Analysising Television Advertisements: Music Products

I have found six advertisements for music, such as compilations and greatest hits albums; they were all obtained between the times of 6pm and 8pm on Channel Four. The majority of this time was taken up by the broadcasting of a live concert of a ‘chart topping' solo artist. The first advertisement is for the band True Steppers' album True Stepping. Their record company is Virgin, so the advertisement began with a large Virgin symbol surrounded with a white border: this border remained unchanged throughout the advertisement and is the same with all Virgin music advertisements. This means one can identify and associate all advertisements like it with the Virgin record label. The music then began to play: it was the band's number one hit and instantly grabbed the attention of anyone who knew the song. The band itself is not widely known, but they have made a number of songs featuring more famous artists than themselves. A list of these artists was then read out to associate these big names with this smaller product. This was to make people buy the record not only for the main band but also, for the featured artists. The music continues to play and the tracks on the album are listed. The narrator then states ‘It's so good you might just want to share it with everyone else'. An attractive young lady is then shown, wearing very revealing clothes, standing outside a building with the album playing, extremely loud. There are also many respectable onlookers, (men in suits, pensioners and mothers with young children) are watching with looks of horror on their faces. This essentially uses sex to sell the product however it also uses the image of being ‘cool'. Loud music and the appearance of standing up against the respectable majority bring about this image and encourage the target audience want to buy the product just to be cool and be in the ‘in crowd': where a lot of teenagers would like to be. Finally the narrator says the Virgin slogan ‘Whatever turns you on' and a picture of the box comes up with a large price beneath it. The price is stated and is made to stand out because it is a reasonably low price and is an important factor along with the high quality of the product, tending to make people more likely to part with their money. The second advertisement is for a compilation of various artists, of the dance and trace genres. The advertisement starts on a typical, boring, dull coloured, city bus. The camera the zooms in on the back row, where a girl is reading the Holy Bible. However the camera only just gives the viewer time to take all this information in, before it continues it's zoom into her golden eyes. In the pupil of here eye is a nun standing in front of a stained glass window, the music then begins and the nun's vestments fall to the ground to reveal a stereotypical ‘clubber'. It is then that the viewer realises that it is not in fact a stained glass window but a set of disco lights and is a club not a church or nunnery. A number of tracks are played and the appropriate artists are listed, the music stops and the camera zooms back to show the girl looking shocked as though she has just found something out, or been converted The camera then zooms out to the front of the bus. The screen blurs and a picture of the box appears. No price is mentioned nor is there any other information on the product. Then for the first time is the name of the product mentioned, The Clubbers' Bible, and a slogan appears ‘The Clubbers' Bible: worship your weekends'. The advertisement starts off dull so that the contrast between the bright club and the grey bus is as large as possible. The bus is meant to show how boring your life is and how colourful your life could be if you brought this product: it is appealing to our aspirational desires. The girl is reading the Bible for the simple reason of the products name. The nun in front of the stained glass window draws the viewer further into the religious implications the product makes but then it is all change to the music side of the product. The advertisement again uses an attractive young woman as a suggestive lever to bend the viewer towards buying the product. The club featured in the advertisement reveals more information on the true nature of the product and makes people associate the perfection and holiness of the Bible with the product, clubs and the people within. This perfection is attempting to sell the product in the real and very imperfect world. The design on the front of the box is the same as that on the Bible again connecting the Bible and this product. A price is not mentioned at the end, probably because the product is rather more expensive than it should be so less people would be willing to part with their hard earned cash. The whole advert carries a mainly religious theme to imply perfection and superiority so it appears above any rivals in the mind of the viewer. The third advertisement is for another compilation called R&B2. The music began at once with a recent hit by one of the featured bands. This action was to entice the viewer into concentrating on the advert to see if any other major artists are mentioned, which they are. The compilation is a double CD and in the advertisement there are only six artists mentioned: these are the most widely known in the compilation. The most renowned artists are the only ones mentioned because this would make people want to buy the whole record for individual or a view of the featured artists, not for the fact that there are many artists. The advertisement has no slogan but a price is mentioned and is also made very prominent. In this case the price is mentioned because it is very low and is therefore a good selling angle of the product and would help it to sell. The advertisers would have paid for this prime time (mentioned above) in order to catch their target audience, whom I believe to be mainly teenagers, because they have the largest effect on record sales. If they are not buying the record themselves then they are having it bought for them as a gift. It is my belief that teenagers are the target audience because the majority of the crowd at the concert were teenagers: therefore I come to the conclusion that this percentage will also be the equivalent for home viewers, the majority would be in their teens. Here are the reasons that I believe that the adverts are aimed at people in their teens: firstly all of the people featured in the above advertisement, who were not artists, appear to be in their early twenties or teens, so teenagers can imagine themselves in the place of those in the advertisement. Secondly, a lot of bright and appealing colours are used throughout, which I find attractive, and I therefore conclude that other teenagers would like this and it would help the adverts to lodge themselves in the mind of the viewer. Finally, sex appeal is used in two of the above advertisements, but only very mildly, and as a teenager one becomes aware, for the first time, of the use of sex in advertising in the real world.?

