Faamatai: Traditional Religious System

It also alms to define and determine religious connections between the Mat system and the tabulate (Indigenous religion). Last but not least, it also focuses on how the system changed after Christianity arrived. Many people define the term mat in different ways. For example, Via and Tintinnabulation define mat as a â€Å"member of the nun (village) and a leader of an alga potato (extended family) with a complex network of fall (diffuse cultural connections'. Pall's offers another deflation which states that mat evolves from two words â€Å"mat† (eye or seeing) and â€Å"l† (towards or at).When two words are put together, It creates a traditional definition, the â€Å"act of looking towards or at someone or something†. In other words, a mat is the â€Å"eyes† of the family. He or she is the role model of the family. Family members look up to him or her as a strong leader and effective decision maker. To understand the framework of the mat system, one must first review the Samoan culture characteristics. The Samoan identify their culture as the Fashion way of life according to custom.Pall's described the term Fashion as referring to â€Å"the ancient ways of life Inherited from the ancestors†. The rod FAA means â€Å"in the manner of†, so the Samoan made it blend in with certain words in order to contrast the different ways of doing things. Traditionally, there are no laws in the context of the Samoan culture. However, Samoan people respected the decisions made by their own mat. To further understand the Samoan way of life, one must understand the village structure In the Samoan culture.The (nun) village Infrastructure Is made up of all extended females and relatives who reside In that particular village. They are Individual heirs and descendents of the mat such as father, mother, brother sister and etc†¦ In the alga, all can be related whether by blood as traceable to a common ancestor, through marriage ties or eve n adopted connections. At the head of each alga was a mat. He was the one who held the family title until it was passed on by choice rather than by inheritance. The first stage in becoming a mat was to serve as a tattletale's (untitled man).A tattletale's Is defined as an untitled man who serves his mat with honor and diligently. Being In this level requires a lot of patience and caring. Each tattletale's has one goal in life which was taut (serve) as further explained by Applied as follows: â€Å"A fulfill mat a Samoa faithful muumuu maim lava lee tag as taut Elli I lee mat male alga ma lee nun. O taut a lee tuna's e mama maim AI fumigant's ‘see's. A iii SE e via Oho I lee tutelage pull, all e taut, AAU o lee ala I lee pull o lee taut†. When a chief was chosen, a person who served the chief, family and village well Is most likely the primary he must first serve because the path to leadership is service) When a mat was sought, each alga would agree on a candidate and th en all would decide on one who would be worthy to succeed to the title. Once receiving the title of mat, he is responsible for the leadership of the whole family. In the fond o lee nun (council of chief), the mat was the one who represented the whole family.The authority of the mat was freely expressed by him in all matters, but most of the time he is free in so far as what he does was for the good of the family. In this respectful way, it could be seen, that the role of the mat was not merely authoritative, but it was also one of serving. It was then seen that all behavior was conditioned by the loyalty and devotion not only of the mat but the whole family. It was the pride of one's family which seemed to be the basis of the Samoan culture. This has been an initiating factor by which â€Å"law and order† was kept.In the Fashion, the extended family is the basic component of the village. Like I mentioned earlier, the village infrastructure is made up of all extended families which headed by a senior chief. Without the extended families and their chiefs, there would be no council of chiefs in the traditional village structure. The village itself became a factor in keeping the strong bond within the society. Socially, each village was embraced by a common pupilages (traditional greeting of mat titles in seniority).Mauve stated that a pupilages is a rotational formula which contained all the dignity accorded to the village especially to the principle chiefs, stating their relationship to the broader royal lineages of Samoa. In the olden times, Samoan lived in a hierarchical society. In all levels of its political structure including the mat system, it was so clear for it to be seen. Through all these levels, there was one of unifying force at work in the maintenance of â€Å"law and order† such as loyalty and devotion, being part of the family, and villages and districts connecting to the royal line.Politically, with the hierarchical structure of so ciety, it could be seen that the ancient gods were also structured in such a way. It was the case that authority was delegated from the top to the bottom. If there was a need to carry out a proposal or any new ideas, it was first to be approved by the higher authorities. Permission had to be sought from the chiefs. Although these different levels still existed in the Samoan society, but there was still the awareness of the necessity to function together as a corporate unity in order to survive.The socio-political structure of the mat system was believed to have great importance. Many believed the importance again lies within the idea that it was probably within such a social structure and that the structuring and the understanding of the gods had originated. According to Mauve, he stated: In Samoan society, there were â€Å"As† such as the As Militate, As Loyola or As Amiga. The â€Å"As† gives the meaning of being very high in rank within the Samoan society. The full meaning of this word would not be expressed if only the word honorable was used.The meaning of the word was not only â€Å"honorable† but took up other meanings such as sacredness and holiness in the ensue of been higher above all others in society. In this sense, As would really refer to the Alai(high or paramount chief). An Alai(high chief) was considered as the head of the village and its council of chiefs. Telltale (high talking chief) were orators and they spoke on the behalf of the Alai. According to Applied, mat were always the ruling powers in the society. Their authority is still strong today.Their authority was to be chiefs were, it was always to be carried out by the magma(group of tattletale's or untitled men). What can be said at this point is that in the structural set up of the Samoan society, there is a clear distinction between the higher and lower classes. The structure of the society and the distinctions could have been the basis of the religious structurin g and understanding of the ancient gods. In fact, the Samoan indigenous religion also had a structure where there was the recognition of higher gods and lower gods.In such a structure, there were responsibilities and functions performed by the gods that coincided with the responsibilities set out in the social life of the people. If the high chiefs were seen to rule and grant permission, then the higher gods were seen to posses more power. The higher gods would then be sought for the granting of the things that the society wanted. In this section, I will focus on the religious connection between the Mat system and a more detailed study of the traditional religious beliefs and other cultural practices.I strongly believe that much of these beliefs and practices had great affect on the way Samoan had accepted Christianity. Before Europeans had ever set foot on the islands, Samoan had their own beliefs of deities believed to be divine. According to Melissa, he stated â€Å"Samoan relig ion as it generally understood refers to a system of beliefs, the ceremonial and tall activities that are associated with it, and the worship of a supernatural being or beings. † In addition, Samoan had no national religion. This was a time of myths and what has often been referred to as a time of superstitious beliefs.It was at this early stage that these myths and the history of Samoa were preserved in memories and through oral traditions. According to traditional beliefs, every individual had his own â€Å"tutu†(guardian spirit). It was the case that the families had minor gods and villages had their own local deities. These deities such as fire, rain, agriculture and etc†¦ Were insider sacred and important to the Samoan. In the next couple of paragraphs, I will briefly explain the religious connections of the mat system and the indigenous religion through many traditional beliefs such as the Toga myths, man, spirits, and other various gods.One of the most popul ar beliefs in Samoan society was the Toxicological creation myth. In the alga, the head of the family is considered as the mat which was closely similar to the Toxicological and his rule. According to one myth, it stated that Toxicological existed as the main source in space and created the heavens. He was also known as the superior being or leader. I believe these creation stories had influenced many traditional world views of the Samoan and its mat system. In fact, the mentality about Toga creating Samoa still exists.The variety of these creation stories has led to the idea that traditional beliefs had been elaborately connected in Samoa. In this case, the Samoan culture was produced in distinction of ranks and indigenous religion enforces it by giving the high ranks a special place in it. As also stated by Isaiah: The Samoan ranking system and cultural structure appears deceptively simple on the surface at first glance, but a deeper look into it vales a very competitive, complica ted and rigid system. The religious beliefs of the people played a very important part in society.As I mentioned earlier, the Titus (guardian spirit) had influenced many Samoan greatly especially the mat. The tutu is sometimes considered as a god of an individual. In most cases, mat are considered as the god of their own family. They believe the spirit of an ancestor is links the mat system to the indigenous religion is the concept of man (invisible living force) which responsible for all the startling occurrences and effects beyond the human mind. In the Samoan culture, if a mat was able to defeat another mat at war, then he was said to have possessed more quantities of â€Å"man† than the man he defeated.This concept was always associated within the mat system. The traditional belief of man(power) that a mat had to protect the family physically and his ability to supply materially had been a strong qualification for becoming a leader. Man, however was also known in the prim itive world as the abundant special supernatural forces that could present in a man. In Samoan society, man was that force behind anything which was impossible for man to do. In this case, Samoan believe man and gaga(spirits) have strong relations.It can be noted that for a man or mat to receive man, it would be possessed through favor of the gods or the passing of it to him by another man who had it before him. Many scholars saw this concept as a way for the gods to communicate their will to the people. Many believe that Samoan were also committed to polytheistic beliefs. Applied stated that the life of the people depended greatly on the gods in which they recognized as having strong powers over them. It was the gods that they would always call upon in times of difficulties.Some of these various gods such as Laminas, Lethally, and Fee were believed to help many people avoid sickness, war and death. Laminas was defined as the child of the moon. This particular god was identified wit h the moon. In worshipping this god, there was much feasting and prayers. The head of the family or mat would pray that the god would help their family to prevent disease and death from entering their home. In other cases, such as war, this god was also asked to help that particular family or chief. It has been noted that this god was one of the inferior gods in the traditional beliefs of theSamoan society. Another particular god which many believe to be one of the well known house- hold gods was Lethally. This god was known to be embodied in the form of the centipede. In worshipping this god, people would often seek it in a tree that was usually near the house. If a person within the family was very sick, this god was called upon as to determine whether this person would die or become well again. In this particular belief, the mat would take a mat outside and await the coming of this god. The mat would be under close observation.If the god did come, and was seen to eave crawled und er the mat, this meant that the sick person would die. If the god came and crawled on the mat, this meant that sick person's health would be restored. One of the most famous gods which was also well known to the Samoan people was the Fee (octopus). This god was often worshipped as the warrior's god. It was believed that this god had its resting place on the island of Western Samoa. According to Melissa, it showed that before any war, the chiefs would seek this god and receive his blessings.In receiving the blessing of this god, there was the renewal of strength among the warriors. As a matter of fact, the main point behind all these traditional beliefs is that these gods really had much affect on the lives of the people. Not only the gods helped wartime or other ceremonial events. This proved to me that many of these gods were considered as important factors behind keeping the law and order in the Samoan society and also the mat system. Samoan also had strong affection towards many cultural practices such as the outage, VA ceremony, biogas, sofa's and etc†¦In the next part of the research, I will explain the relationship of the mat system and each cultural practice that Samoan hared and believed in since ancient times. Earlier, I mentioned that the framework of the Samoan society was revolved around the mat. These mat were responsible for all lands and matters pertaining to the alga. They also served as main decision makers for the alga or village. They also had man(power) that could cause any injury to anyone in society. In this matter, the power of the chiefs and traditional beliefs of the gods was believed to bring law and order in unity.It also brought strong ties and cultural connection between the gods and chiefs. One of the most important cultural practices that Samoan dealt with was known s outage (oath). According to Mauve, outage is one of the scariest and most sacred practices that chief ever gathered in the olden time. In this practice, the ac cused offender goes before the village councils and admits his guilt. This was where the fear of the gods came in to help solve a problem within society. This method was strictly practiced and enforced by the chiefs.According to the practice, if a crime was committed and the person who committed the crime was not known, all the villagers would be gathered by the chiefs of the village. Each person was asked to sake the outage(oath) and swear by the name of their own family god or village god. The chiefs then asked the curses of the gods to be on that person if he was the one. It was often the case that the curse would include one's family member to become very ill if the person lied. It was the fear of these curses by the chiefs that would lead the guilty person to confess. In fact, many believe these cultural practices hardly failed.The reason for this is because the guilty individual really feared the possibility of offending the gods and he could not at any time compromise the rep utation of the await to which he belonged. Another important cultural practice that Samoan still carried on today was the ‘VA ceremony. ‘VA ceremony is a traditional ceremony in which formal speeches are present among the chiefs. This ceremony usually held during the welcoming of the amalgam(traveled group). The religious part of this ceremony is when a chief partake his ‘VA cup. Before each chief take his cup, a portion of the ‘VA was poured out of the cup.This was considered as an offering to the gods. It was also a sign of respect to acknowledge the help of the gods in bringing the Amalgam to their destination. To clearly explain the meaning of it, Tubule stated: The spilling of a few drops of VA on the floor before drinking would seem to have the same significance as do many of the ceremonies in/the various religions of the world – incense burning – sprinkling of holy water – offering libations of wine – and the offering of sac rifices varying from pound notes to lizards eggs – all are offered with the idea of placating or seeking the assistance of some God.We are apt, perhaps, to view the custom of the Samoan as being merely the prostration of the intellect at the thresh-hold of the unknown, but re not all sacrifices by whomsoever offered, Just this. Mauve also stated that among the chiefs. For example, a chief would say: â€Å"o lee ‘VA linen o lee ‘VA o taut, la mania lee auto ambulant† It means this VA, it is for the gods, bless our gathering. In all, I found out that most of these traditional practices shared an important relationship between religion and social life of the Samoan people.It was so clear that Samoan had to live in a society where religion was seen as an important aspect in the culture. It was also clear that many of these cultural beliefs and traditional practices were considered as a set stage for Christianity. In this stage, it pointed out two important key elements that summarized the whole relationship between the mat systems and indigenous religion. One key element was the recognition of one great god above all gods, which was Toxicological.It was this god that was so superior and was given such high respect. This reveals that even though Samoan were viewed as polytheists, there was still the recognition of one god, Toga. Secondly, Fear for the gods and spirits was another key element in the Samoan indigenous religion. This element explains the fact that gods could bring disaster to the people o matter what the case is. It can be said that the people in fearing had imagine the awful punishments that could take place because of disobeying the chiefs and the gods.With all the tradition beliefs and cultural practices that Samoan shared in their society, I can now have a clear mind of what the early missionaries had walked into. Last but not least, this section focuses on the new changes of the mat system when Christianity arrived in Sa moa. During my research, I found many ways of how the traditional and cultural beliefs were adapted to accept and embed Christianity without losing its value. I also found out how the mat system was easily led to the process of accepting the new religion.There are many reasons why Christianity was easily accepted in Samoan society. Some of those reasons can be willingly determined while other reasons are more difficult to discover. To look deeply in those reasons, I trace it back to the importance and significance of the cultural and traditional beliefs that I mentioned earlier in the research. A fact that is now to be noted is that many of these beliefs and practices are still kept by the people. Though there have been many changes that have taken place, the practices of the past can till be noticed in the present.In the mat system or political structure of Samoa, mat were always heading the families or villages. Within any villages, there was an Alai (high chief) that holds a high er rank. The fact is that there is only one Alai for a village and his authority becomes highly respected and recognized. According to Applied,'Alai would hold the authority to express what to do and forbid the things that should not be done. This political structure is very similar to those that Christianity shared.This was one of the few reasons why Samoan easily accepted the Christian god because of the reactive of owing respect and obedience to anything that the chief ordered. Another reason that linked the mat system to the new religion was the creation myth of Toxicological. During ancient times, Toga was referred as the creator of the heaven and earth. I personally believe that the knowledge of these myths created a clear path for Samoan to easily accept the new Christian God. It seems that what the new religion was teaching to the people was nothing new.Same goes to the concept of man and spirits. I also mentioned earlier that Chiefs were also believed and strength. Chief al so held the roles of expressing the will of the gods. In this concept, it has a very strong relation to the new religion. Christianity believed missionaries were looked upon as priests receiving power from God to preach out the new religion. For what has already been mentioned, I can now see a strong relationship between the traditional beliefs in the mat system and Christianity. Today, mat system played an important part in the new religion.In the pre- Christianity era, chiefs were believed to have powers that can meditate with the ancient gods. When missionaries arrived, they assumed new roles. They became deacons in the church. It was so obvious that many of these traditional practices and beliefs have helped greatly in accepting and understanding Christianity. I believe the Samoan society was always flexible ever since the start of their civilization. With this flexibility, Christianity was able to integrate with the traditional Samoan beliefs.As a result, it seems the new relig ion had to be taken up and practiced as if it was truly part of the ancient Samoan society. In conclusion, I believe the structural set up of the mat system served as a basis for the continuing strength of the Fashion (Samoan way). The continuing strength f the Fashion was to a great extent due to fact that an authority did not come to bear all the weight of the emotional, political, social and religious attachment to the people to their culture.The culture and the religious beliefs had helped making the people remain Samoan. I also believe the mat system had a strong relation and religious connection to the ancient indigenous religion. After gathering all the necessary information and specific evidence, it proved me that the mat system not only had similarities with Christianity, it was very easy for the people to accept the new religion into their indigenous society.

