Consequences of colonialism in India Essay

Colonialism of Britain in India impacted heavily on different levels of life and culture. The indigenous languages of the natives in India were being wiped out and the English language began spreading very quickly. The Europeans aimed at altering the Indian culture to more a European style. India depended so much on Great Britain for technological advances and manufactured goods because Britain used India as its market. India provides raw materials for the factories in Britain during industrial revolution. The goods manufactured in Britain were transported to India for marketing; therefore India’s technological advance was at purr with Britain’s technological on gaining independence. India’s economy deteriorated very rapidly because now it had to learn to depend on itself rather than on the other nations. Developments in India have been so slow and as a result India is still undergoing industrial revolution. Indians were treated as second-class citizens in their own nation because they were not granted their human rights in their own nation and were not allowed to hold government positions. They were paid very minimal wages than their European counterparts who they worked with on the same kind of jobs. They were used as slaves to construct railways, build roads and harbors and were paid very little wages. Colonialism in India led to mass economic bitterness and social- cultural cleavage. These led to creation of anti colonial rational liberation movements. These movements were aimed at attaining independence from the colonialists. Cultural and religious movements that aimed at emphasizing on a national identity based on traditions and cultural values were formed they fought so hard to retain their cultural beliefs and values. Great Britain assimilated the Indian culture making Britain a nation of diverse cultures because most Indians migrated to Britain. Britain is still home to many Indians. Colonial systems had a tendency of financing one ethnic, racial or cultural group by giving them a higher status in the society. As a result this led to inter group and tribal rivalries. This also created unequal distribution of resources. Favored groups were given the privilege of assessing important resources that allowed them to develop themselves at the expense of those outside the cultural group. This has led to the dominant groups enforcing political economical, governmental and social policies that led to unequal distribution of resources among their nations. The colonizers often violated the human rights of those people living in the colonized areas. This was affected when they enacted unjust policies that deprived the colonized subjects of their lands, resources, cultural and religious belief. They even committed murder against their colonies. These unjust policies were seen in the form of slavery, mass murder and apartheid. The colonial empires controlled and operated their colonized governments from abroad or through the use of a selected domestic privileged group . As a result when these nations gained independence they lacked the internal structure and institutions to create good governance systems. During the British Empire, there was an increase of population in the rural areas and reduced employment, which weakened the traditional status of peasants in rural settings . The loss of lands degraded the peasants to the status of squatters. This led them to become agricultural laborers in their own lands. The living conditions of the peasants were degraded when the prices of the basic necessities other than food increased. Economic development depends on available resources, cultural changes, transformation of political systems and ways in which society adapts to the requirements of technological process. Countries that embraced their colonizers culture and political systems adapted to a rapidly growing economic systems. China and Singapore were fast to adapt and learn the technological advances from Britain and this has put them on an economical fore front in the world. The legacy of colonialism left African leaders with a fear of any form of political opposition. These leaders sacrificed political unity among tribes for their own good. These political leaders made accumulation of power and political survival their priority at the expense of economic development. These political leaders sought to develop and increase national wealth rather than the people’s welfare. This has led to the dependence on the colonies and west countries for technology and development. As a result their economies declined at very elevated rates, they argued that western knowledge and development was superior their native knowledge and therefore they should do anything possible to adopt the western lifestyle. Colonization transfers wealth from the colonized countries to the colonizers leading to inhibition of successful development of economies of the colonized countries. Colonialists have used neo-colonialism to cause political psychological and moral damages to the colonized countries. Colonialism opened up East Asia to the agricultural worlds market and all the instabilities associated with the world market forces. Peasant farmers lost access to resources that had been an important element in making ends meet. The colonial system turned everything into private property pushing many people into dependence on wage labor. In Korea, Japan colonization destroyed the education system that had been improving positively. Most of the missionary schools in Korea were replaced by private schools that did not offer quality education. The education that Koreans received was based on educating them to become better citizens of the Japanese empire of a lower level. The education given only provided the basics needed for the work that they were to perform. Korean economy grew very well under the Japanese rule between 1910 and 1945. Both the mining and manufacturing industries grew more than the period before the rule, but despite this the Japanese held higher skilled and highly paid jobs. All the riches gained from the growth of the economy were distributed among the Japanese who owned most of the companies, while the Koreans remained poor in their own countries. Koreans played a very small part in the modernization of their economy. With the end of Japanese colonialism, the economy of Korea decreased and collapsed. Total industrial outputs decreased at very high rates when the Japanese managers and workers left, they also left the financial agricultural and banking systems in destruction. The Japanese colonial systems only favoured a few Koreans allowing them into government and financial systems that made them grow and prosper. However majority of the companies that did not find favor suffered and collapsed. Colonialism had a bad influence on the cultural identity of the colonized counties. This detached many people from their heritage and their identity colonizers have done first by oppression where they force the colonized regions to adapt foreign languages and foreign religions. Conclusion Colonialism had both negative and positive effects on the political, economical and social systems of the colonized regions. They eroded the cultural and traditional beliefs of the communities but still impacted positively on their economic growth. They introduced technological advances that assisted in developing countries economies. However I would say that the effects of colonialism in general were negative since they left scars in those countries that were hard to heal. Bibliography Atiyah Jeremy. The rough Guide South East. Asia. Rough Guides, 2002 pg. 230 Castle Gregory.Post – colonial discourses. Blackwell publishing, 2001p. 330. Christine J. Clive. Ideology and Revolution in South East Asia 1900 – 1980. Routledge, 2001 p. 39. Everett – Heath Tom. Central Asia aspects of transition. Routledge, 2003 p. 80 Goodwin Jeff. No other way out: states and revolutionary movements 1945 – 1991. London, 2001 pg. 200. Hack Karl. Rettig Tobias. Colonial Armies in South East Asia. Routledge 2006, pg. 195 Kiratoska H. Paul. South East Asia colonial History. South East Asia, 2001. p. 150. Lazarus Neil. National and cultural practice in the post – colonial world. Cambridge 1999 p. 45. Mendl wolf. Japan and south East Asia. Routedge. 2001 p. 55. Milton – Edwards. Contemporary politics in the Middle East. Polity, 2006 p. 46. Milton – Edwards Beverly. Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945. Routledge. 2001 p. 70. Pappe ilan. The modern Middle East. Routledge, 2005. p. 38. Schwarz Henry & Ray Sangeeta. A companion to Postcolonial studies Blackwell publishing 2000. p. 150. White Stephen. Communism and its collapse. Routledge 2001. p. 28. Young C & Robert J. Post colonialism: An historical introduction. Black well publishing 2001, p. 94.

