Ottoman and Safavid

In the late Islamic period (16th -18th), perhaps even more so than in preceding periods, art was an instrument of dynastic expression in this great age of empires. Spurred by royal patronage, the arts flourished under the Ottomans and Safavids. Ottoman art was a vibrant synthesis of Turkish and Persian-Islamic, Byzantine, and Mediterranean culture and styles through conquest, through direct invitation of artisans, or through the migration of peoples.The Ottoman Turks were renowned for their architecture, as well as for their traditions of calligraphy and miniature painting. They were also renowned for their decorative arts including carpet weaving, jewelry making, paper marbling, and their characteristic Iznik ware ceramics. The Ottomans promoted themselves as the defenders of Islam, and this explains why their public art includes a rich variety of ornamental designs but no human figures. Plant- and flower-based patterns were the most common.Observing Iznik ceramics, a superficial ab straction is dominant in the naturalistic plant designs. Besides, around 16th century Ottoman Miniature Art reached its peak. The Miniatures and illuminated manuscripts were created largely for the emperors, with their focus mostly on the important and powerful figures in their retinues. A unique feature of Ottoman Miniature was that it depicted the actual events realistically, while also keeping the abstract formal expressive touch of the traditional Islamic Art.The Safavid style developed in Iran from 1500, when the country was re-united under the dynasty of this name. Unlike their Ottoman neighbors, the Safavids had no qualms about depicting human beings in all forms of art. These figures became an unusually prominent feature of the Safavid style. Depictions of elegant young men and women, often shown in outdoor settings, adorned many objects, from clothing to the bindings of manuscripts. One of the most renowned manuscripts from the period is a now-dispersed copy of the Shahnama epic.Also textiles and carpets were manufactured of luxury materials as furnishings for the court. The most famous is a pair known as the Ardabil Carpets, created in 1539-1540. The carpets were nearly identical, perfectly symmetrical and enormous. Every inch of space was filled with flowers, scrolling vines, and medallions. Although the central medallion and the repeating patterns throughout the carpet is similar to Ottoman but the Ardabil carpets have A wide range of colors than Ottoman’s which is heavily dependent on reds and blues.

Causes of World War 1

The Causes of World War I World War I is essentially much more complicated and complex than a simple list of causes. While there was a series of events that directly led to the fighting, the actual origin causes are much deeper and a part of continual debate and discussion. Ultimately, countries all over Europe made joint defense agreements that would pull them into battle. Therefore, if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed: * Russia and Serbia. * Germany and Austria-Hungary. France and Russia. * Britain and France and Belgium. * Japan and Britain. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, in which Russia got involved in to defend Serbia. Germany, seeing Russia rallying, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium, pulling Britain into war. Then Japan entered the war. Afterwards, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies. Imperialism is when a country boosts their power and wealth by bringing additional territories under their control.Before World War I, Africa and parts of Asia were points of controversy amongst the European countries. This was particularly true because of the raw resources these areas could provide. The growing competition and want for greater empires led to an increase in disagreement that helped press on the world into World War I. As the world got into the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time period.Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism helped push the countries involved to war. Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina to no longer be part of Au stria-Hungary, but instead be part of Serbia. In this way, nationalism led directly to the War. But in a more general way, the nationalism of the various countries throughout Europe contributed not only to the beginning but the extension of the war in Europe. Each country tried to prove their dominance and power.The instantaneous cause of World War I that made all the aforementioned items come into play (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated him and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. This was in objection to Austria-Hungary having control of this region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. When Russia began to gather together due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia.Thus began the expansion of the war to inc lude all those involved in the mutual defense alliances. Works Cited: * Beck, Roger B. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005. Print. * Duffy, Michael. â€Å"Firstworldwar. com. †Ã‚  First World War. com. 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 22 May 2012. . * â€Å"World War One – Causes. †Ã‚  Causes of World War One. Historyonthenet. Web. 22 May 2012. . * â€Å"What Really Caused World War 1? †Ã‚  WW1. Web. 22 May 2012. . Causes of World War 1 The Causes of World War I World War I is essentially much more complicated and complex than a simple list of causes. While there was a series of events that directly led to the fighting, the actual origin causes are much deeper and a part of continual debate and discussion. Ultimately, countries all over Europe made joint defense agreements that would pull them into battle. Therefore, if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed: * Russia and Serbia. * Germany and Austria-Hungary. France and Russia. * Britain and France and Belgium. * Japan and Britain. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, in which Russia got involved in to defend Serbia. Germany, seeing Russia rallying, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium, pulling Britain into war. Then Japan entered the war. Afterwards, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies. Imperialism is when a country boosts their power and wealth by bringing additional territories under their control.Before World War I, Africa and parts of Asia were points of controversy amongst the European countries. This was particularly true because of the raw resources these areas could provide. The growing competition and want for greater empires led to an increase in disagreement that helped press on the world into World War I. As the world got into the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time period.Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism helped push the countries involved to war. Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina to no longer be part of Au stria-Hungary, but instead be part of Serbia. In this way, nationalism led directly to the War. But in a more general way, the nationalism of the various countries throughout Europe contributed not only to the beginning but the extension of the war in Europe. Each country tried to prove their dominance and power.The instantaneous cause of World War I that made all the aforementioned items come into play (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated him and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. This was in objection to Austria-Hungary having control of this region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. When Russia began to gather together due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia.Thus began the expansion of the war to inc lude all those involved in the mutual defense alliances. Works Cited: * Beck, Roger B. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005. Print. * Duffy, Michael. â€Å"Firstworldwar. com. †Ã‚  First World War. com. 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 22 May 2012. . * â€Å"World War One – Causes. †Ã‚  Causes of World War One. Historyonthenet. Web. 22 May 2012. . * â€Å"What Really Caused World War 1? †Ã‚  WW1. Web. 22 May 2012. .