Case Study of McDonald’s Essay

In the early 1940’s, two brothers opened a burger restaurant that was based on standardized preparation called the Speedee Service System. This â€Å"burger restaurant† is now globally known as McDonald’s. In 1976, McDonald’s introduced the breakfast menu as a way to diversify sales and product selection. Today this multinational corporation serves nearly 54 million customers every day in 120 countries around the world. McDonald’s first international venture was in Richmond, British Columbia, during 1967. Two of McDonald’s main products were introduced in 1968, the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin Sandwich. When the first McDonald’s opened in Hong Kong in 1975, they were the first restaurants to consistently offer clean bathrooms, which drove customers to demand the same standards of other restaurants and institutions. McDonald’s continually builds its brand by receiving customer input. This is why McDonald’s is known as one of the most recognizable brands in the world. This case study illustrates how McDonald’s marketing process works and how they overcome problems in the process. This case analysis will include a SWOT analysis of McDonald’s, which looks at the internal environment of strengths and weaknesses and the external environment of opportunities and threats. It then examines alternative solutions to correct weaknesses, threats, and opportunities and concludes with recommendations with exact steps and a brief conclusion. S.W.O.T. AnalysisThis analysis was developed from the McDonald’s website and various other online sources. Other information was provided by the textbook, Organization Behavior by Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kinicki. SWOT stands for internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats. It will illustrate the opportunities and threats in McDonald’s current environment, and compare it to their internal strengths and weaknesses. We will then discuss creative strategies to align their internal environment with their external environment and provide multiple alternatives and a recommendation. Internal AnalysisMcDonald’s Corporation is a multimillion dollar global business because of the fact their strengths greatly outweigh their weaknesses. McDonalds is known globally because it is dedicated to the unparallel levels of quality service, cleanliness and values. McDonalds is also globally known because it is financially sound and recognized by the Fortune 500 and the Hoovers 500. We will provide the strengths and weakness of the McDonalds Corporation. We will also show the effect they have on their expansion throughout the globe and the direct impact it has on their financial records. This will be presented in descending order of importance throughout the strengths and weaknesses. McDonald’s SWOT AnalysisStrengths1.The Company’s developed global strategya.60% of McDonald’s sales and all of its top 10 restaurants, (in terms of sales & profits) are now overseas. b.McDonald’s adapts to each country’s specific needs & cultural differencesi. For example: In Japan, McDonald’s had to substantially adapt it’s original U.S. style menu to include a McChao(a Chinese fried rice dish). When McDonald’s introduced rice meals in Japan, sales jumped 30% in one year, and it continues to innovate in Japan with Teriyaki McBurger and Chicken Tatsuta. ii.The menu price has been adapted for each country. iii.The average Big Mac price for the U.S. is $3.00; China $1.26; Switzerland $5.64c.In 2005 McDonald’s was ranked 8th out of the top 30 global brands. 2.Adaptation to cultural preferences and trendsa.Within the past 3 years, McDonald’s has made several adaptations to their strategy by adding a more appealing breakfast menu, specialty coffees, and healthier menu options. b. McDonald’s has also managed to adapt their individual franchises to the current trends and concerns in their individual geographical locations, simultaneously cutting costs. i.For example: In Europe, McDonald’s discovered that children were content  with a simple word puzzle on a menu tray or a small stuffed animal and did not require more expensive Happy meal promotions that they used in the U.S. c.This year the world’s largest restaurant chain, with 31,000 locations, will spend $1.9 billion to open 800 restaurants and reinvest in existing locations. 3.The company’s attention to global health concernsa.McDonald’s menus offer a variety of food products that can fit into balanced, active lifestyles. Restaurants typically serve several types of hamburgers, grilled and fried chicken products, and fish and, in many cases, salads, fruits, and additional sandwich options. i.Many European countries have launched Salads Plus menus, including meal-size salad choices, a side salad, fresh fruit bag, and other options. ii.McDonald’s Canada offers Toasted Deli Sandwiches. iii.McDonald’s Hong Kong has a Fresh Choices Menu, with two salads and fruit yogurt. iv.McDonald’s Australia offers a QuickStart breakfast menu, including a choice of cereals, juices, reduced fat or nonfat milk, and yogurt. v.McDonald’s Taiwan serves a Toasted Rice Burger. vi.Apples are served whole or with other foods in more than 20 countries around the world. b.Many local business units are adding new salad, fruit, and vegetable offerings. c.Local business units are also expanding Happy Meal choices to include new sandwich, side, and beverage alternatives. These reflect a System-wide goal of ensuring that Happy Meals remain a choice moms feel good about and  children enjoy. 4.The Company has high environmental standards:a.Delivery Vehicles which can carry fresh, frozen and chilled food have resulted in fewer deliveries, enabling them to reduce diesel costs and fuel emissions. Also, fixed delivery schedules reduced the distance traveled in 1993 by 310,000 miles. b.Each McDonald’s restaurant is carefully designed individually to fit into its local environment. This means listening to local concerns, fitting in with local scenery and landscaping drive-thru restaurants. Over 120 McDonald’s restaurants are in conservation areas and over 30 are in Grade II listed buildings. c. McDonald’s uses a minimum of 50% recycled content in corrugated cardboard boxes and ask that their suppliers do the same. All McDonald’s food boxes and cartons are made from 72% recycled material, carry out bags are unbleached and made from 60-80% recycled material, while napkins and tray liners are 100% recycled paper. Additionally, all their picnic benches, drive=thru lane traffic bollards and most of the fencing panels are new restaurants are made from recycled polystyrene. d. McDonald’s have made a commitment that, by 1995, they had reduced the volume of solid waste by 50%. They achieved this by using the three R’s: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. 5.High percentage of minority employmenta.McDonald’s has the largest number of minority and female franchisees in the quick service industry. b.More than 40.7% of all McDonald’s US Owner/Operators are women and minorities. Weaknesses1.Worker shortagea.In all employment areas, there is a high demand for qualified workers. b.A new development that is creating even more employee demand is the new  immigration laws for the country and state. 2.Employee turn-overa.It is difficult to keep the employees already employed with McDonald’s. i. McDonald’s has a turnover rate of about 35 to 40 percent. b.People consider working at McDonald’s embarrassing and look for employment elsewhere. c.Minimum wage doesn’t keep good workers around. i. $5.85 per hour beginning July 24, 2007ii.$6.55 per hour beginning July 24, 2008iii.$7.25 per hour beginning July 24, 20093.Customer trends change and so do their choicesa.Quality and taste of products is declining. b.People are generally tired of the same brands that they had been using over the years, so when they do not see the expected innovation they migrate to new brands. c.People see McDonald’s every where and this over exposure might also be a reason for abstinence. Moreover maintaining the standards of such a huge chain becomes feasible and when there is lack of quality service in one store it effects the whole brand. External Analysis The constant improvements in technology and the competitive marketplace challenge McDonald’s with many opportunities and threats. McDonald’s has a great management team that constantly looks for new opportunities because McDonald’s is the industry standard on technology. Other opportunities for McDonald’s would be to expand to all developing and developed countries around the world. Among the current and future threats, there are thousands of fast-food chains in the world, most of the new fast-food franchises are concentrating on having a healthy image, so therefore McDonald’s needs to continue to improve  their healthy choice menu. This will be presented in descending order of importance throughout the opportunities and threats. Opportunities1.New Technologiesa.Computers that are also tablesi.These computers that are also tables will be very handy because people do not like standing in lines and having to wait to order. Now all customers have to do is find a table and sit down and start ordering. This will pay off even more because customers will be able to special order their food easier which will in-turn reduce the mess up orders because customers will do it themselves. ii.These computer tables will also make it very easy for customers to pay for their food or even split the bill if they want to. All customers will have to do is lay their credit card or debit card down on the table and then pick what food you want to pay for and drag it over to where your card is laying and then click ok that is correct then use your finger to sign for the bill. 2.International Expansion and Franchisinga.There are only 17,000 McDonald’s around the world and only located in 119 different countries. i.There are 194 countries in the world and McDonald’s has lost of room to expand there restaurants to new countries. ii.McDonald’s main concentration of expanding is in the ever growing in population of China. McDonald’s wants to build as many drive thru’s there as possible for the fast passed living. They have done research that there are 30,000 filling stations to put them in. b.Selling corporate owned McDonald’s and turning them into franchises at home and abroad. i.Sold 18 businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean’s. As a result these two countries will in turn franchise 1,600 restaurants. 3.New Food Items and New Programsa.Here in America we are accustomed to one of the programs that they are trying to add all over the world. This would  be known as the dollar menu. In Europe they are calling it the â€Å"Eurosaver†, China has the RMB 5, and Latin America features the McMenu. b.In Latin America they are experimenting with something called McAhorro. This is a program of special pricing of certain products during certain times of the day or on carious days of the week. c.In Egypt their McDonald’s are trying something completely new to McDonald’s and this is having a carryout. Other countries also doing this now are Turkey, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. d.New food items that became popular in Latin America are the McCafe coffee and dessert concepts. Which are Expanding to other McDonald’s in other countries to see how they fair. e.New Healthy Foodsi.Toasted deli sandwiches have now been put on a couple of McDonald’s menus in Canadaii.McDonald’s are starting to cook their French Fries in healthier oils and finding ways to cook their hamburgers to have less grease in them. iii.Mediterranean – inspired Pitamac, a square pita bread sandwich that is open at the top and filled with spiced beef, grilled vegetables or chicken. iv.Introducing veggie burgers to more of their restaurants. v.Introducing water-based instead of oil-based salad dressings for their new premium salads. vi.Introducing healthier option with their meal instead of fries such as: salads, baked potatoes, yogurt, fruit, ect. Threats1.The biggest threat for McDonald’s domestically is the lack of growth opportunitiesa.The market in the United States is well saturated and there is not a whole lot of room for growth. 2.Healthier eating habits. a.People are more worried about their health in today’s society than they have ever been. McDonald’s has introduced salads and other low fat items but it is hard for people to make the switch because the other food that McDonald’s offers tastes great. 3.Fast food restaurant franchises as upcoming competition. a.The biggest competition would be taco and burrito franchises. This would be a threat because individuals get tired of eating hamburgers and fries and they want something different. b.McDonald’s has the upper hand on most fast food restaurants because they serve breakfast. Recently Taco Bueno has added a breakfast menu and that could also be a threat for McDonald’s. 4.Terrorisma.With McDonald’s being a big retail food store with a lot of customers in the store daily. b.This could be a major threat not only to the store itself but to its customers also. 5.Global Competitiona.Through out the globe McDonald’s is facing more and more competition because of other fast food chains entering the global markets. i.Burger King is the number two burger chain. It is located in over 65 countries now. In the US alone it has more then 11,200 locations. ii.Subway is the second largest quick serving restaurant. It has an astonishing 27,700 location abroad spanning over 85 countries. Another huge threat that this makes is that it now has more locations in the US than McDonald’s. b.With global expansion McDonald’s not only has to deal with other abroad competitors but the own countries fast food chains. McDonald’s also has to get accustomed to the local eating habbits and taste so they will be able to satisfy their wants and needs. This means McDonald’s will have to come up with new menu items for each country to fit their customs. i.Items that they have came up with to fit the taste and customs of consumers in Japan was to introduce the Mega Teriyaki Burger and the Triangle-shaped Mango Custard Pie. AlternativesAlternative 1- Technology UpdateImproving and Buying New Technology – McDonald’s has been improving many things at their restaurants in the past couple of years such as: remodeling, new menu items, and a drive-thru order speaker that shows you what you have ordered. McDonald’s needs to make sure that they deep up with today’s society and the new technology. One of the newest technology that McDonald’s needs to consider purchasing is called Microsoft surface. This new technology well not only cut down on employee cost but it will help them keep up with the new way of life that time is money. ProsA. With Microsoft Surface computer tables in place it will make business quicker. i. People can sit down and order their food at the tablesii. There will be no waiting in lines which in turns saves people time. iii. Customers can pay at the end of their meals incase they want more food after their first order instead of going and standing in line again. B. Offer more things to do while waiting on your food and after you are done eating. i. Microsoft Surface also offers things to entertain your kids such as playing music to painting with their fingers. ii. Business people will find it handy because they can get on the internet and find thing they need or to get directions to their next destination and then can transfer it to their phones of PDA’s. iii. Will older people like the new technology because it will be something new to them and will have to learn how to use it properly. ConsA. Microsoft Surface will be brand new technologyi. The cost of Microsoft Surface will have a very expensive price tag along with it. ii. Since it is a new product this means it will still have a few bugs in it that have not been found or worked out. B. How reliable with this new technology bei. Seeing how this is going to be used not only to order off of it will as be used as a table to eat and drink off of. Will the Surface be durable enough to handle messy food and drinks that will be spilled on it?Alternative 2- Improve Healthy menu OptionsMore Attention for America’s Healthy Menu Options- McDonald’s has been successful in adding healthy menu options around the globe. However, throughout our study we have found that the healthy menu options for Americans are quite limited, and even more limited for the children in the United States. The PlanA.We feel that adding some healthy menu combination meals would really improve McDonald’s sales. Americans don’t want just a salad or chicken wrap as a meal, so why not add a combination meal that includes a salad, wrap, grilled chicken breast, or toasted deli sandwich with their choice of a healthy side, such as a fruit salad, yogurt, vegetables, or baked potato. B.Don’t forget about our children. Mom’s aren’t just concerned about what they are putting in their mouths, their children’s health is just as important. If a mom can go to McDonald’s and get a healthy meal, but there isn’t anything healthy to feed her children, most likely she’s going to choose a competing fast food franchise. Happy meals need to have options such as, a beef pot pie, turkey sandwich, or grilled chicken fingers.  Choices of sides could include a healthy macaroni and cheese, vegetables, fruit & marshmallows, or even cottage cheese and strawberries. McDonald’s could also really score some big points with parents if they added healthy lifestyle tips for kids on the happy meal sacks, or provided toys that promote exercise. Pro’sA.American’s love variety and choices. That’s exactly what this plan is giving McDonald’s customers. Variety and healthy choices will not only satisfy current customers, but it will attract more business. B.One of McDonald’s biggest customer bases is America. Providing these options for this customer base will also increase their profit intake. C.This plan also shows the people in the U.S. that McDonald’s cares about their customers concerns. This is just one more way to attract business. D.Since the release of the movie â€Å"Super Size Me† McDonald’s has been known as the fast food restaurant that makes Americans fat. The best way to improve this bad image is to implement the healthy menu options in America. Con’sA.Adding more options to a menu also means adding costs for the business. It is more expensive to keep vegetables and fruits fresh than it is to keep the food they currently serve fresh. B.Even though American’s are very concerned about their health, there is a large number of people who don’t want to do anything about it. People aren’t looking to be healthy when they go out to eat at McDonald’s, and because of that, the new healthy food options may not sell as well as other well established items on the McDonald’s menu. Alternative 3 – Increasing WagesIncrease starting wages and implement frequent raises – McDonald’s has always been considered one of the worst paying jobs with the lowest skill level. Even though the working conditions are favorable, qualified workers do not want to work at McDonald’s because it is embarrassing, but mainly because McDonald’s does not pay their  employees enough. We think starting salaries should be increased as an incentive to want to work for McDonald’s and turn the job into a career. ProsA. More dependable employees as applicants. i. The country is experiencing a huge worker shortage, but not only a worker shortage, but qualified, dependable workers. This alternative should help remedy that situation. ii. With higher starting wages and frequent raises for the employees, there should be a less percentage turn-over rate. If the employees are happy, they won’t be looking for other positions elsewhere. ConsA. This increase will cost the corporation more financially. ii. This could limit the amount available in dividends to stockholders hurting future investments. RecommendationsTechnology updateIn order to remain in competition with not only fast food restaurants, but other restaurants as well, McDonald’s will have to keep up with the growing technological society. This means taking advantage of any fast food advances that pertain to their area of service. The new technology will have to keep the pace of today’s fast moving society, in which time is money. A specific technology that we recommend McDonald’s take advantage of is the Microsoft Surface computer tables. This technology will be costly, if implemented in metropolitan area’s it will be beneficial to not only the corporation, but also to McDonald’s customers. Microsoft Surface computer tables will increase the contribution margin of the corporation by saving time, money, and order errors. McDonald’s should gradually begin the implementation of the Microsoft Office table in major cities throughout the globe. As McDonald’s begins to reap the benefits, and work out the kinks of the tables, the corporation should  gradually apply this product throughout smaller restaurants. This process will be very slow moving and costly, but it is key in ensuring McDonald’s continued domination in global fast food service. ConclusionsIn today’s fast paces, highly technological society McDonald’s has been able to stay on top of the fast food service industry, while providing quality service, and timely deliverance of food. It is not an easy task to stay on top of technologies and changing tastes of customers. McDonald’s will need to continue to research the changing eating habits and styles to attract new customers and keep the business of current customers. McDonald’s has proven it’s concerns for customers and employee’s by experimenting with new facilities and foods they are proving to society that they are concerned with not only their health but their prosperity. McDonald’s has a very promising future ahead of them and if they continue to adapt to society and new technologies. Refrences www.mcDonalds.com