Me Against the Media

I stroll into my Critical Media Studies classroom, drinking an icy bottle of Pepsi and wearing a Nike baseball cap. A few of my students glance up from their cell phones and iPods long enough to notice me. â€Å"Um, nice hat,† someone comments. â€Å"Thank you,† I say. â€Å"Today’s class is proudly sponsored by Nike, a strong advocate of education. When it comes to education, Nike says, ‘Just do it! ’. † I take a swig of my Pepsi. â€Å"Can you guess who else is sponsoring our class today? The few students who have actually done the reading chuckle because they know that today’s class is about the pervasiveness of consumerism in popular culture and in the schools. Over the years, I’ve resorted to lots of gimmicks like these in my quest to teach students about consumerism. I try to make my students more aware of how the media naturalize consumerism through advertisements, product placement, and especially through advertiser-frie ndly programming. You might be surprised to hear that I find this to be the single most difficult topic to teach.I teach about many controversial media issues — ownership, violence, race and gender representation — and students contemplate these topics enthusiastically. But when it comes to consumerism, it’s a brick wall. Five minutes into any such discussion, I brace myself for the inevitable chorus of, â€Å"Oh, come on. It’s just a bunch of ads. † Corporations and advertising executives should rejoice, as this reticence of young people to think critically about the role of consumerism is money in their pockets.Advertisers have always coveted the 18-34 year old group—the legions of the so-called â€Å"Age of Acquisition† who have few established brand loyalties and lots of pocket change. Today’s Generation Y youth, born roughly between 1977 and 1997, are especially desirable because they are the children of Baby Boomers, and therefore represent a population explosion. Run the term â€Å"Generation Y† through a search engine, and you’ll find dozens of sites with information about how companies can take advantage of this marketing gold mine.Multinational corporations are deeply invested in the collective consumer choices of my students. When my students fail to show concern, these corporations become all the more powerful. So why is it that Generation Y is so uncritical of consumerism? I offer you this report from the trenches, from my college classroom in Fort Collins, Colorado, with my insight into how students view consumerism and why lack concern. I also discuss how I have addressed these attitudes. My hope is that media activists of all stripes can draw upon my experience.To demonstrate to my students how media content itself naturalizes consumerism, I used to show my students a clip from the movie Father of the Bride. In this clip, the father is horrified that his daughter wants him to spend about $130,000 on her wedding. He would prefer to have a simple wedding reception at the local Steak Pit, but the whole family rejects this idea. Even the adolescent son understands this is â€Å"unacceptable†; he comments, â€Å"I don’t think you want the word ‘pit’ on a wedding invitation. When he complains that his first car cost less than the wedding cake, the wedding coordinators bursts into laughter and says, â€Å"Welcome to the ‘90s. † After the daughter agrees to downsize the wedding, her father discovers her, asleep, reading a magazine article with tips on how to throw a budget wedding. Suddenly ashamed of himself, he agrees to fund the extravagant wedding. Dad learns his lesson, so to speak. Consumerism-fueled expectations may be outrageous, but they are necessary, and failure to adhere to these expectations is silly, miserly, and downright unloving.I quit showing this clip. It didn’t work. Oh, they got the point, tha t media content often promotes the agenda of advertisers. Unfortunately, the clip would inevitably lead to a version of the following discussion. A female student raises her hand shyly and says, â€Å"I understand why this is bad, but I want a big wedding. † A dozen ponytailed heads nod in harmony. â€Å"I mean, not as big as the one in the movie,† someone responds, â€Å"but you know, the flowers, the cake, the dress, the ring, all that stuff. I’ve daydreamed about my wedding since I was a little girl. † Me too,† the first student says, and frowns. â€Å"Does that make me a bad person? † Therein lies the trouble. The dreams, the memories, the rites of passage of Generation Y — all of these are intertwined intricately with consumerism. By placing wedding consumption under scrutiny, this student feels like she is being attacked personally, because her sentimental dream of a wedding is linked so closely to products. To this Generation Y student, the suggestion there is something wrong with consumerism is akin to the suggestion that there is something wrong with her.While all of us in the post-war Western world have grown up with the association between happiness and consumption, this association is all the more powerful with Generation Y. They have grown up with unlimited advertising and limited models of social consciousness or activism. Let’s look at the experiences of my students, a fairly typical U. S. American sample of Generation Y. Their happiest childhood memories are thoroughly linked to consumption. They were born in the 1980s under the Reagan administration, when two important trends in children’s television occurred.Reagan, ever the media deregulator, relaxed requirements for educational programming at the same time as he relaxed restrictions on adverting to children. This helped bring forth a new marketing strategy—which Tom Engelhardt has called the â€Å"Shortcake Strategy† — in which children’s television shows were created for the exclusive purpose of marketing large collections of children’s toys. The prized childhood memories of Generation Y are filled with these shows and toys: Strawberry Shortcake, He-Man, the Care Bears.Discussing the politics of this kind of marketing with students is even harder than discussing wedding excess. A student once wrote in my teacher evaluation, â€Å"Great class, but please don’t go hating on Strawberry Shortcake. † And then there was high school. This is the first generation that came of age in the era of rampant advertising in the schools, as well as Channel One, the news program piped into schools complete with advertisements. As a Generation Xer who graduated from high school in 1988, I recall very few ads in school. A relatively short time later, the hallways, lunchrooms, and sports facilities f cash-strapped schools frequently are sponsored by corporations. When I ask stud ents if this happened in their schools, they supply never-ending examples: stadiums dotted by Nike swooshes, lunchrooms filled with Pizza Hut and Chic Fil-A, a back-to-school party sponsored by Outback Steakhouse, even book covers sponsored by corporations. Then, of course, there’s the prom. Eschewed by some of my Gen X counterparts, the prom is back and bigger than ever, teaching future brides and grooms important lessons about gowns, limos, and flowers.Oh, and ask a Generation Y member which mall he or she grew up in, and you may well get an answer. In addition, many young people don’t take consumerism seriously because they feel that as individuals, it does not affect them. As media activists like Jean Kilbourne have argued, this illusion that advertising affects â€Å"everybody else but me† is nothing new, but I think this is even more the case with Generation Y. I find that young people have a hard time understanding media effects in any way other than thei r own experience.Students claim violence in the media doesn’t matter because they grew up playing Doom and they didn’t turn out violent. Or they claim that unrealistic images of women in the media do matter because they know a lot of girls with eating disorders. Young people don’t seem to have a language for understanding that the media doesn’t just affect us on an individual level — the media impact society politically, economically, and ideologically. A student might dismiss ads in his high school by saying they did not affect him.But nonetheless, the proliferation of ads in high schools have affected U. S. American culture as a whole — and that’s what young people do not seem to understand. Again, this individualistic way of looking at media effects isn’t entirely new, especially in an individualistic culture like the United States, where social scientists for years have been obsessed with trying to draw links between indivi dual behavior and the media. But Generation Y is a particularly individualistic cohort. The Me Generation is back.Just like in the 1970s, young people are frightened and disgusted with current events and have retreated away from politics, with their iPods, Playstations, and all the other isolating technology the consumer market can offer. But the 1970s were different because the 1960s didn’t die overnight. Me Generation or not, the language of activism was still spoken in the 1970s, and in fact many young people were involved in movements such as Women’s Liberation. To what activist language has Generation Y been exposed? It’s three years into their own Vietnam, and Generation Y isn’t exactly flooding the streets with protestors.Often students tell me that they find politics to be boring and irrelevant to their own experiences. In other words, it’s pretty hard to engage a group of young people in a discussion of the political implications of consum erism when they are not engaged in politics much at all. Consumerism is a personal choice, and most of my students cannot see beyond that. They shop at Wal-Mart because it’s cheap, and buy coffee at Starbucks because they like the mochas. Sweatshops? Globalization? It’s not so much that young people don’t care about these things (though many don’t).Rather, they haven’t been taught to think of consumerism as something that extends beyond their own enjoyable trip to the mall, or that their personal consumer decisions are political. To me, perhaps the most frustrating argument students make about consumerism is that it shouldn’t be a societal concern because â€Å"it’s the parents’ responsibility. † Parents are responsible for refusing to buy their kids $200 basketball shoes, for making sure they eat a healthy lunch in the cafeteria, and for instilling values that, according to my students, will somehow make their children immune to the effects of advertisements.This argument disturbs me in part because very few of my students are parents, and in part because they seem to show no compassion for kids who have parents unwilling or unable to be this active in their kids’ development. But most of all, this disturbs me because it places corporations off the hook for the effects they have on society. It doesn’t matter how or to whom a company markets their products; it only matters how parents raise their children. Once again, consumerism becomes the business of individual families, not society. So, what can media activists do?I think the first step is to find ways to appeal to members of this generation on the level of the individual. Young people might not care about plight of a Nike worker in Vietnam or a Wal-Mart worker in Houston. They may, however, be concerned with how credit card companies lure in college students, or how college bookstores jack up prices needlessly, or how car insuran ce companies charge young people exorbitant amounts. When I ask students to give examples of how corporations have screwed them over personally, the room fills up with raised hands.This is a good way to show young people that although consumerism has brought them happiness in their lives, it has also brought them problems. A second activist strategy of reaching Generation Y is to find examples of popular culture that promote consumption. Generation Y is all about popular culture. I’ve found that my students are amenable to discussions about how advertisers and media producers consciously create media content that â€Å"trains† young people to be consumers. Young people need to know that corporations see them as a market to manipulate, and often will respond to this argument, because who wants to be manipulated?The trick is to find popular culture texts they relate to that have a strong pro-consumerism bent. No, don’t show them Father of the Bride, but one thing I have shown with more success to my students is the â€Å"Pottery Barn† episode of Friends. In this episode, Rachel lies to her roommate Phoebe and tells her their new furniture is antique. Actually, it came from Pottery Barn, but Phoebe hates commercial furniture. Rachel is caught in her lie at when the two walk by Pottery Barn and see most of the furniture in the display window.But then Phoebe sees a lamp in the window and decides she must buy it. Phoebe learns her lesson. Commercial furniture is good. Another good source of pro-consumerism media is reality television, a favorite of students and chock filled with product placement. A third strategy is simply to get young people to talk to their parents about their experiences growing up and how people â€Å"back in the day† felt about corporate power and consumerism. These are the children of Baby Boomers, after all, so even if they haven’t been around activism, their parents have.One of my favorite assignmen ts is one in which I have students interview older family members about popular culture and their past experiences. Students love this assignment. So, there’s hope. When I wear my Nike hat to class, some of the students get it, and inevitably, a student stops by my office at the end of the semester and announces she has stopped going to Starbucks. But this is no easy task, and activists would be well advised to work on the issue of Generation Y and consumerism. The advertisers are certainly paying attention to Generation Y, and so should we.