Internation Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Internation Economic - Essay Example 4.The United states has experienced a Balance of payment Trade deficit since 1982. You are a member of the Council of economic advisers to President and you role is to advise the President, who is very concerned about the rising EURO and the Trade Deficit, on how he can reduce or correct the Trade deficit respond to the Euro. What actions would you recommend and why? The US trade deficit shows that the country is importing more than its exports. Any act of balancing the trade deficit through increased exports that match with the imports will take years to yield the desired results. One of the easiest ways to ease out is through favorable changes in the currency exchange rates such as the Euro. A rising euro means that the United States is able to export more than previous levels. As such, the trade deficit has come down since 1996 compared to previous years. Therefore, it is advised to maintain the favorable variations in currency by looking into the factors that affect these exchange rates and utilizing them for the benefit of the

We need more parking space in the campus Assignment

We need more parking space in the campus - Assignment Example It is unfortunate that a student will drive fast from home to college, only to spend about an hour or two finding parking space. The extra fuel consumed while looking for parking could be used to drive back home (Jakle and Keith 218). The improved global economy and dropping fuel prices means more students driving into college in the near future. Whereas the administration may seem to sit on the tradition of conservatism, time has come for channeling more resources towards improving parking infrastructure. It is also worth considering that adequate parking will be one of the primary factors to consider when selecting colleges in the near future. This is because cost of parking is increasingly becoming an additional cost of learning. Present students in college are budgeting up to 300 dollars each month as a parking and associated costs. This implies that a college without adequate parking may receive fewer applicants in the future if parking cost is anything to go by. However, students are highly encouraged to ‘carpool’ to save on fuel and parking costs. For example, five students can use one car and save space for four other vehicles. Ultimately, all the stakeholders involved can only address parking

Individual business proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual business proposal - Essay Example The product will be highly purchased due to its high quality that will meet the needs of our customers. Initially, the business will be established as a sole proprietorship but in future it will increase its capital base by becoming a limited company. Political- UK political system is democratic and the government has created a good business environment. Despite the 2008 economic crisis and, the UK government has ensured that its investors and business communities are provided with opportunities to borrow from banks for the purpose of expanding their businesses. Environment- In order to ensure that firms are in line with the government regulations, the UK government has continued to create conducive environment for the companies (Werner, 1984). For example, the government has established simple six steps to establish a business in the country. In addition, the government reduced the corporation rate from 26% in 2012 to 23% in 2014. In this way, companies have higher net profits an aspect that makes them to easily expand in other areas. Social- Due to social as well as political campaigning, business and individual consumers have increased the rate at which food has been wasted. This implies that UK government should come up with better policies curb food wastage. Legally, the government has also come up with a regulation that requires banks to expanding lending rates otherwise they may be highly taxed. Technological- Based on the high technology that UK adopts for example the use of smart phones among other innovation, firms are able to effectively market their products. Other companies that have penetrated the UK market include Google, Apple, Symbian and Microsoft among others. The use of face book by approximately 73% of internet users also makes the country a very viable business opportunity. This implies that Great Coffee will employ the modern

Marketing - Microsoft Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing - Microsoft Case Study - Essay Example The strongest companies with truly innovative concepts survived and into the 21st century. The turn of the century continued to be trigger by the internet and higher broadband speeds created the birth of what economist called the convergence age. The convergence era is defined by the collapse of previously distinct media distribution channels – broadcast, cable, radio, print, online – into one single media delivery chain that supports a range of interactive modes between users and content (Pricewatercoopers, 2006). Microsoft is the biggest software manufacturer in the world. The company has a rich 32 old history in which they have help revolutionize the IT industry. The company has changed a lot in last five years and has implemented new business strategies which diversified its portfolio of product offerings. The company revenues in 2006 were $44,282 million, which represents a 56.11% revenue increase in comparison with 2002 (Annual Report Microsoft, 2006). There have been a lot of changes in the IT industry. A lot of them have to do with world’s entrance into the convergence age. The company is adapting to the trend and is focusing on launching products based on the market tendencies. There are a lot of exciting developments occurring in the IT industry. In 2006 the IT market generated $3.1 trillion in revenues (Info Tech Industry Overview, 2007). The industry is expanding and new products, concepts and ideas are revolutionizing the industry. A lot of the hottest trends in this industry are aligned with the start of the convergence age. Security is a big issue as more and more users entered the internet and are utilizing it for work related tasks and for their ecommerce needs. The latest tallies of the size of the online population revealed that as of late November 2006 there were 1.76 billion online users globally

