Strategic Marketing Plan For Stromner Music, Inc. free essay sample

A marketing plan for a fictitious new company in the hi-tech music world which uses MP3 technology. This paper presents a detailed business and marketing plan for a new start-up in the music world. The paper shows how the company hopes to fill the void left by Napster and other companies which offered MP3 technology the ability to download music digitally and listen to it on your PC. Point examined in the paper are the background and scope of the market, the mission statement of the company, SWOT analysis, competition analysis, media and advertising, distribution and pricing strategies.

The Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902)

The Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902) From October 11, 1899, until May 31, 1902, the Second Boer War (also known as the South African War and the Anglo-Boer War) was fought in South Africa between the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers in southern Africa). The Boers had founded two independent South African republics (the Orange Free State and the South African Republic) and had a long history of distrust and dislike for the British that surrounded them. After gold was discovered in the South African Republic in 1886, the British wanted the area under their control. In 1899, the conflict between the British and the Boers burgeoned into a full-fledged war that was fought in three stages: a Boer offensive against British command posts and railway lines, a British counteroffensive that brought the two republics under British control, and a Boer guerrilla resistance movement that prompted a widespread scorched-earth campaign by the British and the internment and deaths of thousands of Boer civilians in British concentration camps. The first phase of the war gave the Boers the upper hand over British forces, but the latter two phases eventually brought victory to the British and placed the previously independent Boer territories firmly under British dominion leading, eventually, to the complete unification of South Africa as a British colony in 1910. Who Were the Boers? In 1652, the Dutch East India Company established the first staging post at the Cape of Good Hope (the southernmost tip of Africa); this was a place where ships could rest and resupply during the long voyage to the exotic spice markets along India’s western coast. This staging post attracted settlers from Europe for whom life on the continent had become unbearable due to economic difficulties and religious oppression. At the turn of the 18th century, the Cape had become home to settlers from Germany and France; however, it was the Dutch who made up the majority of the settler population. They came to be known as â€Å"Boers†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢- the Dutch word for farmers. As time passed, a number of Boers began migrating to the hinterlands where they believed they would have more autonomy to conduct their daily lives without the heavy regulations imposed on them by the Dutch East India Company. The British Move Into South Africa Britain, who viewed the Cape as an excellent staging post on the route to their colonies in Australia and India, attempted to take control over Cape Town from the Dutch East India Company, which had effectively gone bankrupt.  In 1814, Holland officially handed the colony over to the British Empire. Almost immediately, the British began a campaign to â€Å"Anglicize† the colony. English became the official language, rather than Dutch, and official policy encouraged the immigration of settlers from Great Britain. The issue of slavery became another point of contention. Britain officially abolished the practice in 1834 throughout their empire, which meant that the Cape’s Dutch settlers also had to relinquish their ownership of black slaves. The British did offer compensation to the Dutch settlers for relinquishing their slaves, but this compensation was seen as insufficient and their anger was compounded by the fact that the compensation had to be collected in London, some 6,000 miles away. Boer Independence The tension between Great Britain and South Africa’s Dutch settlers eventually prompted many Boers to move their families further into South Africa’s interior- away from British control- where they could establish an autonomous Boer state. This migration from Cape Town into the South African hinterland from 1835 to the early 1840s came to be known as â€Å"The Great Trek.† (Dutch settlers who remained in Cape Town, and thus under British rule, became known as Afrikaners.) The Boers came to embrace a new-found sense of nationalism and sought to establish themselves as an independent Boer nation, dedicated to Calvinism and a Dutch way of life. By 1852, a settlement was reached between the Boers and the British Empire granting sovereignty to those Boers who had settled beyond the Vaal River in the northeast. The 1852 settlement and another settlement, reached in 1854, brought about the creation of two independent Boer republics- the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The Boers now had their own home. The First Boer War Despite the Boers’ newly won autonomy, their relationship with the British continued to be tense. The two Boer republics were financially unstable and still relied heavily on British help. The British, conversely, distrusted the Boers- viewing them as quarrelsome and thickheaded. In 1871, the British moved to annex the diamond territory of the Griqua People, which had previously been incorporated by the Orange Free State. Six years later, the British annexed the Transvaal, which was plagued by bankruptcy and endless squabbles with native populations. These moves angered Dutch settlers throughout South Africa. In 1880, after first allowing the British to defeat their common Zulu enemy, the Boers finally rose up in rebellion, taking up arms against the British with the purpose of reclaiming the Transvaal. The crisis is known as the First Boer War. The First Boer War lasted only a few short months, from December 1880 until March 1881. It was a disaster for the British, who had greatly underestimated the military skill and efficiency of the Boer militia units. In the early weeks of the war, a group of less than 160 Boer militiamen attacked a British regiment, killing 200 British soldiers in 15 minutes. In late February 1881, the British lost a total of 280 soldiers at Majuba, while the Boers are said to have suffered only one single casualty. Britain’s Prime Minister William E. Gladstone forged a compromise peace with the Boers that granted the Transvaal self-government while still keeping it as an official colony of Great Britain. The compromise did little to appease the Boers and tension between the two sides continued. In 1884, Transvaal President Paul Kruger successfully renegotiated the original agreement. Although control of foreign treaties remained with Britain, Britain did, however, drop the Transvaal’s official status as a British colony. The Transvaal was then officially renamed the South African Republic. Gold The discovery of roughly 17,000 square miles of gold fields in Witwatersrand in 1886, and the subsequent opening of those fields for public digging would make the Transvaal region the prime destination for gold diggers from all over the globe. The 1886 gold rush not only transformed the poor, agrarian South African Republic into an economic powerhouse, it also caused a great deal of turmoil for the young republic. The Boers were leery of the foreign prospectors- whom they dubbed â€Å"Uitlanders† (â€Å"outlanders†)- pouring into their country from across the world to mine the Witwatersrand fields. Tensions between Boers and Uitlanders eventually prompted Kruger to adopt harsh laws that would limit the general freedoms of the Uitlanders and seek to protect Dutch culture in the region. These included policies to limit access to education and press for Uitlanders, making the Dutch language obligatory, and keeping the Uitlanders disenfranchised. These policies further eroded relations between Great Britain and the Boers as many of those rushing to the gold fields were British sovereigns. Also, the fact that Britain’s Cape Colony had now slipped into the South African Republic’s economic shadow, made Great Britain even more determined to secure its African interests and to bring the Boers to heel.   