Controversial issues in education - Is home education beneficial for Essay

Controversial issues in education - Is home education beneficial for children - Essay Example Home schooling allows the parents to determine the content of the syllabus based on the legal and social provision of a particular state. Various education bodies in the country monitor the conduct of both parents and children in order to ensure the children acquire adequate and appropriate education (Lampmt and Wuthnow, 2008). The concept of home schooling started in 1970s after some educators begun encouraging the parents to conduct tuition for their children at home. Educators and researchers such as Raymond Moore, Dorothy and John Holt led the home schooling movement (Sheng, 2013). The individuals conducted massive campaigns in various schools, media and households encouraging the parents to adopt the home schooling system in order to reduce the cost of education. In addition, they encouraged the parents to utilise home schooling as an avenue for enhancing their relationships with the children (Collom, 2002). The arguments of the researchers were based on the idea that the traditional public and private school environment interfered with the morality of the children. In addition, the scholars highlighted that children concentrate more under the supervision of their parents than under the teachers’ guidance. The idea of home schooling continues to grow significantly in United States because most parents prefer to tutor their children at home. Research indicates that most of the young generation parents prefer home schooling their children in order to enhance their morality and quality of education. In addition, other parents engage their children in home schooling system in order to uphold particular religious beliefs in the society (Mur, 2003). For example, Muslim families in United States educate their children at home in order to incorporate the religious concepts in their training (Aurini and Davies, 2005. Additionally, parents

