Othello Character Essay

Othello Character Essay In the play, Othello, by William Shakespeare, Othello is a general in the Venetian army, who also happens to be black and of Muslim descent, although he is a converted Christian. From the beginning of the play, Othello is victimized and characterized as an outcast in Venetian society. Throughout the play, Othello is mistreated and betrayed, despite his vast amount of love and trust for his friends or supposed friends. Othello is obviously the most repeatedly and most brutally victimized in the play by Iago, among others. Right from the first scene of the play he is not given the dignity of a name, rather called by racial slurs such as â€Å"The Moor† (1. i. 63), â€Å"The Thick Lips† (1. i. 72) â€Å"Black Ram† (1. i. 97) and a â€Å"Barbary Horse† (1. i. 125). These blatantly disrespectful terms are used by both Roderigo and Iago, who is considered one of Othello’s close acquaintances. This shows the obvious lack of honor and respect shown by his so-called ‘friends’. Another example of Iago’s and other’s mistreatment of Othello comes in Act 2 Scene 3 between lines 235 to 261 where Iago lies straight to Othello’s face about what had transpired. This shows that Iago can and will completely disregard Othello’s superiority and honesty and lie about what had happened and about his direct involvement in the fight. This leads to another example of Iago’s disregard for Othello’s authority and lack of trust in Othello’s decisionmaking as he tries to get Cassio to lose his lieutenancy. Another example of Iago victimizing Othello occurs in the very beginning of ‘The Temptation Scene’, Act 3, Scene 3. It happens in lines 40-47. Iago subtly plants a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind about Desdemona and Cassio’s relationship, and Cassio’s attitude towards Othello. This is a very interesting part of the play because it is one of Iago’s most obvious observations intended to prod Othello’s jealousy. It also shows his ability to intentionally take advantage of his friends weaknesses, in this instance, Othello’s deep trust in Iago’s word and his jealousy surrounding Desdemona. A different example of Othello’s misguided jealousy and mistrust, placed in his head by Iago is the majority of Act 3, Scene 4, wherein Othello pressures Desdemona about his handkerchief. This is important because Desdemona unknowingly played right into Iago’s plan by semi-ignoring Othello’s unrest to try to talk to him about Cassio, which angers Othello even more and adds to the envious thoughts already brewing in his head. All of these examples are instances of Iago’s ability to play on Othello’s emotions and feelings, leading to Othello becoming blinded by his own jealousy and rage. Othello is easily the most victimized in the play, tricked and beguiled away from his true thoughts by Iago’s lies and deception.

Evaluation Essay of “In Too Deep” Essay

The essay â€Å"In Too Deep† written by Tom Ruprecht was structured similarly as most autobiography essays, and the author’s narrative has conformed to the â€Å"Dramatic Arc†. I am evaluating the essay in â€Å"Dramatic Arc† order and †¦Ã¦  â€¡Ã© ¢Ëœ place people。The writer changed his mind and gained a lot through this travel. At the very beginning, the writer of the essay Tom explained the background of the story: the inciting incident happened on the group trip to Hawaii. Tom used a special technique to arouse the audience’s curiosity: there are two negative phrases â€Å"impossible† and â€Å"instead of† in the beginning of the essay. Also, Tom repeated several times â€Å"kindergartners† and â€Å"uncool† to express the feelings of unhappiness of being treated like a child and felt hostile towards the guide, which has a strong contrast to the feeling of satisfaction with the â€Å"little kindergartnerâ €  in the end of the essay. When describing the guide, Tom also compared the guide with himself: a â€Å"rugged and handsome† guide vs. a â€Å"kindergartner†. His wife was in the tour group too, so Tom thought he lost face. Droven by those complex emotions, Tom asked to get into the cave although he was not interested in it at all at first. At this time, the spelunker Ernie appeared in the story. Through the phrase â€Å"I politely declined, he insisted† implied the frustrating and unpleasant dialogues in the paragraphs that followed. In addition, Tom mentioned that it was his father’s story and words that encouraged him to agree the proposal. We can see that his father has a great influence on him. åŠ   indicate name comparisonç ­â€°Ã¥ ½ ¢Ã¥ ¼ Ã¥Å'â€"ä ¸Å"è ¥ ¿Ã¨ ¿â€ºÃ¥Å½ » Then move to the â€Å"Rising† part of the â€Å"Dramatic Arc†. Tom and Ernie entered into the cave. Tom added a lot of action verbs to show the big difference between them. On the one hand, Tom â€Å"began† to ask to head back, on the other hand, Ernie just â€Å"simply rushed ahead†. â€Å"Slither through†, â€Å"panicked†, and â€Å"began looking around† those v erbs directly describe how Tom could not hide his scared emotions. When I read this part first time, I could know that every one-foot deeper, more fear came into Tom. Next, Tom presented that Ernie is an unprofessional and unreliable person, which made him feel even more  dangerous. There were some details: he could not figure out what substance was on the cave’s roof, and his unprofessional behavior. Next, it is the climax part. Ernie turned off the flashlight and asked the earthquake question in a joking way. Finally, Tom could not stand Ernie any longer, and decided he had to get out of the cave. Here, the extremely terrifying atmosphere was created by Ernie’s words. Although Ernie asked several questions, Tom did not give any vocal response but to describe his own facial expression and his decision to get out. There are not many describing sentences, but we can imagine the temporal unusual air. Then it is time to get back. Unfortunately, they lost their way and they chose the wrong way that had been picked by Tom. In the sentence, â€Å"Ernie, the great spelunker, replied: ‘ Oh, I have a terrible sense of direction.†™ † I think that Tom especially repeated â€Å" the great spelunker† to convey his complaints about his disappointing teammate. Also, the sentence â€Å"Eventually Ernie’s spelunking expertise did kick in† to show Ernie realized the wrong way. The spelunker was just like a soul who was absent all the time and finally appeared. I think this sentence was really successful, because it made Ernie vivid and humorous. The last part is the â€Å"resolution†. Tom and Ernie finally got out of the cave. Tom used the comparison again: the verb â€Å"popped† and â€Å"expect† show his happiness first but the reality was totally adverse. The annoyed group mates standing at the entrance to the cave were really mad at them. The most interesting thing is that the plot reversed again. The handsome guide criticized them in public first, however, he showed his admiration in private, which satisfied Tom’s self-pride to a great extent. Comparing the different attitudes between the beginning and the end, we can explore that the writer changed his mind. He challenged himself to explore the cave, and after this adventure, he felt better about himself and became more confident. He thought he was also a cool and brave man in front of his wife, which is very important to him. The writer Tom was good at describing the atmosphere and dealing with the details, and the atmosphere and details really impressed me. Also, every process of the incident was connected closely, and all of the peoples’ actions had powerful motivations. All in all, I think it is a really successful autobiography essay.

The Future of Qualitative Research Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Future of Qualitative Research - Article Example Qualitative research has two tensions at the same time. Qualitative research is drawn in a broad, postmodern, feminist, interpretive and critical sensibility. Conversely, it can be drawn to a narrowly defined positivist, post-positivist, naturalistic and humanistic conceptions of human experiences and analysis.   There is a challenge of coping with the present. Salient features of critique are known very well. The fifth moment addresses problems in three approaches. Firstly, it continues to sharpen the critique and corrects its excesses. Like other scholarly domains, qualitative research has a tendency of moving from one intellectual design to another, from positivism to post-positivism, post-structuralism and postmodernism, semiotics and structuralism and so on.   Postmodern and poststructural arguments move away from textual authority and post-positivist model. The crisis of legitimation arose when social scientists and anthropologists addressed the authority of the text. Three quotes â€Å" Qualitative research is an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and sometimes counterdisciplinary field† â€Å"Qualitative research is many things at the same time† â€Å"Qualitative research embraces two tensions at the same time†   Applications for the education system, teaching, and learning The important philosophical issues the work raise is that the problem of representation will not go away. Since, at its center is an inner tension, contradiction, and continuous dialectic which not be resolved. Conversely, there is a concern for certainty or validity in the text as a type of authenticity and isomorphism.

Business memo Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business memo - Personal Statement Example It gives them opportunity to find practical implications of the theories involved in business communication. One major advantage of this approach is that it creates a positive learning environment within the classroom which further facilitates learning. The trained incapacities of the students can be challenged with this approach. Learning by Doing is an ideal methodology to make the learning process more customised and effective. An introductory activity which is done in connection with the teaching point creates a platform to learn by doing. The reflections and observations from this activity could be used as indicators for different theories to be taught. However, it is important that these observations are effectively deciphered by the teacher leading to the theories to be taught. More importantly it creates an environment where in the learners can involve in challenging opportunities to discuss, question and test the implications of the knowledge being shared. Thus the inhibitions on participation in learning activities are replaced with enthusiasm and activeness. In totality, these activities provide the teacher with a readily involving student group and in turn the students are provided with a collaborative environment and a community of learners. In either case, a background conductive of effective le arning is created wherein there is no fear of making mistakes. These teaching strategies facilitate learning especially in the context of introduction to business. As the subject is new to the students it is important that at the outset it is made sure that the basic concepts are conveyed to students in terms of its practical implications in business. As introduction to business is taught in a stage where the student community has not integrated completely into the academic system, it is important that a levelling of the students is ensured.