America and the World

The American power has been well-recognized in all parts of the world. The series of war that are participated by America –namely: World War II and the Cold War – have given the image of a country which has power over other countries. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States has been the sole superpower in the world. Since then, America has been part of almost all international gatherings and endeavors to promote the concept of globalization – making the world a single place for all the citizens of the world.During these times, America has been able to prove that their superpower is not only premised on their political capabilities but also on supreme economic status. Being one of the First World Countries, America is really an economically well-off country. And it has proven its economic supremacy in the global economy. In effect, most countries, especially those that are developing and underdeveloped countries, are seeking support from the American government to pursue their own economic progress. In addition, the rise of the American culture has also become one of the most controversial international issues in the current global scenario.People from around the world are trying to be like their Hollywood idols. The McDonalds and the Coca-Cola â€Å"syndrome† are also affecting the people from all over the world. In fact, the two are always present in almost all nation-states in the world (Sloan). These are just few of the things that promote the American culture. The popularity that America has since then and up to the present is undeniably a sign of how great its power is. However, other countries perceive this thing as a tactic or strategy of America to dominate the world.There are countries that do not patronize America. Therefore not all countries or people have faith in American influence or power. They view the acts of America as ways to Americanize the world. They claim that America only wanted to expand and amp lify its power all over the world such that it has been very active in particular international issues (Sloan). Nevertheless, as Alkman Granitsas said in his column in YaleGlobal Online, America has been, in fact, tuning out the world. This implies that America has been trying to move away from the global village.Instead America has just wanted to focus its dwellings on its domestic affairs. The first reason that is raised by Granitsas is that America has become conceited by the fact that almost one-third of the world’s population wants to get in their country. Secondly, America has realized that if almost all people in the world want to be in America, and more countries look upon America for economic assistance and other political purposes, then what is there in the outside of America that the Americans should pursue? If all wants to be in America then why should they leave and go to other places in the world?As presented in the column of Granitsas, American schools, college s, and university have a high rate of decline in terms of students who take up foreign languages courses. The record shows that Americans have started to become disinterested in going outside America. The perceived attitude of the Americans are indeed logical in the sense that why should they aspire to make themselves proficient in foreign languages when in fact most of the people in the world want to be expert in speaking English? In addition, significant changes have been reported which demonstrate how America has started to decrease their interest in global issues.Their newspapers have minimized the inclusion of international or global news. Before, the front page of the American newspapers had 27 percent of international news. But as shown in the report, there is only 21 percent of international news that are being included in the front page of the American newspaper (Granitsas). It was only when the September 11 bombing that the American had faced once again the global village (Granitsas). Since then, the American government has been trying to fight against terrorism that tends to inflict disturbance in America and its people.It is now acting for the sake of its government and people and not for the whole world. It is doing its job for the sake of its government subsistence and for the safety of its people and not really to dominate the world. America, labeled as the New World, does not really want the world to kneel down before it. It does not really want to conquer the whole of the world. Its recent actions and policies are not really to gain more power and to rule the world but only to protect the interest of the state and its people.The dilemma in this topic is directed towards the perceived dominance of the America over the last centuries in the international scene and the more current attitude of America of closing its idea on global participation. Either the latter is true or the former is true is not confirmed yet. But it is true that both could m ake the global order complicated. Works Cited: Granitsas, Alkman. â€Å"Americans are Tuning Out the World. † 24 November 2005. YaleGlobal Online. 10 October 2007 . Sloan, Kim. A New World: England's First View of America. The University of North Carolina Press , 2007.

Internet Cafe Feasibility

Introduction Nowadays, internet cafe is really in demand because of the fast changing technology that the people embraced. It continues to play a larger role in all aspects of life, people and especially student's needs to have knowledge to navigate the genealogical world with skill and knowing their responsibilities.An internet cafe is an area that provides internet access to the public that has time rate. Internet cafe is known as one method of communication, we use it for reading news headlines, searching, play electronic games, chatting with family and friends, watching, and etc,. It is recorded that the world's first Internet cafe belongs to Cafe Siberia which opened in London, England in September 1, 1994. It was founded by Eva Papoose who got the business idea of serving coffee to customers who are surfing the web while tinting at a coffee shop near the City University of London where she was taking her PHD degree.She started Cafe Siberia with six HP computers which are connec ted to the Internet through dial-up modems that were able to transfer rate of 9. 6 kilobits of data per second. The proposed business plan named â€Å"HIGH FIVE INTERNET CAFE† since the business primary role is to provide high quality service and the implementing unit is composed of five members. Rationale Providing internet cafe is a project we come up to suffice the demand of computer shop in different places has. With the heave of population every year, less computer shop is not sufficient for the future demands of community.This project is very additional and appropriate to be used. It is also comprises of stored different application and software that suitable to the people and especially for student needed. This place will also fully air conditioned and very secure to maintain good service and qualities of the computers. Project Description The computer units in the Internet cafe are consists of different applications and software like Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft O ffice Power Point, Microsoft Office Excel, and etc. Every unit has installed mainly needed software, applications and games. We proposed this project for the following reasons: To provide high quality and high standard computers for the future demands of customers. For customers' needs especially for the students. Allows people to communicate to their love one. Objectives To be able to acquire the computer system that will meet the expectation and needs of the computer users. To be able to prove that the proposed business will provide benefits to people. Significance of the StudyThe significance of this project is to help the society specifically to those where interests lies in the computers area. This area will be renting near schools, were our target customers are mainly students and nearby neighborhood especially those people whose relatives or loved ones are on abroad and find it very convenient communicating with them through chat and email. We make our customer comfortable, g ood music is well provided, the PC's is all well organized and arrange properly according to their rows for the convenience of our customer.Each computer has their own games, internet and surfing to be chosen by our customer, and it should be accessible to all users. Implementing Schedule Major Activities Project Proposal Strategies Time Frame Submission and approval of the Pro- April 5-6, 2014 eject Finding Equipments and Assurance for high quality equipment April 7-12, 2014 Location Construction and Set-up Preparation for the necessity of the April 14-30, 2014 equipments customers Submission of the Preparation and presentation of the April 31, 2014 Proposal Project 5 by 5 Square Meters Topology