Viloin Technical/Descriptive Essay

The crowd waited in silence as minutes had passed. Then suddenly the velvet red curtains began to part. Rushing to opposite sides of the stage revealing a girl. The spotlight shining bright directly on her, you could see the fear in her glossy hazel eyes as she took a quick glimpse into the crowd. She slowly closed her eyes and gently laid her head on her shoulder rest of her beautiful classical 4/4 violin. We watched as she placed her fingers correctly and there it was, the first note. A beautiful A flat. So petite and perfect you knew her performance was going to be astonishing.A violin is a beautiful instrument to look at. That beauty, which comes from the instrument's curved and often shiny body, is what helps make the sound you hear. The body of a violin is hollow. The strings are above the body, suspended by a bridge. The bridge is a small, maple piece of wood. This bridge is secured on the instrument because of the tension of the strings. When the violin is played, the vibrati on of the strings is transferred from the bridge to the body. The vibration is amplified in the body of the violin, and this is the sound you hear.The sound of a well played violin is the sound of emotions, from the length of sadness to the shortness of expectations. Sometimes, it's low pitch, whispering like the wind and warm like a blanket and then it gets higher and higher until the pitch is so high, it's borderline painful, but just before you reach the pain†¦ it stops and get silenced†¦ and then whispers again. The violin is the highest pitch instrument in the orchestra like the higher part of a piano. Sometimes the violin can sound scratchy when you mess up but other times it sounds like harmony and peace when you succeed.Sounds like the high pitch of the bird singing outside your window that wakes you up in the morning. Majestic like water, drops of water creating ripples of sound. Waves that flow into your ears and give you those goosebumps that make the little hai rs on your arms stand up. The beautiful sound that makes your ears ask for more and more of its gorgeousness . That when they stop playing you feel that little crack in your heart from the loss of the astonishing sound you crave for more of. She pulled back on her bow creating her last note. Her last note was a decrescendo on the note E.She drew back her bow slowly not quite letting the beautiful sound end just yet, It slowly faded away into the distance, my ears lingered to hear the note that was disappearing into the darkness. My eyes were closed , secretly begging to hear more but all i heard was silence. I opened my eyes and saw she had picked up her bow. The audience was so astonished they sat in silence. That pause felt like eternity but then i stood to my feet and began to applaud her, as everybody else in the crowd followed me and a tear fell off my cheek, Knowing that was my student on that stage.

Business Process Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Process Outsourcing - Essay Example One I take this opportunity first of all to commend you for the good job you are doing in the senate as our representative. Secondly, I wish to draw your attention to an important subject that is of core concern to your people – the issue of outsourcing. Outsourcing basically involves contracting out non-core business functions to a provider external to an organization. In other words, when two organizations enter into an outsourcing agreement, one agrees to exchange a certain service or set of services for payment by the other. Outsourcing is also commonly known as offshoring, strategic outsourcing and off shore outsourcing. Outsourcing has become a major practice in many a developed country, thanks to the recent developments in online technologies. Through such technologies, people across the world have built profitable and sustainable businesses that are may be managed from virtually any location in the world. As a matter of fact, many small businesses have grown and thrive on legitimate online activities and to the benefit of larger organizations domiciled hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Advantages and Disadvantages of outsourcing There are a number of reasons why organizations choose to outsource some of their services. Some of the main reasons include saving of costs according to Gamerman (15). Costs are saved when the outsourcing organization enjoys benefits such as reprising, cost restructuring and through labor arbitrage.

Imagine you are a small business owner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Imagine you are a small business owner - Essay Example Net margin can be calculated dividing net income by total sales. The managers of small businesses must pay close attention to the profitability of the business as well as its cash flow position. The current ratio is a good ratio to analyze small businesses because it measures the liquidity of a company. It measures the ability of the company to pay off its short term debt. A current ratio is positive if is above 1.0. The inventory turnover ratio measures how many times a company sold its inventory during a year. The desired outcome is to have a high inventory turnover rate. Three ratios that are suitable to evaluate the financial performance of a large enterprise are return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and debt to equity ratio. Return on asset measures how well assets were employed by management, while return on equity measures the extent to which financial leverage is working for or against common stockholders (Garrison & Noreen, 2003). The debt to equity ratio is calcul ated dividing total liabilities by stockholder’s equity. B) Explain the advantages and disadvantages of debt financing and why an organization would choose to issue stocks rather than bonds to generate funds. Debt financing has become an extremely popular financing tool in today’s global economy. ... â€Å"Another advantage of debt financing is that interest paid on debt reduces tax burden of the business† (Kido, 2012). Despite the advantages of debt financing it also has cons. A drawback of debt financing is that in cases of business failure lenders have first option at the liquidating assets of a firm. A second drawback of using debt financing is the obligation to pay interest to the lenders. Sometimes interest expenses of debt instrument can be very high. A third con of debt financing is that if it is excessively used it can negatively impact the credit rating of the company (Simplyfinance, 2007). C) Discuss how financial returns are related to risk. Financial returns and risk are two factors that are positively related. This means that to obtain higher rewards managers must assume greater risk. In the stock market companies that have higher risk have a greater chance of equity appreciation. Risk adverse people try to stay away from risk. Being risk conservative can hel p a company minimize the risk of financial loss. â€Å"Financial risk is the loss probability arising from adverse price fluctuations in financial markets or business partner defaults† (Codjia, 2012). When companies get too greedy they often make bad business decisions by incurring in too much risk. Firms that have higher risk tend to have higher cost of capital. When the cost of capital is high the profitability of the company is adversely affected. D) Describe the concept of beta and how it is used. The beta coefficient is a measure of an asset’s risk in relation to the market or to an alternative benchmark or factor (Thefreedictionary, 2012). The average beta coefficient of the stock market is 1.0. When the beta coefficient of a company is higher than 1.0 the stock has

Theory, Principle, and Torts In a Case Study Scenario Essay

Theory, Principle, and Torts In a Case Study Scenario - Essay Example Regarding torts, first of all, the nurse named Allison should be charged with neglect due to her lack of duty of care on the part of Ruth, the patient. She should not have forced any kind of treatment on Ruth, even if she thought it was best for her to do a compression dressing. Instead, Allison should have followed Ruth’s directives or wishes unless she did not have the power of attorney. It was very careless of Allison to simply tell Ruth that she would leave her walker out in the hallway till someone came back around lunchtime - a neighbor, no less - to check up on her. That nurse was so careless that she should be stripped of her licensure due to that foul-up. As a result, when trying to go to the bathroom, Ruth slipped and received a laceration which is a deep cut on her head. Not only this, but Ruth was also attended to by careless paramedics who didn’t transfer her over to the appropriate care unit until she was discovered some time later, not having been attende d to yet. Both on the parts of Allison and the paramedics, they really missed the boat or screwed up in terms of giving Ms. Symond the appropriate care that she needed.

Airline mergers case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Airline mergers case study - Essay Example (Holtz and Grimme, 2009, p. 13) An ‘Open Skies’ agreement was signed between USA and European in 2007 that enabled the merged firms to ‘change their ownership structure’ and to get maximum voting rights from Dutch Government authorities. Indeed, the Air France and KLM then became subsidiaries of newly formed KLM – Air France. This was quite helpful in building shareholders’ confidence over top management of new company. (Holtz and Grimme, 2009, p. 14) The governments were paying special attention to develop environmental security laws and regulations to grapple with increasingly large menace of global warming. The demand of air travel was constantly growing since 2002 because of phenomenal economic growth and increase in real incomes in both developed West and emerging nations. This in turn created more opportunities for airlines that later resulted in higher monetary gains, however, the competition among firms increased substantially because of new entrants joined the arena. Indeed, the conditions were quite favorable because of skyrocketing demand for cargo services besides normal visitors. The merger would have easily increased business efficiency, market share and consumer reach. (Friesen, 2005) The increase in employment opportunities and business scope improved the standard of living across the world. Consumers, therefore, were inclined to use air travel services in their leisure. Similarly, business personnel were also required travel services to reach their destinations abroad for negotiation with partners, dealers and parties. Hence, propensity to spend for air travel had increased. (Katarzyna, 2004) The special attention was paid to develop modernised aircrafts with greater seat capacity, range and fuel-efficiency to minimise the threat of carbon emission and pollution. Indeed, the new aircrafts were produced to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. The bargaining power of customers was medium due to the fact the

A literary analysis of two poems by Donne namely The Flea and The Sun Essay

A literary analysis of two poems by Donne namely The Flea and The Sun Rising - Essay Example Donne is acknowledged as a love poet, but this poem deals with love in an incongruous way given the fact that the speaker does not attach any importance to some preexisting relationship or chemistry with the woman he is attracted to. Instead he uses â€Å"the flea’s activity as an excuse for conjugal relations† (Brackett 179). He does not care to invest time in building a foundation before he approaches his love. All the romantic suspense in one’s exploration of the other person leading to bigger events is omitted and emphasis is laid on the speaker’s sexual desires. Donne’s take on love in this poem marked by complexity of thought and strange imagery leaves the readers amused and impressed even though it is playful and absurd. The speaker in the poem never considers the woman’s objections and simply reacts to them making her come across as a fool in denial. Then more dirt is splashed on the woman in the concluding lines of second stanza wher e he writes, â€Å"Let not to this, selfe murder added bee / And sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three† (17-18) and is seen equating killing the flea to sins like suicide, murder, and sacrilege. The approach to love, if there is any, is first quite imaginative given how the speaker uses a simple flea to lay out an entire framework. Then, this approach takes on a deep irrational hue. Finally, all passion is forgotten when Donne uses imagery of the flea’s blood and writes, â€Å"Cruel and sodaine, hast thou since / Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence† (19-20).... The approach to love, if there is any, is first quite imaginative given how the speaker uses a simple flea to lay out an entire framework. Then, this approach takes on a deep irrational hue. Finally, all passion is forgotten when Donne uses imagery of the flea’s blood and writes, â€Å"Cruel and sodaine, hast thou since / Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence† (19-20). Here, he is seen handling resentment stemming from thwarted desires. It is style like this which makes one appreciate how Donne, as chief of the metaphysical poets, is mesmerizingly capable of handling love in all its aspects even when dissatisfied desires leave behind deep wounds of bitterness as in case of the poem under consideration. The speaker’s argument is laden with sexual innuendos. Even the movement within the poem mirrors the act of lovemaking considering the argument which is contemplative in first stanza, then picks momentum reaching climax in second stanza, and finally culminates wit h the sudden unexpected death of the flea. In contrast to other poems like â€Å"The Sun Rising† in which the poet appears hopelessly in love, this poem is more concerned with lustful desires yearning to be fulfilled. According to the argument in this poem, the act of sex is nothing more than mingling of fluids and a history of romance is not necessary. But when the word â€Å"little† (2) is used by the poet, it is not meant that he does not consider the act of lovemaking important. Rather, it is only a way of convincing his love that engaging in sex would not really be a gigantic sin (Brackett 179). In the Renaissance period, the concept of sex was really confined to mixing of the blood which according to the poet has already happened when he writes, â€Å"And in this flea our two bloods mingled bee;†