History - Sanctions and Nonprofilerations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History - Sanctions and Nonprofilerations - Essay Example There was once a time when Libya also had uranium enrichment plants and weapons of mass destruction. So if that much of the countries in the world are running their nuclear programs then why US and western countries are behaving in a selfish way to deprive off Iran and north Korea from this technology? The answer is no doubt, quite complex and even US is trying to impose sanctions for the nonproliferation of such technology, none of these countries wanted to set ears on it. To begin with, the situation in Iran is quite different that of North Korea. It is surrounded by Iraq, Afghanistan and is not so far from a strongly opposed nuclear power, Israel, who keeps on threatening Iran on its extreme Islamic policies. On the other hand, with US in the region, Iran does not feel itself secure enough from the borders. Actually it’s the US and some other western countries that provided Iran with nuclear technology during the dynasty of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi during 1960s and 1970s. Howe ver, after the Islamic revolution of Iran in 1979, these countries become aware of the fact that most Iranians do not like their policies and are not in favor of taking dictations from them. So they consider Iran’s nuclear program as a great threat to their strength and might in the world. So far, there have been no weapons of mass destruction found in Iran and it has also signed the non-proliferation treaty of nuclear weapons. But as far as US is concerned, it has a history of invasion into other countries on the names of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, like it did with Iraq where none was found to be the weapon of mass destruction. So in order to remind US that Iran would not be another Iraq for it to invade and gain natural resources, it is necessary for Iran to have its own nuclear program so that no one become able to set eyes on it. These are the reasons due to which Iran withdrew from the non-proliferation treaty and is working on its program (Jarrod Hayes. 2011). Almost same is the case with North Korea, it also signed the treaty but withdrew from it in 2003 due to US double faced policies which do not make the world a safer and better place at all, rather there is already much destruction in most parts of the world due to illegitimate invasion of US. The hypocrisy of the entire world does not ever come to an end. the accuse of having a nuclear program not so protested has become old now, as everyone knows that when a country starts such projects, first it make sure that everyone will not have access to the weapons and that those will not cause any harm to the population. They are better well wishers of their own countries as compare to others. North Korea is a declared nuclear power with tests in 2006 and 2009, where Iran is still in the way. Both the countries should not roll back their programs to make their people safe and guarded (Millon). As far as the sanctions are concerned, US tried to put both Iran and North Korea into sever e circumstances by putting industrial and economical sanctions on them. In April 1998, North Korean was entitled to sanctions for their role in transferring Missile Technology with Pakistan. In November 2011, US decided to pressurize Iran to hold its nuclear program as it did not obey any of the international obligations and continue to build weapons of mass destruction. US prohibited any of the procurement activities taking place for Iran by carrying equipment and technology and there would

Progymnasmata Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Progymnasmata - Essay Example A list of 14 exercises is included in progymnasmataranked in order of their increasing complexity, and increasing demand of knowledge required. These assessments are namely fable i.e. when a folk tale is repeated, narrative that basically follows fiction or non-fiction, Chreiai.e. based on a famous quote or action, Proverb i.e. asking students to argue for and against a topic, Refutation that disproves a narrative, Confirmation that approves the narrative, Commonplace i.e.based on some common advice, Encomium that describes someone’s aims, Invective that disapproves of some evil act, Comparison i.e. simple comparison of two objects or beings, Personification i.e. the description of some fictional character, Description that generates graphically a certain subject, Argument that describes a research been done generally, and then Legislation in which argument arises for and against the law. The rhetorical exercises first starts at lower level, students are given short trainings for recitations. These exercises increases with time and then they are followed by elongated training exercises for their own speech sessions. This way of training is used in two periods of art; classical and renaissance. The training followed the specific order of implementation; there is a predefined plan, which is followed to take students towards Progymnasmata. Different levels of training as mentioned above include; fable, narrative, chreia, proverb, refutation and some others while this course of implementation ends with description, thesis, and defense.(Rapind Intellect Group) Progymnasmata remains popular for long time due to its unique ways of implementation, small exercises are easier to follow and the level of understanding increases gradually. At start the training for easy paraphrasing, narration and refutation is given when the

Ulysses S. Grant and The Gilded Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Ulysses S. Grant and The Gilded Age - Essay Example To be fair, keeping up with such expansion would have been a difficult task for any man. The challenges seem mind-boggling, even by contemporary standards. After the Civil War the United States was saddled with a huge national debt, the South's economy was virtually destroyed, the West was being opened up at a rapid pace (despite the increasingly desperate resistance of those whom Grant called "the original occupants of the land"), and the industrialization would very shortly make U.S. productivity soar above that of the United Kingdom. New inventions small and large were changing American life at a dizzying pace: the telegraph, the vast expansion of the railroads, gaslight, the iron-hulled, steam-engined ocean liner and battleship, new agricultural machinery, the safety razor, the repeating rifle, the fountain pen-there seemed no end to American invention and ingenuity-while at the same time the cities of the Northeast and Midwest expanded at breakneck speed to accommodate millions of new immigrants, creating a building boom and sending land prices sky high.4 Faced with all of these challenges, Grant took an unheard of approach in selecting members for his cabinet. He had long since made known his disdain for the political games of Washington. And rather than appoint public officials well-versed the problems of the day, Grant opted to appoint a collection of personal acquaintances and former military connections. Of course, "traditional interpretations of the Grant administration assert that the president-elect erred in not consulting broadly among the nation's political leaders before selecting his cabinet."5 The Senate, initially stunned by... This essay starts with a discussion of the general-turned-president, Ulysses S. Grant. While history cannot help but respect Grant’s morals and ethics in dealing with highly sensitive issues, the corruption that flourished during his terms, and even in his own administration, often casts a more memorable shadow over the era. Indeed, although an entire book could be dedicated to said corruption, and some have, this essay focuses in Grant’s rise to the presidency and his administration’s dealings in: The Gold Ring, Native American Population, The Whiskey Ring, and technology and labor advances following his terms. Fresh off landmark victories in the Civil War, Grant was quite possibly the most popular man in America. He was a landslide winner for the Republican Party without even making a single stumping speech. Grant was noted for his steadfast determination to meet resistance and pound away until he emerged victorious. Abraham Lincoln, when asked why he liked Gra nt responded, simply, â€Å"He fights.† It can surely be said that for eight years, Grant swam against the tide of public opinion in hopes for peaceful Indian assimilation. With the economy on the upswing, Reconstruction slowly working, Indian assimilation in progress, and rapid expansion into the West, Grant was a landslide winner for a second term. His second term, however, would be much more troublesome than the first. In addition to the rise to prominence of the Klu Klux Klan, Grant’s primary focus was on eliminating corruption from big business.

