Buddhist schools Essay

The earliest and the most basic form of schools were Theravada and Mahayana which have been derived from the basic teachings of Buddha. These are actually same teachings but with different interpretations. Both of them have Dharma which is the basic teaching of Buddha. Both of these schools have some animosity between them. All the southern Asian countries and Vietnam have accepted the principles of Theravada. Any differences between the schools are minor matters are do not hinder in one basic belief of Buddha’s teachings. It is one of the earliest forms of teaching found in the history of Buddhism and is one of the most orthodox also . Theravada school emphasizes on meditation and helps in understanding the psychological nature of a human being. According to Mahayana school of teachings, salvation can only be achieved if we trust Amitabha. Such person longs to be born in the paradise, because he has done good deeds and followed the teachings of Buddha. The philosophy of this school is very unique. According to them in order to gain enlightenment a person should inward and not outward. Intuition is one thing this school emphasizes upon, as intuition is purely inward. Mahayana was previously known as Mahasanghikas and after a few decades of its formation it became so popular that it revolutionized the Buddhist teachings. Sutra and Vinaya were translated according to them, and in the due process they also had to reject some texts. The Mahayana philosophy grew more with the concept that Buddhas are lokottara. This means that they are connected to the world only by some external force and it has no impact internally . Why did Mahayana become more accepted? It is because the Mahayana ritual and imagery attracted the Vietnamese. Its ceremonies were in conformity with original Vietnamese beliefs and rituals. This school of Buddhism also combined folklore with Taoist teachings. The enlightened ones in Buddhism were respected as animist spirits. In 7th century C. E, Mahayana school became a little more developed. It was then called Vajrayana. This had an influence of Hinduism also but had similar teachings as of Mahayana. The aim of Vajrayana is the same as that in Mahayana, that is to attain Buddhahood, but the tantric practices showed a quick way to achieve this end . CONCLUSION From very early period Buddhists are concerned about education. In third century almost 9 Dhamma missionaries were sent to different areas of south East Asia in order to teach people about Buddhism . This is the oldest example telling Buddhists concern about Buddhist studies. These 9 Dhamma missionaries started a wave of missionaries. These were sent to Sri Lanka, Thailand and china etc. Today, due to these missionaries and Buddhist schools, Buddhists are present in very corner of the world. Vietnamese Buddhist education leaders are very much concerned about the global demands and needs of Buddhist education. In 1975, when the country got united, there already was a higher education institution in South; it was named Van Hanh University. This university was popular internationally and had close interaction with many other universities of the world. After 1980s two advanced schools were established in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City. These schools trained monks and nuns at B. A level. Due to growing demand these two higher education schools were later turned in to universities. These now trained monks and nuns at not only undergraduate level but also postgraduate level. In 1997, one more Buddhist university was formed, this time in Hue city. Today, there are almost 40, 000 monks and nuns. There are almost six colleges and 31 high schools teaching Buddhism . Buddhism has made great progress in Vietnam. A national calligraphic system which replaced Chinese was also introduced. This helped everybody get on the same platform and understand each other well. Before that it was difficult to have the entire nation on the same page, as the Vietnamese language lacked its own script. People, who did not understand Chinese, could not read books, as all the books were in Chinese. In Vietnam, the Buddhist studies do not influence just art, philosophy or painting. Theatre also serves as a conveyer of the legends, stories and facts about Buddhism. Buddhism is not only a source which quenches the thirst of the intellectuals. It quenches the thirst of the spirit also. Buddhist studies have changed the past and present of Vietnam. The Vietnamese Buddhists go far and wide in order to give a vent to the knowledge and impart it to the others. Buddhism has prospered leaps and bounds in the country. Though there are many rival religions in the country, Buddhism is by far the most popular one. As mentioned earlier, almost two thirds of the population practices Buddhism. During 968 it was made the state religion. Buddhism in Vietnam is no wonder superior than any other religion there, as it is not only accepted publicly but also helped in the moral and spiritual training of the general public. People believe it and accept it by heart. They call it the religion of compassion. The imprint of Buddhism can be seen in art and literature as well. Music has also been inspired from it. Today there are almost 15,000 worship places in Vietnam as compared to none in the beginning. There are almost ten million Buddhists all over the world. Vietnam alone has some 40,000 nuns. It was only 20,000 twenty years back. The development Buddhist studies have done can be clearly understood from the fact that today there are almost four Buddhist universities as compared to only one in 1981. Van Hanh was the first Buddhist school. Today there are schools all over Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho. There are almost six colleges and 31 high schools for Buddhists. There are uncountable numbers of grassroots schools in many other provinces. This clearly shows that Buddhism has made a lot of progress since Buddhism first entered Vietnam . Buddhist monks are now not only studyin Buddhism in monasteries and colleges but are getting higher education all over the world. They are studying various subjects and religion in order to increase their knowledge. Not only have they had attained worldly knowledge, but spiritual knowledge which will lead them to enlightenment. References Anson, Binh. (n. d). Theravada Buddhism in Vietnam. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from: http://www. budsas. org/ebud/vn_thera. htm Brough, John. (n. d). Gandhari Dharmapada. India (n. p). Clark, Laura and Brown, Suzanne. (n. d). Buddhism in Vietnam. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from: http://journals. iranscience. net:800/mcel. pacificu. edu/mcel. pacificu. edu/as/students/vb/INDEX. HTM.

Jose de San Martin Essay

In Argentina war of independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine forces under Jose de San Martin against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown. On July 9, 1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucuman, declared full independence with provisions for a national constitution. Chile This war of independence was an armed conflict between the people of Chile and Spanish colonial authorities, which started on September 10, 1810 and extended until 1821. A declaration of independence was officially issued by Chile on February 12,1818 and formally recognized by Spain in 1840, when full diplomatic relations ( conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states) were established. Peru The Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula should have led to a degradation of royal power, but since nearby Upper Peru was under the attack of armies from Buenos Aires, the Peruvian oligarchs supported the royalist cause. Fear of indigenous rebellion also remained from the 1780-1781 revolt that was headed by Jose Gabriel â€Å"Tupac Amaru† Condorcanqui. Finally, the viceroys of Peru traditionally had the support of the Lima oligarchs because of their opposition to the commercial interests of Buenos Aires and Chile. Therefore, the Viceroyalty of Peru became the last redoubt of the Spanish Monarchy in South America. Nevertheless, a Creole rebellion arose in 1812 in Huanuco and another in Cusco between 1814 and 1816. Both were suppressed. These rebellions were supported by the armies of Buenos Aires. Peru finally succumbed after the decisive continental campaigns of Jose de San Martin (1820–1823) and Simon Bolivar (1824). While San Martin was in charge of the land campaign, a newly built Chilean Navy led by Lord Cochrane transported the fighting troops and launched a sea campaign against the Spanish fleet in the Pacific. San Martin, who had displaced the royalists of Chile after the Battle of Maipu, and who had disembarked in Paracas in 1820, proclaimed the independence of Peru in Lima on July 28, 1821. Four years later, the Spanish Monarchy was defeated definitively at the Battle of Ayacucho. After independence, the conflicts of interests that faced different sectors of Creole Peruvian society and the particular ambitions of the caudillos, made the organization of the country excessively difficult. Only three civilians—Manuel Pardo, Nicolas de Pierola and Francisco Garcia Calderon—acceded to the presidency in the first seventy-five years of Peru’s independence. The Republic of Bolivia was created from Upper Peru. In 1837 a Peru-Bolivian Confederation was also created but was dissolved two years later due to Chilean military intervention

Child Observation Paper

Child Observation Paper Jason Betts Pacific Oaks College November 12, 2012 The purpose of this paper is to discuss and review my observation of a 7 year old African American male who is being raised by his grandmother (45 year old Bi-racial female who has 9 children of her own; 7 of the children are still in the house). During my observation of â€Å"Jackson†, I focused on the following domains of child development: * Physical * Cognitive * Social * Emotional I applied Attachment theory throughout the observations, which were completed at his home, at the park, and at the grocery store.I was unable to observe Jackson at his school. Jackson is being raised by his grandmother because his mother is addicted to drugs, and is unable to provide a home for him and his 2 other siblings. Jackson has been raised by the grandmother since age 2. Jackson appears well nourished, dressed appropriately, but looks somewhat withdrawn, especially when interacting with other adults, and sometimes his own family members. Attachment theory is the dynamics of long term relationships between people. The most important relationship is the one between an infant and at least one caregiver.The level of social and emotional development during the relationship is crucial, in order for normal development to occur within the child. The first to develop the theory was John Bowlby, who realized the importance of the child’s relationship with their primary caregiver (usually the mother), in terms of the child’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. The set goal of the attachment behavior system is to maintain the bond with an emotionally available and accessible attachment figure. On September 7, 2012, observation #1 was conducted at the park between 8:30am and 10:00am. I have personally known Jackson’s grandmother for 2 ears. Present at the park was Jackson, 3 of Jackson’s cousins (ages 8, 10, and 11), and Jackson’s grandmother. It was a sunny d ay, and the park was empty at first, but as time passed, a few other families arrived to play. I concentrated on Jackson’s social and emotional development with the use of Attachment theory. During playtime with his cousins, and a few strangers’ children, Jackson was able to play freely for a short period of time, and did not concern himself with the proximity of his caregiver (grandmother) and himself. When agitated for whatever reasons, Jackson was the physical aggressor.This may be related to the ambivalent/resistant attachment he has with his maternal mother. Jackson quickly changed from being positive, to being negative, demonstrated bullying behavior, and his communication skills declined as demonstrated by the profane language he used when upset or agitated. It appears that Jackson has a low self-image and low self-esteem (Ainsworth Attachment Pattern Chart). I think this is why he bullies others. Although Jackson and his grandmother have a somewhat secure attac hment, it is still an insecure attachment, and there are signs of an avoidant attachment pattern.The grandmother has little response when Jackson is distressed, she discourages crying, and reminds Jackson to be independent, and a â€Å"big boy. † On September 21, 2012, observation #2 was conducted at Jackson’s grandmother’s home between the hours of 2:00pm and 3:30pm. It was a sunny day, very hot, and present in the home were all 7 of the grandmother’s children (between the ages of 7-21), and Jackson’s younger siblings (brother-3 years old and sister-4 years old). I concentrated on Jackson’s cognitive and physical development with the use of Attachment theory.Jackson was doing homework, and watching the other children play a video game. The grandmother was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Jackson appeared to be able to work on his subject material without assistance, but was unable to stay focused on the task. The grandmother stated that Jacks on did not perform well in school. I asked Jackson if he received good grades. The other children added their grades to the conversation. They all said they received A’s and B’s. Jackson appeared withdrawn, and was somewhat embarrassed before stating that he did not do well in school.Jackson knows that he can perform better in school. When the other children began to tease Jackson, he was ready to fight some of them. This is typical behavior for Jackson, and is also a pattern of disorganized attachment. Children with a disorganized pattern in infancy tend to show disturbed patterns of relationships, subsequently, their relationships with peers can often be characterized by a â€Å"fight or flight† pattern of alternate aggression and withdrawal. Jackson’s coping skills when upset, threatened, or embarrassed is fight, unless the person is physically bigger than him.If this is the case, Jackson uses flight to cope, and seeks his grandmother for protection an d comfort. On October 13, 2012, observation #3 was conducted at the grocery store and at a fast food restaurant between the hours of 3:00pm and 4:30pm. It was an over cast day, and present at the store and restaurant were 6 of the grandmother’s children (between the ages of 7-21), and Jackson’s mother. I concentrated on Jackson’s social, emotional, and physical development with the use of Attachment theory. Jackson’s mother arrived at the store, and met us inside.I was surprised to see Jackson’s mother, and so was Jackson. The mother and Jackson did not communicate with each other. The mother got upset at the store with the grandmother, and stated she was going to leave, and take Jackson with her. The grandmother said â€Å"No. † Jackson became very upset, and yelled, â€Å"No! †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I hate you! † Jackson was able to calm down when the mother left the scene. This occurred in the parking lot at the store. At the r estaurant, Jackson started bulling the smaller cousins. The grandmother did not correct the behavior.The grandmother stated that Jackson was only playing. This lack of correction reassures Jackson that this behavior is appropriate; solving problems with his fists, and when upset or threatened, to fight his own battles. This is another example of disorganized attachment. Although Jackson is being cared for by his grandmother, in a loving home, due to the disorganized attachment he has with his mother, the maternal deprivation from birth to age 2 or 3, the abuse, trauma, and lack of stability throughout his young life, Jackson has to initially protect himself by demonstrating physical behavior.Jackson uses physical aggression as a coping skill in certain situations. Jackson has been harmed by the abusive non- relationship with his mother, which may have internalized a negative self-image and negative expectations into his relationships with his grandmother and others. The grandmotherà ¢â‚¬â„¢s avoidant style in the relationship has continued the mental abuse of Jackson. There is a lack of an intimate, enjoyable relationship between Jackson and his grandmother, which will continue to have a negative impact on the mental and social development of Jackson.Jackson is seeking stability and appropriate responses to the experiences he encounters daily. Jackson and his family are good candidates for therapy; individual for Jackson, and family therapy for the rest of the family. Jackson’s mother needs drug treatment and counseling, in order to possibly repair the damaged non-relationship she has with Jackson, and with her own mother. According to Ainsworth, the early intervention for disorganized attachment, or other problematic styles, is directed toward changing the trajectory of development to provide a better outcome later in the person's life.Jackson is in great need of intervention. Without intervention, it appears that Jackson will continue his development i nto an angrier, emotionally unbalanced, young man. References Ainsworth, MD (1967). Infancy in Uganda. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment. Attachment and Loss. Vol. I. London: Hogarth. Bowlby, J. , Ainsworth, M. D. , ; Fry, M. (1965). Child care and the growth of love (2d Ed. ). Baltimore: Penguin Books.

