Paying College Athletes

Persuasive Speech Nearly two weeks ago, over 700 men and women signed on to play in the largest post-season tournament in professional sports, or should I say, amateur sports. The athletes in March Madness, the post-season basketball tournament, practice multiple times per day, all year round, and even on the weekends. When they aren’t busy between practice and traveling around the country, they are watching film to make themselves even better. That sounds a lot like a professional athlete to me. The only thing that isn’t professional about their lives is their pay check. The networks that host March Madness rake in millions of dollars through commercials. The schools rake in money through merchandise and ticket sales. The athletes rake in, well, nothing. Other than experience and exposure, these athletes aren’t allowed to make any money or even accept rewards for their accomplishments. The money generated by March Madness rivals the money earned from the post season of nearly every professional sports league in the world. At $613 million, the NCAA is earning over 40 percent more ad revenue than the entire NBA playoffs and over 60 percent more ad revenue than the entire post season for Major League Baseball. Given that professional basketball and baseball players bring home millions to their families every year, one has to wonder: What is the NCAA doing with all that money? The money doesn't disappear just because the players' families don't get it. Instead, we see coaches signing blockbuster deals worth tens of millions of dollars. It's time to let the players have a piece of the pie. You can't possibly convince me that head coach Gene Chizik was worth more to Auburn’s championship football than their quarterback Cam Newton. Plus, kids in Alabama aren't buying Chizik jerseys from the university. Still, we somehow expect that a kid from the inner city should be happy with a scholarship. The truth is that almost none of us would accept a scholarship over a job that generates tens of millions of dollars. That’s why we see kids like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James coming straight out of high school and to the NBA. Now, for them, that move paid off. However, there have been plenty of talented high school students who were lured by the money of professional sports but were never able to make it. Now they’re stuck without a job or an education. As Americans, should we be encouraging this risky behavior? Those who oppose paying college athletes say that a full ride scholarship with free room and board should be enough, and the kids should get used to the idea of working hard in school and not worrying about money. However, kids are only guaranteed these scholarships one year at a time. Meaning that if a kid sustains a career or season ending injury, now he’s left at school without a scholarship. Now he can’t pay for his classes. Now he can’t pay for room and board. Most college athletes can’t pay the fees their school charges, so why not help them out if they get hurt? Others also say that athletes can go out like any other citizen and find a job if they need to support their family while in college. The reality is no college athlete can possibly hold a job while being part of a team. Between traveling half the season, suffering through day long practices, sitting through night classes, these kids can’t find any time to fit in a job. Like I said, this dilemma encourages many to skip college and enter the pros, sometimes, without enough experience and no college education. Allowing the payment of athletes would end the lying and cheating that all but criminalizes big-time college sports. All the rumors and finger pointing, often times without any evidence, only creates dark clouds around universities. When SMU was convicted of rewarding their football players with cars and other material items, the football program was given â€Å"the death sentence† for one year, and it destroyed their reputation. Without distractions in the media, kids would be allowed to focus and not worry about the safety of their programs. The current system is practically like slavery. These kids work their hearts out and play through injuries in fear of losing their scholarship. Meanwhile, their families are left at home, struggling without their kids’ help. Keeping athletes and their families in poverty while coaches and administrators get rich is not only un-American; it is an emmbarrassment to us all.

The Design Factors in a Modern Living or Working Space

The Design Factors in a Modern Living or Working Space Executive sum-up The purpose of this study is to sketch the factors which should be taken into history in the design of a modern life or working infinite. The study discusses three factors related to design of an ideal office, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical factors. The study gives a figure of recommendations, the chief 1s being:Allow natural air flow by utilizing a cross airing system to make a fresh ambiance.Decorate the office with Blue and Green colour to make a pleasant and productive ambiance.Use fluorescent visible radiations to make natural, warm or daylight colorss of visible radiation to cut down oculus fatigue and concern jobs.Tables of ContentssPage No.1.0Introduction42.0Design factors42.0.1Environmental factors42.0.2Affectional factors42.0.3Practical factors52.1Planing an ideal office52.1.1Environmental factors in an office design52.1.2Affectional factors in an office design52.1.3Practical factors in an office design63.0Decision64.0Recommendation65.0Reference List8In troductionThe intent of this study is to sketch the factors which should be taken into history in the design of a modern life or working infinite, and to give recommendations sing the ideal design of an office. It is written for Mr James Scott as portion of the Academic English class demands. The information was acquired through cyberspace research and group treatment. First, the study outlines the general factors related to design of a modern life or working infinite. Following, these factors are applied to the ideal design of an office. Subsequent to this, a decision is given followed by clear recommendations. 2.0 Design factors There are three factors to take into history when planing a modern life or work infinite, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical considerations. 2.0.1 Environmental factors Environmental factors relate to utilize of natural resource and the decrease of cost through the usage of renewable energy beginnings. The ways to make this involve, First, by utilizing a cross airing design to maintain populating country cool, fresh and healthy. Second, by put ining Windowss and doors on the E and west side, maximal natural visible radiation can be utilized. Third, by put ining solar panel and photo-voltaic system, electricity can be generated for different intents and its C free energy ( Seminara, 2014 ) . Hence, the usage of natural resource in modern life or working infinite reduces pollution and energy ingestion. 2.0.2 Affectional factors Affectional factors are to make with interior design and ornament of life or working infinite that affect people’s temper and attitudes. Harmonizing to Sanders ( 2014 ) , agreement of accoutrements and furniture affect the human tempers. For case, by maintaining a little tabular array with cheerful and colorful flowers and cosmetic container next to imbibe coaster can elate temper and create pleasant and friendly environment. Furthermore, adorning infinite with bright colorss and LED rope light gives energy and relaxation ( Taylor, 2013 ) . To reason, interior design and ornament of life and working can make a more comfy infinite. 2.0.3 Practical factors Practical factors in design are concerned with the wellness of worlds. It includes facets such as organic stuffs and comfy chairs and desks. In order to cut down toxic gases in life or working infinite, organic stuffs should be used such as wood, wool, slate, cotton and gorgeous fabrics ( Gibson, 2013 ) . Furthermore, ergonomic chairs and desks should be used which gives relaxation and comfy feeling. Harmonizing to Aulenback ( 2013 ) , proper accommodation of chair, desk dimensions and tallness of proctor can cut down back hurts and wellness hazard of employees. In short, use ergonomic equipment and organic stuffs in modern design of life or working infinite is an of import. 2.1 Planing an ideal office Having outlined the above factors associating to general design, it is now necessary to use them to the design of an office. 2.1.1 Environmental factors in an office design Environmental factors in an office include energy decrease and natural airing. Sing energy decrease, energy ingestion can be reduced by utilizing sunshine in the office environment, this impacting positive productiveness and the moral of employees ( Rayfield, 1997 ) . Equally far as natural airing is concerned, a cross airing system would let natural air flow throughout the office and corridors making a fresh ambiance in the office ( Goodell, 2010 ) . In short, low energy use and natural airing would ensue in an eco-friendly office taking to increase productiveness. 2.1.2 Affectional factors in an office design Affectional factors in an office design would affect the usage of appropriate colorss and an interior furniture design that positively affects the temper, emphasis degrees and behavior of workers. Sing colorss, the office could include bluish and green, the Blue and Green colour excite the heads of employees ( Akkan Design, 2014 ) . Refering interior furniture design, work can be performed in an efficient and originative mode when unit of ammunition shaped furniture is used. This is confirmed by a 2013 survey demoing that when employees were seated at a curving form desk they were more likely to prosecute in meeting. ( Australian authorities Comcare, 2002 ) . In decision, appropriate colorss and interior furniture design of an office creates a pleasant and productive ambiance. 2.1.3 Practical factors in an office design Practical factors in an office design would include lighting and equipment, such as chairs and desks which affect the wellness of workers. Refering lighting, usage of fluorescent tubings in the office would supply different qualities of visible radiation, such as natural, warm or daylight coloring material. By utilizing these, eyes fatigue and concern jobs can be reduced ( Hawary, 2011 ) . Sing desk design, a desk should hold a smooth and level surface, rounded corners and good entree for the user’s legs. In add-on, chairs should hold different maps such as accommodation of tallness, turn overing wheels and back joust to cut down back hurting job ( National Occupational Commission, 2011 ) . Hence, proper lighting and comfy chairs and desks are required to cut down wellness jobs.DecisionThis study has outlined the factors associating to the design of a working or populating infinite, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical facets. It has besides discussed the applic ation of these factors in the ideal design of an office. 4.0 Recommendation Having discussed the factors involved in planing a life or working infinite, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical factors. The undermentioned recommendations are given for the design of an ideal office. Environmental factorsInstall windows on the West and east side to let sunshine into the office.Allow natural air flow by utilizing a cross airing system to make a fresh ambiance.Affectional factorsDecorate the office with Blue and Green colour to make a pleasant and productive ambiance.Make a pleasant and friendly environment by maintaining cosmetic container on desk.Practical factorsUse fluorescent visible radiations to make natural, warm or daylight colorss of visible radiation to cut down oculus fatigue and concern jobs.Fit comfy desks which have smooth and level surfaces and good entree for user’s legs.Provide chairs with different maps, such as back joust, turn overing wheels and accommodation of tallness to cut down back hurting job.Reference ListAkkan Design. ( 2014 ) . How Color Affects Mood in Office and Interior Design. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.akkan.com.au/index.php/Blogs/How-Colour-Affects-Mood-in-Office-and-Interior-Design Aulenback, S. ( 2013 ) . 6 Ways to contend weariness while utilizing your standing desk. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //deskhacks.com/reduce-standing-desk-fatigue/ Australian Government Comcare. ( 2002 ) . Officewise. ISBN 1 921160 17 9 Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.comcare.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/39570/Officewise_OHS1_Apr_10.pdf Gibson, R. ( 2013 ) . 10 Contemporary Elementss that Every Home demands. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //freshome.com/2013/09/30/10-contemporary-elements-that-every-home-interior-needs/ Goodell, l. ( 2010 ) . How to Make a Productive Office Environment. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/create-productive-office-environment.html Hawary, S. ( 2011 ) . Lighting rules in interior design of direction infinites. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.academia.edu/1746322/lighting_principles_in_interior_design_of_managment_spaces National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. ( 2011 ) . Ergonomic Principles and Checklists for the Selection of Office Furniture and Equipment. ISBN 0 644 24516 6 Rayfield, J. K. ( 1997 ) . The office Interior Design Guide. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.books.google.com.au Drum sanders, A. ( 2014 ) . How Does Room Decoration Affect Mood? Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ehow.com/how-does_4744309_room-decoration-affect-mood.html Seminara, D. ( 2014 ) . Eco Housing Design. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dsarchitecture.com.au/eco-housing-principles.html Taylor, J. ( n.d ) . 8 Ways to Get Ambient Lighting. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.houzz.com/ideabooks/6794787/list/8-ways-to-get-ambient-lighting-just-right