The Jameson Raid The outrage expressed against Kruger’s harsh immigration policies caused many in the Cape Colony and in Britain itself to anticipate a widespread Uitlander uprising in Johannesburg. Among them was the Cape Colony’s prime minister and diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes was a staunch colonialist and thus believed Britain should acquisition the Boer territories (as well as the gold fields there). Rhodes sought to exploit Uitlander discontent in the Transvaal and pledged to invade the Boer republic in the event of an uprising by Uitlanders. He entrusted 500 Rhodesian (Rhodesia having been named after him) mounted police to his agent, Dr. Leander Jameson. Jameson had express instructions not to enter the Transvaal until an Uitlander uprising was underway. Jameson ignored his instructions and on December 31, 1895, entered the territory only to be captured by Boer militiamen. The event, known as the Jameson Raid, was a debacle and forced Rhodes to resign as the Cape’s prime minister. The Jameson raid only served to increase tension and distrust between the Boers and the British. Kruger’s continued harsh policies against the Uitlanders and his cozy relationship with Britain’s colonial rivals, continued to fuel the empire’s ire towards the Transvaal republic during the waning years of the 1890s. Paul Kruger’s election to a fourth term as president of the South African Republic in 1898, finally convinced Cape politicians that the only way to deal with the Boers would be through the use of force. After several failed attempts at reaching a compromise, the Boers had their fill and by September of 1899 were preparing for full war with the British Empire. That same month the Orange Free State publicly declared its support for Kruger. The Ultimatum On October 9th, Alfred Milner, the governor of the Cape Colony, received a telegram from authorities in the Boer capital of Pretoria. The telegram laid out a point-by-point ultimatum. The ultimatum demanded peaceful arbitration, the removal of British troops along their border, British troop reinforcements be recalled, and that British reinforcements who were coming via ship, not land. The British replied that no such conditions could be met and by the evening of October 11, 1899, Boer forces began crossing over the borders into Cape Province and Natal. The Second Boer War had begun. The Second Boer War Begins: The Boer Offensive Neither the Orange Free State nor the South African Republic commanded large, professional armies. Their forces, instead, consisted of militias called â€Å"commandos† that consisted of â€Å"burghers† (citizens). Any burgher between the ages of 16 and 60 was liable to be called up to serve in a commando and each often brought their own rifles and horses. A commando consisted of anywhere between 200 and 1,000 burghers and was headed by a â€Å"Kommandant† who was elected by the commando itself. Commando members, furthermore, were allowed to sit as equals in general councils of war to which they often brought their own individual ideas about tactics and strategy. The Boers who made up these commandos were excellent shots and horsemen, as they had to learn to survive in a very hostile environment from a very young age. Growing up in the Transvaal meant that one often had protected one’s settlements and herds against lions and other predators.  This made the Boer militias a formidable enemy. The British, on the other hand, were experienced with leading campaigns on the African continent and yet were completely unprepared for a full-scale war. Thinking that this was a mere squabble that would soon be resolved, the British lacked reserves in ammunition and equipment; plus, they had no suitable military maps available for use either.   The Boers took advantage of the British’s ill-preparedness and moved quickly in the early days of the war. Commandos spread out in several directions from the Transvaal and Orange Free State, besieging three railway towns- Mafeking, Kimberley, and Ladysmith- in order to impede the transport of British reinforcements and equipment from the coast. The Boers also won several major battles during the early months of the war. Most notably these were the battles of Magersfontein, Colesberg, and Stormberg, which all occurred during what became known as â€Å"Black Week† between December 10 and 15, 1899. Despite this successful initial offensive, the Boers never sought to occupy any of the British-held territories in South Africa; they focused instead on besieging supply lines and ensuring that the British were too undersupplied and disorganized to launch their own offensive. In the process, the Boers greatly taxed their resources and their failure to push further into British-held territories allowed the British time to resupply their armies from the coast. The British may have faced defeat early on but the tide was about to turn. Phase Two: The British Resurgence By January of 1900, neither the Boers (despite their many victories) nor the British had made much headway. The Boer sieges of strategic British rail lines continued but the Boer militias were rapidly growing weary and low on supplies. The British government decided it was time to gain the upper hand and sent two troop divisions to South Africa, which included volunteers from colonies like Australia and New Zealand. This amounted to roughly 180,000 men- the largest army Britain had ever sent overseas to this point. With these reinforcements, the disparity between the numbers of troops was huge, with 500,000 British soldiers but only 88,000 Boers. By late February, British forces had managed to move up strategic railway lines and finally relieve Kimberley and Ladysmith from Boer besiegement. The Battle of Paardeberg, which lasted nearly ten days, saw a major defeat of Boer forces. Boer general Piet Cronjà © surrendered to the British along with more than 4,000 men. A series of further defeats greatly demoralized the Boers, who were also plagued by starvation and disease brought on by months of sieges with little to no supply relief. Their resistance began to collapse. By March 1900, British forces led by Lord Frederick Roberts had occupied Bloemfontein (the capital of the Orange Free State) and by May and June, they had taken Johannesburg and the South African Republic’s capital, Pretoria. Both republics were annexed by the British Empire. Boer leader Paul Kruger escaped capture and went into exile in Europe, where much of the population’s sympathy lay with the Boer cause. Squabbles erupted within Boer ranks between the bittereinders (â€Å"bitter-enders†) who wanted to keep fighting and those hendsoppers (â€Å"hands-uppers†) who favored surrender.  Many Boer burghers did end up surrendering at this point, but about 20,000 others decided to fight on. The last, and most destructive, phase of the war was about to begin. Despite the British victories, the guerrilla phase would last more than two years. Phase Three: Guerrilla Warfare, Scorched Earth, and Concentration Camps Despite having annexed both Boer republics, the British barely managed to control either one. The guerrilla war that was launched by resistant burghers and led by generals Christiaan de Wet and Jacobus Hercules de la Rey, kept the pressure on British forces throughout the Boer territories. Rebel Boer commandos relentlessly raided British communication lines and army bases with swift, surprise attacks often conducted at night. Rebel commandos had the ability to form on a moment’s notice, conduct their attack and then vanish as if into thin air, confusing British forces who barely knew what had hit them. The British response to the guerrillas was three-fold. Firstly, Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, commander of the South African British forces, decided to set up barbed wire and blockhouses along the railway lines to keep the Boers at bay. When this tactic failed, Kitchener decided to adopt a â€Å"scorched earth† policy that systematically sought to destroy food supplies and deprive the rebels of shelter. Whole towns and thousands of farms were plundered and burned; livestock was killed. Lastly, and perhaps most controversially, Kitchener ordered the construction of concentration camps in which thousands of women and children- mostly those left homeless and destitute by his scorched earth policy- were interred.   The concentration camps were severely mismanaged. Food and water were scarce in the camps and starvation and disease caused the deaths of over 20,000. Black Africans were also interred in segregated camps primarily as a source of cheap labor for gold mines. The camps were widely criticized, especially in Europe where British methods in the war were already under heavy scrutiny. Kitchener’s reasoning was that the internment of civilians would not only further deprive the burghers of food, which had been supplied to them by their wives on the homestead, but that it would prompt the Boers to surrender in order to be reunited with their families. Most notable among the critics in Britain was Liberal activist Emily Hobhouse, who worked tirelessly to expose the conditions in the camps to an outraged British public. The revelation of the camp system severely damaged the reputation of Britain’s government and furthered the cause for Boer nationalism abroad.   Peace Nevertheless, the strong-arm tactics of the British against the Boers eventually served their purpose. The Boer militias grew weary of fighting and morale was breaking down. The British had offered peace terms in March of 1902, but to no avail. By May of that year, however, Boer leaders finally accepted peace conditions and signed the Treaty of Vereenigingon May 31, 1902. The treaty officially ended the independence of both the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and placed both territories under British army administration. The treaty also called for the immediate disarmament of the burghers and included a provision for funds to be made available for the reconstruction of the Transvaal. The Second Boer War had come to an end and eight years later, in 1910, South Africa was united under British dominion and became the Union of South Africa.