Scarf

MOTIVATION with a SCARF twist The SCARF (an acronym for Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness) model, a brilliant gift of neuroscience invented by Dr. David Rock, is an interesting tool to understand an individual’s social behavior in a group. The model is broadly based on two themes, â€Å"Minimizing threat, Maximizing reward† & â€Å"Correlating several social experiences to primary social needs†. Knowing the SCARF model aids to understanding the drivers that cause a threat or beget a reward response thus enabling an individual to implement the optimized interaction path with others.Though the other two articles on â€Å"Managing the brain† (also sketching out the SCARF model) and â€Å"Six thinking hats† were fairly interesting reads, but reading about the SCARF model really grabbed my attention since I was now able to correlate a lot of management techniques/decisions I have seen in the past to this model. Motivation strategies and the SCARF model have a close tie. Typically motivation is aimed at bringing about some form of reward response from the individual(s).I have sketched a few ‘low-cost’ motivation techniques Organizations may implement during economic turmoil, relating them to the threat and reward responses of the SCARF model. 1. Communication: Threat: Uncertainty – During economic downtimes many Employees fear uncertainty. There is a baseline fear of losing jobs, taking salary cuts or being transferred to other departments. Reward Response: Motivating Employees using the ‘open communication’ tool, giving them the reward response of certainty, minimizes this threat.If an Organization chooses to throttle increments, bonuses or promotions it becomes imperative to clearly communicate its rationale to the Employees. Employees always appreciate a transparent management style in matters that directly impact them. 2. Leadership: Threat: Autonomy – During low performin g quarters Organizations do not want to go wrong anywhere. This fear is at times is converted to micro management, increased rigidity in rules and a so called â€Å"Authoritarian† behavior which is perceived my the Employees as a threat to their autonomy Reward Response: Motivating Employees during these tough times can become even more critical.Targeting Employee strengths and assigning project ownership accordingly can help reduce this threat. Giving the Employees an opportunity to avail of flexi-time can also create autonomy. 3. Appreciation: Threat: Status – In a disturbed economy Organizations face budgetary restrictions thereby making tough decisions of promoting only a handful of Employees. But what about the rest? They too have worked as hard as the others. These Employees certainly face a status threat in the Organization. Reward Response: Employers should take time to appreciate good work.Appreciation can be done verbally during team meetings or via e-mail, m arking a copy to the entire Department. A simple but meaningful â€Å"thank you† via e-mail can prove to be a very effective motivation tool. Employees feel internally rewarded and motivated when they know their work is valued and recognized in the Organization. 4. Low cost events: Threat: Relatedness – Organizations tend to become very competitive during a tough economy. People are faced with competition within the Organization.Often Employees are shuffled between departments to optimize the productivity. People who move to the new departments often face the threat to relatedness, as they in turn are perceived as a threat to the existing members of the department. Information sharing with the new members could be limited. Reward Response: In this situation an Organization should dedicate some time to conduct low cost events to increase the organizational citizenship behavior (going beyond the call of duty) not only inside departments but also outside departments. E. . : Have a ballot box in the office and encourage people to thank each other for any activity from which the other person benefitted (not directly related to work) for e. g. â€Å"Thank you Mary for sharing the sales figures for last month, this helped me come up with the forecasts quicker than expected. † Every Friday call for a â€Å"Thanks giving event† where these papers are read out in front of the organization and each one gets small rewards like chocolates, donuts, pens etc. This will increase the reward response for relatedness and status. 5.Performance Based Pay: Threat: Fairness: It is a challenge for the Employers to be fair in terms of the financial rewards given to the Employees. An Employee often gets demotivated when he/she hears that their colleagues are being paid more than him/her especially when they feel that they are putting in more effort and yielding a greater result for the department. Reward response: To curtail this threat to fairness an Organi zation should have a transparent performance based pay structure. This structure should be known to every Employee to beget transparency.Finally I would like to say that motivating Employees is important for every Employer, at all times. An Organization does not need to invest in expensive trainings, huge increments or even arranging extravagant holiday packages in order to motivate its Employees. Motivation has a strong negative correlation to the threats that an Employees faces in an Organization and if those threats are identified correctly and mitigated using the SCARF principles the overall productivity can be tremendously boosted.

Sweden and German gender inequalities in employment Essay

Sweden and German gender inequalities in employment - Essay Example The EU notes that, â€Å"across Europe women earn on average 17.8% less than men†, meaning that Sweden is slightly above the median and Germany is almost 4.5% below it. The inclusion of a EU-wide average facilitates comparability. In large measure the gender pay gap directly expresses that women do not receive equal pay for work of equal value. However, it still does not adequately explain the nuances of the gender pay gap and inequality in employment. (EC, 2010) The existence of a 'glass ceiling' barriers and limits to promotions is also a factor. If women are denied access to the highest paying (and most influential) management positions this will manifest itself in an aggregate gender pay gap. Similarly, if a country's pregnancy and parental leave programs are inadequate and family causes women to interrupt their career path this will be reflected in the gender pay gap. Simply put, inequality in employment influences more than only equal pay for work of equal value. This pa per will examine key laws and policies aimed at promoting gender equality in employment in Sweden and Germany. It will identify and account for similarities and differences in the development and implementation of gender equality policies in these two countries. History and type of welfare regime in Sweden and Germany Throughout the 1990s in Sweden the gender pay gap remained relatively static at approximately 17.5%. According to the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) â€Å"Comparative study on gender pay equity: The case of Sweden†, â€Å"the trend is that lately, over the last ten years, with some smaller fluctuations, the wage differences between men and women are about the same. There is a decrease of the gap shown in some years, next year there is a small increase.† Throughout this period, â€Å"females earned an average of 83% of male wages.† (EIRO, â€Å"Sweden†, 2002) The statistics for Germany were much more dynamic in this period. However, they are also incomplete and difficult to work with as the period included the reunification of the two Germanies. However, they parallel Sweden with little change and a slightly higher level of the gender pay gap. (EIRO, â€Å"Germany†, 2002) Philosophically there are more profound and apparent differences between the social welfare systems in the two countries. Mandel and Shale have developed a typology for social welfare regimes that is useful in this situation. They characterise European social welfare systems as conservative, liberal or social democratic. The differences between the three are predicated on the three roles the social welfare system can play. According to Mandel and Shalev (2009), â€Å"Scandinavian social democracy is associated with patterns of intervention that exemplify all three roles: the state substitutes for Source: Mandel and Shalev, 2009. functions otherwise performed by markets or families and it does so with a distinct emphasis on ser vice provision (as opposed to income maintenance), which turns it into a massive employer.† It decommodifies and defamilializes social welfare. This is the model that Sweden exemplifies. The second country under consideration, Germany, is characterised as 'conservative' by Mandel and Shalev. â€Å"Germany, France and Spain form a second cluster which is made up of conservative countries that are less

Health care issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health care issues - Essay Example The Republicans, on one hand, advocate for tax incentives as a measure of expanding private insurance and preventing costs. They want every American family to be able to purchase insurance through such â€Å"marginal incentives† (Mooney). These differences have persisted since the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush. Federalism’s main role in the issue of health care is to provide unity amidst diversity. It is understandable that each federal government feels threatened by the health care reform law passed under Obama’s administration. The law’s provisions tend to intrude â€Å"deeply into the internal affairs of the states† and contradict the very essence of federalism (Moffit). In a federalist set-up, local government units (states) and the national government share governing powers. These states are also vested with constitutional sovereignty and can pass their own laws independent from each other and from Washington. Congress officers’ intrusion is no longer healthy to the federalism espoused by the US. They specify â€Å"how states are to arrange health insurance markets within their borders,† and determine the â€Å"products that will be sold to their citizens† (Moffit). The state of California responded to the health care law by not complyi ng with the federal legislation. As a result, the federal government is passing two bills, calling for its compliance (Haberkorn). The state has not joined 14 other states in blocking the health care law, but is merely enjoying its power to ignore legislation. Governor Schwarzenegger had other priorities in mind, like cutting the health care budget of California and expanding oil drilling in Sta. Barbara (Wood). The governor also said he opted out of compliance and support for the programs because congress was buying votes to pass the health care law (Falcone). The US Constitution prevents the President, acting through

Should Under God We Trust be taken off US currency Essay

Should Under God We Trust be taken off US currency - Essay Example It is then a bit troubling and awkward for the US treasury to continue to print money bills with the phrase â€Å"In God We Trust.† This essay provides arguments to the position that the US should eliminate the use of this phrase in the printing of future currency bills. To understand why the religious motto â€Å"In God We Trust† is utilized in the printing of money it is essential to look at the history of this event. The motto was first utilized right after the civil war in America to serve as a sign of peace and unity among U.S citizens who were separated by internal conflict and need a common reminder of higher being watching over the horrendous acts being committed in a war. At that time it may have been justified, but in modern times this religious connotation should have been eliminated a long time ago. If our education system prohibits the teaching of religion in our public school system, then why should our economic system openly promote religion through a slogan? The utilization of this slogan contradicts the official position of the US government of separating state and the church. President Theodore Roosevelt once expressed in a letter his position on the issue, â€Å"My own feeling in the matter is due to my firm conviction tha t to put such a motto on coins, or use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good but does positive harm, and in effect irreverence which comes dangerously close to sacrilege† (Procon, 2008). The utilization of this motto sets forth a precedent right before our eyes that discriminate against believer of other religions that are not Christian based. Since other religions such as Buddhism and Muslim do not believe in god, instead they refer to the almighty as Buddha or Allah. â€Å"In this nation that is suppose to be this beacon of religious liberty. What’s next? ‘In Jesus We Trust’ ’In Protestantism We Trust’ † (Newdow, 2006). The US government is taking an official stance in preference of Christians; when the

Starbucks Marketing Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Starbucks Marketing Report - Essay Example As the discussion declares Starbucks has successfully entered in several potential international market places with proper realization and understanding of the impact of external environment factors on the business practices. In order to reveal the impact of several external environment factors on the business operation of Starbucks in global market, a PESTLE analysis has been undertaken. This paper stresses that the political stability of a country is very much important for a global business organization in order to run the business successfully. It has evidenced that; the organization has chosen every single international market place after understanding and examining the political stability of each and every specific country. Moreover, the organization has effectively followed specific industry regulations and rules in every foreign country apart from USA in order to avoid the international political business threat. It has evidenced that, Strabucks has maintained high-level relationship with the government of every business operation and coffee beans producing country. The European financial crisis in 2008-09 and global recession in 2007-08 has affected the global economy drastically. The condition of global economy has suffered from several reasons, such as high taxation level, reduced consumer buying power, low exchange rate of currency in global market place, economic slowdown of several developed and developing country and low disposable income of middle class people. However, several developing countries, such as BRICK Countries has not affected much from the affects of Recession and Financial crisis due to sufficient natural resources and highly controlled administration. Presently, the global economy is recovering from the effect of these economic downturns. The local economic situation and environment within each operation country is shifting towards growth. Therefore, the business output of strabucks is gradually increasing. Social It is becoming global trend to have the taste of coffee in a coffee chain. Moreover, the changing of family patterns in UK, USA and Asian countries have influenced the buyers to consume high quality coffee. Due to high customer preference, the organization is effectively doing their business practices.

Strategy Assessment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategy Assessment 2 - Essay Example Current paper presents the strengths and weaknesses of a well-known theoretical framework, the Five Forces model of Porter in regard to industry competition. The Porter’s Five Forces model is based on the following rule: each organization is likely to face five forces; the ability of the organization to face these forces denotes the level of competitiveness of the particular organization (Onkvisit and Shaw 2004, p.33). The specific model is commonly used for estimating the level of competitiveness of organizations and nations. The Five Forces which each organization and nation have to face are the following: ‘industry competition, customers, suppliers, new entrants and substitute products’ (Onkvisit and Shaw 2004, p.32). The review of the literature related to this subject has led to the following assumption: the Five Forces model of Porter is a unique tool in measuring an organization’s or country’s competitiveness. Still, in the context of the inte rnational market, the use of the specific framework is not at the levels expected, a fact that it is rather related to the framework’s weaknesses, as discussed below. Moreover, the high level of criticism developed against the Five Forces model of Porter leads to the assumption that the particular framework should be reviewed and updated so that it responds to the current market conditions and demands. 2. Strengths and weaknesses of theories of competitive advantage – M. Porter’s Five Forces theory 2.1. Strengths The Five Forces model of Porter could be characterized as a unique strategic tool in terms of its value in measuring performance. The potentials of the specific model to be used as a tool for measuring performance are important, but not standardized, as also explained in the next section. One of the most important advantages of the particular model seems to be its simplicity. Indeed, as noted in Hill and Jones (2009) the Porter’s Five Forces mode l describes clearly the forces that each organization and nation is expected to face in regard to a particular industry/ market. There can be no misunderstanding in regard to the parts of the particular model since all these parts have certain characteristics that secure these parts’ uniqueness (Hill and Jones 2009). For example, when referring to the bargaining power of suppliers, a specific idea is implied: that suppliers can be more or less powerful in imposing particular prices, according to the level at which their products are unique or not (Hill and Jones 2009). In addition, the Five Forces model highlights the importance of ‘strategic position for the acquisition of a competitive advantage’ (Roy 2011, p.25). In fact, these two concepts, strategic position and competitive advantage are closely related to the Five Forces model that has emphasized, for the first time, on the potential value of strategic position for enhancing competitiveness, either at the l evel of organization or the level of nation (Roy 2011, p.25). Moreover, the Five Forces model refers, also for the first time, to the potentials of a nation to acquire a competitive advantage in the same context as an organization (Roy 2011, p.25). In other words, in regard to competitiveness, organizations are equalized to nations (Roy 2011, p.25). The above fact indicates the potentials of markets to act as bonds between frameworks of different characteristics, as in the case of organizations and nations (Roy 2011