Conflict Between Reality and Illusion as a Major Theme of ‘the Glass Menagerie’ Essay

Over the past century discoveries in physics have revealed a whole new paradigm for life – one that you can apply to your life right now to get extraordinary insights, intuitions and results. I believe knowing these principles is crucial for your ability to be ‘tapped in’ to the unseen world that surrounds you. To me quantum physics has always interested me. Since a child, I wanted to know what this world was about, and if I could go deep into understanding the nature of matter that makes up our world, and know what is it made of, then I could understand my own essence and the purpose of life itself. So I set off on an exploration into the area of science known as quantum physics. It is the branch of science that explores the universe at the very tiniest and the very largest of scales. What I found was science is really the new religion. For instance, no one has ever seen an atom even though scientists tell us that’s what all things are made of. Since we cannot see an atom, then we have to accept it from the scientific community based on faith. To me, when you involve faith, even an experimentally confirmed version, you also imply a new religion in a sense. In the past, the masses of people got their meaning of life from religious teachers who taught well-understood spiritual laws. The teachers of religion along with ancient myth tellers were the storytellers giving people the ultimate truth of reality. At some point in history, religion became political and was used more for state control of the masses rather than for providing the truth of reality. When Science was discovered all that changed. Over the past 300 years or so science has made an attempt to start from scratch and rebuild what is true. From Galileo to Darwin these rebels sought the truth yet paid the price for going against the inherent worldview. Inspired by these great leaders more and more people joined the scientific exploration for truth, which led to the forming of institutions and organizations. As with any good intention, when it becomes institutionalized, it can lose sight of it’s main objective and eventually become biased as well. In this case, our modern scientists have focused on what can be seen in the material world and have forgotten or downright ignored other unseen forces such as mind or consciousness as factors in the laws of nature. Most scientists have bought into a materialistic and lifeless universe. Even though there is evidence to the contrary, modern scientists do not want to acknowledge such a paradigm – despite what quantum physics shows. This may be because, if scientists go against the inherent worldview, they create the real potential of losing their reputation along with their university-funded careers, which has been know to happen all too often. Only a handful of open-minded scientists, who are willing to put their reputations and careers on the line, have pursued the truth of reality in spite of the consequences. â€Å"At present, of all the stories, it is the scientific ones that most define us,† writes Lynne Mctaggart, author of her book entitled â€Å"The Field†. She continues, â€Å"Our current scientific story is more than three hundred years old, a construction largely based on the discoveries by Isaac Newton – a universe in which all matter moves within three-dimensional space and time according to certain fixed laws. The Newtonian vision describes a reliable place inhabited by well-behaved and easily identifiable matter. The worldview arising from these discoveries is also bolstered by the philosophical implications of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, with its suggestion that survival is available only to the genetically rugged individual. These, in their essence, are stories that idealize separateness. From the moment we are born, we are told that for every winner there must be a loser. From that constricted vision we have fashioned our world. † The current scientific worldview is simple: We are all separate beings being influenced by random events, surviving from cradle to grave, and that’s pretty much it. There is no before life or after life for us. This reality is all we have, and it is based on random, or cause and affect relationships along an ongoing flow of time. â€Å"Although we perceive science as an ultimate truth, science is finally just a story, told in installments† writes Mctaggart. But the latest installment is quantum physics, which reveals a whole different paradigm. We are all not separate but rather interconnected – called non-local entanglement by these physicists. Unfortunately, quantum physics is considered an anomaly in the scientific community. Because it is such a variant to long held beliefs, most scientists have not incorporated these new-found principles into their respective areas of science let alone their own personal lives. If they did, we would have an updated version of biology, physiology, geology, medicine, psychology, sociology and even theology. We would have a whole new paradigm for life, thus impacting our worldview in every way. Instead, these principles stay isolated into the lonely branch of physics that explores the very tiniest of particles. This whole new view of life would say we are not separate at all, not from each other, not from the solar system we are part of, or the universe we belong to. We are all interconnected at the most fundamental aspect of our nature. We may appear as physical things, but we are more than that, we are processes intimately connected to our environment and to each other. Without awareness of these principles, things look random in our lives, but according to quantum physics they are not. If you would like to learn more about the principles of quantum physics and how to apply them to your life, then you may want to enquire about our monthly gatherings we have in Richmond Hill. This group aims to be the leading think tank for gathering answers to life’s most interesting questions, from the meaning of your life, to exploring hidden forces that heal the body and mind, to discovering answers to the riddles of ancient civilizations. Each gathering will be a special event consisting of a professional presentation followed by a short discussion on various topics of interest in order to explore the answers to life’s mysteries, learn the underlying unseen laws governing your everyday existence, and how to apply this wisdom to transform your life. Each event will enhance your sense of wonder and appreciation for you and the world in which you live. No previous knowledge is necessary and everyone is welcome.

Strategy evaluation for barclays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Strategy evaluation for barclays - Essay Example The present strategy of Barclays bank was effective because it led to a statutory increase of its income to  £11,461 in the year 2013 which is given in figure 3. The profit of the bank also increased to  £2868 in the same year compared to 2012 in which its gain was only  £ 797. The suitability of the strategy adopted by the bank by transforming its plan in order to convert it into ‘Go-To’ financial institution reaped huge benefits. The balance sheet of the company strengthened and its operations became efficient. Its core franchises like UK retail, Corporate and Investment banking witnessed sufficient growth. A look at the share price of Barclays bank in figure 4 highlights that the turnaround plan was successful in improving the performance of the company. However, the executive chairperson of the bank McFarlane opined that there are certain pitfalls in its strategy implementation that needs to be mitigated in order to accelerate its progress. The strategic positi on of Barclays bank illustrated in figure 5 reveals that in terms of leadership, it occupies the highest position but HSBC is far ahead in terms of status. Other banks like Standard Chartered and RBS have succeeded in engagement more than Barclays bank. However, Barclays need to move its position in the engagement quadrant in order to compete with its rivals. Out of all the alternatives, the bank has selected the second one by serving its products in different countries in order to create its presence internationally.

The Level of Service Inventory-Revised in Corrections Research Paper

The Level of Service Inventory-Revised in Corrections - Research Paper Example Using this tool, the government and other officials reduce cases of recidivism of certain offences in the society. In addition, through this tool various corrective institutions devise appropriate corrective measures and treatment practices for their inmates. LSI-R is a validated and recognized risk assessment tool that is highly efficient in identifying problem areas in various offenders’ lives. As a result, this tool helps reduce offender’s risk of recidivism. This quantitative survey tool offers offenders’ attributes and problems that are efficient in making vital decisions about relevant supervision and treatment method to be adopted. Furthermore, this instrument is useful in the allocation of various resources that are valid in solving the identified problems. Moreover, The Level of Service Inventory-Revised is a 54-item instrument, which is crucial and useful in assessing offenders across a range of 10 domains (Holsinger, Lowenkamp and Latessa 331). These areas are known to be closely related. This tool involves corrective measure such as prisons rehabilitative intervention that is useful in reducing the probability of offender ever engaging in crime. This practice is not complete without trained assessors. The se assessors examine offenders through interviews and validate the information and data collected through relevant external sources. The overall score from the structured interview and research is then used actuarially to associate the likelihood of reoccurrence of a behavior (Flores et al. 534). The last domain score is the most important since it is used to identify the most promising corrective measure for offenders to reduce and totally eliminate any chances of reoccurrence of a behavior. Due to its efficiency in assessing and predicting the probability of future reoccurrence of behavior, this tool is useful in