GSA Wants You Federal Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

GSA Wants You Federal Contracts - Essay Example The system uses the most recent digital authentication technology to allow for electronic signatures and cater for data integrity. Advantages of Electronic over Classic paper Solicitations 1. Data security The electronic process ensures that the proposals are submit exactly as the contractors write them without unnecessary modification of information. It also ensures that the proposals are delivered directly to the responsible personnel without being passed through other parties. This eliminates the possibility of alteration of the content or loss of the proposals in the process of transportation (Brian, 2003). Unlike the paper process, which is subject to many-party handling hence providing opportunities for malicious altering of data, data security is assured. Paper process entails impairing with the interactive environment since the intended information from the original source may not go the intended personnel. 2. Ease of Applying There is software that enables one to complete th ese proposals easily with tools providing hint on what is required from the proposal. This helps one to provide the necessary information without much struggle. The software also helps one to look for errors easily and correct them in order to forward an understandable proposal. This is because the proposal must entail clear information and hence the process becomes easier since there is no room for assumptions. To some ambiguous phrases, it is essential that drafting of all the work is done and typed manually to create ease for one to detect any errors especially when the proposal is not using a good software. In addition, there is high possibility of leaving important information since the whole process is imagined (Safari Books, 2009). This would lead to impaired communication since the solicitation while have to be returned for completion of the required information and clarification of some ambiguous phrases. 3. Fast Delivery The submitting of the proposals is done online hence it takes very little time for the proposals to reach the targeted destinations after they have been submitted. This ensures fast interaction between the contractor and the prospective contractors hence leading to faster decision making process unlike the classic paper solicitations which have to be submitted manually hence taking a lot of time to communicate. 4. Ease of reviewing After the proposals have been sent to the GSA, it may be returned for correction or clarification on matters concerning responsibility, responsiveness, scope, subcontracting plan or pricing analysis. After the proposal is reviewed and in some cases returned, the electronic system offers an easy way for editing and adding the relevant information. Editing the original proposal is easier than the paper process whereby the whole document has to be retyped in order to allow addition of information and also printed again for resubmission. 5. Economical Compared to the paper process, the electronic submission is more economical in terms of space and funds. This is because it cuts down the printing costs and unnecessary occupation of space for filing documents since the proposals are stored in their computer databases. 6. Duration of Contract There should be negotiations about the period of the contract to make sure that the period allows my company to stabilize. The process must allow the company in its operations and recover from any losses it may have incurred during the

Microsoft- tablet PC Essay Example for Free

Microsoft- tablet PC Essay 1)Who should Microsoft have targeted at the launch of the Tablet PC why? Before discussing who Microsoft should have targeted, we have to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the product. The success of any strategy depends on being able leverage the most of the strengths and rely less on the weaknesses. The strengths of Microsoft were its brand, distribution channel, existing enterprise user base and large resources. The risks involved those related to new product development, price and changing user behavior. The exhibit tells us that the large and medium business accounted for the most portable PCs in terms of volume and revenue. Due to the enterprise refresh cycles, a third of the PCs are replaced every year. Now let’s take a look at the options Microsoft had as target initial customers. They could target first time PC buyers, enterprise IT managers, students, early tech adopters or existing Windows customers. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses listed above it is easy to eliminate a few of the choices provided. Microsoft should have targeted the enterprise user base. Enterprise devices are much less sensitive to price as regular customers and have a higher willingness to pay. Thus the high price tag might not have been a difficult barrier if the product delivered value. They demand compatibility with existing enterprise frameworks. Given Microsoft’s dominance in enterprise software, they could easily ensure that the tablet PC has software that was compatible with Microsoft’s existing enterprise software. The iPad was very geared towards the consumer segment. Thus there was a niche in the enterprise tablet space that Microsoft should have exploited. This would have also helped in terms of narrowing down the focus on a few key applications, distributors and use cases. Taking a leaf out of Blackberry’s book they could have made enterprise security as one of their key differentiators especially given the wide adoption of outlook email in the enterprise. 2) What are the pros cons of Microsoft’s strategy vs. Apple’s (Microsoft being dependent on hardware manufacturers to market the Tablet PC, vs. Apple’s control of both the hardware and software?) This is essentially a question on the merits and demerits of a horizontal strategy vs a vertical strategy. The Microsoft strategy is a horizontal strategy. It involves creating a product that can deliver value up and down the value chain by allowing manufacturers innovate above and below it. This strategy can scale quickly and demands fewer resources from an individual firm to create an ecosystem. This also allows for wide range of innovations from a variety of players along the value chain. It is also a case of imperfect competition given that at each level of the value chain different levels of competition exist that promote greater product differentiation on multiple levels. The demerits of this strategy is lack of focus and control. Since the product is extensible and involves many players, there is always a risk of not being able to control what the end product looks like and the features it should prioritize on.The vertical strategy by Apple allows for control on the experience, and look and feel of the product. This enables Apple to focus and do a few things really well and better position the brand. By vertically integrating, Apple is also able to extract multiple premiums at different levels of the value chain. This can lead to higher profit margins. However, the downside of this strategy is that it cannot scale quickly, requires high upfront fixed costs and doesn’t offer the wide breath of product differentiation or features.

