Climate Change and National Security Essay

That same month, the UN Security Council—at the initiative of the UK government—held its first-ever debate on the potential impact of climate change on peace and security. In October 2007, the Nobel committee recognized this emerging threat to peace and security by awarding former vice president Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change its peace prize. In November 2007, wo think tanks, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), released another report on the issue, concluding from a range of possible scenarios of climate change that, â€Å"We already know enough to appreciate that the cascading consequences of unchecked climate change are to include a range of security problems that will have dire global consequences. †2 The new interest in climate change and national security has been a valuable warning about the potential security consequences of global warming, but the proposed solutions that accompanied recent efforts have emphasized broader climate policy rather than specific responses to security threats. Because the links between climate change and national security are worthy of concern in their own right, and because some significant climate change is inevitable, strategies that go beyond long-run efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions are required. This report sharpens the connections between climate change and national security and recommends specific policies to address the security consequences of climate change for the United States. In all areas of climate change policy, adaptation and mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) should be viewed as complements rather than competing alternatives—and the national security dimension is no exception. Some policies will be targeted at adaptation, most notably risk-reduction and preparedness policies at home and abroad. These could spare the United States the need to mobilize its military later to rescue people and to prevent regional disorder—and would ensure a more effective response if such mobilization was nonetheless necessary. Others will focus on mitigation, 2 CSIS/CNAS, The Age of Consequences: The Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Global Climate Change, November 2007; available at http://www. cnas. org/climatechange. 2 which is almost universally accepted as an essential part of the response to climate change. Mitigation efforts will need to be international and involve deep changes in the world’s major economies, such as those of China and India. As a result, the processes of working together to craft and implement them provide opportunities to advance American security interests.