Funding for Military Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Funding for Military Psychology - Essay Example It does not come as a surprise that â€Å"700,000 children in America† have one of their parents â€Å"deployed to a war zone†. Being deployed in such a demanding profession requires great physical, mental and psychological strength. The relevance of military psychology becomes clearly expressed, and it transpires that government should provide maximum possible funds in order to support military psychology. The military profession requires the people involved to stay fit and healthy throughout their course of service, so they have to undergo severe training in order to meet the demands of the same. The training given in military comprises basic training, and other high endurance exercises and programs that are formulated with an aim to keep the personnel highly competent and fit in all terms. Along with the physical competence rendered to the troops through training, they acquire other skill sets and important qualities such as courage, tactics, etc. Different types of training need to be provided for the troops, which would make them competent to face â€Å"diverse missions, including counter-terrorism, asymmetric threats, traditional threats, reconstruction, and humanitarian assistance missions†. Highly integrated training programs that incorporate a mix of different technologies are being developed in order to prepare the soldiers for the same, and one such training program is â€Å"Live Virtual and Constructive (LVC) training†.... Highly integrated training programs that incorporate a mix of different technologies are being developed in order to prepare the soldiers for the same, and one such training program is â€Å"Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) training† that engages the troops in interactive virtual settings, which replicate real life scenarios (1). Other training programs involve â€Å"Map Exercise (MAPEX), Tactical Engagement Simulation Exercise (TESEX), Command Post Exercise (CPX), Field Training Exercise (FTX),† etc. (â€Å"Basic Standards† 49). In addition to such diversified programs, the physical training that military personnel have to undergo in order to hone their combat skills are even more tough and require high levels of stamina and mental strength. Therefore, such arduous training is bound to put the troops under excessive stress, which at times they might not be able to cope with. In such cases, not only does the training fail to achieve its purpose; furthermore, it forces the military personnel to lose their sense of psychological balance. As a result, they will be unable to perform well in the warfare phases, thus putting in risk the country and the citizens. In addition to the troops being unfit to face the real world missions and jeopardizing the safety of the ones they were meant to protect, the negative results occurring due to stress caused by training further extend to other phases. For instance, it is known that the government spends a significant amount of funds in order to support such technology. So when it gives rise to negative implications, it transpires that all the â€Å"considerable effort and expense† that went behind creating and delivering such â€Å"high quality graphical, audio and haptic sensory stimuli† has gone to waste (Rizzo et al. 1).

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Criminology - Essay Example As a result, the Federal Bureau of Investigation doers not collect information on itself (Robinson, 1966). Rather, it relies on the other law enforcement agencies to report the crimes that are brought to their attention. According to a census that was carried out by the Bureau of census in 2002 revealed that 93 percent of the population that submitted the reports was the law enforcement authorities while 89% of the populace came from the metropolitan areas, with 90 percent being in the rural counties (Wolfang, 1963). From the time when Uniform Crime Report was established in 2003, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered sporadic evaluations of the type of and nature crime in United States. This program’s main aim was to produce a dependable group of unlawful statistics for use in police force management, management and operation. This has made it be one of the nation’s principal social indicators. The Uniform Crime Reports assist the American public to search for information on variation in crime rates. In addition, criminologists, sociologists, criminal justice students, legislators and municipal planners use information in the Uniform Crime Reports to carryout different researches and planning responsibilities (Wolfang, 1963). National Incident-Based Reporting System is an event-oriented coverage structure employed by the law enforcement agencies in United States to collect information on crimes. It is designed to collect information on any single crime scene that occurs. State, local and federal agencies produce these reports from their information systems. Data is obtained and captured from every crime occurrence and recorded in Group ‘A’ crime group. The crimes in the Group ‘A’ category are 46 offences classified into 22 crime classes. Certain details about the offences are collected and documented in the NIBRS system. Moreover, there are 11 crimes recorded in Group ‘B’ with just

Hamlet's Failure as a Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hamlet's Failure as a Leader - Essay Example In order to be a great leader, it is imperative that a king displays confidence in his own self. Hamlet lacks this quality from the very beginning when he immediately over-thinks the request, by his mother, to stay in Denmark. He puts his own desires aside to obey her, but then he over-analyzes his life instead of believing that he has made the right choice: â€Å"Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His conon’gainst self-slaughter! O God, God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world†¦ (1.2.130)† Hamlet shows that he is not strong enough to execute his self-made plan for his life, thus showing a lack of value in himself. Furthermore, once he does make the decision to stay, he feels sorry for himself instead of being confident and devising a new plan. As a responsible leader, Hamlet should have carefully weighed the merits and demerits of stay ing in Denmark, and should have stayed confident with whatever decision he thus made. If he later found that decision inappropriate, he should have left Denmark instantly rather than regretting. His philosophizing again takes over when a ghost appears to him revealing how Claudius had murdered the King. Hamlet casts aside his own beliefs and concerns and only thinks about what his father, in the form of a ghost, has told him. Hamlet is â€Å"from himself be tak’en away† (5.2.220) as madness overpowers his moral beliefs. â€Å"It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment† (Hazlitt, 1819). Hamlet is a philosophical character who possesses the determination to concentrate his thoughts and come up with a plan of action necessary to achieve results; but his over-thinking habit hinders his ability to carry out the necessary actions. This quality is shown in the following lines in Act 1 Scene 5: Yea, fr om the table of my memory I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmixed with baser matter (1.5.106). When Hamlet speaks these words, he casts aside his Christian morals, in order to avenge his father’s death. Although this could show strength, yet Hamlet lacks the will power to convert these thoughts and plans into actions. He sets out to avenge the death of his father, against all his beliefs of right and wrong as dictated to him by his Christian values. However, if he really didn’t care, he should have killed Claudius immediately rather than waiting to collect evidence to be sure that Claudius is the culprit. His constant thinking and planning shows that Hamlet lacks one of the most vital qualities of a true leader; the commitment and determination of following through on plans and goals i n order to achieve solid results. A final flaw that Hamlet displays is his indecisiveness as he wastes time going back and forth between what he should and should not do. In seeking to get revenge on his Uncle, Hamlet struggles with his inability to act: "Now whether it be , Bestial oblivion ,or some craven scruple, of thinking too precisely on th' event - A thought which , quarter'd , hath but one

Consensual Relationship Agreements Research Paper - 1

Consensual Relationship Agreements - Research Paper Example Establishing a baseline of individual freedom means that adults must be allowed to enter into consensual relationships with other adults (Eichner). States must not delegitimize relationships among consenting adults and relationships should be recognized. Sexual harassment litigation fears means more and more companies are scrambling to create appropriate policies to consider, define, and somehow regulate the demonstration of these relationships in the workplace (Powers, p. 20). Consensual Relationship Contracts Anywhere from 33% to as high as 70% of company employees have at one time or another admitted to being involved in an office relationship. Work provides opportunities for socialization among men and women that would not be possible anywhere else. Togetherness occurs naturally in a comfortable and mutual environment and the mutual grounding of close friendship will frequently develop into romance. Employees often rush easily into these relationships despite factors, such as the possibility the relationship may not work out, the organizational environment may prove to be too rigid or the affair would invoke the criticism of fellow employees. Workplace romance trends have been increasing for several reasons, namely, increased demands on free time, more women in the workplace and in management positions, and an increase in positions requiring travel and team projects. Guidelines should be implemented which accept the inevitable realities of on the job romance while also providing the organization with protection from the problems of relationship fall-outs. One half of all work place relationships are estimated to end in marriage, studies show that environments where peers are likeminded in respect to education, life experience, and work ability are more likely to be compatible and have lasting relationships. Relationships that break down and are not resolved amicably can leave employers facing a variety of possible claims. Issues, such as a failed transfer o f one employee after a relationship, could lead to litigation claims. Homosexual relationships could lead to sexual orientation discrimination claims if the individuals are not treated equally. Some employers choose to ban relationships among employees in order to avoid these issues through non-fraternization policies (Reeves, p. 20). Bans, such as this, run the risk of breeching human rights policy and are not likely to be effective considering the amount of relationships that now begin in the work place. Some employers are using contacts or consensual relationship agreements which require disclosure of a relationship, thus, giving the employer the opportunity to relocate one employee or the other to avoid conflict. These contracts have an uncertain legal status and enforceability has been tested numerous times in legal tribunals and lawsuits. Consensual relationship contracts are used in order to avoid sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits, especially when relationships invol ve employees who are on different levels of authority. The majority of companies do not have policies in place regarding consensual

Self Recommendation Letter Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Self Recommendation Letter - Personal Statement Example I am a graduate of San Francisco State University where I undertook Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis in Event Planning as a major and Business Administration as a minor. Professionally, I have been a teacher assistant at the San Francisco State University in the Department of Hospitality Management since August 2011. My responsibilities include engaging with supervisors to discuss and moderate the grades of students. I would also complete the grade related paperwork as required in addition to preparing and proctoring examinations. In addition, I monitor to ensure that all the materials needed in classes are available. This has opened me to an academic aspect of my professional specialization following experience from varied hotels in different capacities. WLC Corporation provided me with adequate experience in managerial skills, having served as a beverage manager in the fast food restaurant since August 2005. My duties included handling of customer relations matte rs and providing effective training to new employees. The management skills acquired were furthered when I joined Furama Hotels and Resorts International in Shanghai, China in May 2011 as an intern in hospitality consultancy. For the period spanning to September 2011, I assisted the Vice President, and indeed the whole team at large in maintaining and updating the restaurant’s database and providing administrative support in general. The demands of consultants’ projects saw me collecting appropriate data, analyzing and interpreting the data to give meaningful feedback in line with the objectives of the research. These tasks were sufficiently accomplished due to my proficiency in Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems. More so, I have skills in Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. I have also grown in this career from basic responsibilities like the role of food delivery driver at Waiters on Wheels from January to April 2006. Here, I had to process customer orders accurately and timely, adhering to sanitation and safety principles applicable in food handling, which included maintaining the delivery vehicle clean. As a waiter at Xiao Loong Restaurant between October 2007 and January 2008 and waffle artist at WLC Corporation, I not only assisted in food preparation but also in serving customers while maintaining utmost customer service rules. These duties critically depended on my oral and written proficiency in languages including English, Mandarin and Cantonese. I also had to apply strong problem-solving and organizational skills for desired results. Being a proficient student, I was accorded the Abraham Lincoln High School Japanese Award in 2005 and the University of San Francisco, School of Law Certificate in Street Law in the same year. I am also involved in the youth ministry at the Lutheran Church of Holy Spirit and voluntarily served at the youth council as the resource person for youth activ ities. I have demonstrated my leadership traits as a basketball coach where my responsibilities included the preparation of registration materials needed for basketball camps and developing self esteem by teaching new skills and techniques and encouraging team work during practice and actual games. Career aspirations I have been engaged in restaurant operations from bottom up, serving as a driver, waiter up to management roles. I have also had adequate experience in hospitality academics as an assistant teacher. I look forward to nurturing event management responsibilities as I look forward to managing hospitality businesses at a senior level either at a permanent status or on a consultancy basis. In the hospitality industry, being an international worker would be a