Hate Speech Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hate Speech Summary - Essay Example However, there are those who say that speech should be restricted if it encourages hatred or prejudice against someone of a different race, sex, religious group, or sexual orientation. One example that the article uses is that of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1987. Racist fliers were distributed that used foul language such as saucer lips, porch monkeys, and jigaboos. Many universities responded to this outrage by banning hate speech through the use of speech codes. The reasoning for this is that hate speech may encourage people to go out and attack certain individuals based on their ethnic or religious background. The article uses statistics to prove that the number of hate groups is on the rise in the U.S. Some of the major groups that it mentions include the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and the Nation of Islam. The problem with acting against these hate speech groups is that it would be a violation of their First Amendment rights, which protects them from prosecution fo r any words that they might say about another group of people. In my opinion, banning people from freedom of speech opens up a whole can of worms. This is because once you ban one group from speaking out, it would only seem fair to ban the next one, and the next one, and so on. Also, the matter of who is the authority to decide what type of speech is allowed and what type of speech is not allowed becomes a dividing issue. In fact, cracking down on hate speech could result in an increase of even more hate speech; this is one outcome that those who champion restricting hate speech would not want to see. I agree with the views of David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., who says that the restriction of hate speech would only take away the rights of one particular group only to give even more rights to another. This would be biased because it would be treated

Business Ethic - Flag of convenience Coursework

Business Ethic - Flag of convenience - Coursework Example matters over ships flying its flag.† Prevented by the odium linked with flags of convenience, several new shipping registries have placed themselves up as tax havens, more suitably pertained to asquasi-flag of convenience registries that is provided with firm maritime laws and the administrative machinery to enforce and implement them. There are three foundations when it comes to. The first one is that the ship registration conveys nationality to a ship and carries it within the command of the national law of the country of registration. Article 6 of the Convention of the High Seas (1958) particularly indicates that ships shall sail under the flag o one country solely and shall be subject to that flags special jurisdiction. Another is that a ship should also comply with international laws embodied in conventions that have been approved by the flag state and that is enforced. Apart from this, a ship could also be subject to the laws imposed by a country in whose territorial waters or port it is at present functioning. However the "law of the flag" often has supremacy over the "law of the port of call." Since the country of registry together with the law of the flag primarily influence ship operating economics, the option of register is critical to ship-owners. Ship registries could be divided into two broad categories: closed and open registers. Closed registers limit flagging only to nationals, such that a German would not be able to register his ships under the Russian flag. On the contrary, open registers are available to any ship-owner in spite of nationality. For instance, the United Kingdom is considered as an open register in that an American shipowner could register his vessels in the name of the British flag. Amongst open registries, there are national registers which deal with shipping companies in fundamentally the similar manner as any other business in the country. It is also noted that there are international registers which have been particularly

Evidence based practices Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evidence based practices - Research Paper Example Hence, the LAPD, as well as other law enforcement agencies, can undoubtedly profit from evidence-based approaches to assessing recruitment programs along with reformation the application process. Using the Los Angeles Police Department and city administrative data from financial years 2007 and 2008, this paper will estimate impacts, in line with applicant numbers, for LAPD’s employment efforts and will revise a model for prioritizing candidates established by Lim et al. (2009). Introduction Recruitment and maintenance are long-lasting worries for large urban law enforcement agencies (Lim, 2009). Over much of the last couple of years, police departments from San Diego to New York City have gone through considerable difficulty in finding and maintaining police officers. Even though, the number of police officers countrywide increased by 3.4% between 2000 and 2004 employment did not keep pace with population increase and was well underneath the rate of law enforcement development in the 90s. In addition, 20 out of the 50 largest local police groups in the country decreased in size between 2000 and 2004, in some departments by as high as 10 to 15% (Matthies, 2011). The countrywide economic recession, which started late in 2007, has attested to be a double-edged knife for law enforcement employment. Many candidates are applying for the job, but the funds for hiring and recruiting have been cut. Sheriff and Police departments around the nation have reported large increases in the number of candidates, as is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, financial woes brought on by the economic recession are stopping agencies from taking advantage of the larger applicant pools. A high number of the applications have cancelled due to the lack of available finances to pay the cadets’ incomes. Nowhere else are these hiring and recruitment challenges more apparent than in the city of Los Angeles (Lester, 2007). The LAPD, in terms of per capita, is one of the token big-city law enforcement departments in the United States. In spite of attaining a considerable lofty force strength of 9895 police officers in early 2009, or one police officer for every 388 citizens, LA is still significantly under-policed compared to other prominent cities such as New York, which has one police officer per 233 citizens, and Chicago, with one police officer for every 213 citizens. Since Los Angeles City spreads over more than 400 square miles, the Los Angeles Police Department is also fairly small in line with the geographic area of its power, with 21 administration points per square mile, compared to 118 administration points per square mile in New York City and 59 administration points per square mile in Chicago. Significant empirical questions linked to LAPD’s hiring, and recruiting can be found in Lim et al. (2009). This paper builds on their publication with an extra in-depth study of marketing data and a simplified candidate processing to ol. This paper, in the section that follows, will explain experimental work, which provides facts, if not ultimate answers, regarding some significant employment research questions. Police Recruitment Studies Given the apparent societal import of having law

Importance of Understanding Cultural, Ethnic, and Gender Essay Example for Free

Importance of Understanding Cultural, Ethnic, and Gender Essay Culture is defined â€Å"as a set of values, practices, traditions or beliefs a group shares, whether due to age, race or ethnicity, religion or gender† (Mayhew, 2014). Diversity is â€Å"the inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation† (2014). Diversity in the workplace refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. It can include gender, age, personality, background, race, ethnic group, and much more. It doesn’t just include how people see themselves but how they see others as well and this affect how they act in a work environment. Some of the issues companies have to deal with are communication, adaptability and change. Embracing diversity and accepting and appreciating the differences means individual strengths and weaknesses can be understood and factored into building workplace teams. Recognizing and appreciating cultural differences is only the tip of the iceberg. Subordinate group attitudes that have developed over time may cause them to be defensive. It is necessary to work towards bridging the gap between dominant and subordinate groups to help them to communicate better. Managers and leaders need to step out of their comfort levels and develop knowledge of cultural differences and be sensitive to the fact that there are diversity issues. If you establish relationships at work with people who are different than you, you start to learn about the talent and knowledge that diverse culture can add to your company. Most hospitals have come to the realization that people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, genders, as well as religions, bring with them different values and perspectives. Managers have to make sure that top priority is given to  patient care. If there are misunderstandings between employees related to culture, ethnicity, or gender, it will eventually affect patient care. It is the managers’ duty to keep in mind that it is important to make the hospital unit as diverse as possible but making sure there is also a balance. â€Å"Fortunately, attitudes are changing. Nursing managers in hospitals must creating workplace and educational programs to help nurses overcome discriminatory feelings they may consciously or unconsciously hold toward colleagues or patients. (Rob Douglas, 2004). If there are diverse groups in the unit, there are a number of nurses who think differently and have a different way of looking at patients and their needs. Therefore there is a better chance that patient’s needs will be tended to. Being a lefty for a day is a challenge that left handed people endure on a daily basis. Tasks such as opening a bottle of wine, using a wall mounted pencil sharpener, and turning the pages of a book were all rather difficult. Daily tasks that we don’t think twice about become r a daunting mountain to climb. My mom is a left-handed so in addition to my own experience, I asked her what she has gone through since she was born a lefty. She told me that her mom, my grandmother, would always yell at her for using her left hand to write and do day to day tasks. When my mom would do her homework with her left hand, my grandmother would threaten her and make her use her right hand. Her reason was that left handed people are not â€Å"smart.† In today’s modern day and age, we know and understand that is not the case. â€Å"Forcing a left-handed to be right-handed causes reduced activity in the dominant right hemisphere and increase activity in the non-dominant side. Since creativity and imagination are dominant parts of right brain, they will remain under-developed and the left-side of the brain sees increased activity that deals with reality, facts and logic, characteristics that are opposite of the person’s true potential† (Abbasi, 2011). Forcing people therefore tends to make them slower and do not reach their potential in life. It does seem being a lefty in a right handed world is a very big disadvantage. However, lefty’s do learn to adapt to doing things with both hands making them ambidextrous. So, in the end they gained something, rather than losing something. References Chron. (2007, May 4). Examples of Cultural Differences in the Workplace. Retrieved From the Chron small business website: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-cultural-differences-workplace-11494.html Reason before Passion. (2011, August 8). Never force left-handed child to be right-handed. Retrieved from the Reason before Passion website: http://wasioabbasi.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/never-force-left-handed-child-to-be-right-handed/

