Gourevitch book review Essay

Renowned American author and journalist Philip Gourevitch, presents his 1998 ardent and authoritative non-fiction publication titled We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families, stories from Rwanda. New York: Paw Prints. The book chronicles the events in the Rwandan genocide and provides a riveting description of the author’s travel to Rwanda after the genocide and the horrors he encountered. He interviews a number of those who survived the ordeals and gathers the information which he uses to reconstruct their horrifying stories and thus provides a reflection of the genocide. Gourevitch has earned a number of prestigious awards as an appreciation of his highly credible and analytical book. The 1998 National Book Critics Award leads the number of numerous awards that he has managed to scoop. The 1994 Rwandan genocide brought this tiny country in East Africa into the limelight. Gourevitch made follow ups to the 1994 genocide and he gained interest in unearthing the information since he was not getting satisfied by following the happenings from afar. This prompted him to make a number of trips in a period of two years to both Rwanda and its neighbors. It was during his visits to report about the aftermath of the genocide that he published his book. Most of the information that America and most of the western countries have on the genocide is mainly accredited to Gourevitch’s work. The author starts the book by describing Decimation which he describes as â€Å"the killing of every tenth person in a population†. Gourevitch goes further to describe how in the summer of 1994 a series of â€Å"massacres decimated the Republic of Rwanda† (Gourevitch, 1998 p. 1). The author argues that even though the massacre was carried out with machetes, the rate at which it was carried out was staggering. To highlight the seriousness of these killings the author compares them with the Holocaust in which he points out that the massacre was nearly three times deadlier than the Holocaust. He narrates how the government had adopted a new policy in which the Hutu majority was to kill all the Tutsi’s minority with the reasoning being that this would make the world a better place. What followed were cold blooded murders of the Tutsi minority with use of machetes (Gourevitch, 1998). Gourevitch adopts a rather judgmental and snarky tone that is geared towards those who made decisions that in one way or another led to the genocide. He also tackles the root problems that sparked the mass killings in this small country. The author in his logical thinking about the root cause of the genocide argues that the colonial history of Rwanda was a major contributor to the genocide. Gourevitch argues that the tribal rivalry between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority can be traced back to the Belgium regime which colonized Rwanda. The author points out that â€Å"Belgium itself was a nation divided along ethnic lines, in which the Francophone Walloon minority,† ruled the country (Gourevitch, 1998 p. 58). The regime while in Rwanda fostered the minority Tutsi elites and portrayed the Hutu’s as a downtrodden ethnic race just useful as the workforce. This would obviously leave a bad taste to the majority Hutu group towards the minority Tutsi group. The extent for this hate was clearly highlighted at the rate with which the killings took place which the author says were the â€Å"most efficient mass killing since Hiroshima and Nagasaki† (Gourevitch, 1998, p. 1). Gourevitch presents this book in such a way that it is highly critical of the lack of intervention from Western governments and the United Nations forces, who he claims just stood by and watched as the killings took place. The Belgians and the French are blamed for their complicity and also the author portrays these countries as some that aided in reinforcing their own senses of impunity. One of the most disturbing truths in the book that the author reveals is that those who had died knew they were going to die. The author tells of how â€Å"it was announced on radio, it was in the newspapers, people spoke of it openly† (p. 18). This use of the media to propagate the killings is also to be blamed since it acted as a focal point in the genocide. Theda Skocpol a renowned sociologist and political scientist, tries to offer some light as to why violence may tend to occur in a political system. She mainly takes her ideas from the Marxist class conflict in which she mainly argues from the rural agrarian and state conflicts. The author of STATES AND SOCIAL REVOLUTIONS: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China aims to offer some explanations by employing both the â€Å"Marxist scholarship and recent social science theories about revolution† (Skocpol, 2007 p. 35). In her book she argues that France, Russia and China are all successful revolutions and even though they are quite a number of differences there seems to be a pattern that is distinctive of the three revolutions. Skocpol argues that a change in a social system will quite often lead to grievances and thus the emergence of group interests with the effective potential of collective mobilization. This as she points out will lead to the emergence of mass based movements that may have the purpose of overthrowing an entire social order. She argues that this revolutionary movement will fight and in case it wins it will establish its own authority (Skocpol, 2007 p. 14-15). This can be paralleled to what happened in Rwanda where the Hutu had grievances against the minority Tutsi and thus embarked on actions that were geared towards changing an entire social order with the belief that by exterminating the Tutsi people they could make the world better place† (Gourevitch, 1998 p. 6). The author in this book tries hard to prove that it was a genocide and he even asserts his position on the severity of this matter by reminiscing of how he read that â€Å"the United States had decided for the first time in its history to use the word genocide to describe what happened† (Gourevitch, 1998 p. 7). Gourevitch in this book only provides antecedents rather that clear cut answers and therefore the satisfaction of the book is not quenched. Gourevitch’s book is mainly geared towards criticizing the response of the international community in responding and averting the genocide and his anger cannot be hidden and this leads to him only presenting one side of the story instead of being neutral. The book is extremely critical of the west and the United Nation which the author uses sarcasm to depict how the Rwandans never thought the UN soldiers knew how to shoot in order to quell the killings but after a while they were showed their prowess in shooting dogs which were eating corpses in the streets. However, the atrocities that took place in Rwanda are still capable of happening anywhere else and considering the fact that they means used were not highly sophisticated just shows how if such a genocide would ever take place again in the world then the results would be highly catastrophic. The author does a good job in depicting the genocide and his highly analytical technique of even going back to how the two tribes in contention, interacted leaves us with room to understand clearly how the genocide came to be. References: Gourevitch, P (1998). We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda. New York: Paw Prints Skocpol, T (2007). States and social revolutions: a comparative analysis of France, Russia and China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007