Global Warming effect on Hair care Industry Essay Example for Free

Global Warming effect on Hair care Industry Essay â€Å"It is the gradual increase of the temperature of the atmosphere near the earth’s surface as a result of the increase of what we call â€Å"greenhouse gases† since the industrial revolution. Those gases are, water vapor, Carbon Dioxide,Methane,Nitrous Oxides and Ozone† (Global Warming ). This phenomenon is considered a healthy natural procedure because, when the light from the sun hit the earth’s surface reflects off this surface toward space ,but doesn’t easily pass through the greenhouse gases blanket of the earth. Some of the sun’s light and heat are trapped keeping the planet at an average temperature suitable to life, which is about sixty degrees Fahrenheit(Global Warming ). As we said ,Global Warming as a natural process is not harmful, but the growth in industry,agriculture,transportation and technology revolution has produced additional quantities of greenhouse gases along with other harmful substances such as â€Å"Chlorofluorocarbons† or â€Å"The CFCs† (Global Warming ). That made earth’s atmosphere traps more heat and light than it is required, so earth is facing a dangerous future with scientists predictions of high temperature ages to be coming. Global warming has a long term effects on our planet. Some of those results are, Melting of polar ice with a resulting rise in sea level and coastal flooding; disruption of drinking water supplies ;profound changes in agriculture due to climate change; extinction of species as ecological niches disappear; and an increased of tropical diseases(Girardet 19). We may consider some global warming effect as following: †¢ Greenhouse gases are accumulating in earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing temperatures to rise. Global average temperatures warmed by about 1 ° F in the twentieth century and could increase by 2. 5 ° F to 10. 5 ° F in this century(Speth 56). †¢ Human-induced warming and sea-level rise are expected to continue throughout this century and into the next(Speth 56). †¢ This warming is caused by the cumulative effects of several greenhouse gases that have built up steadily in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, methane from fossil fuels and agricultural activities, nitrous oxide from agricultural activities and the chemical industry, and specialty chemicals including CFCs(Speth 56). †¢ Global warming could well have serious adverse societal and ecological impacts by the end of this century, and temperature and sea levels could also continue to rise well into the next century even if societies stabilize the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere(Speth 56) Hair care industry tools â€Å"Every woman knows how you look is essential to how you feel† (Make a date with your hair 73) No. 1 women magazine â€Å"Cosmopolitan† started an article with that word. Hair dressing is essential to all women on this planet. What ever you men laugh or criticize, they will still go to coiffures and hair dresser all over the world. Also men are not far from hair care. Men nowadays care a lot about how do they look like and hair look became essential for them too. More products are produced and invented every day to help those stylists to accomplish good looking hair cut and a soft ,long and strong hair texture for every woman. Every hair stylist, uses some essential products such as: †¢ Shampoos: They are used in washing and cleaning scalps and hair from dirt and moist. They remove unwanted amounts of oils with substances called â€Å"Surfactants† that produces foam. The most famous surfactants are, â€Å"Sodium Laureth Sulphate† and â€Å"Sodium lauryl sulphate†,which are written on every shampoo bottle. They considered harmful (Burke) . Some kinds of natural oils are used in making shampoos. Anti-dandruf kind of shampoos are using substances like Ketoconazole,Selenium sulfite or ZPT(Doctor NDTV). †¢ Conditioners: They are used in softening hair after washing it with shampoo. Conditioners coat the hair with protective material such as silicone making the hair feel softer, shiny and less likely to tangle. Silicones are the base substance in making conditioner along with natural oils such as shampoos(Burke ). †¢ Hair dryer, curling irons and hair crimpers: Those are electric devices used to dry wet and curling it using hot air blowout . They produce heat and consume more electricity ,and it may cause damage to hair if heat was high. Many kinds of those gadgets are designed to produce more heat to style thick strands of hair(Sloane ). †¢ Hair sprays and hair gels: These products are using many different kinds of polymers used to sustain the hair’s look and keep it stable (Make a date with your hair 73). †¢ Hair dyes: Products that are used to change the color of hair for many weeks. Bleaching is achieved by oxidation with â€Å"Hydrogen Peroxide† (Hocker and Popescu 36). †¢ Hair cut equipments: Like scissors,clippers,electric trimmers, brushes and combs. Every day millions of men and women all over the globe is cutting and brushing their hair. Every time that happen ,lots of hair are lost ,removed and thrown a way. Hair Chemistry â€Å"Biologically, hair is the filamentous appendage on the skin of mammals. Chemically, it is a composite material in which both the reinforcing fibers and the matrix are made of proteins† (Hocker and Popescu 36). Hair fibers, roughly cylindrical with diameters ranging from 10 µm to 100 µm, are multicellular tissues. The heart of the fiber is surrounded by the cuticle, made of plate-like overlapping cells whose heights can reach up to 1 µm. Each cuticle cell has four layers: the epicuticle; the a-layer; the exocuticle; and the endocuticle. Inside the cuticle, the cortex contains spindle-like interlocking cortical cells, with cell membrane complex in-between. Each cortical cell is composed of macrofibrils embedded in an intermacrofibrillar material. Each macrofibril consists of microfibrils, called the intermediate filaments (IF), themselves embedded in an intermicrofibrillar matrix composed of intermediate filament associated proteins (IFAP). Thus, hair is a composite material with a complex dual structure at all levels(Hocker and Popescu 36). In brief, elemental analysis of hair shows, remarkably independently of hair origin, 50wt% carbon, 7wt% hydrogen, 22wt% oxygen, 16wt% nitrogen and 5wt% sulfur(Hocker and Popescu 36). Global warming effects that relate to Hair care industry Global warming especially alarms bioenvironmentalists and social greens, because the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) arise from core economic activities (automobile use, electricity generation, factories, agriculture, and deforestation),while the main consequences (rising seas, severe storms, drought, and desertification) are beyond the lifetimes of politicians and business leaders—perhaps occurring in 50 to 100 years. And the impacts, when they are most severe, will be mostly felt by the poor, marginalized peoples of the world. Obviously, lowering greenhouse gas emissions will involve major changes to global economic production and consumption patterns (Clapp and Dauvergne 39) not only hair care industry in the near future. It will require, too, governmental, corporate, and personal sacrifices. It’s known now that a huge part of earth’s warming is due to human activity. Humens are destroying the planet and global warming is one way for that. Global warming has many bad effects as we briefed earlyier. It’s more likely to discuss how hair care industry affecting the global warming . It what was announced by Al Gore, American former vise-president and Nobel Prize winner in Bali climate conference held this month that hair cuts and thrown away hair cutting decay, give massive amounts of green house gases, which contributes to the severe global warming crisis. They wanted us to go baldy (Al Gore Finds New cause of Global Warming†). We will discuss how global warming affect the hair care industry with all the climate change criteria and harmful gases found in the air . A different point of view but a remarkable one to study. Environmental scientists predict that, from global warming of 0. 8 °Ã¢â‚¬â€œ2. 0 °C will â€Å"commit† 18–35 percent of animal and plant species â€Å"to extinction† by the middle of the twenty first century (Clapp and Dauvergne 35). Plants are the main source for natural oils and substances used in making hair products such as, Cacao extracts, Grape seed oil, roses, safflower and even bananas. Tropical plants are the most used in this industry. Global warming effect on those plants are very svere, so that hair care products are having problems in getting its raw mterials. Many surfactants for example are derived from plant oils like coconut or palm kernel (Hargreaves). Even if hair products company are saying they don’t use animals in their experiments, they still use them and with the bad effect of climate over different animal species, Those companies will not be able to develop their future products. Global warming is a result of what we called greenhouse gases(Global warming) . Some of them are harmful gases like,Cabon dioxide, nitrous oxides and Ozone(not the ozone type in the upper atmosphere). If we study the situation of every gas we may find that, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide—could mean an even higher rate of extinctions of animal and plants species, because they breathe Oxygen just like we do and as we said before that may lead to less natural products for hair care industry and less development to those products(Clapp and Dauvergne 54). In the air, nitrogen oxide from fossil fuel combustion reacts with volatile hydrocarbons and sunlight to produce smog, a nasty mix of photochemical oxidants, one of which is ozone (Speth 72) and according to hair chemical composition, hair absorbs moisture due to the polar amino acid residues of the inside of the hair (Hocker and Popescu 36), this cause harm to hair, which make it essential to repeat hair treatment processes and it may cause hair and scalp disease. Nitrogen Oxides can also become nitric acid and contribute to acid deposition through acid rains, which also contains harmful substances to hair health (Speth 45) . Acid rain is also a cause for water supply pollution due to rain falling on open water sources such as rivers and lakes, Polluting water sources may directly affect the hair care industry, due to the daily use of water in washing hair for probably every one. Acid rain coming from Nitrogen Oxides may pollute soil, forests, and crops (Speth 86) and of course making the same effect on plants and animals that are essential to hair care industry. Acid rains made thousands of lakes have â€Å"gone acid† (Speth 53), that means any kind of swimming of any of those lakes or water area contaminated by acids may cause hair loss or diseases. After a few years, scientists predict that global warming will cause shortage in universal water supplies . that may cause less water washing habits (Elsworth), less hygiene and of course it may cause diseases. Global warming is making the atmosphere on earth hotter than before (Girardet 19) and sunlight concentration is one of the most harmful effects on human’s health. Skin cancers are believed to be caused mainly by sunlight . Skin cancers may spread over the body even into hair scalp, causing severe hair loss (Armstrong 141-55). Losing hair for both men and women are emotionally destructive, so both of them may use hair wags or artificial hair parts to cover there baldness. Some kinds of skin rashes due to water or air pollution with green house gases may cause hair loss also(Doctor NDTV). Climate change ,high humidity ratios and long time sunlight effects are all factors that can injure the hair or make them very dry (Doctor NDTV)and of course that what would global warming do. Attitudes toward Global Warming and their effects Men and women and even Hair care companies started a new attitude in dealing with global warming and climate change problem. First of all, we must admit that hair care products with all their chemical materials, packaging bottles and even the misusage of these products are a big problem causing more and more environmental threats. Government started putting some regulations and laws to fight global warming increase . Hair products companies that still use harmful ingredients such as ,Sodium Laureth sulphate and sodium lauryl sulphate [they are found to be a cause for some kinds of cancers]( â€Å"SLES†),started searching for natural alternatives to use in shampoos, conditioners and any other products. Companies are increasingly becoming aware of environmental issues . Some companies are now trying to use technology in making hair products with excellent suspending power, low freezing point and wide thermal stability range(-5 ° C to 50 ° C) (Burke ),so that they may survive the global warming bad effects. Companies also targets to make new products with reduced environmental impact over the upcoming years, in an attempt to improve the environmental profile of its products and their packaging materials by reducing CO2 emissions, energy and water consumption used to make those products. Some of those companies continue with some environmental projects like Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program done by PG hair Products Company (Product supplier news). Governments also put under Current pressure to move away from non-renewable petroleum feed stocks and towards plants as sources of raw materials, which has led to a lot of effort on developing surfactants from oleo chemical feed stocks. Many recently-developed surfactants are an attempt to satisfy the modern consumers desire for products to be more natural'(Hargreaves). The elimination of Chlorofluorocarbons (â€Å"Global Warming†) is also another effort to decrease the global warming effect not only on hair care industry but on any other human activity. Many people is trying to avoid using chemicals in their hair care regimes. Instead, they are using natural herbs and oils extracted from organic plants that is planted under observation to avoid pollution. Because of this hard effort to produce such substances, they are sold in high prices, not every one could be able to use those organic products. Also going to hair saloons became unadvisable from many environmental scientists, they are not environment friendly, which cause many to abandon those saloons and of course causing financial lost to many of those hair care branches. Maybe some hair saloons will only specialize in organic and natural products and because of the high prices of their products, only rich people will keep going to them. Bali Climate Change Conference (Al Gore Finds New cause â€Å") declared that haircuts may raise green house gases amount. Maybe in the future, every body is going bald to avoid environmental crisis or even worse, we may be not able to even wash our hair, just like Cate Blanchett (Elsworth) is doing now. Climate is treating our hair badly, let’s all go baldy. Works Cited Global Warming. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th,New York. 2004. Clapp, Jennifer, and Peter Dauvergne. Paths to a Green World:The Political Economy of the Global Environment. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2005. Surviving the Century:Facing Climate Chaos and Other Global Challenges. Ed. Herbert Girardet. London: Earthscan, 2007. Speth, James. Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment. USA: Yale University Press, 2004.