Racial Formation Summary Essay

Racial Formations by Michael Omi and Howard Winant, in my eyes, successfully explained how we as a society view race and gives us a sense of how it is observed within social contexts. Omi and Winant used media, ideas, and everyday examples to portray their views about race. Omi and Winant’s article began with the Susie Guillory Phipps’s case about how she had (Omi and Winant 2014) â€Å"unsuccessfully sued the Louisiana Bureau of Vital Records† (p.13) because she wanted to change her racial distinction from black to white on her birth certificate. Phipps argument was that racial classifications were unconstitutional. However, the court had upheld the belief that classifying individuals based on race was indeed constitutional. The Phipps case demonstrated for many centuries, that the United States had always tried to define race and how it is to fit within our social context. Omi and Winant then goes on to say this struggle to define race is not only seen in the U nited States, but is seen in other locations around the world, such as Europe. With exploration of the new world, many Europeans had believed that anyone who was not white had to have lesser freedom, if any at all, because these non-white were seen as inferior and less fit for society. Even to this every day, many individuals try to discover the â€Å"scientific meaning† of race. These individuals want to argue that race in not (Omi and Winant 2014) â€Å"social, political, or economic determination† (p. 15) but instead race can be found within an individual’s underlying characteristics which can be identified through skin color or physical attributes. Omi and Winant further showed how race can be seen as a social concept as well. For example, they explained how many people in contemporary British politics use the term black to mean any nonwhites, which surprisingly has not lead to any retaliation by any people. As a matter of fact, some Asian and Afro-Caribbean youth are using the term for self identity. Omi and Winant explains this phenomenon as â€Å"racial formations† which refers to the (Omi and Winant 2014) â€Å"process of by which social, economic, and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories, and by which they are shaped by racial meanings† (p.15). Omi and Winant also goes on to explain within everyday life, individuals tend to create racial identities for others. These preconceived thoughts are like expectations we give  ourselves about other races. These preconceived thoughts did not just occur over night, they are a result of the historical events that has occurred over time and still shape the way we think about other races to this very day. Constructing Race, Cheating, White Privilege Constructing Race, Creating White Privilege by Pem Davidson Buck illustrated from the beginning of European colonization, there was a sense of how white individuals granted themselves privileges that no other race could have. To keep these racial privileges separate, laws such as the one in 1691punished European women who married African Americans or Native American men. The white individuals were so driven to separate themselves from other races, that European men who had children with an African or Native American, or any slave for that matter, were not responsible for the children. This meant that African American or the Natives did not become wealthy and was done so that the white people did not feel threatened by other race’s power. Buck then goes on to say that (2014) â€Å"Whites had an equal interest in the maintenance of whiteness and white privilege, and that it was the elite† (pg.35). This meant that white supremacy was taught to others and thus engraved in their minds for years after. All this was created so that whites would have power over other races. Additionally, whites reserved the right to whip African Americans; however, it was illegal to whip white people. On top of this, African Americans were denied the right to having a family just because husbands could have authority for their wives and not their owners. Buck then goes into talks about Psychological Wage. Buck describes psychological wage as having a feeling of superiority for the poor whites because their whiteness made up for the terrible economic situation they were in. This sense of superiority further helped the rich whites because the poor had supported this separate racial system and thus the rich had control of labor and the economy.

Us History Chapter 4 Notes.

Chapter Four. African Slaves Build their Own Community in Coastal Georgia Slavery was originally prohibited in the original 1732 Georgia charter; the ban was lifted two decades later when Georgia became a Royal colony. By 1770, 15,000 slaves made up 80% of the population. Rice was one of the most valuable commodities of mainland North America, surpassed only by tobacco and wheat. The Atlantic slave trade grew to match rice production. Saltwater† slaves (slaves taken from Africa, rather than â€Å"country born†) were inspected and branded on coastal forts in Africa, shipped overseas (where many died), then sold and marched to plantations Mortality rates were high for slaves, especially infants. Overseers could legally punish slaves and even murder them. Many slaves run and some rebel. Most slaves remained enslaved, but built up families and communities, mixing African traditions with their new homeland. The Beginnings of African Slavery Slavery has long been a part of Mediterranean Europe; Venetian and Genoese traders sold captured Slavics (the word slave derives from them), Muslims, and Africans. Enslaving Christians, but not Africans or Muslims, disturbed many Europeans. Portuguese expansion in West Africa was motivated by access to gold, wrought iron, ivory, tortoiseshells, textiles, and slaves (previously dominated by the Moors, or Spanish Muslims). European slaves left the slave hunting to the African traders. Sugar and Slavery Slaves were imported to work sugar plantations in Hispaniola and Brazil, among other islands. The Dutch expanded the European sugar market, leading France and England to start island sugar colonies as well. West Africans Marriage kinship ties, practicing polygamy, characterized societies on the West African coast. Women enjoyed social and economic independence. Shifting cultivation, cultivating land for several years then moving on while the cleared land lay fallow, helped build up African communities and commerce, creating states and kingdoms. Kingdoms on the coast were the ones who first traded with the Portuguese. Slavery in African society was much freer; slaves were treated as family members rather than possessions, were allowed to marry, and had freeborn children. The African Slave Trade The Demography of the Slave Trade 10-12 million slaves were transported to the Americas during the slave trade. 76% of slaves arrived from 1701-1810, the peak years of the slave trade. Half went to Dutch, French, or British plantations in the Caribbean, a third to Portuguese Brazil, and a tenth to Spanish America. About 5% went to the North American British colonies. With the exception of the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763, a world war between the French and their allies versus the British and their allies), the slave trade continued to become more important to the colonies up to the Revolution. There were twice as many male African slaves as female; most slaves were young, between 15 and 30, and represented nearly every West African ethnic group. Slavers of All Nations All western European nations participated in the slave trade, shipping slaves from coastal outposts and, later, through independent American and European traders. The Shock of Enslavement Many slave traders lived permanently in coastal outposts and married local women, reinforcing commercial ties through family relations. Many slaves resented African involvement in the slave trade. Most Africans were enslaved through warfare. As the demand for slaves increased, slave raids pressed deeper into the continent. Captives would wait in dungeons or pens called â€Å"barracoons†, separated from family and people of the same ethnic group to discourage rebellion, before being branded with the mark of their buyer. The Middle Passage The â€Å"Middle Passage† referred to the middle part of the trade triangle from England to Africa to America back to England. Historians estimate that 1 in 6 slaves died from the unsanitary conditions, extreme crowding, and diseases. Many committed suicide as an act of rebellion on the slave ships. Captains resorted to putting netting over the side of their ships. Arrival in the New World When the slaves arrived, their captors would parade them around to impress buyers. Slaves would be sold at auctions or during a â€Å"scramble†, where prices were pre-set and the buyers would rush the slaves in a corral and take their pick. Political and Economic Effects on Africa The African slave trade eventually weakened Africa as a whole. The slave raiding was depopulating Africa as many died during the raids and the rest were sent off to be sold. The arrival of European goods stifled local manufacturing while agriculture lost labor. The slave trade allowed for the political, economic, and military conquest of Africa. The Development of North American Slave Societies Slavery comes to North America The first slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619. Slaves cost twice as much as indentured servants, but had about the same life span in the disease-ridden Chesapeake. Consequently, most planters employed more indentured servants than slaves. This was termed society with slaves, where slavery was just one form of labor. In this type of society, the status of black Virginians was ambiguous; many owned slaves and land themselves, even with the lack of religious distinction among them. In slave society, slavery is the dominant form of labor. As indentured servants became scarce as less English immigrated, their labor was replaced with slavery. Slavery was strengthened by making slave-status inheritable through their mother’s status (letting white male owners take slave mistresses), ending Christian baptism from changing conditions of servitude, and by making the killing of a slave a non-felony. The Tobacco Colonies The growth of tobacco required the growth of the slave trade. The natural growth of the slaver population served to increase the profits of their owners, and so was encouraged. The Lower South Settlement in the south was a slave society from the outset, using native slaves. However, this soon shifted to African slaves as the South began producing more rice. Slavery in the Spanish Colonies Spanish settlements employed slaves, the most benign form being the kind in Florida, which resembled the system in use in Mediterranean and African society. Spain declared Florida a haven for fugitives to weaken southern English colonies. In New Mexico, however, Spain used native slaves, though in a more restrained way to prevent another Pueblo Uprising. Spain captured â€Å"infidel Indians† such as the Apaches or nomads from the Great Plains and enslaved them, using them as house servants or fieldworkers. French Louisiana Slaves were heavily used in Louisiana agriculture until the Natchez Rebellion, with slaves making up no more than a third of the population. Only when the 18th century ended did slavery make a return, in force. Slavery in the North Slavery was universally accepted in the colonies. Among the rich, ownership of slaves was almost universal as well. The Quakers were the first to oppose slavery, but they would not gain traction until the Revolution. African to African American The Daily Life of Slaves Slaves were provided with scant clothing. In the South, where large numbers of slaves were needed, the concentration of slaves allowed for the emergence of communities, despite the harsh working conditions imposed on them on the large plantations. Families and Communities Families were the most important unit in African American culture, but the slave codes did not allow for legal slave marriage. Families were often broken up by sale. Naming practices reinforced family ties to overcome forced separations. Emotional, and especially kinship ties, formed the basis of African American society. African American Culture Most slaves were not Christian until the Great Awakening, due to the reluctance of their masters. One significant practice occurred in their burial rituals. African Americans created dialects by mixing English with native African languases. The Africanization of the South Southerners were influenced by African American culture, changing their diet, their art, language, music, and dance. Violence and Resistance Slavery rested on the threat of violence, even among â€Å"humane† slave owners like George Washington. Many slaves resisted through refusing to cooperate, destroying property, and by running away. Runaways would create communities called â€Å"maroons†, from the Spanish â€Å"cimmaron† (wild, untamed). They would intermingle with the Florida Creeks, creating the Seminole tribe, derived from the corruption of cimmaron. Revolts occurred in the colonies, but not on the scale of Jamaica, Guiana, or Brazil; the family and community ties slaves established made them less likely to revolt. Slavery and Empire Slavery the Mainspring The slave colonies accounted for 95% of all American exports to Great Britain from 1714-1773. Slavery helped the British economy in three ways. Slavery created capital, which funded economic expansion. Second, it created the raw materials necessary for the Industrial Revolution. Third, it created large colonial markets for British-made goods. The Politics of Mainspring Mercantilism, an economic system where the government intervenes to increase the national wealth, was the dominant economic theory in Europe. Mercantilists viewed commerce as a zero-sum game with clear winners and losers vying for a fixed amount of trade and wealth. Wars for Empire European wars spilled over into conflicts for colonial supremacy. In Queen Anne’s War, Great Britain won the war against France and Spain, gaining exclusive rights to supply slaves to its American colonies. British Colonial Regulation Mercantilists used state-run monopolies to manage commerce. The British used colonial regulations to make their American colonies markets for British manufacturing goods and exporters of commodities that the British would resell at profit. Most did not complain about the British economic policies until the 1760s. The Colonial Economy Mercantilism served to enrich the white colonists by giving them a protected market to sell and market their goods (sometimes by violating their own regulations). Slavery provided the capital to expand Northern port cities. Slavery and Freedom The Social Structure of the Slave Colonies Slavery provided the conditions necessary t o improve the life of the white settlers. Colonies were ruled by the self-perpetuating planter elite, which owned 60% of the wealth and half the land. The Southern landowners supported them. Under them were the landless colonists. White Skin Privilege White colonists gained a special status through the exploitation of race. Blacks were subject to a number of harsh penalties that did not apply to whites, including a ban on interracial marriage and sexual relations (refer to Thomas Jefferson). Even freedmen did not share equal rights. This set up barriers among the working class, including slaves and the landless colonists, who otherwise may have united against the moneyed classes if not for racial prejudice.

