would increase scale in developing markets and create a company with about $50 billion in revenue [it] would achieve at least $625 million of cost savings annually by the end of the third year (Bloomberg), whereas conversely Lord Mandelson cautioned that Kraft would be facing ‘huge opposition from the local population and from the British government (Telegraph). Furthermore, this could lead to job cuts in Bourneville, therefore UK‘is likely to seek guarantees from Kraft on decision-making and employment (FT). Recently, Kraft Food Inc has now taken the takeover offer for Cadbury Plc straight to shareholders. Kraft offered a mixture of cash and shares for each Cadbury Plc share. This offer included 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury Plc share. Alternative take-overs/mergers from Hershey, Nestle and Ferrero Hershey, Nestle and Ferrero have made interest in acquiring Cadbury Plc. Accepting offers from any of the mentioned companies would be more advantageous than to accept Krafts bid, since these are more confectionary marked oriented and hence are concerned with similar issues Cadbury Plc is facing. For example, Hershey, the largest U.S. chocolate maker, has ‘about 14 percent of its $5.13 billionrevenueoutside its home market in 2008, whereas Cadbury Plc has 22 percent of sales coming from outsideNorth America (Bloomberg). This merge could lead to strongest and biggest global confectionary company. Nestle, the worlds biggest food company, could stand in and buy back the U.S. rights to Kit Kat and Rolo brands from Hershey, giving Hershey the power to fund a combination with Cadbury another option would be for Nestle to acquire Cadburys gum unit and then sell the chocolate division to Hershey orFerrero SpA (Bloomberg).Expand emerging markets (India, South America, Middle East, an d Africa) According to Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury Plc; the company has the largest business of any of competitors in emerging markets that already contribute for more than a third of revenues. Cadbury Plc has already created strong foundations such as distribution systems and consumer relationships in these countries. For example, the company has experienced over 20% annual growth for the last three years in India (Creating Brands People Love, 2009). Expand developed markets (Europe, North America, Australia) Although these markets are considerably saturated, according to Cadbury Plc there still is much untapped potential (Creating Brands People Love, 2009). Expansion here is based on mostly new developed products and innovations in advertising. Concentrate more on luxury and natural products Since consumer awareness, such as healthy lifestyle, fair trade issues etc., is rising, more consumer attention is made on natural and luxury products. Recent takeover of Green and Blacks, The Natural Confectionery Co and Fair-trade certification proves the importance. New relevant takeovers could improve the share of the growing market. Invest more in development and innovations In order to expand, especially in the developed markets; science and development play great part. Making new products sometimes is the only way to expand in such regions, because of high market saturation. Move factories to countries with less expensive workforce Since factories are mostly based in western countries, high and rising wages play major role for small margin, therefore moving to countries with less expensive workforce could be beneficial (for instance, in Europe, moving from UK and France to Eastern European countries and the Baltic States, In Northern America, moving from USA to Mexico), however, there would be strong opposition from western governments and unions that happened during recent factory move from UK to Poland. (Daily Mail) 6.2. Future Business Environ

Hawthornes Characters: Pride Of Intellect :: essays research papers

Hawthorne's Characters: Pride of Intellect Many of Hawthorne's characters wrap themselves in a pride of intellect. The characters become victims of their pride and consequently suffer. Goodman Brown, from "Young Goodman Brown" and Hooper, from "The Minister's Black Veil" are two characters that suffer from a pride of intellect. Their pride causes them similar problems and they end up living similar lives, although they came from different backgrounds. Hooper and Goodman Brown both become isolated from society. Hooper had a revelation, and he feels that he truly understands human nature and sin. However, he believes that he is above everybody else because he has this understanding. This is what causes the major separation between Hooper and society. After Hooper dawns the veil he can no longer function or act as a normal person, because of this feeling of superiority. His perception of an ultimate human isolation leaves him the man most isolated in what Hawthorne describes as that saddest of all prisons, his own heart . . . "(The Minister's Black Veil,228). The veil affects all parts of his life, his fiance leaves him and he can no longer relate to his congregation the same way. "As a result of wearing the veil, Hooper becomes a man apart, isolated from love and sympathy, suspected and even feared by his congregation"(Minister's Black Veil, 228). Goodman Brown suffers the same fate because he also has a feeling of superiority over the rest of the village. He attains this feeling after he sees all the people