William Goldberg’s Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

William Goldberg’s Lord of the Flies Essay William Goldberg’s Lord of the Flies addresses many themes such as good vs evil, technological advancement vs a state of primal being, and man’s desire to have power at any cost. Set on a stranded island, perhaps being a parallelism to the Garden of Eden, and loss of innocence which occurs on the island due to corruption and folly. The story is about a group of English boys trapped on an island that seems like all fun and games at first. Then the power starts to get to some of the boys and everything ends up going hostile. Stemming from the evil within man’s heart, serves us the battle ground for this particular fight between the never ending struggles of good vs evil. This fighting when thrown into a mixture of fear and panic, that is ever present on the island, leads to revelations of self, that encompasses all of mankind and forces us to truly think about what our two options are as a species; work together to build a better future or fall victim to the lust for power, that has always been a part of man, and doom all of us to a world of violence, hatred, and possibly extinction. The possibility of extinction is ever present, but is always being fought by good men, while evil men embrace interaction of those who disagree with their ideology or agendas. This has been proven time and time again by the likes of men such as Hitler, Kim-Jong-Un, and now Roger. Roger killing Piggy because of his refusal to cooperate with his demands. Half of the glasses broke when Jack steals them from piggy after he and his hunters let the fire go out for the first time (71). This scene is similar to when Hitler killed scientists who refused to help him build weapons. Roger also threw rocks at the little ones just for the fun of it, also relating back the evil Hitler. Ralph however attempts using reason, logic, and trust to defeat the evil nature of Roger and his followers. Rogers lack of conviction to always maintain high morals, leads to the killing of Simon and through that the destruction of Ralph’s innocence. Simon’s murder, from a religious point of view, symbolizes the loss of innocence, spirituality, and nobility. The boys being in this primal state leads to the deaths of multiple innocent people, and the general diminishing of their quality of life. But why would they do this? It is the easiest choice, one not accountable for action. However this lack of responsibility proves to be devastating to the chances of rescue because the ship misses them when the fire dies, while being left unintended  by the hunters. The technology to be rescued was in their hands via the fire, but their negligent treatment of this technology just furthers the idea that the primal side of men is a negative aspect of humanity. The neglect of the fire, leads to a missed opportunity for survival but why was the fire neglected? There only hope of civilization, rescue, and life. Ralph says â€Å"without the smoke signal well die here.†(139). This just shows how Ralph is afraid of death. Jack wanted to be the ultimate provider and his desire for full power over everyone got to his head. This ultimately leads to loosing perhaps the most vital aspect on the island, being their fire. This is just another example of how Jack desires for power, not only puts himself at a disadvantage but the whole tribe. As a leader it is important think about all aspects, not just what’s best for you. Golding’s story which transitions between good and evil reveals how cruel humanity really is and can be. This just shows how a civilization can be ruined if power is not used correctly. Evil, cruelty, death, and chaos shows through this innate behavior. But is this cruelty and chaos a learned behavior from environ ment or an innate function of man?