Psychology †Nature/Nurture Debate Essay

â€Å"Outline and comment on the two schools of thought involved in the study of the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Explain, using examples, why this debate gives rise to so much controversy.†Ã‚  The debate concerning the influence of nature and nurture (or heredity and environment) on human behaviour is one of the longest running, and most controversial, both inside and outside psychology. It deals with some of the most fundamental questions that human beings ask about themselves, such as ‘How do we come to be the way we are?’ and ‘What makes us develop in the way we do?’ (Gross 2005, P.900) There are three sides to the debate: on the nature side are the nativists or ethologists who believe that children develop almost entirely as a result of genetic influences, with their environment having little effect; on the nurture side are the behaviourists or empiricists who believe people are born as a blank slate which is ‘filled-in’ over a lifetime through learning and experience; and in the middle are the interactionists who, hence the name, believe children develop as a result of an interaction between biology and environment. I will now look at the arguments in more detail. Genetic transmission is the way we acquire characteristics through inheritance. Each cell in the body contains a nucleus, which contains a substance called DNA. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is organised into long strands called chromosomes, and each chromosome is made up of thousands of genes. Genes are the basic unit of hereditary transmission and direct the way that growth and development happen within a plant or animal. Just after an animal is conceived, it is made up of a tiny group of cells. As these grow and divide, each gene acts as a code or set of instructions for making a particular protein. These proteins control the cell’s internal chemistry and tell the cell what to do, giving the organism particular characteristics and determining the way its body functions. We inherit 23 pairs of chromosomes from our parents, 46 in all, half from our Mother and the other half from our Father. They combine to produce all the information an embryo needs to develop biologically. Since we inherit particular chromosomes through the egg and sperm, we also inherit the particular characteristics coded for by the genes on those chromosomes. Arnold Gesell, a pioneer of developmental psychology, was an extreme nativist. He believed all individuals pass through the same genetically programmed series of changes, with the instructions for these changes being passed on at the moment of conception. â€Å"Gesell was mainly concerned with infants’ psychomotor development (such a grasping and other manipulative skills), and locomotion (such as crawling and walking)† (Gross 2005, P.901). Gesell established a research institute devoted to identifying ‘normal’ ages for a wide variety of behaviors and characteristics; he used a motion picture camera to film thousands of children in various stages of development. This genetically programmed series of changes is called maturation. It is important to look at maturation as we try to understand genetic influences on behaviour. Some genetic influences are obvious at birth such as hereditary illnesses or abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome, but the things we inherit don’t necessarily show up all at once. â€Å"The physiological changes which take place during puberty, for example, arise because of genes that are present at conception, but they only happen when the body is mature enough for them to take place. In the same way, certain forms of behaviour may only emerge once the individual is mature enough† (Hayes and Orrell 1998, P.7). In 1938 Lorenz and Tinbergen put forward four characteristics to identify directly inherited behaviour in animals. These are: stereotyped behaviour, which always occurs in the same way because behaviour which is directly caused by genetic influence can’t be affected by the environment; species-specific behaviour, because each species has its own genetic make-up the behaviour should differ to that of other species; the behaviour should appear in animals raised in isolation, because if it is truly inherited there should be no need to learn it; and the behaviour should appear complete even if the animal has not had chance to learn it.

Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Conflict resolution - Essay Example Conflict resolution Being involved in a conflict can result from lack of option thus in most circumstances, people will be unaware that they are part of a conflict. In most circumstances, people who are part of a social unit like the family, workmates and company members get themselves involved in a conflict owing to the social relationship they have with the conflicting individuals. The resultant instigator of a conflict is the response of people to a perceived threat rather than the true threat facing them. In this manner, when the perception of a threat does not become a reality, people modify their behavior by evolving the sà ©ance of threat, but when the perception to threat becomes a real threat, conflict occurs. In the United States, in particular, the racial factor is among the major causes of the threat. Predominantly, a conflict between the white and the black races have in some instances resulted in armed conflict along the streets in the major cities in the United States as well as in the residential areas. Conflicts of this magnitude fuel an increment in the crime rate. One critical factor in the conflict that involves races is that it does not discriminate class or education level of people, but blanket cover all individuals with the traits instigating conflict. In an attempt to understand conflict and the nature of conflict, thus paper will analyze a case study of Officer Schwapp who was a victim of conflict in his workplace and attempt to provide mitigation measures to bring understanding in the event of such a conflict.

Visual Literacy in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Visual Literacy in Business - Essay Example These are important to me because the target audience must be considered so as, for example, to capture and hold the attention of men, women or youth. The importance of purpose is that it will define the overall goal of creating the image, which must be reasonably easy to understand but still deliver the intended message and create a desire to take action. Purpose is complemented by context because context entails background information that will enable viewers to analyze and understand the image. In turn, this makes arrangement important because it will determine how text, graphics and images are placed in the advertisement. Then, location will have its significance in the sense that where the advertisement is placed matters. One concept that I would like to explore further is context. This is because if the advertisement does not give sufficient and relevant background information, it may not serve its purpose because the viewers will not be able to analyze what is being communicat ed and, therefore, not take any action (Elkins,

Managing People, Finance and Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing People, Finance and Marketing - Essay Example There may be organization-wide changes such as mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, leadership changes, and changes in technology. There may be the upsizing, downsizing and resizing that force organizations to change, and in some cases almost daily (Joyce, 2005). There are also changes needed in the culture of organizations or the way they do things. History is replete with many organizations changing for the better and organizations that did not and were doomed to failure in some parts of their history (Waldera, 2002). American Express. American Express, for example, had announced organization and management changes in mid- 2005. The reasons given were that changes were driven by several key developments including: the rapid growth of their Global Network Services (GNS) business in the United States and around the world; the expansion of their worldwide merchant network; the broader long-term relationships they are developing to build business with their merchant partners; and the recent entry of the Travelers Cheque business into the prepaid card arena ("American Express," 2005). Their company, they said, is in an excellent position. They would like to further strengthen their long-term position and propel the new American Express into the ranks of the most successful and most admired companies in the world ("American Express," 2005). IBM Integrated Supply Chain. ... IBM is not unique; its supply chain considerations impact upon many organizations as they attempt to find integrated solutions to complex problems. However, within IBM, this transition, which has affected organizational structure and alignment, process, and IT support, has not been without its problems. The drive to shift from a Functional to a Process control alignment has required a shift in the mindset of the organizations employees (McLaughlin, Paton & Macbeth, 2006). The IBM, as an organization needed to be able to develop flexible end-to-end (E2E) processes that can be "tweaked" and modified to meet changes in customer demand, product availability and overall performance. Performance to them is not simply down to the implementation of elaborate IT systems, but requires the alignment of key personnel in an understanding of the knowledge management aspects relating to the E2E processes. This required management to think about how the business operates from a process, as opposed to a function, perspective (McLaughlin, Paton & Macbeth, 2006). Hewlett Packard. Adizes (1988) postulated that as companies go through various life-cycle stages, their cultures need to change in order to adapt to different business challenges. Rigid adherence to a set of cultural norms can foretell disaster, especially in rapidly changing market conditions (Waldera, 2002) Consider the fate of a non-renewing organization as defined by Waldera (2002). The "HP Way" guided the success and development of this premier technology company since its inception in 1939. However effective the "HP Way" culture was in guiding the company's growth during the first fifty years of its history, it began