Women Organizers in the Civil Rights Movement

Women organizers in the Civil Rights movement (1950's-1960's) Women have always been regarded as key parental figure in raising and developing children in the society. During the period of 1950 to 1970, many parts of the world were marred with civil rights movement. The movements were characterized with protests and civil resistance complaining about discrimination economic and political self sufficiency. Women took up the initiative to participate in these movements. This situation later led to serious confrontation between government authorities and activists.Thousands of people took part in the civil right movement of that period especially in the United States. The key leaders of the campaign, include; Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Rosa Parks, James Meredith and Medgar Evers, played crucial roles for of the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in America[1]. This paper covers factors that motivated women, the contributions they had, roles they played as well as the problems they encountered during the civil rights movement of 1950’s and 1960’s.Most of the women who were involved in these movements were born during the slavery period, hence the pain and suffering they experienced at that time stimulated them to speak out against oppression. One of the most vocal women who started to speak against oppression was Wells Barnett. She began her struggle in 1909, by travelling abroad to seek international attention on this issue[2]. She also formed National association for the advanced of Colored people. Her efforts were later joined by the struggle for gender sensitization by Mary Church Terrell. She was very vocal and spoke about segregation of the blacks in public eating joints.She led most of the citizens to boycotts and picketing to attract attention to racial injustice[3]. She established the black club movement that led to the formation of National Association of Colored Women similar to that of Barnett. She was also very instrumental in bringing up socially progressive institutions such as mother clubs and nursery schools. The three year struggles with authorities bow her fruits when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public eating places was unconstitutional[4]. Another very instrumental lady in these movements was Mary McLeod.She often worked together with both Terrell and Barnett. Mary became the president of National Association of Colored Women[5]. Being at the supreme of the organization, she became a good friend of Sara Roosevelt the mother of Franklin Roosevelt mayor of New York. She used the good rapport she had with this politically influential family to continue her struggle for social justice of the black[6]. She was later appointed to be the head of National Youth Council by President Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt took the same path after being inspired by Terrell and Mary McLeod.After her husband was elected as the 32nd president Eleanor became instrumental in fighting inj ustice by calling for international and national attention to the effects of oppression and racial discrimination. She took a bold step and resigned from the Daughter of American Revolution since they had differed in ideologies. Ella baker was another activist who dedicated her time to speak out against oppression. She was regarded as the leader behind the scenes. She struggled to study due to the fact that her family was not well of. She graduated and became a teacher.She relocated to New York and quit her profession to engage in social change. She got involved with NAACP in the grassroots level in recruiting more people to the organization. She also was instrumental in the formation of other small organizations such as Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. These movements later were used by Martin Luther King Jr. to organize his boycott and nonviolent movement. The wave of women participation in the civil movement was unstoppable. Rosa Park, who was famously regarded as the mother of the civil rights movement, was also contributed in this struggle.She is believed to have started the main struggle of these civil rights movement. She experienced difficulty in completing her education due to the strict regulations for the black children. The black children were meant to study for only five moths in a year and the rest of the year they spent time in the cotton fields as laborers. Rosa graduated from high school after she got married to Raymond parks[7]. This sparked her efforts to fight racial injustice. She joined National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Montgomery chapter as the only woman. She was very instrumental member of this organization and was elected secretary.Her active involvement in National Association of Advanced Colored People led to her arrest on 1955[8]. Rosa’s life as an African American continued to face challenges. The mistreatment she received from the whites while she was in a bus made her to launch a huge boycott of using Montgomery buses by the Afro-Americans. She decided to organize this boycott after she got arrested for refusing to give out her seat to a white passenger in the bus. The boycott lasted for 381 days prompting her to be absorbed by the Montgomery Improvement Association which was formed by Martin Luther King Jr[9].This act of boycott was followed by a series of escalating protest, movements and insurgencies by African Americans. During the time for boycott Rosa coordinated for the blacks to get rides from car pool ups and other whites who offered to help. The used the slogan ‘don’t use the bus today. Don’t use it for freedom. ’ The boycotters together with Mrs. Rosa Park took the case to court disputing the segregation in buses[10]. They later worn the case after the court ruled on their favor. After the successful boycott Rosa and her families were not secure in Montgomery. They relocated to Detro it where she worked for congressman John Conyers.She continued to raise her voice and incited the youth to take up the struggle for African American Social and American progress. After the women political council had initiated the boycott in Montgomery, Martin Luther king came to the limelight taking all the credit as the leader for the nonviolent resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X traversed different sections of the country giving powerful speeches and mobilizing nonviolent movements. Sparks of none violent movements were seen in other parts of the country[11]. These nonviolent movements escalated to violent racial rebellion in major cities in the U. S. s the movement went militant it provoked the whites against pro-black policies and the police. The success of events of this decade was at the peak when the Supreme Court decides the case of brown v board of education ruling in favor of brown. The court declared that segregation of schools unconstitutional. In the 1960 ’s many women rights group were established to continue the fight against racial injustice and oppression. This was the decade that saw progressive women rights movement in the United States and world Wide. Most of these groups comprised of female students who advocated for equal employment opportunity for both men and women.They also lobbied for enforcement of equal rights laws. Later that decade national organization for women was formed to replace women commission and it continued with the fight against sexual discrimination. The commission was disbanded due to lack of funds. The women equity action league founded in 1968, sought to investigate inequalities in faculty pay and promotions of both men and women in education workforce. These remarkable women played an important role in inspiring other activists and grassroots leaders who in turn mobilized more and more people to join the struggle.These women also helped millions of women to gain their fundamental rights as wom en. They were mostly motivated by the mass followers they had. Motivation also came from the cases they had in courts which ended up favoring the blacks and declaring most of the segregation unconstitutional. They drew their inspiration from civil rights movement they had organized. The organizations they were involved with had a lot of confidence in them hence they elected these women to high posts which favored their situation and gave them an upper hand in organizing the struggle[12].To overcome the problems they encountered they formed organizations such as national Organization for women. National Organization of Women key mandate was to enlighten the women to fully participate in mainstreaming of American society. These organizations brought them together in unity and increased their awareness on critical issues that affect them. This enabled them to have a strong voice over the oppression and neglect they were facing and forced the federal government to enforce the law. The i deologies fomented by certain black power movement were destructive and fostered cultural conflict.This posed a challenge to the efforts of the women who organized movements before. The other major challenge that affected these courageous women is the fact that most of the influential leaders, who had followed suit to lead mass movement, ended up being arrested or assassinated[13]. A good example is the cases of Malcolm x and Martin Luther King. The women’s morale was undermined by these acts. The supremacy of the white also undermined their efforts in the sense that they seemed to bend the law on their favor and oppressed the blacks in all sectors.The civil war escalated by the Ku Klux Klan and the lynch mob in the south were meant to threaten the activists from pursuing further with their quest[14]. The vocal contribution of Martin Luther King Jr. was faced with bomb attacks to his church and residence. The mass movements in America were a vital process to transform America to its current state. The vibrant voices of these women led to signing of the civil rights act to law. The law protects all minorities and women from discrimination in voting employment and use of public areas. They were also rendered freedom of choice.This was viewed as victory for both blacks and women. The revival of the African American militancy was an exceptional progress to the realization of democratic ideals[15]. The shared commitment to take the risk and highlight injustice and press the course for change resulted to the change in attitude of many American citizens. They tore down the oppressive racial and segregation system that had dominated the country for a long time thus bringing a remarkable transformation of American life. Bibliography Bermanzohn, Sally Avery. â€Å"Violence, Nonviolence, and the Civil Rights Movement. New Political Science 22, no. 1 (March 2000): 31-48. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 15, 2011). Gates, Henry Louis Jr. Bearing witness: selections from African-American autobiography in the twentieth century. New York: Pantheon Books, (1991). Greenblatt, Alan. â€Å"Race in America. † CQ Researcher 13, no. 25 (July 11, 2003): 593-624. http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003071100. Hine, Darlene Clark. Hine sight: black women and the re-construction of of American history. Bloomington: Indiana University, (1994). Jost, Kenneth. â€Å"School Desegregation. † CQ Researcher 14, no. 5 (April 23, 2004): 345-72. http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004042300. Naylor Gloria. Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad, (1993). ———————– [1] Greenblatt, Alan. â€Å"Race in America. † CQ Researcher 13, no. 25 (July 11, 2003): 593-624. http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003071100. [2] Darlene, Hine Clark. Hine sight: black women and the re-construction of of American history. Bloomingt on: Indiana University, (1994). [3] Naylor Gloria. Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad, (1993). [4] Henry Louis, Gates Jr.Bearing witness: selections from African-American autobiography in the twentieth century. New York: Pantheon Books, (1991). [5] Darlene, Hine Clark. Hine sight: black women and the re-construction of of American history. Bloomington: Indiana University, (1994). [6] Sally Bermanzohn, Avery. â€Å"Violence, Nonviolence, and the Civil Rights Movement. † New Political Science 22, no. 1 (March 2000): 31-48. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 15, 2011). [7] Greenblatt, Alan. â€Å"Race in America. † CQ Researcher 13, no. 25 (July 11, 2003): 593-624. http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003071100. 8] Bermanzohn, Sally Avery. â€Å"Violence, Nonviolence, and the Civil Rights Movement. † New Political Science 22, no. 1 (March 2000): 31-48. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 15, 2011 ). [9] Gates, Henry Louis Jr. Bearing witness: selections from African-American autobiography in the twentieth century. New York: Pantheon Books, (1991). [10] Hine, Darlene Clark. Hine sight: black women and the re-construction of of American history. Bloomington: Indiana University, (1994). [11] Jost, Kenneth. â€Å"School Desegregation. † CQ Researcher 14, no. 15 (April 23, 2004): 345-72. ttp://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004042300. [12] Jost, Kenneth. â€Å"School Desegregation. † CQ Researcher 14, no. 15 (April 23, 2004): 345-72. http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004042300. [13] Hine, Darlene Clark. Hine sight: black women and the re-construction of of American history. Bloomington: Indiana University, (1994). [14] Greenblatt, Alan. â€Å"Race in America. † CQ Researcher 13, no. 25 (July 11, 2003): 593-624. http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003071100. [15] Gloria Naylor. Critical Perspectives Past and Present . New York: Amistad, (1993).

A Cray SuperComputer Comes to the University of To Essays

A Cray SuperComputer Comes to the University of Toronto By Andrew Reeves-Hall The Cray X-MP/22 manufactured by Cray Research Incorporated (CRI) of Minneapolis, Minnesota was delivered and installed at the U of Toronto this September. The Cray is a well respected computer - mainly for its extremely fast rate of mathematical floating-pointcalculation. As the university states in its July/August computer magazine "ComputerNews", the Cray's "level of performance should enable researchers with large computational requirements at the university of Toronto and other Ontario universities to compete effectively against the best in the world in their respective fields." The Cray X-MP/22 has two Central Processing Units (CPUs) - the first '2' in the '22'. The Cray operates at a clock rate of 105 MHz (the regular, run-of-the-mill IBMPC has a clock rate of 4.77 MHz). By quick calculations, you would be led to believe the Cray is only about 20 times faster that the PC. Obviously, this is not the case. The Cray handles data considerably differently than the PC. The Cray's circuits permit an array of data (known as a 'vector') to be processes as a SINGLE entity. So, where the IBMPC may require several clock cycles to multiply two numbers, the Cray performs everything in one clock cycle. This power is measured in Millions of Floating Point Operations Per Second (MFLOPS) - which is to say the rate at which floating-point operations can be performed. The Cray MFLOPS vary as it does many activities, but a rate of up to 210 MFLOPS (per CPU) can be achieved. The second '2' in the X-MP/22 title refers to the two million 64-bit words (16Mb) of shared central memory. This can be expanded to four million words in the future if the need arises. But it doesn't stop there! The Cray can pipe information back and forth between the CPU memory and the Input/Output Subsystem (IOS). The IOS then takes it upon itself the store the information in any of the four storage devices: i) one of the four 1200 Mb disk drives (at a rate of 5.9Mb every second), ii) one of two standard 200ips 6250bpi tape drives, iii) a Solid State Storage Device (SSD) (which is much like a 128Mb RAM Disk!), or iv) through to a front-end computer (the U of T uses both the IBM4381 and a DEC VAX). These computers would be programmed (usually in FORTRAN) and the information passed onto the Cray. The results would then be transfered back to the front end computers. The 4 year old Cray was bought used from the California NASA research centre where it was used in aerodynamic calculations. This means less cost to buy it and the assurance that it has been 'burned in'. In case you wanted one for yourself, the U of T was able to purchase the Cray for the low-low price of $12 million. Over the next five years, the University predicts the total cost will probably be $25 million when maintenance, staff and other costs are taken into consideration. To help out, the Ontario Government put in $10 million. By doing this, all other Ontario University researchers are assured of access at a reduced cost. By the way, to buy time on the system, it'll cost you $2000 per hour. But Ontario researchers only have to pay 7% of that - $140 per hour. Their first commercial customer is OMNIBUS Graphics of Toronto who plan to use the Cray in the graphic videos. If you saw the movie 'The Last Starfighter', you will have already experienced the graphic capabilites of the Cray (remember the some of the space scenes!). The Cray did all of the calculations required for those scenes and let another graphics computer to do the menial task of drawing the lines and filling with the calculated colour. There is so much to talk about when the word 'Cray' pops to mind! If you are seriously interested in this amazing computer and/or you are interested in purchasing time on the system, please contact the people below: The Centre for Large Scale Computation at the U of T Llyod Parker, Director 978-8255 Facilities Manager Dr. Edmund West 978-4085 Supercomputer User's Group (for University Researchers, etc)