Positive Behavior Support Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Positive Behavior Support - Research Paper Example The positive behavior support is an essential form of applied behavior analysis. The PBS often uses system towards understanding the principles that often maintains the changing human behaviors. The inappropriate behaviors of humanity are often difficult to change since they form the functional purpose of humanity. Human behaviors are often supported and reinforced by the environment upon which they exist (Klein, Cook, and Richardson-Gibbs, 2001). Therefore, in case of children and students, adults’ form the environment about which the child grows. Thus, the behaviors of the adult that will shape and reinforce the child or student’s desirable behaviors since children and students will only receive attention and or objects because of the adult’s behavior.According to functional behavior assessments, behaviors are often identified within defined contexts including situation, time, and events that usually define or predict the occurrence or lack of occurrence of beh avior as well as the identity that will consequently maintain such a behavior. FBAs also create and summarize hypothesis on behavior (Gonzalez and Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, 2009). This hypothesis directly collects data and observes behaviors to obtain the baseline of these behaviors before other external or social factors get into play. Ideally, positive behaviors often support processes that lead to identification of goals, information gathering, implementation and monitoring, hypothesis development, and support plan design. (Simonsen and et al., 2010). Decreasing undesirable behaviors requires techniques that include desirability, feasibility, and effectiveness. However, teachers and parents often require these strategies, and they must be willing to use them towards making the students and children to participate in school and community development activities (Hanbury, 2007). Notably, positive behavior support has been recognized as a strategy that helps in meeting these strategies effectively. Changing reinforcement and stimulus in the teaching and environment of the child will automatically strengthen deficit skills in areas that their behaviors will change to allow them general education setting (Gonzalez and Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, 2009). There are usually three deficit skills areas that children and students will always changes due to the change in their environment factors. These areas include social skills, communication skills, and self-management skills (Riffel, 2011). Positive behavior support often forms a re-directive therapy especially in line with parent child relationship. In most cases, when other treatments plans fail, the re-directive therapy is often allowed for positive interaction between children and parents as well as between teachers and teachers. Origin and Development of Positive Behavior Support The positive behavior support or the positive behavioral intervention and or support originated from quite controversial circumstances that were overseen as related to the individuals’