FlyBe Strategy Assessment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

FlyBe Strategy Assessment - Case Study Example Flybe operate' out of more UK airport' than any other airline. Flybe ha' been a market leader in developing it' range of pa''enger 'ervice'.' Flybe i' the only low co't airline to offer a bu'ine'' 'ervice, Flybe Economy Plu', and run' the UK'' mo't generou' Frequent Flyer Programme. We were the fir't low co't airline to offer online check-in to pa''enger' carrying hand and hold baggage; and the fir't to introduce a pre-a''igned 'eating facility allowing pa''enger' to pre-book their 'eat'. FlyBe i' the large't low fare airline in Europe. Operating through it' carrier FlyBe, the company run' flight' to around 120 de'tination' acro'' Europe, including airport' in Denmark, Germany, Norway, and 'weden. For the fi'cal Year 2003, FlyBe recorded revenue' of e842.5 million; an increa'e of 35% over 2002. It ha' a fleet of approximately 45 Boeing 737' and tran'port' over fifteen million cu'tomer' a year. FlyBe i' headquartered in Dublin Ireland, and ha' a workforce of about 1900 employee'.(Datamonitor)1.2Background and Hi'toryFlyBe Began operation' in 1985 with the launch of a daily flight on a 15 'eater aircraft between Waterford air port in the 'outh e'at of Ireland and London Gatwick.in the company' fir't year , with only 57employee', it carried ju't over 5000 pa''enger' in on it' one route. Over the next three Year' it expanded Rapidly opening Many new route' between Ireland and the UK, and increa'ed the number of jet' in it' fleet. However whil't cu'tomer' continued to fly FlyBe, for the low airfare' the co't were not controlled ,and the company continued to accumulate lo''e' . By 1989, the company employed 350 people, operated 15 aircraft and carried 600000 pa''enger' a year, but 'till recorded lo''e' of 20 million pound' in four year'.(Datamonitor)Under a new management team a major overhaul of the airline wa' undertaken in 1990/91, with FlyBe re-launched a' a low fare'-no frill' airline , adopting the formula pioneered by 'outhwe't Airline' in the U'. Non-profitable route' were eliminated, the network wa' cut back from 19 to ju't 5 route'. 'ome aircraft were di'po'ed of and airfare' acro'' the remaining network were 'ub'tantially reduced with 70% of all 'eat' offered at the two lowe't fare'. By 1991, FlyBe wa' operating a fleet of 'ix aircraft, employing 350 people, carrying 700 pa''enger' on ju't five route' , and it had recorded it' fir't ever profit. Over the next couple of year', 'chedule' on the key Dublin-London route wrew increa'ed average air fare' were lowered and new route' were launched from Dublin to Birmingham, Gla'gow, Manche'ter, and Gatwick. The number of cu'tomer' continued to grow, thank' largely to FlyBe'' low fare'. By 1994,FlyBe employed over 500 people and carried 1.5 million pa''enger' per annum. In 2002, the company 'igned the large't ever order with Boeing for 100 next generation 737-800 aircrafgt with option' to buy up to a further 50 aircraft to be deliverd over the next 'even year' . it 'ucce''fully launched 22 new route' and opened two new continental

Amazon Company Background Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Amazon Company Background - Research Paper Example For effective management f its network relations, the company has, in addition to its Seattle headquarters, an additional office at Coffeyville, state of Kansas. Additionally, Amazon.com has global websites in the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and Japan with a view of serving the domestic consumers of its products and service. With more than eight thousand full time employees, the company is able to have effective communication with its customers within the online or network relationships. In this regard, the placing of orders, acquisition of relevant information, following the progress of the order and online sale of products and services are transactions which are effected during the network relationships. The company values its employees as the most important resource in effective management of network relationships between the company and its employees. The management of network relationships includes effective and efficient communication between the Amazon sellers and the customers. Customers are provided with an interface of creating user accounts through which their communication with the sellers will be facilitated. Through these accounts, the users are able to view the company’s variety of products and make necessary inquiries. This is then followed by making or orders by the customers. The orders are consequently processed by the company’s employees within the various subsidiaries and retail shops. The company’s policy provides for professionalism and effectiveness in communication. which includes giving the customers appropriate feedback on the progress of the orders. Additionally, the procedure of communication within the company is in support of enhanced relationship between the sellers and the customers. This is aimed at ensuring effectiveness and quality in the provision of services and products to th e company’s market. Call Centers for Facilitating Relationships The company has call centers Kennewick, Grand Forks and Huntington within the US. Additionally, Amazon.com Inc. has call centers in Cape Town, South Africa and Hyderabad, India. These call centers play the most significant role of enhancing network communications between the customers and the sellers of the company’s products (Ratnasingham 1). The activities in the call centers employ information and communication technology in addition to the utilization of telecommunication networks in order to efficiently meet the needs of consumers for information. More importantly, the consumers are enabled to inquire about the various details on the company’s products and thus achieve an enhanced shopping experience. In addition to the communication with the customers, the data centers play a role of coordinating the activities of the various

News Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

News Article - Essay Example ah’s tribulations began when a villager was incensed when Christian literature earmarked for Sherif Ramses’ store was accidentally delivered to him. Consequently, scores of Christians were rounded up by the Preventative Security Unit (an Islamic militia group), before being incarcerated in the absence of any formal charges, in a Tripoli jail (Morning Star News, March 14, 2013). According to the Morning Star News (March 14, 2013), while in the militia’s custody, Atallah like other Christian prisoners was severely beaten, tortured through electrocution by the militia and denied proper medical treatment by the medical personnel on duty, on March 6. To show for the extent of state apathy, the Libyan government explained away Atallah’s death which occurred on March 10, as having been caused by high blood pressure and collapsing. The embassy of Egypt on the other hand explained Atallah’s death as a culmination of natural causes. Morning Star News, (March 14, 2013) reports that these incidences sparked protests by the Coptic Solidarity, an advocacy group in Washington DC. The caucus demonstrated in front of the Libyan embassy, condemned Atallah’s murder and the failure on Egypt government’s part to defend its citizens, while calling for: the release of all Egyptians who had been charged with evangelization in Libya; and an investigation into Hakim Atallah’s death. The bereaved in Atallah’s murder include an 11-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old son and a widow, Mrs. Ragaa Abdallah. Atallah and his compatriot Ramses ran phone sales business and owned a bookshop which stocked Christian and secular literature, respectively. Apparently, members of the Preventative Security Unit used Ramses’ mobile phone to identify and apprehend other Christians in the area. The news item reveals the challenges of the 21st century faith as being caused by religious intolerance. It is a fact that the state-instigated religious persecution being meted out against

Foundation of Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Foundation of Criminal Law - Essay Example It is interesting to note that in this case, the Fraud Act of 2006 was not the statute used. The prosecutors used the Theft Act of 1968 instead. The crime in this case arose from dishonestly appropriating â€Å"property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.†1 Lord Hanningfield tried to defend himself on the grounds that the appropriation or his claims of expenditures were within the law, clearly trying to dispute the â€Å"dishonestly† element of theft as a crime. In Section 2 (1)(a), it was stated that a person’s appropriation is not regarded as dishonest â€Å"if he appropriates the property in the belief that he has in law the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself or of a third person.†2 The defense also fall within Section 2 (1)(c), wherein there was consent to appropriate the property as the peer spends the money thinking that county would have consented him to appropriate it in the way that he has done, especially that many of his peers also do the same. However, the conditions or elements required by the law were deemed sufficient for the offense and this is not surprising. Lord Hanningfield dishonestly appropriated the â€Å"property†, which is, in this case, the money belonging to the Essex County Council, which he represents. There was dishonesty involved according to the standards set by the law because there was a clear and willful misappropriation for personal gain. The averaging out of expenditure was a weak argument in light of several evidences that showed false accounting. The dishonest appropriation occurred when he knowingly and repeatedly deprived his county of its property, which according to Section 4, property includes money. Article 2: Overvaluation Fraud Mary-Jane Rathie, a senior surveyor was accused of five cases of fraud for allegedly overvaluing properties for a certain Joanne Pier, who, for her part, used the dishonestly inflated valuati ons to secure mortgages from the Bank of Scotland. Five properties were involved, with most of them allegedly valued twice as much as their actual worth. The prosecution cited that out of the ?10 million of loans that Ms. Pier was able to secure, ?9.5 million relied on Rathie’s valuations. The claim was that Mrs. Rathie overvalued Pier’s properties in exchange for gifts such as cars and money. The prosecutors cited the cars Bentley-Continental and Range Rover as well as a total of ?900,000 in cheques and money transfers as evidences for the fraud. The report did not cite the specific type of fraud that Rathie was accused of. It is clear, however, that the case being heard was that of fraud by representation as stated in Section 2 of the Fraud Act of 2006. In Section 2 of the statute, the main element of fraud by false representation is dishonesty committed by false representation in order to gain something for oneself. The perpetrator provides false representation by p roviding untrue or misleading information in order to make a gain. The testimonies of independent surveyor in regard to the severely inflated amount of properties valued were central to the prosecution’s case for dishonesty. This is further supported by the string of gifts made to Mrs. Rathie within the period by which the valuations and Ms. Pier’s loan were made. Based on the summary of the case, as reported in the article, the elements of fraud under the false representat