The Susquehanna Indian Tribe of Pennsylvania Essay

The Susquehanna Indian Tribe of Pennsylvania - Essay Example A great deal of the early history of the American continent has been lost thanks to the annihilation of great Indian nations such as the Susquehanna, forcing us to examine other tribes for clues as to their way of life. In early 17th century, three distinctive groups of Indian tribes, representing three different linguistic stocks, occupied the region that is now Virginia. Along the coast were many settlements of the Algonquian group, the Powhatan confederacy, enemy of the Siouan stock composed of the Monacan and Manahoac groups that spread from the banks of the upper James and the headwaters of the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers to the Allegheny Mountains (UV, 2006). The bellicose and scattered Iroquoian stock was represented by the Conestoga or Susquehanna tribe of about 600 able warriors that lived in palisaded towns to defend themselves from the Massawomeckes. The six Susquehanna towns are Sasquesahanough, Quadroque, Attaock, Tesinigh, Utchowig, and Cepowig; the earlier names obviously conventionalized forms of the original native terms (AG, 2006). Ever since, the Susquehannock apparently had been in good alliance with the Huron. It was probable they migrated to the Susquehanna Valley from the north. The earliest town sites recognized as Susquehannock were sited on the upper Susquehanna River and date from about 1550, but they probably had occupied the region for at least four hundred years before this. Even though they inflicted a major defeat on the Mohawk shortly before 1600, conflicts with the Iroquois had by 1570 forced the Susquehannock south into the lower Susquehanna Valley. Toughened by years of constant warfare, they besieged the Algonquin tribes along the shores of Chesapeake Bay and began extending their control southward. The first European contact with the Susquehannock was in 1608 when Captain John Smith an explorer from Jamestown was traveling the northern end of Chesapeake Bay (Shovel, 2006). The Powhatan also knew the Susquehannock from painful experience, and when the English first established Virginia, the Powhatan had placed their villages well-inland to defend them from Susquehannock war parties that ranged the coastline by canoes. One basis the Powhatan were not completely conflicting to English settlement at first was that they provided additional defense, but the Susquehannock still attacked the Powhatan villages in northern Virginia during 1610 (Cadzow, 1936). III. During the early 1600s, drawn by the potential profits from furs, other Europeans came to the New World. Friendly dealings with the Susquehannock were particularily valuable to the French, not just for the purposes of trade, but because they fascinated the Iroquois between two powerful enemies. Unluckily, the new coalition alarmed Dutch traders on the Hudson River, and they vigorously supported the Mohawk in 1615 against the Susquehannock. Even though they were relatively few in number and isolated by their inland location, the Susquehannock managed to turn out to be an important trading partner with all of the competing European powers. As well handicapped by their

Personal power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal power - Essay Example Their main source of inspiration became the folklores that the afro- Americans wrote. In her novel, Sweat, Huston became the first writer who looked at the most probable ways of undertaking free indirect speech. Huston has used a number of styles to bring out clearly how we feel personal power thus uses interjections to bring out the nature of the main character, who is the protagonist and the use of the voice of narration serves a purpose of triggering the feelings of Delia. For example "After that she was able to build a spiritual earthworks against her husband. His shells could no longer reach her. AMEN" (42). The use of exclamatory sentences and adverb reiteration brought out hope and at the same time brought about a tone of uncertainty. The narrative voice brings out the aspect of leaving aside the objective that the author wanted to put across and instead makes the readers to change their thinking line and start sympathizing with the protagonist, and nevertheless adopt the protagonist point of view. This is one of the aspect of writing that Huston uses to bring out her fiction in a very interesting way. Poetic way of communication is also another way that Huston uses to express the idea of how human beings feel about personal power. Huston uses the poetic use of language to show the speech of the Blacks in a metaphoric manner. For example Delia uses metaphor â€Å"But in the main, I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall. Against a wall in company with other bags, white, red and yellow (2).† To define her position in terms of race. The use of metaphor and simile is the greatest contribution of the Black to the field of literature, this is according to the point of view of Huston. The narrator in ‘Sweat’ gives evidence to the fact that the Afro-Americans give interpretation to English instead of speaking it when talking about the marriage life of Delia. The narrator says that Delia

Minority kids with alcohol addicition Research Paper

Minority kids with alcohol addicition - Research Paper Example The problem has grown worse as the adolescent population too has been fascinated by the trend. Alcohol as a part of party or as a part of ‘growing up’, ends up being an addiction and the person becomes a nuisance to his loved ones as well as the society. What starts as an experiment of trying something new, at times ends up in severe addiction of alcohol. Addiction is the condition when the person feels adverse effects if not provided with the substance he is addicted to. Alcohol addiction is serious because alcohol is one of the most easily available drugs. Unlike other drugs like cocaine, alcohol is much more reachable. The youngsters, who fall below the legal age for alcohol consumption, find it easily accessible and not to forget that it is also available in the homes where adults drink it. In fact the first experiment of adolescents with alcohol begins at home only. It will also be discussed in the report how the advertisement of alcohol target the youth and how the se advertisements are more common in the localities where the minority groups are found in excess. My study aims to understand the causes of alcohol addiction among adolescents particularly among the minority group. These underage users of alcohol mostly become the main target of alcohol advertisements considering they are more prone to addiction to drugs. I am going to study the cultural influences on the kids that affect their behavior towards alcohol and the factors that lead to a sustained alcohol addiction. This study compares the findings from other studies and tries to come to a conclusion about the effect of kids belonging to a minority group and their habitual alcohol drinking. According to a report by the Office of Applied Studies (2007), 8000 adolescents on an average, aged from 12 to 17, drank alcohol for the first time. This increase in consumption is a concern as alcohol addiction has usually been directly linked to the occasional consumption in the above mentioned age

What Is Discrimination Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What Is Discrimination - Literature review Example A racial group means a group of people defined by their race, color, and nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origins. Victimization means treating someone less favorably because they have made a complaint of discrimination (a "protected act"), or are thought to have done so; or because they have supported someone else who has made a complaint of discrimination. Vivid legal responsibility is the legal basis whereby an organization may become legally liable for the acts of its employees or agents. This can apply even where the institution had no knowledge of the acts and where, if it had been aware, it would disapprove or have disapproved of the acts in question. (Andrew, 1995) Direct discrimination is when a person is treated less favorably by another in a comparable situation. For example, A40-year-old woman applies for a job and is told she cannot have the job because the company is looking for new employees in their 20s. An African couple is looking for a school for their child and is told by their local school that the child cannot go to that school because there are no non-white children there. A man applies for a job and does not get it and is told that the company does not want gay people working there. (Andrew, 1995) The west of the city is mainly occupied by black people. This means that proportionately more non-black people will be applying for the job. A facility is "open to everyone", but it is on the third floor and there is no lift. This means that people in wheelchairs cannot use the facility. A company insists that people cannot leave their desks during the day apart from toilet breaks and lunch. This means that practicing Muslims cannot work there since they cannot pray at the appointed times.(Ibid, 1995) Indirect discrimination occurs where the effect of certain requirements, conditions or practices imposed by an employer or education provider has an adverse impact disproportionately on one group or other. Indirect discrimination can also occur when a rule or condition, which is applied equally to everyone, can be met by a considerably smaller proportion of people from a particular group, the rule is to their disadvantage, and it cannot be justified on other grounds. (Alf, 1958) Â  

Critically Evaluate the Progress (or otherwise) Made with Regard to Essay

Critically Evaluate the Progress (or otherwise) Made with Regard to the Implementation of the Coroner and Justice Act 2009 - Essay Example Sections 54 and 55 of the act establish a new partial protection to murder of loss of control, to reinstate the existing partial protection of aggravation, which is revoked by section 56 of the act. Section 57 makes minor modifications to the law connected with the offence/protection of infanticide. A coroner is a government bureaucrat who examines the death of the humans, finds out the reason(s) of death, issues certificates of death, maintains records of death, reacts to deaths in mass tragedies, recognizes the unknown and unidentified body of the deceased, and various other functions on the basis of local laws. At the same time, local laws describe the cases of deaths a coroner must examine, but most frequently they consist of those that are unexpected, unforeseen, and which have no general practitioner to attend, and deaths that are doubtful or aggressive. Registration fees and death tax have major impact on this case. Chapter 5 of the Coroner and Justice Act 2009 talks about the provision regarding the death and investigation. Under this, Schedule 5 builds provision regarding powers of senior coroners and also at the same time the Coroner for Treasure. Schedule 7 builds provision regarding fees, allowance, and expenses of the case. ... (2)The amount of the fees is to be whatever is agreed from time to time by the assistant coroner and the relevant authority for the area. (3)The fees to which an assistant coroner for an area is entitled under this paragraph are payable by the relevant authority for the area† (Coroners and Justice Act 2009). Prohibition of Fees: Except as the certain circumstances permitted by or in the act a senior coroner, part coroner or any assistant of the coroner may not admit or admit any payment or fee regarding anything done by that concerned coroner in the specific performance of his or her duties and functions. Public reaction to the changes in law has guided to numerous interesting circumstances on what is to be considered competent of constituting aggravation. â€Å"The new law is a major shift in government policy and one towards gender equality, but many people have had concerns that these new laws would also allow the courts to be more lenient towards woman that kill abusive hu sbands by now allowing women who suffered from â€Å"slow-burn† to be able to use this defense† (Mubin 2012). Public reaction to the changes is to develop the accuracy and quality of the death certification in England and Wales. It will help to deliver a service that is gave attention on the requirements of bereaved people. Medical Examiners were constituted by the particular Act 2009, to offer better examination of certification of death, more precise data on reasons of death, suggestion to Coroners, and to help input of appropriate information to the clinical governance systems of the health service. The Department of Health is presently running numerous pilot

Multi-channel Hybrid System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Multi-channel Hybrid System - Essay Example "The multi-channel approach expands distribution and allows the marketer to reach a wider market." ("Principles") In addition, a wider market provides more room for the company to explore the consumer needs and cater to a wide variety of customers, hence a wider distribution of products. Thus, the possibility having a sustainable market is higher. Both the local and the global markets are segmented. The needs of each segment in the market are differentiated; therefore an equal need in addressing these needs require different strategies as well as individual channels of product distribution. Concentrating with only one channel limits the market range that the company or the business may be able to cater. Customer needs and wants continue to change over time. In the most recent years, market trends has put more emphasis on delivering to the customers the products with superior quality as well as the superior services that the suppliers could offer. Moreover, a consistent delivery of high-quality products and services must be tracked down all the time, as well as analyzed, in order to become responsive to the constantly changing needs in the market. Suppliers are required to be market-oriented to become familiar with the newest marketing trends in order to remain competitive. However, market orientation does not stop in the company's awareness of the trends in the market. They need to acquire the organization-wide generation of market intelligence, its appropriate dissemination strategies across various departments, and the proper response to these new trends in the market. (cited in Jaworski & Kohli, 1993) Multi-channel/Hybrid System as a Distribution Strategy The needs of the consumers constantly changes through time. As a result, the question of whether a company should use a single-channel strategy or a multiple-channel strategy is no longer a question that needs to be answered. The markets in the future are expected to have a mix of different channels that would need to be explored by the companies in order to attain global competitiveness. The customers' increasing preferences of different channels when searching and buying products or services that depend on their characteristics, the nature of the product they buy and the transaction process are just two of the reasons of the consumers' preferences of having a multiple channel of marketing and distribution. (cited in Schijns & Groenewoud, 2002) The increasing technological developments at the same time are deemed as the reasons for this growing multi-channel distribution strategy in the market. These technological advancements offer the suppliers the opportunity to meet the preferred channel of the customers wherein it would be comfortable with him. (cited in Schijns & Groenewoud, 2002)There are, however, other distribution channels that need to be further explored by the suppliers in order to meet the demands of the customers. These consumer trends, along with the technological innovations, contribute to the decision-making of the companies with regards to the use of multi-channel or hybrid distribution that would increase production and distribution, that will eventually lead them to global competitiveness. Businesses and companies' need to add more channels are brought about by competitive pressures in the market. In the event that they refuse to accept this new trend in the market - attempting not to utilize new channels - the risk of

