Rhetoric of abraham lincoln Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rhetoric of abraham lincoln - Essay Example Slavery and succession were threatening human freedom as well as American union. Therefore, without the turmoil that existed at the time, there would not have been exigency for such rhetoric and action. The following essay is a research paper that builds its argument through comparative analysis of various sources of information on the rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln. Analysis of Lincoln’s rhetoric has led to varied opinions among scholars concerning his literary skills as well as his leadership qualities. Such scholars include Mark Neely, Jr., who is a Lincoln scholar and a Pulitzer Prize winning historian. The other is David Herbert Donald, who is a leading American historian of  Abraham Lincoln  and the Civil War. Neely views Lincoln as reactive and subject to changing events, while Donald sees Lincoln as purposeful and strategic. (1) (2) Donald asserted that Lincoln’s failure to respond and instead choosing to apply passivity was a political strategy. Donald Elabora ted, â€Å"Repeatedly throughout the war, Lincoln’s passive policy worked politically. Because any action would offend somebody, he took as few actions as possible†3 According to Neely, the language that Lincoln uses in addressing Americans has attracted admiration, imitation wonder globally. His shaped his words in public letters, papers, and proclamations. This was meant to explain the purpose of the war and inspire commitment. His stylist success should not blind us to the rather limited nature of these communications. There was little awareness of propaganda in Lincoln or his era and only a rather limited one of shaping public opinion. The stylistic success of the rhetoric is limited to the past nature of such communications. There were no counteractive propaganda tendencies among the Americans that could distort or compromise his rhetoric. Propaganda and criticism spread in the twentieth century with the enhancement of the advertisement sector. His rhetoric prowes s is evident in his first inaugural speech. During his first inaugural speech he introduced the theme through attempting to allay fears of the southern states. His words show that he had dreaded for this moment. According to Salem (2008), he went straight into assuring people that their property would not be snatched as earlier anticipated.4 The speech also indicated that he had no intention of abolishing the slave trade. This declaration portrays him as a leader concerned on the impact of interpretation of the law among the public over addressing the slaves’ peril. The first inaugural speech portrays him as a person concerned about changing the public opinion through making promises that would win their support. He had promised the states that they would be given the freedom to run their internal affairs which did not happen. A closer analysis of the speech confirms that he supported a unified nation and not a government made of independent states. The speech clearly brings out his secession fear and preservation of the unity government. However, he intended to uphold the government union without violence. His rhetoric goal was not only to express himself through the use of complicated grammar, but also capture the attention of the audience. Paying attention helps the audience to get an insight of the message being delivered. Lincoln denied of the existence of any differences between the Southerners and Northerners. 5This was meant to encourage people live in unity as equal residents of one nation. Some parts of the speech were

Tiger Balm Essay Example for Free

Tiger Balm Essay Analysis and recommendations of the existing marketing strategies Tiger Balm is a well-known herbal ointment remedy that was developed to relieve the aches and pains in ancient China. It is a very successful example of a truly Asian brand that has gained international recognition. It has created a high degree of awareness and loyalty in global markets. I have evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of your company’s existing marketing strategies, and based on my study, I have found out the following problems: 1. Your target audiences are all age group ,but your target audiences are mainly focused on pain sufferers and sportspeople. When people talk about tiger balm, what comes to their mind is that it is an old heritage originated from ancient China and it relieves the aches and pains. Tiger balm gains its reputation and popularity mostly from its quality and its efficacy. You have a wide customer base which is good. Your positioning strategy approaches different market segments, but is always based on the same brand promise, that is â€Å"works whenever it hurts†. 2. Your products are all labeled as pain reliever. But actually some of Tiger balm’s products are not pain reliever. this may mislead and exclude some people who are just sports enthusiasts. They may simply not have to try the product, believing it not to be for them. 3. If your new product extensions all emphasize your brand promise, consumers may think the product is nothing new but another pain reliever. They may think you don’t produce anything else other than pain reliever. They don’t know the differences among your products .They don’t know which one is good for them and which one they should purchase. This may limit your brand’s organic growth. 4. Your brand communication seems not very creative. In China, people perceive Tiger Balm as a grandfather or grandmother’s product because it has been used mostly by the older generation who have grown up with the brand. You need to attract new target market using non-traditional forms of media. Recommendations: 1. Different products are segmented into separate functions and apply to difference target audiences. Your target audiences can’t be only focused on pain sufferers and sportspeople because they only take a small part of the whole consumer market. Nowadays, many customers have stopped using Tiger Balm, they have to be convinced that Tiger Balm is relevant. To exploit the new health trend, you can position the balm as something like pre-exercise rub, demonstrate to them how Tiger Balm can help keep their activity, exercise, and life going. You can sponsor more sports events , put your products’ pictures everywhere in the gymnasiums, outdoor LCD screens, etc, pushing awareness of Tiger Balm’s capabilities, drawing on its eastern heritage, while maintaining its appeal to the modern world. 2. You can’t just present to your potential customers as a pain reliever, but rather as a way of life that allows people who want to live life to the full to do what they love most. In order to tap into new market to attract more younger generation, you may need to modify your products. You can add on new features to your products to differentiate them from your competitors. 3.Don’t limit your product extensions to your brand promise. You can try to make an image that your products are family necessity. Everyone can use it even he or she is not experiencing any pain. You can exhibit your different product extensions in supermarkets and demonstrate to the potential customers (housewives,etc) the different functions of your products. This has an advantage of personal contact and you get the chance to build a customer-friendly image. 4.Certainly, you don’t want to lose your loyal customers. So you need to remain focus on your brand’s quality and usefulness and get your existing customers to rely on the brand. All in all, Tiger balm has been doing very successful in its positioning strategy and positioning itself as the world’s leading topical analgesic ,perfect for soothing muscular aches and pains .