The phenomenon of globalization

The phenomenon of globalization WAL-MARTS FOREIGN ENTRY IN GLOBAL MARKETS The phenomenon of globalization has determined many firms to spread out to overseas markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the firms strategies for new market entry and the major issues they need to deal with while entering into new foreign markets and Wal-Mart is utilized as an example. During this expansion some firms succeeded and some failed also. Wal-Marts entry in the foreign market and its operations in the China and U.K where it was successful are examined and it can be inferred that the cultural differences and the political influences play a vital role in selecting entry mode and setting operational strategies. Also, In order to understand the failure in German retail market amongst many, the following influential factors will be considered that Germany has different culture and consumer behaviour, oligopoly market environment, unfavorable legislation and influential labour union. Additionally this entry and exit of Wal-mart affected, inevitably, other countries and most of the competitors in many aspects. In the domestic market of U.S , Wal-Mart has a considerable success. Since Wal-Mart began international operations in Mexico in 1991, it has violently expanded foreign investments all over the world, including Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East. Wal-Mart expanded its international operations such as in United Kingdom, South America and China where its going highly successful , whereas in South Korea and German markets its operations were unsuccessful and it was forced to pull out of these markets mainly due to sustained losses in an incompatible culture and highly competitive market. However, Wal-mart failed to position itself when trying to penetrate the German retail market through replicating its US strategies. Initially, firms should have clear purpose for expanding overseas. Firms tend to go international for many different reasons, for example, firms may be interested in structuring a global brand image, the home market may be saturated, external initiatives to spread the product, or grabbing more market share etc. Prior to entering a particular foreign market, firms need to look upon the consumer purchasing power, market size, entry barriers, political stability and cultural and language differences. Culture plays an essential role in shaping whether a firm can last in a foreign market. . Consumers in different cultures may have different attitudes toward the same product and may value things differently. Therefore, international managers should take into account the cultural factor carefully in decision-making. Furthermore, Psychic distance also requires to be carefully addressed in the market selection stage. Psychic distance is defined as factors precluding or disturbing the flows of information between firms and markets in terms of differences in culture, language, political systems, levels of industrial development, etc (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). Theoretically firms have a tendency to penetrate psychically close market to moderate risk. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) is the worlds biggest American retail corporation in the world. Wal-Mart is a company which is renowned for its influence on US government. Wal-Mart has a friendly legislature and government policy in accordance to its company policies and method which indeed helps them to achieve goal such as restricting tariff protections, limiting port security, the elimination of the estate tax and obtaining lucrative subsidies. According to survey Wal-Mart has received 1.2 billion from US government in form of subsidies, grants and fund. Following are few examples which shows how US government helped Wal-Mart in US: More Than $1 Billion from tax-payer funded Subsidies. A May 2004 report analyzed how Wal-Mart received more than $1 billion from over 244 taxpayer-funded subsidies status, job training/recruiting funds, and general grants. Millions To broaden the Street to Its Headquarters. In 2005, a federal highway bill signed by President Bush of $35 million to broaden Eighth Street in Bentonville which goes to Wal-Marts corporate headquarters. Employing Teens in Unsafe Conditions. An agreement was signed by the Wal-Mart with the Departments Wage and Hours Division about future child labor conditions that the teens aged 16 and 17 are prohibited to participate in activities Negotiating for Weak Enforcement. An audit by the (OIG) of the child labor found an agreement between Wal-Mart and the Department of Labor which showed serious breakdowns in the WHD [Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division] process for developing, negotiating and approving such agreements. These resulted in the WHD entering into an agreement that gave substantial concessions to Wal-Mart. In the early 1990s, Wal-Mart was enforced to expand its business into the new foreign market due to critical U.S market conditions. Firstly, In the US it faced market saturation. Wal-Mart comes up with 200 new stores each year and this fast expansion results in the short distance between its old stores and new stores. Further, the retail price difference between Wal-Mart and its key competitors has been lessened so consumers had little incentive to go to Wal-Mart. Therefore, rather than summing up the market share from its competitors, the new stores in fact gained the market share from its old stores. Finally, the progress in demand was declining because of the decreasing family sizes in the U.S. (Kim 2008) . Taking into account, all these factors, the international expansion appears as a prior strategy for Wal-Mart to promote its business growth. Wal-Mart initiated to expand internationally in 1991 with the creation of a joint venture with Citra, S.A. de C.V, Mexicos largest retailer. According to the Wal-Mart they promote its growth internationally because We need to be the growth of Wal-Mart some day when the United States slows down (as cited in Molin, 2004). The company feels the international market as a alternate when there was limited growth in the US. After creating a joint venture in 1991, Wal-Mart came out as a large international player and within one and half decade it expanded its operations in globally in many countries. Wal-Mart did not use single strategy to enter in different countries. They decide on the basis of the business, competitive and economic environments that exist in. Wal-Mart made its presence in local markets by first considering the uniqueness of each market, and then by altering its business model to suit that market. After choosing the country like China, the management makes the decision after analyzing the environment that seemed to be positive in China. The China is a country with a history of tremendous level of 1.3 billion population. In China , the governments liberalization initiative and its open policy increased disposable income of consumers because of limited competition offered by similar business models its high constant economic growth and. The retail sale in China is $1.2 trillion in 2007 and the growth of market is expected $ 2.4 trillion by 2020, which indicates that there is a big opportunity for the company. These factors attracted the Wal-Mart company to research and make their presence in China. In 1996,Wal-Mart entered China and it grew slowly. Some people pointed out on its slow growth, but according to me, the strategy of slow growth helps the Company to examine the environment in a completely different culture with regard to US. Wal-Mart had taken up those merchandising and store designs that suits the Chinese consumer requirements best. The company also tries to adopt the local culture and sourced the products from local manufactures who are familiar with the local taste of the people. Company also met the government trade and business guidelines, by adopting such type of the environment it helped the company to grow and launch its expansion plans in China. Wal-Mart is also participating in CSR- corporate social responsibility such as by getting involved in the local community and the society by donating the funds and providing the kind support of $ 8 million over the past 13 years. All such awards achieved by the company itself show its achievement in China. Another issue that contributed to Wal-Marts success in China, was labour unionization. At first, Wal-Mart was reluctant to support the idea of unionization, but the constant efforts of All-China Federation of Trade Union led to formation of union amongst Wal-Mart employees, which has contributed positively to its success. Currently, Wal-Mart carries on 7,873 stores worldwide in 15 countries among which 3,615 stores in the foreign countries and remaining in the US. Moreover its international segment gives 24.6% of the companys total revenue in 2009 fiscal year. (Global Market Direct, 2009) However, even with such enhanced international sales, Wal-Marts international division is still faraway from its one-third of total sales goal, which it was essentially expected to achieve by 2005. (1999 Annual Report) If we analyse Wal-Marts international business, we will find out a mixed story. It had substantial success in Canada, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom, but it was unsuccessful to place itself in Germany and South Korea. Wal-Mart was leading retailer and employer in US for last decade. There were more than 5000 stores in US itself. This made easier for the firm in structuring a good brand image in spite of offering cheap products. Due to its knowledge, low pricing, strategic resources, geographical presence, strategic investment, product differentiation and managerial excellence, the firm constantly had an upper edge on its competitors and generally drives them out of the business. Further reasons for Wal-Marts success was its elite relations with bureaucrats and government. Government policies usually were in harmony to Wal-Mart business and strategies. Wal-Mart had many weaknesses and pit holes also despite of being worlds no. 1 company. Wal-Mart was always criticized for poor labour practices by labour unions. In US the average salary per hour is $ 13 where as in Wal-Mart the lowest salary rate is US$ 9 per hour. Employees have prolonged working hours around ten hours a day. Further Wal-Mart is charged for adopting the tax avoidance schemes. It has also build a great reputation for destroying small and medium business. Therefore its never greeted in any society. The main weakness of Wal-Mart has been its international operation. It struggled to create a great mark in international market especially in Germany unlike America. It has been losing money from the year it penetrated German market. It has also been found that in some cases those inferior quality products are being sold because of discounted price. As a result consumers who are not price elastic have a preference over other brands. It also bears the huge labour turnover, about 44% employees leave Wal-Mart every year according to the national survey. These were some major weakness that the firm desires to come up in near future for its survival and sustenance. A number of factors that resulted Wal-Marts failure in Germany are such as different corporate culture, political influence, stiff competition and inefficient management and marketing strategies. Firstly, David Wild CEO in 2004, believed that cultural differences between American and German consumers were considerable challenges to Wal-Mart. Debby CEO in 2006 concluded that German shoppers are accustomed to shop at small scale discount stores such as Aldi and Netto that provides a limited range of products with special offers each week and no customer service, unlike US customers. In addition to different corporate culture, the competition has become gradually more intense between Wal-Mart and domestic retailers. The price difference has so lessened that sometimes even Wal-Mart had a higher price than their competitors. Consequently, consumers had little incentive to visit Wal-Mart Germany because of no obvious price advantage. Some other factors that lead to Wal-Marts failure in Germany were, their strategy of acquiring the top competitor did not work, as the German government did its best to ensure the welfare of the domestic players. Also, due to wage restrictions, Wal-Mart could not practice wage bargaining, as it did back in U.S, this was a huge, uncommon expenditure for the company. Its American strategy of restricting employee freedom and forcing them to work extra hours, brought up problems of high labour turnover and a negative image as an employer. Wal-Mart failed to have an effective management at the top level. Its CEOs changed every year,this in an obvious way effected the companys performance. Wal-Mart constantly ignored the strictness of German laws, and was charged heavy penalties for doing so. One of the most challenging thing for Wal-Mart was capturing the market- share. As per German legislation it was illegal to sell products below cost,because of which Wal-Mart could never achieve the L ow price leader tag. It is impossible to smoothly run any organization, until there is co-operation between the employees and the employer. Wal-Mart faced a severe labour unrest,which hampered its brand-image. Kay Hafner,CEO of Wal-Mart reduced the wages to cut cost, this negatively influenced individual behaviour , as an anti-union decision. As suggested by Arndt and Knorr, a firm needs to understand the specifications when indulging in global expansion.Out of all the CEOs, only David Wild has been sensitive to cultural difference.He did bring about changes based on this understanding,which had some positive results,yet not profitable enough to impress investors for future investments. Moreover,as per German legislation their were some specific retail related laws,such as, limited legal working hours (80 hours/week) which were way less than the other European countries and had strict rules governing closure on Sundays and holidays. Wal-Mart repeatedly infringement German laws but were able to do away with it mainly because of global presence and influence on the government of US which played a major role in global politics. Some of incidences where the company broke few laws and was able to get away are summed up below:- unfair trade practices such as selling goods below the cost price was prohibited in Germany but Wal-Mart was found violating these laws as it randomly sold some product below cost. German law required a company to disclose it financial statements annually, Wal-Mart seldom did that and was spared without any fine or legal proceedings at number of occasions. Obligatory Deposit Regulationdings law stipulated the retailer to provide deposit-refund-system on few products like metal beverages, cans etc. But Wal-Mart never followed this law. Thus from the above incidences it can be concluded that Wal-Mart used its global influence to refrain from some of the German laws. However, because German culture is quite different from American culture and because of unfamiliarity with the legislation, it would be difficult for Wal-Mart to make marketing and promotion right. And in fact these difficulties had been proved in Wal-Mart Germany. Consequently, rather than choosing Germany as the gateway to Europe, virtually after two years of operating in Germany it had entered in U.K .Even though U.K is not in the Euro zone and its geographic location is less favorable than Germany, it has a similar culture and legal environment as U.S. which makes it easier to operate the companys business and strategies. It has considerable success in the UK market which is called by as a Wal-Mart-ready market[palmer 2005] .Therefore, the lessons learned from from Germany has proven useful for U.K. In the United Kingdom, Wal-Mart operates under its distinct organizational culture the Wal-Mart Way, where executives act as servants and employees are known as associates. Associates are empowered to adapt to local culture and are encouraged to try out new ideas. Consequently, associate cohesiveness is strengthened, and they are willing to work hard to achieve the best results. In addition, satisfying customer needs is always placed as main goal of the company. The company aims to offer British families the things they need at affordable prices, as well as providing superior customer service and convenience. Needless to say, Wal-Mart did face challenges initially even in U.K. The British Planning Policy(PPS6) has clearly limited the construction of huge retail outlets on the outskirts of a town, which was one of its most effective strategy in the U.S According to PPS6,the local governments were required to do so until there was a call for .Wal-Mart responded to this situation by protesting the restrictive policies to the top government officials. Eventually, Wal-Mart acquired an existing retail chain ASDA, and this proved to be fruitful as it served as the best strategic fit between the companies. In the UK, ASDA was the only operator with a consistent non-food offer and Wal-Marts organisational culture had already incorporated into ASDAs management principles before the acquisition taken place. Based on the above examination of Wal-Mart, it can be concluded that Wal-Mart possessed a great influence on the US government and it used its great influence to get various tax reliefs, subsidies etc and when it entered other countries like UK, China and Germany etc, it followed the same policy to influence the government and capitalize on these relationships. Besides that there were few incidences in which the US government helped Wal-Mart in its international operations and having good relations with the foreign government which brings about the companies involvement in global politics, which is the essence of the report. However,while expanding globally Wal-Mart besides carrying all these good relationships still had to confront with the cultural, political and the other economic factors when it entered in the foreign markets because Wal-Mart to be successful only transports its domestic policy to global markets. No such one strategy or model is applicable which is appropriatefor all the markets. Consequently ,Wal-Marts US model cant be consistently applied in other countries, even in UK whose culture is very alike to that of the US. Hence, adaptation to local culture and familiarity with its legislations is a crucial step for Wal-Mart or any firm while entering to the global markets. Therefore, Firms should always make cultural and political considerations as a part of strategic planning, and locating activities in countries that possess these attributes necessary for competing in these activities of foreign entry. REFERENCES IGO Retail Analysis. (2009). Company Summary-Introduction: Wal-Mart. [Online] Available from: http://www.igd.com/analysis/channel/profile_detail.asp?channelid=1channelitemid=27profileid=1541 [Accessed:2 November 2009] Buckley, J. Peter and Ghauri, N. Pervez (1999), The Internationalization of the firm: A Reader, 2nd Edition. London: International Thompson Business Press. Johanson, Jan and Finn Wiedersheim-Paul (1975), The Internationalization of the Firm: Four Swedish Case Studies, Journal of Management Studies, October, pp. 305-22. Johanson, J. and Vahlne Jan-Erik (1977), The Internationalization Process of the Firm- A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 8, Issue. 1, pp. 23-32 John Robin, Cox Howard, Grazia Letto-Gilles, Grimwade Nigel, Allen Michael, Finn Edward (2002), Global Business strategy. Thomson Osland, E. Gregory, Charles, R. Charles, and Zuo Shaoming (2001), Selecting international modes of entry and expansion, Marketing Intelligence Planning Journal, Vol.19, Issue 3, pp. 153-161. Ricker (2007) Internationalization Theory, http://www.studentbibliotek.se/doku.php/internationalization_theory Problems in international market, patiporn kitlertphiroj, University college of denver) Landler, M. and Barbaro, M., (2006). Wal-Mart finds that its formula doesnt fit every culture. The New York Times, August2.2.pp.1-3[online] Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/business/worldbusiness/02walmart.html?_r=1 Wal-Mart (n.d.): 3 Basic Belief Value,[online] Available from: http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/321.aspx [Assessed: 25 October 2009] Eurofood (1999), Wal-Mart buys Asda in UK retail shock, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DQA/is_1999_June_17/ai_55041044/ Fernie, J., Arnold, S. (2002), Wal-Mart in Europe: prospects for Germany, the UK and France, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 30, Issue.2, pp.92-102. Knorr, A. And Arndt, A. (2003), Why did Wal-Mart dail in Germany, available at: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pdf/w024.pdf(accessed November 3, 2009). Pioch, E., Gerhard, U., Fernie, J. and Arnold, S. J. (2009), Consumer acceptance and market success: Wal-Mart in the UK and Germany, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Volume 37 Number 4, pp. 205-225. IGD Analysis (2005): Chinese Wal-Mart chant gets louder. [online] Available from http://www.igd.com/analysis/news/index.asp?nid=2094 [Accessed online: 2 November 2009] Christopherson, S. (2007). Barrier to US style lean retailing: the case of Wal-Mart failure in Germany. Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 4, No.7, pp.1-19 http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/secret_meeting_details_confirmed_wa_mart_lobbied_uk_government/ http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4737/ http://joeg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/7/4/451 http://walmartwatch.com/issues/political_influence/ http://www.examiner.com/x-21521-Huntington-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m11d28-Wal-Mart-does-again-this-time-in-Canada (http://www.themanagementor.com/kuniverse/kmailers_universe/mktg_kmailers/wal-mart.htm) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart) http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/WalMart-Stores-Inc-html)