The cost of language switch of Billinguals Essay

The cost of language switch of Billinguals - Essay Example The paper takes a thrust at an evaluation of researches from a largely psychology approach detailing various experimentation outcomes that shed light into the dynamics of the complexities of switching language for the bilinguals. This paper culminates in form of a discussion and suggestions to the educators and for the bodies of knowledge covering the entirety of the spectrum of stakeholders in the language learning and acquisition and domains particularly for bilinguals Bilingual speakers normally have to shift across the two languages in their communication activity and particularly in speech production. The fundamental fact here is that the bilinguals have to separate their two languages and settle for the appropriate lexical alternative; one language for effective communication purposes. Abutalebi J et al 2007) note that in the sense of the foregoing, the process entails that the bilinguals have to be possession of effective neural mechanisms that will suffice to facilitate smooth switching and to avert the highly likely chances of interference or the probable competition between the two language alternatives. This is particularly so considering the fact that the first and second languages both posses protruding neuro-anatomical bases as illuminated by the topical neuro-imaging researches. Bilinguals have to possess feasible lexical selection. This highlights the dynamics that characterise the process in which bilinguals have to go through in the techniques of switching between languages. The switch demands various neural mechanisms and facilities which have been illumined by various researches and propounded models. The broad range of varying challenges or costs that a bilingual incurs in the process of switching between languages demands a deeper exploration. The process evidently involves various psychological transitions and processes which will be explored in this study. The concern and keen interest around the nature of

Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Resources Management - Essay Example Due to the shift in demand of employees, the countries with fairly flexible wage had transformed into those with low relative wages. Almost 70% of U.S. employees’ demand had shifted in manufacturing industry from less skilled employees to high skilled employees. Globalization had affected the prices of employee wages. Trade flow among countries gave rise to change in demand for employees because the requirement for more employees in profitable sector had increased and these changes in demand led to increase in employees’ wages (Swagel & Slaughter, 1997). The globalization had affected the demand elasticity of employees. The higher receptiveness of employees’ demand had changed the relative cost of employees (Bruno & Et. Al., 2004). Outsourcing and its effect on wages Globalization influences outsourcing and it affects the wages of labor. For example, the following figure shows the relative wages of the employees in US manufacturing industry. Source: (Feenstra, 20 07). From the above graph, it can be viewed that the relative wages was in declining stage from the year 1960 to 1980. The reason for this decline in relative wages of employees is that the globalization had increased the supply of experienced graduate students from different countries and thus the skilled employees were forced to shift into non – production professions (Feenstra, 2007). Outsourcing model The value chain of a company involves works like that of manufacturing of products. The manufacturing activity needs lesser skilled labors and more unskilled labors compared to marketing and research and development activities. For this reason, companies always want to outsource manufacturing activities to other countries where they can find unskilled labor with lower wages. The following figure shows the outsourcing pattern of value chain of a company (Feenstra, 2007). Source: (Feenstra, 2007). Globalization had helped to outsource the production and manufacturing activitie s to be accomplished by unskilled labor force. For this reason, the activities in the left side of A in the above figure are those which are accumulated from overseas countries and activities of right side of B are those which are undertaken in home country. Globalization had liberalized the trade agreement among countries that led to improve the infrastructure of foreign company. The outsourcing leads to accomplish the works of left side of A at abroad. The activities which are performed at home country need more skilled employees. This is the reason for raise in relative wages for skilled employees in home country. On the other hand, the relative wages of foreign country also increased because certain activities between A and B requires more skilled labor than the activities at the left side of A. For this reason the relative demand of skilled employees had increased in foreign country, which led to increase in relative wages of skilled employees in foreign country (Feenstra, 2007 ). Globalization & Competition between Workers Globalization is associated with the process of integrating international market into a single market. It encompasses goods, services, capital, and technology and labor market. The governments of many

The Effectiveness of Tanglewoods Recruitment Strategy Case Study

The Effectiveness of Tanglewoods Recruitment Strategy - Case Study Example According to the research findings it can therefore be comprehended that Tanglewood is undoubtedly one of the rapidly growing merchandise in the US and its need to provide efficient and reliable means of recruitment cannot be over emphasized. According to the management of the expansive merchandise, the different satellite branches enjoys the autonomy of devising their own peculiar methods of running the affairs of the merchandise provided their exist resonance in the management team. One of the issues that remain a challenge to the highly prolific merchandised firm is the ability to identify plethora of recruitment methods and within them opt for the most cost effective and at the same time objective, rational and reliable. The merchandise firm having progressively emerged from a simple firm located within confined region to a complex one with branches in other areas initially not intended, there is reasonable understanding of what recruitment method is sound with regard to the thei r dealing. Having recruited thousands of employees from junior levels to the management level since 1975, the firm is much endowed with the skills to select competitive individuals who can easily acclimatize to their dynamic and quick responsive to their clients demand using the least resources. The firm for all the recruitment it does have documented the material facts which includes the total recruit and the cost of recruiting the staffs. This paper critically observes the data and identifies the effectiveness of the methods that have been used to obtain the required human resource. The table below shows the cost of doing recruitment applied by the firm Fixed cost (cost of set up per site in $) Media 10,000 Referral 10,000 Kiosk 40,000 Job service 10,000 Agency 50,000 Variable costs ($) Material cost per applicant 10 10 1 5 10 Processing cost per applicant 30 30 30 15 30 Additional pre-hire cost 20 120 20 - 20 Orientation and training 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 From the table a bove, the cost of each method of recruitment can then be quantified the effectiveness is not only pegged on the cost. The cheaper the cost is no reflection of the effectiveness since it can give recruits that would demand more in terms of induction and training. The effectiveness of a method is a consideration of all the parameters involved in the recruitment and the efficacy of the recruited persons to provide the intended roles with little training thereafter. In terms of the cost in a snapshot, recruitment through Agency remains the most demanding in terms of resources standing at $5,160 while that through job service remains the most cost effective standing at $1,120. Effectiveness of each Method of Recruitment Media Besides being cost effective in the recruitment process, the use of media also reaches a large pool of people from which the firm can enjoys the need to sieve the applicant and retain the best of the applicants. Media application also reduces the span of time requir ed to process the interview as part of the interview can be done without close attendance by the management as in the automated voice interview (Noe, 2006). Referrals Referrals is also one of the cheapest methods of recruitment, it relieves the company’s management from the tedious process of going through the whole process of recruitment. It also imbibes into the employees a sense of belonging and they feel they are part of the management team (Noe, 2006). This has a positive effect in the discharge of their duties as they will be more enthusiastic to work with profound zeal. Kiosk The kiosks as a means of recruitment is seen to be costly in the initial stages but in the subsequent recruitments, they are much cost effective since the kiosk machine can serves it purpose for a long time with just little maintenance cost. It does not only save on the cost of recruitment but also reduces the time spent by the management going

Media Censorship in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Media Censorship in Australia - Essay Example According to Internet World Statistics (2007), the Internet is today found to be used widely in Asia by 460 million users, in Europe by 338 million users and in North America by 235 million users. About 90% of Internet users are young people in many nations, including Asia, North America, Europe and Australia and New Zealand. Today, school kids around the world are the busiest users of the Internet. (Anheier 2008:633). is now widely used by the government and business for their Internet on-line e-commerce and e-government transactions , there has been significant developments in Internet law-making and policy , there has been basic transformations to Internet governance , the consolidation of the internet for the popular culture and entertainment , the embedding of Internet with the contemporary identity , the changes in the media like on-line news , Internet’s impact in relationships , love , communication and desire. (Goggin 2002: 2). The 15th century media was the printing press, the 19th century had brought broadsheets, and 20th century brought radio, TV and the Internet. A new media may come into existence in the 21st century with all its permutations and parameters. Today, from neighbourhood to large companies are enjoying the ease and the speed of the Internet to create support for their objectives. Due to the Internet age, now companies are able to evaluate their public relations strategies in real dollar terms like revenue and sales. Today’s media is comprised of lap tops. ... siness for their Internet on-line e-commerce and e-government transactions , there has been significant developments in Internet law-making and policy , there has been basic transformations to Internet governance , the consolidation of the internet for the popular culture and entertainment , the embedding of Internet with the contemporary identity , the changes in the media like on-line news , Internet’s impact in relationships , love , communication and desire. (Goggin 2002: 2). Why Internet is a new media environment? The 15th century media was the printing press, the 19th century had brought broadsheets, and 20th century brought radio, TV and the Internet. A new media may come into existence in the 21st century with all its permutations and parameters. Today, from neighbourhood to large companies are enjoying the ease and the speed of the Internet to create support for their objectives. Due to the Internet age, now companies are able to evaluate their public relations strat egies in real dollar terms like revenue and sales. Today’s media is comprised of lap tops, cell phones with Internet accessing facilities, televisions, and digital camera. (Duhe 2007:2). The notion of mediated communication evaluates the public relation demeanours that happen through some varieties of mass media technologies like the Internet or televisions. J.E Grunig (2001) placed interpersonal and mediated communications are the two ends of the analogues’ aspect. Sha (1996) was of the view that dividing the mediated with that of interpersonal dimension was more proper. (Duhe 2007:9). Internet is regarded in the creation of contemporary Australian identities, and the dawning acknowledgement that Australia is one of the many nation benefited from the Internet as what Marcia Langton is of

UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP PROJECT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP PROJECT - Research Paper Example This prospect regards Christianity as everywhere presents and although we may not realize it, studies have indicated that this prospect is arguably not concise.(Adney, 2009) There are groups and communities that are unreached by Christianity and do not know anything concerning the same. They have adopted their own religion due to lack of knowledge of other alternative formative religion. Unreached people comprise of communities that have little or no access to the gospel. There are various reason that impede the spread of Christianity’ one is because some nations endorse laws that curtail Christian faith. Another impeding factor is geographical and cultural barrier. All men in nature desire to know and it is unfitting that man should be content with knowledge that is unsuited to him, yet after the acquisition of this knowledge in sense things must change in a way that is contrary to the original beliefs. The message of Christianity should in this regard be contextualized in the particular culture in order for it to be meaningful to them. (Crossman & Hoke, 1995) Using conservative estimates, unreached people compromise 70% of the global population. One eminent group in this category is the Chinese accounting for 150 million unreached Chinese in 900 groups. A particular group that has null knowledge about Christianity and is in dire need to hear of the gospel and salvation is the Hui from china. Although there are a meager number of scattered of believers, this group is most likely the largest group globally that has no record of the presence of a Christian fellowship group. Below is a map showing the location of the Hui communities in china. (Boling, 2012) The Hui are an official minority scattered all over china. Their populace is densely concentrated in some provinces such as the Ningxia also known as the â€Å"hometown of the Huis† which habits about 20% of the Hui population, Qinghai, and Gansu. They are about 10