Gardasil Vaccine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gardasil Vaccine - Essay Example While one side of the pharmaceutical industry argues and pushes for the drug to become mandatory, there is another side of the industry that asks the world to wait. Merck & Co., a world-class pharmaceutical company that markets various vaccines, is currently marketing the Gardasil vaccine. All its products are tried, tested and accepted in the markets with a lot of confidence. Till now Merck has provided some of the best vaccines to the world. Officials state that with the growing number of cases of cervical cancer, Garadasil would dramatically improve longevity and quality of life for many. The vaccine would not only protect people from the HPV infection, but will also help the 6 million cases affected every year2. The HPV vaccine is designed to protect against strains 6, 11, 16 and 18; which together cause 90% of HPV cases (National Cancer Institute). The company is currently on an awareness program called One less and as per Bev Lybrand, vice president & general manager, HPV Franchise, GARDASIL, Merck Vaccine Division, "The full public health benefit of reducing the burden of cervical cancer and HPV disease may be achieved through broad publ ic awareness and vaccination with GARDASIL, which is the driving force behind One Less." The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as of Jun... A vaccine or drug comes for FDA approval after a battery of clinical tests and phases of study. After the approval of Gardasil, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs was noted to say that, 'This vaccine is a significant advance in the protection of women's health in that it strikes at the infections that are the root cause of many cervical cancers" (June 8, 2006, FDA News). Later in June, the vaccine was approved for usage on children as young as nine years old (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices3). Cons The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) formed by the parents of vaccine-injured children is a leading critic of vaccines made compulsory for all people across ages. It also seriously considers the lack of research and fundamental principles that often organizations overlook. The NVIC has called upon the ACIP of CDC to inform them to refuse the universal application of Gardasil. As per them, Merck's clinical trials have not proved the vaccine to be safe for young girls. While the drug has been approved for usage in children from nine years onwards, statistics show that only a small pool of 250 pre teens were tested with Garadasil. NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher, even went on to say that, "Merck and the FDA have not been completely honest with the people about the pre-licensure clinical trials." Many religious conservatives also do not agree with making the vaccine mandatory as they feel that it may encourage unsafe sex. Health freedom organizations are a growing force today and have been formulated to fight the political power that pharmaceutical companies leverage to sell their products in the market. Many of these organizations question the importance and viability of the vaccine which

Employee Reward Strategy for Heidelberg Insurance Services Assignment

Employee Reward Strategy for Heidelberg Insurance Services - Assignment Example In order to reduce the problems of lack of commitment, Poor quality performance and Lack of effective control, it is hereby recommended that the amount of times based salary in their monthly take home should be considerably reduced and a new system of commission based salary should be introduced. Commission should be directly proportionate to the volume of sales achieved by individual sales consultant. Also, the formula of higher the sales, the higher the percentage of commission should apply. Complete abandonment of fixed based salary is not recommended because it will reduce job security that may lead to high turnover. Also, if due to any reason i.e. illness, a sales consultant is not able to work for full number of days in a month; his/her commission income will sharply reduce. Thus, this fixed based salary will supplement that consultant's income in that particular month. Ultimately it will lead to enhanced commitment towards HIS. In an addition, to ensure effective checks and balances on the activities of sales consultants, amount of commission income should be made inversely proportionate to the number of complaints received against each of them. A Points System of Rewards i.e. ... Customer's feedback should also have strong impact on a sales consultant's pay package and quarterly/yearly bonus. To achieve this, customer satisfaction survey should be conducted after careful selection of sample. It will help in two ways. First of all it will make the customer feel that his/her feedback regarding the sales consultant's service to him is important to the company and thus it will develop a sense of attachment between him/her and the company. Secondly, it will help exercise effective control over the sales consultant. He/she will take great care at the time of making commitments - a problem that the company is facing and paying for by bad publicity by some unsatisfied customers. It is also highly recommended that the team of sales consultants should not be hired by one sales director only; they should be divided into 4 teams and each team headed by one team leader directly reporting to the sales director. It will be easy for team leaders and the sales director also to handle small groups of people that will help develop committed teams competing with each other in terms of sales and quality of output. Clerical Division Existing Payment System An organization's success depends not only on the performance of its sales team and / or of the senior management, the minor tasks performed by clerical staff are also important though relatively lesser than that of others. At Heidelberg, existing reward strategy does not reflects any thing that may motivate clerical staff to stay committed to the organization and to help achieve management's aim of reducing cost. Recommended Reward Strategy Since the job does not require a very high level of commitment, neither does

Effective Human Resource Planning Essay Example for Free

Effective Human Resource Planning Essay The key to effective human resource management is human resource planning 1.0 Introduction Human Resources (HR) Management is a multifaceted function. This entity has an important place within companies in helping key personnel decide on the best staff for their needs, among other things. Sometimes, the employees chosen are full-time employees already working for the company or they could be contractors. Regardless, the goal of HR Management is to choose the most qualified person for the job. Again, HR Management is a group of professionals that wear many hats, some of which include employee benefits and compensation, hiring and terminating employees, and managing personnel policies and employee records. While smaller companies will often perform the tasks of HR Management on their own, most, larger corporations choose to hire professionals to oversee the entire HR department so we can say that the key to effective human resource management is human resource planning, as it is stated by Mark and Cynthia, it involves strategic plans, then devising ways to meet these objectives . In this essay I will try to focus on strategic planning which is a major factor of planning. 2.0 Aims of strategic plans The history of strategic planning begins in the military. According to Websters New World Dictionary, strategy is the science of planning and directing large-scale military operations, of maneuvering forces into the most advantageous position prior to actual engagement with the enemy (Guralnic, 1986). In an address to the strategic planning workshop director-general of kwazulu-Netal RK Sizani said employees must be able to advise, facilitate, support, consult, guide, monitor, resolve disputes and recommend strategic interventions to government and departments. They must be capable of producing rules, procedures, norms, frameworks, standards, draw common plans and goals which will enhance co-ordination. They require people who are experienced and somewhat capacitated and not junior entry  level officers. As organizations vary in size, aims, functions, complexity, construction, the physical nature of their product, and appeal as employers, so do the contributions of human resource management. But, in most the ultimate aim of the function is to: ensure that at all times the business is correctly staffed by the right number of people with the skills relevant to the business needs, that is, neither overstaffed. The second area should be about identifying which of these plans and strategies are so fundamental that there must be clear plans to address them before the organisation can achieve on any of its goals. These are likely to include: * Workforce planning issues * Progression planning * Staff skills plans * Motivation and fair treatment issues * Pay levels designed to recruit, retain and motivate people * A grading and remuneration system which is fair * Employment issues which impact on staff recruitment, retention, motivation etc. * A performance management framework which is designed to meet the needs of all sectors of the organisation. * Career development framework which look at development within the organisation at equipping employees with employability so that they can cope with increasingly frequent changes in employer and employment patterns * Policies and framework- to ensure that people development issues are addressed systematically: competence frameworks, self-managed learning etc. The HR strategy will need to show that careful planning of the people issues will make it substantially easier for the organisation to achieve its wider strategic and operational goals. 3.0 Recruitment of staff Recruitment should be preceded by an analysis of the job to be done (i.e. an analytical study of the tasks to be performed to determine their essential factors) written into a job description so that the selectors know what physical and mental characteristics applicants must possess, what qualities and attitudes are desirable and what characteristics are a decided disadvantage; * In the case of replacement staff a critical questioning of the need to recruit at all (replacement should rarely be an automatic process). * Effectively, selection is buying an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence bad buys can be very expensive. For that reason some firms (and some firms for particular jobs) use external expert consultants for recruitment and selection. Equally some small organizations exist to head hunt, i.e. to attract staff with high reputations from existing employers to the recruiting employer. However, the cost of poor selection is such that, even for the ordinary day-to-day jobs, those who recruit and select should be well trained to judge the suitability of applicants. 3.1 The main sources of recruitment are: * Internal promotion and internal introductions * University appointment boards; * Agencies for the unemployed; * Advertising (often via agents for specialist posts) or the use of other local media (e.g. commercial radio). The organization put its trade mark for rapid attraction and it must take care not to offend the sex, race, etc. antidiscrimination legislation either directly or indirectly. Interviewing can be carried out by individuals (e.g. supervisor or departmental manager), by panels of interviewers or in the form of sequential interviews by different personal skills techniques to aid judgment include selection testing for: * Aptitudes (particularly useful for school leavers); * Attainments; * General intelligence. (All of these need skilled testing and assessment.) In more senior posts other techniques are: * Leaderless groups; * Command exercises; * Group problem solving. (These are some common techniques professional selection organizations often use other techniques to aid in selection.) Training in interviewing and in appraising candidates is clearly essential to good recruitment. Largely the former consists of teaching interviewers how  to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to rate the candidates. For consistency rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. 4.0 Analysis 4.1 Setting the strategic direction This process focuses on aligning human resource policies to support the accomplishment of the Companys mission, vision, goals and strategies. The business goals sit at the heart of any HR plan and in order to align business and HR you need to answer one key question, Can your organisations internal capability deliver the organisations business goals? Many organisations cite their people as their primary source of competitive advantage. Successful companies continuously identify and adopt innovative human resource management policies and practices to sustain that advantage. More importantly, they structure work and design training, performance management, pay, and reward policies to help members of the organization succeed in achieving desired organizational outcomes. In other words, they integrate and align HRM policies and practices to reinforce employee behaviors that can best realize the leaders strategic intent. In the most successful companies, the set of policies and practices that collectively make up a companys HRM system is the critical management tool for communicating and reinforcing the leaders strategic intent. 5.0 Conclusion While Human resource management strategies must be developed to support the achievement of the organisations objectives, it is a two-way process. These strategies can themselves be critical inputs in determining the strategic initiatives for the organisation. A fatal error, however, is to develop and implement Human resource management strategies without thinking of the  organisational strategic planning process. A common mistake is the development of workplace skills plans which are not linked to any strategic goals or objectives or which have no affirmative action components. So, Human resource planning is the key to effective human resource management. 6.0 References 1. http://www.searchbites.com/docs/HR_MANAGEMENT.asp (28th December 2004) 2. Mark Lengnick-Hall and Cynthia Lengnick-Hall. (22 December 2003) Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: New Challenges, New Roles, New Capabilities, 3. Guralnik, D. (Ed.). (1986). Websters New World Dictionary (2nd ed.). Cleveland, OH: Prentice Hall Press. 4. R K Sizani, Workshop of the on implementation and action an address to the strategic planning, (02nd December 2001) 5. Behrman M, (2004), A guide to strategic human resource planning, Workinfor bulletin, south Africa 6. http://www.accel-team.com/human_resources/hrm_02.html, (31 December 2004) 7. A Strategic Human Resource Management System for the 21st Century. Naval Personnel Task Force, September 2000, Story Number: NNS040406-02, 04th June 2004 8. Human Resources, Pay Trends Bulletin ,The employers organisation for local authorities in the south east,(June 2004),