Analysing Market Competition of British Petroleum and Compempetitors

Analysing Market Competition of British Petroleum and Compempetitors British petroleum was originally created by a German firm as a way of marketing its production in Britain. British petroleum started 1908 in a rugged part of Persia(history of Bp 2010) and has had a lot of oil and gas in the proverbial pipeline(Bp New millenium2010). ,including discoveries from BPs own research facilities. British petroleum is one of the worlds largest energy companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemical products for everyday items(Bp At a Glance2010).BP is the worlds second biggest oil firm by market value. BP had grown to become a global energy company, providing large quantities of oil while also making strides along a promising path towards oils alternatives(Bp At a Glance2010). British petroleum cost profit as at year end 2009 was 14.0 billion and reserves at 18.3billion barrels of oil equivalent i.e. its exploration and refines wholly and partly owned are in 30 countries. This paper analyses BP and its competitors such as Exxon Mobile, Shell, Chevron in terms of the market competition as well as its position within the petroleum industry. This essay is also aimed at assessing both the internal and external factors that greatly influence the business activities of the global petroleum company. Relevant emphasis would be made on the analysis of the critical success factors of BP alongside its business strategies over the past five years. Nevertheless, the essay will appraise the survival of BP in the competitive nature of oil and gas/renewable energies as well as an analysis of the resources and capabilities acquired by the company over the period of five years demonstrating the extent to which such resources have been effectively utilised to gain competitive advantage over its competitors within the oil and gas industry. 2.0 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT OF BRITISH PETROLEUM Oil and Gas companies such as British Petroleum yields a huge amount of turn over for industries. In 2005 Bp delivered a record level of cash flow of $25billion and yielded cash proceeds of $8.3billion and launched the alternative BP business, also distributing $19billion of cash to share holders(Bp Presentation Script 2006). As at 2007 end oil and gas reserves were valued at 177.9billion, which is an increase from the previous year of $120.9billion, while gas was estimated to be worth $68.3billion in the UK(National statistics2010). Oil and gas industries remain highly attractive due to its favourable market position with strong financial make-up and strong earnings growth and by this barrier to entry to oil and gas industries is very high. However the oil and gas industry consist of a few players such as Exxon mobile, shell, Saudi Aram co, chevron which are involved in the large scale of International operations which increases the rivalry level(Energy Business Daily 2010).(energy 2010) argued that threat of new entrants is low due to the fact that leading oil companies as mentioned earlier are very large in size and highly integrated which make use of the large scale of their production and distribution to reduce cost and increase profit and also by investing heavily on drilling rig, technology and innovation that are hard to replicate which leads to manufacturing capabilities and investment which is a significant barrier to enter. Strong players such as BP, Exxon mobile, Shell, Saudi Aramco and few others use their scale of economies ,strong research and development(RD) which act as a significant barrier to entry. Major disadvantage of high barrier to entry is it increases rivalry between competitors and most especially declining industries which is related to the competitive rivalry between BP and competitors such as chevron, shell, Exxon mobile (Energy Business Daily 2010). However in 2009 BP marked the seventeenth year of delivering reserves replacement consecutively of more than 100%, invested $20billion in its business and gained $4billion in cash cost savings approximately 40% of lower fuel cost(annual review 09). Production grew by 4% while production cost reduced by 12% which makes BP the largest producer in deep water field globally(Annual. Reporting 09). On the other hand shell seeks a large rival method by re-enforcing its position as a leader in the industry with the ability to provide competitive shareholders return and the projection of 8billion barrels of oil to improve its financial position till 2020(Shell strategy 2010). 2.1 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS Critical success factor is important as it allows firms concentrate on building their capabilities and allows firms to make a decision on whether they have the capability to build the necessary requirements to meet its Critical success factors(Rockart J Bullen C 1981). Rockart in (Mind tool 2010) states that critical success factors are The limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization. They are the few key areas where things must go right for the business to flourish. If results in these areas are not adequate, the organizations efforts for the period will be less than desired.. Critical success factors are those major factors of a company such as reputation, brand, excellent services, delivery, product range and innovation (Johnson Scholes2002). Presently Bp is facing a huge loss in the business related to the oil spill with the effect on the environment at large in April. Early this year BP has paid $11.6bn in total costs on the gulf of Mxico oil spill, but still faces ongoing clean-up charges which is estimated to be $39.9billion).(Guardian2010). 2.1.1 Cost reduction: Bp suspended its dividend quarterly payments made to shareholders, which is about 9.5pence per share amounting to $2.6billion as a result of the oil spill making all efforts to cut cost and maximise profit(BBC New2010). Bp laid off thousands of workers ,about 20% by cutting down capital expenditure significantly as part of bps plan to reduce annual cost (BBC News Channel2008). Bp sold four oil and gas stakes in the gulf of Mxico to Marubien corporation at $650billion as a result to raise funds to pay part of the damages of oil spill which is as a result of cutting cost(Euro News 2010). BP agreed to sell part of its assets in North America and Egypt for $7 billion which is part of BPs plan to get money to pay out of the damages they caused in the gulf of Mxico which is another process of cutting cost (Bloomberg Business week 2010). (Market Watch2010). Bp established $20billion escrow fund for victims of the oil spill spreading out the payment quarterly, initial p ayment of $3billion in 3rd quarter, $2billion in 4th quarter and $1.5billion per quarter till its fully paid as a result of cutting cost . 2.1.2 Sales and Marketing: British Petroleum is into all kinds of energy products such as wind, solar, bio fuel, carbon, hydrogen power, gas fired power and storage systems(Bp 2008 pg33-34). British Petroleum invested $1.4billion in as part of the commitment of the company to spend $8billion in 10years by developing alternative energy such as wind, bio fuel, carbon and storage(Bp 2008 pg 33). The industry is currently facing a down turn in alternative energy by closing factories around the world and cutting alternative budget from $1.4billion(850m) to between $500million and 1billion(Guardian article 2009). 2.1.3 Process Innovation: British petroleum invented Bright Water with the use of polymer popcorn as a process of recovering oil from the deep shores of the sea which helps Bp to boost its oil out significantly, which is an advantage for British petroleum to improve its research and development and gain competitive advantage over its rivals(Bp report 2010). 2.1.4 Research and Development: British petroleum commenced on a $500billion research in Illinois on farm bio-energy production(Tech 2010). Bp launched a major new personal development programme which would give young people from different parts of the world the opportunity to have a better life and the positively influence local communities(London 2012). Bp has established a new research of $500million studying the impact of the deep water horizon(Bp2010). Bp is the leading player in the global bio fuel market, Bp and martek bio science corporation entered a jointed agreement to prove microbial oil for bio-fuels(Bp press 2010). Bp in 2008 commenced on a project of exploration and extraction of crude oil and natural gas from wells of 8 different countries and also completed 9 major production projects which led to record profit of $37.9billion before tax approximately 39% higher than the previous year(Bp2008 pg13-14). Bp is the largest producer of oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico , producing about 400,000 barrels of oil every single day. It has also made progression on nine projects n the Gulf of Mexico such as Atlanta Phase2, Tubular Bells, Kodiak, Freedom, Kaskida, Isabela, Santa Cruz, Mad Dog Tie Backs and Great White(Bp Press Releases 2009). Therefore British petroleum has a good reputation on research and development which as a result, increase competitive advantage over it rivals. 3.0 CONCLUSION 4.0 PORTERS GENERIC STRATEGY OF BRITISH PETROLEUM Cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and focus strategy are the three main strategic approach that can be applied to any products of any industry to gain competitive advantage(mind tool 2010). Cost leadership strategy is also referred to as low cost leadership strategy which is aimed at gaining competitive advantage by reducing cost below its competitors(Ecofine 2003). Differentiation strategy is a competitive business strategy in other to gain competitive advantage by the differentiations of product and services from that of competitors(Ecofine 2003). Focus strategy is the use of core competencies of an industry to serve a group of customers Niche Market(Ecofine 2003). Bps method of gaining competitive advantage is by cutting cost which led to the explosion in 2005 in Texas. It was stated that Bp implemented a 25% cut on fixed cost from 1998 to 2000 which impacted the maintenance and infrastructure of the refinery(Washington post 2006). Four successive accidents took p lace between 2005 and 2006, the explosion at the Texas city refinery, the oil spills in Alaska, the $1billion thunder oil rig in the gulf of Mxico was as a result of poor maintenance and cost cutting(The Sunday Times 2010). As at 2007 year end Bp shed more than 7500 jobs and contractors swinging its profit to $4.3billion after a loss of $3.3billion the previous year which is as a result of cutting cost(SA Business2010). The newly appointed CEO in 2008 carried out a program on cutting cost on job cuts of 14500 workers and $1billion over head cost cut by maximizing its profit with a much greater investment in Canadian oil sands(Guardian2008). A savings of $1billion and a cost cut of $2billion and the lower oil price led to increase in profit(BBC New2009). It has always been a tradition of Bp to cut cost by maximizing profit their by increasing its competitive advantage in the business, however cutting cost in 2010 has left Bp with a shredded reputation as a result of poor performance and safety caution(Panel 2010). Furthermore British Petroleum has also imbibed differentiation strategy by engaging in new projects and new researches and developments which would enhance its competitive advantage over its rivals. Bp and Edison Mission Group a sister company to Edison International in 2005 planned a project of $1billion that would generate electricity with the use of minimal carbon using hydrogen fuelled power plants in California(Green Car Congress2006). Bp is committed to developing other new project of bio fuel such as Algae, Diesel and Butanol (Good Clean Tech 2009). Bp differentiates itself from its rivals by new researches and developments, involving in new projects by creating and expanding energy products. Bp and Emerson Project Management increased the flow of wireless network technology by expanding its cherry point refinery application and installing Emersons smart wireless throughout its RD facility in Naperville(Control Global 2009). However Bp imbibed marketing and refining strategy by processing crude oil to petroleum products and selling them around the world in over 100 countries operating in 17refineries worldwide at the capacity of 2,155million barrels per day, while its retail network consists of 22600 stations branded Bp, Amoco ,Arco, Castrol brand as part of its means of differentiating itself within the energy industry and a means of gaining competitive advantage(Bp2008 pg27-28). The company has set a standard with the use of cost leadership strategy, market strategy, differentiation strategy and a bit of focus strategy to maximize profit, generate revenue and having a competitive advantage in the energy industry. 4.1 CONCLUSION This report has shown that British petroleum used cost leadership strategy which is also known as low cost strategy as a way of gaining competitive advantage which in turn had diverse effect on the business due to the explosions and positively impacted on the business. Also British petroleum has used differentiation strategy as part of its business strategy by differentiating its products by creating and developing alternative energies to yield more proceeds for the business alongside and also incorporating marketing strategy by placing the business outlets in over 100 countries around the globe as a means of having an advantage of its rivals. 5.0 RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES OF BRITISH PETROLEUM The Value chain are the activities through which it develops competitive advantage through its production, sales and marketing, maintenance, through the use of administrative infrastructure, human resource management and research and development in which put together builds products and services(Johnson schools 2008). Primary activities; A Companys primary activities are the processes involved in producing or manufacturing a product or products(Richard lynch 2006). Bp is well known for its cost reduction strategy, sales and marketing strategy, research and development strategy which are alternative energys and exploration and production of oil and gas and renewable energys, its innovation strategy which are the primary activities of British petroleum. Research and development; After the major disaster British petroleum caused in the gulf of Mexico, and the ongoing debt it still has to pay, BP is still pushing further on its business by signing a deal with verenium for cellulosic ethanol technology which is a process of fermentation of biomass into ethanol which is one of British petroleum technology on bio fuel which is an alternative energy(C Net News 2010). Sales and Marketing; Despite the huge loss in the Gulf of Mexico crisis early this year and the damaged image of Bp, Bp is back in profit in relations to the increase in oil price which boosted its earnings in the exploration and production division to 1.3billion(BBC News by Peston Picks 2010). Bps exploration and development activities include production of natural gas and oil and drilling of wells to complete production and such activities take place in UK, USA, Canada, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway and many others while BPs refining and marketing section is involved in crude oil, petroleum products, petrochemical products and aluminium products by supplying these products to customers such as Amoco, Arco, Castrol brands and also producing alternative energies which are the primary activities of BP(Business Week 2010). TNK-BP produces natural gas in subsidiary areas in West Seberia and also in the core areas in West Seberia known as Nizhnevartovsk(TNK-BP2010). Bp s ells its products through powerful brands such as ARCO, Castrol, Amoco, Aral and BP in more than 250,000 filling stations all over the world, Bp is also the largest retailer in petroleum products in Germany and has about 2,700outlets there. Bp is also planning to build outlets in china which would be named Petro china and Sinopec(BP Investment and income2010). However BP has divested a number of its oil and natural gas properties which means selling off a part of its exploration and production infrastructure businesses and examples are BP sold four drilling rigs such as Magnolia, Merganser, Nansen, and Zia which produced a total of 15,000 barrels of oil per day which is as a result of exploring new energies in the vicinity and the cash from the sales all four drilling rig would be used to pay out of the violation charges of the gulf of Mxico oil spill(Guardian 2010). Supportive activities; supportive activities are activities that support the primary activities that makes it more efficient and effective such as procurement, infrastructure, Human Resource Management and technology development(Johnson. G Scholes. K 2002). Bp new strategy of low cost is divestment of its telecommunication technology section of the business to Telekom system in other to save cost and continue its efficiency. CONCLUSION This report shows how British Petroleum has achieved its competitive advantage through its business strategies b cutting cost, innovating new products such as renewable energies, efficiently working on research and development and also utilizing its sales and marketing strategies. In the past five years has aligned its business strategy to resources and capabilities their by giving it competitive advantage. Bp has also faced a lot of challenges relating to the oil spill in 2005-2006 but has also gradually gained its stands in the oil and gas industry. However there are recent challenges due to the recent explosion in the gulf of Mxico causing Bp to lose its licence to extract oil and facing a six month suspense due to the explosion. Bp should focus more safety measure and environmental issues by preparing for any further damages and also training workers in fields on how to quickly spot problems with oil rigs and quick solutions to the problems. Bp ; oil and gas exploration; what we do(2010) Retrieved [online] November 8 2010 http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9021489contentId=7039991 1.History of BP(2010); Our history. The bps story from first oil to tomorrows energies. BP 2010 retrieved [online] November 11 2010 http://www.bp.com/multipleimagesection.do?categoryId=2010123contentId=7059226 2.Bp New Millennium. 2000 and beyond. Looking ahead to new energies 2000 retrieved [online] November 11 2010 http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9014445contentId=7027526 3.Bp at a Glance 2010; about BP. Retrieved [online] November 8 2010 http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=3contentId=2006926 BP presentation script 2006: Strategy Presentation 2010. Retrieved [online]14 November 2010 .http://www.bp.com/extendeddownloadscript.do?categoryId=9028227contentId=7051331 National statistics November 11 december 2008 [online]: Oil and Gas Values. Retrieved 14/11/2010 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=149 Energy business daily : Barriers to entry into the energy industry ; Retrieved [online] 14 November 2010; http://energybusinessdaily.com/power/barriers-of-entry-into-the-energy-industry/ BP Annual Report 2009; BPs annual summary of group strategy and performance. Retrieved [online] 16 November 2010 http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9021605contentId=7040949 Royal Dutch Shell Plc update on strategy to improve performance and grow; Our s http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/our_strategy/update_2010/ mind tool 2010; porters generic strategy; choosing your route to competitive advantage [online] retrieved 16 2010 from; http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_82.htm British petroleum press office 2010;by Cassie France Kelly; Bp pledges $500million for independent research into impact of spill of marine environment. Retrieved [online] 16 November 2010. http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968contentId=7062370 Quick MBA Knowledge to power your business; strategic management; porters generic strategies 2010 [online] retrieved 16 November 2010 http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/generic.shtml Johnson Gerry Kevan Scholes 2002; Exploring Corporate Strategy; Text and Cases 6th edition pg 157 Mind tools; Critical success factors ; identifying the things that really matter for success [online] retrieved 18 November 2010http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_80.htm Rockart J and Bullen C 1981; A Primer on Critical Success Factors. Centre for Information System Resources Working Paper no 69 Sloan School of Management, MIT, Cambridge Massachusetts. Tech.com 2010; The board of trustees of the university of Illinois [online] retrieved 18 November 2010 http://www.tech.com/?p=9 London 2012 Olympics and paralympics games; London 2012 and BP launch a major new development programme for young people: The London 2012 Young Leaders Programme. Jan 2010 [online] retrieved 18 2010 http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/01/london-2012-and-bp-launch-a-major-new-development-progra.php Bp press 2010 by cassie france Kelly; BP and Martek Biosciences Enter a Joint Development Agreement to Deliver Advanced Biodiesels [online] retrieved 18 2010. http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968contentId=7055476 Guardian news and media limited2010; Bp cost to hit $40billion [online] retrieved 17 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/02/bp-oil-spill-costs-40-billion-dollars BBC News Business 2010; BP crisis: The impact on your savings and investments. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10293829 BBC News Channels; last updated February 2008 [online] retrieved 18 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7227714.stm Bloomberg Business Week 2010; Bp agrees to sell apache for $7billion [online] retrieved 18 2010; http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-20/bp-agrees-to-sell-assets-to-apache-for-7-billion.html Euro News October 2010: Bp sells off gulf of Mexico oil fields [online] retrieved 17 2010. http://www.neurope.eu/articles/BP-sells-off-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-fields-/103487.php Market Watch November 2010 by Steve Gelsi Robert Schroeder [online] retrived 17 2010. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bp-quiet-on-escrow-demand-before-obama-meeting-2010-06-16 Bp Reports and Publications. 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[online] retrieved 18 2010. http://www.ecofine.com/strategy/Differenciation%20stategy.htm Ecofine; Integrated Knowledge; Focus and Niche Strategy; written b Bernard Jacquier [online] retrieved 18 2010. http://www.ecofine.com/strategy/Focus%20and%20Niche%20stategies.htm Washington Post 2006; Cutting cost led to blast at Bp plant ;probe finds. By Steve Mufson [online] retrieved 18 2010; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/30/AR2006103001154.html The Sunday Times 2010;Article; Brownes legacy of cost cutting stored up barrels of trouble; by Tom Bower. [ online] retrieved 18 2010. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7120563.ece SA Business 2010 by Brett Clayton; BP sees opportunities for more cost cutting.[online] retrieved 18 2010. http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/83393747.html Guardian 2008 Article; Bp goes back to petroleum; the shift for renewable has been ditched for a carbon intensive future; [online] retrieved 18 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/feb/21/bp.oil BBC News/Business 2009; lower oil prices cut Bp profit;[online] retrieved 18 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8171744.stm Panel; Bp did not cut cost; Newsy beta multi source video analysis. [online] Retrieved 18 2010. http://www.newsy.com/videos/panel-bp-did-not-cut-costs/ Green Car Congress 2006; Bp and Edison plan major hydrogen power for California. [online] retrieved 19 November 2010. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/02/bp_and_edison_p.html Control Global 2009; Bp speeds innovation with wireless; Improvements in Equipment Monitoring and Availability Are among the Benefits Already Realized. [online] retrieved 19 November 2010 from: http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2008/BPSpeedsInnovationWN2.html Good Clean Tech 2009; Bp Preparing Algae Diesel and Butanol production posted November 6 2009.[online] retrieved 19 November 2010 from: http://www.goodcleantech.com/2009/11/bp_preparing_algae_diesel_and.php Bp Press Releases; November 2009; Bp announces Giant Oil Discovery in The Gulf of Mexico [online] retrieved 19 November 2010 from: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968contentId=7055818 Gerry Johnson,Kevan Scholes Richard Whittington 8th Edition,2008;Exploring Corporate Strategy; Text and Cases pg 110 BBC News by Peston Picks; Bp and Lloyds: We all pay for their recovery on 2 November 2010 [online] retrieved 21 November 2010 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/11/bp_and_lloyds_we_all_pay_for_t.html Richard Lynch 4th edition 2006; Corporate Strategy pg 203 CNET News 2010;Green Tech; BP to buy ethanol fuel plant from verenium; edited by Martin Lamonica. [online] retrieved 24 November 2010 from: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20010648-54.html Business Week 2010; BP PLC-SPONS ADR(BP:USA) Stock Quote and Company Profile [online] retrieved 24 November 2010 from: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=BP:US TNK-BP 2010; Exploration and Production; [online] retrieved 24 November 2010 from: http://www.tnk-bp.com/operations/exploration-production/ Bp Investment and income 2010; British Petroleum Plc (BP Plc); [online] retrieved 24 November 2010 from: http://www.investmentsandincome.com/investments/multinational-corporation/british-petroleum.html Guardian 2010; Bp sells four gulf of Mxico oil fields; Monday 25th October 2010; Article [online] retrieved 24 November 2010 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/25/bp-gulf-of-mexico-oil-field-sale Gerry Johnson Kevan Scholes 6th Edition 2002; Exploring Corporate Strategy Text and Cases pg 161.