The Marketing Strategies In The Toyota Company Essay Example for Free

The Marketing Strategies In The Toyota Company Essay Toyota Company for the past many years have been known for its quality products and reliability. But the very creativity of Toyota in its businesses and projects which touches every aspect of life was hardly seen by the people. It is when the company tried to create an image for themselves showcasing their eco-friendly activities like participation in motor sports and also practiced corporate philanthropic acts. Toyota managed to develop great principles and philosophies which helped in the manufacturing of the various exclusive models of the Toyota Production System. Toyota’s success of the tools and the technologies is due to the following 4 P’s model which they follow very rigidly. Philosophy à   The company philosophy states that they have to drive the market by satisfying the stakeholders of the company who are customers, society at large, community and its associates. Process à   Following the right kind of process will yield better results in the short term and long term improvement process. People and Partners à   More skilled and confident people who have the zeal to learn and grow in the company help and value the organization success. Problem Solving à   Organizational learning and experiences take place only if there is a control mechanism for solving the problems and the issues. Continuous improvement is still a better option which has been opted for. Toyota designs its strategies based on the concept of breaking down the jobs to develop specific work assignments which would be provided to the respective audience who will have the effectiveness in performing the task. Training processes needs to be sharpened by Toyota to meet up to its expectations. Toyota believes in developing the people by its rigorous and continuous problem solving mechanism which is in place. Toyota since 2003 has been considered as the world’s second carmaker lagging behind GMC. With the attractive designs in its technology, Toyota has been regarded as the best among the auto consumers across the globe. It has made the reputation and brand not only for its attractive designs in the vehicles but because of its affordable prices, branding process and the marketing techniques that have been followed. It has been successful in being different from other automakers because of the differential pricing mechanism. The segmentation and the targeting measures have been streamlined in way that each customer’s needs and wants have been effectively satisfied. Toyota uses a strong definition to describe its business entity by marketing its business line as being fuel efficient, environmentally friendly and having better quality products and also it marketed as being a funny and entertaining in terms of its promotional campaigns. Although Toyota gained enough revenue because of this unique selling proposition, still the masses considered it as only a fun company. Hence it decided to start up a new brand named Lexus targeting the luxury car market which it thought of marketing as a separate company with no relation to Toyota. This project was successful because of it better customer support services and a strong distribution network. Despite all the innovativeness shown, Toyota faced a crunch and a problem in their Demographic segmentation with reference to the age factor. It targeted an average age to be 47 as compared to the industry average to be 45 and hence choose to design a marketing campaign for the youth segment to influence them in buying Toyota products. Thus it started manufacturing and designing sports utility and youthful models to target the younger youth segment. To make this youth project a success it promoted its products on youth oriented media like MTV, sports channels; highlighting its brand philosophy on the websites in a flamboyant and a loud manner and by sponsoring various live programs. They were so practical and disciplined in their marketing tactics that they followed the concept of no negotiation in their prices and also providing no pressure on the customers to force their buying there by encouraging vehicle customization for its customers to enforce their purchase decision. The success of Toyota is regarded for its ability to identify the newer growth opportunities thereby achieving greater market development and product development thus capturing them in a timely phased manner. It also concentrated on downsizing wherever required so as to minimize on the resources which did not produce results. The unique characteristics of Toyota’s marketing strategies is that it has kept aside the traditional marketing tactics like surveys or focus groups or case studies but has adopted techniques like participating in parties, clubs, art galleries :thus helping in creating a balanced rapport with the youth. Toyota felt that the marketers shouldn’t use marketing gimmicks to attract the customers but to devise strategies which convey the messages in a straightforward, authentic and undemanding manner. Publicizing their product range in music CDs was another plus point for the company. Websites were the point of grievance handling and a focal point for providing feedback and suggestions in an interactive manner. Toyota thus has created a niche for themselves because of its economies of scale, global brand name and highly equipped and skilled engineers, all of which have been contributed in the best manner to showcase the company positively. References: Cina, M. (2002). â€Å"Toyota Uses Unique Marketing Strategy For Scion.† Retrieved on April 4, 2008, from Popular Mechanics Web site: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/1270196.html Liker, J. Et al (2005). â€Å"The Toyota Way Fieldbook† 1st Ed, New York: McGraw Hill. Wittens, S. Et al (2006). â€Å"Toyota: Developing Strategies for Growth† Retrieved on April 4, 2008, from Life in Motion Web site: http://lifeinmotion.wordpress.com/2006/12/23/%E2%80%9Ctoyota-developing-strategies-for-growth%E2%80%9D/