that he though were good and pure participating in satanic rituals in the forest. He looses all faith in the community and feels as though he is above them because he was able to resist the devil. The lack or trust trusting that Goodman Brown had separated him from the community because he was a strong Puritan and felt as though he could not associate devil worshipers. "Brown, despairing and embittered, belongs neither to the Devil's party nor to the only other life-sustaining cause he knows--that of the Puritan faith and the Puritan community"(Levy,119). Hooper and Goodman Brown's pride of intellect cause them to loose a loved one and their kind and loving nature. Hooper drives his fiance Elizabeth away by wearing the veil. Elizabeth sees how Hooper is separating himself and it scares her away from their purposed marriage. "Hooper's fiancee, seems at first unawed by the veil. To her it is merely a cloth that hides the face she most delights to see. But, like a sudden twilight in the air, Elizabeth suddenly senses the unapproachable inner isolation of the man who wears it, and its'

Modernists

Literature has evolved time and time again as individuals and societies experiment and explore different themes and techniques in writing.   Modernism is a particular literary movement that follows the Romantic and Victorian eras of poetry.   While its definition composes many different elements, such as the rise of pessimistic thought caused by postwar disillusionment, and the rise in appeal of the imagist movement.Davis and Jenkins cite Peter Brooks who claims that readers have to acknowledge a â€Å"plurality of modernisms which sought to innovate on different artistic and cultural fronts† (3) while continuing to argue that â€Å"modernism is an unfinished project† (4).   Lee and Jenkins also argue that modernism is a function more of place than timeThree poets forged the way for this movement in English poetry:   William Butler Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Dylan Thomas.   As evidenced by these poets, modernist poetry is a mixture of many diverse elements, includ ing pessimistic themes, disjointed time and recurring symbolic images whose understanding may depend more upon psychology than the intrinsic beauty of nature.William Butler Yeats is the oldest of these three, but not the first to write in the modern style.   As he began experiencing with the poetic transitions, he came to be known as a realist-symbolist who revealed meaning through symbol.   T.S. Eliot is often credited as one of the poets that began the movement, along with Ezra Pound, and is known also for his symbols and haunting poetic images.Dylan Thomas is also known for his highly ordered images which represented the cycling of life for humankind.  Ã‚   All three presented themes that would have turned the poets of earlier eras, known for complimentary elegies, harmonious pastorals, and carefully ordered time, to drink.Eliot’s poem, â€Å"The Waste Land,† considered by most literary reviewers as the quintessential modernist poem, offers a spiritual yet dis connected view of society which mirrored the wasteland produced the spiritual disillusionment felt during the 1920s and the physical hardships associated with the Depression, the rise of Hitler and the threat of another war (Abrams 2137).   Eliot’s poems probe into the psyche of man that could live during any time period.   They leave behind the romantic and the beautiful to deal with the obscure and the dark aspects of humanity.The first four lines of â€Å"Waste Land,† illuminate the ideas of precise images and theme.   The suggestion that â€Å"April is the cruelest month† (â€Å"The Waste Land† ln. 1) runs counter to the idea that spring is a time of renewal and rebirth.   The image of lilacs growing from the arid land and of roots withering from the lack of rain support the initial assertion of the first line.   Throughout this lengthy poem, Eliot twists images from what the reader expects to see into something unexpected and thought-provok ing.Likewise, in Yeats’ â€Å"Leda and the Swan,†Ã‚   past history would suggest that this poem might be in praise of a Greek deity, when it actually, through its images, seems to be chronicling a rape.   The first four lines suggest this image rather clearly:A sudden blow: the great wings beating stillAbove the staggering girl, her thighs caressedBy his dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,He holds her helpless breast upon his breast† (lns. 1-4).Similarly, Thomas’ images of a misshapen man in the park are juxtaposed with images of animals.   He â€Å"slept at night in a dog kennel†(ln.11) and was â€Å"eating bread from a newspaper† (ln. 7). None of these images are veiled in the rosy light of Romanticism and present rather sad, violent and pessimistic images of society.In contrast with the chronological narratives of Romantic and Victorian poetry, these poets’ works are essentially nonlinear.   The words are broken and fragme nted, and only at the end do these seemingly unrelated bits come together, if at all.   Time and structure in these poems are fragmented.   F.R. Leavis in â€Å"T.S. Eliot’s Later Poetry† discusses this concept of fragmented time in depth as necessary to presenting the realism sought after by these poets. â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† clearly reveals this disjointed and chaotic journey through the mind of an everyman.   