Anything that expresses my belief system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anything that expresses my belief system - Essay Example No doubt everyone would think that is the most inhuman thing to a person. Why then do some people think abortion should be a human right when it is clear that it contravenes the moral pillars of our society? Many people thin that abortion is a fundamental human right that should be observed. I was one ardent support of abortion until my interaction with Juliet, a pro-life activist, who is now a good friend of mine. It was around 10 a.m. on a Saturday when I and my friend Rose set for an appointment with a doctor who was to perform an abortion for Rose. As we were travelling to the hospital, which was far off our residential area for fear of meeting people who knew us, I kept mulling over many things. What if this unborn child could be the future president of this country? What if the procedure goes wrong and Rose would never have another baby? What if our parents had done the same thing, would we be there today? The questions kept flooding my mind, but I would not confront my friend to stop what she had planned for an entire fortnight. As we sat patiently waiting for our turn with the doctor, a young beautiful lady approached us. She seemed to have known what service we were seeking. â€Å"My dear sister, abortion is not the best thing to do. Imagine if your mother had done the same thing to you, where would you be? It is ungodly and violates the child’s right to life†. These words keep ringing on my mind every moment I hear the word â€Å"abortion†. Despite all her attempts to woo Rose from aborting her baby, she insisted. Unfortunately, things never went well and Rose later succumbed from some complication she developed after procuring the abortion. Her inhumane behavior as Juliet put it turned against her. Kant morality emphasizes reason, duty and good will (Hill 20). Kant argues that we should pursue moral perfection. In many societies, moral values hold that murder is wrong. This universal agreement is what Kant refers

Human bioscience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human bioscience - Essay Example pH has a direct effect on the structure of proteins in the human body as pH aberrations lead to either excess protonation or deprotonation of the proteins. This has a direct effect on the protein structures making them less functional. Proteins form the major component of bodily structures, enzymes and chemical components, and their chemical sensitivity to pH leads to an increased demand for regulator mechanisms so that pH can be maintained within the required ranges. pH maintainence is important mainly in the blood or the extracellular compartment, however, several cells of the body and even the brain require a proper maintainence of intracellular pH levels. Intracellular compartments are mainly more acidic than the extracellular compartments because of the negative charges on the inside of the cells. Cells also contain hydrogen pumps such as H-ATPase and Na/H exchanger pumps which are crucial in maintaining the pH inside the cells and keep in metabollicaly active (Seifter, et al., 2005 pg.392). pH of the blood is susceptible to changes in response to several physiological as well as pathological processes and body mechanisms work in conjunction regulate the ranges. pH ranges are subjected to alterations after increased acid or basic food intake, excessive exercise or in conditions such as alcoholism, salicylate poisoning, diabetes or hyperventilation. These are only some of the examples which alter the pH levels and require prompt compensations. Body responds by its chemical buffering system, respiratory mechanisms and renal compensations mainly to keep the pH withing the normal ranges. The acid base homeostasis of the body is maintained by body buffers, chemosensors present in the brain as well as the circulation, the kidneys and the lungs. These components form the basic acid-base apparatus of the human body. The buffers present in the body include bicarbonate, proteins, phosphate and other