Seven Eleven Case

http://zh. scribd. com/doc/45901851/Study-Questions-2 Questions 1. A CONVENIENCE STORE CHAIN ATTEMPTS TO BE RESPONSIVE AND PROVIDECUSTOMERS WHAT THEY NEED, WHEN THEY NEED IT, WHERE THEY NEED IT. WHAT ARESOME DIFFERENT WAYS THAT A CONVENIENCE STORE SUPPLY CHAIN CAN BERESPONSIVE? WHAT ARE SOME RISKS IN EACH CASE? 1. 1 As responsiveness increases, the convenience store chain is exposed to greater uncertainty. A convenience store chain can improve responsiveness to this uncertainty using one of the following strategies, especially for fresh and fast foods:Local Capacity. The convenience store chain can provide local cooking capacity at the stores and assemble foods almost on demand. Inventory would be stored as raw material. This is seen at the U. S. fast-food restaurant franchise Subway where dinner and lunch sandwiches are assembled on demand. The main risk with this approach is that capacity is decentralized, leading to poorer utilization. Local Inventory. Another approach is to have all inventory available at the store at all times. This allows for the centralization of cooking capacity.The main risk is obsolete inventory and the need for extra space. Rapid Replenishment. Another approach is to set up rapid replenishment and supply the stores with what they need when they need it. This allows for centralization of cooking capacity and low levels of inventory, but increases the cost of replenishment and receiving. 1. 2 As responsiveness increases, the convenience store chain is exposed to greater uncertainty. A convenience store chain can improve responsiveness to this uncertainty using one of the following strategies, especially for fresh and fast foods:1. Local Capacity.The convenience store chain can provide local cooking capacity at the stores and assemble foods almost on demand. Inventory would be stored as raw material. This is seen at the U. S. fast-food restaurant franchise Subway where dinner and lunch sandwiches are assembled on demand. The main risk w ith this approach is that capacity is decentralized, leading to poorer utilization. 2. Local Inventory Another approach is to have all inventory available at the store at all times. This allows for the centralization of cooking capacity. The main risk is obsolete inventory and the need for extra space. . Rapid Replenishment Another approach is to set up rapid replenishment and supply the stores with what they need when they need it. This allows for centralization of cooking capacity and low levels of inventory, but increases the cost of replenishment and receiving. From the case study, Seven-eleven Japan Co. had provided their customers a variety of service that is difference responsive way from usual convenience store concept. 1. 7dream. comSeven-Eleven Japan established an e-commerce company which their customer can choose the product at home and pick the product at the store.Because from the survey, 92% of its customers preferred to pick up their online purchase at the local conv enience store rather than have them delivered at home. Since Seven-Eleven Japan have the distribution system that conforms with these drop and pick up system. So Seven-Eleven serve as drop-off and collection points for Japanese people. Instead of providing customers at that time the need is happen, the customers can choose the product at home and then pick up the product later at the store.The risk of this case is normally Seven-Eleven Japan established this system as a way to derive benefit from the existing distribution system. If in the future this system is popular among the Japanese, the capacity of the existing distribution system may not be enough to serve the customers such as a space to storage the goods waiting for customers to pick up (the store in Japan is smaller than other country)2. In-Store Payment Instead of selling household goods, food and groceries, a convenience store can be responsive as a payment spot.Seven-Eleven Japan add a variety of services that customers can obtain at its stores for example an in-store payment of Tokyo Electric Power bills, gas, insurance premiums, and telephone. In order to attracted millions of additional customers every year and take advantage of opening hour and number of stores to service customer. The risk of this case is when the company adopt this service every Seven-Eleven store Japan have to link with the data of the payment such as electric bill. If the employees not fully understand how the ystem works, he or she will misunderstand and take too long to serve customer. Result in lower customer satisfaction and can link to overall brand dissatisfaction. Some customer will stop buying at Seven-Eleven because the long waiting time. 2. SEVEN-ELEVEN'S SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY IN JAPAN CAN BE DESCRIBED ASATTEMPTING TO MICRO-MATCH SUPPLY AND DEMAND USING RAPID REPLENISHMENT. WHAT ARE SOME RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CHOICE? 2. 1The main risk for Seven-Eleven is the potentially high cost of transportation and receiv ing at stores. 2. By using rapid replenishment system, Seven-Eleven Japan store can manage lower inventory in the store and higher shelf space available. This fit for Seven-Eleven in Japan because of smaller size of the store. But it still have some risk in case of a very fluctuated demand, when the demand raise to a very high level the inventory that the store stock might not be enough to serve customers demand. This situation will lead to loss of a sale and lower customer’s satisfaction. The rapid replenishment is a core concept to lean thinking.It’s how you can manage the flow of inventory and how you can shorten the cycle time between each delivery. Which mean seven eleven will deliver more often and the quantity of the product between each deliver will depend on the demand of the customer that forecast from the Point Of Sale and previous Data. It allowed seven eleven to be able to control their inventory level because when they deliver more often they can deliver just few amounts at a time. Therefore there are also some risks associated with this system.First, even though the rapid replenishment is a good system but the cost of replenishing and receiving is high. It’s because the system that require to put the rapid replenishment become efficient, for example they have to install the point of sale system to generate the sale information to the dc and supplier so they can deliver the good that fit for the curtain demand. For the receiving they also have to have the product scanner to scan the product when it arrives to the store. All of that equipment that’s required will raise the cost of the replenishing and receiving.Furthermore, the receiving cost also high because of the number of the delivery that higher too. Second, even though rapid replenishment helps seven eleven to maintain their inventory level that drive by the demand of the customer, to save their inventory cost. Sometime it might be risk in the shorten of inventor y(backlogs) because when seven eleven tried to micro match the demand and supply, seven eleven have to rely on the past purchasing data and the point of sale data. To be able to generate the demand forecast to deliver the product to each of seven eleven chain store.What if the demand has become so fluctuate to the point that it over their inventory level, that time seven eleven will be suffer from the empty shelf. As you know that the favorite items from seven eleven are such as lunchbox, rice ball and sandwich, so most likely if the consumer come during the high demand won’t have the food to consume. So most likely the consumer will go to other convenience store to buy the food to serve their need in that curtain time. If this scenario happen more that few time, the consumer most likely to switch the convenient store.That’s why this is also the risk that seven eleven has to face and try to overcome in order to maintain their competitive advantage. Third, the risk that they have to face is that they will not have the economics of scale in production because when they apply the rapid replenishment, the suppliers will only produce the product to match the need of the store when they need it. They won’t produce the same item for the large amount, which is if they produce in that way they won’t have to suffer from the set up cost in each batch that they have to produce.Fourth, even though the rapid replenishment will lower the transportation but seven eleven still have to concern about the gas price because if the gas price raise it will again increase their operation cost. Then again seven eleven won’t be able to raise their product price to serve that cost too due to the incentive competition in the convenience market. Fifth, Due to the system that when the trucks deliver the product to the store, there will be only the store people who scan and check the product in to the system. There will be no way of detecting the feud.The replenishment system worked on trust and did not require the delivery person to be present when the store personnel scanned in the delivery. This is a very risky system because store personnel may stoles the products. It can cause company loss in a million. 3. WHAT HAS SEVEN-ELEVEN DONE IN ITS CHOICE OF FACILITY LOCATION, INVENTORYMANAGEMENT, TRANSPORTATION, AND INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO DEVELOPCAPABILITIES THAT SUPPORT ITS SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY IN JAPAN? 3 .1 All choices made by Seven-Eleven are structured to lower its transportation and receiving costs.For example, its area-dominance strategy of opening at least 50 to 60 stores in an area helps with marketing butalso lowers the cost of replenishment. All manufacturing facilities are centralized to get the maximum benefit of capacity aggregation and also lower the inbound transportation cost from the manufacturer to thedistribution center (DC). Seven-Eleven also requires all suppliers to deliver to the DC where products aresort ed by temperature. This reduces the outbound transportation cost because of aggregation of deliveriesacross multiple suppliers. It also lowers the receiving cost.The information infrastructure is set up to allowstore managers to place orders based on analysis of consumption data. The information infrastructure alsofacilitates the sorting of an order at the DC and receiving of the order at the store. The key point toemphasize here is that most decisions by Seven-Eleven are structured to aggregate transportation andreceiving to make both cheaper. 3 .2 ? Filling in the entire map of Japan is not our priority. Instead, we look for demand where Seven-Eleven storesalready exist, based on our fundamental area dominance strategy of concentrating stores in specific areas.? hisabove statement shown that to ensure that the support of Seven-Eleven Japan ¶s facility location to its supply chain strategy, Seven-Eleven Japan has based its fundamental network expansion policy on a market dominanc estrategy. Wherever Seven-Eleven Japan entries into any new market, it was built around a cluster of 50  ± 60 storessupported by a distribution center. The main reason of applying cluster strategy, it is that clustering gave Seven-Eleven Japan a high-density market presence and allowed it to operate an efficient distribution system.There areseveral benefits of implementing the market-dominance strategy including such as boosting distributionefficiency, improved brand awareness, increasing the system efficiency, enhancing efficiency of franchise supportservices, improving advertising effectiveness and preventing competitors ¶ entrance into the dominant area. For inventory management, what Seven-Eleven Japan had done to develop capability that support its supply chain strategy is to offer its stores a choice from a set of 5,000 stock keeping units and each store could carry onaverage about 3,000 stock keeping units depending upon the local customer demand.Seven-Eleven emphasizedre gional merchandizing to cater precisely to local preferences. Each store carries food items, beverages,magazines, and consumer items such as soaps, detergents, etc. The highest generated sale of Seven-Eleven is under food category, and under Seven-Eleven Japan concept, thefood items were classified in four broad categories including Chilled items such as sandwiches, delicatessenproducts, and milk; Warm items such as box lunches, rice balls, and fresh bread; Frozen items such as ice-cream,frozen foods, and ice cubes; and Room-temperature items such as canned food, instant noodles, and seasonings.The efficiency in managing the inventory of Seven Eleven Japan could be proved by the resulted of inventory turnover rate is equal to over 50 when comparing to the second largest Seven Eleven in the United States is only about 17 in 2003. For transportation or distribution system of Seven Eleven Japan, the system was tightly linked the entire supply chain for all product categories as Seven E leven distribution centers and the information network played a key role in that regard.Its main objective is to carefully track sales of items and offer short replenishment cycle times. In 1987, Seven Eleven Japan had offered three times daily store delivery of all rice dishes and twice a day for freshfood. Its distribution system was flexible enough to alter delivery schedules depending on customer demand. When a store placed an order, it was immediately transmitted to the supplier as well as the distribution center. The supplier received orders from all Seven Eleven stores and started production to fill the orders.The supplierthen sent the orders by truck to the distribution center. The key to store delivery was what Seven Eleven calledthe combined delivery system. At the distribution center, delivery of like products from different suppliers was directed into a single temperaturecontrolled truck. There were four categories of temperature-controlled trucks such as frozen foods, c hilled food,room temperature processed foods, and warm foods. The number of stores per truck depended on the sales volume.The system worked on trust and did not require the delivery person to be present when the storepersonnel scanned in the delivery; this helps to reduce the delivery time spent at each store. Based on theinformation, it shown that Seven Eleven has continuously improve its transportation and distribution system,since 1974, there were 70 vehicles visited each store every day but later on in 1994, there were only 11 vehiclesnecessary. This dramatically reduced delivery costs and enabled rapid delivery of a variety of fresh foods.In2004, Seven Eleven Japan had a total of 290 dedicated manufacturing plants throughout the country that only produced fast food for Seven Eleven stores. The items were distributed through 293 dedicated distributioncenters that ensure rapid and reliable delivery. None of there distribution centers carried any inventory, they merely transferred inventory from supplier trucks to Seven Eleven distribution trucks. Transfleet Ltd. , a company set up by Mitsui and Co. for exclusive use of Seven Eleven Japan, provided this transportation.For information infrastructure, Seven Eleven Japan attributed a significant part of its success to the TotalInformation System installed in every outlet network linking the head office, stores, and the Seven Elevendistribution centers. Until July 1991, only a traditional analog network linked these chains. Later on, anintegrated services digital network or ISDN was installed, linking more than 5,000 stores; it became one of the world ¶s largest ISDN system. This system enables Seven Eleven to collect, process, and feed back point of salesdata quickly. Sales data generated in each stores by 11. 0p. m. , was processed and ready for analysis the nextmorning. In 1997, Seven Eleven Japan was introduced its fifth generation of the Total Information System, which was stillin use in 2004, the hardwar e system included as the following; Graphic Order Terminal, this was a handleddevice with a wide-screen graphic display, use by the store owner or manager to place the order. Once all theorders were placed, the terminal was returned to its slot, at which point the orders were relayed by the storecomputer to both the appropriate vendor and the Seven Eleven distribution center.Scanned Terminal, thesescanners read bar codes and recorded inventory. They were used to receive product coming in from a distribution center. This was then automatically checked against a previously placed order and the two were reconciled. Thisscanner terminal was also used when examining inventory at stores. Store Computer, this linked to the ISDN network, the POS register, the graphic order terminal, and the scannerterminal. It communicated between the various input sources, tracked store inventory and sales, places orders,provided detailed analysis of POS data, and maintained and regulated store equipment.P OS register; this POSdata was automatically transmitted online to a host computer. All sales data collected by 11. 00p. m. was organizedand ready for analysis by the next morning. The data was evaluated on a company wide, district, and store basis. Due to Seven Eleven done in its choice of information infrastructure to develop capability that support its supply chain strategy, the information system allowed Seven Eleven store to better match supply with demand. Storestaff could adjust the merchandising mix on the shelves according to consumption patterns throughout the day.The identification of slow and non-moving items also allowed a store to convert shelf space to introduce new items. 4. SEVEN-ELEVEN DOES NOT ALLOW DIRECT STORE DELIVERY IN JAPAN, WITH ALLPRODUCTS FLOWING THROUGH ITS DISTRIBUTION CENTER. WHAT BENEFIT DOES SEVEN-ELEVEN DERIVE FROM THIS POLICY? WHEN IS DIRECT STORE DELIVERY MOREAPPROPRIATE? 4. 1 Direct store delivery (DSD) would lower the utilization of the outbound trucks from the Seven-ElevenDC. It would also increase the receiving costs at the stores because of the increased deliveries.Thus,Seven-Eleven forces all suppliers to come in through the DC. DSD is most appropriate when stores arelarge and nearly-full truck load quantities are coming from a supplier to a store. This was the case, for example, in large U. S. Home Depot stores. For smaller stores it is almost always beneficial to have anintermediate aggregation point to lower the cost of freight. In fact, Home Depot itself is setting up theseintermediate facilities for its new stores that are often smaller. 4. There has been useful advantage of Seven-Eleven upon CDC and DSD as the centers allow smoothing of distribution operation to the stores and the provision of better quality and better information on supply anddeliveries is available and there was control of the supply chain as achieved. The presence of technology like theadaptation of the POS system can possibly move ahead and do aid the store employment and managementsituation by freeing up staff time. Seven-Eleven U. S. has begun introduce the Combined Distribution Center daily delivery of fresh-prepared foodsaround 2000.By partnering with multiple food companies, the convenience retailer will be able to offer fresh-made-daily and delivered-fresh-daily pastries, gourmet sandwiches, wraps, entrees, as well as other perishableand ready-to-eat foods once a day. This was a challenge because the CDCs are operated by several different third-party partners, and Seven-Eleven felt it did not have effective metrics for comparing performance to a reliable benchmark. This was due to many factors, including different facility sizes, building layouts and the variety of products handled by each CDC. pros yAdded choices to customers in perishable consuming. Seven-Eleven can add other specialty items to its selectionsuch as fruit salads, seasonal whole and cut fruit, fresh-squeezed juices and produce from a farmer ¶s ma rket. Theconsumers can easily get the fresh perishable products near their house. y Daily delivery means just that Seven-Eleven stores can place orders to the CDC and get fresh product by sortingfor delivery to stores at every night y With the company ¶s proprietary retail information system, each store can customize its order to provide the exactitems the customers in their neighborhood want. Receiving fewer deliveries to your store during the day. In this advantages, the stores no need to waste the time tocheck through each delivery because all needed products will be set up and combined since the DistributionCenters. y Expedite business for local food companies, which can now make one delivery to a central location fordistribution to local stores. y Reduce the holding Inventory Cost. Stores can order just the amount they sell in a day or two, so they don ¶t haveproduct sitting around on the shelves.That means that they can guarantee the freshness in the perishableproducts at Seven-Eleven. y The staffs are able to consolidate work and spend more time with your customers, growing your business. As they will check the stock and place the order to the CDC and receive the product at night. y The suppliers can delivery in large amount with one full truck load as there has a store big enough to keep theproducts with the method to keep the product longer and still perish. C ons y Much lower density (hence longer distance) of U. S. Seven-Eleven stores.Deliver a few product everyday may using too much cost with the longer distance of each branch. Need to increase density, even though setting upown system only reduce problems by eliminating delivers y Increase transportation cost at stores because of increased delivers. As Distribution Centers need to deliver theproduct everyday with a few amounts in order to keep the freshness of the product. y Losing the economics of scale advantages, as Seven-Eleven need to order the product everyday in the feweramounts. y H ig h costs of keeping the products as some products need a specific temperature to keep them 5.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 7DREAM CONCEPT FOR SEVEN-ELEVEN JAPAN? FROM A SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE, IS IT LIKELY TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN JAPANOR THE UNITED STATES? WHY? 7dream makes sense given that Japanese customers are happy to receive their shipments at the localconvenience store. From a logistics perspective, online deliveries can piggy back on Seven-Eleven AaA? s existing distribution network in Japan. Deliveries from the online supplier can be broughtto the DC where they are sorted along with other deliveries destined for a store.This should increase theutilization of outbound transportation allowing Seven-Eleven to offer a lower cost alternative to having a package carrier deliver the product at home. The primary negatives are that 7dream will use up storagespace and require the store to be able to retrieve specific packages for customers. One can argue that the concept may be more s uccessful in Japan given the existing distribution network of Seven-Eleven and the frequency of visits by customers. Online delivery is able to link with the existingnetwork.The high visit frequency ensures that packages are not occupying valuable store shelf space for along time. Also, the frequent visits ensure that the marginal cost to the customer of picking up at aJapanese Seven-Eleven is small. This is less likely to be the case in the United States. 6. SEVEN-ELEVEN IS ATTEMPTING TO DUPLICATE THEIR SUCCESSFUL JAPANESE SUPPLYCHAIN STRUCTURE IN THE UNITED STATES WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF CDCS. WHATARE THE PROS AND CONS OF THIS APPROACH? KEEP IN MIND THAT STORES ARE ALSOREPLENISHED BY WHOLESALERS AND DSD BY MANUFACTURERS.The difficulty of duplicating the Japan supply chain structure in the United States follows primarily fromthe much lower density of U. S. Seven-Eleven stores. This is compounded by the fact that Seven-Elevenstores are getting both direct store deliveries as well a s wholesaler deliveries to its stores. Setting up itsown DCs does not allow Seven-Eleven to get the same level of transportation aggregation as it gets inJapan. Its own distribution system would help more if all wholesaler deliveries and direct store deliverieswere stopped and routed through the DC.Even then, having its own distribution system would add muchless value than in Japan given the lower density of stores and larger distance between stores. 7. THE UNITED STATES HAS FOOD SERVICE DISTRIBUTORS LIKE MCLANE THAT ALSOREPLENISH CONVENIENCE STORES. WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS TO HAVING ADISTRIBUTOR REPLENISH CONVENIENCE STORES VERSUS A COMPANY LIKE SEVEN-ELEVEN MANAGING ITS OWN DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION? One can contend that a distributor brings much more value to the table in the United States relative toJapan.Given the lower density of stores, a distributor is able to aggregate deliveries across manycompeting stores. This allows a distributor to reach levels of aggregation that canno t be achieved by asingle chain such as Seven-Eleven. The big disadvantage to having all deliveries done through a distributor is that Seven-Eleven is unable to exploit having a large number of stores. In fact, it may be argued thatgoing through the distributor has Seven-Eleven subsidize deliveries to competing smaller chains that mayalso be using the same distributor.