People and culture

People and culture People and Culture The first settlers of Argentina came thousands of years ago. They came from North America looking for a place to settle. They ended up finding the country today known as Argentina. They were looking for a wide open place with plenty of resources and land to be work. They found exactly what they were looking for when they found Argentina. The tribes that came and lived in Argentina were nomadic. They lived life by following the animals. They survived by hunting, fishing, and gathering. For many this would have been a rough life and it was for many of them. To live back in the days as these people did was hard. You would have to be a good hunter and be able to find scraps such as berries, nuts, and roots. Spain became interested in Argentina in 1516 A.D. It was the first to colonize Argentina in 1516 A.D. There were no more than 105,000 native people living in Argentina before it was colonized. At first Guarani people, which were tribal groups of South America having the territory between Uruguay and Paraguay River, used the slash and burn method. Settlements were made up of 50 to 100 individuals. The most advanced group in the Northwest is the Huarpe, which lived in the Cuyo (mountainous area) in the Andean piedmont. Small groups of nomadic people settled in the remainder of the area. Native people barely survived after Argentina became independent from Spanish rule. The Tehuelches fled from the Pampas to southern Patagonia. Araucanians had already been living on the western edge of Patagonia. They had fierce warriors. Spaniards arrived in southern Chile and battled the Inca army and stopped them from spreading into that region. The Tehulches and Araucanians began acquiring horses in the 1600s from the Spanish. In 1520 Ferdinand Magellan sailed to Argentina and met the natives of Patagonia. In the early part of the 1500s the population of Argentina was 750,000. To create their country they had to fight the Spanish efforts to control Argentina. In these days Spain wanted Argentinas natural resources. Juan Diaz de Solis led a Spanish expedition of three ships along the South Americas Atlantic coast. He was looking for a pathway to the Pacific Ocean and Asian trade. After passing the coast of Portuguese Brazil, he saw an opening of an estuary (believing that it led to silver-rich areas). Thinking it was a shortcut he diverted the ships and claimed the region. The Spanish Crown gave Pedro de Mendoza, a Spanish nobleman, permission to lead an expeditionary force from Spain to Argentina. He then sailed in the Rio de la Plata estuary in 1536 A.D. with a group of fifteen hundred people to be the first to establish the settlement of Buenos Aires. The Querandi laid siege to the settlement and abandoned it in 1537 A.D. Eventually Mendoza and the rest left Buenos Aires and returned to Spain. Many settlers came from Peru. Spaniards conquered the native settlements. Towns began to extend and the conquerors enslaved the native people. They forced them to harvest crops and raise cattle and mules. Many people traveled north to Paraguay. The territory of Argentina started to make its way of boundaries during the sixteenth century. People started to migrate across seas with ships. Europeans moved to the country in the nineteenth century. There were a lot of different groups of people and languages in this country. The main language was Spanish, but there were also languages such as: French, Italian, German, British, and Japanese. You also have to remember that there was still the Indian tribes and the African American slaves. With all these groups together now, it made Argentina a culture that was diversified, or mixed. Most of the people in Argentina were Republicans. Most of the indigenous people living today in Argentina live in rural areas. They only represent about 10 percent of Argentina. Buenos Aires is known to have the most indigenous people living in it. Indigenous people live in small groups. The indigenous people that arrived were dark skinned, and lived in groups with chiefs. There were two main groups. One of the groups was known as the Diaguita. The Diaguita is known to have prevent the Incan empire form expanding. They also built dwellings. The other group was known as the Guarani. They used slash-and-burn. These groups both consisted of doing agriculture. Their main crop was maize, which today we know it as corn. The first settlement to be found was the Santa Fe. Argentina was first explored in 1516 by Juan Diaz de Solis. Argentina developed under Spanish colonial rule. The indigenous people realized that Argentina was great for supplying food and also raising animals to different countries. There were population movements in Argentina during the sixteenth century. The most known movement of Argentina was the Eastern movement. The people arrived by traveling by ship. They sailed on the Rio de Plata River and the Parana River. The people that sailed during this movement are known to have founded Buenos Aires, Argentinas capital. This is basically why this movement is known to be one of the famous movements that happened in Argentina. The people also are known to have founded more cities such as Santa Fe, Parana, and Corrientes. The next movement is known to be called the Northern population movement. These people descended from Peru. It happened because of an economic growth. They are known to have founded Salta, San Salvador, La Rioja, and San Fernando. There is also another movement. It is the Western population movement. They founded San Juan, San Luis, and Mendoza. This movement started in Chile. All these population movements mostly settled into urban areas instead of large areas with a lot of land. I dont know why they would do this because if I was migrating to a country I would think of trying to get the most land that I could. The immigration has affected the culture of Argentina. More than one-third of the country lives in Buenos Aires, which is the capital. Many of the people are gauchos or wanders of the countryside. The culture is very different, but it has created many ideas in Argentina. There are great artists, musicians, writers, and many more things in Argentina. One of their famous cultural dances is the tango. The culture has many fiestas which are celebrations. The most common food in Argentina is meat. They raise animals to sell and use the food. Many of the people of Argentina visit family and friends during their spare time. They like to play sports also. One of their most common sports is soccer. If you go to Argentina you may see a lot of painting and sculptures. There are a lot of famous artist from Argentina. There is great fishing and hunting in Argentina. Many of the nomadic people and the indigenous people that settled here used these two things to survive and make a living. Argentina has done well in sports such as polo, rugby, hockey, boxing, skiing, hunting, fishing, and much more. They are just starting to become known for basketball. Pasta and pizza is also a common food besides meat. Argentina has national pride. Some of the famous people in Argentina are listed below. In 1974, Maria Peron was the first woman to be a president in history. She is the widow of the former president of Argentina Juan Peron. She was the first female head of state. Many people think that Juan Fangio is to be one of the greatest racers. Fangio was a race car driver and he won the Grand Prix. He dominated this race in the 1950s in a way nobody has ever done before. He won five World Championships. They were in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957. Many people like to think of Fangio as one of the greatest drivers known in the world. They believe his winning score may never be topped in the world. He must have been a really great driver. I would like to see him race with the NASCAR racers today. Diego Armando Maradona is known to be one of the greatest football players of all time. Maradona won league titles in Argentina. He also won titles in Italy. He won national cups in Spain and Italy too, and numerous individual hon ors including best player award at the 1986 World Cup. Carlos Gardel, an Argentine, is known to be great at the tango dance which is one of the most famous dances in Argentina. He is known as the nickname of â€Å"The King of Tango.† Gardel was known to get the first best singer award of the tango dance and he is remained to be a role model to other people. This dance is still a famous dance. Che Guevara was a tremendous leader of the Communist Revolution in Cuba. Communism was a socialism that had private ownership. He was known to be a great leader in Latin America advocating revolution. He is a symbol of rebellion to Argentina. The Argentine Cesar Pelli, became known throughout his years by being one of the 20th centurys architects. He is known for drawing some of the worlds largest landmarks and the worlds tallest buildings. His designs are known for their curved faces and metallic elements. His architects are often surfaced in glass or a thin stone figure. Throughout his career, Pelli won more than eighty awards for design excellence. Pellis most famous architectures is the â€Å"Petronas Twin Towers,† which were the worlds tallest buildings at one point of time. Jorge Borges is still considered today one of the best writers in the world. He is one of the great literary known heroes of Argentina. Argentina has 36,000,000 people living there today. Their religion is mainly Roman Catholic. If you lived in Argentina the other religions you would most likely believe in are Jewish or Protestant.

Christian Witness: Eleanor Roosevelt :: essays research papers

After her husband's election to the New York state Senate in 1910, she performed the social role expected of the wife of a public official. President Wilson appointed Franklin Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I (1914-18). This was the same position that Theodore Roosevelt had held and did his best to promote war with Spain. The family moved to Washington. Eleanor for her part pitched into war work with the Red Cross. The end of World Wat I coincided with a grave personal crisis, the discovery of her husband's love for another woman. Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt were eventually reconciled, but the relationship was never the same. When they returned to New York in 1921 she determined to build a life of her own. She became active in the League of Women Voters, the Women's Trade Union League, and the women's division of the Democratic Party. Her personal emancipation was completed after Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921. Eleanor Roosevelt was determined to keep alive her husband's interest in public affairs. Sher was encouraged and tutored by Louis Howe, Roosevelt's close adviser, whom she had nortvapproved of. With his help she became her husband's political stand-in and an effective spokesperson. Eleanor by 1928, when Roosevelt actively returned to the political arena as a candidate for governor of New York, she had become a public figure in her own right. In 1926 she helped found a furniture factory in Hyde Park to aid the unemployed. In 1927 she became part owner of the Todhunter School in New York City, serving as vice principal and teaching history and government. First Lady Eeanor certainly must be classified as our greatest First Lady. When her husband became president in 1933, she feared the move to the White House would make her a prisoner in a gilded cage. But as First Lady she broke many precedents. She initiated weekly press conferences with women reporters, lectured throughout the country, and had her own radio program. Her widely read syndicated newspaper column, My Day, was published daily for many years. Traveling widely, she served as her disabled husband's eyes and ears. Her travels were lengendary and with out president for a First Lady. The cartoonists loved tommake fun, but in a more gentle way than is common in our modern era. One cartoon was completely black except for a miners helmet light with the caption of "It must be Mrs.

The Concern of National Debt :: Argumentative Economy Economics Papers

The Concern of National Debt The National Debt is large, and should be a major concern to the economy. But a even bigger concern is how our Government plans to balance the budget and pay off the Federal Deficit. I am not in favor of passing the National Debt on to future generations, nor am I in favor of passing the Republican's Budget Plan either. The Republican's wantto sharply cut spending for Medicare and Medicaid health benefits for elderly and poor Americans in order to balance the budget by 2002 - while also providing $240 billion in tax cuts. I am in favor of balancing the budget but through many different routes. 1) cut Social Security but have Americans set-up tax free IRA's for their future. 2) Make a politicians job not so glamourous. A mere $35,000 dollars per year and a suitable benefits plan like the majority of Americans have would be fine. Maybe not so many greedy, power hungry indviduals would want the job to make them richer and us the American workers poorer. Maybe just maybe an average american would take the job to help the overall benefit of America as a whole and not just worry what is in it for them. 3) Cut some of the entitlements programs, but let the American people decide where to cut. The Government should have on-line voting, so our voices are heard. The Republican's package is a tax cut for the rich, it;s much more a tax cut for the middle class -- and a bad deal for the working poor. But I do understand, no matter where the cuts go, or who they hurt more, the dollars must come out. Take the dollars away from the rich and the greedy politicians who want more and more each year for their own benefit!! Most of these politicians are set for life with their million dollar benefits

The First Latina to Conquer Hollywood Essay -- Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes

Hollywood has not always been accepting of Latinas. Current stars Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes, and Penà ©lope Cruz follow in the footsteps of pioneering Dolores Del Rio. Lauded as â€Å"The Princess of Mexico", Del Rio was a star whose allure captivated legendary figures Orson Wells, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, and Frida Kahlo. Fast friend Marlene Dietrich labeled Dolores, "The most beautiful woman in Hollywood. She has better legs than Dietrich and better cheekbones than Garbo". A beauty that lead to wild rumors of an orchid petal diet, or that Del Rio slept 16 hours a day to maintain her loveliness. Sadly, in a fundamental way, Del Rio’s talent became a prisoner of her splendor. Del Rio’s life was not always glamorous, born in Durango, Mexico, in 1905, she was the only daughter of Jesus Jacques and Antonia Lopez-Negrete. Her father was the director of the Bank of Durango, but the family lost their wealth in the Mexican revolution. A forced relocation to Mexico City, when Dolores was five, quickly reestablished the familial standing in society. Little Dolores studied at prestigious Liceo Franco Mexicano convent (taught by French nuns), gaining a lifelong passion for literature, dance, and art. A debutante’s life came at a price; for the 16 year-old Dolores it was an arranged, loveless marriage to lawyer Jaime Del Rio. Jaime was 18 years her senior, his family one of the oldest and most influential in Mexico. Their wealth allowed for a European honeymoon, where they were invited to dine with the Spanish Royal family. The honeymoon morphed into a three year romp, with Dolores delighting in voice and dance lessons at stately Madrid and Paris schools. In 1921, the couple returned to Mexico City, Jaime intent on advancing his career whil... ...e best dramatic female performance in Del Rio’s honor. Vestiges of Del Rio remain in America, such as a statue at Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard in Los Angeles, honoring ethnic leading ladies of the cinema, featuring Del Rio with Mae West, Dorothy Dandridge and Anna May Wong. Del Rio also has a star on the iconic Walk of Fame, located on 1630 Vine Street. Author Salvador Novo gave a perfect, if unintended, eulogy a year before her death. â€Å"With Dolores Del Rio we are in the presence of a case in which extraordinary beauty is only the material form of talent. She has been gifted with grace, and fresh and vibrant nimbleness that, being natural, seems exotic.† Time had finally caught up to the ageless beauty, which she herself never a vain person had never worried about. "So long as a woman has twinkles in her eyes, no man notices whether she has wrinkles under them."

Using Two Contrasting Case Studies, Discuss Management Schemes in Fragile Environments.