The Widening Scope Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay

The Widening Scope Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay In this literature review work has been carried out in my chosen field by concerning different books, electronic journals and other web resources to conduct this literature review. Introduction to Information Technology The term information technology is widely used to describe an industry; in reality by information technology I mean the use of different hardware and software for protecting, assembling, utilizing and controlling information. The use of computers and different software for information management is also refers as MIS, management information system or just information system in different companies. Large companys MIS are responsible to carry out following activities:- Storing information Protecting information Processing the information Transmitting the information as necessary Retrieving information as necessary To accomplish its complex task Information technology department is required to utilize computers, computers, servers, database management systems, and cryptography. The modern IT department would be comprised of several System Administrators, Database Administrators and at least one Information Technology Manager. Normally the whole team is suppose to report to the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Source : MSc Information Systems Computing. Latest Theory Meets Latest Technology. www.Brunel.ac.uk/IS The widening scope of information systems According to Lauden Laudon,( 2004) The widening scope of information system is the new relationship between organization and information system, there is a growing interdependence between business strategy, rules and procedures, on one hand and information system software, hardware, database and telecommunications on another. A change in any of these components often requires change in other component. These relationships become critical when management plan for future. What a business would like to do five years often depends on what its systems will be able to do. Increasing market share becoming high-quality or low -cost procedure, developing new procedures and increasing employee productivity depends more on the kinds and quality of information systems in the organization. A second change in relationship between information system and organization results from the growing reach and scope of system projects and application. Building and managing system today involves a much larger part of the organization than it did in the past .as the firm become more like digital firms the system enterprise extends to customer, vendors and even industry competitors. where early systems produced largely technical changes that effected only a few people in the firm .contemporary systems have been bringing about managerial changes (who has what information about whom when, and how often)and institutional core changes (what product and services are produces ,under what conditions ,and by whom)as companies move towards digital firm organization ,nearly all the firms managers and employees as Ill as customers and vendors-participates in a variety of firm systems tied together by a digital information web. for instance ,what a customer does on a firms web site can trigger a n employee to make an on the spot pricing decision or alert a firms suppliers of potential stock out situations. Approaches of Technology Lauden Laudon,( 2004) has presented two approaches to describe IT systems ;- Technological approach: the technological approach to information system emphasizes mathematically, based models to study information system, as Ill as the physical technology and formal capabilities of these systems. The disciplines that contribute to the technical approach are computer science, management science and operations research. Computer science is concerned with establishing theories of computability, methods of efficient data storage and access .management science emphasizes the development of models for decisions making and management practice. Operations research focuses .on mathematical techniques for optimizing selected parameters of organization such as transportation, inventory control and transaction cost. Behavioral approach: an important part of the information systems field is concerned with behavioral issues that arise in the development and long term maintains of information systems. Issues such as strategic business integration, design, implementation, utilization and management cannot be explored usefully with the method used in the technical approach .other behavioral disciplines contribute important concepts and method. I-E sociologist study information system with eye towards how groups and organization shape the development of system and also how system affects the individuals groups and organizations. Psychological study information systems with an interest in how humans decision maker perceive and use formal information. Economist study information system with an interest I what impact system have on control and cost structures within the firm and within markets. (Lauden Laudon) The behavioral approach does not ignore technology .indeed information system technology is often the stimulus for a behavioral problem or issue .but the focus of this approach is generally not on technical solution .instead in concentrates on change in attitude ,management and organization policy and behavior . IT Production Global market Information technology is software producing sector, hence it possess greater potential for brightening up the economy of any country. It is evident fact that IT has a unique cost structure, I all are aware of the fact that producing information is an expensive act but reproducing information in extremely inexpensive. This leads towards attaining extraordinary economies of scale and increasing returns to investment. Tremendous export opportunity exists in world global market for this labor intensive industrys products. This industry has rapidly found a place in global market and progressively increasing its share. From 1997 the information technology has expanded its market has significantly. International penetration of software exports is expected to increase by 200 percent over the coming few years. Offshore tailored applications and packaged applications to the United States and Europe will be influential factors that supported and lead this growth, USs market place possess more than half of the consulting chances. Due to soft nature of domestic markets, several IT firms seek to get place in international market. Presently in the Middle East, most IT spending goes to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (about 60-70%). Somewhere between $ 100-200 million is also spent by GCC countries alone a year on ERP. Moreover, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions have become an important and critical success factor in this business CRM applications are expected to witness a sharp rise in the next few years, especially among banking, telecomm, and utilities sectors (American Chamber 2000). There exist a large room for capitalist and opportunist to take considerable advantage of current situation. It is also counted among very important industries in the Indian economy. The IT industry of India has registered huge growth in recent years. Indias IT industry grew from 150 million US Dollars in 1990-1991 to a whopping 50 billion UD Dollars in 2006-2007. In the last ten years the Information Technology industry in India has grown at an average annual rate of 30%. Source : Nagla Rizk , 2001, Information Technology and Growth publication of The American University in Cairo: web source: http://www.luc.edu/orgs/meea/volume4/RizkRevised.htm)

The Curse of Life in There Are No Children Here :: There are No Children Here Essays