Commercial Tourism

Tourism is an activity of visiting new places for the purpose of leisure. There is domestic or local tourism where people visit places in their own home country while in international tourism people visit other countries apart from their home country. The basic activity of tourism in the past years had been to see the wonder of nature and the aesthetic beauty of the natural environment and the different rich biodiversity that is unique to each and every country.However in the recent years the activity of tourism has taken a different course and people no longer visit places to see the natural environment but go to see the modern improvements characterized by commercial ego. This work will closely examine the commercialization of tourism in America and its influence on the American culture. The point of reference to a typical commercialization of tourism is the Mall of America that has over the years taken tourism to a different level. Tourism in the Mall of AmericaThe mall of America in Minnesota was established back in the year 1992 and is the largest undercover shopping center in the world. It occupies an area of 78 acres of land and has all types of business activities aimed for entertainment purpose. It has over 500 shops with Macy's Blooming dales, Nordstrom and the Sears which are giant American shops. This alone attracts millions of people every year to America and also the Americans who frequently visit the place more often than any tourist attraction sites like the national parks, game reserves and museums.There are nightclubs, restaurants, cinemas and children ride games. There is also a theme park inside the Mall called the Camp Snoopy that occupies seven acre space of land in the park and an underwater Aquarium that is a home for over 300,000 sea species that can be seen face to face by visitors. The mall is a commercial site as its entrance is free just like a market but individuals are charged on the services rendered inside the Mall. There is far much for the tourism that used to be in the world and America in particular.The people's culture has changed towards tourism and people nowadays are visiting modern sites designed with high level of technology to boost tourism in the Malls. The true definition of the culture of touring has completely been commercialized. In America for example, people prefer going to places with modern facilities for maximum comfort. This is demonstrated by the increase in the number of classic hotels surrounding the tourist attraction sites such as the beaches, national parks and other unique places with natural aesthetic.The improvement in modern technology has also contributed to the change of culture for the Americans. The effect of globalization has in particular influenced the theme of tourism in several parts of the world. The internet has been used intensively to advertise the different sites across the globe and most of them are aimed at the beautiful beach resorts and five star hotels nei ghboring the tourist sites which have given tourism a commercial perspective. In Minnesota, there are several tourism offers that have been favored through a partnership with the Malls of America.In the real sense the idea of tourism has been outdone by the luxurious modern facilities that have become a major concern for many people in the American culture. The people in America have changed their attitude towards touring in the natural environment in the preserved animal orphanage and prefer to visit modern Malls with a wide range of modern facilities as well as animals in special beautiful cages. People tend to tour to the places that have beautiful holiday packages.In most occasions, the holiday packages in the United States have been accompanied by several money making activities. The car hiring companies are in the increase in the name of tourism as well as credit vouchers for the luxurious Hotels in the city for tourists. Tourism is no longer a natural adventure; people often go for holiday in places with a variety of packages for maximum comfort during their holiday but not in a natural environment with a lot of adventure. The American's culture associated to tourism was initially a matter of adventure with nature.The visiting of the natural scenes in the wild has been taken by other adventurous activities such as mountain climbing activities, sporting activities such as skiing, skating which have a commercial attachment. However these changes might be changing with the culture of the Americans and the generations have taken different perspective of tourism (Melanie, 2006). Cuisine on the other hand has participated in the change and commercialization of tourism, the variety of foods in the American culture is a major attraction to the tourists in America.People in the US visit different websites to find an ideal package for their holiday in the worlds best tourist sites but the first consideration is the presence of the beautiful luxurious hotels to fi t for their holidays. The cuisine also advertised in the company of the tourism destination has a factor in the choice of the place of visit. Conclusion The American's culture has changed adversely in the world of tourism. These changes have come from the past love for the physical natural environment to modernism.The majority of the people in America are looking forward for a more comprehensive place to spend their holidays. The idea of modernized shopping malls, with modern lifestyles and modern food has been given preference over the natural biodiversity that is a major tourist attraction in most countries. As a result of this, several countries across the globe has designed modern tourist facilities in their countries to encourage tourists. The Malls of America is one of the best malls in the world and has tourism impact (Melanie, 2006).

Case study - analysis company's economic issue and expansion of Essay

Case study - analysis company's economic issue and expansion of solution - Essay Example They are the proprietors who take the advantage of their position in ranking to exploit the employees and strain the gains of a firm for their personal gains. One key aspect of these vulture capitalists is that they invest in a firm, shows quick returns but the firm is bound to collapse and as such, the capitalist seizes part or the whole of the assets of the firm. Such is the case as described by John Nichols about the Hostess Brands Inc. These investors then cover up by laying blames on the employees and the workers unions. Hostess Brands Inc, the collapsing maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread, vast range of snack cakes and other breads is one such a company to have severely been hit by the wave of the unscrupulous vulture capitalists. She has closed her 33 plants around the United States and has now embarked into liquidating the assets in a bid to offset the huge amount of debts outstanding. The company’s employees went on a strike joining the rest of the union’s members over the alleged exploitation by the proprietors and the top management distributions. Neoclassical economists have studied the optimal production of a firm by focusing on distribution of income among other aspects of major importance. This is well illustrated by the analysis of supply and demand and maximization of utility by individuals who are constrained on income matters and the study of firms that are constrained in terms of costs. According to the proponents of the neoclassical thoughts, people are always rational in thinking, and have rational preferences when it comes to value based outcomes. It is worth noting that firms maximize profits while persons maximize utility. As regards relevance in information, people act independently. However, according to analysts, individual persons lack competence in negotiations and bargains. This necessitates unions of persons with like interests or grievances. This can explain the formation of the BCTGM, a workers union that serves the hostess workers, however, the workers of the firm did not ask for better pensions as individuals or also through their union and this would better explain that the union was in no way responsible for the crisis. In fact, as a matter of fact, the company employees have a record of good working relations with the proprietors and have had working benefit and wage concessions. Adjustments to new demands in the industry and technological advancements have dominated the firm in the past. Farber defines labor unions associations of workers who bargain collectively and has the employers regarding the terms laid down for employment. The BCTGM was formed to serve the following purposes as is the role of all other labor unions: as a maximizing agent, as a bargaining body for the wages, as an arbitrator in times of conflicts and strikes and basic amongst all the roles, as a determiner of membership (Farber, 2001, 1). Nevertheless, Hostess collapsed as a result of the vulture capitalist’s nature of the management team. The team laid off 20% of the workforce and while the workers bore all the burden of the collapsing corporation, the management engaged more in looting the company’s assets and funds. According to the classical economics, human beings are assumed to be rational and that they make decisions on the best way for personal gains. This explains the nature of the vulture ca