Chippewas in the Early Twentieth Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chippewas in the Early Twentieth Century - Essay Example view of civilization into the American white mainstream assimilation. The Chippewa in twentieth century Indians’ experience in the reservations Reservation has been a fundamental feature in the Indian-American history during two centuries; for some Indians, it is a reminder of Euro-American colonialism where indigenous Americans were subjected to small camps and their lands taken away. The guiding principle for the reservation of indigenous people was that the American whites felt that they possessed the original right to that land and that indigenous people were to obtain it either through purchase or negotiations to form treaties and agreements. The federal government also used military force, conquest and discovery concept in order to incorporate indigenous groups into camps and, therefore, into the national fold.3 Reservations were recognized by the laws and in 1775, Indian affairs department was formed to deal with issues of Indians in the reserves. After the independence , a national policy of administration of Indians was adopted and this gave congress powers to trade, treaties, warfare over the Indians and then right to take away land of Indians. With those powers and privileges, the congress in 1778 formed Indian reservations through treaty/statute confining Indian tribes in specific boundaries.4 In the period of 1828-1838, over 90,000 Native Americans were forced to move to west of Mississippi river and gave the abandoned land to its white citizens. The native tribes (Indians) suffered population decrease since the federal government used force to relocate them, the small tribal governments they had were disrupted and as they tried to form tribal government in places where they settled, they were weakened. In 1916, the Chippewa were given Rocky boy Indian reservation, a large military reservation and portion of the Fort Assiniboine; while in the early twentieth century, they traded with the army officers and had no land since they had been displ aced by the white Americans. The reason behind the reservation of the Indian tribes was in two dimensions; the resources of the Native Americans could be exploited and at a minimum cost, and the reservations were a test of social engineering that were seen as a refuge institution for the endangered race and through it, they can be uplifted by assimilation and, indeed, the office of Indians established by congress promoted assimilation and breaking the notion of salvage life to civilized values through insisting on education, agricultural labor and development of finances, with this, the government perceived reservations as a controlled method of civilization through an agent (Indian office), thus, it was sanctioned.5 Some laws were made just for the

African American Studies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

African American Studies - Research Paper Example From the political standpoint, it is interesting to note how the criminal justice system across most societies is deliberately organized against African Americans. African Americans in the USA have faced racial discrimination in the courthouses and by the laws that have been passed by the state; also, since the Jim Crow Laws had been passed since the 1900s, the African Americans were segregated from the rest of the population, and denied equality in many areas of social life such as voting (Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System ,page 66). Also, even though African Americans make up 13% of the population in the USA, in 2004 African Americans were accused of "47.2% of murders, 53.3% of robberies, 31.9% of rapes, and 32.7% of assaults," (Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System, page 67); as we can see, this seems to be a skewed and disproportionate report, one that demonstrates racial discrimination against the African Americans. Following the "Rodney King" c ase, it was found that there does seem to be racial prejudice and bias being practiced against the African Americans, seen from the use of excessive violence, verbal harassment and invasive actions against them by police officers, (Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System, page 67). Moving onto historic examples of discrimination against African Americans, it would be worthwhile to mention the incident of the Red Summer of 1919, in which African Americans and the white population of Chicago launched into racially charged riots that lasted for 5 days; many African Americans were lynched, shot, wounded. The most significant reason for these racial riots was due to the feeling of intolerance and xenophobia towards the African Americans (Norvell & Tuttle , page 210). There was also a general feeling amongst the white population to push the African Americans back to the "bottom rung of the

Americans with disabilities act Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Americans with disabilities act - Coursework Example The act identifies disabilities as the commonly known disabilities in addition to certain medical conditions. The disabilities include deafness, blindness, and an intellectual disability, previously known as mental retardation among others. The medical conditions include autism, cancer, and cerebral palsy among others with an emphasis on the fact that the conditions must not be severe or permanent for one to get inclusion in the act (Schall, 1998). Americans with Disability act has played a substantive role in the employment perspective where it states that no organization shall discriminate against a qualified person with a disability. Despite such an aspect, different many controversies have risen between many organizations and people with disability regarding the aspects of the Americans with Disability Act. Such elements include the firing or refusal to hire an individual based on a real or perceived disabilities, segregation, as well as harassment based on any disability (Schall, 1998), with some instances resulting into court cases. One of such cases is the one involving Crews v. Dow Chemical Co., from which Americans with Disability Act have had a significant impact in the workplace. In the case, a human resources employee sued the employer after the employer’s restriction from various tasks pending fitness-for-duty evaluation, which contributed to the cancellation of her promotion, and later termination. The pla intiff alleged that the considering the employers noticeable hand tremors (Schall, 1998). From the revelation of the plaintiff, she had earlier received bipolar treatments and depression requiring a full-time paid medical leave, which the employer offered. On the expiry, of the full-time paid medical leave, the employee later applied for Social Security benefits, and long-term disability, issues considered from a physicians

Apitalism, globalization and fundamentalism Essay

Apitalism, globalization and fundamentalism - Essay Example Weber explains different aspects of capitalism. He discussed how capitalists helped in the economic development of America and how the spirit of capitalism fought its supremacy against a whole world of hostile forces. Globalization is termed as a worldwide integration of humanity and the compression of both temporal and spatial dimensions of planet wide human interaction. The whole world is changing very fast and every country is in the road of development. Modernization is the present trend and globalization is a part of it. Globalization narrowed the gap between different cultures and cultural pluralism is gaining more importance. Because of globalization intercultural education is increasing. The best example is number of students from different parts of the world are coming to US to pursue their higher studies. Multiculturalism became possible due to globalization. We can see different cultures existing in one roof in US. Internet, which became popular at the end of the 20th century helped in narrowing the gap between different parts of the world. Now information is being shared at the speed of light. With the help of Internet the whole world became global village. Internet has opened the gates for globalization. It created many possibilities for human interaction and business transaction. Capitalism is defined as economic an... Capitalism is defined as economic and social system in which means of production are privately owned. Individuals, companies or corporations make investments and share profits or losses. Capitalists help in the improvement of a country's economy. He/she is the persons who ventures in the investment area. Because of the efforts of capitalists the US economy has vastly improved. Religion is one the important factors of a society. There are many religions that exist in the present world. Every religion preaches to believe and keep faith in god. It preaches deism. Fundamentalism has become a thorn in every religion. It is slowly taking the form extremism. Fundamentalism is the belief in absolute religious authority and the demand that this religious authority be legally enforced.Religious Fundamentalism exists in Christians, Jewish, Muslims, Hindus, etc. This way of making the people to follow a religion is creating more problems. The Jews were never allowed to use things that were offered to other religious gods and it's a big sin and severely punishable if any does use. In Muslim dominated countries the existence of fundamentalism and extremism could be easily seen. Most of the Islamic nations follow Shariat law and in any way a person breaks this law is strictly punished. According to this law no one is above the god and religion. Women should not come out of their houses. They always should remain indoors. They should not show their face or any other part to other men except to her husband and family members. She should always be in veil. A man can marry any number of times and women should marry only once in their lifetime. Women in western countries are more liberal

The Need for Wireless Standards and Protocols Assignment - 1

The Need for Wireless Standards and Protocols - Assignment Example American National Standards Organization is based in the USA and is involved in creation of various standards for products, services, processes, systems and personnel in the United States. ANSI-41 that is sometimes knows as the IS-41 was developed by ANSI to support interoperability and inter-networking between GSM and ANSI-41 MAP based networks to support subscriber roaming between different networks (Russell 2006). Even though this standard supports cross-technology roaming between a GPRS networks and ANSI-41 based networks. GPRS may be coupled with a GSM network and this requires enhancement to interoperability and internetworking Function that supports multi-mode mobile station and subscriber Identity Module (SIM) that has GPRS functionalities. Despite this, there is still need for advancements in the encryption of data to increase security of data transmission. This will increase its reliability and the quality of service of this protocol (Ceruzzi 2003). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE is an international standardization organization that is involved with development of protocols and standards in various fields of electrical, electronics, communications, and computer engineering and computer science. In wireless communications, IEEE has been involved in creation of the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network standard (Ceruzzi 2003). Breadth of Standards IEEE developed the first IEEE 802.11 standard in 1997, which was to provide the basis of using Wi-Fi.

Discuss the importance of the Sahara and the Indian Ocean in ancient Essay - 2

Discuss the importance of the Sahara and the Indian Ocean in ancient African history - Essay Example Sahara region connected people from eastern, southern, central, north and some parts of western Africa. Among the countries that were touched are Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Congo, Egypt, and Nigeria among others. These countries contributed different commodities for trade according to their daily activities. For example, the southern Sahara region was a famous area in production of minerals, Egypt was well known for production of sorghum and Nigeria provided yams to the trading interaction (Giblin 10-13). These areas that were well known in production of agricultural products were part of the great hinterland that was served by the Indian Ocean. The areas were, therefore, linked to the outside world by the Indian Ocean that opened trade with Arabs and other people in the world. However, the trading interactions were not involving Africans and Arabs but Africans contributed a lot to the trade among themselves. The trading activities in that area involved exchange through barter trade of commodities that included foodstuffs and minerals as per different needs of different people in those regions. This is an evaluation of the activities that prevailed in the ancient Africa involving the Sahara Region and the Indian Ocean to inform the importance of these two features of African geography. The influence it brought to the people that lived in those areas as well as the benefits they reaped from these interactions discussed. There are things that informed the interactions between the people in these parts of Africa and were aimed at benefiting the people that engaged in them. For example, noting that most of the Sahara region is characterized by unreliable precipitation, there was serious need to get ways to acquire food that was not sufficient in those areas. For Egypt, sorghum was produced only after major floods that used to come in rare occasions. In other places, growing