Company analysis of NUMICO

Company analysis of NUMICO NUMICO came into existence in the year 1896 when Mr Martinus van der Hagen secured all rights of a formula for infant milk from cows milk. His operation was based in The Hague in The Netherlands. In 20th century company changed the named to Nutricia but in the year 1997 when company received the designation Royal then its name changed to NUMICO NV. Recent Past of NUMICO: Strategic Corporate Development History For nearly 5 decades NUMICO worked with corporate strategy of trying to build themselves on only one baby product with limited exports. In 1946 company introduced another product but in the local market only. NUMICO for a long time tried to develop the new strategy after their first initial success in 19th century. Launching new product was not a brilliant idea though it was a sustainable decision. Usually companies spend millions of dollar developing the product and this would take some years to recover. As product development was not enough to grow in multiple folds so company made many acquisitions in different geographies. The result at the end of year 2006 was NUMICOs presence in more than 100 countries with plethora of products to sell. Products were bifurcated among different divisions like clinical nutritional products went under brands such as Nutrison, peptisorb etc. Revenue and profit margin both increased because of acquisition. Acquisitions can get a limited and desired level of success and to keep growing even NUMICO invested heavily in research development. Strategic alliance with industry giants, universities and government helped NUMICOs cause. Research development wing of NUMICO attracted the best and on a regular basis filed for the patents. NUMICO Acquisition strategy in 1998, 1999 2000 To exploit linkages between the organisation and its environment NUMICO adopted Medical Platform Marketing. NUMICO moved from supermarket shelves to practitioners clinics. Now, products for vulnerable people were prescribed by doctors. Expenses on research and development were forcing NUMICO to reach new places to recover the cost. In 1998 annual report NUMICO was a multinational company focusing on the development, production and sales of nutritional medical concepts with a great value addition. Strategy of NUMICO as per annual report of 1998 mentioned in the case study* by Eppink was as follows: The strategy of NUMICO is focused on specialisation, continuing internationalisation and profitable growth, partly by acquisitions as wll as by strategic alliances, and safeguarding the highest quality in all stages of production and services. As per the turnover in 1998, NUMICOs major revenue generating business still was infant food which was sold maximum in Western Europe which was experiencing the major falling birth rates and an ageing population. After analysing the market NUMICO bought few European companies to expand in profitable areas. In 1999, NUMICO acquired a company bigger than them in terms of production revenue. When NUMICO bought General Nutrition Companies (GNC) of Pittsburgh (USA) it was the largest manufacturer of nutritional product in the world with a stronghold in sports-nutrition market. It was a win-win situation for both the organisations where GNC was gaining from NUMICOs research to enhance their product range NUMICO could gain from the distribution network of GNC. Press release explained the reason of this acquisition which was to achieve the global market dominance.1 Acquisition was on the cards for the third year as well when NUMICO snapped Enrich International Rexall Sundown in 2000. Unlike GNC Enrich was in the business of nutritional supplements personal care products with an in house RD department for product development. Again unlike GMC, Enrich was in 10 more countries with a global distribution system. Rexall Sundown another US based organisation was acquired by NUMICo. Rexall like Enrich was a producer of nutritional supplements as well as consumer health products. NUMICO acquired another business which has got nothing to do with their main business interest like GMC. A press release describes the reason of acquisition which was again to get the pole position in the market.2 Acquisition of new businesses far from NUMICOs main business made NUMICO its own rival because NUMICO already had the presence in the market. However, Rexall could exploit the European market because of NUMICOs distribution network present in Europe. At this point in time, NUMICO was confused in their approach because two competitors (Enrich Rexall) were working under one roof and serving the same market. Strategist might have analysed the more competition less co-operation among the two brands. To make operation smoother and to serve their customers better NUMICO merged the Enrich Rexall in one new separate entity by the name Unicity. Strategy evaluation: From day one and for a long period of time NUMICO operated with one product because of which they never realised their potential as a standalone entity to grow. After not getting desired success till the end of 20th century NUMICO realised alone they cannot get the global position in market. At this position, they might have done PEST analysis to judge the environment affecting them. Even SWOT could be used as a tool to know the strong areas where they can build the future empire. PEST might have shown them that they are not functional in future markets where they can grow faster than their current strong hold markets like Western Europe. PEST can cover issues from demography to social technological changes like declining birth rates to e-commerce. By applying SWOT, one can know that NUMICO always regarded the RD as an important activity which they wont give up at any cost. Thus, they identified RD was their strength where they can build their future. Michael Porters 5 forces theory could have also applied in this case study to know why NUMICO only adopted the acquisition route. As the case study explains NUMICO was operating in such an environment where the small players could have changed the entire game. The threat from existing players and new comers was massive moreover small players were taking the competition to all geographies. Hence to enhance the global position in the market NUMICO adopted the acquisition route. Acquiring GMC was a sensible move it was reducing the competition and on the other hand it was enhancing the performance but acquiring Rexall Enrich was not at all a brilliant move. Reason being, it stretches the operational efficiency because NUMICO was not in the same domain with them. *case study (Do the Harvard referencing because I am not aware of the source) 1) Just the last line need referencing from the case study. 2) Press release in the case study Current Strategic Situation: Acquisitions in a field which was not related with their main business interest left them in a position between the pharmaceutical market and the food market. To avoid the stuck in the middle situation usually organisations adopts the Michael Porters (1998), generic strategies which is as follow: Figure: Competitive advantage Source: tutor2u.net (Accessed on: 20/03/2011) Cost Leadership: In this strategy, organisation aims to be the lowest cost producer to gain the maximum share in the market. To achieve this position organisation drive the cost down through sourcing the cheapest raw material labour cost. NUMICO was not trying to achieve the cost leadership because case study shows that they were aiming for high margin business. Hence, cost leadership is not NUMICOs domain. Differentiation: As the name suggests, in this strategy, organisations aim to be different from their competitors. Differentiation provides a competitive advantage to organisations which helped them to charge a premium price for their products services. If we look at NUMICO case study we will find that they started with one product due to patents they held the ground for long time. One product was sufficient with a patent to create the differentiation but later they acquired so many organisations which could provide them distribution network penetration in the foreign market. Acquisition which they made was not only in their own domain and at this point they started losing the gained differentiation. From super stores shelves to general practitioner prescription, move was certainly adopted to make a differentiation but due to diversified businesses it confused the distribution points. Differentiation did not pay off well because by 1998 their major revenue generator was still infant formula. Niche strategies: Here the organisation function in one specific segment and try their best to become the best provider of products services. To work in this kind of strategy organisations need to be either cost efficient or different from other players like Rolls Royce in the car market. NUMICOs acquisition exercise took them into various domains but still they tried to call themselves a Medical Platform Marketing. One platform for medical assistance to those who are vulnerable didnt work well because of plethora of products. However, from NUMICOs perspective they focused on specialisation with profitable growth. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: NUMICO got involved in series of acquisition related unrelated to their main business interest because of which they are facing the stuck in the middle situation. To simplify the situation they tried to bring all the diversified business interests under one roof. Things are still confusing because they wanted to build on nutritional field but due to acquisitions they are working in nutritional supplements fields as well. Moreover, they acquired two competitors (Enrich Rexall) and left them in the field to compete with each other. It took some time to bring both of them under one brand name and by that time both of them did enough damage to each other. Now, NUMICO is stuck between the pharmaceutical market the food market because of their confused approach. Lot of unwise decision made which resulted in head on collusion with giants of pharmacy food business like Novartis Nestle. NUMICO always wanted to sell clinical diet foods but because of their acquisitions they are not focusing on their main stream business. NUMICO bought the US operations not to sell what they were doing before acquisition e.g. vitamins. Rather than turning them into NUMICOs regular business NUMICO started looking after their operations. First an industry expert noticed that NUMICO is facing challenges because they are not performing only in their traditional markets. Company was stuck in the middle because it was facing challenges from giants minnows at the same time. New markets where they were operative due to acquisitions were full of small players. In addition to that threat from new entrants was massive. NUMICOs strategy needed a review before they lose the global position. Strategy review: In the year 2000, NUMICOs board of directors recognised the risks from existing strategy. NUMICO due to acquisition was not paying enough attention to their cash cow i.e. infant products and now strength of NUMICO is making them vulnerable. NUMICO is a European organisation they maintain balance sheet in euro and any PEST affect in USA operation can cause serious problem to their business figures. Operation overseas involves exchange risk as well. Last but not the least even NUMICOs board realised that they are confused in approach. NUMICO was not all stuck in the middle because organisations who face this kind of situation usually subject to a takeover or merger. Finally when NUMICOs board realised the drawback associated with the strategy they should take this opportunity to reduce or eliminate the risk. Strategy review due to certain events: In the year 2001, after 1 year of realisation, company saw themselves in hot waters due to economic slowdown in the USA. In addition to slowdown, demand for nutrition herbs were plummeting too with an increased competition from low price manufacturers. Its not only NUMICO which was facing the heat but the whole sector was losing the effectiveness. If NUMICO would have done the PESTEL analysis then they could have avoided this slowdown and competition because they never saw this slowdown coming into the picture. It is necessary to explore the competitive environment to develop sustainable competitive advantage. NUMICO response to events: NUMICOs response to the situation was not at all proactive. NUMICO response was reactive that to after negative growth. CEO was asked to mind the traditional new business but not to take any other big projects. US operations gave back to back management problems to CEO which resulted in his resignation in May 2002. New CEO bifurcated the operations in three divisions and for the first time they adopted a specific approach to tackle each brand. In other words, NUMICO changed the corporate strategy to unit level strategy to take care of each business. In the year 2002, NUMICO got bad news from all the quarters of business and to make the situation worse exchange rate of US dollar was changing frequently against euro. Finally, NUMICO announced the sale of Rexall Sundown GNC to focus on high-growth/high-margin businesses of baby food and clinical nutrition. Both the brands increased the performance of its new owner. Strategic Direction for the future: After divestment, NUMICO should think about the future. Company can use BCG Matrix to determine what is to be done to remaining product portfolio. NUMICO already dumped the low-growth/low-margin products, so now; they can concentrate on long term value creations through developing high-growth/high margin products. Stars of NUMICO: NUMICOs star was infant product but due to lot of exposure in low birth rate countries their business was declining at an alarming rate. NUMICO can utilise the some money which they received from divestment to expand in those countries where birth rate is much better than Western countries like India China. For infant products, long ago NUMICO used to command premium price because of RD patents. Cash Cow of NUMICO: NUMICO should turn their infant product into cash cow by offering cost leadership. After gaining the cost leadership NUMICO can go back to their golden days. To achieve the cost leadership NUMICO doesnt have to invest heavily on supply chain because they have everything which it takes to get the advantage. Dogs of NUMICO: NUMICO already sold the Dogs from their product portfolio now they should not repeat this mistake by taking over another non-business interest investment. Question marks of NUMICO: NUMICO should avoid this block by focusing on cash cows star blocks. Imagine a scenario; if they dont pay much attention now on finding new markets for infant products then they might end-up in this block because western market has declined in term of birth rate and they already sold the maximum distribution points of GMC Rexall in USA. Hence, they should take actions on urgent basis to avoid question mark. Figure: BCG Matrix Source: www.tellingthestory.typepad.com Accessed on: 20/03/2011 BCG matrix can help in understanding the mistakes done in past to fit an all approach strategy for future. BCG matrix is not free from flaws but it certainly explains what to do what not to do. To bring back the growth back into the books of NUMICO they should adopt Ansoff Growth Matrix. As per Lynch (2006), the market options matrix examines the options available to the organisation from a broader strategic perspective than the simple market/product matrix (called in some texts the Ansoff Matrix). Figure: Ansoff matrix Source: www.cipher-sys.com Accessed on: 20/03/2011 As per Ansoff matrix, NUMICO can go for market penetration. It will be like without disturbing the companys existing range of products or services and perhaps it can attract current customers as well. Things can backfire if market penetration is planned for new customers only. For example, mobile companies offer brilliant price plans to retain the existing customer. Market penetration is smooth when the market is growing. Existing organisations with low relative market share in a booming market have little to lose but NUMICO has high relative share and if they dont attract their current as well as new customers then they might lose whatever they are holding till now. Market development using existing products could be a strategic route but for this approach they should not disturb the existing customer focus. In NUMICOs case, they should take infant products to those countries where birth rate is better than Western Europe and USA. NUMICO can slightly repackage the product then can promote to a new market segment. Product development for the existing market can be possible for NUMICO because they have their own RD centres where they can develop new concepts. NUMICO should do optimum utilisation of their all resources to counter competitive entry. NUMICOs RD centres can help them to maintain the companys stance as innovator. Diversification is not needed according to case study because they have just finished the sale of GMC Rexall. Other Strategic Options: Organic growth: NUMICO should start the change from with-in and build itself from scratch and this time they should stick to the core business. Acquisitions Mergers: NUMICO can acquire the rival business or merge with one of its rival from core business market to gain the lost momentum. Strategic Alliances: NUMICO can make some strategic alliances with few government bodies in developing countries. Licensing: NUMICO can sell their patent license or lease to its competitors to build a business from their intellectual properties. Recommendations: NUMICO needs to pursue a growth strategy in a structured way the methods by which the market opportunities associated with strategy options might be achieved. NUMICO should treat their RD outputs as their assets which they can sell in market to claim a tag of future business. Investors like to associate themselves with future markets because they know their money can take them to new avenues with high returns. NUMICO was a leader in RD and infant products but all was lost because of acquisitions in foreign un-related markets products. This time they should build themselves related to their core-strength. For RD, they hired PHD passed-outs but they never presented themselves as a smart organisation which they should focus this time. Current generation would like to associate themselves with smart organisations like Google Apple. NUMICO should aim for future parents who will buy their products services. Given the amount of analysis that can potentially be undertaken, merger with other competitors is highly recommended. Mergers are similar to acquisitions like combining two companies. However, merger can happen in one scenario where both the parties cannot take over each other. This can be a friendly hand but still a special care will be always required. Merger should be sone before identifying the strategic issues. Mergers are never meant to lose the total control of the company but to gain new markets new customers. None of the evidence suggests till date that merger is a value addition but neither has it suggested any failure when both partners are same in size. Merger might not a big value to NUMICO but it can enhance the performance. Although NUMICO can still grow as a stand alone business but to take their research in right path they need a right partner. Partner especially with same business interest but with more distribution points in desired locations can do wonders for NUMICO. NUMICO always had RD centres but they never capitalised on that asset perhaps a partner can take that advantage or turn it into their competitive advantage.