Role and Purpose of Human Resource Management

Role and Purpose of Human Resource Management Analyze the role and purpose of human resource management in a selected service industry Human Resource Management plays a very vital role in all industries, especially that of hospitality. Due to the constant transformation and growth within the industry, the need to obtain an effective Human Resource Management team cannot be ignored. Hotels such as Marriott International has come to the realization that its employees are its largest assets and having a good, skilled and hardworking workforce can be the difference between the companys success or failure (Icmrindia.org, 2004). Human Resource Management can be defined as the process of employing and developing employees in order to efficiently and effectively utilize them in the achievement of company goals and objectives (Parrilla, 2015). Below are the findings related to the role, purpose, and functions of Human Resource Management in service organizations. 1. According to Amos et al., (2008) staffing, employee compensation and benefits, and defining and designing work are three major responsibilities of HRM in the service industry. 2. Maximizing productivity within service industries by optimizing the effectiveness and potential of the organizations staff members is the purpose for which the HRM was created (Nickson, 2013). 3. Bolden-Barrett (n.d.) outlines in her article that recruiting, retention, compensation, liability and labor are the major roles in which the HRM manages. 4. Businesscasestudies.co.uk (n.d.) through its research elaborated that HRM function not only manages existing staff, it also plans for changes that will affect its future staffing needs. 5. HRM is often pressured into finding a level ground between the implementation of Hard or Soft HRM (Riley, n.d.). The service industry is greatly dependent on human resource rather than the resource needed to perform tasks within the organization. As a result of this, the service industry has invested a lot in ensuring that their HRM department is effective and have the necessary resources in order to carry out their functions. Bolden-Barrett (n.d.) outlines in her article that recruiting, retention, compensation, liability and labor are the major roles in which the HRM manages. She believes that by delegating a specific department to handle such roles it will relieve some pressure off management and also eradicate the deterrents that plague the service industry. Nickson (2013) reinforced the views outlined in Bolden-Barretts article by explaining that the purpose of HRM is to maximize productivity within service industries by optimizing the effectiveness and potential of the organizations staff members. With this purpose in mind, the HRM would assess the company and determine what is lacking an d also what it needs in order to succeed and reach its full potential. According to Amos et al., (2008) staffing, employee compensation and benefits, and defining and designing work are three major responsibilities of HRM in the service industry. When broken down further the department would be in charge of managing existing staff, recruiting selecting new staff, laying off workers, providing training and assessment, mentoring motivating, handling evaluation compensations, building strategies, providing legal guidance for both employees and the company and most importantly implementing steps to retain current staff. In fact, Businesscasestudies.co.uk (n.d.) through its research elaborated that HRM function not only manages existing staff, it also plans for changes that will affect its future staffing needs. This kind of plan requires HRM to find a level ground between the implementation of a hard or soft management system (Riley, n.d.). They need consider the risks of implementin g soft HRM and leaving the company at a competitive disadvantage by treating employees as the most important assets or implementing a hard HRM where they end up gaining a more cost effective workforce. Conclusion Achievement within the service industry depends on the individual and collective efforts put in by its workforce. HRM as a practice notably offers support and advice to the senior management within an organization. With that being said, the department plays a role in recruiting, retention, compensation, liability and labor. They meet the expectation of these roles by ensuring that the staff in which they recruit possess the needed skills, mindset and experience in which the company needs. They also ensure that employee recognition programs and various incentives are implemented in order to retain current workers. The HRM department also handles the legality within the organization when it comes to the rights of the workers, the enforcing of labor laws and the exercising of company policies. It can be concluded that in regards to the roles of the HRM within the service industry, they are in fact fulfilling and exceeding expectations. AC. 1.2 Justify a human resources plan based on an analysis of supply and demand for Marriot International Introduction Human resource planning is a process through which an organization identifies its current, immediate and future human resource needs to enable the achievement of set goals and objectives (Buller and McEvoy, 2012). A human resource plan attempts to estimate labor, demand and evaluate the nature, sources, and size of the supply that will be needed to offset that demand (Bratton and Gold, 2010). Hotels like Marriott International have recognized the vital role that a human resource plan plays in the constantly changing environment in the hospitality industry. A human resources plan links with the organizations business plan to ensure the goals of the business are met. An effective human resources plan is, therefore, essential to ensure the employees have the competencies and skills required for the business to succeed. Findings Following are the findings on the labor supply and demand in the hotel industry: 1. According to Boxall and Purcell (2016) developing a human resource plan involves the forecasting of hiring needs and employment arrangements. It involves a series of steps that include the identification of business strategy and needs; conducting a job analysis; writing a job description, and determining the feasibility of hiring. 2. The demand and supply of human resources planning in the services sector are influenced by the specific skills, experience and knowledge level and qualities that the organization requires from employees (Werner and DeSimone, 2012). 3. The internal factors that influence human resource planning include organizations size, organizations culture; organizations structure; business strategy; power and politics; and top management and line managers (Harzing and Pinnington, 2015). 4. The external factors that influence human resource planning include economic condition; government regulations; technological change and advancements; industry characteristics; workforce demographics; competitor actions; and union actions (Choi and Ruona, 2010). 5. Human resource planning is affected by changes in the economic and technological environment. The influx or decrease in economy and technology causes a subsequent change in human resource plans (Bratton and Gold, 2010). Discussion A human resources plan is important in any services industry. According to Bratton and Gold (2010) plans helps organizations to adjust to the rapidly changing environment as the demand for human resources increases. Changes in the technological and economic environment affect the human resources plan. The development of technology may lead to a subsequent reduction of workers while the reduction in the economy may also decrease human resources intake in the services sector. However, organizations need to manage and institute a working human resources plan. Developing a human resources plan involves the forecasting of hiring needs and employment arrangements. This means the business needs to identify its strategy and needs; conduct a job analysis; write a job description; and determine the feasibility of hiring (Boxall and Purcell, 2016). Human resources specific skills, experience and knowledge level and qualities that ensure growth influence their demand and supply (Werner and DeSim one, 2012). Internal and external factors in an organization have an influence in the planning of the human resources. The internal factors include organizations size, organizations culture; organizations structure; business strategy; power and politics; and top management and line managers (Harzing and Pinnington, 2015). The external factors include economic condition; government regulations; technological change and advancements; industry characteristics; workforce demographics; competitor actions; and union actions (Choi and Ruona, 2010). The factors enhance how organizations plan and organize their human resources. Conclusions and Recommendations The organizations in the services sector operate in a constantly changing environment in the world.   Many factors exist that may discourage or hinder these organizations to plan for their human resources at present and in the future. However, instituting a human resources plan ensures that an organization is prepared for any change that may occur in the business environment. A human resources plan assists an organization to fulfill its mandate when managed appropriately. The recommendation is that Marriott International needs to develop a human resources plan with its business plan. The argument is that as external and internal factors influence, affect and change the supply and demand of human resources, the business will adapt to this changes with a plan in place. Assess the current state of employment relations in Marriot International Introduction Employment relations refer to the total interaction or relationship between an employee and the employer (Nickson, 2013). This relationship is in regards to the establishment of employment conditions. The topic of employee relations in Marriot International is crucial because of the realization that a good employment relations program in an organization leads to the success of the organization. As an approach to effective employee treatment, an employment relation incorporates all issues in the workplace employer-employee relationship including equal opportunity, recruitment, organizational structure and, training and development (Lee and Way, 2010). This forms a basis through which the employees remain loyal to the organization and stay committed to fulfilling the objectives of the organization as required in the specific jobs (Lee and Way, 2010). Findings Below are the findings on the current state of employment relations in the service industry 1. There is a significant growth in the number of workers and employers in the service industry. This growth has precipitated a selective approach by both workers and employers in finding their employers and workers respectively (Goetsch and Davis, 2013). 2. Employment relations is revitalized in the service industries as a result of consistent boycotts and strikes by workers in the service sector thus effecting talks on issues affecting the employees (Vidal, 2011). 3. Employment relations are currently being handled by unions representing the employers and the employees while the government stands as the mediator (Davidson et al., 2011). 4. As a response to boycotts and strikes, unions and management in the services sector are cooperating through corporate campaigns and neutrality agreements to ensure employment relations are improved (Nickson, 2013). They institute harmonization measures through arbitration and negotiation teams to settle grievances and disciplinary procedures in employment relations. 5. Low wages, sexual harassment and poor working conditions in the services sector have precipitated the increase in unions organizing strikes and calling for better employment relations agreements (Kusluvan et al., 2010). Discussion Employment relations in the hotel sector are important because it influences job satisfaction, customer retention and the success of the business. The fight to achieve better working conditions has been taken to the employers by employees. According to Kusluvan et al., (2010) low wages, sexual harassment and poor working conditions in the services sector have precipitated the increase in unions organizing strikes and calling for better employment relations agreements. Employee relations have affected how employers and employees select workers and employers respectively (Goetsch and Davis, 2013). Employers and employees look for organizations in the services industry where their needs and requirements will be met. Davidson et al., (2011) researched how HRM handled employment relations in the past and the present. The findings showed employment relations are currently being handled by unions, negotiating teams, and collaborative institutions. They handle employment issues and in extrem e circumstances lead boycotts and strikes to revitalize the issues in the services sector (Vidal, 2011). As a response to boycotts and strikes, unions and management in the services sector are cooperating through corporate campaigns and neutrality agreements to ensure employment relations are improved (Nickson, 2013). They institute harmonization measures through arbitration and negotiation teams to settle grievances in the services industry. Conclusions and Recommendations As an approach to effective employee treatment, employment relations incorporate all issues in the workplace, employer-employee relationship including equal opportunity, recruitment, organizational structure and, training and development. Employment relations contribute to the success or the failure of a given business. Poor relations lead to poor or inadequate services which lead to the business being affected. The recommendation is that Marriott International should institute an effective working relationship between the employers and the employees in the hotel. This is done by ensuring all employees are treated equally and professionally. They should also support their unions by entering into continuous talks on how to improve their conditions thus enhancing employment relations. Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources in a selected service industry business Government regulations have increased within the hospitality industry over the years especially due to the industrys rapid growth and diversity. According to Simpson (n.d.), employment laws moderate the relationship between the employer and the employee. The laws delegate areas such as wages, benefits, workplace discrimination, safety on the job and immigration, just to name a few. Employment laws within Jamaica are based on common law concept of the contract of employment, legislations and court opinions (Jamaica Trade Union Labour Laws, n.d.). The laws are enacted as a means of protecting workers from unfair treatment within their workplace as well as protecting employers. Findings Below are the findings related to the different employment laws within my country, Jamaica: 1. According to Employment (Termination, etc.) Act (2008) employers should give prior notice to employees who are dismissed for the reason of redundancy. 2. The Holiday with Pay Act of 1974 outlines that pay, gratuities or benefits should be given to workers who are on sick or vacation leave (Under The Holidays With Pay Act, 2000). 3. The Jamaica observer (2016) advised that the National Minimum Wage increase takes effect today, March 1st, 2016. Such recommendations are made by the Minimum Wage Advisory Commission with guidance from the Minimum Wage Act of 1938. 4. Under the Trade Union Act of 1919, Trade Unions were able to become established, get registered and function. The Act also stipulates ways in which membership is acquired and also how disputes should be settled (Trade Union Act, n.d.). 5. The Employment (Equal pay for men and women) Act of 1975 is in place to eliminate discrimination between sexes as it relates to wages for completing the same work (Jamaica: The Employment (Equal Pay for Men and Women) Act, n.d.). Employment laws greatly impact how the human resource within the hospitality industry functions and operates. The various laws are utilized as guidelines to ensure that employees are treated fairly and that management operates within the laws. According to Employment (Termination, etc.) Act (2008) employers should give prior notice to employees who are dismissed for the reason of redundancy. It further explains that the period of the notice depends on how long the employee has been working with the organization and also how they should be paid for their service. The Holiday with Pay Act of 1974 outlines that pay, gratuities or benefits should be given to workers who are on sick or vacation leave (Under The Holidays With Pay Act, 2000). HR will now have to take into consideration the requirements for paying employees who are on sick leave, going on vacation and even workers who work overtime. Employers who do not comply are at risk of being fined upwards of $250,000 and/or prison time .   The Jamaica observer (2016) advised that the National Minimum Wage increase takes effect today, March 1st, 2016. Such recommendations are made by the Minimum Wage Advisory Commission with guidance from the Minimum Wage Act of 1938. This law is mostly geared at protecting workers without a voice or representation from a Union to bargain on their behalf. With that being said, it is still as important as it sets the bar for the minimum pay in which a certain group of workers should receive. Under the Trade Union Act of 1919, Trade Unions were able to become established, get registered and function. The Act also stipulates ways in which membership is acquired and also how disputes should be settled (Trade Union Act, n.d.). Hotel workers are now able to gain Union representatives under this law. Workers no longer have to strike when their contracts have been breached, as now they have legal representatives who are able to negotiate, deliberate and argue on their behalf. Human Resource Management within the hotel industry will need to sit with Union representatives and negotiate proper wages for workers, decent working conditions and also fair schedules. The Employment (Equal pay for men and women) Act of 1975 is in place to eliminate discrimination between sexes as it relates to wages for completing the same work (Jamaica: The Employment (Equal Pay for Men and Women) Act, n.d.). HR management under this act is obligated in paying workers of both sexes equally to do the same amount of work. Therefore, if the hotel has a male and female chef that does the same amount of work then one shouldnt be getting more pay than the other just because they are a different gender. In addition, both workers should be treated equally and fairly.   Ã‚   Recommendation/Conclusion The hotel industry succeeds when there are full corporation and understanding between employees and employers. As an HR manager, it is my duty to ensure that in creating corporation between management and workers I am also able to do so within the employment laws that governs the country. When these laws are understood, followed and implemented by myself, management and workers then it saves the hotel money- by preventing fines, time- by avoiding lawsuits and lengthy court hearings, and also bad publicity. When the various employment laws are enforced the hotel will experience fewer turnovers, as workers will appreciate the measures taken to ensure that they are fairly treated and therefore will not want to resign. In addition, productivity will increase as workers will be certain that they will receive proper compensation for their labor. Subsequently, with increased productivity, there will be better service and product quality as well; workers will have greater commitment and be c ompelled to put in more work. Last but not least, with the representation of Unions, workers are more trusting and comfortable in their working environment; this is because they know the Union will act in their best interest.