The community paramedic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The community paramedic - Essay Example Better known as â€Å"the flu,† influenza is a viral respiratory disease of the upper respiratory system (Lowen, Mubareka, Steel & Palese, 2007). If unchecked, it may develop into pneumonia or other serious conditions, especially in the case of pregnant women, younger children, older adults, and people suffering health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and asthma, which compromise the immune system. It is seasonal, running from fall to spring and reaching its peak during winter. Influenza A, B, and C viruses cause the seasonal flu, which has virus strains that mutate every year. This necessitates development of a new flu vaccine every year. The symptoms for the seasonal flu include moderate-to-high fever; dry and hacking cough; shaking chills; sore throat; headache; severe body and muscle aches; profound fatigue; and runny/stuffy nose. The common cold is named as such because it infects far more people than the seasonal flu (Singh & Das, 2011). The common cold, however, does not result in respiratory conditions, and its mild symptoms may take up to two weeks to subside. It can result from more than 100 varying viruses. Among the most common of these viruses is the highly contagious rhinovirus that causes sneezing and sniffling. Other viruses include respiratory syncytial viruses and coronaviruses. A majority of common colds occur in low humidity areas, especially during winter and fall months. The symptoms of the common cold include sore throat, stuffy/running nose, mild-to-moderate fever, sneezing, headache or body aches, cough, and mild fatigue. Community paramedics have an overall role of ensuring continual improvement of the healthcare system in a community. They assist in monitoring of influenza vaccination programs through assessment, whereby they ensure regular collection, collation, analysis and distribution of information on influenza vaccination programs

Pro or cons of personal freedom such as public smoking or talking on Essay

Pro or cons of personal freedom such as public smoking or talking on the phone while drving - Essay Example In the U.S., laws preventing gambling and gay marriage fall into this category as well. There is, of course, a line drawn within this opinion regarding laws that include children. Consensual adults, however, should be free to choose how to live their lives as they please if it does not interfere with the personal welfare or property of others. Denying personal freedom is often justified and accepted as necessary but in the greater scope of human endeavour the acceptance of these ‘no harm’ laws leads the public to accept other such laws which slowly but steadily lead to further reductions of free will decisions by free peoples. The country was founded by people who believed this concept and wrote the Constitution to forever protect personal freedoms. This discussion will examine the history of how the concept of guaranteed personal freedoms became an American invention and offers a constitutional analysis of two hotly debated issues, euthanasia and abortion. To what extent personal freedom should be permitted is not the issue. Personal freedoms are an American birthright that is slowly but surely eroding over time. Whether or not the American people have the courage to protect and restore these freedoms is the real issue. The Founding Fathers displayed courage when they broke away from a tyrannical, oppressive King of England who ruled over the most powerful military at that time to establish a country where personal autonomy was considered the most precious commodity in a society. The seeds of the Founders’ concept of law and freedom emanated from Britain. The Constitution was inspired by the Magna Charta and British philosopher John Locke helped to lay the foundation for the Founders’ deep belief in personal freedoms. Locke defined each individual as having the right to â€Å"life, liberty and estate† (Locke, 1960 p. 448). These words have an almost identical mirror in the beginning paragraphs of the

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Seethetwoarticleslistedattheendofthisdocument.Basedonthematerialcoveredinthemicroeconomicsclass,provideaneconomicanalysisofthepolicyscenariogiven below - Essay Example This may include External Price Referencing element in it. In some countries like Germany, they allow free pricing of patented drugs but use the policy of External Price Referencing in reimbursements. It is not the same in Netherlands which sets a cap on the price of medicines considered to be of therapeutic value. It must be noted that not all types of drugs are subjected to this policy of External Price Referencing. There different guidelines in different countries that are used when using the policy. The drug m market follows the rules of demand and supply just like other products. The only difference comes in regulatory protection and approval and also on the role played by the demand side. (Mossialos, et al, 2004). This varies with different countries for they have different rules and regulations that guide the policy being undertaken on pharmaceutical products. Also the value of a particular pharmaceutical product is determined by factors such as the amount the consumers are willing to pay for the product. This varies in different countries based on availability, accessibility, importance of the drug and other factors like the government policies and controls. The manufacturer and those importing set their own pricing which affects the price of the drug. This varies in different countries which have different tariffs on imported goods. Others factors are differences on costs of procurement and even price discrimination by the suppliers of patented drugs on those countries with a factory producing generic drugs. (Olcay and Laing, 2005). The incomes of individual consumers and national, degree of competition in the public and private sector, the system of health capacity and the public policy in different countries. Those countries that are developing public health cost account for the second largest government expenditure after staffing cost. (World Bank

Fed Undertakes QE3 with $40 Billion Monthly Mortgage Backed Securities Assignment

Fed Undertakes QE3 with $40 Billion Monthly Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase - Assignment Example My understanding is that the essay seeks to address the purchase of mortgage securities by the Fed; therefore the reason behind this purchase should come out before how the purchase was undertaken. The economic meltdown should first be explained, followed by the initial two quantitative easing programs and finally the QE3. The effects of the QE3 should then be addressed thereafter. The reasons behind the failure of the previous two QEs should also be stated so that the factors that led to the undertaking of the QE3 can be clearly illustrated. The essay should be a roadmap leading the reader to an inevitable conclusion, not properly ordering your ideas could obscure the meaning of the essay. After reading the essay, one can clearly see the efforts of the Fed in jump starting the economy after the economic downturn and that these efforts seem to be finally working. The paper however leaves one with the question of whether the Fed’s undertaking will work in the long run. Although the program has proved to be fruitful since its announcement, the QE3’s limitations and misgivings should also be included in the essay. In this aspect, the paper does not seem to be complete, as the aftermath of the program, both in the short term and long term, is an area that could be expanded upon. Although the essay is persuasive as it is detailed, the source of the information is not given, which brings about doubt as to the accuracy of this information due to the lack of evidence. The works cited during the writing of the paper should be stated at the end of the

See attched below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

See attched below - Essay Example ment would therefore be one which has been used by a particular party for a long time and where such long term use will allow him a proprietary right of usage over the easement, even if it is situated on land that belongs to the dominant land which is owned by someone else. On the basis of this, a legal easement is one that is legally enforceable in a court of law while in the case of an equitable easement, it must be registered under the Land Charges Act if it is to be enforceable. (b) In the case of Norman’s property, there are two easements that are under consideration (i) the lane at the rear that accesses the property and (ii) the road from Acacia road that leads over his property. Therefore, if another party acquires the title to the land at the rear of the property, the issue of legal versus equitable easement will arise in determining access and use of both these easements. In the first case, i.e, the lane at the back, Norman will still have the right to use it by virtue of it being an equitable easement, while in the case of the road in the front, the new owner will not have the right to use it without permission by virtue of its being a legal easement. The rationale for this conclusion is given below as follows: (i) Norman is currently the freehold owner of the land at the rear and has been enjoying the right to use the lane at the back for several years by virtue of his legal interest, since it was not in fact an easement at all but a part of his property. However, when the question of its sale arises, then this lane at the back of the property will be described as â€Å"appurtenant to† the dominant land,2 which belongs to Norman. When the land is transferred under Section 187(1) of the Law of property Act of 1925, then this easement will pass with it.3. But the easement must accommodate the dominant land because what is passed is only to ensure normal enjoyment of the land rather than to provide any undue advantage.4 An easement is a right of way

Natural Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Natural Disaster - Essay Example In my opinion, I like to see the term â€Å"natural disaster† as a word human beings use to blame nature for their lack of environmental sustenance. I believe most of the natural disasters are tied to the environment in which they occur, which is manipulated by humankind. In this speech, I will discuss earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, citing their causes and effects, and possible prevention. Let us start with earthquakes. Theses happen when tectonic forces cause tectonic plates comprising the earth’s crust, to collide. This causes vibrations of varying magnitudes to be transferred from underground to the crust. If these forces have high magnitude, the effects of the earthquake will be severe as compared to low magnitude forces. An example of severe earthquake is the one that hit Haiti in 2010, leading to loss of close to 100 000 lives, and loss of property. Floods occur when there is an overflow of a water body. Floods lead to loss of lives, and displacement of people, as well as destruction of cities. Floods result from two waves rolling on a dry land surface or by excessively destructive rains. Floods can also be a result of hurricanes. For instance, New Orleans was destroyed by floods in 2005, because of the hurricane Katrina. In 2010, floods hit Pakistan, displacing more than 17 million people, destroying 1.3 million homes, and leaving millions homeless. Hurricanes are another type of natural disaster. These are strong storm systems, which have centers with low pressure. These result in powerful winds and rainfall, which cause high magnitude damages to infrastructure and landscapes. The most recent hurricane include hurricane Katrina in 2005, which destroyed most parts of the Caribbean and Southern USA, including New Orleans City. The most recent hurricane Sandy also affected parts of the USA, destroying infrastructure and displacing people. According to Alexander, some of the natural disasters can be prevented if preventive strategies are adopted

Consumer culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Consumer culture - Essay Example The second edition of  Consumer Culture  see the sights the nature and position of using up in up to date societies. Celia Lurys the latest revision of this flourishing classic set up the significance of latest object-based studies for consumer culture, and slot in new chapters on making and the increase of moral consumption. A "consumer culture" is that whose financial system is defined by the retail and expenditure of consumers. Consumer culture is strongly tied to capitalism, because it is determined by money. What differentiates it, though, is that it is not focused so much on the authority of money as it is on the joy that can be accquired through buying and owning personal property (SCHNEIDER, Anna, 2011). This review discusses the second, revised edition of Celia Lurys book Consumer Culture, which was initially published in 1996. Lury looked at the subject of consumer culture from the viewpoint of cultural sociology, arguing next to other sociologists that it arrive at far ahead of the area of the economic. Her plan is to give students and further concerned readers with a good quality, effortlessly reachable impression of the unusual features of consumer culture and the divergent angles as of which it can be observed. To achieve that, the book is divided into eight sections. The first chapter launches the idea of material culture (culture manifest in and being prejudiced by objects) of which consumer culture is viewed as a particular outline and of substance as mover of significance. The following part concentrates on the economical aspects of consumption, while chapter three cope with the function and changed insight of objects suggestive of somewhat ahead of their real worth in economy and daily utilization and their interrelationship with subjects to draw attention to the position attributable to consumer