The poems shifts time periods and locations several times, but remain an imagistic representation of England with its nightlife, discussions of Renaissance art, and references to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.The action takes place entirely within the head of the speaker, who is deliberating about attending a social function.   He ponders as his brain wonders chaotically from one topic to the next. ).   In line 69, the speaker becomes aware of his own ramblings and muses, â€Å"And how should I begin?†Ã‚   Later, he qu eries, almost nonsensically, as if he, himself, has become the embodiment of the chaos of swiftly moving time:â€Å"I grow old†¦I grow old†¦Ã‚  I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled† (lns. 120-121).   Ã‚  This fragmentation of time seems to lead, as it does in â€Å"The Waste Land† to disastrous results as evidenced by the last line of the poem – â€Å"and we drown† (ln. 130).   The disjointedness of time and thought seems to be representative of a confused state of mind, both in individuals and in society.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Waste Land† begins in arid desolation, both physically and spiritually for its inhabitants.   In the first stanza of Part I, the chronology moves swiftly from the present reflection of the speaker to a childhood memory, back to the reflection, and then to another incident a year in the past.   This style is much like that of an interior monologue, in which the thoughts of the speaker are presented just as they flow, without any organization, to help the reader understand.   Yeats presents a similar confusion in â€Å"The Second Coming.†Ã‚   This poem projects to the return of a god figure, but not with rejoicing.   The society is described by the first four lines as fragmented and chaotic:Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world† (lns. 1-4).Again, the vision of fragmentation is created by the images presented in the first four lines of this poem.A common theme among the modernist poets is that of the individual alienated from his society, a society that is generally as fragmented and dysfunctional as time.   The grandeur to which Prufrock ascribes his place in the world, as exhibited by â€Å"Dare I dare/Disturb the universe?† (lns. 45-46). Prufrock, with all of his insecurities, ineptitude and physical shortcomings, and the masses of individual s he represents, will never be able to actually disturb the inner machinations of the universe.   Similarly, â€Å"The Waste Land† offers no heroic figure for the readers to identify; the speaker can be anyone, but his demise is certain to occur and certain to happen alone.Likewise, all three of these poems seem to be fascinated with death, not as the ultimate redemption as presented by earlier poets, but as a frightening, even horrible, reality that should be challenged.   Eliot’s â€Å"Love Song† ends with the figurative death of not only Prufrock but of society as a whole.   â€Å"The Waste Land† describes a society that is in a state of apocalypse.   Yeat’s poem, â€Å"The Second Coming† describes, as discussed above, a disjointed society that fear the return of a savior, the new deity:That twenty centuries of stony sleepWere vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,  Slouches tow ards Bethlehem  to be born?† (lns. 18-22).This example parallels Eliot’s â€Å"Journey of the Magi† which adopts the persona of the Biblical magi who describe their journey as not joyful, but full of hardship.   They question their dedication to the birth and actually equate it with death, seemingly contradicting the traditional Christmas story:     Ã‚  The lines  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦this Birth was  Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.  We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,  But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,  With an alien people clutching their gods. I  should be glad of another death (lns. 38-43). Reveal this questioning that has resulted from the disillusionment and doubt with the classical views of religionlThomas actually suggests battling with death almost physically in his poem â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.†Ã‚   He continually exhorts those near death to â€Å"Rage, Rage against the dying of the light† in the last line of each stanza.   Instead of accepting death as a reward for a Christian life, these poets present death as a time of fear and uncertainty which could be representative of a spiritual disillusionment. Even theological elements of Christianity and life-after-death are no longer held sacred by the modern poets.While modernism, at least as Yeats, Eliot, and Thomas present it, may be a reflection of many different eras of poetry, it deviates in its themes, symbols and chaotic presentation of time.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The pessimistic themes and perplexing images they create are reflective of the societal and spiritual disillusionment prevalent in this postwar era.   These poets are icons of modernist thought and poetry.   Their complex works reject the focus on beauty and narration that other genres utilize and paint a picture of mankind and society as a spiritually arid and ghastly.Works CitedAbrams, M.H. Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Liter ature:   The Major Authors.   6thEd. New York:   Norton, 1996Eliot, T.S. â€Å"The Journey of the Magi†Ã¢â‚¬â€.   â€Å"The Love Song of   J. Alfred Prufrock†Ã¢â‚¬â€.   â€Å"The Waste Land†Jenkins, Lee M. and Alex Davis.   Locations of Literary Modernism: Region and Nation inBritish and American Modernist Poetry. Cambridge, UK:   Cambridge UniversityPress, 2000.  Leavis, F.R. â€Å"T.S. Eliot’s Later Poetry.†Ã‚   T.S. Eliot:   A Collection of Critical Essays. HughKenner, Ed.   New Jersey:   Prentice Hall, 1962.Thomas, D. â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night†Ã¢â‚¬â€ â€Å"The Hunchback in the Park†Yeats, W.B. â€Å"The Second Coming†Ã¢â‚¬â€. â€Å"Leda and the Swan†