Urban Waterfront Revitalization Through Landscape Approach Environmental Sciences Essay

Urban Waterfront Revitalization Through Landscape Approach Environmental Sciences Essay Urban waterfronts have heavily degraded and received bad perception from urban dwellers. There are needs of effective urban waterfront revitalization programs to achieve a sustainable development of those waterfronts. This research studies is to formulize a landscape approach principles into revitalization program of urban waterfront. This study uses archival analysis to identified type of urban waterfront revitalization programs around the world and to understanding the role of urban waterfront. Finally, it uses literature survey to identified design considerations of landscape approach. Expected results of the study would include the types of waterfront revitalization programs, role of urban waterfront and design consideration for waterfront landscape. They are expected to lead towards formalizing the urban waterfront revitalization principles based on landscape approach. After the introduction of the background problem, the proposal will present the literature on waterfront revita lization, urban waterfront and waterfront revitalization program, and describe the research methodology before presenting the expected results. This study contributes in developing principles for waterfront revitalization program. Besides adding value to existing urban assets, the proposed principles for waterfront revitalization program support the sustainable development agenda of the world. Keywords: Landscape approach, urban waterfront, waterfront revitalization program. 1.1 BACKGROUND Urban rivers provide many functions to the cities such as water supply, transportations, biological protections and promoting for the development of the cities with its social, economical and environmental values. However, with the not planned well urbanization, the rivers have been disturbed which resulting in degradation of urban ecosystem. River restoration has increasingly drawn attention, and corresponding activities have been carried out extensively (Holmes, 1998). Urban rivers that once were the most importance element of city were neglected. They were channelized and turn into big drain. The properties on its corridor turn their back to the river and the cities tried to treat river as unwanted thing. Nonetheless, river corridors remain as continuous natural feature within suburbanized landscapes, which make it more important resource for habitats restoration and nature preservation. The encroachments of development into this area have fragmented, diminished and divided the vegetation along this corridor into small patches. These lead to substantial loss of habitat and biodiversity especially in urban areas. Due to the natural recourses destruction in urban area, importance of rivers has become realize by city dwellers. It becomes important places for recreation and leisure. This why in recent years, the riverfront design and planning initiatives have increased. There are two major issues for this development, conservation and human use. Most of approaches for river developments have difficulties to deal with both of them, which they tend to choose either one. These lead to the failure of the project. This thesis aims to bring these issues together to inform the practice of landscape architecture. 1.2 APPROACH This research study used a set of literature addressed waterfront development around the world. The literatures have covered many perspectives such as ecological, historical, cultural and built design. Even though the literature review provides a broad overview of waterfront development, the designs and planning of these waterfront developments have been superficial especially in ecology perspectives. Furthermore, for river corridor development, most literatures are focusing to non-urban landscapes, leaving the river corridors in urban landscape open for exploration. 1.3 Problem statement 1.4 Research question 1.4.1 Main Research Question 1.4.2 sub Research Question 1.5 GOAL AND OBJECTIVES 1.5.1 GOALS Revitalize the urban river through comprehensive landscape design solutions. 1.5.2 OBJECTIVES To ensure the goal can be achieved, these objectives have been derived: To assess the literature on waterfront revitalization programs around the world. To assess the design that using landscape approach to understand their characteristic, strengths and weaknesses. To investigates and understand of the role of urban river to the users. To formulize the design principles for urban riverfront revitalization programs. 1.6 CHAPTER OUTLINE Chapter One introduces and contextualizes the research problems. The literature reviews are presented in Chapter Two. It examines the development of waterfronts, its design and planning approaches. Chapter Three is describing the research method. It analyze the landscape approach literature to define the concepts and highlight the principles that will guide the development of landscape design principles for urban riverfront on Chapter Four. Chapter Five summarizes the findings of this study; discuss the application of the principles and presents areas of further research. It is considered that the design principles here proposed will be useful for landscape architects, designers and planners in designing the waterfront. Hence, it is expected they will help designers establishing and creating sustainable waterfront that celebrating the past, enjoying the present and respecting the future of urban environment. Figure 1.1 Research design diagram 1.7 significant of study 1.8 TERMINOLOGIES 1.8.1 URBAN watercourse Walsh, Christopher J. et al. (2005) indicated that an urban watercourse is a formerly natural waterway that flows through a heavily populated area. Urban watercourses often significantly polluted due to urban runoff and combined with sewer outflows. 1.8.2 RIVER CORRIDOR From Malaysian Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) guidelines of river development (2004), river corridor is the area outside the river reserved and in 50 meters from the river-reserved boundary. 1.8.3 SUSTAINABLE watercourse The sustainable watercourse covers an important element in Agenda21 about sustainable development. This is because the watercourse have capacity to contribute in increasing biodiversity and profit from development, improving and enhance conditions of the areas and people who live surround it. Sustainable development elements are economic development, social progress, conservation of resources and protection of the environment (UN Earth Summit Agenda 21, Rio de Janeiro, 1992). 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 WATERFRONT REVITALIZATION Hoyle et.al (1993, 2000) said that pioneer in waterfront rehabilitation studies was Canada in early 1970s. In his studies, he found out that focus of waterfront rehabilitation was including wide range of development such as recreational, residential, retail, commercial, service and tourist facilities. According to him and Breen et.al (1996), the development of waterfront in America and Europe has occurred since 1960s. Perspective that tent to integrate design, environmental, social and economic objectives more efficiently (Johes, 1998) was the European approach towards waterfront development in 1990s. Manning (1997) adding that no use or treatment of waterfront should be allowed to exclude recreational value that no feature or operation however mundane needs to lack an aesthetic aspect and finally that ever the demands of conserving fragile nature need not exclude people from the scene. In other part of the world, the development of waterfront is relatively recent phenomenal. Lately, many countries start to open their eyes on potential of their river. South of Korea has demonstrating some wonderful projects of river rehabilitation development such as Chengyecheon River and Han River rehabilitation project. Franco (2000) states that in Brazil, there are many proposals of waterfront projects have been presented since early 1990s, unfortunately, few have been implemented. Most of them are because lack of funds and supports. Waterfront project could be divided into six categories based on Bren and Rigby (1994) studies. This categorization was used by Breen and Rigby as tool to compile a huge numbers of designs. The categories are: historical, residential, recreational, cultural, environmental and working waterfront. Usually, the development of waterfronts would include one or more categories in order to support various demands to the site. There are many cases that the waterfront project have mixed-used characteristic. For example, a project that has ecological features may be designed infused with recreation, education and trails. These multipurpose designs are to encourage the maximum use of the space. Table 2.1 shows some of the waterfront projects that have a major characteristic but have several other features abound. This categorization does seem have significant role in effecting the frameworks and design either. In order to use the categorizations, the heuristic devise should be taken to emphasis the major characters of each project. Table 2.1 Waterfronts, their major character and uses No. Waterfront / City Major Character Uses Source 1 Baltimore Waterfront Mixed used Urban renewal; cultural complex, office, residential Breen and Rugby (1994) 2 Boston Waterfront Historical Public promenades, hotel, residential www.theboston waterfront.net 3 Charleston Waterfront Park Public Space Park, pier Thompson (1991) 4 Elbe River, Dresden Open Space Entertainment, art, park Friedrich (1998) 5 Elbe River, Hamburg Mixed used Transportation, residential Trelcat (2001) 6 Thames River, London docklands Public space Recreation, cultural Chaline 2001 7 Thames River, London Millennium Village Mixed use Promenades, institutions, residential, commercial Burdett (1998) 8 Thames River, London Millennium Dome Public space Recreation, cultural Arnold (1998) 9 Potomic River, Georgetown Historical Residential, office, public space www.georgetown waterfrontpark.org 10 South Platte River, Danver Public space Industrial landscape, park Leccese (2001) 11 Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires Mixed use Residential, commercial, service, open space Schneier Madanes (2001) 12 Aa River, Aarhus Public space Steam daylighting, trail Nielsen (1998) 13 Yarra River, Melbourne Cultural Residential, commercial, entertainment Sandercock Dovey (2002) 14 East River, New York Public space Promenades Freeman 2003 15 Meurthe River, Nancy Public space Promenades Bruel Delmar (1998) 16 San Antonio River, Texas Public space Commercial, hotel, entertainment, historical Posner (1991) 17 Maas River, Rotterdam Mixed use Public spaces, residential, office Mayer (1998) 18 Coal Harbour, Vancouver Residential Open space, office, marina Quayle (1991) 19 Danube River, Vienna Public space Dam, ecological restoration, leisure Hansjakob hansjakob (1998) 20 Chengyecheon River, Seoul Public space Historical, commercial, entertainment, cultural www.preservenet.com 2.3 Role of urban watercourse Urban watercourse is a waterways that flowing through the populated areas. It often in bad condition and heavily degraded. Many of urban rivers have been polluted mostly by urban storm water runoff and combined sewer system. Initially, such watercourses were managed as a resource for human benefit including water supply, flood mitigation, disposal of wastewater and minimization of disease (Walsh 2000; Paul and Meyer 2001; Morley and Karr 2002). However, this has led to the degradation of river ecological functioning, an issue that was initially ignored (Paul and Meyer 2001). Important factor for early settlement was water. Water transportation and construction of flood embankments have turn the water into the background of urban concerns. Most literature agree that these earlier settlements were settle where there were enough water and land for food production, and there were no or rare disaster related to water. Water management became the basis for religious and social institutions. As the region began to produce surplus food, there was a societies restructuring. Dubos (1972), a humanist, states that the urban areas are identified by evaluating their cultural practices in spite of changes in technology. Social scientists begin to acknowledge the water may have played a role in determining the social characteristics of urban areas (Lind, 1979). Increasing of impervious surface area modified of natural drainage system and local climate changes have stressed the urban river. The increasing in impervious area make the runoff of rainfall in urban area has increase, compared to rural area. Furthermore, installations of storm sewer, culverting and channelizing the natural river have transmitted the water into drainage network faster. These events increase the flow velocity, reduce the timing of the runoff hydrograph, increase the flow rates which finally giving a hydrological problem; flooding. In term of flood mitigation, authorities who in charge in river development have change the course of the river flow, in order to prevent localized flooding. They use engineering practices known as river channelization. These technologies including lining the riverbed and banks with concrete or other materials, divert the flow into storm drains and culverts. These changes are often bringing negative effects. It includes flooding of downstream due to changes in the floodplain, loss of habitat for fish and other species, fragmentation of riparian and others, leading to deterioration of water quality. Fortunately, some communities have taken some effort to correct these problems. Their effort is to deal with bank erosion, due to the large amount of rainwater and using technologies such as daylighting and re-meandering. Example of successful project of daylighting is Cheonggyecheon river restoration project. Another major problem of urban hydrology is water quality degradation. McPherson (1974) states that oil leakage and spill, mining activities, surface or streets have contaminated the urban river. Other factors in this problem are soil erosion from construction, industrial process effluents, and combined sewer overflows, urban storm runoff, leakage from septic tanks and cesspools and contamination. As a result of pollution in urban watercourse water, many of the biological and aesthetic functions of water in urban areas cannot be fully utilized, disrespect and sometimes leading to abandoning the river from urban life itself. Litte (1990) states that there has been increasing public concern for the protection of urban watercourse water. Numerous watercourse commissions have been establish in an effort to plan use and protection. There is reason to be optimistic about combining human use and natural environments as many river cities are rediscovering their waterfronts and commissioning planning studies (Kim et al., 1991). However, the effect of waterfront development projects is not always good. All development projects have environmental and economic impact, and the development of the waterfront is not an exception. Any development project that will benefit some people is inevitable. Social and environmental impacts of water development, a number of effects obtained are usually extends far beyond the design of the site itself. Ecologists, environmentalist and designers have difficulties to predict overall effects because of complex interaction of diverse forces. For example, current knowledge of the man made wetland ecosystem might desirable for present of time. Thus, unless the design and planning precedes by five to ten years, something unexpected situation might to develop which some with preferable effects or some are not. In the current state of the art, this group often has difficulties to convince engineers, economists, and politicians that certain developments are unwise, or spending for remedial measures because of lack of solid scientific evidence or facts. Furthermore, engineers traditionally handle an urban watercourse development project. Sadly, they often ignore the social and environmental considerations in their planning process.  