Biochemical and Mineral Changes in Coconut Fermentation

Biochemical and Mineral Changes in Coconut Fermentation Changes in biochemical and mineral composition during natural fermentation of freshly collected coconut inflorescence sap Abstract Fresh, unfermented coconut inflorescence sap is a natural, hygienic, nutritious liquid extracted from inflorescence of coconut palms (Cocos nucifera L.). Studies conducted to establish changes in biochemical (pH, total sugar, reducing sugar, proteins, amino acids, phenolics) and mineral (sodium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and copper) content during natural fermentation of freshly collected coconut inflorescence sap revealed that the freshly collected coconut sap was rich in biochemical’s like total sugar (16.78 g 100 mL-1), protein (116.91 mg 100 mL-1 ), amino acids (210 mg 100 mL-1 ) and phenolics (19.9 mg 100 mL-1); macro minerals like sodium (103.92 mg 100 mL-1 ), potassium (177.66 mg/100 mL-1), soluble phosphorus (2.16 mg 100 mL-1); and micro-minerals like iron (68.55  µg 100 mL-1), copper (32.75  µg 100 mL-1) and zinc (15.60  µg 100 mL-1). Natural fermentation caused consistent decrease in pH, total sugar, amino acids, iron, copper, and zinc significantly ove r the time with increase in protein and soluble phosphorous. Natural fermentation was found to cause reduction in the biochemical and mineral nutrients except sodium and potassium, making the sap sour to taste. Introduction Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), belongs to the family of Arecaceae (Palmae), is an important member of the monocotyledons, found grown throughout the tropic and subtropic regions, is known for versatile uses of its different parts. It is part of the daily diet of many people. Oyster white, and translucent coconut sap extracted from unopened inflorescences of coconut palm is reported as a natural and non alcoholic beverage, high in nutritional value and an instant thirst quencher. It requires neither mechanical crushing, as in the case of cane, nor leaching like that of beet-root. This palm sap is widely consumed in India, Sri Lanka, Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar (Mahanandi, 2006). Coconut sap is considered as nutritious and delicious drink with agreeable flavour. The chemical composition of sap varies, depending on various factors, viz. place, age and type of palm, mode and season of its collection. Sap contains a number of minerals and salts and is high in protein. It contains acids like ascorbic acid (one form of vitamin C), nicotinic acid (vitamin B3 and vitamin PP) and riboflavin (Rosengarten and Frederic, (2004)). The method of tapping and collection of sap vary from country to country and also different regions within these countries. In India and Srilanka, sap is collected mostly in earthenware pots/bamboo receptacles. The earthen pot/bamboo sac is connected to the spadix, to be tapped. Lime is coated from inside the pot to prevent fermentation of the sap. In this method of collection, the sap quite often gets contaminated by trapped insects dust particles. At Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, a simple device has been developed to collect fresh and hygienic sap from coconut palms. The sap so collected can be used either as ready to serve drink or can be used for the preparation of natural coconut honey, jaggary or coconut sugar without the addition of any chemicals. Limited information is available with regard to the biochmecianl changes in coconut sap upon natural fermentation and no reports were availble about the changes in mineral contents in the sap. Thus t he objective of the present study was to findout the extend of changes in biochemical and mineral constituents in freshly collected coconut inflourecence sap as well as naturally fermented sap. Materials and methods Coconut sap collection: Fresh, hygienic, unfermented, fresh and clean inflorescence sap was collected by tapping of unopened spadix of the palm tree Cocus nucifera L. (WCT x GBGD hybrid) in the CPCRI Experimental Farm, using the device developed at CPCRI, Kasaragod, Kerala, India (Patent File No. K.B. Hebbar2425/CHE/2013). Initial pH of the over night collected fresh sap was measured and the one set of sap was stored at -20 ºC and other 10 sets of sap samples was kept under room temperature (25  ± 2 ºC during the study period) to for natural fermentation. Each set of sample was taken at different time, then pH and other biochemical and mineral constituents were measured. Estimation of total sugar and reducing sugar: Total sugar and reducing sugar content in the fermented sap was determined using phenol-sulphuric method (Dubois et al., 1956) and Nelson-Somogyi’s method (Somogyi, 1952), respectively. In both methods glucose was used as a standard. Estimation of protein and free amino acids: Total protein and total free amino acids present in the sap was determined using Lowry’s method (Lowry et al., 1951) and ninhydrin method (Moor and Stein, 1948) respectively. Bovine serum albumin and leucine were used as a standard for protein and amino acid estimation, respectively.. Estimation of Phenolics: Total phenolics content of freshly collected coconut inflorescence sap was measured by Folin–Ciocalteu’s phenol reagent (Singleton and Rossi, 1965). Gallic acid in 50% (v/v) methanol solution in concentrations of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg 100 mL-1 was used as a standard. The content of total phenolics was expressed as mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 ml of fresh sample. All samples were analyzed in triplicate. Estimation of soluble phosphorus: Soluble phosphorus present in the sap was determined by molybdivanadophosphoric acid method described by Kitsonand Mellon (1944). An aliquot of 10 mL of sap was taken in a 50 mL flask and 10 ml of vanadomolybdate reagent was added and volume was diluted to 50 mL with double distilled water and the color developed was read at 470 nm after 10 mins. Potassium dihydrogen phosphate was used as a standard. Mineral analysis: Mineral content was determined according to official analytical methods (AOAC 1990) using a GBC make Avanta PM atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) equipped with a D2 lamp background correction system using an air-acetylene flame. Determinations were carried out in duplicates of each independent sample of each pH. For the analysis of minerals, coconut sap solutions at different pH were filtered through quantitative ashless filter paper and used. The samples were analyzed using AAS calibrated with related minerals in different concentrations for different macro (potassium and magnesium) and micro-minerals (copper, iron and zinc). All the chemicals used in this study were of analytical grade and the standard solutions of minerals for AAS were purchased from Merck, Germany. The detection limits for minerals were 3  µg/100 g for K; 0.3  µg/100 g for Mg; 3  µg/100 g for Cu; 6  µg/100 g for Fe and 1  µg/100 g for Zn. Statistical analyses: All statistical analyses were performed using of Statistical Analysis Software system, Version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) (SAS 2009). Analysis of variance, using PROC GLM was used to determine significant differences among the fermented sap samples for biochemical and mineral constituents. Simple linear correlation analysis was performed to indicate the measure of correlation and strength of relationship between variables studied. Results and discussion: The coconut inflorescence sap collected using device developed at CPCRI, Kasaragod, Kerala, India was analyzed for biochemical and mineral constituents at initial level immediately after collection, and at different time intervals after allowing for natural fermentation under room condition. Significant differences were observed for all biochemical and mineral constituents, except sodium and potassium, with respect to natural fermentation (Table 1 and Table 2). Linear correlation (r) between time, biochemical parameters and minerals studied in coconut inflorescence sap due to natural fermentation were given in table 3. Changes in pH: The pH of the coconut sap samples decreased from 7.57 to 3.95 by the end of 4 hrs due to natural fermentation and observed significant negative correlation with time (r = -0.991, at P Changes of total sugar and reducing sugar content: At initial time, the total sugar and reducing sugar content in the sap was about 16.78 g and 0.48 g 100 mL-1, respectively. At the end of 4th hr, the total sugar content reduced to 8.9 g 100 mL-1 and reducing sugar content increased to 3.5 g 100 mL-1. Xia et al., (2011) reported that sucrose was the predominant sugar in the fresh sap; reducing sugars such as glucose and fructose were in negligible amount in fresh unfermented sap. Once the fermentation starts, the total sugar level was drastically reduced and at the same time there was a sharp increase in reducing sugar content, which meant that the content of fructose and glucose increased but sucrose decreased. This is due to sucrose being converted into fructose and glucose during initial fermentation. At the same time, the broken down glucose and fructose was utilized by the microorganisms at later stages. This may be the reason for the overall reduction in total sugar content fr om 16.78 g to 8.9 g 100 mL-1. Significant positive correlation between pH and total sugar (r=0.912, at P r= -0.914 and -0.926, respectively, at P Changes of total protein and free amino acids: The protein content of the freshly collected coconut sap was about 116.91 mg 100 mL-1, when the fermentation progress, there was a significant increase in the protein content and it reached 839.21 mg 100 mL-1 at the end of 4 hrs, and it was negatively correlated with the free amino acid content. At initial stage the free amino acid content was about 210 mg 100 mL-1 sap. Free amino acid content decreased drastically due to fermentation and reached to 77.76 mg 100 mL-1 sap at pH of about 4.7. Correlation study showed that there was a significant negative correlation between total protein and free amino acids (r= -0.715, at P The phenolic content in fresh sap was about 19.9 mg 100 mL-1. There was a difference in the phenolic content upon fermentation; the change in phenolics content didn’t showed any trend. Upon fermentation, the content of phenolics starts decreased for up to 90 mins, there after there was a steady state. The results are against the earlier study which showed there was drastic increase in phenolics content due to the release of phenols from polyphenols by the action of microbial fermentation (Xia et al., 2011). Earlier studies showed that there was a steady state between hydrolysis of polyphenols and the action of polyphenoloxidase; processes that generate and oxidize, respectively, leads to no drastic change in phenolic content (Cruz et al., 2013). The major biochemical changes occurring in the fermenting sap indicated that a natural fermentation of coconut sap consist of initial lactic acid fermentation, a middle alcoholic fermentation and final acetic acid fermentation. It also appeared that activities brought about by micro-organisms of early phase helped the activities of the micro-organisms in each of the later phases (Atputharajah et al., 1986) Changes in mineral composition by natural fermentation: Mineral composition of coconut inflorescence sap and their changes during natural fermentation were given in the table 2. Potassium (177.66 mg/100 mL-1) was the major mineral nutrient present in the fresh sap followed by sodium, which was about 103.92 mg 100 mL-1. In the present study, there was no significant differences were found for the changes in potassium and sodium content in the fresh sap and fermented sap. Soluble phosphorus content in the fresh sap was 2.16 mg 100 mL-1.There was significant differences were found for the soluble phosphorus content in the sap upon fermentation. The soluble phosphorus content was found to increase to 6.41 mg 100 mL-1 at the end of 4th hr due to microbial fermentation, which increases the solubility of the phosphorus. Earlier studies, Lopez et al. (2001) found thatlactic acid bacteria present in sourdough enhanced acidification, leading to increased magnesium and phosphorus solubility. Freshly collected coconut sap was rich in micro-minerals like iron (68.55  µg 100 mL-1), copper (32.75  µg 100 mL-1) and zinc (15.60  µg 100 mL-1). Once the fermentation starts, the level of micro-minerals present in the sap starts declining and the changes was significant. There was a significant negative correlation found between time and all micro-minerals studied (r= -0.948, -0.930 and -0.890 for iron, copper and zinc, respectively, with time). Microorganisms require several micronutrients like manganese, zinc, cobalt, nickel and copper are available in nature, have many roles in the cells as a part of enzymes, cofactors that make to catalysis of reaction and maintenance of protein structure. This leads to reduction in available micro-mineral contents in the sap during fermentation. Conclusion The biochemical studies revealed that the freshly collected coconut inflorescence sap was rich in biochemicals such as sugar, protein, free amino acids and mineral nutrients such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, copper and zinc. Due to natural fermentation there was a drastic change in the above said nutrients except sodium and potassium. In most cases, the natural fermentation reduces the available nutrients in the sap and make the sap sour to taste. Thus, there is a need to find out suitable methods to prevent the natural fermentation of coconut sap without affecting its nutritional quality and make it as a delicious health drink. Table 1. Changes in pH and biochemical composition in coconut inflorescence sap due to fermentation Table 2. Changes in mineral constituents in coconut inflorescence sap due to fermentation Table 3. Linear correlation (r) between the biochemical parameters and minerals studied in coconut inflorescence sap due to natural fermentation TS – total sugar; RS – Reducing sugar; AA – amino acids * indicates significant at P=0.05 Figure 1. Changes in pH, total sugar and reducing sugar contents in coconut inflorescence sap due to fermentation. The results are representative of three replicates and values are expressed as mean  ± SD. Figure 2. Changes in protein and free amino acids content in coconut inflorescence sap due to fermentation. The results are representative of three replicates and values are expressed as mean  ± SD. Figure 3. Changes in sodium, potassium and phosphorus contents in coconut inflorescence sap due to fermentation. The results are representative of three replicates and values are expressed as mean  ± SD. Figure 4. Changes in iron, copper and zinc contents in coconut inflorescence sap due to fermentation. The results are representative of three replicates and values are expressed as mean  ± SD. Acknowledgement References J Agric Food Chem.2001 May;49(5):2657-62. Prolonged fermentation of whole wheat sourdough reduces phytate level and increases soluble magnesium. Lopez HW1,Krespine V,Guy C,Messager A,Demigne C,Remesy C. Jaqueline Fontes Moreau Cruz, Paula Bacelar Leite, Sergio Eduardo Soares and Eliete da Silva Bispo. Assessment of the fermentative process from different cocoa cultivars produced in Southern Bahia, Brazil Vol. 12(33), pp. 5218-5225, 14 August, 2013 Colorimetric Determination of Phosphorus as Molybdivanadophosphoric Acid R E. Kitson,M G. Mellon Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed.,1944,16(6), pp 379–383