Keechie: Femme Formidable :: Film Movie Essays

Keechie: Femme Formidable INSTRUCTOR'S COMMENT: This is an extraordinarily accomplished essay: beautifully written, critically perceptive, and nicely related to the critical discourse on Altman and film noir. Saving the quotation from Anderson for the very end is a nice touch because it brings the reader back to the frame of reference: the process of adaptation. The little note about first shots of Cora in two versions of The Postman Always Rings Twice makes an extremely clear point of comparison with which to think about Altman's very different agenda. A fine, fine piece of work, of which you should be very proud. In an article entitled "Night and Day", Robert Philip Kolker distinguishes a transformation of the gangster film from the genre's conventional film noir elements. He places Robert Altman's Thieves Like Us, an adaptation of Edward Anderson's 1937 crime novel, amongst this subgenre on account of the film's antigeneric mise-en-scene. While Altman's departure from the classic film noir form has often been analyzed by film critics, the noir heroine--who is generally central to the plot--has received little (if any) attention. Further, even though faithfulness to the original text pervades adaptation discourse as a major criterion for judging the cinematic counterpart, critics have often overlooked Altman's most noteworthy change to Anderson's grim story: Keechie survives in the end. In fact, the film tends to be compared more with Nichols Ray's preceding film version than with the novel. However, in his manipulation of film noir genre conventions, Altman not only constructs a lighter, mor e open world, he creates a corresponding heroine who likewise transforms the characteristics of the noir woman.[1] Women in Film Noir, edited by E. Ann Kaplan, provides the framework from which an examination of Keechie's character can be drawn. Throughout the volume several distinctions are made between the two categories of women in film noir. While the femme fatale is characterized as a combination of sexuality and aggressiveness which inevitably makes her an obstacle to the male quest, the appropriate archetype--woman as redeemer--is depicted as a means of integration for the hero into both his environment and himself. However much control either type of woman may exhibit throughout the course of the film, by the end of it is relinquished. They are either restored to their prescribed positions in patriarchy[2] or destroyed. Keechie both manifests and opposes selective qualities attributed to the femme fatale and the "nurturing woman" (as she is referred to in the Kaplan text).

Owens Valley Tragedy :: Environmental California Essays

Earth’s Seemingly Irreparable Landscape Time and time again it has been seen that human interaction with his/her environment and it’s ecosystems has shown to be increasingly arrogant and self-serving. These endless accounts are proven by the amount of important biological diversity that is being lost to the surrounding environment due to these threats of human development and population growth. There are two forms of these losses of diversity by human hand: direct and indirect. Direct losses would be the destruction of an area needed for human requirements be it social or economical. Examples of these losses would be housing, agriculture, and others. Indirect losses would be those caused by the destruction of an area also needed for the same requirements but the area’s commodities which are valued, water, food, land in general, is needed elsewhere. These losses are few in number compared with those of direct losses yet they are of the greatest importance. They are important because they involve the removal of resources of an area in which other inhabitants are dependent upon. A great example of this regrettable indirect expansion is the loss of the rich habitat of the area known as Owens Valley. Owens Valley History Owens Valley lies to the east of the Sierra Nevada mountain and west of the White-Inyo mountain ranges, just to the west of the U.S.’s Great Basin. Early settlers to this area, as all other immediate surrounding area’s originally, were Indians, one of the Paiute tribes. This tribe lived by a simple and direct policy in terms of living with the environment. Their food supply was derived from seasonal crops of wild seeds and roots, fishing, and hunting of the deer, antelope, mountain sheep, jackrabbit, and waterfowl which flourished along the valley floor and hillsides. They took only what they required for food and trade. Unfortunately, pioneer expansion soon took precedence with the majority of them being miners who migrated to the region from the east following the Western mines (Sauder, 1994). With this colonization came agricultural expansion as well, which included cattle production and various farming crops. Of course, confrontation, the beginning of a lifetime of fight over Owens Valley, was spurred with the Paiutes over ownership of this rich valley abundant in usable resources. Due to the Paiute’s simple and peaceful attitude, the early pioneers took over the valley and every one of it’s resources, placing the Paiute’s out in the cold, where they continued urbanization and agriculture of the landscape.

Education and Egalitarianism in America :: American Education School Educators Essays

Education and Egalitarianism in America The American educator Horace Mann once said: "As an apple is not in any proper sense an apple until it is ripe, so a human being is not in any proper sense a human being until he is educated." Education is the process through which people endeavor to pass along to their children their hard-won wisdom and their aspirations for a better world. This process begins shortly after birth, as parents seek to train the infant to behave as their culture demands. They soon, for instance, teach the child how to turn babbling sounds into language and, through example and precept, they try to instill in the child the attitudes, values, skills, and knowledge that will govern their offspring's behavior throughout later life. Schooling, or formal education, consists of experiences that are deliberately planned and utilized to help young people learn what adults consider important for them to know and to help teach them how they should respond to choices. This education has been influenced by thr ee important parts of modern American society: wisdom of the heart, egalitarianism, and practicality... the greatest of these, practicality. In the absence of written records, no one can be sure what education man first provided for his children. Most anthropologists believe, though, that the educational practices of prehistoric times were probably like those of primitive tribes in the 20th century, such as the Australian aborigines and the Aleuts. Formal instruction was probably given just before the child's initiation into adulthood -- the puberty rite -- and involved tribal customs and beliefs too complicated to be learned by direct experience. Children learned most of the skills, duties, customs, and beliefs of the tribe through an informal apprenticeship -- by taking part in such adult activities as hunting, fishing, farming, toolmaking, and cooking. In such simple tribal societies, school was not a special place... it was life itself. However, the educational process has chang ed over the decades, and it now vaguely represents what it was in ancient times, or even in early American society. While the schools that the colonists established in the 17th century in the New England, Southern, and Middle colonies differed from one another, each reflected a concept of schooling that had been left behind in Europe. Most poor children learned through apprenticeship and had no formal schooling at all. Those who did go to elementary school were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion.

Bugsy Malone and a short comparison Essay

In this scene when Peter comes back and surprises them, it almost as if they expect every thing they have said to have not happened, which is typical of children, they are relieved to see Peter and are happy. Further on in the scene John tries to regain his pride by pretending he knows about the way the ‘wop’ got out ect. At the end of the scene John and Peter join forces as I were to go to the top and find out what id happening, this part was played quite well, it was difficult because the lines all sound the same and remembering them was not easy, the rest of the group stayed in character really well. The last few scenes are very short and consist of John and Peter scaring the rest of the group buy pretending they have been caught, the rest of the group played this part very well, and acted as children would in this kind of situation, Me and Fraser were not on stage a lot but played it fairly well when we were. This entire play was very difficult to perform because of lines, accents and movement ECT. We tried to use space effectively and we used costume to add to the effect. I think that over all we did quite well performing this piece. Bugsy Malone and a short comparison As I do not know much about Bugsy Malone, I will only write a brief part on it, the basic out line of this story is that children who are put into adult situations, in the reverse to Blue Remembered Hills, are gangsters who fight against each other throughout the play, Bugsy is the leader f one gang. The gangs compete with things to try and get better than the other gang, instead of using guns, they use paint guns and water pistols. I think in comparison to Blue Remembered Hills this shows the small amount that children and adults know about each other’s roles in life. The two are very similar in the way that the ‘children’ in Blue Remembered Hills are put in a very childlike situation, and the ‘adults’ in Bugsy Malone are put in a very adult situation, I both play the characters have very different fears and emotions to one another and these are expressed well throughout both plays.

Define Culture Essay

â€Å"A person without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.†- Marcus Garvey. This says that a person is defined by his or her culture by the way he/she acts, thinks, and speaks. A person is defined by his or her culture by the way he or she thinks. A person see’s the world differently so the way they think and act would be distinct. They would think differently because of the different backgrounds that they have. In the story â€Å"Imagine†, it says â€Å"you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one†. John Lennon explains how people think he’s different because of what he is. He also says how people aren’t all the same but he wishes that one day we were. He wishes that one day we will all see the world the same and we would be the same. A person is defined by his or her culture by the way he or she’ s history, family tree, and he or she’s way of life. A person is defined by his or her culture because it effects the way they act or speak. In the story â€Å"Where I’m From,† George States â€Å"†¦leaf fall from the family tree†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This example from the text explains that every detail, moment, or where she is from in the poem is from her family tree. It’s saying the poem are moments or cultural things that effected her or shaped her as a person. The things she shares in the poem are all from her families history or culture (family tree). Although others may argue that culture doesn’t effect your education, other people don’t always agree,because their culture has taught them everything they know.An example on how culture defines your education is that people can attend any school , but when they are being taught, they realize that it is different from what they know. In the story, â€Å"An Indian Father’s Plea,† the protagonist argues, â€Å"My son is culturally â€Å"different.† If you ask him how many months are in a year he will probably tell you 13. He will respond this way not because he doesn’t know how to count but because he was taught by our people that there are 13 full moons in a year.† This quote demonstrates that even though he is Indian, he is culturally different because his culture has taught him what he knows. Your families history, education, and your view or the way you think all contribute on how your culture defines you. It’s obvious that any person would benefit from he or she’s culture.