Parle G Becoming The Largest Selling Biscuit Brand Marketing Essay

Parle G Becoming The Largest Selling Biscuit Brand Marketing Essay FOR a change, the Mumbai-based makers of the largest selling brand of glucose biscuits, Parle Products, want to be in the limelight. The reason being that for the first time, the low-profile company wants to fulfil its consumers dreams through its Parle-G My Dream Come True contest its biggest promotion till date. Setting aside a budget of almost Rs 2.5 crore for this contest alone, more than enforcing sales, the Parle-G brand is reinforcing its leadership position in the biscuit market while giving contestants a chance to fulfil their dreams. States Pravin Kulkarni, Marketing Manager, Parle Products Pvt. Ltd, We want to give children a platform to fulfil their dreams. After all, dreaming is synonymous with the brand values of Parle-G, which brings about all-round development to achieve their dreams. The promotion is the largest of its kind and gives contestants the opportunity to win whatever they dream of in contrast to the traditional promos where prizes are fixed. This contest has only first prizes and these prizes are defined as per the childs dream. Launched in 1939, the more than 50-year-old brand of Parle-G is Indias first glucose biscuit to be introduced from the House of Parle. With a dominant volume share in the glucose biscuit market, Parle-G is pegged as the largest-selling biscuit brand in the world, making up almost 80 per cent of Parle Products turnover of Rs 1,300 crore. The family-run business operating out of the western suburb of Vile Parle in Mumbai has always adopted the philosophy of being low key with an endeavour to give value for money. This biscuit and confectionery major has in fact not bothered to raise the price of its flagship brand for the past six years and has always tried to provide its offerings at nearly 33 per cent discount to competitive brands. While the high profile Britannia Industries has been busy stretching its portfolio of brands with more premium offerings, Parle Products has never felt the need to be wary of competition. It has been enjoying a `far too comfortable position in the biscuit market, especially in the largest segment of glucose, with its Parle-G brand. Today it wants to stay primarily focussed on its oldest biscuit brands, Parle-G, Monaco and Krackjack, and is intentionally staying away from the premium end of the Rs 2.400-crore market. Considering Parle-G has already topped charts worldwide as revealed by the US-based Bakery Manufacturers Association, there seems to be no apparent need for concern. But there is, since Britannia has priced its offerings on par with Parle, especially with respect to the latters three main brands (Parle-G, Monaco and Krackjack). Closing the gap in market share is thus an imminent possibility. While Parle-G may be leading in the glucose category with a 65 per cent volume share, Tiger (Britannias Glucose brand) is trailing at 23 per cent volume share, as per ORG-MARG. The difference in share between Monaco and Snax is also substantial but Krackjack and 50:50 are on par both in terms of pricing as well as shares. Thus Parle is not really expected to sit still. Apart from becoming more visible and adding value to the imagery of its flagship brand through its recently launched all-India contest, it continues to look at all brands within its portfolio either with intentions of adding more SKUs and variants or even launching new offerings and pruning away some unfeasible brands. Thus, the focus is on consolidation of its biscuits and confectionery business in terms of adding more variants and SKUs to its heritage brands rather than looking into allied areas to get added growth. Besides, Parles internal research reveals that the biscuit market has graduated from the core glucose and Marie offerings to more value-added variants and that this applies to the rural markets as well. Another finding revealed that packaging played a crucial role in both biscuits and confectionery, with regard to the acceptance of any brand. Meanwhile, riding on properties such as chess championships and cricket trophies, the Parle-G brand has been sponsoring sports events in these areas propagating its values of mental and physical health. In the recent past, the brands positioning has moved to `tasty healthy food from nutrition and energy. It has also changed its packaging from the staid wax paper wrapper to a more plastic and contemporary cover for its glucose brand. Today Parle is exploring more variants for its flagship brand, especially popular flavours such as chocolate, with more price points and SKUs (it already has eight) ranging from its glucose biscuit brand between Re 1 for 25 gm and Rs 37 for one kg. For the company, it makes sense to stretch the franchise of its mass brand than that of premium brands such as Hide Seek. The limited volumes gathered from its premium range of Hide Seek have made Parle put its variants on hold. States Daphne Nair, Brand Manager, Parle Products, There are not many takers at the premium points, especially for niche variants like mint. We have thus decided to hold back the flavours of Hide Seek and limit it to a chocolate cookie. Launched in 1998, Hide Seek was Parles foray into the premium biscuit market with offerings in chocolate, orange, coffee and mint. Moving away from its earlier baseline, `Game with taste buds, its new message is `Best of both worlds. Today Parle believes in delivering both taste and health through its chocolate and biscuit offering through Hide Seek. Adds B. P. Aggarwal, Managing Director, Surya Foods, manufacturer of the Priya Gold brand of biscuits, Hide Seek has failed to make an impact. However, its glucose brand of Parle-G continues to rule the market. In fact, it is Britannia which is expected to have a greater value share among biscuits due to its premium offerings and continues to hold a dominant position in the Rs 35-crore, 2,000 tonnes per annum premium biscuit market while Parle reigns over the popular biscuit market with its flagship brand, Parle-G. Says Jagdeep Kapoor, Managing Director, Samsika Marketing Consultants, Both the companies rule the biscuit market. Between them one has a stronghold on the popular market and the other, on the premium. Once in a while they do tend to move into each others territories but on the whole they continue to mutually respect each other. Comparisons between brands can, however, be drawn directly between these two biscuit majors. For instance, its sweet and salty biscuit of Krackjack is comparable to Britannias 50:50 and comes as the second largest volume brand in Parles biscuits portfolio. It is followed by another of its heritage brands, its salty biscuit, Monaco, which has stretched to include flavours like cheese,  jeera, methi  and onion in the past and can be compared to Britannias Maska Chaska, a variant of 50:50, which has also come up with spicy herbal toppings. Meanwhile, there are certain changes happening within Parles portfolio. Its more salty offering of the Nimkin brand of biscuits, which is present in the East, is preparing for a national roll-out while its cream biscuit brand (Fun Centre) will add more flavours to the current chocolate, orange, pineapple and  elaichi  with more SKUs catering to family packs. Besides, there will be extensions among its  namkeen  offerings of cheeselings, Jeffs and Sixer to include more products to the portfolio. Within its confectionery portfolio, Parle has pegged its toffee brands such as Kismi, Lux, Dairy and Mayfair at the 25 paise price point. However, it expects the 50 paise price point to be more viable. It already has a host of hard-boiled confectionery brands operating in that segment including the likes of Mango Bite, Tangy and Pick n Pack. This segment is expected to be a focus area for the company. Explains Nair, Although the 25 paise segment is the biggest potential segment, most of the bigger companies cannot cover their overheads. The 50 paise segment is the most viable followed by the Re 1 price point. A new toffee brand of Cafechino has just been launched at Re 1 down South while it has stretched the franchise of its Mango Bite to a juicy centre-filled offering at the same price point. Confectionery brands in the rolls category include another heritage brand, Poppins, which was relaunched two years ago with new flavours and packaging while Rol.a.Cola is on the threshold of a similar exercise. However, confectionery is not really a thrust area for the company now and contributes only 15 per cent to the turnover, although the business is nearly as old as its biscuits, having been launched way back in 1929. While core brands in the glucose and Marie category comprise the bulk (65 per cent) of the biscuit market, the higher growth rates of 10-12 per cent seem to be coming from the non-core segments. Explains Nair, There is magnified value growth due to the higher margins in the non-core biscuit category. Pegging growth rate for the core biscuit market between seven and 10 per cent, the glucose biscuit category in India is now estimated at Rs 1,500 crore. There is no dislodging Parle-G in its segment. Industry observers mainly attribute it to its well-entrenched distribution (the company covers 12-15 lakh outlets across the country) which can beat any new player wanting to make an entry. In any case, the volumes are expected to come from this segment alone with the others (the non-core segments) such as the salty and cream biscuits commanding meagre volumes between three and four per cent of the entire biscuit category, according to the company. The Marie segment, however, seems to register higher volumes of 12-13 per cent while the sweet and salty category registers a nine per cent volume in the market. Considering India is supposed to be the worlds second largest biscuit industry (after China), in the past, several MNCs tried entering the biscuit segment but failed due to the existence of unorganised players in the popular segment of the market. According to the Federation of Biscuit Manufacturers, the per capita consumption in India is about 1.2 kg per annum, compared to 15 kg per annum in developed countries. Now there are more players preparing to set up shop including the likes of United Biscuits and Nestle (which has increased its stake in Excelsia Foods). But such players will have to tackle Britannia in the premium market. Competing with Parle will never be easy in the popular biscuit market in India, especially now that it has taken the onus of fulfilling its consumers dreams.

The Myth of the Five Senses Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

The Myth of the Five Senses We see with our eyes and taste with our tongues. Ears are for hearing, skin is for feeling and noses are for smelling. Would anyone claim that ears can smell, or that tongues can see? As a matter of fact, yes. Paul Bach-y-Rita, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, believes that the senses are interchangeable; for instance, a tongue can be used for seeing. This "revolutionary" study actually stems from a relatively popular concept among scientists; that the brain is an accommodating organ. It will attempt to carry out the same function, even when part of it is damaged, by redirecting the function to another area of the brain. As opposed to previous mainstream scientist's understanding that the brain is compartmentalized, it is now more acceptable that the individual "parts" of the brain could be somewhat interchangeable (1). For the purpose of scientific exploration, are the sensory organs interchangeable as well? Could a nose function as an ear, for example? If the brain is what actually sees and the eyes serve only as information receptors, and if one could say the same about taste, smell, hearing and touch, then does it matter which external organ the sensory information is received by? Our external organs all act as receptors of the information (5), so can one type of receptor be replaced by another and still produce the same experience? Bach-y-Rita's experiments suggest that "we experience the five senses, but where the data comes from may not be so important" (1). In the article "Can You See With Your Tongue?" the journalist was blindfolded with a small video camera strapped to his forehead, connected to a long plastic strip which was inserted into his mouth. A lap... ... the external organs is a concept worthy of more attention and exploration, and it will explored more easily when the old, rather arbitrary myth of the five senses is discarded. References 1) Discover Magazine Online, Go to the article "Can you see With Your Tongue?" http://www.discover.com/science_news/index.html 2) an article that clearly states there are seven senses. http://sun.science.wayne.edu/~wpoff/senses.html 3) an article about migration and possible explanations. http://www.spaceforspecies.ca/awareness_and_action/conserve_species_habitats/ 4)Discover Magazine Online Go to the article "A Fish's Sixth Sense" http://www.discover.com/science_news/index.html 5)Sensory Receptors a very informative site about more sensory organs as receptors, and other scientific explanation of the senses. http://courses.nnu.edu/bi362bf/sensory.htm

short story Essay example -- essays research papers

Short Story It was about one-thirty in the morning in the town of Homestead Michigan. The almost florescent light of the moon bouncing off the fresh puddles that covered the ground. The grass and trees were covered in a thin layer of water causing every little beam of light to reflect back up. Anyone who may have been outside at this time would have without double, smelled the mix of fresh dirt and night crawlers. As the moonlight started to fade away through the cloud cover, three buses made there way through the streets and parked in front of HHS, the local high school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the team started to depart the bus, the numbered shorts and jerseys slowly made there way back to there cars. As Rich opened his door and practically collapsed in his seat he wondered if the game that they had just arrived from was even worth the humiliation that his team suffered by the 110-53 victory by there rival team. Rich slumped the rest of the way into his car buckling up and starting the engine. After a night as bad as this one all he wanted was to get home and finally get to sleep. Rich put his car in drive and slowly made his way to the street in front of the school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Rich made his way past the barber shop on Vine street he started thinking about when he got home all that he was going to do was to slip into his covers and fall right to sleep and now have to even get up early in the morning. thump thump. Rich snapped his eyes open s...