There Are No Children Here – The Curse of Life  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To most living in the Henry Horner Homes, life often seems to be more of a curse than a gift. The people of this public housing project only experience the briefest moments of joy before the reality of their lives comes rushing back to them. This book chronicles the lives of two boys, Lafeyette, 10, and Pharoah, 7, from the summer of 1985 to the fall of 1989. Though the boys are young, author Alex Kotlowitz adeptly conveys that these children are not children at all. They have not been allowed to live the carefree lives that most of us living outside of the projects did. Instead, very early on they became aware of their hardships and had to learn to deal with them. In their short lives, they have been to more funerals than weddings and this has simultaneously crushed their spirits and hardened them. The environment in which these boys live is one of violence, drugs and poverty. Their housing is less than optimal, as the bathtub faucet cannot be shut off, the oven and kitchen sink are broken, and the plumbing is often out of order. Gang activity rules these Chicago housing projects. This book gives a keen insight to someone on the outside on how intense the violence there is. Bullets riddle through the night, and frequently into the apartments. Facing each new day with the fear that your life could be taken away in a second, by one of many acts of gang violence, leaves the residents feeling hopelessly insecure. Throughout the book, Lafeyette and Pharoah voice a strong desire to get out of the projects. However, a solution as to how this might be accomplished is never discussed. The family is dependent on welfare, so there is no extra money to be saved for alternative residence. For the time being, Lafeyette and Pharoah make a conscious decision to lay low and keep away form gangs and drugs so they do not become a part of the life that keeps them down. Lafeyette and Pharoah make insightful comments about how people get sucked into gang-life. They, like many other children and adults, are caught in the middle of despising gang activity, but still understanding the reasons people are involved in it. There are not many examples of tangible incentives to stay out, but to join means that you will have power, protection and money.

This graph shows the traffic going out of Birmingham City Centre using Broad Street

This graph shows the traffic going out of Birmingham City Centre using Broad Street. Cars are the main means of transport going out of Birmingham City Centre. Cars start off quite low. However, at 9:00 AM there is an increase of the number of cars going out of Birmingham City Centre. This may be due to a â€Å"rush hour†. However, this only lasts for an hour. Furthermore there is yet another increase of cars going out of Birmingham City Centre at 11:00 AM. This may be due to the fact it's getting nearer to lunch time. After an hour the decrease happens again. But, at 13:00 AM there is a massive increase of cars. This may be due to leaving after completing their shopping. The amount of cars going out of Birmingham City Centre carries on increasing whilst the day goes on. Vans/mbs start off quite similarly, with the amount of vans/mbs starting off quite low and gradually increasing. The same pattern is shows with the buses. Lorries start off quite high but keep decreasing as the day goes on. Bicycles stay low constantly through the day. This graph shows the traffic going into Birmingham City Centre using Broad Street. Cars are the main vehicles going into Broad Street. We can see this due to the fact that cars have the highest amount of vehicles by looking at the graph. Lorries and bicycles however, have the lowest amount. During the early hours of the day the number of cars starts off quite high with the rush hour being at about 8:00 AM. As the day goes on it starts to decrease. However at around 12:00 PM there is a sudden increase of traffic going into Birmingham City Centre. This may be due to the fact it's around lunch time. At around 13:00 PM, there is a decline in the amount of traffic going in. Then it begins to rise for an hour up until 14:00 PM, when it starts to decrease again. From 14:00 PM till 17:00 PM the traffic going in carries on decreasing. Buses and vans/mbs stay relatively close together in terms of the amount of each that appears to be going into Broad Street. However, buses show the same type of pattern that cars show. During 8:00AM till 9:00PM the amount of buses is quite high. This is quite similar with the vans/mbs. There is a sudden increase at 13:00PM. However Lorries and bicycles always stay low through the day. This graph shows the passenger car units (PCU) coming into Broad street. PCU stands for passenger car unit. This metric is used to measure the traffic-flow rate on a road such as Broad Street. The graph above is probably the most vital evidence that helps solve my hypothesis. This graph would give me a clear idea of whether Broad Street (a main route into the city) was congested. Using the Government figures the saturation point for a road such as Broad Street is 1522. This meant that when a value was over this, the road was congested. The graph shows that Broad Street was congested throughout the day. At 9:00 AM it's at its highest (2780), this is peak time in other words. From 11:00 AM onwards, the figures always stayed above 2000 but stayed below 2500. I can say that Broad Street on that day was congested at all times.