Frito Lay Essay Example for Free

Frito Lay Essay For many years computer scientists have developed systems which have complete intelligence. However, not all of these programs are actually intelligent although virtually all of them have inputs which correspond to senses, choices of actions according to response rules, as well as the capability of acting either as graphics or as text outputs. Majority of the artificial intelligent systems have the potential of memorizing experiences as well as the ability to learn. This paper therefore examines decision support systems and the artificial support systems in the way they were made use of in Frito Lay. The paper compares and contrasts the various types of decision support systems and artificial intelligence systems in relation to the ones which were implemented by Frito Lay. Tale of Contents Introduction 4 Decision Support Systems (DSS) 4 Types of Decision Support Systems 6 Artificial Intelligence Systems 8 Types of Artificial Intelligence 9 Conclusion 10 Reference 11 Introduction Many organizations such as Frito Lay would want to have unlimited access to more information which would help them in determining the way they operate and manage their organizations. They would like access to real time and updated information which they can use to run their organizations more effectively. This information helps them compare organizational inputs, processes as well as outcomes during a particular period of time. Still, organizations like Frito Lay need longitudinal information which permits them to anticipate their future organizational needs. The implication here is that organizations need to undertake data-driven decision making; a feat which can be achieved by the use of decision support systems (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). Decision Support Systems (DSS) Organizations have realized that the only guaranteed way to get the right data within the reach of those charged with decision making is to invest in a decision support system as a solution to their needs pertaining to information management. To venture into decision support systems is likely to be more beneficial compared to the cost of such an investment (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). The implication here is that purchasing a decision support system would imply heavy financial and operational commitments since it would involve hardware and software costs (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Decision support systems are very complicated with regards to the way they manage data as well as their technology architecture. This complexity is sometimes aggravated by conflicting information from the field of technology. Still some ambiguity may result from description as well as the inability to clearly differentiate concepts which are related in a particular way like data mart and data warehouses. At times, this confusion could arise from the vendors who may not be willing to differentiate the products they are dealing in with other prevailing systems in the market. This implies that possibly there are various types of decision support systems (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). One of the systems which were embraced by Michael Jordan, the new CEO who took over Frito-Lay on the brink of collapse was the state whereby control of decision making on issues like promotions and product mix were concentrated at the headquarters. This implies that the systems Frito-Lay instituted were those of tightly controlling strategy execution. The system included among others the position of accounts manager while the sales force was segmented. Still the company had a system where handheld computers (HHC) were used as an information system tool in supporting managerial decision making. In other words Frito Lay implemented a system of micromarketing (Harvard Business School, 2001). The other system which was implemented by Frito Lay involved the subdivision of domestic operations into several geographic areas known as the Frito-Lay Market Areas (FLMAs). In this system, the company developed profit and loss accounts which provided approximated costs, revenues and contribution margins before taxes for all the areas (Harvard Business School, 2001). In this regard and in the data generated by these analyses, the company embarked on a process of organization wide quality improvement in which case emphasis was laid on identifying the 10 non-performing FMLAs to be improved. The final system embraced by Frito Lay was the system building information infrastructure. In this case, the company implemented a chain of IT projects under the name Pipeline Project in support of operation process redesign within across the functional units. In line with this system, the company equally implemented a system aimed at redesigning managerial processes; the structures and decisions which directed the way the company operated (Harvard Business School, 2001). A decision support system is not merely a system capable of manipulating data and supporting decision making. For instance, an enhanced user interface which allows querying and analysis of a unit database cannot be considered a decision support system (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Still, a spreadsheet application having advanced ‘if/then’ characteristics does also not qualify to be called a decision support system. At the same time, a database management system (DBMS) which allows a user to select and analyze information within one database for the purposes of reporting and analysis equally does not qualify to be called a decision support system for the simple reason that it does not integrate many databases (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 9). Types of Decision Support Systems Data warehouse and data mart are the two terms which have always been confused with decision support systems. However, these terms are different although they could be similar in terms of terminology and concept. A data warehouse is a central repository where all information or a proportion of the information collected by an enterprise is collected (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 12). What is emphasized by data warehousing is the storage of data from various sources though it does not in general concern itself with the intended user the way a decision support would. This implies that data warehousing plays the role of querying and reporting large combinations of data as opposed to querying and analyzing data. (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). In addition, the core purpose of data warehouse is to permit access to historical or transactional data in their fundamental format such as tables as opposed to distilling data into some format which allows for in-depth analysis. A data mart is more or less similar to a data warehouse in the sense that it acts as a repository for data, although such data could be limited in scope depending on the subject, function or even user group (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 12). One component of a decision support system is data quality. In fact data can is said to be the foundation of any decision support system meaning that high quality data is useful for decision-making as seen in the case of Frito Lay. Besides the data should be valid reliable and timely (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). It is important to note that as is applicable to any data-based system, the quality of information generated by the decision support system is influenced by the quality of data which originally went into the system. Thus, probably the single most important way of ensuring that high quality managerial data is collected and maintained is to consistently apply standard terms and business guidelines all over the organization (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 16). The other type pf decision support system is the hardware, software and the data management procedures. As seen in Frito Lay, a decision support system is not a unitary piece of technology like a database or even a network (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 17). Instead, it is a system that incorporates and integrates disparate data sources with the intention of permitting decision-makers to have access to and store data in a way useful to them. Therefore, the technology associated with a DSS would be influenced by the preexisting technology and data architecture of the organization. Artificial Intelligence Systems As earlier stated, artificial intelligence systems in most cases have the capacity of storing experiences along with the ability of learning. Occasionally, the brain fails to do the action instantly though it makes use of the imagination it has. The brain identifies a response criterion and establishes what situation arises from the action (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). It then identifies again an action pertaining to this new situation and established the most likely outcome (Robot, 2007). Therefore it can choose not only a response criterion but also a complete plan of action. This calls for the programmer to design various functions of the intelligent system as program functions which are also known as sub programs. A robot as an example of an intelligent system operates in an interesting way. The robot senses transmit information to the brain where the brain verifies if it has concept for the information it has received (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Otherwise, it creates a composite concept having the different sense information as partitions. What follows is the brain building up the prevailing situation from these concepts. A different domain of the brain checks in the memory to find out any response criterion for this condition before selecting the appropriate response rule and sending the action to the limbs for action (Robot, 2007). During the beginning of the ‘life’ of the robot, its memory is void of concepts and responses. However, each time the robot experiences something; it stores a new response criterion having the present situation (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). This implies that when the brain is not active, that is when it is ‘asleep’ it evaluates those response criteria while making generalizations implying that it is now equipped with response criteria which can be applied to a variety of situations. Questions have been asked pertaining to the possibility of using artificial neural nets to achieve the functioning of the brain (Robot, 2007). However, for a computer, concepts and response criterion achieves more efficiency than neural nets. Just writing a computer program which is an intelligent system and running within a computer with an output on a screen is not sufficient. It is important to build complete systems capable of acting in the natural environment of the human being. Apparently, to be of use such a program would need to have an intelligence similar in a way to that of man. This would signify the need for limbs and senses in order to enable it have same experiences and develop concepts for action similar in a way to that of man (Robot, 2007). Types of Artificial Intelligence Artificial or machine intelligence is the kind of ‘knowledge’ exhibited by any gadget manufactured by man. In most cases, it is hypothetically used to imply computers meant for general purposes though it could equally refer to scientific investigation. It could also refer to the intelligence of an artificial device (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). What need to be noted however are the various types of artificial intelligence that are available. Strong artificial intelligence is concerned with creating some kind of intelligence capable of reasoning. Reasoning in this case being the ability to evaluate and derive a conclusion a certain premise (EconomicExpert, 2009). The other is the weak artificial intelligence which is concerned with creating computer based intelligence capable of reasoning and solving problems on a limited basis. Such a device would at times operate as if it was intelligence but it wouldn’t have true intelligence (EconomicExpert, 2009). Testing such a device would require a turing test; an idea of testing the capability of a machine to undertake a conversation like man. Artificial intelligence has several fields; one of which is natural languages. Natural languages are used to draw a distinction between the languages spoken by man and the languages used in computer programming (Gregor Benbasat, 1999, pp. 497-530). Conclusion From this analysis it is evident that decision support systems are increasingly becoming important in modern day organizations such as Frito Lay. Depending on the configurations they have, decision support systems are powerful tools which organizations can embrace to address variety of questions about organizational performance, management, operations and policy-making (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2006, p. 14). For instance Frito Lay should embrace an appropriate IT infrastructure changes as a shift from the traditional management reporting procedures the company has long been undertaking. This implies that the company implemented an IT strategy aimed at delivering more focused and timely information which was informed by an improved understanding of the business processes. Reference EconomicExpert. (2009). Artificial Intelligence Retrieved January 13 2009 from http://www. economicexpert. com/a/Artificial:intelligence. htm Gregor, S. , and Benbasat, I. (1999). Explanations from intelligent systems: Theoretical foundations and implications for practice, Mis Quarterly 23 (4) pp. 497-530. Harvard Business School. (2001). Frito-Lay, Inc. : a Strategic Transition, 1987-1992 (Abridged). The McGraw-Hill Companies National Forum on Education Statistics. (2006). Forum Guide to Decision. Support Systems: A Resource for Educators. U. S. Department of Education, Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics, pp. 1-34. Retrieved January 13, 2009 from http://nces. ed. gov/pubs2006/2006807. pdf. Robot, A. H. (2007). Artificial Intelligence Systems. New Horizons Press. Retrieved January 13, 2009 from http://www. intelligent-systems. com. ar/intsyst/artis. htm