Ecstasy and the Youth :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rave as a Post- Modern Phenomena is continuing to increase is size. Every year more teenagers discover the potential of this way to have fun. They suddenly feel part of something, which they enjoy. However, the rave phenomena primarily depended of taking the drugs. Unfortunately, like any other culture, or cult hippies is self-stupefying. This means that the ignorance of the Ravers maintains as the existence of Raves. Those who become part of such drug taking culture, the problem often intensified, due to the lack of sport with in the raving community, who are still having too much fun. This is made worse because, there is also a lack of support in the community for the victims of recreational drug abuse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rave culture is highly attractive to the youth audience in general, regardless of class or ethnic background. Raves are non-elitist, and are primarily for the working class. This makes Raves quit different from all other postmodern sub-cultures. The legalization of a Rave has not prevented the illegal taking of the drugs. This means that there are a lot of young people indulging in Rave culture and recreational drug taking every weekend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rave has provided an environment where drugs like ecstasy are socially acceptable. Rave like other cult is self-stupefying and refuses to question the taking of the drugs affecting its continual and successful existence. â€Å"Recreational drug users often see only benefits only from drug use and at this stage will have control over the drug taking, despite using drug on regular basis. However recreational drug use does not mean problem free drug use. For this reason it is vital to raise awareness about some of the known effects of the drug use. Both within the raving community and the general public, after all the young Ravers of today a whole generation, who will ultimately affect the future of the country?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many young people feel Ecstasy allows them to stay in control unlike alcohol. In an article by Sheila Henderson she particularly emphasis’s the attraction of Ecstasy and the E-culture for young women. She suggests that women felt that being in an environment where every one was on Ecstasy, rather than say alcohol, freed from unwanted sexual attention from men. She state, â€Å"Instead of being tied to a boyfriend, having to stick close to friends, feeling self-conscious about appearance or dace style or intimidated by attention from men, the young women occupied this social space with confidence, circulating and meeting new people independently.

Most prized possesion Essay

Out of all the material items I possess, I would have to call my first car my one true prized possession. Veronica, as I often refer to her is rusty black and has more than a few bruises. Pretty much a replica of the stereotypical teenager’s first car. Possessions like these often are seen as junk to the rest of the world, but in one person’s heart it remains an invaluable treasure. For myself, I was lucky enough to find that one hidden gem in a 1998 Ford Contour. In my eyes it will be forever priceless because it is not the exterior value of the car that matters, but the long road of experience it has carried me on. My car has taught me more than I expected in such a short time, but above all it has given me memories, a feeling of responsibility, and taught me that hard work pays off. As with most material items, certain memories tend to latch onto the object and are able to transport one back to a better time and place just by looking at it. Even though it is only a year old (at least in my possession), it seems as if it already carries a lifetime of memories. It treated me well through a timeless summer, the final summer before college becomes a true reality. Car rides filled with music pulsing, friends laughing, and road trips taken will never be forgotten. It has seen its share of sandy beaches and bright blues skies, as well as torrential downpours and yet has never failed me once. If I ever needed to get away from my sometimes chaotic and frustrating household, the car has allowed me to finally have some form of escape after eighteen long years. So this car has quite literally been with me through everything in this past year, and I will always remember it for the freedom it has granted me for the first time in my life. It even holds promises of even better memories in the future. I can almost guarantee things are going to get hectic at times and circumstances are going to change more than once, but through it all my car will remain the one constant. The tangible mass that is the car is enough to remind me of all I went through to finally get to this point in my life. This fact is what makes my car so special, because no price tag can be put on an unforgettable memory. The newfound responsibility that this car has given me also is what makes it  invaluable. Owning something monumental like a vehicle comes with a certain sense of pride and self-accomplishment, but that same feeling can be taken away in an instant if you do not act responsibly. The freedoms that come with a car unfortunately do not come without their restrictions. There are state laws, parking rules, and probably most important, the parental rules. If these limitations are not taken seriously, many young drivers will find that their feeling of independence is short lived, myself included. I have learned that a great deal of hard work and effort can all be a waste of time if you don’t remain responsible after you have reached your goal. One must become independent and own up to their actions, whether good or bad. This new characteristic of responsibility will carry on to all other aspects of my life and I can thank my experience as a car owner for that. Finally, my car has taught me a valuable lesson of dedication that I will never forget. Never before had I worked so hard to get something that I wanted. Without help from my parents to pay for a car, I spent months and months of job hours busing tables to pay for something I could call my own. Two thousand five hundred dollars later, for the first time in my life I have something that is 100% mine. This feeling of pride and ownership is something I truly value, a feeling I would have never experienced without the vehicle. This over year-long process of saving money and doing hard, manual labor has taught me a lesson that has always seemed abstract up to this point in my life. The car is now tangible proof to me that hard work eventually does pay off and has its rewards if you stay dedicated. It is this lesson that will always stick with my car and with myself and is what makes it one of my prized possessions. In all reality, I know I won’t have the same car for the rest of my life. Eventually I will move on to bigger and better things, as all people seem to do in this new world, and my car will become just another piece of junk on the side of the road. This doesn’t mean the memories and lessons the car has given me will become any less important. They will forever remain special in my mind and even though the car won’t be there to remind me of them, I will take these lessons with me wherever I go.