Memory as a Constructive and Active Process

Memory as a Constructive and Active Process Memory is a constructive and active process. Evaluate this claim. Simon Andrew Agnew To evaluate the notion that memory is a constructive process an assessment of some of the research[p1] on the exploration of memory is required. Brace and Roth (2007) argue that memory is a constructive and active process rather than a â€Å"passive mechanism for recording external information† (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.130). However, it can be argued that memory is not exclusively constructive and active but also includes passive elements. This can be seen through the constructive reconstruction techniques and a study conducted by Godden and Braddeley (1975), which demonstrated that active learning alongside passive environment interaction that create extra retrieval cues for context reinstatement. These techniques show that linking passive processing of an environment can aid in the active process of memory retention and recollection. Memories are formed from information perceived through all the senses, after which information is coded and stored. Memory can be broken down into three components, Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval. Encoding is the process (in) by which information is stored in a person’s memory. Sensory information, information from the outside world, is transferred and coded into memory systems. There are at least two ways that sensory information can be coded. Visual codding, where shapes, words and/or objects, are received through visual receptors which in turn form the bases for the meaning of said objects and acoustic coding, which codes particular sounds, like a word or the sound an object makes, similarly linking this information to the meaning of specific sounds, either of words and/or objects. This process of encoding suggests that there is an active process in learning the association between specific sounds or objects and their specific meanings and interpretations, which are subse quently stored in a person’s memory[p2]. Memories are crucial for everyday human functions. Without memory all interactions and experiences would not be stored in memory systems inhibiting the development as individuals and a society. Erik Erikson’s research claimed that identity and memory were directly related to the development of individuality and society (Phoenix, 2007, pg.53). Erikson[p3] stated that â€Å"a conscious sense of individual uniqueness†¦ an unconscious striving for continuity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Phoenix, 2007, pg.53). This suggests that memory is an active process in which helps in the development toward the idea of ‘who we are’. Storage processes are the means through which information is (coded and) then stored within a person’s memory. Memory is a function that psychologists are long trying to understandThe first psychologist to conceptualise memory as involving different systems was William James (1890). James proposed that the primary memory system involved conscious use of mental activity while the secondary system was for storing knowledge and experiences. James’ theory of different memory sub-systems is still being used, however other research has since been conducted that shows that memory can be broken down into three main processes, Sensory Memory, holds sensory information from the outside world for a brief moment. Short-Term Memory holds coded information for a few seconds or minutes, and Long Term Memory holds coded information in a robust form for many years. (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.115). There are different ways to study memory function, from methods such as laboratory experiments, quasi-experiments and field experiments (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.117). . Brace and Roth state that â€Å"memory is an active, selective, and constructive process rather than a passive mechanism for recording external information.† (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.130). However, this can be challenged through techniques like ‘Retrieval-Enhancing Techniques’. (These‘ are the techniques) used by police officers when interviewing witnesses to aid in memory retrieval of a particular event. The different retrieval-enhancing techniques that are adopted are context reinstatement, where a person is as to recall the physical surroundings, including light, temperature and smells. Recalling everything where a witness is asked to recall everything from a particular incident, whether they think it is relevant or not. This is because retrieving one piece of information, impo rtant or not, can assist in the retrieval of other pieces of information that may not be as easily remembered. . Recalling in different temporal orders where trying to recall an event either from start to finish, or in reverse, starting with the last memory, using salient aspects of the event and working either forward or backward from that specific point (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.125). There is sufficient evidence that supports memory retrieval through cognitive interviews. It demonstrates the ability to recall information that would not otherwise be actively processed, but could be perceived, in at least one way or another, through particular senses, such as smell, sounds or tastes. Godden and Braddeley (1975) researched Context Reinstatement (Godden and Braddeley) They designed a study that required participants to learn a list of 40 words while underwater or on land. The results showed that the word (were) recall was 40% higher when the recall situation was the same as the learning environment, compared to (that) when the environments were different (switched) (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.127). It can be argued that these results show that memory is in fact active in some respects and passive others in that it demonstrates links between the passive interpretation of an environment to the active process of storing and recalling words[p4]. Subsequently participants that were asked to recall the word list in (the opposite) a different environment remember less as the opposite environment provided no cues. (such). Endel Tulving (1983) explained the relationship between storing and recalling as stronger when â€Å"retrieval overlap or match with cues that were registered at encoding† (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.126). However, memory is pliable and recollection can be influenced by post event information as well as previous mental images and thought processes. Bartlett (1932) described these changes in recognition and recall as being â€Å"unwitting[p5].† Research by Bartlett illustrated that when actively recalling new information, in order to make sense of it, a person relies on past knowledge and experiences. . Bartlett designed an experiment which highlighted influences of social factors on memory. . The experiment included participants reading an extract and then asked to recall as much of the extract as possible. . It was found that when new information was recalled the recognition was different to the original information. . He noted that unusual descriptions were changed into standard descriptions, for example, â€Å"something black came out of his mouth† became â€Å"foamed at the mouth†. . Other changes occurred through rationalisations and omission of materials (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.132). . Bartlett explains this as ‘effect after meaning’ in that past experiences, unconsciously and/or passively, intertwine with new information to help interpret and make sense of the new information. . These particular observations supported the idea that memory adopts both active and passive processing when processing new information making memory pliable and influential (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.133). Another example that demonstrates that memory is able to passive process information is through the works of Craik and Lckhart (1972). . Craik and Lockhart proposed two different levels of processing, shallow and deep. . They suggest that ‘shallow’ level processing is simple coded information in terms of physical characteristics, shapes and sounds. . ‘Deep’ level coding is information that is processed is assigned a meaning (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.119). This theory led Craik and Tulving (1975) to further investigate these different levels. . A study conducted by Craik and Tulving demonstrates the abilities of incidental learning against intentional learning. . This required participants with in the study to try not actively remember the words in the stimuli, as to ‘only’ demonstrate the capabilities of incidental learning. The results found that people were more likely to incidentally learn words that they came across during the semantic task (word that fit into sentences), and less likely to incidentally learn the words in the structural task (words in block capitals), and an intermediate amount of acoustic learn words (words based on rhyme) (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.120). This notion of incidental learning would suggest that the memory processes are also being passively stored to memory systems, as one of the main requirements was that participants were asked to try not actively learn anything during testing and yet their memory still subconsciously encodes and stores the information. In evaluating the notion that memory is a constructive process the assessment on some of the research in exploration of memory systems suggests that memory is not only constructive and active process, but a passive one as well. . It cannot be stated that memory is not an active process, as this is evident in the active process of visual and acoustic encoding, and that encoded information is key everyday human function, development and interactions. However it can be argued that memory is also a passive processes, in which sensory information is taken in and linked with active memory processes through environmental interactions or already established schemas. . This can be seen and argued through multiple studies. The results of Godden and Braddeley (1975) demonstrate that memory is active and passive in that it highlights links between the passive interpretation of an environment to the active process of storing and recalling words. Which is explained by Turlving that when â€Å" retrieval overlap or match with cues that were registered at encoding† (Brace and Roth, 2007, pg.126). . However Bartletts discussion of the pliability of memory, due to the notion that memories are processed and understood using already established schemas, and that Incidental and intentional learning, further supports the argument that memory adopts both an active and passive process when processing and/or applying meaning to new information. Words: 1637 References Brace. N, Roth I., (2007) ‘Memory: Structures, Processes and Skills’ in D. Miell, A. Phoenix, K. Thomas (Eds.), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 113-160). Milton Keynes, The Open University. Phoenix. A. (2007) ‘Identity and Diversity’ in D. Miell, A. Phoenix, K. Thomas (Eds.), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 45-92). Milton Keynes, The Open University. [p1]Though you have explain the issue to some extent– this cannot be said to be an introduction, as you are referring to terms and studies that have not yet been explained, You also need to inform the reader you mean to answer the question, and how it is to be organised. [p2]Though things can be stored in memory passively, without us attending to them. [p3]This quote is not really relevant to the question, and as above, there are elements of memory storage that occur without consciousness. [p4]I didn’t understand this point in the introduction, but it makes sense this time! [p5]Note that recognition is matching something to what is already in memory, whereas recall is retrieving something stored in memory.

Role of James Baldwin in the Civil Rights Movement Essays -- NAACP Nat

Throughout most of the 1950’s and 60’s there was a strong push by Black Americans to end their unfair treatment in America. Two main groups during this time were working on this problem. The NAACP and the Nation of Islam were two main groups working on and poised to solve this very dilemma. Despite trying to solve the same crisis their ideas on a solution were very different. Since their views were varied, people in turn had different views on which group they would become associated with. This inspired many writers to publicly display their beliefs on the issue. In â€Å"Down at the Cross,† Baldwin displays favor toward the methodology of the NAACP in the Civil Rights Movement because of their beliefs in the American system. Even though he was partial towards the NAACP he still believed in some of the teachings of the Nation of Islam especially in their views of keeping Black pride and Black values. These notions lead to the fact that Baldwin seeks a mixture of these two factions. The NAACP made many strides in America to help integrate Whites and Blacks. This group’s main method of mixing the races was through the legal system. The path they picked caused many issues with Baldwin and one he perceived is that â€Å"very few liberals have any notion how long, how costly, and how heartbreaking a task it is to gather the evidence that one can carry into court, or how long such court battles take.† (Baldwin 320). So not only is it hard on the pocket, but Baldwin believes â€Å"there is no reason that Black men should be expected to be more patient, more forbearing, more farseeing than whites; indeed, quite the contrary† (Baldwin 321). One can see that Baldwin felt that the NAACP’s methods were slow and that the Black man should ... ...d in this way everyone in America can become part off this greater whole. Then we can learn from each other’s mistakes and successes to become a greater family because â€Å"isn’t love more important than color?† (Baldwin 327). Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Down at the Cross.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1988. 63-84. Barbour, Floyd B., ed. The Black Power Revolt. Boston: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1968. â€Å"G. O. P. Picks Volpe in Massachusetts.† New York Times 12 Jan 1960. Jones, LeRoi. â€Å"The Need For a Cultural Base to Civil Rites & Bpower Mooments.† Barbour. 119-126. Poussaint, Alvin F. â€Å"The Negro American: His Self-Image and Integration.†Barbour. 94-102. Wright, Nathan Jr. â€Å"The Crisis Which Bred Black Power.† Barbour. 103-118. â€Å"Union Aides Rebut Bias Accusation.† New York Times 5 Jan 1961. Role of James Baldwin in the Civil Rights Movement Essays -- NAACP Nat Throughout most of the 1950’s and 60’s there was a strong push by Black Americans to end their unfair treatment in America. Two main groups during this time were working on this problem. The NAACP and the Nation of Islam were two main groups working on and poised to solve this very dilemma. Despite trying to solve the same crisis their ideas on a solution were very different. Since their views were varied, people in turn had different views on which group they would become associated with. This inspired many writers to publicly display their beliefs on the issue. In â€Å"Down at the Cross,† Baldwin displays favor toward the methodology of the NAACP in the Civil Rights Movement because of their beliefs in the American system. Even though he was partial towards the NAACP he still believed in some of the teachings of the Nation of Islam especially in their views of keeping Black pride and Black values. These notions lead to the fact that Baldwin seeks a mixture of these two factions. The NAACP made many strides in America to help integrate Whites and Blacks. This group’s main method of mixing the races was through the legal system. The path they picked caused many issues with Baldwin and one he perceived is that â€Å"very few liberals have any notion how long, how costly, and how heartbreaking a task it is to gather the evidence that one can carry into court, or how long such court battles take.† (Baldwin 320). So not only is it hard on the pocket, but Baldwin believes â€Å"there is no reason that Black men should be expected to be more patient, more forbearing, more farseeing than whites; indeed, quite the contrary† (Baldwin 321). One can see that Baldwin felt that the NAACP’s methods were slow and that the Black man should ... ...d in this way everyone in America can become part off this greater whole. Then we can learn from each other’s mistakes and successes to become a greater family because â€Å"isn’t love more important than color?† (Baldwin 327). Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Down at the Cross.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1988. 63-84. Barbour, Floyd B., ed. The Black Power Revolt. Boston: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1968. â€Å"G. O. P. Picks Volpe in Massachusetts.† New York Times 12 Jan 1960. Jones, LeRoi. â€Å"The Need For a Cultural Base to Civil Rites & Bpower Mooments.† Barbour. 119-126. Poussaint, Alvin F. â€Å"The Negro American: His Self-Image and Integration.†Barbour. 94-102. Wright, Nathan Jr. â€Å"The Crisis Which Bred Black Power.† Barbour. 103-118. â€Å"Union Aides Rebut Bias Accusation.† New York Times 5 Jan 1961.