The Iliad of Homer Essay -- essays research papers

The Iliad is the quintessential epic. It is full with gods, goddesses, heroes, war, honor, glory, and the like. However, for just short while near the very conclusion Homer avoids all of those epic qualities. The banquet scene in Book XXIV is the most touching, the most â€Å"human† scene in the entire poem . In the midst of the dreadful gulf of war and anger there occurs an intimate moment between two men who ironically have much in common below the surface. Priam, old and fragile, makes his way to the camp of the enemy’s greatest warrior late at night. He bears what little treasures have not been exhausted by the ten-year conflict and plans to plead for the rightful return of his son’s body. This is his final heroic endeavor. And perhaps, because he has just lost someone so dear to him, he is willing to take the risk despite his fear. What is interesting is that when he does arrive at the camp of Achilles, his fear suddenly subsides and â€Å"the old man makes straight for the dwelling where Achilles beloved of Zeus was sitting.† A decisive moment has arrived for both men. When Priam enters, Achilles knows that he must accept his own death with open arms while Priam is forced to sit at the knees of Achilles and kiss the hands that have killed his beloved Hektor. Homer seems to stop the action for a moment to let us feel the intensity of this extraordinary encounter. Priam urges Achilles to think of his own father and then pity Priam in his outrageous position, a king "who must put my lips to the hands of the man who has killed my children." Achilles immediately accepts Priam’s appeal and the two weep for their sons, fathers, and friends. This sharing of common grief becomes a bridge back to human sympathy. In an amazing speech Achilles soothes Priam's sorrow by painting a picture of their common misfortune and the inevitable limits of mortality. He reminds Priam that â€Å"there is not anything to be gained from grief for his son.† â€Å"You will never bring him back,† he says, â€Å"sooner you must go through yet another sorrow.† Though Achilles has matured dramatically since the beginning of the Iliad the complexities of his character don't disappear instantly. Priam asks not to be seated so he can more quickly attend to the return of Hektor. Suddenly Achilles' anger flashes out. Though his insight and human compassion have developed greatly he is still obstinate an... ...an lot he portrays is grim, his actions show a human decency that somehow softens our sense of what it means to be human NOTE: Observe how the plot structure of the Iliad completes itself. In the first book, a father (Chryses) comes to Agamemnon to plead for the return of his child but is refused. In the last book, a father (Priam) also pleads to Achilles for the return of a child; this time pity is shown. Though this symmetry is surely there, Homer is an artist who permits complexities and contradictions. As you begin to sum up your feelings about the Iliad, test all the threads. The question is not simply is Achilles right or wrong, or are the Trojans or Argives the real heroes. Homer values both cultures. He sees meaning in the heroic code but he also sees its shortcomings. In that same way, he pictures the horrible sufferings of a world at war and yet shows us the human dignity that can shine through. In the beginning Apollo says that mortals maneuver through Destiny with "the heart of endurance." That is where the Iliad begins and ends. It is ironic that Achilles is young and strong and in his prime while Priam is way past his and yet Achilles is nearer to death.