History of San Juan, The Capital of Puerto Rico

History of San Juan, The Capital of Puerto Rico The capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan ranks high on the list of most historic cities in the New World, with early explorers establishing a settlement there 15 years after  Columbus’s monumental first voyage. The city has been the scene of many historic events, from naval battles to pirate attacks. Modern San Juan, now a top Caribbean tourism destination, embraces its long and fascinating history. Early Settlement The first settlement on the island of Puerto Rico was Caparra, founded in 1508 by Juan Ponce de Leà ³n, a Spanish explorer and conquistador best remembered for his quixotic quest to find the Fountain of Youth in 16th-century Florida. Caparra was deemed unsuitable for a long-term settlement, however, and the residents soon moved to an island a short distance to the east, to the present site of Old San Juan. Rise to Importance The new city of San Juan Batista de Puerto Rico quickly became famous for its good location and port, and it rose to importance in the colonial administration. Alonso Manso, the first  bishop  to arrive in the Americas, became bishop of Puerto Rico in 1511. San Juan became the first ecclesiastical headquarters for the New World  and served as the first base for the Inquisition as well. By 1530, barely 20 years after its founding, the city supported a university, a hospital, and a library. Piracy San Juan quickly came to the attention of Spain’s rivals in Europe. The first attack on the island took place in 1528, when the French razed several outlying settlements, leaving only San Juan intact. Spanish troops started building San Felipe del Morro, a formidable castle, in 1539.  Sir Francis Drake and his men attacked the island in 1595 but were held off. In 1598, however, George Clifford and his force of English privateers managed to capture the island, remaining for several months before illness and local resistance drove them away. That was the only time El Morro castle was ever captured by an invading force. The 17th and 18th Centuries San Juan declined somewhat after its initial importance, as wealthier cities such as Lima and Mexico City thrived under the colonial administration. It continued to serve as a strategic military location and port, however, and the island produced significant sugarcane and ginger crops. It also became known for breeding fine horses, prized by Spanish conquistadors campaigning on the mainland. Dutch pirates attacked in 1625, capturing the city but not the fort. In 1797, a British fleet of approximately 60 ships attempted to take San Juan but failed in what is known on the island as â€Å"The Battle of San Juan.† The 19th Century Puerto Rico, as a small and relatively conservative Spanish colony, did not participate in the independence movements of the early 19th century. As the armies of Simon Bolà ­var and Jose de San Martà ­n swept across South America liberating new nations, royalist refugees loyal to the Spanish crown flocked to Puerto Rico. Liberalization of some Spanish policies – such as granting freedom of religion in the colony in 1870, encouraged immigration from other parts of the world, and Spain held onto Puerto Rico until 1898. The Spanish-American War The city of San Juan played a minor role in the Spanish-American War, which broke out in early 1898. The Spanish had fortified San Juan but did not anticipate the American tactic of landing troops at the western end of the island. Because many Puerto Ricans did not oppose a change of administration, the island basically surrendered after a few skirmishes. Puerto Rico was ceded to the Americans under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War. Although San Juan had been bombarded for a time by American warships, the city suffered relatively little damage during the conflict. The 20th Century The first few decades under American rule were mixed for the city. Although some industry developed, a series of hurricanes and the Great Depression had a profound effect on the economy of the city and the island in general. The grim economic situation led to a small but determined independence movement and a great deal of emigration from the island. Most emigrants from Puerto Rico in the 1940s and 1950s went to New York City in search of better jobs; its still home to a great many citizens of Puerto Rican descent. The U.S. Army moved out of El Morro Castle in 1961. San Juan Today Today, San Juan takes its place among the Caribbeans top tourism destinations. Old San Juan has been extensively renovated, and sights like the El Morro castle draw large crowds. Americans looking for a Caribbean vacation like to travel to San Juan because they don’t need a passport to go there: it is American soil. In 1983 the old city defenses, including the castle, were declared a World Heritage Site. The old section of the city is home to many museums, reconstructed colonial-era buildings, churches, convents, and more. There are excellent beaches close to the city, and the El Condado neighborhood is home to top-notch resorts. Tourists can reach several areas of interest within a couple of hours from San Juan, including rainforests, a cave complex, and many more beaches. It is the official home port of many major cruise ships as well. San Juan is also one of the most important ports in the Caribbean and has facilities for oil refining, sugar processing, brewing, pharmaceuticals, and more. Naturally, Puerto Rico is well-known for its rum, much of which is produced in San Juan.

comparative report essays

comparative report essays Scene eleven from the play Mother Courage and her Children and act one scene four from Summer of the Aliens are scenes which are performed very differently, according to their theatrical styles and using conventions relating to those styles. The context in each scene diverses too, however there are some similarities. Mother Courages scene, written in 1940s by Bertolt Brecht, is a work of epic theatre, created by the writer. It is totally opposite to realistic theatre style of the scene from Summer of the Aliens written by Louis Nowra in 1968. According to this realistic style, invented by Constantin Stanislavsky, the perforance of the scene has to be very real and believable. The actors have to re-enact the circumstances as realistically as possible through life like characters with the right use of voice and movements, realistic costumes, the overall stage resembling photographic detail of the period in the scene and the main aim for audience to empathy with characters. Along with Stanislavsky, Bertolt Brechts Epic Theatre is the very essence of non-realism with the main aim to avoid the typical theatrical conventions of realism. Through this, avoiding an illusion of realistic theatre. The acting and staging techniques such as use of a narrator, simple or fragmentary costumes, basic open wh ite stage lighting, fragmentary props and scenery, actors swapping characters mid-scene, actors playing multiple roles and occasionally speaking directly to the audience are all used in performance of Brecht's scene from Mother Courage. These theatrical conventions, according to Brecht, can portray social truths in a way audiences could not ignore. They are didactic in nature with audience alienating purposes. The purpose of performance is to teach or instruct the audience about the issue in the scene. As well as in the performance of Summ ...