Animal Cruelty and Youth Violence Essay -- Animals Kids Pet Pets Child

There are over seventy million cats and fifty-five million dogs in the United States, yet the number of reported cases of neglect, or abuse is severely lacking (Davidson 1). Animal abuse is an ongoing dilemma in this country; recent studies have indicated child animal cruelty offenders often go on to pursue disturbing acts of criminal behavior. This nation simply does not have standardized legislation across the nation as a preventative method of dealing with this predicament. Many states treat animal abuse too leniently, and this is bad because youthful offenders often times will go on to perform criminal acts later in life, therefore anti-youth violence organizations and animal abuse prevention organizations need to join forces in order to enhance existing laws and to better educate America’s youth. It was not until recently people were first beginning to discover that animals do indeed have rights. Brief History: It was not until 1966 that the nation finally realized these kind creatures could in fact feel pain and neglect, when the Animal Welfare Act was finally passed. According to Congress’s Public Law 89-544 Act of August 24, 1966, the use of animals in lab tests, the transportation, sale, and handling of dogs, cats and certain other animals is now regulated by the Secretary of Agriculture (1). Sample State Animal Cruelty Laws: Nevada: Recently it has become mandatory for Nevada juvenile court systems to obtain some form of psychological treatment for animal cruelty offenders (â€Å"States Look at Stricter Laws† 1). This is great news for the state of Nevada; unfortunately this mandatory regulation does not exist in all states. Idaho and Illinois: According to Howard Davidson, director of the ABA center ... ...t Stricter Animal Cruelty Laws." State Legislatures 27.4 (2001): 8pp. 1 Mar. 2006 . "Pawprint Navigation Bar Image." Retrieved from Google.com on April 1, 2006. . "State Animal Anti-Cruelty Law Provisions." The Humane Society of the United States. 2005. 28 Feb. 2006. . "The Link between Animal Cruelty and Child Maltreatment." APA Center on Children and the Law (June 1998). 25 Feb. 2006 . United States Congress. 89th Congress, H.R. 13881 An Act. Public Law 89-544 11 of August 24, 1996. June 1998. 20 Feb. 2006 . "University at Albany Image." Retrieved from Google.com on April 25, 2006. .

Underlying Trend Rate of Growth

Explain the term ‘underlying trend rate of growth’ and the factors determining this rate. The underlying trend rate of growth represents a curve which shows the annual potential growth maximum that can be achieved with all available resources. An economy must target to increase this rate of growth and also actualize it. If the economy grows higher than this rate it will experience inflation. If lower it still has the capacity to grow. The trend rate of growth for an economy also represents the aggregate supply in the long run. The production possibility frontier also represents virtually more or less the same thing.There are various factors that determine long run aggregate supply. One considerable factor is the level of investment in an economy. Investment is vital as it is the back bone of economy. It enhances an economy by building more facilities and providing infrastructure to further develop and produce more, both in terms of quality and quantity. The higher the le vel of investment the higher the increase in capacity terms what an economy is able to produce. This is the growth that is in the nation’s stock of capital. New capital embodies technological advancements which leads to higher levels of productivity.The trend rate of growth is also determined by the trend growth of the working population of an economy. This is the trend of supply in the labour market. When the size of the working population increases it increases the potential working capacity of the economy. The magnitude of change in production output will reflect upon the level of labour/capital intensiveness in the economy. If the government can successfully increase the number of people of working age the trend rate of growth will increase. The trend rate of growth of factor productivity is a measure of gains in factor efficiency.For most countries it is the annual rate of growth of productivity that drives the long-term rate of economic growth. But of more interest and importance is where gains in productivity come from. The macroeconomic data on productivity is simply the aggregation of productivity performance at a microeconomic level throughout every industry and market in the economy. Technological improvements which reduce the real costs of supplying goods and services and which lead to an outward shift in a country’s production possibility frontier

Analyzing the Polluter Pays Principle Through Law and Economics Essay

â€Å"The ‘polluter pays principle’ states that whoever is responsible for damage to the environment should bear the costs associated with it. † The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) is one of the internationally recognized principles that in? uence the shaping of environmental policy at both the national and international level. As one of the environmental principles that have developed ‘from political slogans to legal rules,’ it is also increasingly re? ected in national and international law. It is seen and analyzed both as a principle of environmental economics and as a principle of environmental law. In environmental economics, it is discussed as an ef? ciency principle of internalization of environmental costs. As a legal principle, it is usually treated as a principle for the allocation of the cost of pollution prevention, and for liability and compensation for environmental damage. In general, it is regarded as an important and ‘right’ principle in the perspective of environmental protection. It is often mentioned together with other major environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of prevention and the principle of integration. In general, it is regarded as an important and ‘right’ principle in the perspective of environmental protection. It is often mentioned together with other major environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of prevention and the principle of integration. The â€Å"polluter pays principle† (PPP or principle) requires the polluter to bear the expense of preventing, controlling, and cleaning up pollution. Its main goals are cost allocation and cost internalization. In 1972, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) articulated the principle explicitly and in 1989 indicated that it should be applied to agriculture. Though the principle originated as an economic principle, since 1990 it has been recognized internationally as a legal principle. The PPP now plays an important role in national and international environmental policy. The European Community (EC) adopted the principle in the 1987 Single European Act, and it has appeared in international agreements, including the Rio Declaration of 1992. The principle is an explicit part of legislation in some nations; in others, it is an implicit subtext for both environmental regulation and liability for pollution. Historical Evolution Of Polluter Pays Principle The polluter pays principle, like the other great towering principles that today influence international environmental law, such as: (1) the sustainable development principle; (2) the prevention principle; (3) the precautionary principle; and (4) the proximity principle, started as a political declaration without legal force. The polluter pays principle has been included in documents with legal status. For instance, many modern constitutions in the European Union explicitly provide for a right to a clean environment and thus environmental policy principles also constitute environmental law. The right to a clean environment implies a duty of the state to protect its citizens, but it is questionable whether these principles or social rights can yet be considered subjective rights, meaning that they can be enforced by citizens in a court. However, some see the right to a clean environment as a human or natural right existing independently of politically decided treaties. Finally, the polluter pays principles is now seen in specific pieces of legislation becoming more (or some might say ‘less’) than a grand constitutional statement of an intractable human right. OECD – the birth of the polluter pays principle Some explanation of the sometimes arbitrary course of the principle of polluter pays can be found in its historical development. The principle first appeared in a legal context in a document prepared by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (â€Å"OECD†) and included the following recommendation: â€Å"The principle to be used for allocating costs of pollution prevention and control measures to encourage rational use of scarce environmental resources and to avoid distortions in international trade and investment is the so-called ‘Polluter Pays principle’. This principle means that the polluter should bear the expenses of carrying out the above mentioned measures decided by public authorities to ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state. In other words, the cost of these measures should be reflected in the costs of goods and services which cause pollution in production and/or consumption. Such measures should not be accompanied by subsidies that would create significant distortions in international trade and investment†. In 2001, the OECD Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Environment, after years of gestation and development by other organisations, stated that a new and expanded form of the polluter pays principle should provide that: â€Å"†¦ the polluter should be held responsible for environmental damage caused and bear the expenses of carrying out pollution prevention measures or paying for damaging the state of the environment where the consumptive or productive activities causing the environmental damage are not covered by property rights. United Nations – the Rio Declaration This proclamation was proved, at least on paper, if not yet by jus cogens, in 1992 when the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development delegates agreed on the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (the â€Å"Rio Declaration†), which has been described as an â€Å"instrument of international jurisprudence [that] articulates policies and prescriptions directed at the achie vement of worldwide sustainable development†. It is of note that Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration provides that: â€Å"[n]ational authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment†. The principle’s appearance in such a seminal statement of the undamental principles of international environmental law demonstrates its significance in environmental liability regimes around the world. United States The principle has to some extent informed United States’ legislation, but its influence should not be overstated and commentators note that: â€Å"The United States, in contrast to the European nations, does not officially recognize the [polluter pays principle] as a distinct principle or policy mandate, but does, by natural political and economic inc lination, closely follow its precepts in practice†. Certain provisions of the United States’ Clean Air Act 1970 (the â€Å"CAA†) and Clean Water Act 1977 (the â€Å"CWA†) require polluters to satisfy environmental standards at their own expense; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (â€Å"CERCLA†) assigns liability for costs associated with cleaning-up sites contaminated by hazardous wastes. CERCLA is a notable milestone in the development of the polluter pays principle in the United States and commentators have noted that: â€Å"the polluter pays principle is one of the central objectives or goals of CERCLA†. Flaws in the Polluter Pays Principle Few people could disagree with what seems at first glance to be such a straightforward proposition. Indeed, properly construed, this is not only a sound principle for dealing with those who pollute but is an extension of one of the most basic principles of fairness and justice: people should be held responsible for their actions. Those who cause damage or harm to other people should â€Å"pay† for that damage. This appeal to our sense of justice is why the â€Å"polluter pays principle† (PPP) has come to resonate so strongly with both policy makers and the public. As a general rule, sound economic analysis of pollution and environmental problems must also be based on the principle of responsibility. Forcing polluters to bear the costs of their activities is good economics too; it not only advances fairness and justice, but also enhances economic efficiency. In other words, with appropriate policies based on a PPP, we should not have to give up the economic efficiency of a free market system based on private property in order to obtain environmental protection, nor vice versa. But as with most such general principles, the devil is in the details. In this case, the details relate to three basic questions that any application of the PPP must answer. First, how do we define pollution and therefore a polluter? Second, how much should the polluter pay, once he is identified? Third, to whom should the payment be made? The answers to these questions are at the heart of whether any application of the PPP will be either just or economically efficient. A correctly construed polluter pays principle would penalize those who injure other people by harming their persons, or by degrading their property. Too often, however, the PPP is misdefined and misused to suppress private economic activity that benefits the parties directly involved and does no specific damage to other people, but which offends those who oppose human impact on the environment and prefer to leave resources undeveloped. The objective is to restrain the resource use at the expense of the property owners and consumers without cost to those who wish to see the resources remain idle. Under such a misapplication of the PPP, very often â€Å"a polluter† is not someone who is harming others, but is someone who is simply using his own property and resources in a way that is not approved of by government officials or environmentalists. In such cases there is no harm to be measured and no real victims to compensate. Consequently, the amount to be paid is not determined by the extent of any actual damage done. Rather, it is set at a level that curbs the politically disfavored activity to the degree desired by its opponents. And finally, the payment (whether there are real victims or not) typically goes to the government in the form of a tax. In other words, in most cases, the PPP is used as cover to promote a political or ideological agenda rather than to ensure that real polluters pay compensation to real victims of their activities. Constitutional and Legislative Measures Stockholm Declaration of 1972 was perhaps the first major attempt to conserve and protect the human environment at the international level. As a consequence of this Declaration, the States were required to adopt legislative measures to protect and improve the environment. Accordingly, Indian Parliament inserted two Articles, i. e. ,, 48A and 51A in the Constitution of India in 1976, Article 48A of the Constitution rightly directs that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife of the country. Similarly, clause (g) of Article 51A imposes a duty on every citizen of India, to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, river, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. The cumulative effect of Articles 48A and 51A (g) seems to be that the ‘State’ as well as the ‘citizens’ both are now under constitutional obligation to conserve, perceive, protect and improve the environment. Every generation owes a duty to all succeeding generations to develop and conserve the natural resources of the nation in the best possible way. The phrase ‘protect and improve’ appearing in both the Articles 48A and 51A (g) seems to contemplate an affirmative government action to improve the quality of environment and not just to preserve the environment in its degraded form. Apart from the constitutional mandate to protect and improve the environment, there are a plenty of legislations on the subject but more relevant enactments for our purpose are the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977; the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991; the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 and the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997; the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The Water Act provides for the prevention and control of water pollution and the maintaining or resorting of the wholesomeness of water. The Act prohibits any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter from entering into any stream or well. The Act provides for the formation of Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board. The new industries are required to obtain prior approval of such Boards before discharging any trade effluent, sewages into water bodies. No person, without the previous consent of the Boards shall bring into use new or altered outlet for the discharge of sewage or trade effluent into a stream or well or sewer or on land. The consent of the Boards shall also be required for continuing an existing discharge of sewage or trade effluent into a stream or well or sewer or land. In the Ganga Water Pollution case, the owners of some tanneries near Kanpur were discharging their effluents from their factories in Ganga without setting up primary treatment plants. The Supreme Court held that the financial capacity of the tanneries should be considered as irrelevant while requiring them to establish primary treatment plants. The Court directed to stop the running of these tanneries and also not to let out trade effluents from the tanneries either directly or indirectly into the river Ganga without subjecting the trade effluents to a permanent process by setting up primary treatment plants as approved by the State Pollution Control Board. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 aims to provide levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons carrying certain industries and local authorities to augment the resources of the Central Board and the State Boards constituted for the prevention and control of water pollution. The object is to realise money from those whose activities lead to pollution and who must bear the expenses of the maintaining and running of such Boards. The industries may obtain a rebate as to the extent of 25% if they set up treatment plant of sewage or trade effluent. The Air Act has been designed to prevent, control and abatement of air pollution. The major sources of air pollution are industries, automobiles, domestic fires, etc. The air pollution adversely affects heart and lung and reacts with hemoglobin in the blood. According to Roggar Mustress, the American Scientist, air pollution causes mental tension which leads to increase in crimes in the society. The Air Act defines an air pollutant as any ‘solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment. ‘ The Act provides that no person shall without the previous consent of the State Board establish or operate any industrial plant in an air-pollution control area. The Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board constituted under the Water Act shall also perform the power and functions under the Air Act. The main function of the Boards under the Air Act is to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control and abate air pollution in the country. The permission granted by the Board may be conditional one wherein stipulations are made in respect of raising of stack height and to provide various control equipments and monitoring equipments. It is expressly provided that persons carrying on industry shall not allow emission of air pollutant in excess of standards laid down by the Board. In Delhi, the public transport system including buses and taxies are operating on a single fuel CNG mode on the directions given by the Supreme Court. Initially, there was a lot of resistance from bus and taxi operators. But now they themselves realise that the use of CNG is not only environment friendly but also economical. Noise has been taken as air pollutant within the meaning of Air Act. Sound becomes noise when it causes annoyance or irritates. There are many sources of noise pollution like factories, vehicles, reckless use of loudspeakers in marriages, religious ceremonies, religious places, etc. Use of crackers on festivals, winning of teams in the games, and other such occasions causes not only noise pollution but also air pollution. The Air Act prevents and controls both these pollutions. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was enacted to provide for the protection and improvement of the quality of environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution. The Act came into existence as a direct consequence of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The term ‘environment’ has been defined to include water, air and land, and the inter-relationship which exists among and between water, air and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property.