The Concept Of Rural Marketing In India Economics Essay

The Concept Of Rural Marketing In India Economics Essay The concept of Rural Marketing in Indian economy has always played an influential role in the lives of rural population of India. In India, except few metropolitan cities, almost all the districts and industrial townships are well connected with rural markets. Though rural marketing is a new concept and ideology in the arena of marketing, it has left a strong feeling among the people that without giving appropriate weight to rural areas and its development, it could never be possible to ensure the overall growth and well being of the country. Since past few years considerable developments are taking place to reconstruct the rural part of India. Many corporate houses have entered into the field of rural marketing to contribute in rural development of the country. Godrej, Birla, ITC, Reliance and many others has established rural retail hubs as a result of that economic status has been significantly improved. Farmers are getting access to market to sell their product as well as keeping themselves updated and informed regarding the going on trends of market. * Assist. Professor, Rajarshi School of Management Technology, U.P. College, Varanasi The rural market in India is not a separate entity in itself and it is highly influenced by the sociological and behavioral factors operating in the country. The rural population in India accounts for around 627 million, which is exactly 74.3 percent of the total population. The concept of rural marketing in India is often been found to form ambiguity in the minds of people who think rural marketing is all about agricultural marketing. However, rural marketing determines the carrying out of business activities bringing in the flow of goods from urban sectors to the rural regions of the country as well as the marketing of various products manufactured by the non-agricultural workers from rural to urban areas. To be precise, Rural Marketing in India Economy covers two broad sections, namely: Selling of agricultural items in the urban areas Selling of manufactured products in the rural regions Some of the important features or characteristics of Rural Marketing in India Economy are being listed below: With the initiation of various rural development programmes there have been an upsurge of employment opportunities for the rural poor. One of the biggest cause behind the steady growth of rural market is that it is not exploited and also yet to be explored. The rural market in India is vast and scattered and offers a plethora of opportunities in comparison to the urban sector. It covers the maximum population and regions and thereby, the maximum number of consumers. The social status of the rural regions is precarious as the income level and literacy is extremely low along with the range of traditional values and superstitious beliefs that have always been a major impediment in the progression of this sector. The steps taken by the Government of India to initiate proper irrigation, infrastructural developments, prevention of flood, grants for fertilizers, and various schemes to cut down the poverty line have improved the condition of the rural masses. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently talked about his vision for rural India: My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well-equipped villages and commute easily to work, be it on the farm or in the non-farm economy. There is much that modern science and technology can do to realise this vision. Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural health and education needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in rural areas. Go rural is the slogan of marketing gurus after analyzing the socio-economic changes in villages. The Rural population is nearly three times the urban, so that Rural consumers have become the prime target market for consumer durable and non-durable products, food, construction, electrical, electronics, automobiles, banks, insurance companies and other sectors besides hundred percent of agri-input products such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery. The Indian rural market today accounts for only about Rs 8 billion of the total ad pie of Rs 120 billion, thus claiming 6.6 per cent of the total share. So clearly there seems to be a long way ahead. Although a lot is spoken about the immense potential of the unexplored rural market, advertisers and companies find it easier to vie for a share of the already divided urban pie. The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain. It has always been difficult to gauge the rural market. Many brands, which should have been successful, have failed miserably. More often than not, people attribute rural market success to luck. Therefore, marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village though nationally it follows a consistent pattern looking at the challenges and the opportunities which rural markets offer to the marketers it can be said that the future is very promising for those who can understand the dynamics of rural markets and exploit them to their best advantage. A radical change in attitudes of marketers towards the vibrant and burgeoning rural markets is called for, so they can successfully impress on the 230 million rural consumers spread over approximately six hundred thousand villages in rural India. What rural market buys? Rural India buys small packs, as they are perceived as value for money. There is brand stickiness, where a consumer buys a brand out of habit and not really by choice. Brands rarely fight for market share; they just have to be visible in the right place. Even expensive brands, such as Close-Up, Marie biscuits and Clinic shampoo are doing well because of deep distribution, many brands are doing well without much advertising support Ghadi, a big detergent brand in North India, is an example. Why Rural Market? The Indian rural market has a huge demand base and offers great opportunities to marketers. Two-thirds of Indian consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national income is generated here. The reasons for heading into the rural areas are fairly clear. The urban consumer durable market for products like colour TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners is growing annually at between 7 per cent and 10 per cent. The rural market is zooming ahead at around 25 per cent annually. The rural market is growing faster than urban India now, says Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of the Rs 989 -crore(Rs billion) Videocon Appliances. The urban market is a replacement and up gradation market today, adds Samsungs director, marketing, Ravinder Zutshi. Reasons for improvement of business in rural area *Socio-economic changes (lifestyle, habits and tastes, economic status) *Literacy level (25% before independence more than 65% in 2001) *Infrastructure facilities (roads, electricity, media) *Increase in income   *Increase in expectations MART, the specialist rural marketing and rural development consultancy has found that 53 per cent of FMCG sales lie in the rural areas, as do 59 per cent of consumer durable sales, said its head Pradeep Kashyap at the seminar. Of two million BSNL mobile connections, 50 per cent went to small towns and villages, of 20 million Rediffmail subscriptions, 60 per cent came from small towns, so did half the transactions on Rediffs shopping site. Special features of rural market Unlike urban markets, rural markets are difficult to predict and possess special characteristics. The featured population is predominantly illiterate, have low income, characterized by irregular income, lack of monthly income and flow of income fluctuating with the monsoon winds. Rural markets face the critical issues of Distribution, Understanding the rural consumer, Communication and Poor infrastructure. The marketer has to strengthen the distribution and pricing strategies. The rural consumer expects value for money and owing to has unsteady and meager status of weekly income; increasing the household income and improving distribution are the viable strategies that have to be adapted to tap the immense potential of the market. Media reach is a strong reason for the penetration of goods like cosmetics, mobile phones, etc., which are only used by the urban people. Increasing awareness and knowledge on different products and brands accelerate the demand. The rural audience are however critical of glamorous ads on TV, and depend on the opinion leaders who introduce the product by using it and recommending it. Opinion leaders play a key role in popularizing products and influence in rural market. Nowadays educated youth of rural also influences the rural consumers. Rural consumers are influenced by the life style they watch on television sets. Their less exposure to outside world makes them innocent and fascinated to novelties. The reach of mass television media, especially television has influenced the buying behaviour greatly. Creating brands for rural India Rural markets are delicately powerful. Certain adaptations are required to cater to the rural masses; they have unique expectation and warrant changes in all four parameters of product, price, promotion and distribution. A lot is already emphasized on adapting the product and price in terms of packaging, flavouring, etc and in sachets, priced to suit the economic status of the rural India in sizes like Rs.5 packs and Re.1 packs that are perceived to be of value for money. This is a typical penetration strategy, that promises to convert the first time customers to repeated customers. The promotion strategies and distribution strategies are of paramount importance. Ad makers have learnt to leverage the benefits of improved infrastructure and media reach. The television airs advertisements to lure rural masses, and they are sure it reaches the target audience, because majority of rural India possesses and is glued to TV sets! Distributing small and medium sized packets thro poor roads, over long distances, into deep pockets of rural India and getting the stockiest to trust the mobility is a Herculean task. Giving the confidence those advertisements will support. Sales force is being trained to win the confidence of opinion leaders. Opinion leaders play an important role in popularizing the brand. They sometimes play the role of entry barriers for new products. The method of promotion needs to be tailored to suit the expectations of the market. Techniques that have proved to be successful are Van campaigns, edutainment films, generating word of mouth publicity through opinion leaders, colourful wall paintings. The Wide reach of television has exposed the other wise conservative audience to westernization. Panchayat televisions in Tamilnadu carries message that are well received and contribute to community development. Dynamics of rural markets differ from other market types, and similarly rural marketing strategies are also significantly different from the marketing strategies aimed at an urban or industrial consumer. This, along with several other related issues, have been subject matter of intense discussions and debate in countries like India and China and focus of even international symposia organized in these countries.   Rural markets and rural marketing involve a number of strategies, which include: * Client and location specific promotion *Joint or cooperative promotion *Bundling of inputs *Partnership for sustainability Client and Location specific promotion involves a strategy designed to be suitable to the location and the client. Joint or co-operative promotion strategy involves participation between the marketing agencies and the client. Bundling of inputs denote a marketing strategy, in which several related items are sold to the target client, including arrangements of credit, after-sale service, and so on. Media, both traditional as well as the modern media, is used as a marketing strategy to attract rural customers. Partnership for sustainability involves laying and building a foundation for continuous and long lasting relationship. Innovative media can be used to reach the rural customers. Radio and television are the conventional media that are reaching the rural audience effectively. But horse cart, bullock cart and wall writing are the other media, which can carry the message effectively to the rural customers.   Rural marketing is an evolving concept, and as a part of any economy has untapped potential; marketers have realized the opportunity recently. Improvement in infrastructure and reach, promise a bright future for those intending to go rural. Rural consumers are keen on branded goods nowadays, so the market size for products and services seems to have burgeoned. The rural population has shown a trend of wanting to move into a state of gradual urbanization in terms of exposure, habits, lifestyles and lastly, consumption patterns of goods and services. There are dangers on concentrating more on the rural customers. Reducing the product features in order to lower prices is a dangerous game to play. Rural Market: Areas with high level of expectation The Indian growth story is now spreading itself to Indias hinterlands. Rural India, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of the countrys one billion population (according to the Census of India 2001), is not just witnessing an increase in its income but also in consumption and production. The Union Budget for 2009-10 hiked the allocation for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to US$ 8.03 billion, giving a boost to the rural economy. This is in addition to the ambitious Bharat Nirman Programme with an outlay of US$ 34.84 billion for improving rural infrastructure. According to a study on the impact of the slowdown on rural markets commissioned by RMAI and conducted by MART, the rural economy has not been impacted by the global economic slowdown, according to a study by the Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI). The study found that the rural and small town economy which accounts for 60 per cent of Indias income has remained insulated from the economic slowdown. Moreover, rural incomes are on the rise driven largely due to continuous growth in agriculture for four consecutive years. Moreover, the rural consumer market, which grew 25 per cent in 2008 when demand in urban areas slowed due to the global recession, is expected to reach US$ 425 billion in 2010-11 with 720-790 million customers, according to a white paper prepared by CII-Technopak. That will be double the 2004-05 market size of US$ 220 billion. According to the study, while the durables market shrunk in urban India, the rural market is seeing a 15 per cent growth rate. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales are up 23 per cent and telecom is growing at 13 per cent. FMCG According to figures released by market researcher AC Nielsen, demand for personal care products grew faster in rural areas than urban areas during the period April-September 2009. Several FMCG companies such as Godrej Consumer Products, Dabur, Marico and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) have increased their hiring in rural India and small towns in order to establish a local connect and increase visibility. GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) and Nestle and are now launching products specifically for rural markets. Anand Ramanathan, an analyst from KPMG, said, Till recently, most FMCG companies used to treat rural markets as adjuncts to their urban strongholds and rural consumers as a homogeneous mass without segmenting them into target markets and positioning brands appropriately. Retail The rural retail market is currently estimated at US$ 112 billion, or around 40 per cent of the US$ 280 billion Indian retail market, according to a study paper, The Rise of Rural India, by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Major domestic retailers like AV Birla, ITC, Godrej, Reliance and many others have already set up farm linkages. Hariyali Kisan Bazaars (DCM) and Aadhars (Pantaloon-Godrej JV), Choupal Sagars (ITC), Kisan Sansars (Tata), Reliance Fresh, Project Shakti (Hindustan Unilever) and Naya Yug Bazaar are established rural retail hubs. Pharmaceuticals /Healthcare According to a report by McKinsey, the rural and tier-II pharmaceuticals market will account for almost half of the growth till 2015. The tier-II market will grow to 44 per cent by 2015, amounting to US$ 8.8 billion. The health ministry is setting up a mechanism to screen people in rural areas for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that in the case of diabetes, the government was working out a strategy to diagnose those in the age group 30-40 years in rural areas, for diseases. The multinational drug company, Sanofi-Aventis, has launched Prayas, a marketing initiative to market generics in rural areas and small towns. Through this initiative, the company looks to share medical knowledge with a body of practitioners and specialists in rural areas through workshops. Telecommunication A joint Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Ernst Young report reveals that of the next 250 million Indian wireless users, approximately 100 million (40 per cent) are likely to be from rural areas, and by 2012, rural users will account for over 60 per cent of the total telecom subscriber base in India. In a bid to acquire rural subscribers, most Indian telecom operators have started investing in infrastructure to roll out their services in these areas. Realising this as a huge potential, small Indian handset manufacturing companies, including Micromax, Intex Technologies and Karbonn, have lined up a marketing spend of around US$ 21.02 million for the financial year 2009-10. Infrastructure The World Bank has said that all-weather roads in villages in India have served to double the income of rural households, lift the literacy rate and increase land prices. Meanwhile, the Orissa government had decided to undertake an initiative to improve roadways in rural areas and upgrade 10,000 km of roads in rural areas. The decision was taken at a high level meeting chaired by Mr. Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa in December 2009. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned an amount of US$ 34.4 million to the government of West Bengal under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) XV. NABARD has also sanctioned a US$ 26.29 million loan to Karnataka for the construction of infrastructure projects, such as secondary schools, rural godowns, jetties, minor irrigation structures, roads and bridges, in rural areas. Automobiles Mahindra and Mahindra Group (MM) arm, Mahindra First Choice, has announced that it is to set up sales and service outlets in rural areas with the target of setting up 100,000 vehicles by 2015, according to MM President Rajeev Dubey. Meanwhile, motorcycle manufacturer TVS Motor Co. Ltd has said that it is depending on a far-reaching penetration of the rural market and the launch of new brands to boost the companys growth in 2010. Services Sector According to a report based on the 63rd round of survey by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), 60 per cent of the services sector enterprises in the country are located in rural areas. Of the 16.5 million services sector enterprises in India in 2006-07, 85 per cent were own account enterprises (OAEs) while the remaining 15 per cent were establishments. Seventy six per cent of the workers employed in these enterprises were employed in the rural areas of the country. Road ahead According to international consultancy firm Celent, rural markets in India will grow to a potential of US$ 1.9 billion by 2015 from the current US$ 487 million. Rural markets are growing at double the pace of urban markets and for many product categories, rural markets account for well over 60 per cent of the national demand. The success of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which has so far trained 100,000 rural youth, has led the rural development ministry to request an increase in budgetary allocation for the project. Rita Sharma, Secretary in the Rural Development Ministry, has said that they had sought US$ 2.29 billion from the Finance Ministry.