Ancient Art Essay Example for Free

Ancient Art Essay 1. Between 35,000 bce to 12, 000 bce, people back then used to live a simple life that survive by means hunting. This period was called the Paleolithic era which means â€Å"old stone age. † The name was derived from the stone tools which were the main devices that were utilized by the early inhabitants to perform their daily activities for subsistence. It was also during this early period that man started to create artworks on the surface walls of caves. This later on became know as â€Å"paleolithic art† or â€Å"cave paintings† (Hoover). Most of the cave drawings or painting used animals as the subject matter. The reason behind this is that the animals were perceived as â€Å"either those needed for food and that the paintings were some type of ritual related to the hunt, or that the animals were sacred and were given god-like qualities. † More so, these visual artworks were considered as â€Å"calendars or almanacs, ‘coming of age’ ceremonies, records of tribal migrations and mystic paintings during a shamanistic trance. † Some of the examples of these paleolithic cave paintings are the following: Cow and a horse from Lascaux cave in France, â€Å"Big Cats† from Chauvet cave in France and the Horse at Lascaux cave in France. The animal theme was prevalent in these three paintings. More so, the colors used were mostly concentrated on earth tones such as red, brown, yellow and black. At that time, the resources of man were limited so the color scheme was monochromatic but with just a little touch of bold colors. For the outlines and silhouette of the animals, it was rigid and not proportional which was caused by the uneven stone surfaces. Also, it lacked depth making it appear two-dimensional. However, cave artists have mastered color blending that added some drama to the overall look of the painting. In Ancient Egypt, the royals were treated with utmost respect during their lifetime as well as in their after life. In order for them to be immortalized, sculptures were made in their honor. Also, it is to assure that the elites and royalist’s identity will be for eternity. The sculpture of King Menkaure and his Queen Khamerernebty is a clear example of this ancient practice. The statue of the two royal figures measures 4 feet 6. 5 inches in length and it is located within the pyramid of Menkaure which is the â€Å"smallest of the Great Pyramids. † The sculpture is primarily composed of a common material found in ancient Egypt, which is slate. The statue’s perfect body proportions and regal body gestures displayed Menkaure and Khamerernebty’s royalty. Back then, it was part of tradition that artists should represent their kings and queens in an ideal manner. Their flaws or physical defects should not be highlighted so that the public would forever remember them in a good light. Moreover, the formality of their position wherein the arm of Khamerernebty was wrapped around the torso of Menkaure and both their legs were straight and placed close together was intentional to ensure that the statue would last a lifetime. â€Å"By making the figures very compact and solid without any arms or legs projecting out, the sculpture has very few breakable parts. † Also, the headdress worn by the king as well as the â€Å"queen’s long hair† served as a support to the neck which is considered to be the most delicate part of the statue. More so, the perfect posture and affectionate gesture of the king and queen demonstrated that they were related through marriage. This strategic positioning of the figures was meant to look like that they are associated with each other. The artists wanted the viewers to immediately determine that King Menkaure and his Queen Khamerernebty are husband and wife and that they will forever remain that for the â€Å"rest of time† (Art History Adventure). Works Cited Hoover, Marleen. â€Å"Art of Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras. † 15 August 2006. San Antonio College Visual Arts and Technology Department. 17 November 2008 http://www. accd. edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/PALNEO. htm. â€Å"Menkaure and Khamerernebty, Gizeh, Egypt, 2490-2472 BCE, slate. † n. d. Art History Adventure. 17 November 2008 http://terpconnect. umd. edu/~mcech/m_k. html.