The Short Cut Home

Peter and his friends were discussing the rumours about a street which is a shortcut from school to his house. They were talking about how the street is deserted, with only one house in the middle. When they were walking home from school the pace of Peter's steps increased as they went past it. Peter felt a shiver going down his spine. The street was pitch black as there were no streetlights. There were wooden planks boarding up the windows. The next day, Peter was going home from school. It was dark and he was walking alone as he had got an hour's detention after school for swearing at a teacher. He thought to himself that he should take the shortcut home as he was late. Suddenly he stopped. He thought about the things his friends had been talking about. â€Å"A murder happened here 2 days ago† Laura said. He was thinking should he go or not. â€Å"All that stuff is nonsense† he thought and stepped into the dark, pitched black street. At first it felt normal, but as he kept on going he saw a strange light flicker in the old, abandoned house. He jumped and stopped. Should he go back or keep walking? Peter deep in his thoughts went nearer to the house. He didn't know what he was thinking. As he reached nearer and nearer to the house, he felt his neck tingle. The window was high so Peter got a small box and placed in under the sill. He looked and peeped through a small hole in the plank. He could see out of the corner of his eye a man. A thin man, tall with a long overcoat on. He had a shiny kitchen knife. Peter suddenly saw a woman on the floor with tape masked over her mouth. Her hands and feet were tied. â€Å"BANG!† Peter fell off the box. The man heard the sound and ran to the front door. Peter swiftly went to the back of the house and hid behind a bush. The man shouted â€Å"Who's there?!† Peter, not knowing what he should do stayed deadly still. He felt the footsteps getting closer and closer. Thoughts were running through his mind. â€Å"Why did I come here? What should I do?† Run or stay? If he ran he might get caught but he might still get caught just staying there. The man kept getting closer and closer. Peter could hear his heart beating. Then the footsteps suddenly stopped. Peter was sure he was still there but at the same time he was sure that he had gone. He peeped over bush. The man was walking back, checking the grounds as he was going. Peter desperate to get out of there ran as fast as he could. The man stealthily shifted round and saw a glimpse of Peter's face. He ran after Peter. Peter was running as fast as he could, trying to catch his breath. The man reached out and he was about two-three centimetres away from him. He grabbed Peter. He was scared to death and he burst into tears. The man took Peter quickly into his house. As Peter entered he could see his own breath. It was cold. Peter felt like he was entering a freezer. He saw the woman lying on the floor. Her mouth masked and her hands and feet tied together. There were knives on the floor next to the woman. Peter jumped and screamed. The man put his hand over Peter's mouth and commanded him to â€Å"Shut up or you'll get the same thing as the woman.† Peter slowly calmed down and got his breath back. Thoughts were running through his mind. Should he go for the door? What did he mean by saying â€Å"the same thing as the woman?† Was he going to let him go? Maybe it was just a plan to shut him up. â€Å"Look, this is the important thing. You've got to promise me something† explained the man. Peter nodded his head. â€Å"If I let you go, you've got to promise not to tell a soul about what you saw in this house. Even if you mention one tiny bit then I'm coming after you.† Peter nodded in fear. â€Å"I'll be onto you faster than a dog on a cat. Don't underestimate me lad. If you cross me then you've had it. Understood?† shouted the man. Peter let out a low grunt. The man led Peter to the door and let him go. He ran as fast as he could until the dark, pitched black street disappeared and he reached the gentle, warm glow of the streetlights. When Peter got home he went upstairs and quickly got into his bed. Peter woke up the next day feeling much better. He went to school with a big bright smile on his face looking like nothing happened to him. As he reached school he decided that he should tell his mates what happened as he thought the man doesn't even know where he lives so how can he do anything to him? His mates didn't believe him at first but eventually they did. Peter wasn't scared of the man anymore. That evening, when Peter reached home after school, his phone rang. He picked it up. â€Å"Hello†, Peter said. â€Å"You're dead†, barked a hard voice. Peter realised it was the man from the house. â€Å"I know where you live and I'm coming to get you!†