S&S Air

3. Depreciation percentage=$1,640,200/$15,411,620 = 10. 64% New Fixed Assets=$15,411,620 + $30,000,000 = $45,411,620 $45,411,620*. 1064 = $4,831,796 new depreciation Pro forma Income Statement Sales ($36,599,300*1. 12)$40,991,216 Cost of Goods Sold ($26,669,496*1. 12) 29,869,836 Other Expenses ($4,641,000*1. 12) 5,197,920 Depreciation 4,831,796 EBIT 1,091,664 Interest 573,200 Taxable Income 518,464 Taxes (40%) 207,386 Net Income $311,078 Dividends ($311,0786*0. 30)$93,323Add to Retained Earnings $217,755 Pro forma Balance Sheet AssetsLiabilities and Stockholder’s Equity Current AssetsCurrent Liabilities Cash ($396,900*1. 12)$444,528 Accounts Payable ($844,550*1. 12) $945,896 Accounts Receivable ($637,560*1. 12) 714,067 Notes Payable 1,928,500 Inventory ($933,400*1. 12)1,045,408Total Current Liabilities 2,874,396 Total Current Assets $2,204,003Long-term Debt $5,050,000 Fixed Assets Net Plant and Stockholder’s EquityEquipment $45,411,620 Common Stock $322,500 Retained Ear nings 9,451,685 Total Equity $9,774,185 Total Assets $47,615,623 Total Liabilities and Stockholder’s Equity $17,698,581 EFN=$47,615,623-$17,698,581 = $29,917,042 Since the fixed assets have increased at a faster percentage than sales, capacity utilization for next year will decrease because the addition of the new line would expand capacity much more than would normally be required.

Myspace vs. Facebook

Comments, pictures, â€Å"about me† section, and last login date are a few of many things one can choose to show or keep hidden on his or her profile. Namespace allows its user to choose songs to post on their profile. This means the user has the ability to create an infinite amount of song playbills for friends to listen to while visiting his or her profile page. Namespace also supplies Its user with a personal homepage aside from a profile page. This Is In turn helpful because it allows the user to check messages, notifications, and picture comments. Namespace has simple and â€Å"to he point† privacy settings as compared to Faceable.The user may choose to allow everyone to view his or her profile, or Just his or her friends. This same rule Is applied to picture album access. Namespace also tends to aim its site towards teenagers by providing its users with a cornucopia of gaming applications like â€Å"Mafia Wars† and â€Å"Sorority Life†, and allowing its user to find friends by high school name. A major downfall regarding the Namespace site is its inability to limit the number of friends a user can have; he or she may have two million friends and up which can be Mathew overwhelming to the account holder.Namespace carries a lot of spam on its site as well. On any occasion, a user's inbox can be filled with unnecessary messages from anonymous people. One of the most problematic Issues with Namespace Is the fact that It Is extremely easy for one's account to get fished; or hacked. By simply opening a message, a Namespace user's account may become hacked or encounter a harmful virus. Faceable, a second and recently more popular social networking site, delivers the same purpose as Namespace but differs in certain aspects. A Faceable user has no actual â€Å"profile†.He or she is provided with one page that is seen by friends. The user has a comment wall that displays recent activity which cannot be customized. Faceable allows its user to post â€Å"What's On Your Mind? † in the form of status updates. Unlike Namespace, Passbook's page design is the same for everyone, meaning that nothing on a user's page can be customized or tweaked to his or her own specifications. Faceable also has an over abundance of applications as well as unnecessary groups one can Join. The user may add as many applications as he or she wants, and can Join groups like † I hate cold peanut butter†.One unsatisfactory feature of Faceable Is Its complicated privacy settings. â€Å"Friends of friends† can still view an individual's page unless he or she specifically changes it, tagged photos can stall De seen Day toners even IT ten user may not want TN s, an I Is extremely easy to view other people's wall and photo albums if one user posts a picture or link on another users wall whom he or she is already friends with. Faceable is a more mature site than Namespace in the aspect of its site being geared towards college students and people in the business world.Faceable allows it user to be â€Å"straight forward† by posting links and having simple methods of contact, instead of slowing the user down by having musical playbills and such. Another positive feature about Faceable is it being much easier to keep in close contact with friends and family members. This is due to the friend limit Faceable gives to its users. In actuality, both Namespace and Faceable are great social networking sites. Namespace has positive and negative elements as well as Faceable, and they can both be used according to one's personal reasons for socially networking. Word count: 762

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect This week my literary agent said she’ll submit my young adult novel to publishers. Her advice to me during this waiting period is â€Å"You must be patient. Are you patient?† Yes! For me to have gotten to this point, I had to be incredibly patient - over 10 years’ worth of persistence. And I’m beyond excited. Because from where I sat a decade ago, this moment would have seemed impossible. But after an adventurous trek through the wilds of editing, the challenges of slush pile and Twitter querying, and the thrills of face-to-face pitching to agents, I know I’ve not only prepared my best work but also have the best representation for my novel. Just as Hope preaches, practice at this writing thing does make perfect. Agents aren’t kidding when they say they want a manuscript that’s ready. They’re not interested in â€Å"potential.† I learned this when I queried my manuscript too early over a year ago. My story garnered some partial reads from a few agents, but eventually, over 50 rejections. (Keep in mind I had to query far more agents - over 100 - to get 50 â€Å"nos.†) During the revision process these last two years, my novel has changed titles three times and has improved thanks to feedback from two freelance editors and over 20 beta readers. A former acquisitions editor I found via Editing-Writing.com suggested key changes that ultimately got me the attention from my current agent. So February a year ago, with a new title, a much tighter plot, and a whole new query letter, I was ready to pitch again and even travel to Chicago to meet agents. These writing workshops hosted The logline was also the perfect tool for #PitMad, a day of Twitter pitching that happens four times a year, where authors share manuscripts with agents using 140 characters. From the three tweets you’re allowed, I received three requests from agents. Here’s one that worked: â€Å"When a friend is sexually assaulted, a teen journalist learns it’s better to go NYT, not TMZ, when reporting the crime. #PitMad #YA.† But it was the slush pile query that ultimately brought me the pot of gold. While Twitter and face-to-face pitching, I never stopped sending out a revised email query: at least two a week. This one featured the logline, now the hook in my first paragraph. Agent Amy Tipton of Signature Literary asked for my full manuscript in June and made me an offer of representation. We worked that  summer on two rounds of revisions (one major and one minor), and now the book is ready for publishers’ eyes. I got my agent