The Ongoing Objectification of Woman

The Ongoing Objectification of Woman Men look, women are looked at, said John Berger in his seminal 1972 documentary series Ways of Seeing, and in this one sentence, Berger summarised the relationship between men and women, and the objectification of women by men. From Susannah being looked at by the Elders, to Manets Luncheon on the Grass, women in art have been continually portrayed as not only objects of desire, but objects to be owned. One might like to think that feminism, and women, have come a long way, not only from the bra-burning days of the 60s and 70s, and the power-suited days of the 80s, that saw women in positions of power in the city, and in politics; even from the days of early suffrage. Yet one has only to look at a daily newspaper, a womans magazine, a Hollywood movie, let alone a mans magazine, to realise that the objectification of women is as rampant (and I use that word deliberately) as it has ever been. Even in the world of High Art, paintings such as Lucien Freuds of a pregnant Kate Moss still portray woman as something that can be looked at, desired, owned. One would most definitely like to think that women have come a long way since Rousseau stated, in typically succinct fashion, that the doll is the peculiar amusement of the females; from whence we see their taste plainly adapted to their destination. One presumes Rousseau was talking about baby dolls, little girl dolls, to be played with and dressed up in pretty clothes, to sit quietly, prettily and well dressed in a corner, unobejcting and unobjectionable, good practise not only for motherhood but womanhood; but he could equally as well have been talking about that most contemporary of dolls, the Barbie curvaceous, well dressed and pretty, with a wardrobe of clothes that would enable her to follow any career, from astronaut to vet, sexy but sexless, epitomised by the most recent addition to the sisterhood, Burqa Barbie, so that all girls feel represented in a globalised 21st century. All girls that are curvaceous and well dressed, pretty and sexless and quiet, anyway. Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of European feminism, believed that as long as men saw women as trophy wives, and took mistresses, that the oppression of women should continue, yet she did not solely blame men, believing also that women were complicit in their own objectification, and referring to them as clay figures to be moulded by men. Girls, Wollstonecraft believed, were enslaved to men through their social training. With the coming of post-feminism, one could hope that women had finally broken this male-oriented patriarchal perception of them, but it seems in fact to be the reverse. Young women expose more and more of themselves, stating that they are in control, and they may show as much flesh as they wish in this post-feminist world, but one cannot help but think that Wollstonecraft was right women still base their worth on how much a man values them, and on precious little else. Barbie may be a 21st century astronaut, but unless she is busty and beautiful, Ken will not be i nterested, and Barbie will be worthless, both in her own eyes and those of society. In this essay, I propose to explore how feminism and post feminism have influenced my development as an artist, and to question how the medias continued portrayal of women as a commodity has affected other contemporary artists, both positively and negatively. The goal of feminism, said an early spokeswoman, was to change the nature of art itself, to transform culture in sweeping and permanent ways by introducing into it the heretofore suppressed perspective of women. Barbie as a symbol of woman as object can be found not only in contemporary art, but also in contemporary literature; she has moved into everyday speech as a contemptuous comment on glamorous women (Shes nothing but a Barbie doll! is a derisive criticism aimed at a woman perceived to be beautiful but dumb, ironic when one considers how it is precisely this image that is being sold to us by the media!) Mattel may market Barbie as a modern career girl, far more independent than the original 1950s clothes horse, but is she as complicit in the objectification of modern women as Mary Wollstonecraft stated over 200 years ago? The London based photographer Alex Kliszynski would seem to agree with Wollstonecraft, and has directly questioned such attitudes in a body of work that combines the imagery of pornography with Barbie dolls. (http://areyoushaved.net/2009/10/art-culture-nude-human-barbie-dolls/) The instant reaction of the spectator is one of revulsion, a feeling that something is not right. Such a highly sexualised childs toy is obscene, but maybe that is the intended point of the artwork? Barbie is the ultimate commodified, sexist, male-fantasy view of what women should look like. She has a tiny waist, long legs, and enormous breasts. However, oddly, if you think about it, this highly sexualized body actually lacks sexual parts, or the parts of the body we would see if she were fully nude. She has no vagina. Her breasts have no nipples. In addition, Action Man, an idealized, sexualized male specimen, has no penis and no scrotum. By placing a sexless doll in a lascivious and crude position that should show all the sexual organs but doesnt, Kliszynski is making a comment on the dehumanising of women (and men) by media led objectification; it is his intention to call attention to that disconnection , to make the viewers aware of the sexualized images of women and men that Bar bie and Action Man dolls trade in. However, I think there is another, yet more sinister, way of reading Kliszynskis art work. The dolls are a monstrous combination of human and plastic; even the title of the work is Human Barbie Dolls, suggesting an abnormal mixture of the two. It is possible to understand Kliszynskis piece as a comment on the modern phenomena of body dysmorphia, a disorder that causes a person to believe there is something terribly wrong with an aspect of their face or body, and which often leads them into a series of cosmetic surgeries. Kliszynskis human Barbies symbolise this body dysmorphic tendency prevalent in so much of (western) society, this desire to turn the human body into a work of art, a perfection of flesh and plastic to match the abnormal perception of idealised beauty encouraged by the media. In her poem, Barbie Doll, Marge Piercy makes much the same point: This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy. Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs. She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity. She went to and fro apologizing. Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs. She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle. Her good nature wore out like a fan belt. So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up. In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertakers cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie. Doesnt she look pretty? everyone said. Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending. Both Kliszynski and Piercy have recognised the detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of women (and men) of societys objectification of the human body. By constantly portraying an idealised myth of not just the body but the very role of women in society, the media (and sections of the art world) have created a culture which views the body in its natural human state as somehow wrong and abnormal. Equally, both Kliszynski and Piercy have recognised the complicity of women in this culture; the girl in the poem is healthy and intelligent, born as usual, presumably normal in all respects, and yet she accepts the truth of her low value in society because she is not perceived as physically perfect. Only in death, with her nose cut off and a cosmetically enhanced putty nose in place instead, can she be seen as pretty. Her value as a strong and useful member of society is non-existent in a world that refuses to see past her face. Kliszynski himself has said that the main body of my work is a number of human-dolls that aim to raise questions about the numerous images of the objectified and idealised body that we see in the mass mediaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I came to make this work as a reaction to the lowest-common-denominator approach to masculinity taken by the media which serves and perpetuates the lad or raunch elements of our culture. Curiously this lad/raunch culture seems also to be embraced by many young women; a phenomenon which seems contrary to a properly progressive understanding of gender and identity in a post-feminist era. (http://lostinasupermarket.com/2010/09/barbie-porn-seriously/) Lad magazines such as Maxim, Stuff and various other UK-based magazines intended for teenage boys and young men are notorious for endorsing a highly commodified view of the world men and boys are encouraged to buy lots of bling like cars, stereo components and expensive suits etc. By their very placement in such magazines, in glamorous soft-porn poses, female models become as much merchandise as the gadgets featured in the articles; and as the reader must own the right phone to attain status, so he must have the right woman. Yet this attitude of the body as commodity is ironically trapping men as much as women, and both sexes are in a crisis of identity. Men are met on a daily basis with conflicting images of themselves, from the traditional Action Man role of husband, father, provider, patriarch, to the more sensitive, metro sexual Ken, whose status, like that of Barbie, is defined by how he looks and what he owns. This crisis is as important for men as for women; statistics show that young male suicides are increasing, there is a high rise in cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in males, crime statistics are rising, divorce rates are going through the roof, and with mothers routinely given custody of the children even the role of fatherhood itself has come into question, exacerbated by the rising number of fertility clinics and the ability for women to so easily be single parents. Role models such as Ken and Action Man are without doubt as harmful to young men as a role model such as Barbie can be to young women. No longer seen as breadwinners, or the head of the family in a patriarchal society, men are frequently represented in the media by characters such as Homer Simpson, a chauvinistic, ignorant man who is depicted as very lazy and obsessed with food; his son Bart, often cruel to his sister, is discourteous and ill behaved. He alternative is often portrayed as Ken, an idealized, de-sexualized male with only the acquisition of material items his goal, fast cars and fashion his only interests. Even television shows like Sex and the City imply that men are just there for the sexual gratification of women. It portrays men as tactless, stupid beings that are only there for female entertainment and pleasure. These negative portrayals are as damaging to both genders as the comparative attitudes to women, rooted as they are in gender objectification and the denial of identity. Alternatively, could we welcome this shake-up of traditional gender images? Could it not be that multiplicities of roles are now establishing themselves in modern society? Toys such as Action Man often stereotype men in aggressive roles, and this convention has been questioned in the work of Susan Hiller, who explores social conditioning and attitudes to childhood in her work Punch and Judy. Punch and Judy looks closely at the brutality of slapstick comedy. First filming segments of live Punch and Judy shows the artist then transposed these images on the walls of a square room inviting the viewer to stand in the room with the puppets images looming over them, the puppets acting out violently as so often seen in their performances. Hiller examines how such stereotypical role-play in toys reinforces the assumptions placed on boys and men and how they should act in society. Where feminism fought against such patriarchal, capitalist belief systems, post-feminism seems to be buying right into the raunch culture that Kliszynski highlights. I would define Raunch culture as the whole juvenile, laddish culture that includes the lads magazines as well as strip clubs, prostitution and the celebration of prostitution, highly sexualized adverts and a general attitude that whats best about female empowerment is that more men get to see more women naked. Berger referred to it as the male gaze, Kliszynski as raunch culture, but I believe they are very similar, and it seems to be embraced by many young women, who accept whole-heartedly the entire condescending nonsense of girl power. According to Wollstonecraft, men have widened what should be merely a biological gap of physical differences into a sociological gap: But not content with this natural pre-eminence, men endeavour to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring objects for the moment. Women, it follows, cannot help but be intoxicated by the adoration which men, under the influence of their senses, pay them. Has Barbie, in representing the most materialistic aspects of modern day culture, encouraging a stereotypical image of womanhood, become a remorseless goddess of modern society? A doll without any social conscience (or conscious), reliant solely on material belongings to bring her happiness, worshipped by millions, representative of a culture that objectifies and vilifies women, no aspect of her suggests any form of spirituality, or higher morality. When Mary Wollstonecraft accused women of their own complicity in this stereotypical view of their gender she caused ripples of anger and irritation down the centuries. How could a so-called feminist turn on her own sex with such accusations? And yet, when one takes the time to think about it, one can see how right she was. Girls play with Barbie dolls bought for them by mothers and aunts, and will, to echo Rousseau, grow up to give Barbie dolls to their daughters, thus fulfilling their destiny. They are complicit in the encouragement of stereotypical values. But what is the alternative? A girl may play with the stereotypical toys of girlhood such as dollies and prams, all pink and sparkly, mass marketed products imposed on them by a performative oriented society, or she may play with the male version of such consumer items, Action Man, cars, trains, guns . . . But what message is actually being sent? If a girl plays with Barbie dolls, she is viewed with contempt for being a typical girl; if she plays with stereotypical boys toys, she attains value in the eyes of society, for being more like a boy. No matter what she does, Barbie girl can never achieve social value by being a girl, and post-feminism has been complicit in such social values. Consuming Passions  was published in the 80s, author Judith Williamsons theory is hardly common knowledge, most likely because it is threatening. She deduces that, contrary to the ideal posed by Mattel and  Barbie, the desirable shape for a woman . . . is that of a  boy.   