Critical Assessment and Comparison of the Competitiveness and Dissertation

Critical Assessment and Comparison of the Competitiveness and Profitability of the UK Food Retail Sector - Dissertation Example The analysis of the two sectors has revealed that there are mixed trends with respect to the performance of selected companies in this study. However, within the retail sector of UK, Morrison’s and Sainsbury are better performers as compared to Tesco. On the other hand, BG and Shell have superseded BP as per the financial analysis. The SWOT analysis of the retail companies and analysis through Porter’s Five Forces Model has revealed that there are significant opportunities for the companies to expand their businesses; whereas at the same time, the competition in the market is also at peak. Similarly, for oil and gas companies, the analysis showed that there are no significant threats for the companies, but for BP the oil spill incident is still showing it’s after effects. Introduction Two of the most successful and competitive industry sectors in the UK are the UK food retail industry (specifically supermarkets) and the UK Oil and Gas industry. Both industries ar e major contributors to the UK economy. The grocery market alone in 2011 was worth ?156.8 billion and in 2011-2012 the UK oil and gas industry paid production tax of ?11.2 billion, almost a quarter of the exchequers corporation tax (IGN, 2012; Oil & Gas UK, 2012). In times of austerity and economic recession such as the UK is currently experiencing, it is insightful to assess the financial health of each of these organizations using ratio analysis in order to understand how they are achieving their level of success. According to Jones (2006) ratios are an extremely effective means of achieving this because if suitable ratios are selected and applied it can reveal interesting facts about how the company is managed and run, and where there may be areas of potential risk and weakness such as excessive borrowing. Rationale The rationale for this study is to understand how different ratios are employed in different industries and to evaluate the challenges that can be encountered if the same ratio is used in different industries. There is an inherent risk in taking the output of financial ratio analysis at face value without fully appreciating the context of the output. Therefore, by examining two highly successful industries it is hoped to identify areas of best practice using financial ratios as guides. The industries selected for research arethe UK food retail sector and UK oil and gas. These two industries have been chosen for particular reasons. Firstly, the UK food retail sector is one of the most competitive market places in the UK,characterized by high output volumes, fast turnover and tight profit margins. It is an industry where any mistakes are quickly reflected in the financial data and stakeholders are unforgiving (Palmer, 2004; Retail Week, 2012). It is this level of competition and volatility which makes the industry an interesting study because food is essential to every household and so the performance of food retail giants such as Tesco, Sainsbury ’s and Morrison’s can be regarded as a sensible barometer of the current economic situation in the UK. Furthermore, the success of Tesco at the international level undoubtedly points to the value being created in this industry in the UK. This alone makes it an interesting area to conduct research in.The second industry, UK oil and gas plays a major part in the UK economy in terms of exports, technology, and

Examine the extent to which Aneurin Bevan succeeded in overcoming the Essay

Examine the extent to which Aneurin Bevan succeeded in overcoming the obstacles which he encountered in achieving his vision for a national health service in th - Essay Example However, the NHS as an institution for providing better health services, despite all its constraints, became hugely popular with doctors and patients. Today it forms an integral part of British health and medical services. This, from a long term perspective, may be seen as Bevan’s lasting contribution to his country, and affords him an important place in the annals of its public health system. In the British post war general election Labour secured a thumping majority. This enabled the government to commence the implementation of the promises made to the British electorate in their party Election Manifesto; these promises, among others, included improved housing facilities and reforms in industry, education and health. In the sphere of health services, the Manifesto had stated that â€Å"(these facilities) should be available free for all. Money must no longer be the passport to the best treatment.† (Labour Party Manifesto 1945) It was Aneurin Bevan, (1897-1960) the Health Minister in premier Clement Atlee’s cabinet who was charged with the main responsibility of implementing the Labour Party vision. The task was tough, despite the party’s majority in the government, and there were several obstacles in the implementation of this plan. Bevan himself was clear about the goal to be achieved for the British Health System: simply put, none should be denied medical help and treatment on the grounds that he/she couldn’t afford to pay for it. He brooked no dilution of this ideal, and took a non-compromising stand on it. (Remember his famous one-liner that those who favoured the middle of the road, only got run over?) When Bevan articulated his vision, Britain already had a National Health Insurance Act1 But Bevan highlighted its inadequacies, pointing out that The National Health Insurance System provided medical care only for 21 million persons, while

Learning Experiences 5 (Personal Training) Essay

Learning Experiences 5 (Personal Training) - Essay Example The supplements are made available in form of tablets, capsules, bulk powder, or liquid. (Cheryl, 2007) Bluebonnet’s Maxi Two Formula is a higher potency, two-a-day, multivitamin, and multimineral dietary supplement in a caplet and is formulated with highly efficient patented Albion chelated minerals and popular carotenoids, such as natural beta-carotene and FloraGLO lutein from 100% natural marigold extract. (Bluebonnet) This is a family of multivitamin and mineral formulas designed specifically to address the nutritional needs of women. It provides a healthy response to sports injuries or surgery, muscle tears and pulls, sinus activity, joint mobility and fluid retention. Some ingredients are present in both the multivitamin formulas and in the same form such as vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, and B6. However, some of the ingredients are present in both the formulas but in different forms such as B12 and D as dibencozide and ergocalciferol respectively in Maxine, Daily Multiple for Women and as cyanocobalamine and cholecalcifero in Bluebonnet’s Maxi Two Formula (With iron). Mineral composition in Maxine is higher than in Bluebonnet in order to meet its dietary needs. Some ingredients such as phytase, black pepper, lactase, protease, and vanadium in Maxine are not present in Bluebonnet Vitamins, minerals and herbs are put together to sufficiently meet the needs of the user, for example, garlic, zinc and Echinacea are put together with vitamins C and B since they have the ability to resist infections. Mixing together minerals, herbs and vitamins also help achieve multiple desired results such as mixing beta-carotene, selenium, vitamin C, and E and chromium results in body protection and improved metabolism. (Walker, 2006) The variance in different multivitamin formulas results from the level of research done on the producing company and the fact that some ingredients can also be used as substitutes for each other with mild deviation from

Envirnmental issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Envirnmental issues - Essay Example It is a threat to the environment because it has led to an increase in the temperature of the world which has been accompanied by other ecological alterations (Houghton 2004). Global warming as the name indicates is a worldwide problem which has been explained by Sir David King who is the chief scientific adviser of the UK government in the following words, â€Å"Climate change is a far greater threat to the world than international terrorism† (BBC, 2004). Global warming is basically a rise in the temperature of the world. The increased release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has been identified as a major reason for global warming. This results due to the increased usage of motor vehicles which have been linked with emissions of carbon in the atmosphere. Furthermore, increased industrialization has also resulted in an increase in the release of these gases into the atmosphere. Deforestation accompanied with the forest fires are also major reasons for the rise in the global temperature across the world (Chemical & Engineering News, 2005; Desonie, 2008). Strict regulations are essential for all the contributors of global warming. It has been seen that laws have been passed with regard to controlling the emission of gases from the motor vehicles. Research is underway for the creation of ways that limit the passage of gases into the atmosphere. Permafrost is one such substance which limits the release of the emissions into the atmosphere. But its efficiency is also reducing. The best method to control global warming is to limit the release of gases into the atmosphere and hence this would limit the raise in the temperature of the world (Bhargava 2004; Desonie, 2008; Tesar, 1991). The issue of global warming needs to be tackled as it is an issue of concern. It can lead to severe effects for the environment of the world. The increased temperature across the globe can result in the melting of glaciers which would

Human and Animal Interrelationships Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human and Animal Interrelationships - Term Paper Example nimal research") The significance of such experiments is difficult to exaggerate, however it is important to prove the necessity and the role of such researches. The main advances that changed the medicine due to animal research are discovery of penicillin, first antibiotic for tuberculosis, medicine for meningitis, vaccine for poliomyelitis, introduction of kidney transplantation and many others ("Medical advances and animal research") All the researches, mentioned above, used mice in the experiments, which together with rats are the most popular animals of medical research. Rats and mice are inexpensive, unpretentious in care and food, live only for 2 or 3 years. The discoveries, which were made as a result of the experiments with mice and rats, helped their authors to win more than 30 Nobel Prizes. One of the significant discoveries, which engaged mice together with rabbits, was development of in vitro fertilization, which was performed by Robert Edwards in 1950-1960s. However he received his Nobel Prize only in 2010. This discovery helped the infertile families to have babies: more than 4 million of people were born due to the results of experiments ("The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2010. Robert G. Edwards"). Another fatal disease, for which the scientists hope to find the treatment using animal research, is Duchene dystrophy. Duchene muscular dystrophy is one of the most widespread forms of muscles dystrophy. The gene, which is responsible for muscle development, is corrupted, and muscles cells eventually die in the organism. The disease is congenital and affects mostly boys. There is no treatment for Duchene dystrophy at present, however scientists hope to find one soon with the help of animals, which are used for testing agents, that might help to reverse the deadly processes in muscles. The Italian scientists experimented with using stem cells from the blood vessels of dogs to treat their natural dystrophy mutation, which helped to stop its

Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay Example for Free

Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony are two of the North American Colonies. These colonies have a lot of similarities especially in their government since they are under the governance of Northern America but differ in their ways of living and social structure. The Massachusetts Bay Colony and Virginia Colony are governed under their constitutions. The legislature under these colonies, called the General Court, consists of a Senate of 40 members and a House of Representatives of 160 for Massachusetts and 100 for Virginia, all elected for two years. The legislature meets annually. The governor is elected for a four-year term (Brown, 2006). The lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, treasurer, and receiver general, auditor, and attorney general are also elected to four-year terms. The governor is assisted by an executive council of eight members, elected for two years. The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Judicial Court of seven justices. Other courts include the appeals court, trial court, and minor courts. All judges are appointed by the governor and council and serve until age 70 (Brown, 2006). In addition, during the next decade of Massachusetts, several small fishing settlements grew up along the Massachusetts coast. Moreover, it is a predominantly a manufacturing area. The most valuable products are machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, instruments, and fabricated metal items. Printing and publishing are also major endeavors. Other economic activities include the processing of foods, the production of beverages, and the making of rubber and plastic goods, paper products, chemicals, clothing, and textiles (Brown, 2006). It has the most valuable fisheries and is one of the leading colonies in the nation in the value of its catch. The catch includes flounder, haddock, cod, whiting, Pollack, tuna, herring, scallops, lobsters, and clams. On the other hand, Virginia’s economy is based heavily on government 9federal, state, and local), wholesale, and retail trade, services, and manufacturing. Together, they account for more than 80 percent of all nonagricultural employment. Its manufacturing accounts for about a fifth of the colony’s nonagricultural employment. Chemicals and chemical products are of outstanding importance (Morris, 2001). Chief among these are synthetic fibers, such as nylon, and polyester. Tobacco products, particularly cigarettes, are also important. Foods, including dairy products and canned and preserved fruits, vegetables, and seafoods, are processed in many localities. Virginia also has a number of textile mills. Moreover, livestock and livestock products, mainly cattle and milk, provide nearly 60 percent of all farm income. Beef and dairy cattle are raised throughout the area, but are most numerous on the northern Piedmont and in the valleys west of the Blue Ridge. The raising of turkeys and broilers is a major activity (Morris, 2001). In conclusion, Virginia was the site of the first permanent settlement and colony in North America. Virginians were prominent among the nation’s founding fathers and played major roles in the Revolutionary War while Massachusetts was one of the New England states of the United States. These two colonies contributed much of the history of the United States in terms of its state governance and economic contributions to the nation. Reference: 1. Brown, R. D. Massachusetts: a Bicentennial History (Norton, 2006). 2. Morris, Shirley. The Pelican Guide to Virginia (Pelican, 2001).