Commentary on Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel Essay examples

Commentary on Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel The novel Like Water for Chocolate is the story of a woman fighting tradition in quest for love and freedom. The novel has diverse relations of apathy and love between the characters. The author Esquivel illustrates these relations by the use of the colors red and white. Throughout the novel Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel uses the colors red and white to symbolize love and apathy in the relationships between the characters. Laura Esquivel uses the color red to symbolize love and passion in relationships. In the following quote "Mamma Elena had come to get a sheet or something and had caught Tita red-handed."(p. 136) The little box that contained mamma Elena's old love letters with her old love, Jose Trevino. Tita, being caught 'red-handed' may symbolize that her hands had been stained and contaminated with the love that was concealed inside the box. Another quote that reinforces the motif red is when Tita asked Nacha is she was to add more food coloring...

Stereotypes in Our Day Out Essay -- Our Day Out Willy Russell Stereoty

Stereotypes in Our Day Out Can Willy Russell be accused of using stereotypes as a means of putting his opinions forward? Throughout the play; ‘Our Day Out’, written by Willy Russell, there is a constant use of stereotypes portrayed in the characters. Stereotypes are standardised characters or a fixed idea of something. Willy Russell used stereotyping as an effective way of putting his opinions forward because he could develop his initial ideas for characters to raise awareness of what Liverpool was like in the 1970s. In my opinion Willy Russell wanted to show the general life of many children in Liverpool in the 1970s and also to show that stereotypes create false views of certain people and are harmful in general. In the text, the main characters are children and teachers in 1970S Liverpool. Teachers are often stereotyped anyway; people presume that they are strict and disliked or the opposite. This contrast is shown with the two characters Mr Briggs, who is rather strict and Mrs Kay who is not. In the play Mr Briggs is often shouting at the children or telling them off: â€Å"Never mind what for, just do what you’re told, lad.† This emphasises the point that he is stern. There are no points in the text where Mrs Kay has this attitude directly towards the children. The children in the play are also stereotyped because they live in a rough area and don’t have many opportunities- because of the fact that they live in Liverpool. In the play the children swear and steal, suggesting that they are somewhat deprived; they break the law and are impolite as they don’t know any better and have been brought up in a way which it is natural to do so. They are underprivileged as when they encounter animals at the ... ... he is very caring. I feel that Willy Russell uses stereotypes as a means of putting his opinions forward because stereotypes are so powerful and would make his opinions clear without directly linking them to him. They also make the text more understandable for the reader and intended audience. As a final point, I feel that Willy Russell uses stereotypes to no only make his opinions known but also to show that stereotypes are very powerful and maybe even deter people from using them as they can limit a persons mind, if, for example a child had been told they wouldn’t get a good job it may stop them from trying. Therefore Willy Russell does use stereotypes to put forward his opinions and may also use them to make people think carefully before they make presumptions about someone because of their age, race, job, wealth, beliefs or even their background.

Chronic Bladder Disorder :: Journalism Medical Medicine Papers

Chronic Bladder Disorder There are few telltale signs of what Shelly Gregory copes with on a daily basis. On closer observation, one may notice the odd way she holds the right side of her abdomen when she walks or the way she tilts her body to the side when she sits on a chair for too long. To people around her, Gregory, a 35-year-old mother of two daughters, may pass as healthy. But only those in her inner circle, including her husband and children, truly understand the pain she has to endure. â€Å"When I’m having a really bad day, it feels like there is glass in my bladder and it’s bleeding and there’s nothing I can do to stop it,† Gregory said. â€Å"It hurts so much that it makes me think that my heart is going to explode.† Gregory is one of the more than 700,000 people in the U.S. – 90 percent of them women –who is battling interstitial cystitis, a chronic disorder characterized by inflammation of the bladder that causes urinary frequency and urgency and pelvic pain. There has been relatively little advancement made on this condition since the first written reference to interstitial cystitis was made in 1836. More than a century later, there are still few clear answers to what causes this multifaceted disease or how to treat it effectively. According to epidemiological studies conducted in 1997, the disease typically afflicts white, educated women in their early to mid-40s. The spectrum of symptom severity, however, can vary from person to person. Some people experience the urge to urinate (up to 70 times per day), while others endure bladder pressure or, in severe cases, unremitting bladder pain. When doctors perform a cystoscopy – a procedure that involves inserting a thin scope inside the bladder – on certain interstitial cystitis patients they can see evidence of the disease: mucosal hemorrhaging or Hunner’s ulcers that bleed when the bladder is filled beyond capacity. People with IC have small capacity bladders that hold less than 300 ml, or approximately 1 cup. Gregory said her bladder pain started in 1992 when she developed a blood clot after giving birth to her daughter. Five years later she found out that interstitial cystitis, not the blood clot, was the culprit. Dr. Robert Moldwin, a national expert on interstitial cystitis and director of the Interstitial Cystitis Center at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Hyde Park, N.Y., said despite its prevalence, doctors often misdiagnose interstitial cystitis because patients can perceive pain in one or more areas of the pelvis.