Analysis of Special Economic Zones in India Essay

* INTRODUCTION: SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market oriented than a country’s typical or national laws. â€Å"Nationwide† laws may be suspended inside a special economic zone. The category ‘SEZ’ covers the following: * free trade zones (FTZ), * export processing Zones (EPZ) * free Zones (FZ) * industrial parks or industrial estates (IE) * free ports * free economic zones * urban enterprise zones Usually the goal of a structure is to increase foreign direct investment by foreign investors, typically an international business or a multinational corporation (MNC), development of infrastructure and to increase the employment. India was one of the first countries in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. In order to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000. * HISTORY: The world first known instance of SEZ have been found in an industrial park set up in Puerto Rico in 1947. In the 1960s, Ireland and Taiwan followed suit, but in the 1980s China made the SEZs gain global currency with its largest SEZ being the metropolis of Shenzhen.From 1965 onwards, India experimented with the concept of such units in the form of Export Processing Zones (EPZ). But a revolution came in 2000, when Murlisone Maran, then Commerce Minister, made a tour to the southern provinces of China. After returning from the visit, he incorporated the SEZs into the Exim Policy of India. Five year later, SEZ Act (2005) was also introduced and in 2006 SEZ Rules were formulated. The SEZ Act, 2005, was an important bill to be passed by the Government of India in order to instill confidence in investors and signal the Government’s commitment to a stable SEZ policy regime and with a view to impart stability to the SEZ regime thereby generating greater economic activity and employme nt through their establishment, a comprehensive draft SEZ Bill prepared after extensive discussions with the stakeholders. A number of meetings were held in various parts of the country both by the Minister for Commerce and Industry as well as senior officials for this purpose. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005. The draft SEZ Rules were widely discussed and put on the website of the Department of Commerce offering suggestions/comments. Around 800 suggestions were received on the draft rules. After extensive consultations, the SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10 February 2006, providing for drastic simplification of procedures and for single window clearance on matters relating to central as well as state governments. The remaining part of India, not covered by the SEZ Rules, is known as the Domestic tariff area. Exports from Indian SEZ totalled 2.2 Trillion in 2009-10 fiscal. It grew by a stupendous 43% to reach 3.16 Trillion in 2010-11 fiscal. Indian SEZs have created over 840,000 jobs as of 2010-11. Within SEZs, a units may be set-up for the manufacture of goods and other activities including processing, assembling, trading, repairing, reconditioning, making of gold/silver, platinum jewellery etc. As per law, SEZ units are deemed to be outside the customs territory of India. Goods and services coming into SEZs from the domestic tariff area or DTA are treated as exports from India and goods and services rendered from the SEZ to the DTA are treated as imports into India. Currently, there are about 143 SEZs (as of June 2012) operating throughout India[5] and an additional 634 SEZs (as of June 2012) that have been formally/principally approved by the Government of India [6]: State/Union Territory| Number of operational Special Economic Zones (June 2012) * BENEFITS OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: * Providing state-of-the-art infrastructure. * Access to a large well-trained and skilled work force * Incentives which include 100% income tax exemption for a period of five years and an additional 50% tax exemption for two years thereafter. * 100% FDI is also provided in the manufacturing sector. * Exemption from industrial licensing requirements and no import license requirements is also given to the SEZ units. Attractive incentive and great investment opportunities have attractive many business tycoons to step into the SEZ all over the country. The first step was taken by the Mahindra World City at Chennai. The SEZ was promoted by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and later on by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd holds 89% equity in the same. Later on, Reliance Industries also signed a pact with the Haryana government for setting up of the Rs. 25,000 crore multi products SEZ near Gurgaon in 2006. * OBLIGATIONS UNDER SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: It is compulsory for every SEZ units in India to achieve positive net foreign exchange earning as per the formula given in paragraph Appendix 14-II (para 12.1) of Handbook of Procedures, Vol.1. For this particular purpose, a legal undertaking is required which has to be executed by a separate unit of the Development Commissioner. The is responsible for providing periodic reports to the Development Commissioner and Zone Customs as provided in Appendix 14-I F of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.1 * ROLE OF STATE GOVERNMENT IN ESTABLISHMENT OF SEZ UNITS: State Governments play a very active role to play in the establishment of SEZ unit. Any proposal for setting up of SEZ unit in the Private / Joint / State Sector is routed through the concerned State government who in turn forwards the same to the Department of Commerce with its recommendations for consideration. Before recommending any proposals to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Department of Commerce), the States Government properly checks all the necessary inputs such as water, electricity, etc required for the establishment of SEZ units. The State Government has to forward the proposal with its recommendation within 45 days from the date of receipt of such proposal to the Board of Approval. The applicant also has the option to submit the proposal directly to the Board of Approval. Representative of the State Government. * ADVANTAGES: * Allowed to carry forward losses. * No license required for import made under SEZ units. * Duty free import or domestic procurement of goods for setting up of the SEZ units. * Goods imported/procured locally are duty free and could be utilized over the approval period of 5 years. * Exemption from customs duty on import of capital goods, raw materials, consumables, spares, etc. * Exemption from Central Excise duty on the procurement of capital goods, raw materials, and consumable spares, etc. from the domestic market. * Exemption from payment of Central Sales Tax on the sale or purchase of goods, provided that, the goods are meant for undertaking authorized operations. * Exemption from payment of Service Tax. * The sale of goods or merchandise that is manufactured outside the SEZ (i.e., in DTA) and which is purchased by the Unit (situated in the SEZ) is eligible for deduction and such sale would be deemed to be exports. * No routine examination by Customs officials of export and import cargo. * Setting up Off-shore Banking Units (OBU) allowed in SEZs. * OBU’s allowed 100% income tax exemption on profit earned for three years and 50 % for next two years. * Since SEZ units are considered as ‘public utility services’, no strikes would be allowed in such companies without giving the employer 6 weeks prior notice in addition to the other conditions mentioned in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. * The Government has exempted SEZ Units from the payment of stamp duty and registration fees on the lease/license of plots. * External Commercial Borrowings up to $ 500 million a year allowed without any maturity restrictions. * DISADVANTAGES: * Revenue losses because of the various tax exemptions and incentives. * Many traders are interested in SEZ, so that they can acquire at cheap rates and create a land bank for themselves. * Terms and conditions: Only units approved under SEZ scheme would be permitted to be located in SEZ. 1. The SEZ units shall abide by local laws, rules, regulations or laws in regard to area planning, sewerage disposal, pollution control and the like. They shall also comply with industrial and labor laws as may be locally applicable. 2. Such SEZ shall make security arrangements to fulfill all the requirements of the laws, rules and procedures applicable to such SEZ. 3. The SEZ should have a minimum area of 1000 hectares and at least 35 % of the area is to be earmarked for developing industrial area for setting up of processing units. 4. Minimum area of 1000 hectares will not be applicable to product specific and port/airport based SEZs.. * FUNCTIONING/ SET UP OF SEZ: The functioning of SEZs is governed by a three-tier administrative set-up. The Board of Approval is the apex body and is headed by the Secretary, Department of Commerce. The Approval Committee at the Zone level deals with approval of units in the SEZs and other related issues. * Board of Approval The Board of Approval has been constituted by the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred under the SEZ Act. All the major decisions are taken by the Board of Approval. The Board of Approval has 19 Members * Unit Approval Committee All the request for setting up of units in the SEZ is approved at the Zone level by the Approval Committee consisting of Development Commissioner after a discussion with the Customs Authorities and representatives of State Government. All post approval clearances in matters related to importer-exporter code number, change in the name of the company or implementing agency; broad banding diversification, etc. are given at the zonal level by the Development Commissioner. A separate units is also there who monitor the performance of the SEZ units on a periodic basis and is governed by the Approval Committee. SEZ units are liable for penal action under the provision of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, in case of any violation in the rules formulated by the Approval Committee. * Development Commissioner SEZs / EOUs, each zone are headed by a Development Commissioner, who is also heading the Unit Approval Committee. Development Commissioner is the nodal officer for SEZs and help in resolution of problem, if any, faced by the units or developer. In all SEZ’s, the statutory functions are controlled by the Government while the rest of the operations are privatized. * DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FREE TRADE ZONES(FTZ) AND SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES(SEZ): A free trade zone (FTZ) , also called foreign-trade zone, formerly free port is an area within which goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and re exported without the intervention of the customs authorities. Only when the goods are moved to consumers within the country in which the zone is located do they become subject to the prevailing customs duties. Free-trade zones are organized around major seaports, international airports, and national frontiers—areas with many geographic advantages for trade. . The world’s first Free Trade Zone was established in Shannon, County Clare, and Shannon Free Zone.[3] This was an attempt by the Irish Government to promote employment within a rural area, make use of a small regional airport and generate revenue for the Irish economy. It was hugely successful, and is still in operation today. The number of worldwide free-trade zones proliferated in the late 20th century A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country’s typical or national laws. â€Å"Nationwide† laws may be suspended inside a special economic zone. PROMINENT EXPORT PROCESSING ZONES IN INDIA: * Kandla Free Trade Zone (KAFTZ), Kandla, Gujarat * Santa Cruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), S. Cruz, Maharashtra * Cochin Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), Cochin, Kerala * Falta Export Processing Zone (FEPZ), Falta,West Bengal * Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), Madras, Tamil Nadu * Noida Export Processing Zone (NEPZ), Noida, Uttar Pradesh * Visakhapatnam Export Processing Zone (VEPZ), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh * While the Santa Cruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) is meant exclusively for the exports of electronics and gems and jewelry, all other zones are multi-product zones. 100% foreign equity is welcome in EOUs and EPZs * INDUSTRIAL PARKS: Industrial parks are usually located on the edges of, or outside the main residential area of a city, and normally provided with good transportation access, including road and rail.[1] One such example would be the large number of Industrial Estates located along The River Thames in The Thames Gateway area of London. Industrial parks are usually located close to transport facilities, especially where more than one transport modes coincide: highways, railroads, airports, and ports. This idea of setting land aside through this type of zoning is based on several concepts: * To be able to concentrate dedicated infrastructure in a delimited area to reduce the per-business expense of that infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes roadways, railroad sidings, ports, high-power electric supplies (often including three-phase power), high-end communications cables, large-volume water supplies, and high-volume gas lines. * To be able to attract new business by providing an integrated infrastructure in one location. * Eligibility of Industrial Parks for benefits[2][3] * To set aside industrial uses from urban areas to try to reduce the environmental and social impact of the industrial uses. * To provide for localized environmental controls that are specific to the needs of an industrial area. * CRITICISM: Different industrial parks fulfill these criteria to differing degrees. Many small communities have established industrial parks with only access to a nearby highway, and with only the basic utilities and roadways. Public transportation options may be limited or non-existent. There may be few or no special environmental safeguards. * FREE ZONES: Free Zone are a geographically distinguished areas, possess a particular laws and regulation varies than those applied within the state. Free zone investors enjoy the particular incentives and privileges associated to these areas, such as: * Freedom to initiate any legal form for the activity * The investor has the freedom to determine prices of his services or products and the profit margin he desires. * The investor enjoys the exemption of Capital assets assets, productions supplies and imports and exports from customs, sales or any type of taxes or fees.

Illusion in the tempest Essays

Illusion in the tempest Essays Illusion in the tempest Paper Illusion in the tempest Paper Essay Topic: The Tempest Illusion is a key theme in the play as it is integral to Shakespeare’s fascination with and discussion of what is real and what is illusion, showcased in many scenes of the play. It is also as far as we know, Prospero’s one and ultimate power.   The dramatic opening scene of the play which is the basis of its entire plot is later revealed to be a complete illusion created by Prospero’s main spirit, Ariel, on his orders.   Prospero throughout the play has a plan to try to regain his rightful position of Duke of Milan and reset the hierarchy which is immediately broken in this first scene. Illusion is his key weapon in implementing this ‘plan’. All of the three subplots (Prospero, Miranda and Ferdinand, Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban and Sebastian, Alonso and Antonio) are resolved with Prospero’s use of illusion. This appears in the form of the banquet and the harpy for Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian, in the form of a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda and in the form of the spirit dogs chasing Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo into a swamp. In all of these situations Prospero uses his spirits to create a spectacle to try to reinforce the point that he is making. The three illusions reflect parables, the first warning against gluttony, the second warning against sex before marriage, â€Å"Whose vows are that no bed-right shall be paid // Till Hymen’s torch be lighted† (Act 4 Scene 1) and the third parable warning against theft.   Ariel’s illusion of music is pivotal to drawing characters in and fulfilling Prospero’s plans for them. Caliban, Trinculo and Prospero are lead through â€Å"Toothed briars, sharp furzes, prickling gorse, and thorns†. Here the illusion almost seems real as they cannot help but follow something non-existent. Illusion on the island only seems to affect those who Prospero wants it to, enforcing his position as controller. For example, Gonzalo (a kind courtier) sees prosperous greenery, whereas Antonio and Sebastian (treacherous plotters) see a desolate and useless island.   Caliban seems the only character immune to Prospero’s illusions. He doesn’t care for the glitzy clothes whereas Stephano and Trinculo are instantly attracted to the idea of power obtained through the robes. This shows Prospero is regaining his power through his deceptive power. This is very ironic as Caliban is the monster and stupid being, but he can see through the deception.   The sunken ship illusion is the most important illusion in the play, as it sets the tone for the relationships and emotions throughout the play. Alonso wouldn’t be so distraught if he found out the illusion of the shipwreck was fake and that his son had not died. Sebastian and Antonio may not have decided to plot to kill Alonso if they knew Ferdinand was still alive. The Shipwreck is the illusion that sets the ball rolling for the themes and conspiracies in the play. Despite the importance of Prospero’s illusions, he accepts their limitations as only illusions that influence the mind rather than body. He has to force Caliban to collect him wood, â€Å"He does make our fire, // Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices† and he states that he cannot influence the attraction between Miranda and Ferdinand. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE The Tempest section.