Cable vs. Satellite Tv Essay

Cable TV: Cable TV companies lay wiring throughout the areas they service, including amplifiers to make sure signal strength is good throughout. Cable can then be easily brought into your home and connected to a cable box or directly into your TV. Satellite TV: Satellite TV companies send their signal to a satellite in space, which then sends it down to the dish on your roof. The dish then needs to connect to a receiver box, which connects to your TV. What kind of equipment do I need? Cable TV: If your home is not wired for cable TV, an installer will need to run cable into your home and create a wall plate with a connector on it. You can plug directly into your TV if you want to receive a basic channel lineup. To receive a fuller menu of digital and HD channels, a cable box is required for each television you plan to use. DVRs and HD-DVRs are generally available that deliver digital and HD channels as well as extra features like the ability to record/store programming and pause live TV. Satellite TV: You’ll need to have a dish installed outside on something like a roof or balcony that has a clear view of the southern sky. Set-top boxes are required for each television you plan to use. DVRs and HD-DVRs should be available that deliver digital and HD channels as well as extra features like the ability to record/store programming and pause live TV. What kind of programming can I get? Both cable and satellite TV offer digital and HD channels, along with varying amounts of on-demand and pay-per-view programming. Cable TV almost always offers a full range of local channels, while satellite TV’s local channel availability is much more robust now than in years previous (most cities should have access to a full list of local channels). Can I get service where I live? Cable TV: If you live in a medium to large-sized city, you will very likely have access to cable TV. If you live in a very small town or isolated area, you may not be able to get service due to a lack of cable lines in the area. Satellite TV: Satellite TV can provide programming to city and countryside residents alike, as you only need to have a clear view of the southern sky for your dish. It can be problematic for renters, however, who don’t have access to a southern view or who have to pay extra building fees to install a dish. Are there any issues with reception quality? Cable TV: There are outages with cable TV service, but they are infrequent. Some areas of the country and some companies will experience this more than others. While the level of outages is quite low, when service does go out in an area, it can last for a couple of hours or longer. Satellite TV: A satellite TV signal can be affected by things like severe weather, causing a loss of picture that usually lasts a few seconds to perhaps a few minutes. Also, if your dish is knocked down due to something like high winds, you will lose reception. In the early days, someone probably denounced cable by saying, â€Å"Television is like water, and no one will ever pay for something they can get for free.† Still, people subscribed. Cable provided a tremendous service for those who couldn’t receive signals by local affiliates. It rapidly became part of the television landscape. Fifty years later, the television world is littered with cable conglomerates who now compete with satellite companies by offering hundreds of digital channels and consumer-friendly interactive services. Their goal is to get your business. Here is a comparison of common services generally provided by cable and satellite companies in the United States and Canada. PRICES Because satellite providers don’t have to pay taxes levied by local governments and feature smaller infrastructures, consumers get more bang for the buck with satellite. Right now, cable’s low-end price is better, but with a third of the channels it’s not an easy sale when compared to satellite’s lowest package. Cable companies have millions of miles of outdated lines buried below ground, and are in the process of converting their technology to digital, which will be expensive. While satellite offers lower programming packages across the board, companies do charge fees per room receiving the signal. Though, some cable companies do, too. Edge: Satellite PROGRAMMING Remember the talk of a 500-channel universe? It’s here, and cable and satellite companies are ready to transport the consumer there. While both offer similar channel packages, each has an advantage over the other. Satellite offers both east and west coast feeds and alternate sports programming for channels like ESPN and Fox Sports. Sometimes sports stations televise games based on regional interest. Their alternate feed allows the satellite viewer the choice of either game. Of course, accessibility to some of the alternate feeds might require an additional price. Cable counters by offering plans for around twenty dollars for those who want good reception without paying for the 500-channel universe, and local programming not carried by satellite providers like public access stations. Edge: Even EQUIPMENT Cable has an advantage for subscribers who don’t want digital programing because there’s no equipment needed other than a television. For the digital subscriber, cable and satellite are similar. You’ll need a converter box, remote, and compatible television. Satellite needs an unobstructed view of the southern sky to receive signals, which is a huge disadvantage for renters because their leasing company might require a deposit for satellite installation. Homeowners also assume a minimal risk by installing a dish to a side wall or roof. Edge: Cable AVAILABILITY Cable only reaches as far as their infrastructure is built while satellite has the entire southern sky. This is significant because in some deregulated markets, all cable companies don’t reach all homes. Edge: Satellite DIGITAL, HDTV, and DVR Concerning digital, high definition, and digital video recorders, cable and satellite companies are equal with one exception. Some satellite companies require an upfront purchase of the DVR and HD box. Others are like cable companies and lease boxes on a monthly basis. Purchasing a receiver is an advantage over time because monthly charges add up. All major companies offer all services in one way or another. Edge: Even BUNDLED SERVICES Bundling services is an adaptation of survival by cable and satellite companies. They either own or form partnerships with other telecommunication companies to offer television, phone, and Internet service for one low price. An example of a bundled service is SBC joining with Dish Network and Yahoo! to offer phone, satellite, and DSL. All major cable and satellite companies will offer some sort of one-bill service because that’s the trend in today’s market. Edge: Even CUSTOMER SERVICE Satellite companies flourish without store fronts because of phone and online customer services. However, store fronts are convenient because they’re a place to pay bills, change out equipment, and voice a compliment or complaint face-to-face. Edge: Cable OBLIGATION Some satellite companies require contracts and some don’t, but very few (if any) cable companies require the consumer to commit to a minimum subscription length.

The Effects Of Oil Spill In The Marine Ecosystem

These components affect living organisms in many ways. Some of the soluble components and emulsions are poisonous, particularly to small organisms that do not have protective coverings or shells- Fish larvae, single celled algae and many kinds of plankton are vulnerable and these are the basic foundation of the marine food chain. In shallow water these toxic substances may directly kill algae, coral and sea grasses.These components may also be passed in the food chain or directly ingested or absorbed through the gills of fish and other larger marine organisms. The effect may be to kill the animal or contaminate its tissues. A thick film of oil on the sea surface may reduce sunlight penetration and reduce photosynthesis. Small particles and emulsions may be ingested or block the feeding mechanisms of invertebrates such as oysters, starfish, sponges and corals. These particles also may have toxic components, so the effects can be physical, chemical or both. The most dramatic impact of oil spills is the coating of larger animals with oil. Animals that breathe at the surface like dolphins, sea turtles and manatees may inhale oil and toxic vapors. Sticky oil may also coat their bodies. Coating with oil is particularly devastating to birds. Even a thin coat of oil compromises the waterproof quality of feathers, causing the bird to become water logged and loose heat. Animals, like some sea turtles, that feed at or near the surface may ingest tar balls and particles that then physically blocks their intestines and may be toxic as well.At the shoreline, shallow waters and coastal estuaries and marshes, the impact of the layer of oil, floating and suspended emulsion and particles can be devastating, coating plants and benthic animals like corals, crabs and shell fish, preventing photosynthesis and breathing and blocking filter feeding mechanisms. These materials become mixed into shoreline sediments and remain in the system for years. ‘Dispersants’ are deter gent like substances that can be applied to an oil slick and accelerate the emulsification, break-up into particles and dispersion of the thick oil. This limits the spread and the distance that a slick moves.However it is important to recognize that the oil does not go away- its all still there, just in the form of smaller particles and emulsion that is less mobile. In addition, dispersants may also be toxic or have deleterious effects on the natural environment, particularly on small single celled organisms. System recovery.Despite these gloomy predictions, the effects of oil spills are not permanent and complete. Marine systems show remarkable resiliency and as the oil becomes sequestered in less active forms (tarballs, buried oil etc.) and is broken down by sunlight and bacterial action, the systems recover. Survivors reproduce and recolonize habitats. Some creatures adapt to tar and oil covered substrates and some crabs and mollusks actually eat the tar and the bacteria and fung i growing upon it, and aid its degredation. The oil in its several forms is dispersed, diluted and broken down until only small pockets and particles remain.Marine systems are by their very nature open- that is connected by the sea, wind and currents to distant uncontaminated regions. Many marine organisms have mobile life phases(floating eggs, larvae) that recolonize and re-establish populations. Some of the creatures affected by a spill also routinely suffer catastrophic mortality from other causes (e.g. some colonial nesting seabirds) and are well adapted to recover. Large mobile animals like sharks, sea turtles, large fish and whales that moved away from the spill move back. Although there may be significant mortality of some of these animals, overall the impact on their populations is usually not permanent.In the well studied cases in the Arabian gulf, Alaska (Exxon Valdez) and English Channel (Torrey Canyon), the appearance of the system returned close to normal within a few y ears. Although there was still oil and tar present in the sediments, and continuing effects among the organisms there was visible recovery of major parts of the system (seagrass beds, rocky intertidal habitats, coral reefs).With the passage of time, approximately a decade or so, and rebalancing of ecosystem and the creatures living in it, the system continues to function and returns to productivity, fisheries recover and many of the organisms are restored to their previous abundance. While such widespread intense disruption may causes changes in the balance of nature- which species are present and how numerous they are- nature itself survives. Although such catastrophic events are very damaging and economically expensive at a human scale, on an ecological time scale they are passing disruptions and on an evolutionary timescale, barely perceptible.Ecosystem effectsClean up efforts have included unprecedented amounts of chemical dispersants,  which are used to break up oil slicks. A lthough detailed effects of the chemical dispersants on wildlife and ecosystems are not well studied, the chemicals used are toxic to a variety of organisms, and they have never been previously used on this wide a scale. Because dispersants break oil up into tiny droplets, marine biologists fear that fish larvae, zooplankton and filter feeders (such as oysters), will be at risk from eating the large quantities of â€Å"non-visible† oil.Chemical dispersants are likely to impact deep-water animals downstream of the well. Oil will likely reduce the amount and health of all prey species, reducing the food available for marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles. Plankton is the foundation for nearly all life in the Gulf of Mexico (and the ocean), and they will most likely be affected. Contaminants from the spill and the dispersants are likely to concentrate in the upper food chain, affecting whales, dolphins, birds and sharks. FishesScientists have observed fish species moving into near-shore areas with less oil contamination, indicating that they may be fleeing significant habitat impacts in deeper waters. The Gulf is a breeding ground for bluefin tuna, and the oil spill coincides with egg production. Larvae of tuna and other fishes eat anything they see in the water, including oil droplets. Studies on a variety of fish larvae suggests that ingestion of both oil droplets and dispersants causes adverse effects, including mutations, physiological problems and increased mortality.BirdsSeabirds get covered with oil while diving into oily waters to fish. The birds may ingest oil when they eat prey that is covered in or has ingested oil. Once birds are covered with oil, they have difficulty flying, or are completely unable to fly, making feeding and getting away from predators impossible. Many species of birds, including the brown pelican (just taken off the endangered list) face threats from the oil spill on the coastal islands and wetlands of the Gulf that they use as rookeries. Birds’ eggs are getting covered in oil, and the birds are deserting their oiled habitat, leaving their eggs behind.Oil pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems in themarine  environment. Episodic pollution events, such as catastrophic oilspills; in particular, threaten water quality and habitat with a suddenness andseverity rarely matched by other pollutants. Catastrophic spills typicallyresult from transportation accidents such as collisions or groundings of oiltankers.Most oil pollution stems from non-catastrophic events, however, and occursmost frequently during cargo transfer operations. In fact, of the 3.5 Milliontons of oil that ends up in the ocean every year worldwide, only a small percent is a consequence of tanker spills. About 70 percent of oil Pollution isdue to chronic pollution from municipal and industrial wastes or run off,dumping of waste oil, release of oily bilge water, and from other-than-tanker transportation.Whatâ⠂¬â„¢s an oil spill?Oil spills happen when people make mistakes or are careless and cause anoil tanker to leak oil into the ocean. There are a few more ways an oil spillcan occur. Equipment breaking down may cause an oil spill. If theequipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land. Whenthey start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causingit to leak oil

Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

Religion - Essay Example The experience is the troubles that people encounter and eventually abandons their old living habits and follows what their religion teaches them. In the section, â€Å"Theories of religion† (starting from page 8), Flood explains that there are three different schools of thought in how to define religion. Summarize these theories and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. These theories describe religion to be politics in the other way round, religion is a gene and defined religion to be a cultural response to life (Crockett 14). The first schools gave an illustration that based on the aesthetic reduction. The meaning of this is that religion is part of the cultural mechanism that makes sure that the transmission of genes to the other generations is successful. Explanation of how living being come into existence is specified in a range of constraint, this is the advantage of these theories. The limitation for this is that religious resources that pertain human lives in most instances went against the grain of some scholarships. Correct what Flood describes here with your own experience of religion. Does it resonate? Why or not? Basing on what Floods description, it does not resonate with my experience of religion. The reason behind this is that religions are a unifying, purifying, and holy dominion that brings people closer to God (Crockett 15). Floods highlight does not reveal the genesis of man. Instead, he relates with biological aspects that do not exist in the desired religion.

Santorini, Greece Architecture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Santorini, Greece Architecture - Research Paper Example This volcanic eruption destroyed the center of the island, causing it to sink and to create today’s caldera. The caldera is circular in shape and it is entirely filled with water. In fact, it is the only sunken caldera in the world. The inner coast around the caldera is a precipice of nearly 300-meter drop; it has many layers of solidified layers of lava on top of each other. The outer beaches are very smooth and shallow. Sand color of beaches is different depending upon which geographic layer is exposed; it could be white, red, grey or black sand. The climate of Santorini is affected by its volcanic location. It is generally fair with pleasant temperature throughout the year. The summers are marked by drought. The temperature in the summer months e.g. July and August range from 30 -32 degrees centigrade during the day to 20- 23 degrees at night. Spring and autumn are perfect. The winters are generally humid with mild temperatures. Rain is almost nonexistent, but some showers are expected at the end of April and September. Snow is also very rare. The climate in the Santorini is also affected by the winds rushing in the region. The ‘meltimi’ wind is present in July-August while ‘sirocco’ wind blows here in the spring. The history of Santorini is closely linked with the geophysical characteristics of the region. Santorini and its caldera have been formed due to volcanic activity in the area. Santorini volcano has played an important role in the existence of an island from the prehistoric times to the present date. The island was named Callisto, strongly and Thera before it became Santorini. The name "Santorini" derives from the Crusaders who in their way stood for rest near the Church of St. Irene, so they called the island Santa Irene (Santorini). According to the known Santorini history, its first inhabitants were the pre-Hellenistic in the Bronze Age. After the Phoenicians, Dorians and the Minoans followed.  Ã‚  

Films and the rating system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Films and the rating system - Essay Example But have you ever wondered what differentiates or rather categorize these movies apart from the storyline, filmmakers, studios and cast? Have you ever thought as a common man, whether a particular movie is suitable for their kids? Or how do you decide, whether the content of a particular movie is viewable for all? Here comes the importance of ratings. Now, when I say ratings, it does not have anything to do with the critics’ ratings or the reviews. By issuing a rating, the body which issues these ratings seeks to inform parents of the level of certain aspects and contents found in a particular movie. It may include certain level of violence, sex, drugs, language, thematic material, adult activities, etc. that are not suitable for all kinds of viewers. Despite all the strict norms for rating a movie based on these conditions, most big budget films get away with the adult contents and get rated as either PG or PG 13 even when they exhibit contents that can actually rate them as R. It is also a sad fact that the low profile and low budget movies get hard rated even when they don’t deserve such ratings. This paper makes an analysis of why big budget movies get away with the adult content compared to the strict rating exercised on low profile movies. In addition to this, a brief explanation of the rating system and its evolution is also covered through. Rating System and Transition Evolution and Transition: It was in 1922 that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) started issuing ratings for motion pictures. MPAA is a voluntary system. As such not all movies are rated by them. Movies that are submitted to MPAA for ratings get through the process. Since it is a voluntary system it is not enforced by law, however, almost all the movie theatres will not screen an unrated domestic films and most of the big gun studios have come to a consensus that it would submit all its titles for ratings before the theatrical release. A lack of a uniform body to rate movies affected the filmmakers prior to establishment of MPAA; this led to the formation of MPAA in 1922. MPAA rated the movies based on a general production code administration which was popularly known as, ‘The Hays Code.’ It was a strict and stringent rating system, due to which it lost its prominence in 1966. It was the time when America was open to ‘Frankness and Openness.’ In 1968, came the new rating system which we follow till today. The new system was developed not to approve or reject a motion picture. Instead of this, an independent ratings body would advise or warn the parents to let them know if they are suitable for their children. â€Å"It’s the parents’ discretion whether to allow them to watch the movie or not.† (Soriano, 2011) Even this system was 100% voluntary. The ratings are done by an independent board comprising of parents who have no past affiliation to the movie business whatsoever. The board will compr ise of 8 to 13 parents whose kids fall into the age group of 5-17. â€Å"Their job was to simply rate the motion pictures as they believe a majority of American parents would rate it.† (MPAA, 2011) Ratings: A movie is rated by MPAA based on factors such as language, sex, violence, drug usage and certain other themes and situations which they believe would be of significant concern to most parents. The different types of ratings are G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17. ‘G’ stands for ‘

Mosque on Ground Zero controversy Research Paper

Mosque on Ground Zero controversy - Research Paper Example Many have it that this Muslim community center constitutes a powerful stab to the parents and friends of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist bombings of the World Trade Center, while others view the possibilities of witnessing a mosque inaugural near the World Trade Center Site as a mere religious ritual that holds no threats or whatsoever to the pride of the 2752 patriots that fell on the day of September 11. Some have even went as far as to stipulate and say that this issue comes at a peculiar time to put in question the United states’ real sense of freedom and democracy, stating that this center is a true test that shall determine whether or not the Americans honor their amendments and whether or not they’re truly committed to the obligation of respecting freedom of thought and freedom of speech. As a matter of a fact, this â€Å"New York Mosque† if I might call it has, over the last few months, attracted a lot of political opinions and talks, the issue even erupted to huge demonstrations and even sometimes sporadic â€Å"skirmishes† might I call it between the supporters and the people opposing this project. This hot conflict climaxed at the tongue of the U.S president Barrack Obama, who, in a clear statement to national television advocated the Islamic population’s right to building this community centre anywhere in the city. The truth about this so-called mosque is that it is but a small room inside a larger complex which shall house an Islamic centre made up of 13 storeys, adding to that the fact that it’s a normal building, much like all buildings in Manhattan with no minarets of any kind and stripped of any Islamic paintings or special touches. And as far as the mayor of New York is concerned, consecrating a room for prayers needs no license of any kind let alone the President’s approval. So why all the commotion about erecting a building that’s only meant for prayer in the country of democracy and freedom of thought? Might some opposing Americans be implying that it’s the Islamic population the one to blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks ? As reported by many arab and muslim media, the Islamic world is closely monitoring with much interest and thorough what’s happening in the United States, closely awaiting the final verdict that shall settle this controversial issue. Is the present-day United States the United Stated it once was ? The one built by our late forefathers, a land free of any racism of any sectarianism, a land that only judges people based solely on their person and their accomplishments, is this the America Martin Luther King pictured ? Or has the United States become a land only for a privileged few, a few of one unique race and of a distinct religion, why should we be even si nking so deep as to question one’s moral and religious beliefs in the country of democracy and liberty, in the land of opportunity, the land where every man is a man not based on the color of their skin or the tint of morality and beliefs but based on his human identity? Is this the same America they teach us about in the history books, or has it taken a turn ? A turn for the worst or for the better be it, I’d say Americans now stand at the crossroads of a sharp that is to affect their moralities and values. Do we still want the America that is mandated by no one except the constitution and the amendments? Or do we yearn for a newer America, one that is lead by the crossword games of a few politicians who’d stand at nothing to achieve their goals even if it means striding too close to the constitution and violating with their actions the sacredness of the text that were engraved in blood, sweat and tears by our founding fathers and the painful moments that encom passed. At the moment, it is now clear to everyone that republicans have used this issue

Module 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Module 6 - Essay Example It is believed that there are certain places considered as sacred spaces where the kami communicate with people. These places are usually located near waterfalls, trees and mountains, rivers, and other unusual natural formations. In these places, shrines are built to house the kami where the sacred space separates them from the ordinary world. Sacred spaces also exist in the homes where the kamidana or home shrine is designated. The shrine and the home shrine are therefore treated with the utmost respect, and this is evident in the architecture of the edifice. A large gate called tori, with a distinctive design fronts kami shrines, exhibiting two upright bars and two crossbars that indicate the separation of the sacred from the common space. Aside from this several real and symbolic barriers mark the sacred space, such as statutes of protection, ropes and fences. The shrines have distinctive parts such as the public hall of worship (haiden), the hall of offerings (heiden), and the innermost portion which comprises the worship hall reserved for the high priest (honden). It is in the honden where the symbol of the enshrined kami is situated. http://it.spcollege.edu/flashapplications/accessibleYouTubePlayer/index.htm?swfWidth=480&swfHeight=358&videoWidth=480&videoHeight=270&srtFile=http://it.spcollege.edu/srt/HUM2270_KevinMorgan/Hum2270_Mod6_EarlJapArtCult_TradJapArch.srt&youtubeURL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVnQvhS4vRs The video chosen for review describes how Japanese dwellings are constructed. It is interesting to note that the traditional Japanese home is constructed of wood and light materials and seldom have solid walls. There are also no permanent partitions, only temporary dividers, typically free-standing folding screens made of paper that are set up when the need to segregate spaces arises. Occasionally, there are also sliding doors which are installed along wooden