In some cases, social scientists, landscape architects and environmentalist have been brought only after the damage (Biswas and Durie, 1971). In principle, it is expensive to fix compensation after they occur: It is cheaper to take preventive measures. However, overall framework for the planning, design and management of urban river corridors still not well establish. An integrated planning that concerns every aspect regarding to urban watercourse corridors revitalization program must be develop. 2.4 LAndscape approach design for waterfront The word landscape is a complex word appears in a wide range of scientific literature. Various authors have treated this topic. Saltzman (2001) overview the term of landscape as notion of landscape has changed and evolved over time and between the various fields of disciplines. Saltzman (2001) indicates that other disciplines has a different approach. For example, natural scientists are often focused on the biophysical environment related to the interaction between species or ongoing natural processes as a landscape. Landscape architects tends to view landscape as planning tool while for archaeologists, they are more interested in the memory of landscape and its temporal aspects. An ethnologist, anthropologists, in literature or even among other disciplines, the landscape term refers for other purposes. In this study, writer defined the landscape using the concept of landscape as Elbakidze and Angelstam (2007). They interpret landscape as social interactions between biophysical landscape and human society as a central idea. In European Landscape Convention, a landscape defined as an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors (Anon. 2000b). The Elbakidze Angelstam (2007) concluded that the social-ecological systems contain elements of both natural and cultural landscape is intertwining with each other. Landscape characters have developed by both physical and cultural factors that evolved over the years. These aspects of the landscape must to consider in addition to the biophysical environment. Therefore, to fully describing a landscape, the number of variables that representing all the dimensions of sustainability have to use (Forman et al 2003, Berkes 1995s, Anderson et al, 2005). To implementing such landscape, approach needed some changes to suit the reality. One is to include of the different perspectives from different disciplines. For example, as described by Angelstam and Richnau (2008), while forest and landscape planners and managers try to accommodate commodity and non-commodity values in the same management unit, conservationists often define functional conservation landscapes, and other stakeholders such as farming communities or district officials may refer to their cultural or livelihood landscapes (e.g., Innes and Hoen 2005). More important in landscape approach is to explore the resources sustainably and untraditionally. Attention has to be making in evaluate the relationship between human with human, human with nature and human with god.   The landscape approach sometimes can be use as basic for ecological development scheme. It deals with the physical, ecological and geographical entity, integrating all human and natural patterns and process. In addition, the structure, composition and function analysis helps in forecasting the landscape dynamic. Landscape approach ultimate goal is to maximize the long-term benefits for biodiversity for sustainable development. This can be achieve by optimizing the balance between economic purposes, ecology and social. A landscape approach that considers whats happening at both the local, water body scale and at the broader regional scale is really the only way to study these types of issues, Cheruvelil (2010) states. If you look at only one ecosystem in isolation, you dont see the whole picture. Wiens (2002) states that systematic analysis of conservation and restoration management for aquatic ecosystems in riverine is not a tradition. However, the complex interactions between land and water systems are getting recognition from governance policies, planning and management practices. Singer (2007) states that being a social-ecological system, the term landscape approach capture the need for applied interdisciplinary approaches. Term landscape approach also emphasizes the ecological effects of spatial patterns of ecosystem and brad spatial scales. It is including the exchange and interaction within the entire landscapes, dynamics of development and spatial heterogeneity, the influence of spatial heterogeneity of biological and abiotic processes, and the management of spatial heterogeneity. Risser (1984) and Angelstam (2004) reflects the idea that landscapes evolve through time, as a result of being acted upon by natural forces and human beings, which underlines that landscapes forms a whole, whose natural and socio-cultural components are taken together, not separately (Berkes et al., 2003). 2.5 summary 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction In order to conduct research on the application of landscape for the urban waterfront more effectively and achieve desired results, the method to be used in this study is divided into two main phases. Each phase consists of research method that leads to the gathering of constructive information needed to the realization of the targeted goals Phase One will be involve mostly on the data gathering; determination and review of available information while in Phase Two, based on the date acquired, a practical guidelines shall be formulated and analyzed. Detailed reasoning and clarification of the aforementioned methodology proposed are as per the next subchapter. 3.2 PHASE ONE DEtermine and review Vast collection of waterfront designs and frameworks from various literatures are collected. It is crucial to establish a good data management in order to have a full understanding of the subject and its related issues, either explicitly or holistically. The assessment of the data gathered in each project is necessary where these elements are identified: Design consideration of urban waterfront Proposed design Planning frameworks Based on the collected data, principles of the projects are reviewed, segregated and tabulated into a table of nine-design consideration, which are open space, human use, character, ecology, accessibility, land use, management, design issues and economy. It is easier to review the quality and impact of a particular project through a list of segregated factors, which will be helpful for the implementation of Phase 2. 3.3 PHASE TWO DESIGN Guideline formulation The segregated list of design consideration from Phase 1 will be further analyzed. Each factors, its correlation, priorities and impact is review and ranked. Next, the first five best design consideration which is implemented will be selected. From the selected design consideration, their principles are outlined in another table for analysis and incorporated in the guideline formulation. . 3.4 LIMITATIONs 3.3 PROCEDURES The research will be divided into 5 stages as show in the figure below: Stage 5 Final Product Figure 3.1: Study Approach Flow Chart 4.0 RESULT AND ANALYSIS 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Design and planning of Waterfront The existing frameworks and designs, which developed by government agencies, researches and private consulting firms, need to be examined and used as the base guidelines for proposed waterfront development and its design. This study applied the design concept definition by Lyle (1999). He stated that design activity is equals to the participation in the process of nature creatively, which means giving form to physical phenomena in every scale. The study also accepted his opinion on the difference of planning and design. Based on his judgment, planning involves administrative activities in spite of physical form shaping while design is the creative physical activity in all scale; this design definition is similar to those explained by Steinitz and McHarg. Even though this thesis is aimed to discuss the design of riverfronts, it is also deals with certain part of the framework planning stage. This is due to the close relation of design issues discussed in the planning stage. Even Lyle (1999) himself acknowledged that the design and planning are closely linked and sometimes indistinguishable. Boston, Baltimore and Toronto were among the pioneers and being the model for the waterfront issues (Penteado 2004). Since 1970s, several publications illustrated the analysis of these cities waterfront (e.g. Breen and Rigby 1996 and Brutomesso 1993). In Toronto, for example, different frameworks, design and planning for its metropolitan waters edge were introduced (e.g. Reid 1997). Central Waterfront Planning Committee (1976) in Toronto listed the physical properties that affecting the waterfront quality. They stated that it depends on the use, history, landscape, immediacy, views, activity, contrast, drama, intimacy, sound and wildlife. The Committee primarily focused on design, explores, and suggests the quality of the water edge form, visual quality, building materials and construction details, and a variety of uses. Waterfront design by Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs (1987) on the other hand addressed the following issues for designing waterfront; shoreline protection, public access area, beaches, recreational boating, landscape for improving the waterfront and urban design. Royal Commission on the Future of Toronto Waterfront RCTFW (1992) proposed a framework of design principles for its waterfront which incorporated nine significant principles: Clean: Incentive of natural processes instead of engineering solutions Green: Infrastructure composed of natural features and topography such as habitats, aquifers and parks Connection: Relation between wildlife habitats, social communities, humans and nature. Open: Maintenance and restoration of vistas Accessible: Incorporation of public transit Useable: Mix of public and private uses and public access Diverse: Variety of uses and programs Affordable: Efficient use of government resources and integration of socio economic and environmental objectives (RCTFW 1992) Attractive: Excellence in design to create memorable places Out of all frameworks reviewed, these principles above were the most comprehensive context in the establishment of a waterfront. They dealt with both natural systems and integration of human needs. In contrast, Reed (1997) focused on the minimization of the impact to natural habitats when designing a trail along the Ontario Lake and thus came out with design guidelines. He proposed that each design should: Avoid most sensitive zone Balance the effect of alternatives Use previous disturbed areas Maintain natural processes Limit access Incorporate habitat enhancements. Unfortunately, he failed to mention the wildlife in urban areas along the coast. Alternatively, the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Department (1994) developed a framework based on these principles: Accessibility Sharing the benefits Balance Diversity Responsible stewardship Many of the guidelines reviewed incorporate different principles. Another case in point is Landplan Co Ltd (1995) who proposed a framework design called generic guidelines for managing visual change in the landscape for the Toronto Waterfront. The general guidelines required these principles to be addressed: Residential Industrial Commercial Recreational Rural Historic area Community character Vegetation Signage Lighting Hierarchy of open spaces Several authors combined their expertise and formulated a framework for the waterfront development in the United States. One of them was from Harvard University Design (1980). They proposed a Guideline for East Boston, which was dealing with: Open space Public access Orientation Views Neighborhood scale Activity Parking There was a successful case where a comprehensive guideline was developed. Torre (1989) presented a framework of waterfront project design based on these principles: History Climate Special elements Image Authenticity Function Public perception of need Financial feasibility Environmental approvals Construction technology Effective management Goodwin and Good in 1990 formulated a framework to rebuild the waterfront in a small town. The framework displayed a list of six fundamentals in the planning process. They called them the tool and technique which are: Waterfront uses and activities Land use control and incentives Land acquisition Financing of riverfront revitalization Choosing and using consultants Obtaining waterfront development permits Coolman (Breen and Rigby 1990), stated that these general issues must be addressed during the development of design guidelines: Simplicity and clarity Compatibility with zoning Publication and communication Table 4.1 summarizes the information of frameworks and design presented above and others world recognized waterfront project. Table 4.1 Interpretation of concern presents in planning and design frameworks. Tick cells indicate the issues addressed by each framework. No Project, City/Literature Human use Open Space Character Ecology Accessibility L