Global Procurement and Supply

GlaxoSmithKline:Sourcing Complex Professional Services Erin Edwards Global Procurement & Supply April 22, 2018IntroductionGlaxoSmithKline also known as GSK is currently losing millions of the dollars annually in legal process. Normally, GSK always billed the law firms on hourly basis but this was not practical for the company. The team not had to research and innovate new ways to cut the spending through a new procurement process. GSK, GlaxoSmithKline uses an innovative approach to procure outside counsel by trading relationship based selection of law firms to an online reverse auction. However, the quality of the work, and selecting the right the law firm was a challenging hurdle to jump. GSK was willing to take up the challenge to come up with a better process of handling their spend.GSK is hit with a devastating suit and only has a certain number of days to hire a firm in time to respond. Their managing attorney Sophia Keating grapples with GSK approach to selecting suppliers. GSK employees ensured Sophia that this approach drives down cost and improves the quality of work submitted by the lawyers. Still skeptical about the process, she still runs process by comparing the competing firms and their bids. Furthermore, it was the decision by Harlow to outsource the services. GSK made strides to come up with the suitable options, and options to meet the criteria of less cost, and quality work. However, there were other concerns that could be discussed more broadly to avoid the pitfalls during the process. This case also describes the process in which this process was made and adopted beyond the implications for law firms and other service providers. Many processes seemed to only be adopted by selecting vendors for a variety of supplies and products but can be used for services also. This procurement process can be incredibly beneficial, especially streamline purchasing and tracking spend. This process can ensure a company pays the best price for goods or services, save time by choosing the most reputable vendors, and minimize order delays and mistakes. After getting early endorsement from the general counsel, Marty Harlow worked with GSK's global external legal relations team (GELRT) in legal to develop a matter-specific, mini-RFP tool that enables in-house counsel to assess firms' specific qualifications for a particular representation. The other main component of the OCSI is the electronic reverse auction which encourages fee competition among qualified law firms instead of hourly rates. GSK's preferred firm roster work with procurement to draw up a shortlist of firms to invite to an OCSI event. GSK lawyers use a form-driven process to state as much detail about the matter as possible and these are passed to Harlow's team for submission to firms. This case is very useful in talking about institutional change and how the procurement process can be adopted to many fields and services.Main IssuesUncontrollable SpendingThe company was spending millions of dollars annually on the spending on the legal matters. It was identified that there was also extra unnecessary cost incurred that could have been avoided through a better process that was more centralized. â€Å"More than a quarter of companies in the U.S. and UK spent over $5 million annually on litigation costs in 2012, and among healthcare companies that proportion was estimated to be 30%– 40%. Because legal fees had become a prominent line item in company overheads, top management in many companies pressured their general counsel (GC), the chief lawyer of a legal department, to rein in legal spending† (Gardner and Silverstein 2)There were some moments when the company even did not know about the spending on the legal matters, and legal department exceeded the budget sometimes. This was an issue many companies were being affected by, not just GSK. However, GSK noticed the high costs and need to be able to have a better centralized process. Therefore, it was challenging for the company to manage the spending on the legal matters and find another solid process that could not only cost less, but also provide quality services since quality is very important in the legal work. Relationship Vs. QualityGSK is engaged with the same law firms that they have had long relationships with. â€Å"One involved consolidating the number of firms with which their company regularly worked—sometimes ending long-standing relationships.† (Gardner and Silverstein 3) Relationship management is very key is long lasting business relationships, which has allowed GSK to be very successful with prior legal matters. However, through this process, the company would incur extra cost on the legal matters, because there is no cap on spend since it was tracked hourly. Since there was no centralized system to track the work and spend, GSK had no idea about the urgent matters and problems of the company. It is very important the firms that are selecting ensure that quality work is being completed without overspending. Cost does not always mean quality. GSK should have to risk quality during their cost for the best legal pursuits. Even though supplier relationship management is great, but it becomes challenges when spend is starting to become uncontrollable and unmanageable. Building closer relations with your strategic partners will minimize supply chain risks. Having strategic partners whose goals are aligned with business objectives are highly valuable and important to long term success.KPIsThere was not performance management in place to determine how the firm is performing. GSK did not have a quantifiable measure that is used to track and assess the status of the firm process. Every area of business especially complex professional services should have specific metrics that should be monitored. Having metrics will focus more on big picture financial metrics, which was an issue for GSK without the procurement process. The case does not mention how performance of the firms will be tracked. â€Å"GELRT leveraged technology to obtain?the information it needed to optimize financial performance and strengthen strategic planning. Matter management, electronic billing, and reporting systems were already in place within the legal department.† (Gardner and Silverstein 6) There is a lot of information about how GELRT uses technology to acquire information. The system is able to track spending, but there is no system in place to track KPIs.AnalysisThe process of sourcing involves the company to select suppliers for a product or service. The complete an evaluation of the supplier and finally contract with the supplier to deliver the required products or services. While procurement refers to the activity of getting the deliveries from the supplier identified and ensuring that the payments to the supplier are made. GSK adopting procurement process has helped make changes within their spend. â€Å"By 2006–2007, procurement had become heavily involved in the sourcing of many ancillary services. Harlow's tough stance in negotiations saved GSK an estimated $23 million: $19 million from Legal Staffing/eDiscovery, $1 million from Court Reporting, and $3 million from Medical Records.† (Gardner and Silverstein 4) By taking the right initiatives in sourcing and procurement, GSK is able to see the benefits. Having a process in place will save the company time; ensure that one is getting the right solution to meet business needs. A procurement process will ensure you pay the right price and avoid overlooking vital steps that may come back to haunt the firm later. Procurement policies and procedures allow a business to arrange its buying strategy to its long-term goals and objectives. Procurement helps with a better chance to meet business goals. â€Å"This system reminds me of buying office supplies or landscaping services. Can it really be applied to a complex legal case like this one†¦.?† (Gardner and Silberstein 1) This is what Sophia Keating thought to herself when the idea of a reverse auction process was presented to her. The vendor selection process initially starts as part of a company's strategy. A procurement process can measure the direct costs and the team timesaving achieved through better management. For example, GSK was very focus on their legal spend, which in turns means you need to select firms that would be able to handle the request in the right budget. The nice thing they had a selection of firms who meet their cost, quality and service requirements needs, but also add some firms who were new. After they shortlisted their firms, GSK was able to use OCSI for their quotes, terms and minimum service levels. Finally, review their proposals from the reverse auctions and reward the firm with the lowest number. Procurement increases an organization's productivity by providing visibility into transactions.Benchmarking is the process of paralleling what companies are doing with what the best performing company in your industry is doing. In textbook, Purchasing & Supply Chain Management describes bench making as, â€Å"Benchmarking is the continuous measuring of products, services, processes, activities, and practices against a firm's best competitors or those companies recognized as industry or functional leaders.† (770) In Exhibit 3 of the case, you able to see how GSK compares with the other Law Firms Self-Assessment. Unfortunately, GSK managing attorney assessment does under perform in a couple areas like understanding business objectives, involvement of diverse team members, and reactiveness and creativeness. One of three types of benchmarking, process benchmarking compares operational processes. Performance benchmarking compares product or services, marketing and sales to determine how to increase profits. Short term benchmarking goals, produce quick results. But it is the long-term goals that help with the direction and strategies of the company that will make it more competitive in the market. Performance management is a performance controlling style that has grown increasingly popular with a variety of companies. Performance management is the process in which it challenges the company's overall performance and abilities. It challenges them to bring their best foot and work forward. Performance manage usually involve setting goals, then evaluating their progress or work with a reward or penalty depending on how the firm or vendor performs. RecommendationsRun Reverse AuctionsA reverse auction is best used to obtain the best rate by embracing competition among firms bidding on price. GSK using this method will allow the law firms to compete with their best idea to win the business and also be within budget. The idea of reverse because during the auction makes sure the price drops. Price was definitely an issue for GSK previously because there was no way to track the spending. Using the method of reverse auction has a number of advantages. Some of the benefits of reverse auction is the amount of time it takes to make a decision. Before something that could takes months, can now be shortened into weeks or even days. Also, the bidders are able to see who their competition and how they compare to them. There is a lot more transparency when it comes reverse auctions. Law firms would calculate their preliminary prices and confirm the very lowest price they would go to secure the business. II. Conduct Routine Performance ReviewsPerformance management is a mutual agreement about how companies or individuals contribute to an organization's goals. This is what OCSI can do for GSK. OCSI can act as a process of performance management and appraisals focusing on aligning GSK's workforce, building capabilities, improving employee performance and development, and influencing better business results. GSK should complete annual performance reviews to evaluate the firms' performance. This entails gathering feedback from co-workers and clients into consideration and observations by management. These assessments can be very detailed and elongated to include a review of the previous years' evaluation and an assessment of services. Many firms may have the company complete an evaluation of their own performance that is then discussed during the evaluation and compared to the official evaluation. Monitoring gives the company an opportunity to make a course correction or adjust a timeline if it is needed so that the vendor will produce the desired outcome of successfully achieving goals. If GSK concludes the vendor has unacceptable performance, monitoring performance enables them to identify the problem early and get an opportunity to rectify before being evaluated incorrectly.III. Implementing a Performance-Based IncentiveThese systems are designed to retain top-performing vendors, motivate the desired performance, and control costs. If a company wants to pay for performance, it must define performance in very specific, objective, quantifiable terms, measure it and track it. Introducing a performance based incentive program with help firm collective help GSK reach their business goals and legal objectives. This r eally entices firms to align their work with the business goals. Having a reward for exceptional performance and penalties for poor performance really ensure that money is not being wasted but invested properly. IV. Routinely Fresh Preferred SuppliersIt is healthy to refresh suppliers and firms from time to time. If you consolidate your supplier base, it will allow better visibility over the billing process. It will be easier to track payments leaving the business and going to the suppliers, so any errors will be identified more rapidly. When you deal with less suppliers and vendors, there is less administration and paperwork to handle. This allows more time to focus on other areas of the business. When it comes to decreasing the number of suppliers GSK uses, it is best to control what's best for the business. Above all, GSK needs to find the best overall fit so that there's a steadiness between the time it takes to achieve their supplier base and the profitability of the business.Conclusion Procurement is should be viewed strategic function working to improve the organization's cost-effectiveness. Procurement helps streamline processes, reduce service prices and costs, and identifying better firms to do services. It is essential to any business that purchases anything such as products or services. Since GSK buys services like other companies, then the better its procurement function works, the more money it can make. Typically, businesses buy products or services from multiple vendors. Procurement handles the details of procuring these purchases at optimal prices. Combining your strengths with stakeholder' helps find new progressive solutions to remain successful in business and stay ahead of the competition. To maintain sustainable supply chain, procurement management has a profitable impact on a company's processes. It helps avoid supply chain risks by better collaborating with vital partners and providing added value to diverse business practices. The bottom line: Performance management is an ongoing practice, not a yearly task. The success of an organization, if aligned to your organizational goals, will drive business results.ReferencesCapko, Judy. â€Å"Five Steps to a Performance Evaluation System.† Family Practice Management, 1 Mar. 2003, www.aafp.org/fpm/2003/0300/p43.html.Gardner, Heidi K, and Silvia Hodges Silverstein.â€Å"GlaxoSmithKline: Sourcing Complex Professional Services.†Ã‚  Harvard Business Review, 26 Feb. 16, hbr.org/product/glaxosmithkline-sourcing-complex-professional-services/414003-PDF-ENG.Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.Markgraf, Bert. â€Å"How to Evaluate a Company's Performance.†Ã‚  Small Business – Chron.com, Chron.com, 5 Feb. 2018, www.smallbusiness.chron.com/evaluate-companys-performance-67095.html.Monczka, Robert M., et al.  Purchasing and Supply Chain Management. South-Western, 2011.Wincel, Jeffrey P.  Lean Supply Chain Management: a Handbook for Strategic Procurement. Productivity Press, 2008.