Effective Political Communication Research Paper

Effective Political Communication - Research Paper Example This paper looks at the work of a number of writers/researchers who have done work in the area of political communication. Each of them has put forward their theory on political communication. The ones which are of interest are introduced and critiqued separately. The paper also provides a comparative analysis of their work.  This paper looks at the work of a number of writers/researchers who have done work in the area of political communication. Each of them has put forward their theory on political communication. The ones which are of interest are introduced and critiqued separately. The paper also provides a comparative analysis of their work.  Highlights and Critique of ViewpointsBlumler and Gurevitch (1995) in their book ‘The Crisis of Public Communication’ looks at the issues affecting effective political communication. Blumler and Gurevitch (1995) attribute this crisis to four sources:  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ the change in communication technologies;  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ changes in the structure and culture of the surrounding social and political system;  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ the drive by the two political communication institutions – politicians and journalists, to understand the strategies used by each other in order to make adjustments in response to each other's actions; and  Blumler and Gurevitch (1995) link the communicators and the audience in a network of expectations shared by them by indicating the roles of each of the actors in the system that are complementary to each other. In light of this Blumler and Gurevitch (1995, p. 15) indicates that if the audience plays a partisan role then the role of the media should be that of an editorial guide while that of the politician should be that of a gladiator. When the audience role is that of a liberal citizen the media personnel complements this by being the moderator and the politician as a rational persuader.  ... Blumler and Gurevitch (1995) attribute this crisis to four sources: the change in communication technologies; changes in the structure and culture of the surrounding social and political system; the drive by the two political communication institutions – politicians and journalists, to understand the strategies used by each other in order to make adjustments in response to each others actions; and the changes –‘ebbs and flows’ of the interest of the audience in politics. Blumler and Gurevitch (1995) link the communicators and the audience in a network of expectations shared by them by indicating the roles of each of the actors in the system that are complementary to each other. In light of this Blumler and Gurevitch (1995, p. 15) indicates that if the audience plays a partisan role then the role of the media should be that of an editorial guide while that of the politician should be that of a gladiator. When the audience role is that of a liberal citizen th e media personnel complements this by being the moderator and the politician as a rational persuader. If the audience plays the role of a monitor then the media is expected to be the watchdog and the politician is supposed to provide information which is needed for assessment. The audience’s role as a spectator is complemented by the media’s role in providing entertainment when the politician is expected to be the performer or actor in this scenario. Blumler and Gurevitch (1995, p. 12) use the systems theory approach to analyse the media and in that vein sees the media as a system consisting of a four components: i. Political institutions in their communication aspects; ii. Media institutions in their political aspects; iii. Audience orientation to political communication; and iv. Communication

Tobacco Addiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tobacco Addiction - Essay Example Nicotine is what which causes tobacco addiction; it is justified indeed as tobacco comes from a plant called Nicotiana. Hydrogen cyanide is also present in tobacco which is more commonly known as rat poison. Even the most forgotten corners of the world know for a fact that anything that contains tobacco is dangerous for health. It is rational that they know the risk. Still, one billion people use tobacco; that's more or less 16% of the world population!Smoking seems to help a lot of people overcome many problems; from wafting their troubles away to even thinking of it as some sort of a companion. A person starts smoking for a lot of reasons but once they start it seems harder and harder to quit. They become a drug addict: they crave for the feelings which arise in them whenever they smoke. Some people don't want to stop smoking others just can't tolerate the smell of the smoke. Smoking is cool for teens, a way of life for adults and a part of personality for the aged. People smoke so that they can concentrate on something, part with stress or just simply pass the time. People who smoke generally tend to feel relaxed which is not true as smoking immediately increases the heart rate, flow of blood from the heart and blood pressure. It does, however, calm the senses and numbs the fingers of feet and hands. It weakens appetite and feelings of hunger but it hasn't been proven that obese people would benefit from smoking. All this happens because the brain releases a lot of chemicals which eventually have the smoker in a sate of pure bliss. The nicotine receptor gene of smokers causes them to be eight times more prone to start smoking than non-smokers. Although there are five ways of smoking: cigarette, hookah, pipe, cigar and roll-your-owns; only cigarette is the most common. Cigarettes are known to have pleasing short-term effects but hazardous long-term ones. Nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide are the substances which make up the 'tobacco smoke.' Tobacco smoke is tasted or more commonly, inhaled. Nicotine takes exactly seven seconds to make up its way to the brain and trigger feelings in pleasing combinations of reduced anxiety, heightened pleasure, and a state of alert. It can be used as an anesthetic or a pick-me-up by controlling the amount of nicotine absorbed in the bloodstream. Extended, intense inhalations, additional puffs per cigarette, or smoking down to the end can increase the nicotine being absorbed to a level higher than the printed one. A large amount of diseases are caused by smoking. Over forty chemicals in the tobacco smoke can cause cancers of larynx, throat, tongue, lungs, bladder, pharynx, oesophagus, lips, colorectal, colon, nasal sinuses, nasal cavities, liver and stomach. It also plays a part in developing cancer of the cervix, pancreas, and kidneys. It causes cardiovascular disease, lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It affects all parts of the body from the hair to the immune system. Smoking causes osteoporosis, cataract, leukemia, infertility, Buerger's disease, peptic ulcer, thyroid diseases, erectile dysfunction, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), leukoplakia, skin disorders, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), stroke and insomnia. Passive smokers are also susceptible to diseases related to smoking. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) causes cardiovascular disease and lung cancer in non-smokers. Childhood exposed to ETS tend to have severe asthma. ETS exposure of toddlers also causes an increased risk of bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections in them. Hence, smokers benefit many people by quitting smoking and they should be aware that anyone can quit smoking; it's just a matter of time