Using two contrasting case studies, discuss management schemes in fragile environments. A fragile environment is when there the balance between climate, soils, vegetation, animal life and people could easily be upset and the ecosystem destroyed. In order to maintain a fragile environment dynamic sustainability needs to be established. An example of a fragile environment is the Serengeti National Park and Jau National Park. The Serengeti National Park is situated in the Tropical Grassland biome. This means that it has temperatures are high throughout the year averaging at around 28OC.There are wet and dry seasons due to the movement of the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Conversion Zone). In the Serengeti there are long periods of drought during the dry season and during the wet season convectional rainfall results in heavy downpours. In the Serengeti management schemes are essential in order to maintain the ecosystem. One way that the ecosystem is maintained is through monitoring and controllin g the number of elephants and fires within the ecosystem. In the past fires and elephants have shaped the ecosystem.They both affect the vegetation within the Serengeti as they can destroy it. Elephants eat the tress and fires burn them into ash. The elephants and fires need to be controlled because if there are too many elephants or fires then the number of trees in the Serengeti will decrease but if there is not enough of them then again the ecosystem will change as they control the establishment of trees. Fire is monitored and controlled through the Park Ecology Department who ensure that there is enough fire but that they do not get out of hand.The Serengeti is also managed by having a top-down approach to management where the park authorities co-operate with the Masai (indigenous people in the Serengeti). There is a game management strategy, which means that the Masai who live around the edge of the park are able to some controlled and licensed hunting of game so they do not hu nt to much and endanger the animals there. This means that the hunting that the Masai do controls the herds, keeping them in balance with the grassland resources.Hunting can stop the tendency to overgraze the area that can arise if the number of animals grows too high. The Serengeti also uses a strategy when it comes to the use of land. In order to maintain a balance between crop production for the animals and the local people the authorities have zoned the areas so that there is enough grazing land, and enough space in areas around the park for growing crops. The Jau National Park differs from the Serengeti as it has a double maxima of rainfall.The National Park has very low annual temperature range with the temperature being between 26OC and 27OC throughout the year. The ecosystem contains three main vegetation types: dense tropical forest, seasonally flooded forest and dry shrub woodland. The Jau National Park also has management schemes in place in order to conserve the ecosyste m. Jau National Park is one of the few conservation units in the Brazilian Amazon with a management plan that is both compete and being implemented.To integrate local residents with conservation initiatives within the Park there are periodic meetings with residents to disseminate planning decisions, provide training for environmental education professionals and research on the economic valuation of natural resources. The management plan has three phases: I: protection, minimizing of impacts and integration with neighbors; II: research into and protection of biodiversity; III: specific activities. Jau National Park has a zoning plan in place with four management zones: 1.Primitive – where there is minimum intervention and maximum protection. Nothing is done to the area and it is left to have its natural vegetation and animal species. 2. Extensive use – some human activity. This is where small tribes of indigenous people are allowed to live their chosen lifestyle in the area. 3. Intensive use – already altered by humans. This is where farming is allowed. 4. Special use – the park services core – this is where hotels and buildings are with toilets etc. Using Two Contrasting Case Studies, Discuss Management Schemes in Fragile Environments. Using two contrasting case studies, discuss management schemes in fragile environments. A fragile environment is when there the balance between climate, soils, vegetation, animal life and people could easily be upset and the ecosystem destroyed. In order to maintain a fragile environment dynamic sustainability needs to be established. An example of a fragile environment is the Serengeti National Park and Jau National Park. The Serengeti National Park is situated in the Tropical Grassland biome. This means that it has temperatures are high throughout the year averaging at around 28OC.There are wet and dry seasons due to the movement of the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Conversion Zone). In the Serengeti there are long periods of drought during the dry season and during the wet season convectional rainfall results in heavy downpours. In the Serengeti management schemes are essential in order to maintain the ecosystem. One way that the ecosystem is maintained is through monitoring and controllin g the number of elephants and fires within the ecosystem. In the past fires and elephants have shaped the ecosystem.They both affect the vegetation within the Serengeti as they can destroy it. Elephants eat the tress and fires burn them into ash. The elephants and fires need to be controlled because if there are too many elephants or fires then the number of trees in the Serengeti will decrease but if there is not enough of them then again the ecosystem will change as they control the establishment of trees. Fire is monitored and controlled through the Park Ecology Department who ensure that there is enough fire but that they do not get out of hand.The Serengeti is also managed by having a top-down approach to management where the park authorities co-operate with the Masai (indigenous people in the Serengeti). There is a game management strategy, which means that the Masai who live around the edge of the park are able to some controlled and licensed hunting of game so they do not hu nt to much and endanger the animals there. This means that the hunting that the Masai do controls the herds, keeping them in balance with the grassland resources.Hunting can stop the tendency to overgraze the area that can arise if the number of animals grows too high. The Serengeti also uses a strategy when it comes to the use of land. In order to maintain a balance between crop production for the animals and the local people the authorities have zoned the areas so that there is enough grazing land, and enough space in areas around the park for growing crops. The Jau National Park differs from the Serengeti as it has a double maxima of rainfall.The National Park has very low annual temperature range with the temperature being between 26OC and 27OC throughout the year. The ecosystem contains three main vegetation types: dense tropical forest, seasonally flooded forest and dry shrub woodland. The Jau National Park also has management schemes in place in order to conserve the ecosyste m. Jau National Park is one of the few conservation units in the Brazilian Amazon with a management plan that is both compete and being implemented.To integrate local residents with conservation initiatives within the Park there are periodic meetings with residents to disseminate planning decisions, provide training for environmental education professionals and research on the economic valuation of natural resources. The management plan has three phases: I: protection, minimizing of impacts and integration with neighbors; II: research into and protection of biodiversity; III: specific activities. Jau National Park has a zoning plan in place with four management zones: 1.Primitive – where there is minimum intervention and maximum protection. Nothing is done to the area and it is left to have its natural vegetation and animal species. 2. Extensive use – some human activity. This is where small tribes of indigenous people are allowed to live their chosen lifestyle in the area. 3. Intensive use – already altered by humans. This is where farming is allowed. 4. Special use – the park services core – this is where hotels and buildings are with toilets etc.

Survival Essay for Maniac Magee

Life is very unpredictable and sometimes throws us challenges that we need to overcome, in order to survive. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, survival means, â€Å"The continuation of life or existence. † Yoko Kawashima Watkins was the main character from So Far From the Bamboo Grove. She was an eleven year old Japanese girl who struggles with life in 1945 the last year of World War II. Jeffery Lionel Magee, or Maniac as some would call him, was the main character from Maniac Magee. He was a twelve year old, white orphan who runs into a racist town.The stories of these two characters are different; yet, they demonstrate two kids going through difficulties in life. Yoko went through many life or death situations, and she had to do whatever she could to survive. Yoko had to flee her home from Korean Communist Army soldiers with her Mother and her older sister. Yoko’s friends and family helped her a lot during this dangerous period in time. One of these people was her older sister, Ko. Their mother died and Ko had to feed, and take care of Yoko. She also shined shoes for money for their family.One of the biggest characters that helped Yoko survive was Corporal Matsumura. Soon after their initial meeting Yoko questions, â€Å"How could I know this man was to be important in my life? † He was the one that had told them to escape their house in Nanam (northern Korea). If he had not come to notify the family, she would not be alive today. Mrs. Masuda was a big help in Japan. She offered both Yoko and Ko a place to stay at and helped Yoko with her Mother when she died. Secondly, Yoko was very smart to use disguises during her journey to Japan.One example is when Yoko, along with her mother and sister, were on a medical train and the medic and nurse said that Korean Communist Army soldiers came to inspect the train, and they had to disguise themselves as sick people to avoid being captured. Yoko then shaved her head, to pretend she was a boy. Also, she took the uniform of a dead Korean Communist Army soldier so that the other soldiers would not be suspicious if they saw her. Finally, Yoko earned and found money to pay for food and other necessities for survival. One way she made money was by selling handmade items.Yoko and Ko also found over 36,000 yen in a secret pocket in Mother’s wrapping cloth. Yoko entered an essay contest, won first place and received 10,000 yen. She was very resourceful, which helped her to survive. Maniac came into a racist town and had to learn to survive. He had to survive homelessness. Maniac became an orphan at age three, and then had to live with his aunt and uncle who disliked each other, but would not get a divorce. This was the reasoning for all the running and trying to find a new home. He was very independent, yet he did have some people to help him out.The major family who helped him was the Beales. They gave him a home, family, love, and an address, all the things he has always wanted. Another person who helped Maniac to survive was Grayson. He found Maniac unconscious, outside of the buffalo pen at Elmwood Park Zoo. If it wasn’t for Grayson, who knows what would have happened to Maniac. Also, the Pickwells gave Maniac dinner and were one of the only families in the West End that Maniac could go to, to show Mars Bar Thompson the best that the West End had to offer. Maniac also had to survive all the racism and prejudice in the town.He didn’t see or care about what color people were. Some people even thought he was blind. His thoughts were â€Å"He knew he should be feeling afraid of these East Enders, these so-called black people. But he wasn’t. It was himself he was afraid of, afraid of any trouble he might cause just by being there. † Many of the East Enders told him to go back on his side of the town but he did not listen to them. He also did not see that some of the people in the town did not like him, but in the end he shows them, that they are all the same, no matter what color, and brought both ends together.Since Maniac was an orphan, he mostly had to survive on his own. Both characters suffered a big loss in their lives, but with help and determination, they found hope. Yoko completed her journey to Japan survived going through a loss, and reunited with her brother Hideyo. Maniac found what he always wanted, a home and family that loves him for who he is and brought both sides of Two Mills together. No matter how hard life can be sometimes you need to be able to adapt, and do your best to survive.

Computer education Essay

Computer education is two sides of a coin, there are several advantages and disadvantages which are listed below: Advantages: 1. Information is available at the click of a button, the internet is very useful and gives a huge support to the teacher to enhance her curriculum 2. The students themselves can learn a lot about the topics taught in class through the internet 3. Children find the lessons interesting since teachers have access to a vast pool of information. 4. Children can submit homework etc via computer, thus saving of time 5. Saves a lot of stationery, paper wastage is minimal since students can submit their projects via computer. 6. Also, today everywhere a computer is used children become computer savvy and better prepared to face the world. Disadvantages: 1. Computer tends to make the children lazy, reason being that a computer is a one stop shop. Everything is available at a click of a button, they do not have to strive to collect information. 2. Children lose their power the think since just by putting in one word on the search engine a whole treasure of information opens up, everything is available without trying very hard, children lose their imagination power and ingenuity. 3. Children do not have to learn spellings, calculation, tables they become totally dependant on computers and their skills for memorising, application, quick thinking are not developed. 4. A computer is a very cold way of teaching, earlier live examples and objects were used which were far more exciting, we could touch, smell objects like earlier if a teacher wanted to teach about an orange a live orange was brought and shown, today everything is shown via power point presentations on screen which does not have the same effect on children, since a live thing is so much more exciting. 5. Children lose touch with the real world and live in a virtual world which is not good. 6. Children become loners, lose friends, since all the time they are stuck to the computers 7. They do not sleep on time since chatting, emailing,

Saving Someone’s Life As A Heroic Act

Saving someone’s life is always looked upon as a heroic. It is acceptable for society to ridicule us should we choose not to respond? Should society throw shame and guilt on us? If in the process of saving someone’s life we loose ours, we did a heroic act, but is that wise? Saving someone else life is a heroic act and deserve a lot of praise and respect. If one person tries to save the life of another person on the cost of his own life then this is a very noble act. Though in our society there are people of every thought and not everyone will appreciate this act, however, we should not see what people say about it. When one person is in very difficult situation that it can cost his life, then we should put our all efforts to save the life of a person. It is our moral responsibility as well as brotherhood. We must understand the situation while thinking that suppose if we would be in such a tough and difficult situation we would like someone to come and save us then it is of utmost importance that we should give our full support to such a person. The question that ‘whether we’ll loose our life in saving other person’s life? ’ remains controversial. As it is not necessary that we will loose ours but of course there are chances that we can loose our own life in an attempt to save other’s life. However, this is the main point of nobility to prefer others over our own self. This is the reason that it is said to be the heroic act. In saving other person’s life society may ridicule us because we took risk of our own life to save other person’s life. But we should always ignore what people say about this. We must not respond to the irritating remarks. Instead, society should always encourage these noble acts and must not blame or throw shame on others. The real essence of our life is to help out others in all possible circumstances. We must prefer and give value to others over our own-self. Hence, this is not the act of shame, but it is a dignified act and has a noble cause. It is not reasonable that society must ridicule us. In fact, ridiculing such a noble act is itself an act of disgrace. We must have enough courage to think of every individual as an important being. Such act also involves immediate thinking and taking decision to save other person from danger. If all society will turn to be more self-fish and refrain from saving others in time of danger then this is a dishonor. For example, if we see a car accident and if we see driver can be pulled out of the car before it goes on flames then we must immediately do it. Though it bears the risk that car will blow-off and anyone standing nearby will blow-off too, but refraining to help driver out will be a selfish act. The decision that whether we should risk our lives or whether we should let other person die is an important one. Nevertheless, the wisdom lies behind the fact that we must put our all efforts to save other person as we might seek when our own life will be in danger. Though it will involve taking risk of our own lives but still we should do our best to save others. This is the act of great generosity and nobility. A dying person always seeks help from others and wants others to save his life. This is our moral duty to save other person. The wisdom behind this act is that we must give preference to others over our own self and secondly we must help others in a way that we seek from others.