Teaching And Learning Activities Essay Example for Free

Teaching And Learning Activities Essay Introduction There are many teaching and learning activities which are used to achieve lesson plan aims and objectives. The choice will depend upon a number of factors, such as the domain and level of objective. For example, the most appropriate activities to learn a motor skill is through demonstration and individual practice whereas to gain knowledge and understanding a lecture, group debate and question and answer sessions activities are more appropriate (Reese and Walker p137). Reese and Walker (pg 140) states that Honey and Mumford (1986) published the manual of learning styles which identified four main learning styles: Activists whom, enjoy the present, like the immediate experience and respond to short term issues Reflectors whom, prefer to think about things and explore all aspects before coming to a conclusion. Theorists whom, like principles, theories, models and systems. Pragmatists whom look for new ideas and are keen to experiment We as teachers therefore need to think about what teaching strategies the students prefer, particular in a class which consists of a mixture of activists, reflectors, theorist and pragmatists. The group size is another important factor to consider when choosing a learning activity. Different strategies/ activities are more appropriate for different group size. At one extreme a group may consist of only one student. In such circumstances methods such as projects or assignments, and tutoring may be more suitable whereas for small groups of between 5 and 20 students, a discussion method is suitable. A group between 10 and 20 the approach often adopted is what is traditionally called classroom teaching (Reese and Walker pg 137) which consists of a mixture of methods. Groups greater than 20 students, suitable strategies could be lecture and demonstration. Generally, students learn in different ways: an approach that is appropriate to one student may not be appropriate for another. Some people learn better in a group through the interaction with both the teacher and other students. We must therefore realise the importance of varying learning activities for our students (Reese and Walker, pg 138). The aims and objectives of this assignment are to: a) Review the range of teaching and learning activities available to promote open access and widening participation. Review the range of resources available within the organisation for a selected curriculum area b) Prepare, use and evaluate one of teaching and learning activities and resources. c) Evaluate one of the activities selected. d) Analyse the strengths and challenges of the selected resource and how it has supported learning. Teaching and Learning Activities As discussed by Petty (pg 15) there are two approaches to guide the choice of activities, the mnemonic EDUCARE (table 1.1) and CIA (table 1.2). Educare is a suitable guide when learning is focused on acquiring specific skills whereas CIA is a more indirect approach to arranging corrected practise if learning is not focused on acquiring specific skills. EDUCARE E Explanation, student needs to understand why the skill is required D Doing-Detail via demonstration or case study, for example U Use, practise skill C Check and correct practise A Aide-memoire, student requires reminder- for example notes, handout R Review and reuse, of earlier work so that old learning is not forgotten E Evaluation. Table 1.1 (Petty, pg15) CIA C Content, Clarify topic content to an appropriate depth and breadth I Ideas, Determine contents main: concepts, factors, evidence, viewpoints etc A Activities, Create questions and activities where students must reason with the key ideas Table 1.1 (Petty, pg 357) I apply both approaches depending on the subject area, in some instances EDUCARE may be a more suitable guide for a topic in chemistry whereas CIA is suitable for a topic in biology. For the training aspect of my job the CIA approach is more appropriate because the trainees teaching are not acquiring specific skills. My current role at Thermo Electron Corporation involves training clients on how utilise sophisticated equipments and teach chemistry classes and assist biology classes voluntarily at St Helens College. The training sessions runs for 2 days 09:00 to 16:30 every three months. The number of clients range between 5 and 12 with different scientific backgrounds and various levels of experience with the equipments. The next training session will be on April 25th and 26th for 8 clients. The total number of training hours is 15. I have a training manual from the former trainer which I follow for each training session. The training sessions involves audio, visual and kinaesthetic teaching styles. I use OHP, handouts and demonstrations. The organic chemistry and physiology course duration is 16 weeks (from January 2006 to May 2006). The chemistry are 3 hours in the evenings, 5 students in total of mixed gender, aged 16-19, and all students are currently employed by United Utilities and come on the course on day release basis from their employers. Their main reason for being on the course is for qualification purposes to improve career prospects and the recommendation by their employer. The physiology classes are 3 hours per week, 18 students in total, mixed gender and age ranges 16-19. Most are straight from secondary school others are repeating the units. I currently assist the tutor to set-up practical session. The teaching and learning activities (particularly in a classroom environment) that I use in order to promote open access and encourage participation include Ice-breakers, group activities (games, quizzes), brainstorming sessions and discussions. The ice-breakers and informal introductions allows learners to know each other and usually reveal what the learners bring to the group; such as, questions, experience (good or bad, personal and academic), and varied levels of knowledge of the subject. The activities I use more frequently are group activities. I split the group into 2 or 3 group (depending on activity and the no. of attendees) to carry out matching card games, electronic games or to partake in a quiz. Matching cards game. The maximum number of students on the evening organic chemistry course is five, for this reason they all work in a group. I prepare two sets of cards, one set with question and the other set with answers. During the lesions the students are told to arrange the seating so as to work in a team. They are then presented with the cards are given a period of time in which to complete the task. Electronic games. The students work individually. Prior to the lesson I research subject-related game on the internet. The last game found had a game show type theme, who wants to be a millionaire type format. The more questions you answer correctly the closer the chances of winning à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1Million! Class Quiz The class is arranged again in a game show setting, split into two groups. The team that gives the highest number of answers correctly wins the game. These activities prove favourable for the students, it makes the learning process fun and interesting, at the same time encouraging teamwork and participation. The group activities also gives me the opportunity to observe social interaction; study learners relationship with one another; gain an insight to their character and; identify confident, reluctant, dominant and quieter characters. I would definitely reuse this method as it is a very effective learning method. Although the activities have proven successful there are areas of improvement. Such introducing more different types of games; setting tasks so that at the right level for all students; setting different tasks for different students; stretching activities for students/groups whom finish early; check students work by moving systematically round the class; looking over their shoulders and possibly; asking students to self-check or peer-check. For tasks such as the Matching cards game it ensures that no one is completing the tasks incorrectly, and would allow the tutor to manage the tasks more effectively (Petty, pg 170). Resources A resource, as defined by Reece and Walker is a support to teaching strategies which assists learning. The resources I often use to present materials and teach are WB, handouts, OHP, and the Internet. Aside the Whiteboard, the resource I use most often are handouts (see attached example of my lesson plan). The handouts are distributed at the start of the lesson. The handouts are combinations of worksheets and information handouts. They include text, Q A sections and diagrams from the internet or/and textbooks relevant to the topic for that session. The worksheets (incomplete handouts) have gaps which the students are expected to fill-in during the lesson and on occasions complete for homework The source of diagrams and texts are always referenced, for copy-write purposes and to encourage the student do own research/study. The diagrams are colourful illustrations; and the text is often printed on coloured paper in order to differentiate between different aspects. The students are talked through the handouts and asked to answer the questions or fill-in the gaps individually (occasionally in groups). I find this resource a very effective visual aid for learning; it is simple, to the point and interesting. The main advantages of visual aids as discussed by Petty are; they gain attention; they add variety and interest; they aid conceptualisation, many ideas are understood visually rather than verbally; they aid memory, I find that the students find visual information easier to remember than verbal information and lastly; they show you care, going to trouble of preparing visual aids shows students you take their learning seriously. The resources weakness on the other-hand is that the learner tends not to read the handouts that are why it is good practice to include incomplete handouts at the start of the lesson. Completion of the handout can form the focus of the learning (Reece and Walker pg 212). I evaluate the chosen aid by asking my students their opinion about the suitability and whether they assisted learning. The feedback is generally positive, especially about the bright coloured papers! Teaching methods Petty (1998 pg 121) states that in order to make an informed choice of teaching method and in order to be adaptable and have a variety of activities for lesson planning, the teacher must know what teaching methods are available; what are the strengths and weaknesses of these methods; what purpose each of them can serve and; how each should be used in practice. I choose resources that are best suited to my teaching methods. Depending on the topic my methods can include one or more of the following; audio, visual, activities, demonstrations and discussions. For example the white board, handouts and cards are resources best suited for brainstorming/discussion and group activities. According to Reese and Walker (pg 138) we as teachers need to consider how to provide the experiences so as to make learning as easy and quick to possible. Two possible approaches are; to design a teaching programme where the content is carefully derived from an analysis of the students personal, social/or vocational needs, and which is implemented by the tutor in controlled and organised manner; the second approach starts from the experience of the student. It then depends upon the student identifying and accepting a need to learn. The teaching methods which allow this second approach to be implemented will be project work derived from students current experience, discussions, activities designed to provide opportunities for specific learning outcomes, and the learning of specific problem-solving techniques. Reference Petty, G. Teaching Today, second edition, 1998, pages 121-166 and 315-333. Reece, I. and Walker, S. Teaching, Training and Learning. A practical guide, fourth edition, 2000, pages 6, 49-57, 531-533.