Evolutionary Psychology As A Unifying †Research Paper

Evolutionary Psychology As A Unifying – Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Evolutionary Psychology As A Unifying Research Paper In this essay I will assess evolutionary psychology (E.P) as a scientific research programme. I will outline the concept of a scientific research programme and the utility of discussing E.P in this manner. I will also give an outline of the origins of E.P, discussing on the one hand its fundamental principles and their auxiliary hypotheses and on the other the earliest work done in this spirit. I will discuss certain ambiguities and weaknesses present in the programme, those concerning reverse engineering, modularity, adaptation and the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (E.E.A). I will complete the discussion of Archer’s claim by assessing criticisms of E.P and their motivation, and providing some warning comments about progress and degeneration. E.P as a Scientific Research Programme Archer (2001) presents the hierarchical theoretic structure of E.P. as outlined by Buss (1990). His basic claim is that the fundamental principles of E.P are not being tested in empirical research; the role of these fundamental principles (the first and second level) is to generate ‘novel hypotheses’ (the second and third level) which are then empirically tested. To understand fully what is being claimed one needs at least a brief gloss on work done in Philosophy of Science in the latter part of the twentieth century. In his Conjectures and Refutations Karl Popper made what many consider to be a key move in the justification of scientific method. His suggestion was that science follows a ‘hypothetico-deductive’ system. Rather than being an attempt to prove theories inductively from set of relevant observations, a more stable characterisation (which would also account for the success of scientific theories) would be as follows: hypotheses are deduced from theories; these hypotheses generate predictions which are submitted to rigorous tests; any observations which violate these predictions refute the theory via a retransmission of falsity under the logical law of modus tollens. Theories are conjectures which stand only until falsified; the wider the range of predictions and the more rigorous the test, the better the theory. (Popper, 1972) One problem noted by one of Popper’s students, David Miller (in his Critical Rationalism), is the lack of any theory of verisimilitude. Given that there is no way of identifying a specific set of all the hypotheses a theory may generate in potentia there is no way of knowing which un-refuted theory is objectively better, and thus closer to the truth, than its contemporaries. (Miller, 1994) An alternative view presented by Kuhn in his Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that ‘normal science’ consists of ‘paradigms’, which are themselves dependent upon historical factors such as their socio-political context. Unfortunately Kuhn’s use of the ‘paradigm’ is fairly ambiguous and whilst it is useful for talking about dramatic changes in accepted scientific thought e.g. the ‘Williams revolution’ in evolutionary biology, it is unclear whether it can be specifically applied to E.P. Kuhn recognising this ambiguity changed the term to disciplinary matrix or matrices (Kuhn, 1970, 1977). However, some e.g. Buller Hardcastle (2001) read ‘paradigm’ as a shared and unquestioned framework of theory, methodology, and exemplars (specific explanations that serve as models for further scientific research) and believe E.P may be represented in this way. I am unconvinced that they have wrestled with the ambiguities a nd will argue that a Lakatosian ‘scientific research programme’ (S.R.P) is closer to Archer’s representation of E.P as a â€Å"research agenda† and can better account for the diversity within the field (Archer 2001, p414). Imre Lakatos, also a student and colleague of Popper (but sympathetic the idea that history is a key factor in considering the nature of scientific research), proposed the idea that an S.R.P is characterised by a continuity which ties together its members: the metaphysical ‘hard-core’. The hard-core is metaphysical in the Popperian sense that it is not subject to refutation by empirical testing. Within the hard-core are the central theoretic principles from which auxiliary hypotheses are deduced. In E.P. the hard-core, at the very least, certainly comprises the principle that species evolve through genetic inheritance, mutation and differential selection: Darwinian evolution. It would also include certain Neo-Darwinian ethological principles such as Trivers’ theory of reciprocal altruism, Hamilton’s theory of kin selection and Maynard Smith’s application of ‘game theory’ to evolution. The inclusion of these is indicated by the words imme diately following the title quote â€Å"natural selection has made us this way† (Archer 2001, p414). Note that these theories are empirically testable, however what is important in the context of E.P as an S.R.P is that they are tested elsewhere (they are the auxiliary hypotheses of other S.R.P’s); the experiments conducted under the banner of E.P serve to test the auxiliary hypotheses which form a protective belt around the hard-core (Archer 2001, p415). This, I hope, will add some depth to Archers comment that it is a â€Å"fundamental misconception† about E.P research to believe â€Å"that in each case the evolutionary view is being tested† (Archer 2001, p416). The auxiliary hypotheses are interpretations of the hard-core with specified empirically observable predictions from which experiments may be constructed. If the predictions are falsified by experimental observations the relevant auxiliary hypotheses will be discarded as false interpretations of the core. A degenerative S.R.P is one which is continually forced to discard auxiliary hypotheses, thus reducing the range of empirical prediction and continually reinterpreting the hard-core. A progressive S.R.P is one which continually increases the range of empirical prediction through the survival of auxiliary hypotheses and the generation of novel hypotheses from the former. The Santa Barbara School and the early auxiliary hypotheses In the light of this discussion we can more clearly discern what might be characteristic features of E.P and see whether it does what Archer proclaims. Here I will examine the claim that the early writings and mission statements of Leda Cosmides and John Tooby provides the â€Å"defining features of the field† (Laland Brown (2002)). Together with Donald Symons, who brought them to the University of Santa Barbara, this group of researchers will be referred to as the ‘Santa Barbara School’ for the sake of convenience. Cosmides Toobys views on the nature of E.P seem to be in the same spirit as Archers rather general statement (serving as title for this paper), as shown the following quote: â€Å"Evolutionary psychology is an approach to psychology, in which knowledge and principles from evolutionary biology are put to use in research on the structure of the human mind.† (Cosmides Tooby, 1997) One noteworthy disparity between the Santa Barbara School and Archer (and perhaps also Buss, see Laland Brown (2002) p158) seems to be the extent to which they emphasise a computational theory of mind. Archer uses the word mechanism freely but without committing himself to any clear statement of his stance upon the functionality of the mind. Cosmides and Tooby on the other hand clearly emphasise that they take mind to be an information processing machine consisting of circuits operating programs which manifest adaptations: â€Å"When evolutionary psychologists refer to the mind, they mean the set of information-processing devices, embodied in the human brainthe programs comprising the human mind were designed by natural selection to solve the adaptive problems faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors.† (Cosmides 2001) Thus we should exhibit evolutionary adaptations in our behaviour and cognitive abilities. An apparent thesis of the Santa Barbara School is what might be called hyper-modularity. Fodor originally introduced the idea of modularity to the Philosophy of Mind in arguing that the areas of mind involved in perception have certain pointed and discrete functional properties and are thus domain-specific whilst the rest of the mind may be a domain general problem solving machine (Fodor, 1983). A crucial feature of these modules is informational encapsulation; the module is only privy to the very specific information related to its function and does not access information processed in other parts of the brain. The Santa Barbara School adopt the idea of domain-specific modules whilst seemingly rejecting the idea that the mind may be domain-general. It is useful to understand this as a reaction to what they referred to as the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM), which retained what they considered a dogmatic view (inherited from the 17th and 18th century empiricists) of the mind as w hite paper to be written upon by social cultural and physical experience and so must be domain general (as it begins with no information regarding the problems it may face). A quote from Symon illustrates their view: â€Å"It is no more probable that some sort of general-purpose brain/mind mechanism could solve all the behavioural problems an organism faces (find food, choose a mate,select a habitat, etc.) than it is that some sort of general-purpose organ could perform all physiological functions (pump blood, digest food, nourish an embryo, etc.)† (Symons, 1997 as cited in Buller Hardcastle, 2000) To understand what problems these domain-specific modules have adapted to solve one must be familiar with the environment in which they evolved. Evolution takes a long time, only comprehensible in terms of thousands of generations. Cosmides and Tooby suggest, following Bowlby, that we have not significantly evolved since the time when our hunter-gather ancestors roamed the African Savannah in roughly the Pleistocene period; this would be the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (E.E.A) and only in reference to this, rather than our post-agricultural/technological-revolution modern day world, may we understand present day adaptations. Thus we have a stone-age mind in a space age world, but â€Å"the past explains the present† , and we must reverse-engineer to understand a particular trait or disposition (Cosmides Tooby, 1990; Pinker, 1997 cited in Archer, 2001). Cosmides (1989) doctoral dissertation provides an illustration of the methods proposed above. Following the principle of reciprocal altruism and the idea that its effective function requires an ability to detect cheats to the rules of reciprocation (i.e. in solution to the free-rider problem), Cosmides designed a series of elegant experiments using the Wason selection task to test the hypothesis that humans possess a cheater detection module adapted to solve this problem. The data showed that even where subjects had training in formal logic 75% failed the task when in an abstract form, whereas 75% got it right when it was presented in a social form in which subjects had to detect cheats to a social rule (both tasks had the same logical form). This indicated that the subjects possessed a cheater detection module that was not party to the subjects knowledge of logic in a separate stream of the brain. In sum, we have a number of auxiliary hypotheses detailed above that have been interpreted from the hard-core which we established earlier. These are that the mind functions as a computer with discrete domain-specific modules, we will exhibit evolved adaptations in our behaviour and cognition our adaptations were selected for in an environment vastly different from that which most of us currently live in to understand these we must focus upon the E.E.A I shall give brief criticisms of each of these. Ambiguities, weaknesses, criticisms of E.P, degeneration and progress. I shall not address the concept of a computational theory in general but rather the specific modularity thesis. There are two initial points: firstly a modular theory of mind does not necessitate a mind composed of entirely domain specific modules – as Fodor (1983) suggests, there may be informationally encapsulated modules which do not interact with the rest of a domain general mind; secondly whilst Cosmides early conclusions at least require some domain-specific/informationally encapsulated modules there is little to suggest that this precludes them being a part of a domain-general mind. In fact there seems to be evidence that some psychological traits are domain-general, and when pushed upon the matter Cosmides and Tooby agree, pointing to their own recent work which indicates just this, making it somewhat ambiguous what their stance is. Work done by Ramachandran and others has shown that hand-gesturing in babies comes before the use of language, gesticulation experiences are reported by phantom limb patients when communicating, blind persons use the same gestures in the same manner as sighted persons, sighted persons still gesticulate when talking to blind persons and subjects recall details of a story better when allowed to gesticulate. All of which indicates that gesticulation may not be a culturally learned behavioural trait but rather a tool for the speakers language use. This is in turn would indicate that there is a dynamic interaction between brain areas involved in language and those involved in motor control; this is a direct criticism of Pinkers arguments that there are discrete language modules and of hyper-modularity in general (Badcock, 2000, pp23 25). Adaptations are a point of controversy within Darwinian theory. Darwins own comments seem to suggest that an adaptation selected to solve a specific problem may be an illusion or very heavy interpretation of what is really just an amalgam of surviving parts (see quotation in Badcock pp 22 23). Also Williams warns against regarding something as an adaptation prematurely, stating that the criterion for regarding a feature of an organism as adaptive (and if so what it was originally adaptive to) are far too unclear, as such he warns that we should only regard something as adaptation when we have exhausted all other possibilities. There seems to be a problem here for the reverse engineering thesis that presumes we can glean semantic properties (the why) rather than just causal properties (the how) from our analysis of whether a particular behaviour or ability is adaptive (Badcock, 2000, pp18 19). Having anything interesting to say about the E.E.A may be precluded by the difficulty of being able to say with confidence that something is an adaptation rather than an epiphenomenon of other other unnoticed adaptations. This aside it is not particularly clear what exactly the E.E.A is; denoting a general time-period and place does not get us far in having a working model. Cosmides and Tooby (1990) have attempted to provide something more definitive: â€Å"it is a statistical composite of the adaptation relevant properties of the ancestral environments encountered by members of ancestral populations, weighted by their frequency and their fitness consequences.†(as cited in Laland Brown 2000 pp179) Yet this does not denote a particular ancestral population or even a particular time period which would mark key stages in our evolution of certain adaptations (Laland Brown, 2000) The idea of an E.E.A and focus on the general hunter-gatherer concept also gives a misleadingly static view of evolution in the surrounding time periods. In addition, to say that we are maladapted to our current environment is akin to saying that the hunter gatherers, being originally vegetarians, were maladapted to theirs. It seems a moot point to argue focus upon one environment rather than another. A few things must be noted in conclusion. Firstly very few of the criticisms above are decisive or even arguments. To do this effectively one would have to level each against all the diverse work done in the field. But the line of attack is clear; if the auxiliary hypotheses cannot achieve the generality they purport or worse still their predictions are disconfirmed then they will have to be reinterpreted in order that the programme may survive. If reinterpretation persists then the field should be considered degenerative. But if it can field all the criticisms and make new predictions, progress must be noted. One thing that is omitted above is a proper treatment of the diversity of research done in this field, as I have tried to look at the bigger picture. The picture is overall a highly deterministic one and rejecting this aspect is a common motivation for some of the more valid criticisms. Rose Rose point out that there is no account taken of plasticity and the dynamic complex nature of living systems (Archer, 2001 pp428 429). And as a final note, volitional action is still considered one of the things that makes us human, our behaviour seems under-determined by genetic mechanisms, something may be being left out. Bibliography: General note to reader: Where philosophical literature has been cited, exact page references have been omitted intentionally, in the belief that all references made are simply interpretations of their work. If my interpretation is deemed correct, the insight belongs to the referee, if deemed incorrect then I am simply mistaken. Archer, J. et al. (2001) Evolving Theories of Behaviour, in ‘The Psychologist’, 14(8): 414 431. Badcock, C.R. (2000) Evolutionary Psychology: a critical introduction; Blackwell, Polity Press Buss, D.E. (1990) – Evolutionary Social Psychology: prospects and pitfalls; in ‘Motivation and Emotion’, 14: 265-286. Buller Hardcastle (2000) Evolutionary Psychology, Meet Developmental Neurobiology: Against Promiscuous Modularity; in ‘Brain and Mind’ 1: 307–325: Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Cosmides Tooby (1997) Evolutionary Psychology: a primer: (psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/primer.html) Copyright John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, Updated January 13, 1997 Cosmides, L. (1989) The Logic of Social Exchange: has natural selection shaped how humans reason? Studies with the Wason selection task; in Cognition 31: 187-276 (2001) Interview with Alvaro Fischer and Roberto Araya for the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio (psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/ledainterview.htm); part of a project entitled New Paradigms at the Beginning of the Third Millenium. Fodor, J. (1983) The Modularity of Mind: an essay on faculty psychology Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT Press Hume, D (1975) Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals; L.A Selby-Bigge: Third Edition, Oxford, Clarendon Press. Kuhn, T. S (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; Second edition: Chicago, University of Chicago Press. (1977) The Essential Tension. Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press . Lakatos, I. (1976) Proofs and refutations: the logic of mathematical discovery; edited by John Worrall and Elie Zahar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Laland Brown (2002) Sense and Nonsense: evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour; Clarendon, Oxford University Press. Miller, D. (1994) – Critical Rationalism: a restatement and defence; Chicago: Open court Popper, K. (1972) Conjectures and Refutations; Fourth Edition: Routledge Kegan Paul Limited Research Papers on Evolutionary Psychology As A Unifying - Research PaperThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part OneGenetic EngineeringOpen Architechture a white paperInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized TestingAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Sony Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