Early Civilizations of the Non essays

Early Civilizations of the Non essays Civilization: A civilization has advanced and complex structures of the four components that define a culture being social, economic, political, and creative threads. A civilization has a natural environmental advantage; a civilization has nothing to do with the people in the group. A civilization has an environmental advantage leading to surplus and experimentation. The three aspects f these theories are environmental advantages, surplus, and experiments leading to new discoveries. A civilization is a complex culture, which is a small minority of 15 out of every hundred of groups that have roamed the earth. Smith's theory of civilization is the "Lucky bastards who stumble upon environmental advantages who can then take risks." A group of people who have evolved complex, political, economic, social, and intellectual activities because they enjoy the benefits of an unusual advantage in an environment. An enviernmental advantage is what causes a civilization to be complex. Because they have an environmental advantage they will soon have a surplus. Which provides them with the opportunity to take risks and experiment providing them with knowledge. Hallmarks of an actual civilization are a surplus, literacy, and sedimentary. A surplus is goods, which is material possessions food, clothes, weapons, and raw materials, Labor being specialization in production of some kind? Also time leading to intellectual breakthroughs. Types of environmental advantages are rich land, and cross roads of trade. Egypt - An environmental advantage allows a culture to advance to a civilization. Groups that live in an area that have an environmental advantage will obtain a surplus. A surplus is when you have an extra amount of time, goods, and labor. Having these will allow the Egyptians to engage in risk taking experiments, which lead them to progress and change. The Egyptians environmental advantage was the Nile River. In March, and Apr...

Marshal vs. Martial

Marshal vs. Martial Marshal vs. Martial Marshal vs. Martial By Mark Nichol Marshal and martial are a pair of words that, perhaps aided by similar associations, are often confused. Marshal The first image that marshal provokes in one’s mind, at least for Americans, is likely a lawman of the Old West, but the word’s origin is hundreds of years older. The term comes from a Germanic compound meaning â€Å"horse servant.† (The first word in the compound shares its etymology with mare, the word for a female horse.) From this humble beginning, the word was later associated with the leader of a medieval nobleman’s cavalry and later became a military rank equivalent to general. (It is this meaning that speakers of British English are more familiar with, because this military rank persists in the United Kingdom and in countries with military traditions inspired by that country.) It was then adapted to civilian usage as a law-enforcement position, so that now, in addition to your run-of-the-mill federal marshals, there are fire marshals, who enforce fire-prevention ordinances, and air marshals informally also referred to as sky marshals who provide security on commercial passenger airplanes. (The latter terms became much more ubiquitous after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when their numbers were increased significantly.) â€Å"Air marshal† is also a high military rank in certain air forces. In addition, the equivalent of a police chief in a large military unit is known as a provost marshal; the first word in that title, borrowed from French (and originally from Latin), is pronounced â€Å"PRO-vo.† Marshal is also sometimes used to identify a person in charge of a ceremonial event, though it appears more often modified to â€Å"grand marshal,† indicating the honorary leader of a parade. It is also a verb that means â€Å"to lead† or â€Å"to organize,† as in â€Å"The general marshaled his forces.† (Note that the preferred spelling for the past tense and other inflections is with a single l.) Marshal, influenced by the occupational surname Marshall (from an obsolete spelling), is often incorrectly spelled like the name. Martial Like marshal, martial has a belligerent background: It stems from the Latin word martialis, meaning â€Å"pertaining to Mars.† That Roman god, borrowed from the ancient Greeks’ similar god Ares (not to be confused with name of the Zodiac sign Aries, from the Latin word for ram), was the god of war, though he also had protective aspects lacking in his blindly bellicose Greek counterpart and was also an agricultural god. (He also gave his name to the third month of the year, the beginning of the season for both planting and campaigning.) Martial is used in the phrase â€Å"martial arts,† referring to disciplines for hand-to-hand combat ranging from Brazil’s capoeira to Israel’s krav maga to more familiar Asian practices such as karate and judo. It also modifies nouns in terms such as â€Å"martial law,† referring to extreme measures put in place by a government in times of national emergency, and court-martial (hyphenated as a holdover from its French origins), which refers to a military trial or a court in which a panel of military personnel presides over such proceedings. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should KnowWhat to Do When Words Appear Twice in a Row10 Tips About How to Write a Caption

Beowulf and J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings Essay

Beowulf and J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings - Essay Example However, a deeper study on the two texts also exposes further the similarities in the characters and central themes of the stories. For one, the stories do not just depict collective struggles between good and evil but also the more complicated battle within the self, the internal contradictions within an individual. This may even be the pattern that is the most common of both Beowulf and Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s first book, evil is presented as an external force and it takes solid determination from the side of the hero to battle this through physical means. Frodo is presented as just an innocent Hobbit who does not have any innate tendency to do evil and who treats evil instead as an external enemy just like other characters in Middle Earth. For the reader, identifying good and evil has been made simple through such a presentation, one that formulates the concept that battling evil is easy because it is an enemy that can be seen and detached from the self. It became conv enient for one mark Gandalf as good and Sauron as evil in Lord of the Rings just Beowulf is and Grendel respectively in Beowulf. However, in the succeeding books in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Tolkien began to describe more the internal struggles within. The typical good hero is presented as not really safe from temptations or from the urge to do evil too. The same thing happened in Beowulf when the lead character also experienced the contradictions between good and evil from within. In Tolkien’s book, even the innocent Frodo undergoes the difficulties of dealing the evil side of him that emerged when a ring was in his hand. At this point, the effect of both literary works on the readers is essentially the same. The reader realizes that battling evil and standing up for good is not that simple because evil can also arise from within, from one person’s mind and heart. Apparently, there seems to be a common theme between Tolkien’s story and Beowulf. However , it could not be discerned if the latter’s author really had this in mind, considering that Lord of the Rings is a reflection of Tolkien’s interpretation of Beowulf. It could be said that Tolkien stole the central theme of Beowulf in order to enhance his own literary creation. However, one may question how he actually wrote about Gollum’s character quite close to that of Grendel in Beowulf. Grendel is Cain’s descendant and, therefore, originated from humans despite his powers and great evil. Even Beowulf, whose strength is also remarkable, comes from the human race and therefore shares a common lineage with Grendel. This is not much different from the case of Lord of the Rings antagonist, Gollum. Gollum actually comes from the Middle Earth, with a Hobbit bloodline, particularly those of the Stoors. Frodo Baggins share a similarity with Gollum in this respect because he is the typical Hobbit himself. These specific depictions of common bloodlines and orig ins of characters representing opposite sides in the battle between good and evil emphasize further the theme that the struggle is not always external but internal too; that no one is absolutely free from evil tendencies. In Tolkien’s story, Sauron may be the epitome of evil but it is Gollum who represents best the tendency of Frodo to commit evil. In order to win against the evil represented

Wooden Chairs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Wooden Chairs - Essay Example Thirdly, pollution prevention mechanism is adopted to reduce air, water and soil pollution caused by wastes and gas emissions from the production of chairs. Lastly, recycling is used to put wastes into use and minimize wastes. In terms of implementation, the briefing paper suggests the formation of a five-member committee to oversee the implementation of the programme through planning, monitoring and evaluation. Wooden furniture production industries play significant roles in the process of development in tropical countries with abundant sources of wood and timber. Wooden furniture industries contribute economic benefits and enhance economic growth in such countries (International Trade Centre and International Tropical Timber Organization, 2005). Wood-processing companies such as companies producing wooden chairs create employment and expand the tax base of the country. They also promote the development of physical and institutional infrastructure needed for social and economic development of tropical countries. Furthermore, wooden chairs producers provide foreign exchange earnings and encourage investment in support industries. However, there are various challenges that wooden furniture producers need to consider in their business. This briefing paper will address one of the challenges affecting the company producing wooden chairs – environmental or social impact. Any organisation engaged in the production of goods using natural resources needs to consider environmental or social issues in order to enhance environmental and social sustainability for a sustainable development (International Trade Centre and International Tropical Timber Organization 2005). In this period when climate change is becoming real, human life is directly and indirectly affected. Therefore, companies producing furniture need to develop mechanisms that may be used to conserve natural resources and prevent

Copyright Laws and the University of Marylands Academic Integrity Research Paper

Copyright Laws and the University of Marylands Academic Integrity Policy - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss the issue of copyright laws and compares such laws to the University of Maryland’s integrity policy. Copyright according to the Australian’s Attorney General’s Department is a type of legal protection for persons who express original information or ideas in specific forms. According to the department, some of the most common of these forms include moving images, music, visual images, paintings, photographs, computer programs, maps, dramatic works and writing just to mention a few. Copyright in this respect protects not the information or ideas expressed but the form in which they are expressed or fixated. Under the United States’ copyright laws (Clause 8 of the constitution), copyright is defined as the set of exclusive rights that are given to innovators or originators of works. Such rights include copying, distributing and adapting the works. In most countries including the United States of America, copyright does not have to be r egistered but arises at the moment the work is fixated. Once a copyright comes into force, the owner of the copyright has the special rights to control the copying and other exploitative activities that may be performed on the works for a certain period of time. Once this period of time expires, the work goes to the public domain. There are a number of exceptions and limitations that exist to the use of copyrighted material. One such limitation is fair use which requires not the permission of the copyright owner. All other uses of copyrighted materials demand permission from their owners who can opt to license or transfer the ownership exclusively to other parties.