An Analysis Of The Tui Group Tourism Essay

An Analysis Of The Tui Group Tourism Essay TUI a leading international leisure travel group which has over 200 different tourism brands around the world. The business activities of the TUI Group were attributed to the tourism, logistics and the former industry divisions. Objective of this report is to analyse the strategic position of TUI by applying various tools such as PESTLE, Five forces framework, SWOT and analyse and predict the future implications of its strategic capabilities using Generic strategy and Ansoffs matrix to the case study. Limitations of the tool applied are discussed with the analysis. 2.0 BACKGROUND TUI group earlier known as Hapag Touristik Union of Preussag launched itself in tourism market at the end of 1997 with the purchase of Hapag-Lloyd AG. TUI expended its business using the expansion strategy through acquisition, mergers, and investment through joint ventures all over Europe. TUI AG was spread in three sectors TUI Travel (tour operating, airlines and incoming agencies),  TUI Hotels Resorts  and the cruise ship business form the World of TUI. TUI AG holds, in addition, a financial investment in the container shipping industry. TUI in 2005 was the tour leaders with 3500 travel agencies in 17 countries with 37 incoming agencies. TUI owned more than 100 aircrafts and was the largest Hotelier in Europe with 285 hotels (Case study). Currently, the group owns 43,3 percent stake in Hapag-Lloyd AG. In  the 2008 financial year  TUI AG returned a revenue of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬24.9 billion with total earnings (underlying EBITA) of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬759 million. As at 31 December 2008 the Group had 70,200 employees (TUI group, company profile). 3.0 ENVIRONEMNTAL ANALYSIS: To understand and apply the Environmental analysis on TUI it is essential to perform an internal and an external analysis. External analysis on an industry is further sub-divided in two environment macro-environment and micro-environment. In order to understand the likely impact of these environments on the tourism industry PESTEL analysis and Porters five forces is under taken for possible impacts on the industry competitive strength and advantage over competitors. 3.1 PESTLE ANALYSIS 3.1(a) POLITICAL Political factors have a moderate impact on the performance and the growth on tourism industry. Where Political instability generates negative publicity and the risk perception influences the tourists decisions which results in an unavoidable decrease in tourist arrivals (Hall and O Sullivan, 1996). On the other side Terrorism has led serious tourism crisis, and has been affecting the financial condition significantly in recent periods (Sonmez et al 1999). Terrorist attacks, the Iraq war has reflected a decline of approximately 6.6% in TUIs tourism turnover from the first six months of 2002 to the first six months of 2003 (excluding turnover contributed by Nouvelles Frontiers, which we acquired later in 2002). Health Crisis like SARS in 2003 has also had a traumatic effect on international travel (Case study). 3.1(b) ECONOMICAL Tourism is one of the growing industries, fuelling the growth and employment and has become a critical component of the world of economy. Due to Recession, a downward momentum was seen because most of the tourism operators were handicapped by the high level of fixed assets and less able to manage their airlines and hotel industry(case study). Fluctuations in fuel costs, Exchange rates and currency fluctuations, The Growth of low cost airlines has lead to economic risk in tourism industry. 3.1(c) SOCIO-CULTURE: Change in lifestyle has changed the demands of consumer; they have become more price sensitive and has increased its demand for new experiences. Consumer has developed a new attitude of WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE (Reisinger 2009) facilitated by last minute purchase resulting in late bookings. As tourism involve movement of people to different locations which calls for cultural clashes. Tourism has also Led to commercialization of local culture, standardization of destinations and adaptation to tourist demands (coastlearn.org) 3.1(d) TECHNOLOGY Use of information technology gave a boost to tourism business for reservations and administrative operations. With the advent of the internet, tour operators can now spread out their activities and make available appropriate information, conquering new customers (Wyner, 2000). With launch of touropa.com in Germany, TUI captured a top position in European market in 2005 with a turnover of 2.6bn euro (Case study). Similarly in Island locations high-tech venue networking was adopted to attract new visitors and to communicate to tourists (The Daily Business Buzz, Nov. 2/09) 3.1(f) LEGAL Air Travel Organizers License ATOL Regulations were imposed on any person who advertises or sells air-inclusive holidays in the United Kingdom,granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. A number of TUIs businesses operating in the United Kingdom, including Thomson Holidays and Lunn Poly, hold ATOLs. There were many European and national restrictions on airline ownership which could loss of airline operating and route licenses and cause other adverse effects on tourism business. TUIs hotels and destination agencies are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the countries in which they operate and, on a periodic basis, must obtain various licenses and permits. They are subject to a broad range of labour, environmental and health and safety regulations in each jurisdiction in which they operate (Listing Memorandum, TUI group). 3.1(g) ENVIRONMENTAL: International tourism can play the role of both victim and villain when it comes to climate change(Holmes 2007 BBC news). To attain sustainability TUI is continuously improving on environmental performance, TUI focuses on ISO 14001 environmental standards. Hence TUI strongly supports the environmental protection policies like, species protection, nature protection and landscape protection. TUIs main area of concern is the efficient use of energy and climate protection. (TUI Group, environment management) 3.2 PORTERS FIVE FORCES FRAMEWORK: A firm needs to neutralise as many as possible of the five forcers in order to create competitive advantage.(Porter 1998) Porter defines five forces impacting a firms competitiveness- threat of substitutes, threat of new entrants in the industry, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, and the intensity of competition within the industry. Understanding the nature of each of these forces gives organizations the necessary insights to enable them to create the appropriate  strategies  to be successful in their market (Thurlby, 1998) . 3.2(a) Threat of New Entrants (Medium) For a new company to launch itself in the tourism industry needs a high investment and innovative ideas to sustain its presence in the highly competitive tourism market. The existing company have the capabilities of providing tailored deals on cheap prices because of their established brands and long chains of tour operator. TUI being the market leaders of tourism industry does not have much effect of threats developed by new entrants. 3.2(b) Bargaining Power of Buyers (High)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tourism industry fluctuates with the buyers changing needs. With increase in competition, buyers have a wider range of services to choose from hence the tourism industry are forced to comply with changing demands and needs of customers. As the switching cost is not too high Brand loyalty is low and with increase in purchasing power of a buyer the likelihood of travelling also increases. Buyers even eliminate the tour operators and prefer make a direct sale from suppliers (hotels, airlines ect). 3.3(c) Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Low)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   TUI uses backward integration which means it has its own suppliers; in fact TUI itself acts as its own suppliers. 3.3(d) Threat of Substitutes (High)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the growing world of tourism there is a demand for strategic differentiation. Customers are looking for new experiences, diversified attractions around the world. The wide spread of TUI in Europe increases the threat of substitute due to growth of tourism industry in other parts of world. 3.3(e) Competitive Rivalry (medium) Tourism industry involves many competitors with an approach of performing better than the other. The competition level increases because of distribution of market based on the regional operators, privately owned, highly fragmented, and geographically marketed. Even though there was a moderate level of service differentiation, TUI has sustained the competition because of its brand and leadership in market 4.0 TUIS CURRENT POSITION AND STRATEGY: TUIs strategic goal is to create superior shareholder value by being a global leading leisure travel group providing customers with a wide choice of differentiated and flexible travel experiences to meet their changing needs. TUIs five strategic priorities for sustainable development are Embedding, Climate Change, Destinations, Our People and Our Customers (TUI Travel PLC, Strategy) . Since 1998 to 2005 main focus of TUI was on achieving cost control and differentiating its product in market. This was achieved by adopting Hybrid strategy which is a combination of differentiation, price and cost control (Campbell 2002) refer to Appendix (A). TUI creates enhancing margin quality through product differentiation by creating unique travel experiences for its customers which helps them achieve brand loyalty and competitive advantage. With controlled distribution process the cost of acquisition can be reduced and flexibility is achieved. The five key elements of TUI strategy: Expand our core tourism business Exploit synergies and cost efficiencies across our markets and products Leverage the benefits of our vertically integrated tourism model and our wide distribution network Identify new trends and exploit developments in the tourism industry Continue to grow our container shipping business Over the years TUI has maintained its position as the market leaders of tourism industry by covering all the stages of tourism value chain by owning its own travel agencies, hotels, incoming agencies, airlines and cruises (Business week 2009). It has positioned itself to be its own supplies, buyers and travel services and had become a strong example of vertical integration. Vertical growth can be accomplished by forward and backward integration. Though the vertical integration does not give 100 percent success guarantee in complete value chain, TUI has successfully build its business with selection of travel agencies in European market by having Thomas cook airlines with 100 aircrafts and owning more than 3000 travel agencies (case study). Vertical integration also helps in attracting more customers, differentiate its product and gain more power in market and gain economies of scale by reducing the coordination cost and reducing the profit margins of intermediaries (Enz 2009). Other advantages and disadvantages can be referred in Appendix (B). Major strengths on which TUI had built its leadership and its weaknesses which empowered them to overcome and maintain its position. 4.1 STRENGTHS: TUIs greatest strength is its brand recognition and fully integrated business model with wide spread distribution network to provide operational advantages. TUIs confidence is based on (i) ability to recover increases in input costs, (ii) flexible business model, (iii) delivery of merger synergies, and (iv) diversity of the Groups businesses(TUI Travel Plc, third quarter report). Appropriate strategic choices with the diverse work force and economic of scale in competitive marketing and efficient distribution has proved to be its core competence. TUIs global presence provides wide variety of holiday services and has successful container shipping business. 4.2WEAKNESS TUI Travels existing shareholder loan amounts to approximately  £900 million is the major drawback for TUI (financial times 2009). The consumers are increasingly holding off on booking holidays in order to save money in recession. Whereas limited bookings transparency (growing trend toward short-term travel bookings; uncertain earnings performance) has also effected the revenue growth of TUI. Another factor is the impact of seasonality on sustained growth and performance of nature based tourism. 5.0 CHANGING TRENDS AND TUIs FUTURE: 5.1 Key Drivers of change Beside PESTLE (Appendix (C)) it is important to identify the number of key drivers of changes which are forces likely to affect the structure of a business (Johnson et al 2005). To understand the drivers of changes in tourism industry it is required to analyse the change in consumers behaviour, lifestyle and priorities. In years to come the demographic shifts (ageing population), technology penetration, changes in work pattern, time pressure and changing modes of consumption (further destinations, greater expectations, more specialization) will make heavy impact on travel and tourism industry(Lockwood and Medlik 2002). According to Peter Long, chief executive of TUI Travel (sustainable development report 2008), Sustainability is one of the four key drivers for growth in TUI, the four main drivers for a sustainability programme for TUI Travel: Aviation and climate change Protecting destinations from the impact of climate change Protecting destinations from the impact of tourism Shifting demographics and consumer trends These aspects will analyse progress of TUI which is made towards providing holidays that cause minimal environmental impact, respect the culture and people of destinations, and offer real economic benefit to local communities. 