Significance of Manned Missions to Mars Essay Example for Free

Significance of Manned Missions to Mars Essay After Apollo 11 succeeded in the first manned mission to land on the Moon in 1969, people’s interests were gradually leaving the Moon and went on to Mars, which is the most similar planet to Earth in the solar system. In such a current of public opinion, the U. S. and other countries have been trying to send human beings to Mars. However, today, there is a debate as to whether we should continue making efforts to send mankind to Mars, or not. Some people say that it is not worth the expense and risk to make a manned flight to Mars. On the other hand, others think it is still important to continue making those attempts – not for a material purpose, but for pursuing romance of space travel. Opponents of a manned mission to Mars claim that it costs too much to keep making attempts, and if we did not have to spend such money on those missions, we could increase health-care, education, and some other budgets. It is true. However, what is waiting for us in such a future as we will get at the sacrifice of dream or romance? What is necessary for people of today is not material wealth which we can get by cutting the budget of missions to Mars but mental wealth which we can cultivate by pursuing romance or dreaming of it. Opponents also maintain that we should quit trying to make those impractical attempts and wait until the technology is established because we cannot send mankind to Mars with the current technology. However, this argument is off the point because it is not important whether those attempts are impractical or not at the present moment. Necessity always makes technology develop. By practically continuing making efforts to send mankind to Mars, we can develop the technology which is needed to make it possible. In order to get something, we have to do something. Just waiting for something doesn’t help. The other arguments advanced by opponents is that we will not have any beneficial results except mental satisfaction such as dream or romance even if we can make a manned flight to Mars. However, of course, there are several beneficial things we will get from the success of missions to Mars. At first, understanding Mars helps us to understand more about our planet Earth because of the similarity between these two planets. We may be able to know how to protect the environment on Earth by studying how Mars died. Additionally, space engineering is one of the latest frontiers of science. We will be able to apply the technology we will have developed in this field to several other fields. Accordingly, missions to Mars have a benefit not only for people who are interested in Mars but also for people who are not. Certainly, it may not be easy to continue making efforts to send mankind to Mars, and it costs a lot. Nonetheless, things we get by missions to Mars are more than things we lose by it as mentioned above. By pursuing romance of space travel, we make dream which seems impossible to be achieved come true, and while we enjoy technology and knowledge we get from missions to Mars, we can avoid losing mental wealth at the same time. We should continue trying to make a manned flight to Mars.