Main Aspects Of The Successful Concert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Main Aspects Of The Successful Concert - Essay Example Amidst all the numerous instruments the audience was still able to concentrate on the performance and get the message clearly instead of being distracted by the instruments. However, I felt that some of the pieces were given a rather cold and unemotional performance than they deserved. The performers could have put more effort to make the pieces more lovely and alluring. Nevertheless, overall performance was insightful and great and left the audience feeling satisfied with no chance of regretting their decision to attend the concert. If I were to rate the concert, I would give the performers 8 out of 10. The first performance was three dances from The Three-Cornered Hat. The first piece of the three dances performed was the Neighbors Dance. The composer is Manuel de Falla, a Spanish man renowned for his magnificent compositions. The style period represented by this composition is modernity. The composition is based on a storybook that features three main characters, the Corregidor, the Miller, and Miller’s wife. The Neighbors Dance is a leisurely performance where Miller together with his wife joins their neighbor in a joyful dance. The genre represented in the performance of this piece is ballet. Ballet is a musical genre in the form of a dance involving formal steps and gestures. The feature that stood out most about the piece during the performance was the rhythm and passion that kept the audience captivated. Though the good application of rhythm achieved a soft and enchanting performance, I felt that this piece came out tense and dry. Regardless, it still was a superb disp lay of talent, practice, dedication, and mastery of techniques by the performers.

Organisational Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisational Culture - Essay Example In human resource management, most people assume that people can be measured on personality and IQ tests, and computing the resultant set of numbers to define these people. This is often not so, because efficiency is not an economic concept, but a political concept involving cost, and quality of process time. Also some people see inefficiency to be a "sin" in modern terms, which is very much in contrast with the 20th century efficiency of the Nazis, for example. The east neaden dietary department is run by a team of 6 nurses, three dieticians and one doctor. "There is also a consultant who is available 3 times a week and a clinical psychologist who visits twice a week." (Marlow, Nigel). The type of culture that existed in the east neasden dietory department before the change was one of familiarity and friendly worker relationships. This is evident in the fact that the staff called each other by their first names, and the doctors were called by their first names, except in the presence of patients. However there was a change in the organizational structure and this brought about a change in the culture in East Neasden Dietary department. After the organizational change which was accomplished by using the handy theory a... There are indeed, various reasons for change. Some factors that can trigger change in an organization, like competition and the need to be commercially realistic or viable. Allen, Madison, Porter, Renwick and Mayes noted that "organizational politics involves intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self interest of groups, or individuals in a group" (Allen, Madison, Porter, Renwick and Mayes 1979) In the Interflora case, there was a need to be commercially viable and realistic, hence the need for organizational change, and the dynamics involved in such a change. An Analysis of corporate types Corporate culture is the key to organizational performance, and when effectively managed, can lead to an improvement in a company's competitive advantage. Going by Michael Maccoby's analysis of corporate types, there are four main types of corporate personality. These are the company man, the Jungle Hunter, the craftsman, and the Gamesman. The company man defers to authority in the company, while the jungle hunter tends to be coercive in temperament, and strives to acquire power within the company. For the craftsman, his identity is his craft as an engineer, accountant, I.T. personnel or other craft. The gamesman operates with a lot of politicking and uses stealth and subtlety to achieve power. REFERENCES Allen, R. W., Madison, D. L., Porter, L. W., Renwick, P. A. and Mayes, B. T. (1979)Organizational politics: Tactics and characteristics of its actors. Californiamanagement review Maccoby, Michael. (1976) Michael Maccoby's Analysis of Corporate Types Marlow, Nigel. East

Article summaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article summaries - Essay Example markably, some selfish businesspersons continue to push for capitalism and disregard the society with their sole objective of making profits from the society. However, activists against capitalism have pushed forth to ensure that businesses does not only take profits from the society, but also contribute towards the wellbeing and development of the society (Levitt, n.d.). According to the author, social responsibility evolution aspect in the business world is the main aspect that will enable socially responsible business to thrive while the profit-oriented entities and self-centered executives fall (p. 464). Remarkably, the author indicates that personal social responsibility values such as self-conscious and non-profit endeavors are the key aspects of a responsible manager that will enable the business thrive in the public and reduce resistance evoked by capitalism. The article articulates that social responsibility is not a threat to the success of a businessperson, but long-term benefits from the society compared to the short-term business environment offered by the society to the selfish and profit oriented executives. Social responsibility remains the main aspect towards the survival of a business and reduced conflicts among the executive and the governments despite the function of a business to yield high level of profits. Additionally, the author recognizes the failure of business to recognize social responsibility that has led to the rise of unions and welfare programs to safeguard the community against ill-motivated economists whose sole interest is to uphold capitalism and dep rive the resources of the society, labor, agriculture, and the government. vi. Management is always faced by numerous critics, which it can only avoid by involving the society in terms of ensuring that it maintains the civil rights and restricts the free operation of profit motive. The articles has evoked a sense of exploitation by the capitalists who think that they can just

Organisational Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisational Culture - Essay Example In human resource management, most people assume that people can be measured on personality and IQ tests, and computing the resultant set of numbers to define these people. This is often not so, because efficiency is not an economic concept, but a political concept involving cost, and quality of process time. Also some people see inefficiency to be a "sin" in modern terms, which is very much in contrast with the 20th century efficiency of the Nazis, for example. The east neaden dietary department is run by a team of 6 nurses, three dieticians and one doctor. "There is also a consultant who is available 3 times a week and a clinical psychologist who visits twice a week." (Marlow, Nigel). The type of culture that existed in the east neasden dietory department before the change was one of familiarity and friendly worker relationships. This is evident in the fact that the staff called each other by their first names, and the doctors were called by their first names, except in the presence of patients. However there was a change in the organizational structure and this brought about a change in the culture in East Neasden Dietary department. After the organizational change which was accomplished by using the handy theory a... There are indeed, various reasons for change. Some factors that can trigger change in an organization, like competition and the need to be commercially realistic or viable. Allen, Madison, Porter, Renwick and Mayes noted that "organizational politics involves intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self interest of groups, or individuals in a group" (Allen, Madison, Porter, Renwick and Mayes 1979) In the Interflora case, there was a need to be commercially viable and realistic, hence the need for organizational change, and the dynamics involved in such a change. An Analysis of corporate types Corporate culture is the key to organizational performance, and when effectively managed, can lead to an improvement in a company's competitive advantage. Going by Michael Maccoby's analysis of corporate types, there are four main types of corporate personality. These are the company man, the Jungle Hunter, the craftsman, and the Gamesman. The company man defers to authority in the company, while the jungle hunter tends to be coercive in temperament, and strives to acquire power within the company. For the craftsman, his identity is his craft as an engineer, accountant, I.T. personnel or other craft. The gamesman operates with a lot of politicking and uses stealth and subtlety to achieve power. REFERENCES Allen, R. W., Madison, D. L., Porter, L. W., Renwick, P. A. and Mayes, B. T. (1979)Organizational politics: Tactics and characteristics of its actors. Californiamanagement review Maccoby, Michael. (1976) Michael Maccoby's Analysis of Corporate Types Marlow, Nigel. East

Economi politic Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economi politic - Term Paper Example In short political economy is a methodology that deals with emphasis public choice or economic approach, and institutional adaptation. The concept of political economy can be attributed a lot from Marxism. However, the concept of political economy was replaced by economics after Alfred Marshall released his book in 1980, (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). Political economy is divided into various approaches, which include political choice and Marxian analysis which emanated from the Virginia School and the Chicago school, (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). However, as time went by various approaches to political economy. They include International political economy and new political economy. Political economy is associated with various disciplines. It is associated with communication, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, human geography, anthropology, ecology, and ecology, (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). It is important to understand political economy, and how it influences communication spe cifically mass media. This will help in understanding how mass media has evolved in regard to theories in political economy. This can be achieved by dissecting political economy of mass media. 2. Describe What The Political Economy Of Mass Media Political economy of mass media can be defined as an approach to political economy that focuses branches of media production and the industries of communication within capitalism, and consumption and production of communications and media in regard to flow of information. Political economy of mass media is normally used to measure the effect of mass media on politics. For example, during an election a presidential candidate who is favored by a majority of media houses or is favored by the most popular media houses tends to win the election in question. This is because these media houses tend to give more coverage to him or her hence reaching more people than his or her candidate(s). Hence, governments try to control mass media to make sure t hey are not biased when it comes to politics. This creates a need for setting of rules that are based on the principles of political economy. Political economy of mass media is to some extent important because it ensures that mass media is controlled. This means that media houses do not broadcast anything as they feel like but must follow a certain protocol set by the government (Weingast and Wittman, 2008). This does not necessarily mean that governments should gag media houses. For example, media houses have a wide viewership. If they were to report on false accusation, that would later bring about national insecurity then this would result in serious consequences such the economy falling. Hence, the role of the government in controlling mass media through political economy. 3. Describe Mosco Opinion On The Political Economy Of Mass Media Various academics argued that mass media should be approached in more a economical way than culturally. One of these academics is Vincent Mosco. However, Vincent Mosco is considered to be moderate in his approach to political economy of mass media. This is because he advocates for the three communication processes instead of totalisation. These three processes are spatialization, commoditization, and structuration (Mosco, 2009). He refers to these three processes as entry points in communication. He defines spatialization as the process of going beyond the constraints of time and space in social life. He also defines