The Sniper :: essays research papers

War is a very controversial dilemma, which could be solved in an orderly fashion rather then a callous disaster where young men and women die. This cataclysmic story takes place in a short story written by Liam O'Flaherty, the story takes place in Dublin, Ireland during the 1920's where a Republican sniper is involved with a terrible accident. He suffers dramatic injury to the soul and heart when someone that he loves dearly is shot. The story's theme is intensified through situational irony, which shows the pointlessness of armed conflict. Unexpected senseless occurrences happen when situational irony comes to effect. Like the time the Republican sniper unnecessarily lights up a smoke, which glows and shows his location on a rooftop; the irony unexpectedly occurs when an old lady whom is a spy descries the Republican sniper. This incident is ironic because one doesn't expect for an old lady to be a spy because old crumbly elders can barely move. This shows that the sniper commits such an imprudent occasion as to light up a smoke, which could have gotten him killed right on the spot. Many other ironic moments take place such as the time a free state sniper was in a armored truck, which is basically like a tank, and he gets out of the his cage and then gets capped. This is ironic because why would someone do something as foolish as getting out of protection and giving himself a death wish, which concludes why war is pointless because all that’s going to happen is doom. This also shows that war is needless because all one is doing is hurting himself by killing a related specie. Furthermore, war can be even more ironic like the time when the Republican sniper unknowingly shoots his loved one, whom is his own brother. This is ironic because people usually that are family, don't have very many different beliefs. This also unveils that war is pointless and ironic because after a war everybody seems to regret what had happened. This short story was exposed in a way that shows how ironic and meaningless war and expresses the pain, sorrow, and agony one suffers caused by war. The theme of this story essentially illustrates a sequence of ironic occasions to impart a message that war is pointless. The first ironic event is the lighting of the glowing smoke and how it is abnormal that someone at an altitude so high can be seen with the tiny lighting of a cigarette.

Locke’s Logical Plain Method Essay -- Philosophy Religion Essays

Locke’s Logical Plain Method As those philosophers before him, or at least as far back as Descartes, John Locke is â€Å"perplexed with obscure terms and useless question† (qtd. in Jones 238), and is interested in starting fresh and free from the opinions of his predecessors. He devises the historical plain method in order to examine the knowledge we posses, with the assumption that the mind is â€Å"white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas,† (qtd. in Jones 245). My interest here, however, is to briefly describe, and to evaluate Locke’s historical plain method. The following passages are to demonstrate the chief values and key limitations of the historical plain method as it pertains to its own investigation of what is true from experience, and to show that Locke mistakes a logical approach for a historical approach, meaning that his method is a logical plain method. The historical plain method allows us to distinguish between what is true, and therefore important enough to warrant our consideration, and what is fantasy and not worth our time. It accomplishes this by examining an object to see whether it has originated from our sense perception, and is thus a sensation, or from the operations of the mind, and thus a reflection. If the object is thus found to have its origins in either the senses or the mind, then it is to be a true object, or one that does exist. Objects that are conveyed by the senses are such as â€Å"hard,† â€Å"red,† â€Å"loud,† and the like. Some are combinations of more than one simple idea derived from more than one sensory input. In the case of â€Å"fast,† the speed of something can both be derived from seeing motion as well as feeling motion. Objects conveyed by the operations of the mind are such a... ... reality of objects, but it may not have the ability to be proven beyond any doubt, and is thus less certain than the logical inquiry. Locke’s historical plain method, named so incorrectly, endeavors to show what is true and false, what is meaningful and meaningless, and therefore, what is important and what is not important. By examining objects it deems to demonstrate their origin as being of sensation or reflection. Since Locke assumed all ideas to be based on simple elements however, he pursued in that direction, which is a psychological and logical one. Thus, Locke developed the logical plain method, but mistakenly named it the historical plain method. For the historical order begins with the objects, and through investigation of it, we derive its simple elements. Works Cited Jones, W. T. Hobbes to Hume. 2nd edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1980.