The Iranian Revolution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Iranian Revolution - Research Paper Example By then Khomeini had had resisted Shah for extended periods, and as a result, exiled. Khomeini depicted himself as pursuing the footsteps of Ali, A Shia Imam, who had resisted the rule of a tyrant. As a result of his growing popularity, majority of the clergy, at home, sought to galvanize the crowds by presenting Islamic causes. At the heart of this opposition, was his pro-CIA stance, his earlier alliance in Operation Ajax, his pro-Israel stance, and the perceived move towards westernization, which was demonized. There are objective and subjective factors that contributed to the manifestation of the Iranian revolution and establishment of an ideology representing an amalgam of religious imagery, nationalism, and socialism, which can be widely described as a mode of third-world populism. The controversy detailed that the struggle against imperialism dictated by political discourse within the two decades preceding the revolution. It was apparent that two strategic mistakes were underta ken: namely, abandonment of the question of democracy, and underestimation of the influence wielded by the Islamic clergy. The paper explores some of the Shah's policies that may have played a part in driving the revolutionaries’ agenda forward during the Islamic revolution. ... In antagonizing a core constituent, that is the Shia religious leadership, Shah was unknowingly creating a rich ground for rebellion. A revolution is mainly explained through failure of state dwelling on either objective or subjective factors. With regard to structural factors, the government denigrates or alienates its social bases of support (either via reform or repression) while perception relates to a sense that state repression has loosened, hence an opportunity for action arises. While some historians (with 20-20 hindsight) asserted that the Islamic Revolution presented a reasonable product of Iran’s political evolution, an analysis of the past happenings is not satisfactory that the origin of the revolution has been explored fully. The Iranian revolution was distinct based on the surprise that it generated around the world. The revolution lacked numerous customary causes of revolution such as disgruntled military, peasant rebellion, defeat at war, and financial crisis; it generated immense changes at a fast speed, was immensely popular among the masses; and, substituted a modernizing autocratic monarchy with a theocracy grounded in the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (Amuzegar 9). Even at the height of street protests and demonstrations, neither Iranians nor its key allies such as the U.S officials perceived the possibility that Iran’s armed troops, which was highly modernized and the largest, would be incapable of dealing with the revolutionaries (Coughlin 4). A number of structural weaknesses are frequently cited as comprising a structure of political opportunities favourable to revolution. 1) The monarch’s social support was weakened by the reforms, whereby the

Alfred The Great Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alfred The Great - Research Paper Example King Alfred the Great is said to have quoted â€Å"I desired to live worthily as long as I lived, and to leave after my life, to the men who should come after me, the memory of me in good works." Alfred the Great is best remembered by many historians for his military feats. His victories against the Danes prove his capabilities as a great warrior. He is credited with having built the first royal navy to combat the Danes. Alfred adopted the Danish strategy of building fortified bases. The Danes were defeated by the army of Alfred in May 878 in the Battle of Edington. When Alfred finally managed to defeat the Danes, instead of avenging the attacks, exhibited true statesmanship. He entertained the defeated Danish monarch and signed the Treaty of Wedmore, whereby he accepted the Danish occupation of East Anglia. Wessex was secured for Alfred and this resulted in lasting peace. According to the peace treaty, Guthorn was baptized into the Christian faith and is troops from Wessex. Alfred Recognize the Danish control of East Anglia and a few parts of Mercia. In another treaty signed in 886 called the â€Å"Danelaw† the partition of England was formalized. After this, Alfred began fortifying his kingdom with forts to secure it from invasions. To augment his defenses, Alfred constructed a fleet of ships and thereby came to be famously called the â€Å"Father of the English Navy.† (Britannia) The life of King Alfred is a life of â€Å"quiet virtue and unobtrusive success.† (Alfred the Great: The Truth Teller, Maker of England, 848-899 by Beatrice Adelaide Lees). He does not arouse strong feelings of passion that inspire poetry. Instead he is remembered as a friend of the poor, an ally of the clergy and a scholar king. Being a scholar himself, he is known to have translated many Latin books into the tongue of the Anglo Saxons. One of Alfred’s contemporary works that was left unfinished was a Latin account by Asser, a Welshman who was Alfred’s

The Territorial Dispute over Dokdo Essay Example for Free

The Territorial Dispute over Dokdo Essay Dokdo is also recognized as the Liancourt Rocks. It consists of two tiny rocky islets, which are encircled by 33 smaller rocks. The Dokdo islets are situated around 215 kilometers off the eastern border of Korea. The two Islets that make up Dokdo are known as Suhdo and Dongdo. The estimated entire surface area covered by Dokdo is 0. 186 square kilometers. Both rocks that make Dokdo, actually are the remains of a prehistoric volcanic hollow and are a asylum for Petrels and black-tailed gulls and more than a few partially prevalent plants. The Liancourt Rocks is known as Tokto in Korea and it is known as Takeshima in Japan. Sovereignty over the isles is contested between Japan and South Korea. South Korea has commanded Dokdo since July 1954. Both the Korean and Japanese names have altered from time to time. Both of the countries claim an extensive historical and geographical connection with the isles. With this claim, the question that emerges is that why it is so important that both the countries are fighting for the small islets. The name given to the Dokdo, i. e. Liancourt Rocks has come from the French whaling ship Liancourt, which represented the islets in 1849. The rationale behind this fighting is that both the countries have several concerns regarding the Dokdo’s surrounding waters and seabed including areas that may embrace some 600 million tons of natural gas. This gas hydrate can become the next period’s energy origin. In addition, seafood is also the imperative resource for both the countries. The Korean Japanese Claims Koreans claim that Dokdo is an constitutional dominion of Korea as it has been a part of Korean territory since 512 A. D. The first Japanese had written a record on Dokdo and the Records on observations in Onshu have been published in 1667, which admit the fact that Koreans have right over Dokdo. The Japanese declare that they had held Dokdo in the Japanese Empire in 1905. This act of Japanese was opposed by Koreans as they said that Japanese are taking advantage of Koreas political weakness vis-a-vis. Koreans rightfully argue for the Dokdo as at the time when Japan declared that they were containing Dokdo into their empire, Korea was not able to effectively protest the Japanese action because Japan had previously taken charge of the foreign matters of Korea by means of the Protectorate Treaty of 1905, which is also known as the Eulsa Treaty or the Second Japan-Korea Agreement. The confirmation of the treaty itself had been impelled on Korea by the Japanese commission, which shows that Japanese were wrong in their claim to Dokdo. All the history of Dokdo and both the countries’ claims represents the Korean side and also points out that the Japanese did not notify the Korean Government of their claim until 1906. In 1906, Korean officials at both confined and nationwide levels recognized the facts and documented the Japanese action as an encroachment of Korean sovereignty. On the other hand, due to the loss of their nation’s freedom and foreign matters potentiality, no action was taken by them. In 1947, the Japanese Foreign Ministry mentioned the U. S. occupation authorities regarding Japan’s assert to reign over both Ullung and Dokdo Island. Since then, throughout the peace treaty negotiations, Japan desired to decide U. S. notion pertaining to the island. The Japanese ministers refused Korea’s ownership on the bases that there was no existence of the Korean name on the island, which is quite wrong. Japanese also tried to regain the Dokdo during the negotiations of the peace treaty, but they were failed. Dokdo’s sovereignty was not decided by the peace treaty due to the weaknesses of the president of the Republic of Korea, who did not efficiently concentrated his government’s attending on the ownership of Dokdo over Korea’s territorial pertains. Government of Korea never daunted to allow for a scholarly study of the Korean historical record on Dokdo and due to this, it had faced an unresolved dispute from Japanese, whereas Japanese had undertaken an extensive study on the history of the island to which Japan had used as the basis for its claim regarding its sovereignty over Dokdo. Due to all these weaknesses of Korea, they are not able to prove records in their favor, but all these things do not matter as the truth is this that the Dokdo ownership truly lies in the hands of Koreans. References Dokdo History. (2007). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://english. dokdohistory. com/dokdo-history/dokdo-administrative-district. html Dokdo or Takeshima. (2009, February). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. boston. com/bigpicture/2009/02/dokdo_or_takeshima. html The Territorial Dispute over Dokdo. (2008). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. junanworld. pe. kr/595 Lovmo, M. S. The Territorial Dispute over Dokdo. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. geocities. com/mlovmo/page4. html A Brief Background of Dokdo Takeshima Island. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. dokdo-takeshima.com/ Dokdo: The Territorial Dispute between Japan and South Korea. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. pages. drexel. edu/~tm76/politics. doc Dokdo East Sea. (2009). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. korea. net/issues/issue_dokdo_eastsea. asp? from=dokdo_eastsea The Far East of the Korean Territory. (2004). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. dokdocorea. com/ The History of Dokdo. (2007). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www. dokdocorea. com/report/history_dokdo. pdf Dokdo in the East Sea of Korea. (2005). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www.indymedia. org. uk/en/regions/london/2005/03/307419. html Disputes over Ullungdo and Tokdo at the End of the 17th Century. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www2. gol. com/users/hsmr/Content/East%20Asia/Korea/Dokto_Island/History/Shin_Yong-ha_3. html Japans Unfounded Territorial Claims about Dokdo Dispute. (2007). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://english. dokdohistory. com/dokdo-history/dokdo-dispute. html Weinstein, M. (2006, May). South Korea-Japan Dokdo/Takeshima Dispute: Toward Confrontation. Japan Focus. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://japanfocus.