Psychological Effects of Combat

Psychological Effects of Combat PSYCHOLOGY OF A FIGHTING MAN INTRODUCTION Movies make the business of fighting and war effortless and uncomplicated. They make us believe that soldiers are some sort of killing machines. The reasons for killing may be many; because they are told, if they don’t kill they will die, the enemy is a threat to enduring peace and so on. The movies make us believe that a soldier fires to hit and kill each other. While this holds some truth, a deeper study is needed to understand the psychology behind the actions of these fighting men. Talking about the psychology of a fighting man is like virgins talking about sex. Days can be spent discussing it and the mechanics involved can be fully understood. However, you cannot be absolutely sure that the man who understood the mechanics behind the psychology will behave as expected, when he is faced with a combat situation. That is because when bullets and shells start zipping past, the emotions and Adrenaline start running high and that will affect how a fighting man sees things in the battlefield. During warlike situations, every soldier sees things different from another soldier. AIM The aim of this paper is to understand the psychology of a fighting man, the factors affecting his desire to kill on the battlefield and how it affects his mind and behavior. The paper also intends to cover the psychiatric effects of combat on a soldier and offer possible solutions. THE BEHAVIOURAL PATTERN Behaviour During Combat When it comes to combat situations, behavior of the animal species can be classified into four stages, Posture, Fight, Flight or Submit. Also, animals do not generally kill others of their species, except with very few exceptions. In this regard, human beings are like animals in our behavior, especially in a combat situation. When animals fight, they do not directly get to a physical fight. The start posturing to intimidate the enemy. Humans are not much different. Rifles, artillery guns and tanks provide perfect tools for posturing. They are dangerous, they are loud. Shells and bullets zooming past overhead can be terrifying any man on earth. The shooter gets a feeling of power and the act provides a primal release to him. Posturing also form part of combat tactics. It is said that in Vietnam War, only one out of 52000 shots fired scored a hit[1]. Were the Americans that bad at shooting? No, in fact they were very superior in posturing. However, when the time came to aim at the VietCong, the Yankee preferred to posture, rather than to kill. This does not mean the whole aim is not to kill, but to scare the enemy by posturing. There will be a few whose sole aim is to increase the use of body bags by the other side, whatever maybe their motivation. They are like that one percent of fighter pilots who accounted for forty percent of planes shot down in World War II. In war, a soldier’s behavior is also affected by the fact that whether he has to kill anyone. A person is more willing to face risks if he does not have to kill anyone. Best example in this regards are the medical corps people. Now, let us understand what happens when the enemy decides to run away. The best way to explain it is by drawing a corollary again with the animal world. What happens when you try to run away from a dog? It will run behind you, catch you and bite you. This may even result in your death. In the same way, to run away from an enemy who is on an adrenaline rush is like signing your death warrant. This is the reason behind retreating forces suffering higher number of causalities. The Decision to Kill This is the hardest decision every fighting man has to take on the battlefield. This decision is influenced by many factors. Every soldier who is shooting may not be trying to kill his opponent. He might fire on order. But it is difficult to ascertain whether he is trying to kill. Case in point being 1:52000 rounds ratio which I talked about in the Vietnam War. A majority of people will hesitate before killing another human being, unlike what is portrayed in the movies. They will do it only when they are pushed to the corner and this affects them psychologically in a big way. The Distance. A major factor which affects the decision whether to kill is the distance between a soldier and his enemy. The distance can be broadly classified into two physical distance and emotional distance. Emotional Distance. Emotional distance has nothing to do with the physical distance between a soldier and his enemy. He can kill his opponent at closer ranges provided he is able to achieve some sort of emotional distance from the enemy. Moral Distance. Moral distance considers that the enemy is wrong in his morals and ethics. Social Distance. A fighting man uses social distance to kill an opponent he considers socially inferior to him. Mechanical distance. Mechanical distance comes into play when the enemy is not seen by one’s own eyes. He is seen though a mechanical medium. It could be a screen, a display or a scope. Therefore the trauma of seeing the target as a real human is avoided. The presence of an officer does wonders to a soldier’s willingness to kill an enemy. Other factors which contribute are the want of revenge, hatred or mortal fear. However, studies show that the most important factor which propels a soldier to shoot and kill his enemy is the feeling that if he doesn’t kill, he will let down his comrades. THE EFFECTS ON THE FIGHTING MAN Psychiatric Casualties It has been proven that the longer a soldier is exposed to combat situations, the more are the chances that he will become a psychiatric casualty. Now, what is a psychiatric casualty? He can be defined as any militarily ineffective soldier in whom the predominant factors producing ineffectiveness are of psychological as opposed to physical or neuropsychiatric origin. How long does it take for an average soldier to become a psychiatric casualty? Roy Swank and Walter Marchand, both US Army doctors conducted a study[2] during world war II and came out with a result that 98% of all surviving soldiers will become psychatirc casualties after sixty days of continuous combat. The remaining 2% were already identified with having aggressive psychopath tendencies. So to put it in lighter vein, a combat unit goes completely crazy at the end of sixty days. Manifestations of Psychiatric Casualties The effects of being a psychiatric casualty can be of varied forms. It may also affect different individuals at different degrees. This in no way means that the mental stability of an individual is lost and he is no more capable of fighting. In most cases a window of proper rest away from the frontline will help in alleviating combat stress. Fatigue. The first and foremost manifestation of combat stress from a prolonged battle is Fatigue. It is nothing but the soldier being tired and is in no mood to do anything. Confusional State. If the fatigue is not checked in time, a psychiatric casualty can reach Confusional State. In simple terms, a person is ‘lost’. Ganser Syndrome. If a soldier does not slip into Confusional state, he may be affected by something called Ganser syndrome[3]. In this, he starts avoiding fear by substituting it with humour. Conversion Hysteria. A severe form of Confusional state is called Conversion Hysteria. It can happen while the combat is own or it may surface years later. A psychiatric casualty suffering from Conversion Hysteria looses touch with reality. He cannot distinguish potential dangers. He becomes insensitive to his own security. He may just wander into minefields or enemy fire. Anxiety Disorders Continuous state of anxiety during combat creates havoc in a soldier’s sleep. He feels that he is always tired irrespective of the amount of rest or sleep he gets. He starts getting nightmares and can also be obsessed with death. He doubts his ability and starts suspecting that he is coward and may fail his colleagues. The symptoms of increased anxiety states are breathlessness, blurred vision, tremors, temporary paralysis and fainting. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is another effect which can be caused by anxiety. A soldiers blood pressure may increase radically even years after his combat experience causing profuse sweating and nervousness. Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD). Anxiety can also cause OCD. The behavioural pattern of soldiers with OCD are similar to that of those suffering from Conversion Hysteria. The major difference is that he is aware of his surroundings and actions. Character Disorders. Anxiety can also cause Character Disorders in a soldier. A soldier becomes obsessed with particular actions or objects. This may result in him being paranoid about his personal safety. SOLUTIONS What are the possible solutions to these issues? First and foremost will be proper training and indoctrination. It definitely needs to be sufficient to ensure that it if not prevents, at least delays the onset of combat stress. The next step should be to identify potential psychiatric casualties as early as possible. Presence of trained counselors and psychiatrists are also essential to ensure that these potential cases do not develop into full blown psychiatric casualties. Units need to be rotated at the front on a regular basis. A ‘crazy’ unit at the end of sixty days of combat duty is not only detrimental to themselves, they are dangerous to the nation too. The final solution remains that of damage control. A psychiatric casualty should be addressed clinically. There should be counsellers at the rear to take care of potential cases. CONCLUSION The aim was not to question the capability or motivation of soldiers. It was to bring to light that every armed force today is treading on thin ice as far as the well being of the soldiers is concerned. Psychiatric casualties may take out a good part of a force, maybe more than what will fall prey to enemy bullets. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention the psychology of a fighting man, to realise what drives him, what holds him back and what other than mortal wound will take him out of the equation in a battlefield. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Grossman, Dave â€Å"On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society†. New York; Backbay Books, 1996. 2. Bray, Charles W. â€Å"Psychology and Military Proficiency†. New Jersey; Princeton University Press, 1969. 3. Watson, Peter â€Å"War on the Mind†. London; Hutchinson and Company (Publishers) Ltd, 1978. [1] Collins, Randall â€Å"Violence: A Micro-sociological Theory† Princeton University Press, 2008, pp. 58 [2] Swank, Roy L., and Marchand, Walter E. Combat Neuroses: Development of Combat Exhaustion, Archives of . Neurology and Psychiatry, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA. vol. 55, 1946, pp. 236-247. [3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20703401 accessed on 02 Aug 13

Epithets in Othello :: Othello essays

Epithets in Othello An epithet is an adjective or adjective phrase that characterizes a person or thing. Epithets can often consist of abusive or contemptuous words such as those directed by the professionally offended Iago in Shakespeare's Othello. Iago refers to Othello with damning epithets to suggest the Moor as a lust driven animal that is violating the innocent Desdemona. For instance, he calls Othello, "an old black ram" who is "tupping" Brabantio's "white ewe"(Act I, Scene I: 90-91). He is referring to the fact that Othello is a Moor, or dark skinned man. Iago is also making the insinuation that Othello is, at this moment, copulating with Brabantio's innocent daughter, Desdemona. In addition, Iago warns Brabantio that if he does not rescue his daughter, the "devil" will make Brabantio a grandfather (Act I, Scene I: 93). Again, he is suggesting that Othello is demonic and comparable to a wild animal. He continues erupting insults shouting that a "Barbaray horse" is mounting D esdemona and that Brabantio's nephews will "neigh" and cousins will be "coursers," or strong horses (Act I, Scene I: 113-114). Yet again, Iago is suggesting that Othello is animal-like and that this quality will arise throughout Brabantio's family. It is important to note that in the play production Iago speaks such crude and obscene language while hiding behind several clustered poles below Brabantio's window. This gesture reveals Iago's attempt to remain an "honest man" in the eyes of the other characters while carrying out a plan of revenge. Although Iago's insults toward Othello appear to be racial, it does not make the entire play racist. Iago is so consumed by revenge against Othello, for passing him over for the promotion that he will say or do anything to attain his "peculiar end" (Act I, Scene I: 62).