Object Relations Case Formulation

1. Identifying details Name: Katrina Katryn Age: 20 Gender: Female Marital status: Single Dependents: N/A Highest level of education: Matric Present occupation: Student (Psychology 1st year) Reason for referral: Self exploration, dealing with the past, improving interpersonal experiences. Referral source: Self-referred 2. Presenting problem She experiences considerable anxiety in interpersonal situations. In addition she has feelings of inadequacy, worthlessness and hopelessness. These difficulties lead to academic concerns and relational problems in her current situation.Her self-esteem is extremely low and she expressed that she hates doubting herself constantly. 3. History of presenting problem. She was sexually abused when she was between 6 and 9 years old. The rest of the time she was emotionally and physically abused. She has always felt inferior and had low self-esteem as long as she can remember. She was diagnosed with depression at age 15 and was put on medication. She canno t remember the name of the anti-depressants and did not remember the exact diagnoses. The feelings of hopelessness and her academic problems has started relatively recently according to her. 4.Past illnesses Psychiatric Mood disorder (She cannot remember the exact diagnoses. ) Medical Nothing significant Anti-depressants (unknown) Adaptive features and Strengths She is intelligent and ambitious. She has shown courage in confronting her father about the abuse and her decision to mend their relationship show courage. She seems to have insight into her difficulties and the processes that keep them alive. She seems to be willing to change and to explore these difficulties in depth. The fact that she removed herself from her deleterious environment in adolescences is indicative of her self-preservative abilities.She is currently in therapy on a self-referral which again points out these abilities. She has taken responsibility of protecting her siblings in the past and the present which i ndicate her compassion for others. She seems to trust me and it is likely that we will form a therapeutic alliance. 5. Personal history I. Birth and early development As far as Katrinais concerned she was a wanted and welcomed baby although the pregnancy was not planned. The pregnancy was normal at 40 weeks without any complications. She did not experience any serious illnesses and was not involved in any accidents.She reached all her developmental milestones within the average intervals. This thus indicates a normal developmental trajectory throughout infancy. Katrina’s socio-emotional history was significantly compromised by physical, emotional and sexual abuse. She had an extremely wounding relationship with her father who mistreated her and then after the mistreatment behaved alluring towards her. She mentioned this several times during most of our sessions. She also had an ambivalent relationship with her mother during this time.Her mother would at times be very loving, caring and supportive, yet at other times ignore her cries for help and her need for her affection. She did not enjoy any close knit friendships and it seems that the only person she shared a healthy relationship with was her grandmother. This relationship however was constantly under attack from her parents. She described herself as an obedient and shy girl who felt lonely and different. II. Childhood During her childhood Katrina lived in a very traumatic family situation full of psychological, sexual and physical abuse.She mentioned that everything from her childhood was connected to a bitter feeling. She lived with her mother, father and younger sister. Her father was unhappy, aggressive, insecure, but in her childhood she experienced him as a powerful and great authority. Her father was sexually abused as a child. He was very strict and required discipline from his two children, especially from Katrina. He set strict rules and if these were broken, he beat Katrina. If she oppose d him and objected to what he said, he hit her. When she was seven years old she was sexually molested by him on a regular basis.This continued until she was 9 years old and then her father stopped the sexual abuse. The emotional and physical abuse nevertheless continued throughout her childhood until she emancipated herself from her parents. Katrina’s socio-emotional history was significantly compromised by physical, emotional and sexual abuse and by the response of her mother during this time. On the one hand her mother was a warmer person than her father but she was subordinated to Katrina's father. Her mother's attitude towards her was very variable.Sometimes she was kind and interested in her, yet in cases when she did not like something she scolded, even hit her, which Katrina understood as the end of their relationship and love. But when her mother showed her compassion again, Katrina immediately forgave her. Her mother would at times be very loving, caring and support ive, yet at other times ignore her cries for help and her need for her affection. She did not enjoy any close knit friendships and it seems that the only person she shared a healthy relationship with was her grandmother.This relationship however was constantly under attack from her parents. She described herself as an obedient and shy girl who felt lonely and different. Katrina's parents often quarrelled with each other, although father was less often physically aggressive towards the mother than towards Katrina. Katrina blamed herself for being the cause of disagreements, e. g. when she wanted something, parents quarrelled, because her father prohibited it while her mother allowed. So Katrina preferred to suppress her wishes and remained quiet to avoid quarrels.According to her conclusion there would be peace at home if she was a good girl. Even at her young age, Katrina had to assume responsibility for her younger sister. She was like her shadow and prevented her (Katrina) from re laxing completely. As mentioned earlier, Katrina’s only solace in her childhood years was her maternal grandmother. According to Katrina she was the only person she felt completely safe with. When Katrina was 9 the sexual abuse from her father stopped, Katrina told her grandmother about it and the father admitted to it and entered rehabilitation.Her mother nevertheless stayed married to him for the meanwhile and Katrina was expected to share a life with him despite the abuses he committed against her. She expressed the wished to stay with her grandmother, who at that time stayed quite close to them. It was however her mother and father’s (I suspect her father’s) decision to move away. Katrina remembered feeling like her world fell into pieces when this event occurred. Katrina and her younger sister were informed that another sister is on the way during this time.Katrina remembered that she was a shy little girl who found it difficult to make new friends. She rem embered how difficult the move was for her leaving her friends and grandmother behind. III. Adolescence A stated previously although the sexual abused stopped her father continuously physically abused her until the age of 16 until she emancipated herself and went to live with her grandmother. Katrina explained that this was done despite protests from her mother and father. She went to visit her grandmother one holiday and never returned home.She felt extremely guilty leaving her 2 sisters behind but felt that this was the only way she could fled from the abuse of her father. She is not sure whether or not her father had abused her little sisters sexually but stated that he never physically abused them. Her parents divorced after this and her mother moved to Botswana where she still lives today. Katrina stayed with her Grandmother until she finished school. She did however not speak about her grandmother a lot in our sessions and only mentioned a few superficial accounts. She express ed that she was ordinary in high school and could not remember anything that stands out.She did however comment on the fact that she had a couple of boyfriends she referred to as â€Å"dominating idiots which she could not leave at will although she hated the relationships. She did have 1 or two close friendships. Her father remarried and Katrina has an ambivalent relationship with her stepmom who she describes as manipulating, controlling and mean. IV. Family data Katrina is the first born daughter of her biological parent’s first marriage. She has two younger sisters, X who is 16 and Y who is 13. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager. Her father remarried and has two boys with her stepmom.Her mother and biological sisters stays in Botswana. Katrina sees them at least twice a month when she and her boyfriend go to visit them. Her mother had a boyfriend but they broke up recently when she was in therapy with me. V. Cultural features Katrina is a 20 year old Caucasian woman of the Christian religion. She is English speaking. VI. Social condition She is currently staying in the residence at the University she studies. She seems well looked after. She comes from a typical suburban middleclass background. She is dating a 20 year old guy, who I met.Other than this she has not mentioned other friends. It seems that her boyfriend and her family is her only support system at the moment. 6. Personality Katrina is somewhat introverted and extremely dependent. She seems to be submissive and self-criticizing. She is shy, withdrawn and apologetic. Although she at times seemed optimistic it was clear that this is a mask for her underlying pessimism and distrust in people in general. 7. Mental status examination Katrina was orientated to time space and place. She did not exhibit delusions, hallucinations or cognitive disturbances.She was dressed in line with the latest trends. Her appearance did not seem extravagant yet it was nevertheless neat. Her affect was a bit blunted initially and she did seem a little blocked off. This however changed throughout our sessions. 8. Diagnosis Axis I. Major depressive disorder, Recurrent, Moderate Axis II. Dependent Personality Disorder Axis III. None Axis IV: Problems with primary support group (victim of physical and emotional abuse in childhood; Disruption of family due to parents' divorce). Problems related to the social environment (inadequate social support).Axis V GAF: 55 :Moderate symptoms and moderate difficulty in social and occupational functioning. Comments: At termination GAF = 80 Good improvements in self-evaluation, self-esteem and assertiveness. Good reality testing and a sense of independence in her relationship with her father. 9. Prognosis Currently it seems that Katrina has dealt with a large part of her experience with the sexual abuse. She has gained some insight on the reasons she is overly dependent on people to make decisions for her and why she feels like she will lose relati onships or love when she assert herself in interpersonal situations.Although she will benefit to long term therapy I feel that we have dealt with key aspects in our 7 months together. 10. Case formulation The so called schizoid ego splitting can be noticed in Katrina. In her early relationships Katrina did not have safe attachments. She lived through mistreatment and lack of support, the consequence of which is that children hide their feelings and relational needs. This stops or slows down the process of integration and the ego gets fragmented (Klein, 1987, in Little, 2001).This gives rise to the first degree of a split or withdrawal as described by Fairbairn (1952, in Little, 2001), where the ego splits into coping/every day self (central ego), which maintains the relation with the outer world, and the withdrawn/vulnerable self (libidinal ego), which hides itself. At an early stage of development Katrina could not display some parts of herself, like feelings of vulnerability, ange r, playfulness, her own interests, the part connected with relaxation and enjoyment, because for all these she was punished with physical violence and emotional rejection.She most probably hid and suppressed this part of herself and thus the withdrawn/vulnerable self-formed. Outwardly Katrina showed her coping/every day self, which listened to the parents, was good at school and at home, who did not object and had no interests of her own, while being active all the time. During the psychotherapy Katrina mentioned several times that she did not know at all who she was, that she did not know herself and that in interpersonal situations that provoked any form of anxiety she felt like she was falling to bits.She described herself as an abused person and that that is all she is and nothing else. This might be because till then she mostly defined herself through others and through those specific experiences. This particularly describes the process of splitting into both previously mention ed selves, where the authentic self (vulnerable self) hid, while Katrina identified herself with the coping/every day self, which was more social self and represented her adjustments to the wishes of other people around her, like her mother and father. Simultaneously the splitting of external objects, i. . people who were important for her, occurred. The coping/every day self has to maintain a connection with important objects, otherwise the child could not survive on his/her own. This gives the child a sense of security (Little, 2001), which represents a very important need for Katrina, as will be further described in the following section. For Katrina to be able to keep a tolerably good connection with her mother, she had to separate bad experiences and internalize them, which suppressed her withdrawn/vulnerable self even more.In this way the coping/every day self is connected with the idealized object (Little, 2001), which also holds true in Katrina's case. At the beginning of ps ychotherapy Katrina strongly idealized her mother; she spoke only of good experiences with her, not remembering unlikable experiences, since these were split off. Only with on-going therapy was she gradually able to integrate these experiences. She was also very loyal to her mother, defending her all the time, not being angry with her, which all shows a strong tie between the coping self and the idealized object.An example of this the following : Katrina has received various complaints from her sisters and has experienced it for herself that her mother has sex with her boyfriend in the house where everybody in the house can hear everything. According to Katrina these events are quite explicit and make everyone extremely anxious and uncomfortable. She however defended her mother by saying that her mother deserves the happiness and pleasure and that Katrina wants her mother to be happy. â€Å"We can look past this because my mom deserves to be happy†. On the other hand Katrina had isagreeable memories of her father from the very beginning. She mainly blamed him for her ugly childhood, so that Katrina probably formed a split also between both parents (father thus representing the bad object, and mother the good one). Th e vulnerable self is in relation to the exciting/disappointing object (Little, 2001) and this represents the developmentally needed relationship between her mother and Katrina. Their relationship was very variable, i. e. her