Foundations of Psychology Essay -- What Is Psychology, Define Psycholo

When psychology first emerged as a science, the process of explaining the human mind and human behavior began. In this essay we will present a brief synopsis of what psychology is and introduce the reader to the primary biological foundations of psychology that are linked to behavior as well as introducing the reader to the major schools of thought in psychology. In Kowalski and Westen Fifth Edition of Psychology, psychology is define as â€Å"the scientific investigation of mental processes such as; thinking, remembering, feeling, and behavior. Understanding a person requires attention to the individual’s biology, psychological experience, and cultural context.†(Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 4). Each component is necessary in formulating who the individual is. As we delve into history, we must be cautious in our analyzation of human behavior and the human mind that we do not contribute our analyzation to a single thought or process as many times it may be a conglomerat ion of events or items that contribute to the overall picture of a person’s psychological process. Furthermore, Kowalski specifies in his writing that â€Å"humans are complex creatures whose psychological experience lies at the intersection of biology and culture.†(Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 3). He expounds upon this fact by stating that â€Å"all psychological processes occur through the interaction of cells in the nervous system and all human action occurs in the context of cultural beliefs and values that render it meaningful.† (Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 3). The primary biological foundation of psychology is linked to biopsychology. Biopsychology is an extension of psychology that analyzes our brains and the neurotransmitter that are prevalent in our nervous system... ... internalized. Sigmund Freud three elements of id, ego and superego when implemented together explained human behavior even in the most complex form. Psychology has many roles in the greater realm of science, but I will always believe that the most profound role of psychology is to enable humans to have a better understanding of their self and their world. Psychology delves into the deeper levels of the mind and intrigues us with the various theories and observations of our mental and physical capacities and although there are many schools of thought, each school of thought opens our mind to new theories and concepts that stretch our brains to boundaries unlimited! Works Cited Kowalski, R. & Westen, D. (2009). Psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Functional Psychology. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_psychology