The highly idealised Barbie has not been without competitors, however. In 1998, Anita Roddick started an Anti-Barbie campaign, under the guise of self -esteem. Roddick started marketing posters of a doll called Ruby: The Real Deal, with posters in the UK shops she owned, all depicting images of the generously proportioned doll with the attached slogan: There are 3 billion women who dont look like supermodels and only 8 who do. With the intention of challenging stereotypes of beauty and countering the pervasive influence of the cosmetics industry, and with a tongue in cheek approach, the underlying message was far more serious and could easily be applied to the stereotypical image of woman and the way western culture objectifies women. Ruby started a worldwide debate about body image and self-esteem, but she was not universally loved. In the United States, the toy company Mattel sent a cease-and-desist order, demanding the images of Ruby were removed from American shop windows because she was making Barbie look bad, an admission surely, that Barbies impossible to achieve figure was detrimental to girls in comparison to the more realistic Ruby? In Hong Kong, posters of Ruby were banned on the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) because the authorities were concerned they would offend passengers. Like Barbie, Ruby was a de-sexualised toy, having no nipples, genitalia or pubic hair; other advertisements on the MTR whic h showed surgically enhanced, partially dressed female models, were allowed to stay. It is hard not to jump to the conclusion that it was the realistic portrayal of the female body that was offensive (and to whom? the male commuters?); in a world where the female body is perceived to be a purchasable status symbol, the male buyers were presumably offended by the depreciation in value of their idealised fantasy. Feminist artist Helen Chadwick (1954-1996) made many works that dealt directly with the role and image of women in society. In Ego Geometria Sum:The Laborers X created in 1984, she had large replicas of childrens wooden bricks transposed with images of her naked self. One may read many meanings into this artwork: is Chadwick struggling with the weight of her own image? By superimposing her naked image onto a childs brick, is she suggesting that she is nothing but a plaything, a toy? She appears to compare herself to a troll doll, held by the hair in a disembodied fist with an inane grin on its face. The troll doll is ugly and deformed looking, and Chadwick is implying that this is how society views her, and womanhood in general, from childhood onwards, if one does not conform to how society wishes one to be. All is not without hope though; Chadwick also portrays a door on one side of the brick, suggestive not only of closure, but also of the potential to open, to allow something in, or something out; a means of escape. As a Jungian archetype, the door also is representative of the feminine, with all the implications of a symbolic opening. In this artwork, is Chadwick exploring issues of entrapment and escape? Several of her works address the role and image of women in society using a wide range of materials, such as flowers, chocolate and meat. She questioned the role of the female body in art as a decorative object; just as decorative and aesthetic ideas about art themselves had been questioned in the 20th century. In 1990, she worked again on themes of sexual identity and gender with her Cibachrome transparencies entitled Eroticism which depict two brains side by side. On the surface, this is yet another apparently simple, if stunning, piece of work, but like the brain itself, this piece contains a multiplicity of layers, waiting to be explored and teased out. The work shows two brains, side by side, mirroring each other. On the sides adjoining, the brains are enlivened by what appears to be blue sparks, or flashes, suggesting brain activity. According to The Wordsworth Dictionary of Symbolism, blue is the colour of the intellect, and of spirituality; it is the medium of truth. In Eroticism, Chadwick is playing with the idea of a meeting of two minds, an attraction based on the intellect and the emotions. Yet we also associate the colour blue with something a little bit naughty, a bit risque, like a blue movie, and I would suggest that Chadwick was also bearing in mind the idea that the brain is often referred to as the largest sexual organ in the body. For Chadwick, in this piece at least, it is the attraction of two people based on a meeting of i ntellect and commonality that is important, not the outward appearance so vital to society. In the 1790s, when Mary Wollstonecraft was writing A Vindication of The Rights of Women , she argued for the need for more civil rights for women, a cause which she believed could only be achieved by permitting women a better education. She argued that a woman was capable of any intellectual feat that a man was provided with and that her early training should not brainwash her into deference to men. Wollstonecraft believed that men discourage women from achieving the same education that they receive routinely, and as long as women are denied this education, they can never hope to achieve equality with men. She builds on this lack of equal education for women in her argument adding that all men (contemporary to her) have a general lack of respect. Two hundred years later, in the 1970s, women were still fighting to achieve this basic level of respect and equality in the academic and artistic worlds, and it was the 1970s that saw the beginnings of a new art movement, the Contemporary Feminist Art Movement. The movement was inspired by demands for social, economic and political change and by the desire of female artists to try and force art galleries and museums to establish a fair representation of their work; there were very few female art teachers at that time, though the majority of students were female. It was common and widely accepted for art exhibitions to contain the works of men only, women being discriminated against openly, with some having to face the double discriminatory blow of also being black. Faith Ringgold (b.1930), an American artist, was told she could only exhibit in the museums devoted to African American art after all the black male artists had had their shows. By the 1970s, feminists and artists had started forming consciousness awareness groups that demonstrated at galleries and museums to expose some of these sexist practices, and opened galleries together for more exposure of their works. With feminist artists wanting to go further than equal representation, their works were often full of political and social content crying out for political change. The womens movement in America had one such artist by the name of Judy Chicago. Born in 1939, Chicago often reflected on issues relating to the lack of female representation in her work, saying Because we are denied knowledge of our history, we are deprived of standing upon each others shoulders and building upon each others hard earned accomplishments. Many female artists voiced these opinions at that time, wishing to transform traditional fine art and sculpture to include feminist awareness, with many exploring the female body with the intention of reclaiming the sexualised images that had been created by the male artist that preceded them. Chicagos piece Dinner Party called out for both art critics and establishments (and the Establishment?) To readdress the fact that so many female artists had been and were being excluded from art history texts used to educate the (largely female) art students currently attending the art education. This large work depicts a banquet, the settings embroidered representations of the vulva in a style appropriate to the women being represented, women Chicago wished to honour, with a further 999 women engraved in gold on the floor tiles. The geometric shape of this piece is fascinating, with the table laid out at a triangle, representing the tri-partite nature of women, the maiden, the mother and the crone. Indeed, an upside down triangle has long been used in paganism to represent the feminine. This work has gone a long way in encouraging women artists to reclaim their identity in representing the female form, and readdress the frequent degradation of female genitalia previously represented in male-created art. The Dutch artist Christina Camphausen (b. 1953) is another example of a female artist intent on reclaiming for women the representation of the female genitalia, publishing a book of her work with the vulva as sole subject. Entitled Yoni Portraits, it is filled with delicate drawings revealing the vulva in all its beauty and variety, images that are sometimes realistic and sometimes symbolic. Taken from ancient Sanskrit, the word Yoni refers to the vulva and womb and better describes femininity than its clinical counterpart (vagina) or its crude pornographic variants (cunt); in Indias sacred language it carries an inherent respect for this intimate part of a womans body which is lacking in English. In the books accompanying texts, the artist makes clear that there is nothing about the Yoni to be ashamed of. Rather, it is a body-part which in many cultures has had very different connotations of power, beauty, fertility and delight. Of her motivation, Christina says: With my work, I endeavour to assist in restoring the Yoni to her rightful and original place of honour, and to induce everyone to regard her with respect, to recognize her beauty and magical power. Though the last decades make it seem that our modern societies are sexually liberated, there still rests a taboo on this intimate part of our bodies. In general, women enjoy more freedom than they used to have, yet it surely is no advance in self-determination that many contemporary women have their intimate, lower lips corrected in order to conform to some artificial standard prescribed by cosmetic surgeons or professional nude models in glossy magazines. To make artwork with the vagina as your subject is still a very brave act, as it is a subject that is often considered inappropriate and generally thought of within the context of pornography, and, in almost all cases, for the exclusive pleasure of men. Many feminists have attempted to remove these prurient connotations by encouraging us to consider vaginas, something not to be ashamed of, but as powerful and expressive components to be proudly protected as an assertive and positive manifestation of our being. Exhibitions are now starting to show that this has changed dramatically in recent years, with many artists who have incorporated imagery of the Vagina in their works exhibiting together. One such exhibition, organized by Francis M. Naumann and David Nolan, and entitled The Visible Vagina took place on January 28, 2010 at the David Nolan Gallery in New York and included artworks by people ranging from Judy Chicago and Nancy Grossman to Robert Mapplethorpe and Pablo Picasso. The most interesting aspect for me is that there was such a strong male presence in the exhibition, and indeed it was arranged by men, a potent sign of how things have progressed. The most striking work in the exhibition for myself has to be the work of Sarah Davis and the piece Britney (Notorious), for amongst over one hundred artworks, very few of which objectify women or suggest a salacious use of imagery, this piece, a painting identical to a paparazzi-type photograph taken of the music star, hovers between art and porn; indeed, in its representation of both, it beggars the question of how art and porn can be addressed within feminist issues. If we accept that art is intended to stimulate the spectator on many levels, academically and emotionally, and that porn is needed to stimulate on a purely sexual level, I wonder how this transformation from paparazzi photograph and all the connotations of furtiveness, spying and secretiveness to painting can alter ones perception. I would like to believe that the artist who views Britney Spears as a strong, confident, self-made woman is a feminist who has staged the initial photograph to reclaim her identity by exposing her vagina just as in Yoni Portraits, believing there is nothing to be ashamed of by showing the power, beauty, fertility and delight this body part represents. Often in the media gaze, Spears is used as an example to criticise young women today, nothing but a Barbie doll. Her abilities as a mother, her career and social life are frequently held up to public scrutiny. Men that are in the public gaze however, may be criticised for their affairs, heir drug dependency, their fights etc., yet rarely for their dress code or indeed for their roles or abilities as fathers. This is a gender bias that has become commonplace and widely accepted. In addition, when Spears chose to wear a revealing dress and decorate her body with piercings and tattoos, the tabloids turned on her viciously, and accused her of mental illness when she publicly shaved her hair off. I feel though, that Spears was sending a message, via the media, about her sense of identity and her value as a woman. By shaving her hair off Spears was questioning the male perception of femaleness and femininity; she was a Rapunzel trapped by her beauty in a tower created by the male gaze. The only way to take control of the situation and to escape, was, like Rapunzel, to chop off all her hair and reassert her own identity away from social expectations and the medias critical portrayal of women. In Ways of Seeing, John Berger explores the difference between nudity and nakedness, suggesting that when one is nude, the spectator (and there must be one) merely sees the human body unclothed. When one is naked, the spectator (even if that is only oneself) sees the real ess ence of the person. Nakedness is far more intimate than nudity. When Spears cut off all her hair it was as if she had removed a disguise, and showed herself to the world fully naked, expressing her inner self. It is this aspect that Davis has picked up on in her piece of art: Britney Spears as a model of sex positive feminism, the un-Barbie goddess of post-feminism. Sex positive feminism, also known as sexually liberal feminism or sex-radical feminism began as a movement in the 1980s. Many women became involved in a direct response to the efforts of anti-porn feminists such as Andrea Dworkin, as they argued that pornography was the centre of feminist theory for womens oppression. This period is known as the feminist sex wars, a time of heated debate between anti-porn feminists and sex-positive feminists, between the notions of the sex industry as an abusive and violent environment for women and the beliefs in womens ability to choose to be highly sexual beings and raises the question of who is exploiting who? When Spears posed for a statue by American sculptor Daniel Edwards (b.1965) for the pro-life movement, she was once again steeped in the controversy of is it art or is it porn? Entitled Monument to Pro-Life this work is a full size sculpture of a naked Britney Spears in childbirth. The sculpture shows Spears on all fours on a bearskin rug, her mouth slightly open and her eyelids heavy, looking as if she is about to cry out. There is no indication of pain or pleasure; it is not at all indicative of sexual provocation or pornography. Her hands lie wrapped around either side of the head of the bear, as if she is using it to act as a medium to the spirit world communicating with the animalistic urges childbirth conjures up. Yet the media has criticised this piece, stating that: Britneys in a position that most would sooner associate with getting pregnant than with giving birth. I believe that in some ways things have deteriorated rather than progressed: the beauty industry and the porn industry, in their own sometimes-converging ways, have caused a lot of that. Going back to the early 70s, as women began to enter the workforce in larger numbers, some of that earning power was used against them by aggressive beauty product marketing. The result has been an increasing focus in the last three decades on dieting, an explosion in both sexes