Sony - Coursework Example The diverse product and brand line of Sony Corporation makes it one of the most versatile entertainment businesses in the world, aiming to satisfy a vast portion of the target market (Sony, 2014). Despite the fact that Sony Corporation’s research and development initiatives differ from that of other businesses in the industry. Unlike its competitors, Sony utilizes its research and development initiatives to diversify the product offering and at the same time, keep the business portfolio flexible in order to cover up the loss of one business from the profits of other businesses. Due to the environment established within the organization that promotes long-term commitment with the organizational goals and objectives, employees consider it an honor to serve the conglomerate for a longer period. The management at Sony Corporation is also responsible for supporting and motivating newly hired employees and interns to put their best efforts towards making the business the most successful business in the world (Global Data, 2014). The business structure of Sony Corporation stands on the different pillars termed as Strategic Business Unites (SBU), which is a multidivisional format of carrying out business practices in the modern world. By operating these SBUs, Sony Corporation aim at adopting a diversification strategy at corporate level and further divide the SBUs in 3 levels of business communication flow which are as following: These entire 6 SBUs of Sony Corporation have further sub-divisions that are responsible for taking care of different aspects of production and marketing of different products. It should be noticed here that each sub-division of Sony Corporation is interlinked from the viewpoint of shared products and services but the sub-divisions nothing in common with each other. The headquarter of the business in Tokyo is primarily responsible for looking after the financial and business level aspects of each SBU, but the SBUs

Abraham Lincoln's Campaigns for the Senate in 1858 and for the Essay

Abraham Lincoln's Campaigns for the Senate in 1858 and for the Presidency in 1860 - Essay Example Out of the seven debates held in Illinois, perhaps the most famous became the one held at the Freeport. Douglas insisted that the citizens ought to decide whether to include or exclude slavery in the new territories. Furthermore, he claimed that the federal government must focus, remain neutral and not mislead the people’s decision on slavery. On the other hand, Lincoln disapproved the notion of extending slavery to other territories. (Johnson 30).He insisted that slavery was wrong and that the government should not take a neutral stand in increasing slavery. His anti-slavery chants won the hearts of the Southern Democrats, who entirely opted not to support their own Stephen Douglas. Even though Lincoln never won the crucial battle for the Illinois senate seat, his Freeport campaign and, his take against slavery made him soar to national levels even surpassing Stephen Douglas. All Lincoln's speeches focused on the issue of slavery; he viewed it as an evil institution and denou nced it against spreading to any other new US territories. He further critiqued Stephen Douglas for popularizing the concept of ‘popular sovereignty’, that would allow new states to vote on whether to embrace slavery or not. Lincoln’s opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act significantly contributed to his popularity. The Kansas-Nebraska Act got drawn by Stephen Douglas, and it sought to give the powers to the voters to decide whether slavery would be allowed. Both the pro and anti-slavery groups took demonstrations into Kansas with the aim of either voting slavery down or up. With so much tension, a key civil war broke out famously referred to as ‘Kansas Bleeding’. His firm opposition to this Act elevated his political landscape and heightened his political career. The bitter rivalry between the pro slavery and the anti slavery camps ignited Lincoln’s momentum in denouncing slavery throughout various states such as, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa. (Johnson 47). Lincolns’ invitation to speak at the Cooper Union in Manhattan impacted positively to his campaigns from his autobiography debates (Johnson 35). His speeches and debates prompted many from the East to consider Lincoln as a potential presidential candidate. He continued condemning the popular sovereignty and mobilised the republicans to oppose the extension of slavery. Furthermore, opposition made Lincoln clinch the ultimate coveted prize of being the president of America in 1860. His opponents, Breckinridge, Bell and Douglas who got the least votes attacked him with a war of words, describing him as an embarrassment to the American Nation, Unfit for office and ridiculed his looks. They insisted that the Republican Party was a platform for advocacy for the African American social and political equality. To the opposition, this would result in the economic downfall of the major industries of production. With no slaves at their disposal, free labour was comi ng to an end. (Johnson 54). Through opposition to slavery, Lincoln’s personality grew to be exceedingly adored by the population; he tackled down his critics with facts and critical thinking. He stood by his argument and let the whole of America know his attitude towards slavery. He managed to organize himself after the loss of Illinois Senate seat to Douglas, and establish himself as an honest and rightful president of America. Lincoln won the hearts of many republicans because of his public honesty, advocacy for freedom and abolition of slavery. He understood his limitations and his strengths and demonstrated a wider knowledge and ability in his authority. Lincoln viewed Slavery as an American problem and saw racial prejudice as most common among White Americans. He felt that the intensity of racial

English 1010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

English 1010 - Essay Example It was actually the conversation that Edge had, earlier in the day, with Lionel Dufour, the proprietor of the Farm Fresh Supplier Company, the Company that specialized in the making of the pickled pig lip, concerning the use of pickled pig lip as human food, that gave Edge the courage to taste the pickled pig lip. In the conversation, Dufour had reassured Edge that pickled pig lip is a very good human food. The article lastly describes how Edge eventually ate the pickled pig lip, despite being squeamish about eating it. With his courage bolstered by the conversation that he had with Dufour and, also, having been encourage by Audrey, the bar owner’s wife, Edge eventually ate the pickled pig lip together with some potato chips. Edge, however, fought the urge to vomit as he ate the pickled pig lip; but after eating it, Edge said that, although the taste of the pickled pig lip was foreign to him, the taste wasn’t altogether