Consumer Analysis On Chocolate Consumption Marketing Essay

Consumer Analysis On Chocolate Consumption Marketing Essay The objective of this project is to investigate patterns of chocolate consumption experience. The project will look into different age groups and their consumption habits. The main purpose of this research is to find evidence between age and consumption patterns. And also inspect the extent of chocolate consumptions impact on health. Introduction: The tale of chocolate began at the age of Maya and stretched to the modern world. The Spanish were the first to introduce cacao in Europe and after that it become one of the most celebrated drink of the elite society in Europe until it was mass produced with the help of modern technology. There are different varieties of chocolate available in the market from different companies such as dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, sweet chocolate, candy etc. In this project will examine inclination of the consumers towards chocolate consumption (in special context of Nestle, Cadbury Mars chocolates are chosen in the study). The buying behavior is a fascinating study of human psychology. Consumers were generally thought to act rationally, according to neo-classical economics theory ( Howard and sheth 1969) individually maximizing satisfaction of their needs. By contrast, in the modern world, people are more likely to indulge into socio-psychological or emotional or irrational buying motives (Holbrook, and Hirschman 1982). These motives come from the social or psychological interpretation of the product. There are several arguments and also psychological aspects of why a consumer makes a particular choice. According to Freud, persons buying decisions are affected by subconscious motives that even the buyer may not fully understand. The most celebrated work on human motivation is done by Abraham Maslow (1943). He suggested a hierarchical order of human needs. According to Maslow, we seek to satisfy our lower order physiological needs first, before our safety needs, before our belongingness needs, our esteem needs, and finally our need for self actualization. This project will try to find link between human behavior and chocolate consumption. There are past chocolate consumption study which has to some extent examined consumer view, attitudes, and motivations towards chocolate and chocolate consumption as a representative (Belk and Costa, 1998) and social experience (Cova and Pace, 2006). Chocolate consumption can be also related to health problems as many scientific investigations have pointed out. This project will also try to ask questions on common perception on chocolate consumption and its impact on health. Chapter 1: Research aim: This study aims to investigate in the area of chocolate consumption, by exploring how consumers experience chocolate consumption in various circumstances and contexts. It also will try to examine common perceptions of health associated factors related to chocolate consumption. Research objective: The objective of this research is to gain insight in the consumer behavior related to chocolate consumption. This project will try to study existing literature and secondary data and investigate links between consumer behavior theories and the existing data. The further objective is find out perceptions on chocolate consumption and health. As many of the findings and research would suggest close link between them. Chapter 2: History of Chocolate: The story of chocolate begun about 2000 years back in the ancient civilization of Mayan when they discovered the cacao tree ( kah KOW) in the tropical rain forests of South-America. By 1400, the Aztec empire dominated a sizable section of Mesoamerica. They traded with Maya and other people for cacao and sometime traded with cacao seed a form of Aztec money. The ancient Aztecs believed chocolate to be the Food of the god. The history of chocolate in Europe began after the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521. It is believed that Christopher Columbus first European who discovered existence of cacao tree. It is also believed that It was him who brought back some cacao trees from Spain. (http://www.sfu.ca/geog351fall03/groups-webpages/gp8/history/history.html) The Spaniards quickly recognized the value attached to cacao and observed Aztec custom of drinking chocolate. Soon after Spanish started to ship back the cacao seeds and started to sweeten the cacao with cinnamon, sugar and other sweeteners. Xocolatl! or Chocolat or Chocolate as it became known was introduced to Europe by Cortez, later as the time progressed Europeans were able to make the drink more palatable for European taste thus changing the Aztec style of drinking. The first chocolate factories opened in Spain and by the early 17th century chocolate powder from which the European version of the drink was made and exported to different parts of Europe. Spanish managed to keep their drink secret for almost 100 years before rest of the Europe find out about the drink. The Spanish kept the source of the drink the beans a secret for many years, so successfully in fact, that when English buccaneers boarded what they thought was a Spanish Treasure Galleon in 1579, only to find it loaded with what appeared to be dried sheeps droppings, and burnt the whole ship in frustration, if only they had known the value of chocolate. Within a few years, the Cocoa beverage made from the powder produced in Spain had become popular throughout Europe, in the Spanish Netherlands, Italy, France, and Germany and in about 1520 it arrived in England. The first Chocolate House in England opened in London in 1657 followed rapidly by many others. Like the already well established coffee houses, they were used as clubs where the wealthy and business community met to smoke a clay pipe of tobacco, conduct business and socialize over a cup of chocolate. For centuries, chocolate was eaten by the societys upper crust. But by the 19th century mass production of chocolate helped it reach much wider portion of society. First European chocolate factory was set up France 1761 in the town of Bayonne. As demand increased most of the European countries started producing cacao in their colonies in Caribbean, Africa and parts of South East Asia. (Simmons, 1976; Baker, 1891) 1828 marked the modern ear of chocolate making when Dutch Chocolate maker Conrad J. van Houten patented an inexpensive method for pressing making cacao powder. Many chocolate companies of today were formed as a family run businesses such as Europe such as Van Houten in the Netherlands in 1815, Menier in France in 1824, Cadbury and Rowntree in England; and Suchard, Nestlà ©, Lindt and Kohler in Switzerland. (http://www.chocolate-source.co.uk/history_of_chocolate.htm) http://www.sfu.ca/geog351fall03/groups-webpages/gp8/history/timeline.jpg http://www.sfu.ca/geog351fall03/groups-webpages/gp8/history/history.html This figure shows the evolution of chocolate from being produced in form of cacao in South America and then eventually in Europe. In 1894, English chocolate maker Joseph Storrs Fry produced what was arguably the worlds first eating chocolate (Brenner, 1999; Spadaccini, 23rd online edition). Some of Englands most successful entrepreneurs during the Industrial Revolution belonged to a group of people known as The Society of Friends, or more commonly, the Quakers. Due to their radical beliefs, the Quakers were alienated from many of the mainstream professions of the time including politics, law and medicine. Many of the large Quaker families channeled their energy into business and commerce, and one of the most progressive commodities at the time to invest in was cocoa. A one man business opened in 1824 by a young Quaker, John Cadbury, in Bull Street Birmingham was to be the foundation of Cadbury Limited, now one of the worlds largest producers of chocolate. In 1831 the business was transformed from grocery shop and John Cadbury was manufacturing drinking chocolate and cocoa. This was the start Cadburys business as it is known today which was later joined by John Cadburys brother Benjamin and the business become Cadbury brothers in 1847 in Birmingham where they rented their first factory. This partnership dissolved in 1860 and a year later John Cadbury retired leaving his sons Richard and George, the second Cadbury brothers, to continue the business. 1866 saw a turning point for the company with the introduction of a process for pressing the cocoa butter from the cocoa beans. This not only enabled Cadbury Brothers to produce pure cocoa essence, but the plentiful supply of cocoa butter remaining was also used to make new kinds of eating chocolate. Business prospered from this time and Cadbury Brothers outgrew the Bridge Street factory, moving in 1879 to a greenfield site some miles from the centre of Birmingham which came to be called Bournville. The opening of the Cadbury factory in a garden also heralded a new era in industrial relations and employee welfare with joint consultation being just one of the initiatives introduced by the pioneering Cadbury brothers. In 1899 the business became a private limited company Cadbury Brothers Limited. Progress since the start of the century through the inter-war years onwards has been rapid. Chocolate has moved from being a luxury item to being well within the financial reach of everyone. The story behind many of todays chocolate manufacturers begins with a Quaker family the Cadburys, the Frys, the Rowntrees and the Terrys all chose cocoa as the basis for their family businesses. Their aim was to persuade the poor to give up alcohol in favor of the healthier chocolate drink. Because of the persecution the Quakers faced in England thousands migrated to America and settled in the colony of Pennsylvania founded in 1682 by William Penn. By 1864 seven thousand Quakers had settled their including one Milton Hershey and by 1900 the Hershey chocolate factory was up and running. ( www.cadbury.co.uk) The UK confectionary market: This project took help from published Mintel UK confectionary market, 2011 report as it is one of the most reliable sources of information. Mars Background Mars UK is a division of Mars Incorporated, a family-owned US based business with annual revenue of over $30 billion. The company acquired Wm Wrigley Jr in 2008, extending its food and drink portfolio in the UK to cover chocolate and sugar confectionery and gum, ice cream and petcare.