Ray Bradbury Research Paper Essay

Ray Douglas Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on August 22, 1920. He is the son of Leonard Spaulding Bradbury and Esther Marie Moberg Bradbury. Ray attended Los Angeles High School. He was active in the drama club and planned to be an actor. Bradbury’s formal education ended with his high school graduation in 1938. However, he continued to educate himself by spending his nights in the library. One of Bradbury’s best-known works, Fahrenheit 451, was released in 1953. It is set in the future in which a totalitarian government has banned the written word. Today, Ray and Maggie Bradbury continue to live in Los Angeles. Ray Bradbury still writes daily and occasionally lectures. At an age when most men rest on their laurels, Bradbury remains a dynamic storyteller and contributor of â€Å"obvious answers to impossible futures.†(Jepsen and Johnson 4) Ray Bradbury’s writing style has always been known to be poetic without being pretentious; it communicates abstract ideas with layman terms and engages our senses. (Ray Bradbury Board) I enjoy Bradbury’s use of irony in stories, but especially in A Sound of Thunder when the killing of a butterfly changes all of civilization. The short story is about this wealthy man named Eckles who pays this time traveling company to take him back to prehistoric times, so he can hunt for a dinosaur. These dinosaurs have been selected because a previous survey indicated that they would die very soon anyway. Although this supposedly gets around the ripple effect, it quite obviously does not—a flaw in logic that Bradbury himself undoubtedly recognized. â€Å"A Sound of Thunder† is about a wealthy man who has purchased a spot in a hunting trip named Eckles. The time traveling company doesn’t want diseases brought to the past, so they will wear environmental suits and they will also be required to walk on an elevated platform. Bradbury provides an excellent description of the ripple effect, showing how one minor change can multiply over thousands of generations until it has the potential to change the world beyond recognition. Only marked dinosaurs are allowed to be killed. Surveys are conducted to see which dinosaurs should be marked and would die naturally anyway. Then, Eckles panics from seeing a tyrannosaurus appear, thus falling off the platform. The creature is dead, but the guide is still angry because Eckles could have changed the future. Before they traveled back in time, a heated election ends with a would-be dictator losing, but upon returning, there are few changes in the room, which the group notices as differences for reasons that Bradbury never explains. The most profound difference is that the election outcome is different. The alteration of history occurred because, when Eckles left the path, he inadvertently stepped on and killed a butterfly. (Don D’Ammassa 1) When reading A Sound of Thunder, I noticed parts when Bradbury used foreshadowing. One example of foreshadowing in Bradbury’s short story is Lesperance’s explanation to Eckles on the dangers of small changes in the past having catastrophic effects on the future foreshadow the changes that occur. The constant warnings to stay off the path indicate that Eckles will leave the path. Another archetype of foreshadowing is when Eckles says, â€Å"Does this safari guarantee I come back alive?† They reply, â€Å"We guarantee nothing!† This in my opinion gives me the idea that the safari must be quite dangerous and anyone doing such an activity needs a plethora of courage. There are many examples of foreshadowing in A Sound of Thunder. Ray Bradbury remains a dynamic storyteller and contributor of â€Å"obvious answers to impossible futures.†(Jepsen and Johnson 4) He writes stories in compelling ways that involve very complex ideas and he makes it simple to understand while still being in an intelligent way. One particular quote Bradbury has stated that I enjoy is, â€Å"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together.†(Ray Bradbury Quote 1) Bradbury’s use of irony is probably one of his most famous writing traits; along with his way of being poetic, without being pretentious. In conclusion, Ray Bradbury will go down in history as one of the most famed science fiction writers of all time; even though, he never considered himself a science fiction writer. How ironic? Sources Page D’Ammassa, Don â€Å"A Sound of Thunder Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Facts on File, Inc., 2005 Chris Jepsen, and Richard Johnson. Facts about Ray Bradbury: www.spaceagecity.com/bradbury/bio.htm Ray Bradbury: Xplore Inc, 2012. http://www.brainyquote.com/quote/authors/r/ray_bradbury.html Ray Brabury Message Board: http://www.raybradbury.com/ubb/Forum1 /HTML/000463.html Bleiler, Richard Science Fiction Writers: 2nd ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons Mittnacht, Veronica 10 Things you didn’t know about Ray Bradbury: http://flavorwire.come/106189/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-ray-bradbury