Management and the Cultural Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management and the Cultural Industries - Essay Example Thus, culture is a myriad of different aspects of society including formalized and unofficial systems. (Davey) As culture is evolving constantly by the developments around the society, industries such as the media which include print, radio, television, music, entertainment among others represent the culture of a society and also influence it to a certain extent. These industries, that are known as cultural industries produce cultural texts, which are manifestations of the prevailing, culture for example ‘An American Brat’ by Bapsi Sidhwa is a book that represents the culture of Zoroastrians and how it is affected by moving to a Western country and integrating into a different cultural environment. Cultural industries create cultural texts which can be anything from books to music to newspapers and fashion. In America, during the time of flower power, the music and the fashion represented and promoted the culture of that period expressing harmony and bohemianism. However , cultural industries are influenced by other factors beside the prevailing culture itself such as the political scenario and economic conditions, they are driven by profit and often the texts are dependent on revenue and commercialism rather true creative representations of culture. Thus, this report focuses on the extent to which cultural texts are affected by political and economic factors. Culture and the political economy The political economy approach to culture focuses on how the production and distribution systems governing the cultural industries affect culture and cultural texts. The approach focuses on the interaction of political systems, economics, state institutions, social institutions and everyday life. The political and economic factors in a society determine to a great extent which faces of culture are promoted and which are neglected due to the dependence of cultural industries on revenue and profit and the power wielded by the state. (Kellner, 1999) This approach includes the conflict between the communist and capitalist approach. A capitalist economy would be focused on achieving the most with regards to revenue and thus focus on the popularity and profitability of the text whereas the communist economy would be more sensitive to political power and be restricted by it. However, even in a democratic capitalist setting the state would be involved in media matter regarding products such as cigarettes advertising, thus influencing the content of cultural texts. (Kellner, 1999) THE US AND EUROPEAN APPROACH The two main political economy approaches to cultural texts are the US and the European. The US model is the Schiller-McChesney tradition which focuses on the use of power and information media. The European approach focuses on cultural industries and the ‘commodifying of culture’. It addresses the information and entertainment side and focuses on the creation, production and delivery of cultural texts as well the audience respo nses. It inserts the creators of text; authors, musicians, performers and others in the context of the market. (Cultural Approaches to Economy and the Media, 2010) CULTURAL TEXTS AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL The political economy approach identifies how cultural texts are affected by government control. However, in a free market economy cultural texts generated through cultural industri

Donna Karan SWOTT Business Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Donna Karan SWOTT Business Analysis - Case Study Example The brand has stores located in over 123 cities all over America, and is employing over 2000 people. Effective branding and marketing strategies has helped it expand internationally and it is now a well-known international brand with stores in countries like China, Canada, and Dubai. There are over 20 stores in China, 2 in Canada, and 4 in Dubai and today, Donna Karan International is worth millions. The availability of an online store has further increased the market share of the company. Furthermore, the brand got an increased footing with Donna Karan being labeled as an nnovative and world-class fashion designer, whose clothes are worn by many famous personalities. She has also won numerous awards during her career. Karan won the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1977 and once again in 1982; The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) named her Menswear Designer of the Year 1992 and Women’s wear Designer of the Year 1990 and 1996. She was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the CFDA in 2004. Weaknesses: 1. The breakthrough in the international market is not as widespread as other brands; 2. Controversy over the use of fur; 3. Fake imitations affecting brand sales. Compared to other brands such as Chanel etc., DKNY has quite little market share internationally. It still needs more expansion and advertising strategies to compete with other, more popular brands in places like Asia. For this, they might have to cater to the type of audience in these places and design products accordingly. The sales of the brand were also adversely affected by the controversy surrounding the brand over the... The availability of an online store has further increased the market share of the company. Furthermore, the brand got an increased footing with Donna Karan being labeled as an nnovative and world-class fashion designer, whose clothes are worn by many famous personalities. She has also won numerous awards during her career. Karan won the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1977 and once again in 1982; The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) named her Menswear Designer of the Year 1992 and Women’s wear Designer of the Year 1990 and 1996. She was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the CFDA in 2004.Weaknesses:1.  The breakthrough in the international market is not as widespread as other brands;2.  Controversy over the use of fur;3.  Fake imitations affecting brand sales.Compared to other brands such as Chanel etc., DKNY has quite little market share internationally. It still needs more expansion and advertising strategies to compete w ith other, more popular brands in places like Asia. For this, they might have to cater to the type of audience in these places and design products accordingly.   The sales of the brand were also adversely affected by the controversy surrounding the brand over the use of fur. PETA, the animal rights group, started a campaign in 2008 against Donna Karan for the use of fur in her products. This obviously presented the brand in a bad light. Moreover, with luxury brands like DKNY, there always tend to be fake imitations which sell at much lower prices.

Critical appraisal of the research reports Essay

Critical appraisal of the research reports - Essay Example In the quantitative research, plenty of information was already available and features were classified, counted and statistical models constructed for the study. The qualitative research was subjective and usually related in the participant’s own words and the researcher was not aware of the information he was looking for. The researcher was well aware of what he was searching for in quantitative research and the study was well-designed before data was collected. Qualitative researches were recommended when new subjects were dealt with in research projects. When some amount of information became available in the later phases, quantitative research was done to quantify measures. The researcher was responsible for collection of data in qualitative research while tools were used in quantitative research. Subjective interpretation was made in qualitative research while more objective interpretation was made in quantitative research. The data in qualitative research was richer and had details while the data in quantitative research consisted of numbers and statistics. Nursing research could also be a mixture of both: two parts of a research could be found with a different type of research in each part. This paper has been written to critically analyze a qualitative and a quantitative research, both relating to urinary incontinence in women. Borello-France et al (2008) used a quantitative research to compare the results of post-intervention of pelvic muscle exercises in the follow-up period of an intervention study of the influence of exercises on urinary incontinence. Zeznock and Gilje (2009) conducted a qualitative phenomenological study to understand the lived experiences of Alaskan women who had urinary incontinence, when this topic had not been studied by other researchers. The differences have been noted through the paper. Borello-France, D. F., Downey, P. A., Zyczynski, H. M., & Rause, C. R. (2008). Continence and quality-of-life outcomes 6 months follo wing an intensive pelvic-floor muscle exercise program for female stress urinary incontinence: A randomized trial comparing low- and high-frequency maintenance exercise. Physical Therapy, 88(12), 1545-1553. The report had not been from a peer –reviewed publication; however the research had been current. This descriptive post-intervention study had been written well and had been grammatically correct and in good language. The paper had been laid out in an organized manner. All the researchers had been experts in their own field. There had been a surgeon who had been actually performing pelvic reconstruction surgery, a nurse practitioner who had been caring for the concerned patients and two physical therapy experts who had been Professor and Associate Professor in Physical Therapy in two different Universities. The latter two had PhDs possibly contributing to the high level of the research and paper. The title was precise, clear and unambiguous even though the number of words used made it a long one. A clear overview of the study could be obtained. The report had been logically constructed and there was a steady flow of information with clear linkage. The abstract provided a succinct overview of the research. The purpose of the research study or objectives, the method of study, size of sample, measurements to be made, results, discussion and conclusions were found in the abstract. The purpose of t

Management and the Cultural Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management and the Cultural Industries - Essay Example Thus, culture is a myriad of different aspects of society including formalized and unofficial systems. (Davey) As culture is evolving constantly by the developments around the society, industries such as the media which include print, radio, television, music, entertainment among others represent the culture of a society and also influence it to a certain extent. These industries, that are known as cultural industries produce cultural texts, which are manifestations of the prevailing, culture for example ‘An American Brat’ by Bapsi Sidhwa is a book that represents the culture of Zoroastrians and how it is affected by moving to a Western country and integrating into a different cultural environment. Cultural industries create cultural texts which can be anything from books to music to newspapers and fashion. In America, during the time of flower power, the music and the fashion represented and promoted the culture of that period expressing harmony and bohemianism. However , cultural industries are influenced by other factors beside the prevailing culture itself such as the political scenario and economic conditions, they are driven by profit and often the texts are dependent on revenue and commercialism rather true creative representations of culture. Thus, this report focuses on the extent to which cultural texts are affected by political and economic factors. Culture and the political economy The political economy approach to culture focuses on how the production and distribution systems governing the cultural industries affect culture and cultural texts. The approach focuses on the interaction of political systems, economics, state institutions, social institutions and everyday life. The political and economic factors in a society determine to a great extent which faces of culture are promoted and which are neglected due to the dependence of cultural industries on revenue and profit and the power wielded by the state. (Kellner, 1999) This approach includes the conflict between the communist and capitalist approach. A capitalist economy would be focused on achieving the most with regards to revenue and thus focus on the popularity and profitability of the text whereas the communist economy would be more sensitive to political power and be restricted by it. However, even in a democratic capitalist setting the state would be involved in media matter regarding products such as cigarettes advertising, thus influencing the content of cultural texts. (Kellner, 1999) THE US AND EUROPEAN APPROACH The two main political economy approaches to cultural texts are the US and the European. The US model is the Schiller-McChesney tradition which focuses on the use of power and information media. The European approach focuses on cultural industries and the ‘commodifying of culture’. It addresses the information and entertainment side and focuses on the creation, production and delivery of cultural texts as well the audience respo nses. It inserts the creators of text; authors, musicians, performers and others in the context of the market. (Cultural Approaches to Economy and the Media, 2010) CULTURAL TEXTS AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL The political economy approach identifies how cultural texts are affected by government control. However, in a free market economy cultural texts generated through cultural industri