( www.mars.co.uk) The companys key brands in the UK chocolate confectionary market are Galaxy, Maltesers, Mars, Snickers, and Twix. Kraft Foods UK Background Kraft Foods is a US-based multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate which supplies biscuits, cheese, grocery, chocolate, coffee, gum and candy. It has its presence over 50 countries worldwide. The company strengthened its leading position in the chocolate confectionery market when it acquired Cadbury Plc in January 2010 for  £11.5 billion and in doing so, acquiring the likes of Dairy Milk, Roses and Twirl, as well as inheriting the premium organic brand, Green Blacks. In March 2012, the company announced its plans to remain at the forefront of NPD by investing  £17 million into research and development in the UK. Kraft also launched Green Blacks an exclusive chocolate bar in support of Breast Cancer alertness month. The new Raisin Hazelnut bar in a pink package came with the Breast Cancer ribbon and the charity organisations logo. The company unveiled the limited edition bar in October 2011 and contributed  £20,000 to help Breakthrough Breast Cancer in its research work. (www.greenandblacks.com), (www.cadbury.co.uk), (www.kraftfoodscompany.com) Nestlà © Background Nestle UK Ltd is a division of the Swiss nutrition, health and wellness company Nestlà © SA. The UK business operates 15 manufacturing units and has three major subdivisions food and beverage, confectionery, and Nestlà © Nutrition. The brand claims that it is planning to invest  £500 million into the UK market from 2012-14. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products in various markets such as Pure Life (bottled water), Cheerios (breakfast cereals), KitKat (chocolate confectionery), Nescafà © (coffee), Herta Maggi (family meals), Carnation (evaporated condensed milk) and Nesquik (flavoured milk).( www.nestle.co.uk) Market Share of Different companies and future: According to the Manufacturers shares in the UK chocolate confectionery market, by value, 2011 Kraft, Mars and Nestlà © hold three quarters of the market share (Source: Mintel) These are top three companies which hold account for 76% of sales via their wide portfolio of brands. This market is considerably more dependent on the fortunes of its top three companies than the sugar equivalent. ( Mintels Sugar Confectionery UK, November 2011 report). According to the same report Cadbury Dairy milk and Mars Galaxy is reckoned to be the two most popular brands in UK market. Both of them occupying almost 20 percent of the market share (Appendix: Table ) although there is a significant percent of change in Dairy Milks fortune. UK Leading brands purchased in the UK chocolate market, 2008-10, Chocolate Confectionery UK April 2011 Market Share According to Euro-monitor Chocolate is still the UK market leader with accounting 31% of the value sale.. Euromonitor International (2011) Chocolate confectionery data spreadsheet (Euromonitor International Limited, London) 2010 data for total size of global retail chocolate confectionery market, using fixed 2010 exchange rates, in current prices 2009 data for company share of global market Reports from Mintel also suggests that despite Dairy Milk being the only brand in top ten its presence is felt through in the chocolate confectionery market through a strong promotion and this brand which is comfortably the market leader, with 12% of total chocolate confectionery sales. Krafts takeover of Cadbury in 2010 significantly boosted the companys presence in the UK chocolate confectionery market, up from around 5% to its current status as leader with a third of the total market share. (Mintel Chocolate Confectionary Report 2011) According this report Mars is the second largest company in the chocolate confectionery market having a market share of 27%. The company achieved reasonably strong sales growth of 7% in 2011, despite this its largest brand, Galaxy, and flagship Mars bar brand both saw sales fall in 2011. Galaxys performance is mostly surprising as the brand has in fact carried out many activities which should promote growth such as a significant advertising spending, however Galaxy sales dipped by 3% although it is worth noting that this comes on the back of a particularly strong performance in 2010. It also states that Nestlà © holds a prominent share in the market as the third company which has a notable existence in the chocolate confectionery market. and holds a 16% share through a portfolio of well-established brands such as KitKat, Aero and Quality Street. Although the company has four brands inside the top 15 in the market, it currently lacks a marquee chocolate brand of same level as Cadbury Dairy Milk or Mars Galaxy. According to the Mintel report since 2006, the chocolate confectionery market has grown by 21%, with stable growth of 4-6%. The UKs fondness for chocolate has meant that it has been largely unaffected by the post-recession landscape, with sales reaching  £3.98 billion in 2011. The growth has increased on the back of inflation, with rising retail prices helping to drive value sales but suppressing volume sales, despite regular promotions. However rising prices pose a possible threat, leading to 49% of consumers claiming that they may slash back in this scenario. But considerable support for brands such as Kraft and Mars is likely to keep users engaged with the market, while the own-labels are now making concerted efforts to grow their small share (7%) of sales. The market is forecast to continue rising at between 5% and 6% in the coming years, reaching  £5.25 billion by 2016. The chocolate confectionery market continues to achieve steady growth. UK retail value sales of chocolate confectionery at current and constant prices, 2006-16  £m Annual % change Index  £m at 2011 prices Annual % change Index 2006 3,133 Na 79 4,123 na 104 2007 3,274 +4.5 82 4,119 -0.1 104 2008 3,419 +4.4 86 3,938 -4.4 99 2009 3,575 +4.6 90 3,910 -0.7 98 2010 3,772 +5.5 95 4,000 +2.3 101 2011 (est) 3,976 +5.4 100 3,976 -0.6 100 2012 (fore) 4,205 +5.8 106 4,075 +2.5 115 2013 (fore) 4,451 +5.9 112 4,123 +1.2 123 2014 (fore) 4,711 +5.8 118 4,200 +1.9 128 2015 (fore) 4,968 +5.5 125 4,248 +1.1 135 2016 (fore) 5,245 +5.6 132 4,309 +1.4 141 Source: Mintel Mintel has confirmed that the chocolate confectionery market has established itself to be one of the small numbers of recession-proof food and drink markets with consumer not cutting chocolate out of their diets despite stress on many household budgets. In recent years, yearly growth in the market has lingered at around the 5% mark, a trend expected to continue in the years up to 2016. In 2011, the market reached  £3,976 billion, a 21% increase over a five-year period. Apart from 2012 which may benefit from a halo effect around the London Olympics and European Championships growth is predicted to only be around 1% at 2011 prices, highlighting the continued impact of inflation. This report also forecasted that the market is expected to continue benefiting from its desirable position as a standard and inexpensive treat eaten by nine in ten (89%) of the UKs population, with four in five (81%) weekly users. However, there is a danger that rising prices with static or decreasing bar sizes will deter users, with 49% admitting that they would cut back if prices kept on rising. The increasing cost of the bars also cover the fact that, in terms of volume sales, the market size in fact declined somewhat in 2011, despite the frequency of a soaring number of promotions. In fact, growing prices are inescapable for chocolate manufacturers as they have to deal with rising commodity prices in recent years. However, a positive harvest in 2011 perhaps opens the door for companies to shine their value credentials by tackling rising prices head on, something which there is a strong consumer demand to see. MIntel report has mentioned a word of caution for the big three brands (Kraft (Cadbury), Mars and Nestlà ©) which account for three quarters of sales, a growing number of niche brands, particularly at the premium tier, and a fight back from own-label options, look set to increase competition in the coming years. Forecast Forecast of UK retail value sales of chocolate confectionery, 2006-16 ( Mintel ) Source: MIntel Forecast methodology: Mintel has created this estimate based on an sophisticated statistical technique known as multivariate time series auto-regression using the statistical software package SPSS. The model, based on past market size data taken from Mintels own market size database and complemented by macro- and socio-economic data sourced from trustworthy organisations (eg Office for National Statistics, HM Treasury, Bank of England), searches for relationships between actual market sizes and a selection of key economic and demographic factors (independent variables) in order to recognize those determinants having the most influence on the market. Chapter 3: Literature review Introduction: In this section of the project buying behavior will be explored with the help of theory and examples. Many of free market economists and policy makers believe of customer centric approach who will purchase according to their choice. (Consumer behavior, Ray Wright, Thompson Learning 2006). Chocolate is a very popular consumer product bought for many different occasions and reason. There is thus some truth in a popular remark like, Nine out of 10 people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies, or Chocolate makes everyone smile-even bankers (Doherty and Tranchell, 2007). Buying behavior of consumers: The consumer decision-making process is significant in determining buying behavior. In order to offer an efficient service, it is important to categorize consumer segments, taking into account the benefits which the consumer seeks. Consumers seek benefits or solutions, not