What Does the Concept of Dignity mean to Stevens?

Stevens is a unique character whose life evolves solely around his profession and how he can both maintain his dignity and become recognised through his work. The concept of dignity has ruled his entire life and he believes it his duty to remain dignified in all circumstances in order to be classed as a â€Å"great butler†. His metaphorical journey however reveals that in trying to accomplish this, he has lost the vital element which must be sustained in life, human warmth. Stevens defines dignity as, â€Å"Something one can meaningfully strive for throughout one's career†, compared to Mr Graham's views that â€Å"dignity is something one possesses,† which seems more reasonable from the reader's point of view. The critic Richard Locke asks what dignity there is in not making one's own mistakes and refers to the consequent sorrow and remorse that follows, saying â€Å"such rueful wisdom much be retrospective. † This certainly explains Stevens' unemotional behaviour in his mission to attain dignity because he has since regretted not â€Å"making his own mistakes† and living life to the fullest. Instead, he delicately portrays his Father's views, who was â€Å"indeed the embodiment of dignity†, because he is not able to conceive his own opinions having followed Lord Darlington's orders all his life. Furthermore, Stevens has incorporated the Hayes Society perspectives of dignity and related them to that of his father stating that he had, â€Å"Dignity in keeping with his position†, again proving that he can not form his own views and has again had to use someone else's. Stevens is so concerned with dignity and yet his misinterpretation of it, together with the emphasis his father put on it, has left him unable to calculate his own ideas on what dignity actually is and has thus naively lead him into an empty life. It is his father's stress on the tiger anecdote that has in my view confused Stevens, the idea being that a butler resorts to dramatic lengths to ensure that â€Å"no discernible traces† of the tiger â€Å"are left†. It is the fact that his father â€Å"knew instinctively that somewhere in this story lay the kernel of what true dignity is,† and Stevens does not, but yet continues to follow his father's perspectives because he considers him a â€Å"great butler†. Everyone is motivated by aspirations to climb higher, and Stevens' ultimate goal is to be acknowledged as a â€Å"great butler†. He feels he comes significantly closer to his quest at a conference Lord Darlington, holds for the most important delegates in Europe. At the conference he believes that he is heavily relied upon to oil the friction between the delegates from different countries by ensuring that the guests have nothing whatsoever to complain about. Whilst the delegates attend these various conferences, Stevens' father is very ill, however Stevens is more willing to return to work than attend to his sick father who is the only family Stevens has left. There has always been a cold relationship between the two, both of them only conversing over professional issues, and Stevens respects his father not for being a good father but a good butler. As Stevens is devoid of sentiment he can only judge others based on their dignity and we see how important Stevens' views on dignity are because it defies how he interacts and relates with others. Not only does he describes his father as â€Å"dark and severe†, which is dignity personified, he refers to him in the third person, â€Å"I hope father is feeling better now. † His lack of emotion proves to the reader how empty Stevens is, and in order for him to fill this emptiness, Stevens primarily concerns himself with dignity. Despite his father always being detached, he ironically asks, â€Å"Have I been a good father? † However, Stevens coldly dismisses his gesture, and in doing this, he loses any chance of a positive relationship with his remaining family. Furthermore, it is his arrogant ignoring of Mr Cardinal who tells him of Lord Darlington's wrong attitude to the Nazis and of Miss Kenton's attempts to give him one last chance to propose, that severely damaged his chances of becoming a â€Å"great person† and hence a â€Å"great butler†. However, he ironically recalls this experience with â€Å"a large sense of â€Å"triumph†, and consequently dismisses any hope of happiness as he is prepared to place professionalism before relationships. Stevens is also unable to communicate to the reader his true intentions for undertaking the excursion, stating that he wishes to improve the current â€Å"staff plan† however the reader perceives that he wants to visit Miss Kenton, and hence becomes â€Å"an unreliable narrator†, always placing a professional spin on everything. He believes that he is respected for his dignity, and thus judges others on how dignified they are. Dignity means everything to Stevens, it being all he has and hence his profession becomes his life, unable to even call holiday clothes by their true name but instead a â€Å"costume. † A costume implies a disguise worn to hide the true person underneath thus stating that Stevens is not the person to undertake holidays as it distracts him from his work. Another significant point demonstrating Stevens' unreliability is his relationship with former employer Lord Darlington. Everyone must feel good about themselves in order to remain optimistic in life and Stevens accomplishes this by feeling good about being a good butler working for a good master. Despite dedicating the best years of his life to Lord Darlington, Stevens is then quick to deny any knowledge of his former employer once we hear of his connections with the Nazis in World War Two. At Mortimers Pond significantly halfway through the novel, another butler of a lesser stature than himself attends to his car and he asks if he actually worked for Lord Darlington, to which Stevens replies, â€Å"Oh no, I am employed by Mr John Farraday. † Stevens is deliberately misleading about his past relationship with Lord Darlington because of his associations with the Nazis, as the truth would have severely damaged his self-esteem. However, the reader is first given a hint of Stevens' unreliability through his deliberate changing of his mind and misinterpretation of events which have occurred. Stevens corrects himself when he recalls passing Miss Kenton's room and originally believes that she is crying, however on reflection he realises that it is not due to the untimely death of her Aunt, but her acceptance to marry Mr Benn, and that her efforts to provoke him into action had gone unnoticed. Miss Kenton asks him â€Å"Do you want me to stay†, giving Stevens the opportunity to react and tell her how he feels, however he ignores these blatant signs and continues to neglect the forming of relationships in order to protect his reputation. The reality is that he changed his mind about these events in order to shield himself from the painful truth that he is destined to spend the rest of his life alone because he chose dignity above warmth. Everything Stevens encounters on his excursion, he relates to his profession. He travels to Mursden, not as a tourist, but an admirer of the famous silver polish, and naively believes that using this has had positive repercussions all over Europe. However, Stevens has again attempted to selfishly pass something off as his own, so that he can feel good and important, helping him to fill the emptiness left from a lack of human warmth and intimacy. Despite Stevens' clear longing for a close relationship with anyone, he still feels the urge to place his pride above what really matters. At Mortimer's Pond, he refuses to walk around it for fear of dirtying his shoes because no self-respecting butler would allow that to happen and says, â€Å"My footwear is not such as to permit me easily to walk around the perimeter. † Stevens gullibly believes that others really care about how he looks and acts, and he must therefore strive to create a good impression and remain dignified. He sadly also realises that in order to qualify as a â€Å"great butler†, he had to work for an employer of proven â€Å"moral worth†, yet he has just disowned any knowledge of working for Lord Darlington when quizzed about it earlier. Realistically, Stevens is living in the past and refuses to change his ways because they have brought him his dignity, and his archaic, well structured English clarifies the fact that he has learnt his English from historical, classical books and not social context or conversations. The mere fact Stevens lives in the past is saddening as life should be full of new experiences, but instead he effectively shields himself behind his profession and exploits it as an excuse to visit new places. His old-fashioned lifestyle furthermore forbids him to look symbolically beyond the surface at Mortimer's pond and delve underneath to find the truth, and only when he meets Miss Kenton is he forced to change his perspectives and views on life. His relationship with Miss Kenton has allowed him to modernise his views as he would before judge people on the surface and converse with them on purely professional terms. Although his liaison with Miss Kenton has not altered his perceptions on dignity, he has become aware that there is perhaps more to life than work Although the reader may sympathise with Stevens and respect him, his pitiful behaviour is also both extremely noticeable and frustrating. In the unfortunate incident concerning the dismissing of the two Jewish maids, Stevens will not admit that he did not stand up for something he knew was wrong. He says, â€Å"We must not let sentiment creep into our judgement†, but ironically it is his higher regard for dignity which has ensured that he avoids sentiment throughout his entire life, and once again the reader becomes aware of Stevens' outdated response because he is prepared to place dignity above what is right. Furthermore, he ironically says that dignity is â€Å"not removing one's clothing in public†. Whether he is attempting to banter is left deliberately ambiguous, however what he says is ironic to the reader because he does not remove his clothes in private and maintains his professional persona even in his social life. To remove clothing suggests relaxation and freedom, a characteristic the reader never associates with Stevens because of his overwhelming obsession with dignity which has cost him so much. Stevens views dignity as a key to success, living his whole life by it and striving to remain dignified in every single possible circumstance he is subjected to. In his fixation with dignity, he has ultimately committed the deadly sin of pride and has thus condemned himself to a life of emptiness. He is deliberately aiming to aspire to the stature of his father, Stevens believing that he achieved so much acclaim through his dignified manner. However, at the end of the novel, it is left ambiguous whether he will strive to maintain his dignity or seek to change his ways and become more intimate and emotional with people when he discovers that â€Å"bantering is the key to human warmth. â€Å"