The Works Of Pedro Almodovar Film Studies Essay

The Works Of Pedro Almodovar Film Studies Essay Pedro Almodà ³var, the Spanish film-maker, has always been considered in Hollywood to be a womans director (Maddison 2000). This definition actually connoted latent homosexuality and female-identified melodrama. However, this characteristic of Almodà ³vars works seems a little bit superfluous, as his films are best known for the mixture of reality and fiction, extraordinary messages and unique plots. Fiction and reality go together in the films by Pedro Almodà ³var. Sometimes it is next to impossible to differentiate between them, to decide what comes from real life and what was the play of directors imagination. One thing is true for sure: all films by Pedro Almodà ³var are united by the same central issue: the question of identity (Marsh 2006). He engages this issue in many different ways from the earliest work Pepi, Luci, Bom y las otras chicas del montà ³n (1980) to his most recent film Volver (Return) (2006). This is a key feature of Pedro Almodà ³var and it is consistently depicted through the motif of writing. He writes reality into existence and thereby changes it through fiction. Thus, the film-maker interrogates all forms of subject formation and subjectivity. The films of Pedro Almodà ³var abound in characters who adopt multiple pseudonyms, the repeated images of typewriters, the information transmitted through found notes, the eerie presence of ghostwriters (Mars h 2006). The film All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999)) is one of the best examples of interrelation of reality and fiction. The subject of the film is the definition of sexual identity. This point is a very important one, as Pedro Almodà ³var never introduces exclusively homosexual or heterosexual characters. On the contrary, the characters of the film perform their identities and so it is next to impossible to define what identity will be chosen by them at any moment. This point is present not only in All About My Mother, but in many other works of Pedro Almodà ³var (such as in his earlier work La Ley Deseo (1986), for example). Pedro Almodà ³var subverts identity through the human body. The director rejects the idea that a persons identity, his or her essence is contained in one single organ, such as heart, for instance. On the contrary, the combination of physical appearance alongside with inner content defines a certain gender of any person. Thus, Pedro Almodà ³var introduces a rather ironic scene when Agrado, the transsexual character of the film, delivers a rather comic and in the same time frank confession, giving all the details of the operations with her body that lead to her present feminine gender. Pedro Almodà ³var rather boldly undermines the Christian learning that presents human body as an inviolable and essential representation of being. The film-maker goes further and subverts identity. He proposes the body as a site of imitation. According to Pedro Almodà ³var (2010) the main topics of his film All About My Mother include womans ability to pretend, wounded motherhood and the spontaneous solidarity among women (Almodà ³var 2010). Although the film is a fiction, Manuelas reality is very grim and harsh. All her life she has to run away. First, she runs away from Barcelona to Madrid, carrying a son inside her. She runs away from her sons (Esteban) father. Eighteen years later Manuela has to run again in the opposite direction. Her son died and she returns to Barcelona to find his father and to tell him about the short life of the son he never knew about. She wants to leave Madrid, the city where Estebans life started and ended so quickly. Manuelas feelings are in confusion. Barcelona is the city of Estebans father. Madrid is Estebans city. Manuelas emotions are difficult to understand as she cannot sort them out herself. For her both these cities are incompatible and irreconcilable. When Esteban asked her about his father she always tried to change the subject of the conversation. She had a reason, as his father decided to take a feminine form and everybody called him Lola. Seventeen years she kept silent and at last Manuela promised to tell her son about his father on his birthday that happened to be Estebans last day. Esteban did not know his father. What appears to be reality for Manuela results in fiction for Esteban. Manuela runs away once more. It is Barcelona Madrid direction again; besides she is again with Esteban, a baby whose father is also Lola. It is rather symbolic. Manuela feels something like revival. She has a son to take care of, his name is Esteban and she is the only person left in this world to dedicate herself to this new life. Manuela realizes that her life is really extraordinary. She does not even comprehend herself sometimes what is true and what is not in her life; she herself cannot differentiate the boundaries between reality and fiction, because everything i s so real and so unusual in her life. She also realizes that she could be an actress if she wanted, as she sees in herself the ability to change and pretend. All About My Mother implies the ideas of female identification and introduce the concept of heterosocial bonds as a way of understanding the structures of knowledge (Maddison 2000). In fact, Manuela, the main character of the film, pushes herself to form alternative bonds between herself and other women in order to adjust to the difficulties caused by men in her life. It seems very clear that All About My Mother is a film with which Pedro Almodà ³var offers and extraordinary degree of female identification. This film has an emotionally intense, somber quality (Maddison 2000). The death of Esteban, Manuelas only son, catalyses the narration of the film. Besides, it nearly separates the political and emotional idea of motherhood from the performance of this role in the family. Almodà ³var presents female bonding that eliminates mens control and influence in the family. So, he points out that femininity is not the sole realm of women; nor is gender oppression the sole experience of wo men (Maddison 2000). The boundaries between real life and fiction are often blurred in the films by Pedro Almodà ³var. That is one of the reasons why his films are so popular, unique and extraordinary. No one can dispute this fact nevertheless he likes or dislikes Pedro Almodà ³vars works. That can be considered one of the distinguishing features of Almodà ³vars films. He mentions in one of his interviews (Almodà ³var 2006) that reality and fiction are sometimes absolutely fused in his films. All films by Pedro Almodà ³var can be characterized as a mixture of images and sounds, genres, changing genders and characters, actors and motifs. The director characterized that with the term collage (Rosen 2006). These collages create endless chains of echoes and reflections between fiction and reality. In his interview about his film Volver Pedro Almodà ³var says: The best way to tell a fiction (at least in my case) is to dress it with reality. Reality and fiction come together without confusion (2010).The film-maker claims that he can then hold the direct conversation with the film he is making. Sometimes it appears to be difficult even for the director to distinguish between reality and fiction. Pedro Almodà ³var just accepts the fact that films are his life. The films he makes just come from his life and sometimes it happens vice versa: his films give rise to life. All About My Mother has both the features of reality and fiction. Every picture is the result of the film-makers fantasy and imagination. However, this film is also a mourning of Almodà ³var for his own mother. Thus, the intertextual references make fiction and reality interpenetrate and it is already impossible to tell reality from fiction as it is impossible to differentiate between the grief of the mother who lost her only son and the grief of a son who lost his mother. The thirteenth film by Pedro Almodà ³var All About My Mother is considered by the critics to be the most accomplished directors film. It is dramatically rich and its emotional gravitas really does serve to recognize the power and quality of the film.

Health Policy and Chronic Pain Management Essay -- palliative care, ch

Introduction   Pain is not always curable but effects the life of millions of people. This essay examines the Essence of Care 2010: Benchmarks for the Prevention and Management of Pain (DH, 2010). Particularly reflecting on a practical working knowledge of its implementation and its relevance to nursing practice. It is part of the wider ranging Essence of Care policy, that includes all the latest benchmarks developed since it was first launched in 2001. It was produced specifically to improve localized quality in the delivery of healthcare. The document was chosen because I have a particular interest in palliative care and those suffering from chronic pain. Pain effects the quality of life effecting large numbers of the population, especially those near the end of life. This essay will look at defining what social policy is and give a brief overview of the selected policy. Examining the need for the policy, statistical evidence supporting this. Then the pressure groups lobbying and who may have been influential in policy development. The goals and objectives set out in the policy and subsequently analysing one aspect of the policy in particular are included. How patient care and nurses delivery of said care is improved by this policy. Practically considering the difficulties involved in implementing the policy in nursing practice. Along with methods of delivery and evaluation. Body So what is social policy? David Gill is often regarded as one of the most authoritive authors on the subject (1973 cited by Lavalette and Pratt 1997). For Gill it was â€Å"the analysis of access to life-enhancing and life-sustaining resources† In his book 'Social Policy' (Titmuss, 1974) Timuss suggested that 'policy' is action-orientated and proble... ...n.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/269185/003542.pdf [last accessed 6/5/2013] Titmuss, R. (1974) Social Policy. London: Unwin Hymen publishers. Toofany, S. (2005) Nurses and health policy. Nursing Management :(12)3 :pp. 26-30 Winfield, H., Katsikitis, M., Hart, L. and Rounsefell, B. (1989). Postoperative pain experiences: Relevant patient and staff attitudes. [online] 34(5): pp.543-552. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T8V-45WYV7R-7G&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1990&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=35e6b5e8c8f803b487b35d4ae3b06cef&searchtype=a[ [accessed 8/5/2013] World Health Organization (WHO)(2011). WHO's Pain Ladder.[online] Available at: http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/painladder/en/. [Accessed 7/5/2013].

Inca :: essays research papers

The Inca The Incas were a distinct people with a distinct language living in a highland center, Cuzco. They were an ancient people, but had been subject to the regional powers during the entire history of South American urban cultures. They began to expand their influence in the twelfth century and in the early sixteenth century, they exercised control over more territory than any other people had done in South American history. The empire consisted of over one million individuals, spanning a territory stretching from Ecuador to northern Chile. Unlike the military empires in Central America, the Incas ruled by proxy. After conquering a people, they would incorporate local rulers into their imperial system, generously reward anyone who fought for them, and treated well all those conquered people who cooperated. So, in reality, the inca">Inca "empire," as the invading Spanish called it, was not really an empire. It was more of a confederation of tribes with a single people, the Incas, more or less in control. Each of these tribes was ruled independently by a council of elders; the tribe as a whole gave its allegiance to the ruler, or "Inca." The "Inca" was divine; he was the descendant of the sun-god. The social structure of the Incas was extremely inflexible. At the top was the Inca who exercised, theoretically, absolute power. Below the Inca was the royal family which consisted of the Inca's immediate family, concubines, and all his children. This royal family was a ruling aristocracy. Each tribe had tribal heads; each clan in each tribe had clan heads. At the very bottom were the common people who were all grouped in squads of ten people each with a single "boss." The social unit, then, was primarily based on cooperation and communality. This guaranteed that there would always be enough for everyone; but the centralization of authority meant that there was no chance of individual advancement (which was not valued). It also meant that the system depended too much on the centralized authority; once the invading Spanish seized the Inca and the ruling family, they were able to conquer the Inca territories with lightening speed. Conquered people were required to pay a labo r tax (mita ) to the state; with this labor tax, the Incas built an astonishing network of roads and terraced farmlands throughout the Andes. Agriculture was tough business in the Andes. The Incas actively set about carving up mountains into terraced farmlands—so successful were they in turning steep mountainsides into terraced farms, that in 1500 there was more land in cultivation in the Andean highlands then there is today.