products (Rowley, 1997). The main reason behind consumers search is indecision. Consumer information search has been the focus of many articles studying consumer behavior during the last 30 years (Bettman, 1979). Perceptions of food quality and safety are likely to be influenced by psychological and cultural factors rather than physiological product experiences alone. Many quantitative and qualitative researches have attended to issues connected with cultural determinants of food choice (Shepherd and Raats, 2007). It is quite evident from such studies that while analyzing factors that influence food choice, it is important to consider consumers cultural background (Overby et al., 2004; and Hoogland et al., 2005). It is believed that people from different cultural backgrounds have different perceptions and experiences related to food (Lennernas et al., 1997). Hence it can be noticed that some consumers are more oriented towards food quality, whereas for others food safety is a concern. Consumer behavior is also affected by the socioeconomic conditions of the markets namely, income, mobility, media access (Tse et al., 1989). It has been observed that per capita income and disposable income indicates the amount of resources consumers allocate to consumer goods (Johansson and Moinpour, 1977). According to Maslow, we seek to satisfy our lower order physiological needs first, before our safety needs, before our belongingness needs, our esteem needs, and finally our need for self actualization. The hierarchy is shown in the figure below: Let us simplify the pyramid of need a little bit more: physical, social and self. The physical needs relates to the basic and psychological needs of person. Basic need means a person buys food when he is hungry, buys house for his shelter and so on. Buying house is also falls into safety needs. Psychologically a person feels comfortable, when he/she has a house, of his/her own. What is a social need? Social need is driven by persons status, self-esteem, prestige, family belongingness. From luxury items to particular brands, the decision to purchase a particular product is frequently based on deeper psychological influences, oftentimes influencing brand loyalty according to psycho-social interpretation of product value (Fine, L.M. : Business Horizons 2010). It is very difficult to generalize the need motivation theory, because geographically people are different from each other. For example, as the heroes of Hollywood movies amply show the typical Anglo-Saxon cultural values, which pu ts individuality and self-actualization above all else, but that is not universally so. In Japan and German speaking countries people are mostly highly motivated by need for personal security and conformity, while in France, Portugal, Spain, other Latin American and Asian countries people mostly motivated by the need of security.( Gert Hofstede, Cultural Consequences ( London: Sage 1984)) The theory of planned behavior ( Azjen, 1991) argues that our intentional behavior is not always similar as our actual behavior, and sometimes how our attitude towards the behavior, subjective norm and perception about the behavior control our actual behavior. For example, alcohol consumption is different in different countries, depending up on the psychological perception about alcohol drinking. Here we also consider others opinion and the impact of drinking alcohol on our family and children. Consumers can act on beliefs. Belief can be defined as quick response; we will give about a matter. They are held with limited conviction and do not support the facts most of the times. Attitudes in comparison are held with greater degree of conviction for longer period; it is much likely to influence buying behavior. For example, when we see new advertisement about a product, say new shoe from Adidas. We believe that shoe would to good and comfortable to wear. Beliefs are based on more of emotional aspects on the contrary to attitudes. Attitude evaluates the product, based on the usage of the product. Now the attitude towards the Adidas can be positive or negative. May be there is no change in design or maybe it is not that comfortable to wear. So here attitude would be negative. Value is another very important factor influencing behavior. Peoples value grows from the childhood. The social and regional atmosphere, ethnicity, culture and sub-culture, religion all contribute to value creation in a person. Consumers often are influenced by their parents and friends. It may have a positive or negative influence on the buying. For example, a young man loves sports bike, well his father and uncle used ride one, and his friends also do. But after a serious accident of his uncle riding a sports bike made his father against him buying a one for himself. But he may or may not buy a sports bike after all. He may feel that his freedom is blocked, partially or fully and motivated to go against it. Social grade, status or lifestyle is based mainly on the income of a household. It can influence buying pattern. For example, champagne is more of a high cost drink. It was found in a survey that large proportions (44%) of champagne drinkers are professional and managerial class. By contrast, 22% working class people and only 14% who are unemployed drinks champagne. So there is a marked decrease in champagne consumption as we move down the socio-economic scale. (Source; Mintel 2008b) How customers buy: From companys prospective any communicating massage, while at the time of purchase or other point can have direct impact on consumer behavior. For example, most of the food commercials are shown at the time of our breakfast or dinner. So marketers are giving specific massage at a particular point. Although there are variety of models of consumer buying behavior, the consumer product proposition acquisition model is perhaps the simplest to understand, stressing how the consumer goes through six key stages in product acquisition process including motive development, information gathering, product evaluation, product selection, acquisition and re-evaluation.( Baines, Fill, Page pg 113) The consumer proposition acquisition process or buying process consists of six stages. Explained in the figure below: Motive Development Information Gathering Proposition Evaluation Proposition Selection Acquisition/Purchase Re-evaluation The consumer proposition acquisition process (Baines, Fill, Page pg 83) Motive development: the model begins with when we decide to purchase or we need to acquire the product. It begins with our understanding that some problem needs to be solved. For example, a young male consumer decides to gift a box of chocolate to his wife. He might have bought Cadbury dairy milk or he might opt for premium brands such as Throntons or Godiva. Information gathering: the next stage of process will require us to look for alternative ways to solve our problem. Our search for a solution to solve problem may be active or passive, in other words, we are open to ways of solving our problem but we are not actively looking for information to help us (Howard and Sheth, 1969) Search for the information may be internal; when we think we already know the problem and identified the products that will solve them. Or, external where we dont know enough about our problem and seek supplementary information to help us to decide. Now buyer access to information, feedback, and peer reviews has increased; this has increased through social networking sites and internet. With so much to choose from, customers have increasing become intolerant about products or services. The consumer has the right to choose and this continues to impact buying behavior and consumer loyalty. So by the right communication about the product with its added features, co mpanies can build a sustainable relationship with the consumer. Proposition evaluation: once we feel that we have sufficient information and we now can make a decision, we evaluate the proposition. These evaluations can be rational (e.g. based on cost) or irrational (e.g. based on emotional desire). For example, the young man buying a box of chocolate exemplifies his emotional desire to please his partner. Proposition selection: in major cases, the proposition we eventually select is the one we believe is fitting our needs best beforehand. However we might change on a particular proposition from where we buy it. For example, the man buying the box of chocolate may have been checked the stock online for a particular retailer but when he turned up at the retail shop, the brand he wants to buy is not there, so he then and there decides an alternative. The person may go to another retail shop or he may buy another similar kind of product from the shop, because what he wants to buy is not available. This is why proposition selection and evaluation are different stages of buying process. Acquisition/purchase: Once selection has taken place, different approaches are there for proposition acquisition. For example, there is always an emotional aspect attached when we are making an infrequent purchase. Family as a whole can act as a single most influencing factor, where wifes and childrens influence most of the buying decisions. Re-evaluation: The theory of cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957) suggest that we are motivated to revaluate our beliefs, attitudes, opinions, or values if the position we hold on them at one point of time is not same as we held an earlier point, due different actions, circumstances and intervening events. Experience can clash with expectation which can create buyer remorse. People may feel angry, guilty, surprise or embarrassment. People are biased to think that they have made right choices despite the contrary evidence which gives dissonance theory new light on otherwise puzzling behavior The consumption experience can be described as an emergent property that results from a complex system of mutually overlapping interrelationships in constant reciprocal interaction with personal, environmental, and situational inputs (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1986, p. 219). It depends when food