Basketball Essay -- essays research papers

WHY THE NBA DREAM IS RUINING COLLEGE BASKETBALL   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The National Basketball Association is a corporate powerhouse with installments in nearly every major city in the United States. With the exception of European soccer, professional basketball generates more money per season than any other sport in the world. NBA superstars carry as much authority in the entertainment business as the most popular actors, comedians, and musicians. Even the guys who are last off the bench are making more money in one season than the average middle-class worker makes in five years. Corporate America sells its images, logos, slogans, ideas, and viable goods by employing NBA stars to speak publicly on-behalf of their materials. More and more NBA players are showing up in commercials, in magazine ads, on billboards, and in movies. They have their own radio talk shows, their own clothing and shoe lines, their own video games, and even their own restaurants. Essentially, turning pro opens the door to a lifestyle of undeniable prestige, com fort, and public adornment. NBA players can commit the harshest of criminal violations and get off with minimal penalties. NBA players can have just about any woman they want! Enough said. Thankfully, it takes an incredible amount of skill and determination to make it as a professional basketball player. In the last twenty-five years only a handful of high-school athletes have skipped college and gone straight to the big show. Some of these young men built enduring careers and some were washed out before they reached the legal drinking age of 21. Some made it to the hall-of-fame and some remain in the hall-of-shame. Nevertheless, in the past five years there has been an upsurge in the number of high-school athletes who have chosen to forego college and enter the draft. Debate and discussion over this topic as been heated as of late. College coaches argue against professional coaches, writers and reporters argue against sporting agents and advertising executives, and parents squabble with their blue-chip prospects. Supporters of this trend say high-school athletes have the right to select their own path, while their opponents argue that high-school athletes miss-out on a remarkable education opportunity by overlooking the college experience. Clearly, the NBA has no intention of preventing high-school athletes from enterin... ...all. The level of play at the highest level should not suffer because young guys do not know the ins and outs of the game. They should also put a pay-cap on the potential salaries of such under-aged athletes, and agents should be completely removed from the decision making process. None of these things will ever happen though because the NBA makes too much money off its young stars. Sports marketing is already a multimillion dollar business, and agents continue to claw into middle school gyms across the country looking for the next Kobi or Kwame. Moreover, with a game that continues to evolve around its new talent each year, raw flair draws in sponsors, advertisers, and marketers. The public loves to see the young versus the old, and the NBA loves to make money off these kind of situations. So long as colleges are not paying their athletes, which many do in forms of scholarships and performance incentives, college basketball will continue to lose its battle against the NBAâ€℠¢s appeal to young athletes. In this society education is no longer the most rewarding stable of success, instead it’s how many rings you have on your finger and how many video games you have named in your honor.

Old Ironsides by Oliver Wendell Holmes: An Explication of the Poem Essay

â€Å"Old Ironsides† is a poem entitled to an old U.S. battleship. After news spread that this ship would be destroyed, Holmes nicknamed the ship as â€Å"Old Ironsides† to help construct a foundation of defense so that this battleship would not be demolished. The poem saved the ship from being destroyed and gave Holmes national recognition as a poet. The first stanza talks about tearing the flag down off the ship because it will no longer sail on the water. The word meteor is used as a metaphor because the ship is an object of attention in the ocean just as a meteor is an object of attention in the sky. The emotional appeal a reader receives from the stanza is loud anger. For example â€Å"Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!† is a line from the first stanza that implies the strong emotion of anger. The second stanza talks about the ship’s past during the War of 1812. The first half is about the ship being a part of a battle. This implies the ship’s importance to the war. The last half of the stanza explains that the ship shall no longer be part of any such venture anymore. The third stanza implies that the ship should not be destroyed but instead active until the ship gets destroyed by an enemy. The stanza also expresses that the ship’s â€Å"grave† should be the ocean.

Narrative Essay

When joining the armed forces, you never quite know what will happen or what to expect next. It can be an amazing or a gruesome journey, but it depends on how you want it to be. At the beginning the journey might seems scary and intimidating, but as time goes on, you soon get use to the lifestyle and learn a great deal from the experience. Before I joined in November 2008, I was going through a marital problem, I was weak, intimidating, and I have no one or where to turn to. I applied for job in so many places with no luck, due to me moving to the States three years before applying for the jobs, giving birth, and also I was a staying home mom going to school. But as time went by I couldn’t take it any longer, so I decided looking in to joining the military. When I joined, I wanted to be independent, strong, care for my daughter, and to learn something new without being intimidated by anyone in anyway. I actually entered the Basic Combat training on the 15th of November 2008, when the plane dropped us at the South Carolina air port and, the bus took us from there to Fort Jackson. The bus finally pulled up outside the in-processing building in Fort Jackson South Carolina by 12:30am. All I could think about was my little girl, how she was sleeping, what was she thinking about when I left, did she cried herself to sleep, can I stay without my daughter for a day, and what in God’s name I just got myself into. We were all tired and sleepy, some of us looked like we have been deprived of sleep for a week, but we all came there for a reason. As the bus driver open the door a male drill sergeant stepped into the buss, and started screaming and yelling at us to get off the bus. I never saw people who have been sleeping and look so tired to move that fast, but everyone was scrambling all over each other looking for an exit, because no one want to be the first to get chewed up. As we stepped out of the bus, we formed two lines, one with the girls and one with the boys. As we stood there, I was scared, nervous; my heart was pounding so fast, because I have never been in that position before in my life. I felt like my neck tense up, which made my head feels like it was about to fall of my body, but I was telling myself that I can do this, and reminding myself of the reason why I was here. We were out there for thirty minutes before they put us in a room, and sat us down according to our numbers, and were we came from. We were given a book called the smart book, which mean it has to be with us all day, and learn what the book says. It was intense: we had to learn so many things throughout our stay in Basic Training. We got our pt uniform (Physical Training gear) that early morning, and we went to sleep by 2:15am. It was a scary and crazy experience. I slept but we had to wake up about 6am, because we have to go through so many in-processing. I was so tired, my eyes were puffy, and hurt, my ankles hurt, but I have to toughen it up. We had to get tested for diseases, eye testing, and a number of other things. All those time, I thought about my little girl a lot, I cried every day, because I have never been separated from child since I gave birth to her, and that was the first time I have ever been away from her. I wondered what she was doing, how she feared, if she was eating the way she was supposed to, how much she missed me, even though I was only gone for 6 days, I felt so alone without my daughter. We had to wake up very early in the morning by 0040, stood in parade rest, in the cold for 4 hours with just pt pant, long shirt, and jacket. That did not help with the cold, because it was so cold, that my fingers were frozen, I could not felt it moving. We have no phone privilege during the reception, because we were being baby sit by the drill sergeant most of the time, and when I said being baby sit, I mean being smoked, pushed up, sit up, floor rocate, you name it, but you can’t let them see crying, because when they, you will be sorry for shedding a tears. All this time we were at a place called reception which was for 4 days, but we spent 6days, where all the loose ends with our paper work were done. The actual physical training was done at a different place in Fort Jackson. The sergeants were still very tough on us. About a month into the training I found myself used to the routine, even though the journey was tough, I endured everything. I hated pt, because we ran a lot, and my ankle hurt, but I kept pushing myself. My pt sucks at the beginning, but my sergeant won’t let me fail, because she was always on me, making sure that, I do not fail. I failed my first pt, second pt, third pt, but I passed at the end, with a good percentage. Before we knew we were making friends, looking out for each other, laughing together, and getting ready to graduate to go to AIT. Which is Advance Individual Training? But there were some ladies who cannot stand each other; there were time of argument, gossiping, jealousness, but we all live under the same roof and trained together. I endure the most horrifying road match, training, being smoked by my drill sergeant, and the long pt. Most times, I broke down and cried, because I thought that was a punishment, but looking back today, it was a training that was mean to save my life and others too. I become a very strong and independent woman, whom no one can intimidate no matter. I can stand up for myself in any situation, and I don’t let anyone take advantage of me.