Dahlia Case Study Essay

OVERVIEW 1.Time Context The problem has to be solved by the year 1985. 2.Viewpoint Mr. Chua Boon Kang and Mr. Leong Sim Lam 3.Major Policy Statement Dahlia Furniture Private Limited is a local furniture industry, which supplies usually kitchen cabinets, wall units, bedrooms set and dining set. It also has metal and wood furniture sets. 4.Background of the Case a.The Company Dahlia Furniture made its entrance into the furniture industry in 1972 as subcontractors to two large furniture concerns, Ching Lin and Diethelm. It supplied mainly wall units and kitchen cabinets while bedrooms sets and dining sets were subcontracted out or obtained from local suppliers. Business went well and the company decided to branch into retailing. The business was successful in its operation especially during the time when Singapore conducted a massive public housing programs. In fact their sales increased from $4,800,000.00 to $5,500,000 in 1980 to 1981. However, during that year, the company’s sales declined especially in 1983 in which it reached only $289,000.00, and somehow recovered in 1984. Contributory factors to the decline in sales include mismanagement of Mr. Lim. Because of this, reorganizations were happening and most of the employees resigned. Also furniture industry was very competitive. b.The Industry Furniture industry in Singapore began only as an extension of the country’s oldest industry which is the sawmilling. But the demand for the furniture expanded which led to it as the leading local industry. The growth of the local furniture industry has been closely linked to the growth of the country’s construction and building industry. There are now more than 200 establishments manufacturing furniture of which 59 are both manufacturers and exporters of wooden knock-down, 35 rattan and 12 steel furniture. There has been a change in the attitude towards purchase of furniture. Fashion trend has been the latest consideration of the customers. Singporeans have become more willing to spend money to decorate their homes. 5.Environmental Analysis a.SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS †¢Safe Environment †¢Good quality of the products †¢Run the new division with the present set of designers. †¢Dahlia Furniture line was of a higher quality and price than those of other retailers. †¢Dahlia’s furniture line is more for those who want exclusivity. †¢Retail outlets are now carrying wider range of furniture. †¢Dahlias is considered as one of sophisticated furniture dealer with exclusive design for their customers. †¢Dahlia has a long experience in the field of furniture. Since 1972 they are in this field and they have worked at almost all levels of the industry like subcontracting, importing, manufacturing and retailing. †¢They have good support from local manufacturers who are in turn also working as their sub contractor. †¢The company has taken timely decision to go to retail market to get sizeable customers from medium to high class range. WEAKNESSES: †¢The company is in need of competent managers that would be of great help to the success of the furniture company. †¢Dahlia Furniture has the previous dilemma of filling their showroom with salable imported furniture and disregarding the domestic demand that the great impact in the performance of sales. †¢Dahlia has no advertisement. †¢Dahlia’s market share has become eroded by some big players in the decreasing revenues from current product †¢Poor management †¢Many workers resigned due to Ang Mo Kio Factory’s failure in. OPPORTUNITIES †¢Domestic demands for furniture rise by about twelve percent annually †¢ Increasing demand in exports to United States, Australia, Canada, Western Europe and in the Middle East. †¢Singaporeans are more willing to spend money to decorate their homes. THREATS †¢Intense competition between domestic U.S. manufacturers. †¢Powerful competitors. †¢Other companies offer lower prices b.Competitor Analysis Dahlia Furniture, aside from its manufacturing operations, aides the maintenance on the supply of their inventories to some of the local suppliers. Some of them are manufacturers while others are retailers who have their own showrooms. They can be possible competitors of Dahlia. Other competitors comprise of foreign manufacturers and retailers. Some of these are Ikea , Fly, Homestead and soon to operate Scandinavian, Italian, Japanese and American manufacturers. 6.Present Company Departmental Plans a.Product Planning Dahlia mainly supplies wall units and kitchen cabinets. It subcontracts local suppliers of bedroom sets and dining sets. b.Market Planning Dahlia Furniture advertises in Straights Times. In connection to its retailing operations, Dahlia rented a showroom to a department store in Orchard area, in Bukit Timah area and Upper Thompson area c.Production Planning The purchase of Upper Thompson and Ang Mo Kio factories are sought to increase the company’s supply. d.Manpower Planning Dahlia acquired two factories namely Ang Mo Kio and Upper Thompson. The workers of these two factories were also hired. Staffs: Sales person11 persons Clerical workers4 persons Production workers (Thompson Factory)6 persons e.Organizational Planning Dahlia Furnitures is managed by Mr. Chua and Mr. Leong. Other staffs of the company are as follows: Personnel Position †¢Chua Soo Lee General Administartion †¢Robert LamProduction and General Management PROBLEM RESOLUTION 1.Background of the Case On August 1984, Mr. Chua Boon Kang and Mr. Leong Sim Lam bought over Peter Lim’s forty six percent (46%) stake at Dahlia Furniture Private Limited. Although co-owners at one time, Mr. Chua and Mr. Leong have found Mr. Lim’s management of the company to be unsatisfactory. Some reorganization took place as most of the production workers who were doing subcontracting orders solely for Dahlia had resigned due to poor company performance in 1982. Dahlia also sold off seventy five thousand dollars ($75,000) worth of machinery used for mass producing furniture which was previously purchased by a former Managing Director, who has since left the company. Now at the helm, both are uncertain about the long term direction of the company. Meanwhile, they are both concerned over maintaining sales growth in a highly competitive industry. 2.Statement of the Problem What should the management do to maintain sales growth and improve company’s position in a highly competitive industry? 3.Statement of Objectives oLong term – To become the largest manufacturer of furniture and exporter in the furniture industry. oShort term – To maximize the profit of the company. 4.Areas of Consideration ïÆ' ¼Taxes applied to importation: The Singaporean government imposes 5%import duties for goods imported in the country. This area should be taken into consideration because this will affect the entity’s expenses when such importation has been made. ïÆ' ¼The government’s policy regarding foreign labor: In the production of the furniture , the company needs to employ the services of the laborers. The company should determine the amount of labor force needed and if there is a need to avail of the foreign laborers’ services because the government of Singapore discourages the use of foreign labor. ïÆ' ¼Competition : With the advent of the furniture industry in Singapore , more and more competing manufacturers and retailers come to exist not just from the local but as well as with the foreign brands. ïÆ' ¼Trend in the furniture industry: It should be noted that the market demands in Singapore largely depends on the buyers’ perspective of what is the â€Å"in- thing† in the fashion of the furniture industry. The company should be always updated with these current trends so that they will not be left b ehind by other contenders. 5.Alternative Courses of Action 1.Find a competent person to be the General Manager of the company 2.Intensify advertisements of the company – in the domestic and international market through joining product conventions, trade expos, putting up advertisements in local and foreign furniture and interior design magazines , broadsheets and home- Television shopping. 3.To formulate a proportionate inventory acquisition with some products imported and some manufactured, to drive away competition and at the same time, maintain its present image, also to reach all brackets of prospective clientele. 6.Analysis of Alternatives ALTERNATIVE 1 Advantages: †¢When a General Manager for the company is hired, the over- all operations will be supervised – from the production, especially to the sales operation will be given the right attention. †¢Necessary solutions will be implemented in to solve the problems of the company with the right person to handle the position and monitor the operations Disadvantages: †¢The company finds it hard to keep a competent GM to handle the operations of the company either he leaves the company to start his own business or leaves the management for another company. †¢There is a risk that the person positioned as GM be a future competitor just like what happened to one of their previous GM who decided to run his own furniture company. ALTERNATIVE 2 Advantages: †¢Intensive advertisements and promotions in domestic and international market will be the easiest gauge for the company to set awareness to the market the existence of the firm in the furniture industry. †¢Advertisements in all media forms can reach wide-range of customers, from all walks of life. Likewise joining trade expos in which the company can showcase their products and attract future clients. Disadvantages: †¢Putting-up advertisements would be costly, especially those which are shown on high class magazines or the TV channels. The company should limit expenses during this time because the company is just recovering from their losses from past years operations. †¢The market, especially the international market in which the company wishes to conquer, is highly competitive and a huge battlefield for the company. Advertisements may not be enough to outwit the competitors. ALTERNATIVE 3 Advantages: †¢Costs related to importations will be toned down because only proportionate of the inventory is imported and the remaining inventories are manufactured by the company. †¢Cost to overhead and labor will be regulated †¢The company will not have to depend largely on the local suppliers which could possibly be competitors in the long run. †¢The company could cater to middle class clients as well as the mass. †¢Insufficiency of the supply will be eliminated because the goods imported will cover up for the deficit in the manufactured goods or vice versa when imported goods have been delivered in delay. Disadvantages: †¢With the intuition that Singaporeans prefer the imported goods than those of locally made products, the goods manufactured by the company will be disregarded and will turn to change in the proportionate inventory rate. †¢The company will still incur costs for productions and importations 7.Decision Statement After further analysis of the alternatives presented, it will be best for the company to use Alternative 3 which is to formulate a proportionate inventory acquisition with some products imported and some manufactured, to drive away competition and at the same time, maintain its present image, also to reach all brackets of prospective clientele. The last alternative would best fit to answer the problem of the company regarding its inventories, maximizing profit returns and improvement of the company’s position. It should be noted that the company has a dilemma of filling up their showrooms because of the resignation of the workers in one of the factory of the company, the Ang Mo Kio so they turned out to importing goods. In turn, only the medium-class clients and upper income gainers become its customers. With proportionate inventory acquisitions, the company can control overhead, labor and importation costs. In that way, the company will minimize operating expenses leaving the company with greater profits. In using the third alternative, the company can also cater to both the middle class clients for they prefer imported furniture and the mass client for lower priced furniture which are locally made, therefore expanding the market of Dahlia. IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM 1.Action Plans a.Long-term action plans ï‚ §Putting –up additional showrooms for the mass clientele and for the middle class customers b.Short-term action plans ï‚ §Expansion of the company’s market through advertising and promotions 2.Proposed Company Operational Plans a.Product planning ï‚ §The company should produce unique furniture designs which will attract the customers b.Market planning ï‚ §Intensify advertising and promotion schemes for furniture products not just on the Straight Times for those middle class customers but to other forms of media so that it can reach other people from all walks of life. c.Production planning ï‚ §Upon expansion of the production, Dahlia should re-avail of machineries that will be used for the additional production of furniture d.Manpower planning ï‚ §The company will employ additional laborers to keep up for the additional inventory requirements. e.Organizational planning ï‚ §The management should hire a competent person to be designated in the position of the General Manager. 3.Other problems and proposed solutions †¢Strict competition in the industry oDahlia Furniture should develop innovative products so that they can have an edge over other manufacturers. The management should know its target market. In that way they can cater what their clients wish to have and in return they can develop goodwill and loyalty among their customers. OVERVIEW 1.Time Context The problem has to be solved by the year 1985. 2.Viewpoint Mr. Chua Boon Kang and Mr. Leong Sim Lam 3.Major Policy Statement Dahlia Furniture Private Limited is a local furniture industry, which supplies usually kitchen cabinets, wall units, bedrooms set and dining set. It also has metal and wood furniture sets. 4.Background of the Case a.The Company Dahlia Furniture made its entrance into the furniture industry in 1972 as subcontractors to two large furniture concerns, Ching Lin and Diethelm. It supplied mainly wall units and kitchen cabinets while bedrooms sets and dining sets were subcontracted out or obtained from local suppliers. Business went well and the company decided to branch into retailing. The business was successful in its operation especially during the time when Singapore conducted a massive public housing programs. In fact their sales increased from $4,800,000.00 to $5,500,000 in 1980 to 1981. However, during that year, the company’s sales declined especially in 1983 in which it reached only $289,000.00, and somehow recovered in 1984. Contributory factors to the decline in sales include mismanagement of Mr. Lim. Because of this, reorganizations were happening and most of the employees resigned. Also furniture industry was very competitive. b.The Industry Furniture industry in Singapore began only as an extension of the country’s oldest industry which is the sawmilling. But the demand for the furniture expanded which led to it as the leading local industry. The growth of the local furniture industry has been closely linked to the growth of the country’s construction and building industry. There are now more than 200 establishments manufacturing furniture of which 59 are both manufacturers and exporters of wooden knock-down, 35 rattan and 12 steel furniture. There has been a change in the attitude towards purchase of furniture. Fashion trend has been the latest consideration of the customers. Singporeans have become more willing to spend money to decorate their homes. 5.Environmental Analysis a.SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS †¢Safe Environment †¢Good quality of the products †¢Run the new division with the present set of designers. †¢Dahlia Furniture line was of a higher quality and price than those of other retailers. †¢Dahlia’s furniture line is more for those who want exclusivity. †¢Retail outlets are now carrying wider range of furniture. †¢Dahlias is considered as one of sophisticated furniture dealer with exclusive design for their customers. †¢Dahlia has a long experience in the field of furniture. Since 1972 they are in this field and they have worked at almost all levels of the industry like subcontracting, importing, manufacturing and retailing. †¢They have good support from local manufacturers who are in turn also working as their sub contractor. †¢The company has taken timely decision to go to retail market to get sizeable customers from medium to high class range. WEAKNESSES: †¢The company is in need of competent managers that would be of great help to the success of the furniture company. †¢Dahlia Furniture has the previous dilemma of filling their showroom with salable imported furniture and disregarding the domestic demand that the great impact in the performance of sales. †¢Dahlia has no advertisement. †¢Dahlia’s market share has become eroded by some big players in the decreasing revenues from current product †¢Poor management †¢Many workers resigned due to Ang Mo Kio Factory’s failure in. OPPORTUNITIES †¢Domestic demands for furniture rise by about twelve percent annually †¢ Increasing demand in exports to United States, Australia, Canada, Western Europe and in the Middle East. †¢Singaporeans are more willing to spend money to decorate their homes. THREATS †¢Intense competition between domestic U.S. manufacturers. †¢Powerful competitors. †¢Other companies offer lower prices b.Competitor Analysis Dahlia Furniture, aside from its manufacturing operations, aides the maintenance on the supply of their inventories to some of the local suppliers. Some of them are manufacturers while others are retailers who have their own showrooms. They can be possible competitors of Dahlia. Other competitors comprise of foreign manufacturers and retailers. Some of these are Ikea , Fly, Homestead and soon to operate Scandinavian, Italian, Japanese and American manufacturers. 6.Present Company Departmental Plans a.Product Planning Dahlia mainly supplies wall units and kitchen cabinets. It subcontracts local suppliers of bedroom sets and dining sets. b.Market Planning Dahlia Furniture advertises in Straights Times. In connection to its retailing operations, Dahlia rented a showroom to a department store in Orchard area, in Bukit Timah area and Upper Thompson area c.Production Planning The purchase of Upper Thompson and Ang Mo Kio factories are sought to increase the company’s supply. d.Manpower Planning Dahlia acquired two factories namely Ang Mo Kio and Upper Thompson. The workers of these two factories were also hired. Staffs: Sales person11 persons Clerical workers4 persons Production workers (Thompson Factory)6 persons e.Organizational Planning Dahlia Furnitures is managed by Mr. Chua and Mr. Leong. Other staffs of the company are as follows: Personnel Position †¢Chua Soo Lee General Administartion †¢Robert LamProduction and General Management PROBLEM RESOLUTION 1.Background of the Case On August 1984, Mr. Chua Boon Kang and Mr. Leong Sim Lam bought over Peter Lim’s forty six percent (46%) stake at Dahlia Furniture Private Limited. Although co-owners at one time, Mr. Chua and Mr. Leong have found Mr. Lim’s management of the company to be unsatisfactory. Some reorganization took place as most of the production workers who were doing subcontracting orders solely for Dahlia had resigned due to poor company performance in 1982. Dahlia also sold off seventy five thousand dollars ($75,000) worth of machinery used for mass producing furniture which was previously purchased by a former Managing Director, who has since left the company. Now at the helm, both are uncertain about the long term direction of the company. Meanwhile, they are both concerned over maintaining sales growth in a highly competitive industry. 2.Statement of the Problem What should the management do to maintain sales growth and improve company’s position in a highly competitive industry? 3.Statement of Objectives oLong term – To become the largest manufacturer of furniture and exporter in the furniture industry. oShort term – To maximize the profit of the company. 4.Areas of Consideration ïÆ' ¼Taxes applied to importation: The Singaporean government imposes 5%import duties for goods imported in the country. This area should be taken into consideration because this will affect the entity’s expenses when such importation has been made. ïÆ' ¼The government’s policy regarding foreign labor: In the production of the furniture , the company needs to employ the services of the laborers. The company should determine the amount of labor force needed and if there is a need to avail of the foreign laborers’ services because the government of Singapore discourages the use of foreign labor. ïÆ' ¼Competition : With the advent of the furniture industry in Singapore , more and more competing manufacturers and retailers come to exist not just from the local but as well as with the foreign brands. ïÆ' ¼Trend in the furniture industry: It should be noted that the market demands in Singapore largely depends on the buyers’ perspective of what is the â€Å"in- thing† in the fashion of the furniture industry. The company should be always updated with these current trends so that they will not be left behind by other contenders. 5.Alternative Courses of Action 1.Find a competent person to be the General Manager of the company 2.Intensify advertisements of the company – in the domestic and international market through joining product conventions, trade expos, putting up advertisements in local and foreign furniture and interior design magazines , broadsheets and home- Television shopping. 3.To formulate a proportionate inventory acquisition with some products imported and some manufactured, to drive away competition and at the same time, maintain its present image, also to reach all brackets of prospective clientele. 6.Analysis of Alternatives ALTERNATIVE 1 Advantages: †¢When a General Manager for the company is hired, the over- all operations will be supervised – from the production, especially to the sales operation will be given the right attention. †¢Necessary solutions will be implemented in to solve the problems of the company with the right person to handle the position and monitor the operations Disadvantages: †¢The company finds it hard to keep a competent GM to handle the operations of the company either he leaves the company to start his own business or leaves the management for another company. †¢There is a risk that the person positioned as GM be a future competitor just like what happened to one of their previous GM who decided to run his own furniture company. ALTERNATIVE 2 Advantages: †¢Intensive advertisements and promotions in domestic and international market will be the easiest gauge for the company to set awareness to the market the existence of the firm in the furniture industry. †¢Advertisements in all media forms can reach wide-range of customers, from all walks of life. Likewise joining trade expos in which the company can showcase their products and attract future clients. Disadvantages: †¢Putting-up advertisements would be costly, especially those which are shown on high class magazines or the TV channels. The company should limit expenses during this time because the company is just recovering from their losses from past years operations. †¢The market, especially the international market in which the company wishes to conquer, is highly competitive and a huge battlefield for the company. Advertisements may not be enough to outwit the competitors. ALTERNATIVE 3 Advantages: †¢Costs related to importations will be toned down because only proportionate of the inventory is imported and the remaining inventories are manufactured by the company. †¢Cost to overhead and labor will be regulated †¢The company will not have to depend largely on the local suppliers which could possibly be competitors in the long run. †¢The company could cater to middle class clients as well as the mass. †¢Insufficiency of the supply will be eliminated because the goods imported will cover up for the deficit in the manufactured goods or vice versa when imported goods have been delivered in delay. Disadvantages: †¢With the intuition that Singaporeans prefer the imported goods than those of locally made products, the goods manufactured by the company will be disregarded and will turn to change in the proportionate inventory rate. †¢The company will still incur costs for productions and importations 7.Decision Statement After further analysis of the alternatives presented, it will be best for the company to use Alternative 3 which is to formulate a proportionate inventory acquisition with some products imported and some manufactured, to drive away competition and at the same time, maintain its present image, also to reach all brackets of prospective clientele. The last alternative would best fit to answer the problem of the company regarding its inventories, maximizing profit returns and improvement of the company’s position. It should be noted that the company has a dilemma of filling up their showrooms because of the resignation of the workers in one of the factory of the company, the Ang Mo Kio so they turned out to importing goods. In turn, only the medium-class clients and upper income gainers become its customers. With proportionate inventory acquisitions, the company can control overhead, labor and importation costs. In that way, the company will minimize operating expenses leaving the company with greater profits. In using the third alternative, the company can also cater to both the middle class clients for they prefer imported furniture and the mass client for lower priced furniture which are locally made, therefore expanding the market of Dahlia. IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM 1.Action Plans a.Long-term action plans ï‚ §Putting –up additional showrooms for the mass clientele and for the middle class customers b.Short-term action plans ï‚ §Expansion of the company’s market through advertising and promotions 2.Proposed Company Operational Plans a.Product planning ï‚ §The company should produce unique furniture designs which will attract the customers b.Market planning ï‚ §Intensify advertising and promotion schemes for furniture products not just on the Straight Times for those middle class customers but to other forms of media so that it can reach other people from all walks of life. c.Production planning ï‚ §Upon expansion of the production, Dahlia should re-avail of machineries that will be used for the additional production of furniture d.Manpower planning ï‚ §The company will employ additional laborers to keep up for the additional inventory requirements. e.Organizational planning ï‚ §The management should hire a competent person to be designated in the position of the General Manager. 3.Other problems and proposed solutions †¢Strict competition in the industry oDahlia Furniture should develop innovative products so that they can have an edge over other manufacturers. The management should know its target market. In that way they can cater what their clients wish to have and in return they can develop goodwill and loyalty among their customers.