Critical appraisal of the research reports Essay

Critical appraisal of the research reports - Essay Example In the quantitative research, plenty of information was already available and features were classified, counted and statistical models constructed for the study. The qualitative research was subjective and usually related in the participant’s own words and the researcher was not aware of the information he was looking for. The researcher was well aware of what he was searching for in quantitative research and the study was well-designed before data was collected. Qualitative researches were recommended when new subjects were dealt with in research projects. When some amount of information became available in the later phases, quantitative research was done to quantify measures. The researcher was responsible for collection of data in qualitative research while tools were used in quantitative research. Subjective interpretation was made in qualitative research while more objective interpretation was made in quantitative research. The data in qualitative research was richer and had details while the data in quantitative research consisted of numbers and statistics. Nursing research could also be a mixture of both: two parts of a research could be found with a different type of research in each part. This paper has been written to critically analyze a qualitative and a quantitative research, both relating to urinary incontinence in women. Borello-France et al (2008) used a quantitative research to compare the results of post-intervention of pelvic muscle exercises in the follow-up period of an intervention study of the influence of exercises on urinary incontinence. Zeznock and Gilje (2009) conducted a qualitative phenomenological study to understand the lived experiences of Alaskan women who had urinary incontinence, when this topic had not been studied by other researchers. The differences have been noted through the paper. Borello-France, D. F., Downey, P. A., Zyczynski, H. M., & Rause, C. R. (2008). Continence and quality-of-life outcomes 6 months follo wing an intensive pelvic-floor muscle exercise program for female stress urinary incontinence: A randomized trial comparing low- and high-frequency maintenance exercise. Physical Therapy, 88(12), 1545-1553. The report had not been from a peer –reviewed publication; however the research had been current. This descriptive post-intervention study had been written well and had been grammatically correct and in good language. The paper had been laid out in an organized manner. All the researchers had been experts in their own field. There had been a surgeon who had been actually performing pelvic reconstruction surgery, a nurse practitioner who had been caring for the concerned patients and two physical therapy experts who had been Professor and Associate Professor in Physical Therapy in two different Universities. The latter two had PhDs possibly contributing to the high level of the research and paper. The title was precise, clear and unambiguous even though the number of words used made it a long one. A clear overview of the study could be obtained. The report had been logically constructed and there was a steady flow of information with clear linkage. The abstract provided a succinct overview of the research. The purpose of the research study or objectives, the method of study, size of sample, measurements to be made, results, discussion and conclusions were found in the abstract. The purpose of t

Food safety Essay Example for Free

Food safety Essay However, according to Unit 04 Communication of Health Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission (SANCO): The Codex, while being recommendations for voluntary application by members, Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation. The reference made to Codex food safety standards in the World Trade Organizations Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS Agreement) means that Codex has far reaching implications for resolving trade disputes. WTO members that wish to apply stricter food safety measures than those set by Codex may be required to justify these measures scientifically. So, an agreement made in 2003, signed by all member states, inclusive all EU, in the codex Stan Codex 240 – 2003 for coconut milk, sulphite containing additives like E223 and E 224 are allowed till 30 mg/kg, does NOT mean, they are allowed into the EU, see RASFF entries from Denmark: 2012. 0834; 2011. 1848; en 2011. 168, â€Å"sulphite unauthorised in coconut milk from Thailand â€Å". Same for polysorbate E 435: see 2012. 0838 from Denmark, unauthorised polysorbates in coconut milk and, 2007. AIC from France. Only for the latter the EU amended its regulations with (EU) No 583/2012 per 2 July 2012 to allow this additive, already used for decades and absolutely necessary. Australia[edit]Food Standards Australia New Zealand is working toward ensuring that all food businesses implement food safety systems to ensure food is safe to consume in a bid to halt the increasing incidence of food poisoning, this includes basic food safety training for at least one person in each business. Smart business operators know that basic food safety training improves the bottom line, staff take more pride in their work; there is less waste; and customers can have more confidence in the food they consume. Food Safety training in units of competence from a relevant training package, must be delivered by a Registered Training Organization (RTO) to enable staff to be issued with a nationally recognised unit of competency code on their certificate. Generally this training can be completed in less than one day. Training options are available to suit the needs of everyone. Training may be carried out in-house for a group, in a public class, via correspondence or online. Basic food safety training includes: Understanding the hazards associated with the main types of food and the conditions to prevent the growth of bacteria which can cause food poisoning and to prevent illness The problems associated with product packaging such as leaks in vacuum packs, damage to packaging or pest infestation, as well as problems and diseases spread by pests. Safe food handling. This includes safe procedures for each process such as receiving, re-packing, food storage, preparation and cooking, cooling and re-heating, displaying products, handling products when serving customers, packaging, cleaning and sanitizing, pest control, transport and delivery. Also the causes of cross contamination. Catering for customers who are particularly at risk of food-borne illness, including allergies and intolerance. Correct cleaning and sanitizing procedures, cleaning products and their correct use, and the storage of cleaning items such as brushes, mops and cloths. Personal hygiene, hand washing, illness, and protective clothing. People responsible for serving unsafe food can be liable for heavy fines under this new legislation, consumers are pleased that industry will be forced to take food safety seriously. China[edit]Main article: Food safety in the Peoples Republic of China Food safety is a growing concern in Chinese agriculture. The Chinese government oversees agricultural production as well as the manufacture of food packaging, containers, chemical additives, drug production, and business regulation. In recent years, the Chinese government attempted to consolidate food regulation with the creation of the State Food and Drug Administration in 2003, and officials have also been under increasing public and international pressure to solve food safety problems. However, it appears that regulations are not well known by the trade. Labels used for green food, organic food and pollution-free food are not well recognized by traders and many are unclear about their meaning. A survey by the World Bank found that supermarket managers had difficulty in obtaining produce that met safety requirements and found that a high percentage of produce did not comply with established standards. [6] Traditional marketing systems, whether in China or the rest of Asia, presently provide little motivation or incentive for individual farmers to make improvements to either quality or safety as their produce tends to get grouped together with standard products as it progresses through the marketing channel. Direct linkages between farmer groups and traders or ultimate buyers, such as supermarkets, can help avoid this problem. Governments need to improve the condition of many markets through upgrading management and reinvesting market fees in physical infrastructure. Wholesale markets need to investigate the feasibility of developing separate sections to handle fruits and vegetables that meet defined safety and quality standards. [7] European Union[edit]The parliament of the European Union (EU) makes legislation in the form of directives and regulations, many of which are mandatory for member states and which therefore must be incorporated into individual countries national legislation. As a very large organisation that exists to remove barriers to trade between member states, and into which individual member states have only a proportional influence, the outcome is often seen as an excessively bureaucratic one size fits all approach. However, in relation to food safety the tendency to err on the side of maximum protection for the consumer may be seen as a positive benefit. The EU parliament is informed on food safety matters by the European Food Safety Authority. Individual member states may also have other legislation and controls in respect of food safety, provided that they do not prevent trade with other states, and can differ considerably in their internal structures and approaches to the regulatory control of food safety. France[edit]Agence nationale de securite sanitaire de lalimentation, de lenvironnement et du travail (anses) is a French governmental agency dealing with food safety. Germany[edit]The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer. Protection (BMELV)[8] is a Federal Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. History: Founded as Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Foresting in 1949, this name did not change until 2001. Then the name changed to Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture. At the 22nd of November 2005, the name got changed again to its current state: Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The reason for this last change was that all the resorts should get equal ranking which was achieved by sorting the resorts alphabetically. Vision: A balanced and healthy diet with safe food, distinct consumer rights and consumer information for various areas of life, and a strong and sustainable agriculture as well as perspectives for our rural areas are important goals of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety is under the control of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. It exercises several duties, with which it contributes to safer food and thereby intensifies health-based consumer protection in Germany. Food can be manufactured and sold within Germany without a special permission, as long as it does not cause any damage on consumers’ health and meets the general standards set by the legislation. However, manufacturers, carriers, importers and retailers are responsible for the food they pass into circulation. They are obliged to ensure and document the safety and quality of their food with the use of in-house control mechanisms. Hong Kong[edit]In Hong Kong SAR, the Centre for Food Safety is in charge of ensuring food sold is safe and fit for consumption. India[edit]Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is the regulating body related to food safety and laying down of standards of food in India. New Zealand[edit]See also: Food safety in New Zealand The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), or Te Pou Oranga Kai O Aotearoa is the New Zealand government body responsible for food safety. NZFSA is also the controlling authority for imports and exports of food and food-related products. The NZFSA as of 2012 is now a division of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and is no longer its own organization. Pakistan[edit]Pakistan does not have an integrated legal framework but has a set of laws, which deals with various aspects of food safety. These laws, despite the fact that they were enacted long time ago, have tremendous capacity to achieve at least minimum level of food safety. However, like many other laws, these laws remain very poorly enforced. There are four laws that specifically deal with food safety. Three of these laws directly focus issues related to food safety, while the fourth, the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, is indirectly relevant to food safety. The Pure Food Ordinance 1960 consolidates and amends the law in relation to the preparation and the sale of foods. All provinces and some northern areas have adopted this law with certain amendments. Its aim is to ensure purity of food being supplied to people in the market and, therefore, provides for preventing adulteration. The Pure Food Ordinance 1960 does not apply to cantonment areas. There is a separate law for cantonments called The Cantonment Pure Food Act, 1966. There is no substantial difference between the Pure Food Ordinance 1960 and The Cantonment Pure Food Act. Even the rules of operation are very much similar. Pakistan Hotels and Restaurant Act, 1976 applies to all hotels and restaurants in Pakistan and seeks to control and regulate the rates and standard of service(s) by hotels and restaurants. In addition to other provisions, under section 22(2), the sale of food or beverages that are contaminated, not prepared hygienically or served in utensils that are not hygienic or clean is an offense. There are no express provisions for consumer complaints in the Pakistan Restaurants Act, 1976, Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, 1996. The laws do not prevent citizens from lodging complaints with the concerned government officials; however, the consideration and handling of complaints is a matter of discretion of the officials. [9] South Korea[edit]Korea Food Drug Administration[edit]Korea Food Drug Administration (KFDA)[10] is working for food safety since 1945. It is part of the Government of South Korea. IOAS[11]-Organic Certification Bodies Registered in KFDA: Organic or related claims can be labelled on food products when organic certificates are considered as valid by KFDA. KFDA admits organic certificates which can be issued by 1) IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement) accredited certification bodies 2) Government accredited certification bodies – 328 bodies in 29 countries have been registered in KFDA. Food Import Report: According to Food Import Report,[12] it is supposed to report or register what you import. Competent authority is as follows: Product.