mother was warm and kind to Katrina some of the time. Katrina hoped that mother would satisfy her needs, but was later disappointed and rejected by her.I n my judgment Katrina's mother had great difficulties in getting attuned to Katrina. This resulted in the exciting/disappointing object to be experienced as painful and dangerous by Katrina, which meant that she suppressed this aspect into her unconscious as the disappointment. The withdrawn self, splits further to create the internal saboteur (Fairbairn, 1952, in Litt le, 2001), which serves to keep the vulnerable self, hidden and repressed. The saboteur's function is to precede criticism of other important persons and thus regulates a child's behaviour (Erskine, 2007).It is that is to say easier to bear inner criticism than criticism by important other persons, because this would signify an end of a vital relationship. Katrina on several occasions mentioned that she was afraid to speak her mind in her significant relational circumstances because she feared that it would mean the end of that relationship. It is also too painful to incessantly repeat disappointments due to unmet needs; therefore the inner saboteur blocks these needs and even denies their existence. In Katrina the inner saboteur (anti-libidinal ego) formed, manifesting itself in Katrina's excessive self-criticism.As early as primary school she criticised herself for her looks, clothes and shoes, her behaviour and her inferior abilities, and she worried that other children might not like her. Through her inner saboteur Katrina constantly controlled herself, her vulnerable self, e. g. , she forced herself to be strong, not to show emotions and to be well-behaved. She kept convincing herself that she didn't lack anything. Therefore Katrina created an inner saboteur to be able to survive with a violent father and aloof mother.The inner saboteur is in relation with the rejecting/attacking object, which attacks the vulnerable self so that the latter would remain suppressed (Little, 2001). Rejecting/attacking object in Katrina was formed by aggressive reactions of her mother and father, the violence (physical, sexual and emotional blackmail), daily criticism, humiliations etc. This part contains numerous contents, so the inner saboteur is very powerful. In my judgement then her dependent personality developed as a result of the above dynamics and within her early relational experiences described above.Her dependent tendency creates significant anxiety and difficulty in her current relations with people, especially in her relationship with her father from which she cannot separate completely. 11. Management plans The first few sessions were focussed on normalizing her feelings of ambivalence in relationships and her over dependence on other people’s decisions. I also highlighted her strengths for her in our early session. For instance the fact that she took the initiative to emancipate her from her parents at age 16 and that she entered counselling out of her own accord showed resilience and strength and would be useful in our sessions.Key aspects to work on and therapeutic goals (a) Help Katrina to talk about the abuse; (b) validate the Katrina's experience and feelings; (d) help to correct misperceptions of blame and responsibility for the abuse; (e) encourage Katrina to formulate and reach goals for personal coping and healing The first phase focused on stabilization and mastery: building the therapeutic relationship; reduction and co ntainment of stress-related symptoms; establishing safety; and coping with current life problems. The second phase we dealt with integration of traumatic memories.The final phase was concerned with self-development, relational development, and adaptation to daily life. PHASE 1: THE THERAPEUTIC ALLIANCE Katrina was hesitant about returning to counselling. She was sceptical about her safety in a therapeutic environment as a result of her previous experience in therapy. I was aware that Katrina had been dealing well with the impact of the sexual abuse, but her adult desire for stable relationships and being able to assert herself in these relationships called for therapy from a mature perspective.I worked to establish positive rapport. Employing a person-centred approach throughout the first few sessions established a safe environment. Katrina chose the topics for the initial sessions. I used open-ended questions to avoid leading her, and helped her determine which difficulties were of primary importance. Treatment had to deal with both the underlying history of trauma and the current symptoms. Once rapport was firmly established, Katrina felt she was safe and her feelings were understood. PHASE 2: ADDRESSING PAST TRAUMA SYMPTOMSExamples of associated problems that need to be understood within a diagnostic and treatment approach for childhood abuse are a pattern of disrupted development, loss of self-sustaining identity. In this phase we explored her ambivalent feelings toward her parents and her ambivalent self-concept or self-experience. We also explored ways she has come to understand her childhood abuse. I was aware of transference and my own counter transference in our sessions. I interpreted the transference for her and we worked on integrating her identity.For example she felt like an abused person and it was so strongly related to her self-concept that it took over her life. We worked on redefining herself as someone who just happened to be the victim of abuse. Example of countertransference: I had a feeling that I wanted to give Katrina advice and wanted to give her solutions. I also had the feeling like I have to protect her in some way. I tried to meet Katrina’s need for security by setting clear limits of therapy, by concluding a therapeutic agreement with her, by informing her of the characteristics of the therapy and by telling her that there are no right and wrong answers.I accepted her in her wholeness, including her depressive, gloomier part and her history of abuse. I did not denounce her when she thought I would. All this contributed to creation of a sense of safety in the therapy; she felt that she could show herself such as she was, without causing my respect towards her to diminish or without my criticizing or rejecting her. All this helped her to be less reluctant to continue with psychotherapy. During that phase of therapy Katrina gradually expressed her anger better, particularly in her relation to father.It was a great achievement also that she expressed anger to her mother to whom she previously never set limits. Katrina found out that each expression of anger does not necessarily provoke conflict, violence and termination of a relationship. Katrina still finds it hard to experience anger with parents, as feelings of guilt and self-blame appear. What follows are examples of our sessions: Session 6 Katrina surprised me by bringing her boyfriend with into our session. It was noteworthy as the supposed reason for our sessions has nothing to do with him.She did not involve him in the session and he was more like an observer. I commented on his presence and asked if he will join us each time. They both said no. This is something I would like to explore further in our future sessions. We explored strategies to deal with her insecurity in interpersonal situations. I asked her to name 5 rules she lives by relating to her relations with people. Most of them seemed to point to a certain notion that there is condition upon if other people would accept her contributions to any interaction.She does this in our sessions as well, for example: she would say something like the following: I want to ask you something but I am afraid that you would think I am crazy and stupid for asking it. I know it’s not the right thing for me to be thinking of and I am afraid you will think less of me. I asked her to think of other relationships in which she engages with this thinking in. She identified that this is why she came for counselling. That she feels that if she is not perfect and always the way other people would like her to be they (everyone) would not accept her.She went as far that she fears that people would totally reject her and banish her from their lives permanently. I ended the session by giving her homework. She had to identify some of her rules that she feels is operating in her relationships with others. I then asked her to write them down and next to each one write down an alternative to this rule one that is in essence contradictory. . Session 7 We discussed her homework and I commented on her resourcefulness in coming up with good alternatives. It made her feel empowered. I thought to try and relate what we have discussed in our previous session to her bringing her boyfriend to therapy.I asked Katrina on the incidence of bringing her boyfriend with. She said that she felt safer when he is around. I hypothesised that our previous session made her feel vulnerable as we explored where her interpersonal mistrust and anxiety could’ve emerged and she related this to her relationships with both her parents. I asked if that she felt exposing these quite personal details at me she felt that I would reject her and related it to the rules that we discussed in session 4. It was in this session that she cried and really showed strong emotion when she spoke about her father and even more so her mother.A definite area to explore more!!!!! PHASE 3: Self-development, relational development, and adaptation to daily life. Session 6 Having not seen each other for over a month as a result of exams and the holiday and we did some catching up. She said that she felt better and feels that she can handle the interpersonal insecurities she felt better. In session 4 we spoke about being aware when these feelings, which we agreed to, call uncertainty, emerges. Then immediately challenging them with something like there are no conditions of people’s acceptance of me. They will accept me and my decisions and contributions for who I am and for what it is.She asked my advice on a decision she had to make after a disagreement with her father over the weekend about her 21st birthday party. I asked her if it would make a difference if I told her what to do. We went back and forth on this and I asked her if it is important for her for me to think that she is making the right decision. She said that she thinks that I am â€Å"clever† and educated and that if I agree with her she would know it is the right decision. I asked her if she always feel the necessity to check in with other people before she makes decisions.She said that she always feels uncertain, especially when it comes to her father as he is manipulating and knows how to make her feel guilty about her decisions. She said that this has always been the case. I told her that my advice would be irrelevant and asked her to give me the options and the outcomes of decisions regarding this situation. This opened up a space in which we could discuss her relationship with her father and her story about this relationship in depth. She told a story of her father being a loving and caring father if she was exactly the way he wanted her to be and did what he expected of her.If she disagreed with him he would tell her that she has to choose between his view points or she could pack her stuff and leave his home. This is still the case and it is a huge fear of Katri na that when she shows any disagreement with her father’s wishes he would completely reject her and shut her out of his life permanently. I asked her the following questions to confirm my hypothesis that she might fit into the dependent personality diagnosis. †¢Some people enjoy making decisions. Others prefer to have someone they trust guide them. Which do you prefer? Her response : I would prefer someone guiding me. Do you seek advice for everyday decisions? Her response : Always †¢Do you find yourself in situations where other people have made decisions about important areas in your life, e. g. what to wear, where to go out to, what to study ect.? Her response : All the time. †¢Is it hard for you to express a different opinion with someone you are close to? What do you think might happen if you did? Her response. Our relationship will end†¦. Ummm well maybe not end but they will leave me and I’ll have to beg them to stay. †¢Do you often pret end to agree with others even if you do not? Why?Do you think it could get you into trouble if you disagree? I always agree, especially with my mom and dad. I don’t want them to leave me because they think I am a rebel or something. †¢Do you often need help to get started on a project? No †¢Do you ever volunteer to do unpleasant things for others so they will take care of you when you need it? If I think about it I have done it often in the past. †¢Are you uncomfortable when you are alone? Are you afraid you will not be able to take care of yourself? I have to be around at least one other person. I am terrified of being alone. Have you found that you are desperate to get into another relationship right away when a close relationship ends? Even if the new relationship might not be the best person for you? I had boyfriends who abused me, just like my father did but I stayed with them for a long time. I have never been single not once since high school, since I st arted dating no matter how bad the relationship was before the new one I always quickly found a new boyfriend. The one that I have now is the best thing that ever happened to me. †¢Do you worry about important people in your life leaving you?I am very anxious that they will especially my boyfriend, my father and my mother After these sessions we began to set real life goals like for example. Asking her dad for coffee in a public place and talking to him about what concerns her. She was very scared to do this but she did it and disconfirmed her beliefs regarding him leaving her if she speaks her mind. He actually embraced it and their relationship has become more realistic and reciprocal. He now phones her and she could decide what she wanted to do with her 21st birth day party something he had took over from her.She has also confronted her mother about her concerns about the example her mother sets for her sisters when her boyfriend stays over and they get, well a little loud i n the bedroom. She spoke to her lecturers regarding her bad marks and attempted to rectify her poor academic performance. Although she still fails the subject she feels good about trying to do something about it and having the courage to face the lecturer. We discussed termination and I suggested that we see each other on a bi-weekly basis. I did not want her to become dependent on me and on the therapy.She then suggested that we terminate in our next session as she felt â€Å"ready to take on her responsibilities and face the music†. I suggested that we see each other for two more sessions just to reflect back on our journey and top identify the resources she is now able to utilise. 12. Issues for discussion Did I follow a suitable therapy journey with her. References Erskine, R. G. (2007). Unconscious process, transference and therapeutic awareness. Workshop on Institute IPSA. Ljubljana, Slovenia. Little, R. (2001). Schizoid Processes: Working with the defences of the withd rawn child ego state. Transactional Analysis Journal, 31 (1), 33-43.