5.2 Ansoffs Matrix According to Johnson et al. (2008) Ansoff Product/market growth can be used to analyse the implications of corporate strategy applied to look for the opportunities open to the industry. This matrix consists of four quadrants which are used to evaluate four types of strategic decision(Appendix (D)). It allows marketers to consider ways to develop the business via existing and/or new products, in existing and/or new markets. With an initial start in tourism business from end of 1997 to 1999 TUI saw a real scope of penetration of its business in German market with its existing products and aim to increase its market share. With a vision of new opportunities TUI expanded its horizons by stepping into European market in 2000 with complete dominance and strong market share with existing products in new markets by taking over Thomson travel group, Nouvelles Frontieres(France) and Fritidsresor(Scandinavia) developing its market. With time TUI focused on Product development and introduced low-cost travel airlines in 2003, setting up TUI china and then increased its cash flow by signing joint ventures in Russia. In 2005 with launch of a virtual tour operator, TUI captured the top position in tourism industry and was able to develop a successful brand Image. In 2005 TUI penetrated in most of the Europe, tourism division was subdivided into the five sectors Central Europe, Northern Europe, Western Europe, destinat ions and other tourism activities. TUI was diversifying geographically and that has helped to compensate the ups and downs of individual countries, which can be due to any macroeconomic factor. TUI has diversified geographically in Europe, India and China. They have also diversified in their business segments in logistics of container shipping department in order to achieve economies of scale. TUI opted consolidation for long term growth and global brand development to ensure cash flow from developed market in economic downturn hence TUI considered consolidation has one of their product and market strategy suggested by Johnson et al.(2008). 5.3 EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS OPPOURTUNITES Changes in emerging and fragmented markets provide greater opportunity for growth in TUI, acquisition and joint ventures can provide a platform to build stronger product portfolio. Improving TUIs local business, improving in marketing, sales and distribution can support growing demands for specialist holidays. Tour operators still have scope for consolidation by easing geopolitical tensions. Refer to Appendix (E) for more information about the opportunities and TUIs approach towards it. THREATS Protracted economic downturn has been a major threat to the tourism industry. Geopolitical uncertainties (terrorist attacks and natural calamities), operators relatively high debts, limited earning transparency of some companies and seasonal-led volatile earnings performances are some other setbacks for tourism industry. Less attention towards environment and global warming may cause a devastating impact on travel business. 6.0 LIMITATIONS OF TOOLS 6.1 PESTEL FACTORS PESTLE analysis is done to simplify the decision making process while following a strategy. PESTLE factors helps in identifying the past trend of an organisation on which future trends are identified. Practically PESTLE analysis makes it difficult for a company to analyse the entire macro-economic factor as it can be very time consuming and costly. In this fast changing environment, capturing adequate data might be difficult and capturing too much of data can cause Paralysis by analysis this predicted data might not be accurate. PESTLE does not help is finding out the level of uncertainty in an organisation. For effective results this process needs to be undertaken on regular basis. (Cipd, 2008). 6.2 PORTERS FIVE FORCE Porters five forces model works on relatively static market structure because of which it cannot explain or analyze todays dynamic changes (Recklies 2001). This model equally imply to all the competitors in an industry and this model cannot be applied in isolation where porter accepted that outcome by applying his framework were only relevant while the macro environment remained constant (Campbell et al., 2002). Five force analyses takes into consideration industry as a whole but it does not segregate different segments. The individual analysis of each of the segment can be of much assistance than industry as a whole. It even assumes that relationships with competitors, buyers and suppliers are adversarial. It oversimplifies industry value chains (Grundy, 2006) and It ignores the human resource aspect of the strategy 6.3 SWOT The SWOT analysis gives an overview of the subject but doesnt help to get the details. The categorization of some aspects as strengths or weaknesses, or as opportunities and threats is to some extent subjective. From the case study numerous strength and weaknesses were identified, but those all were a snapshot of the success and failure on TUI over all business performance. According to Mintzberg (1990) the assessment of strengths and weaknesses may be unreliable, being bound up with aspirations, biases and hopes. Moreover, Frost (2003) describes SWOTs downsides from a managers point of view as it would be difficult for a manager to identify strengths than things they see as wrong with the organization and managers tend to describe an effect as a weakness and do not get to the causes. (Zarkos et al., 2007) states, an opportunity can also be a threat for a company; hence the same problem appears in the distinction of strengths and weaknesses. 6.4 ANSOFFS MATRIX Ansoffs matrix is only focussed on growth of a company it focuses on the tangible aspects of products and services and very little attention is paid to intangible aspect like brand. Another weakness of the Ansoff Matrix approach is that it doesnt really address the issue of brand elasticity as a part of the strategic decision-making process.( pringle and field, 2008). the use of Ansoff matrix as a marketing tool may not be really useful as the matrix is critical for analysing the strategic path that the brand may be following, and does not essentially identify marketing options(Macmillan et al., 2000). 7.0 CONCLUSION In this report the strategic analysis is carried out on TUI tourism industry using various tools. Firstly, macro-environment was analysed to understand the possible impacts on the industry competitive strength and advantage over competitors and develop an appropriate strategy. On a corporate level hybrid strategy and vertical integration was discussed in support to TUIs success. Next segment of internal analysis described TUIs core competences and focussed on future trends of TUI. The analysis of this case study concluded high level of sustainable development which is inimitable. 8.0 REFERENCE LIST Campbell, D., Stonehouse, G. and Houston, B. (2002), Business Strategy: an introduction, 2nd Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann publication, Oxford, UK. Enz, A. C., (2009), Hospitality Strategic Management: Concept and Cases, 2nd Edition,    Haboken, New Jersey. Frost, A. (2003), The Use of Strategic Tools by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: an Australasian study, Strategic Change, Volume. 12, Page: 49-62. Grundy, T. (2006), Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model, Strategic Change, Volume. 15, Page: 213-229. Hall, C. And OSullivan, V. (1996), Tourism political stability and violence in Wahab, S. and Christopher P. C.,(2001), Tourism in the age of globalization , pp-234, Routledge. Johnsons, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th Edition, Prentice Hall, UK. Johnsons, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2008), Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall, UK. Lockwood, A. and Medlik, S., (2002), Tourism and Hospitality in the 21st Century, Butterworth Heinemann Macmillan, H. and Tampoe, M. (2000), Strategic Management, Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/ansoff.htm, Access on: 21st Oct 2009, 17.23pm. Mintzberg, H. (1990), The Design School: Reconsidering the Basic Premises of Strategic Management, Strategic Management Journal, Volume. 11, Page: 171-195. Porter, M. E,. (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. The Free Press Pringle, H. And Field, P., (2008), Brand immorality how brands can live long and prosper, Kogan page, IPA Recklies, D. (2001), Five Competitive Force (porter), Available at http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_five_forces.html, Assessed on: 28th Oct 2009, 8.45pm. Reisinger, Y., (2009),International Tourism: Cultures and Behaviour Elsevire Ltd. Sà ¶nmez, F. S., Tarlow, P.,(1999) Tourism in Crisis: Managing the Effects of Terrorism Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38, No. 1, 13-18 Thurlby, B., (1998), Competitive forces are also subject to change, Management Decision London Zarkos, S., Morgan, R. E. and Kouropalatis, Y. (2007), Real Options and Real Strategies, Strategic Change, Volume: 16, Page: 315-325. http://www.cipd.co.uk, (2008), PESTLE analysis, CIPD, Accessed on 3rd Nov 2009 at 15.56pm http://www.tui-group.com/uuid/68045be7dc26a80404db1d381be42f4b TUI Group Listing Memorandum, Accessed on 1st Nov 2009 at 19.24pm http://www.scribd.com/doc/17015152/TUI-Environmental-ReportTUI TUI Group Environmental report, Accessed on 5th Nov 2009 at 12.03am http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot_article.asp?ric=TUIGn.DE Business week 2009 , TUI AG(Consumer Directory sector, hotels restaurants and leisure) Accessed on 8th Nov 2009 at 13.33pm http://www.dailybusinessbuzz.ca/2009/11/02/pe-cutting-edge-technology-to-boost-tourism/ Daily business buzz, Cutting -edge technology to boost tourism 8th Nov 2009 at 22.54pm http://www.coastlearn.org/tourism/why_socioimpacts.html Coast learn, Sustainable Tourism : Socio-Culture Impact, Accessed on 6th Nov 2009 at 16.22 pm http://www.tui-group.com/en/sustainability/env_management TUI Group , Environment management and ecological sustainability, Accessed on 29th Oct 2009 at 16.16pm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7094559.stm Holmes, S., 2007 How to make tourism greener , BBC news, Accessed on 8th Nov 2009 at 23.08pm http://www.tui-group.com/en/company/profile TUI Group, company profile Accessed on 30th Oct 2009 at 09.52am www.tuitravelplc.com/tui/uploads//TUITravelQ3Results.pdf TUI Travel Plc, third quarter report 2008, Accessed on 25th Nov 2009 at 11.52am http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/258da2ca-acd0-11de-91dc-00144feabdc0.html Yuk, K. P., 2009 TUI Travel takes steps to refinance loan, Accessed on 7th Nov 2009 at 22.14pm http://sd2008.tuitravelplc.com/tui-sd/pages/aboutthisreport/datamaterialityTUI Group, sustainability report 2008, Accessed on 28th Oct 2009 at 20.22pm 9.0 APPENDIX: APPENDIX (A) Market price responsiveness Price insensitivity Price sensitivity Cost-based Strategy Differentiation Strategy Stuck in the middle strategy Hybrid strategies Appropriate strategic approach Adopted form David Campbell, George Stonehouse andBill Houuston , Business Strategy (2000), 2nd edition. APPENDIX (B) Advantages and Disadvantages of vertical Integration Advantages Disadvantages Can eliminate steps and reduce duplication 1)need for overheads to coordinate vertical integration Avoid time consuming tasks and negotiate contracts Burden of excess capacity if not at all output is used. Improve marketing or technological intelligence Obsolete process may be penetrated Can create differentiation through coordination process Reduce strategic flexibility due to being locked in a business Provide superior control of firms market environment May link to an unprofitable adjacent business Offers an increased ability to create credibility for new products. May not be potential for synergy Adopted from Enz, A. C., (2009), Hospitality Strategic Management: Concept and Cases, 2nd Edition. Appendix (C) FACTORS REASONS POLITICAL/LEGAL Political instability of developing countries Government regulations and regulatory reforms. High taxation policies of developed countries. labour, environmental and health and safety regulations ECONOMICAL Rise in disposable income in developing countries Currency fluctuation. Rise in fuel cost Emerging market. SOCIAL Changing priorities of consumers Health and safety concerns Urbanisation. Disposal income in consumer level TECHNOLOGY Use of information technologies systems for reservations Use of internet Implementation of new sales and distribution channels Enhanced flexibility ENVIRONMENT Natural calamities Global warming limitation on carbon emission Appendix D STRATEGIC DIRECTION ANSOFF MATRIX Existing Product New Product A Market Penetration Consolidation B Product Development C Market Development D Diversification Existing Market New Market Adapted from H. Ansoff, Corporate Strategy, Penguin, 1988, Chapter 6 Appendix (E) Opportunity Our goal Embedding into our core business Ensure our business decisions take into account sustainable development principles Operational impacts Minimise the negative sustainability impacts (particularly on climate change) of our day-to-day operations Supply chain management Support our supply chain in managing their sustainability impacts Choice editing Edit out the holiday options that do not meet our minimum sustainability standards Choice influencing Make it easy for customers to choose a more sustainable holiday Awareness raising Help customers appreciate the sustainability impacts of tourism, driving demand for more sustainable holidays Changing behaviour   Encourage customers to change their actions in a way that maximises the positive and minimises the negative impacts of their holiday Innovation and product development   Develop new, more sustainable experiences in response to demand   Collaborating with our industry   Share best practice with others in the tourism industry where our competitiveness is not affected   Advocacy   Use our influence responsibly and in line with our commitment to sustainable development   Putting something back   Put something back into the environment or community wherever we cannot avoid a negative impact   http://sd2008.tuitravelplc.com/tui-sd/pages/ourapproach/ourstrategy?whoareyou=addstudent=truesubmit=Submit Threat of new Entrant Innovative ideas Wide range of holiday packages Threat of substitute Worldwide tourism attractions