Should Physcian-Assisted Suicide be Legal :: essays research papers

Should Physician-Assisted Suicide be Legal? Terminally ill patients should have the legal option of physician-assisted suicide. Terminally ill patients deserve the right to control their own death. Legalizing assisted suicide would relive families of the burdens of caring for a terminally ill relative. Doctors should not be prosecuted for assisting in the suicide of a terminally ill patient. We as a society must protect life, but we must also recognize the right to a humane death. When a person is near death, in unbearable pain, they have the right to ask a physician to assist in ending their lives. 40 percent of Americans say they would consider committing suicide if they were in severe pain, suffering from an incurable disease. 40 percent of Americans also say they would help a family member, in the same situation, kill them selves. But only 12 percent say they thought of killing them selves. In 1950, fewer than four in ten Americans supported physician-assisted suicide. Today seven in ten support it. Some people think that people who are in mental anguish are going to be able to get a physician to assist in their suicide. This should not and will not happen, because they are not terminally ill and are able to be treated with therapy. There are problems with the title â€Å"Terminally ill patient† but there is a way to fix it. We must change the definition for â€Å"A Terminally ill patient† to: having an expected life span under 3 months, there is absolutely no way of helping the patient and are doomed to die. But a patient has to suffering from severe pain and be terminally ill to be able to get a physician to assist in their suicide. Although widely condoned around the world, only one nation, the Netherlands has made physician assisted suicide legal. Five states tried Washington in 1991, California in 1992, Michigan in 1998,and main in 2000, Oregon in 1994 approved the â€Å"Death with Dignity Act† it won 51 percent to 49 percent. 91 people committed suicide with the aid of a physician in the first four years the law was in effect. The approach of physician-assisted suicide respects an individual’s need for personal dignity. It does not force the terminally ill patient to linger hopelessly, and helplessly, often at great cost to their psyche. It drive’s people mad knowing they are going to die in a short period of time, suffering while they wait in a hospital bed.

Essay --

In the round four match of AFL 2012, Port Adelaide vs. Collingwood. Midfielder Robbie Grey suffered from shredding the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after his leg horrifically buckled when landing from a marking contest in the final minute of the Power's round four loss to Collingwood. This injury has led to Robbie Grey to miss the first month of the premiership season. This report is from the perspective of the Sports trainer, Doctor, Physiotherapist and the coach and the steps it will take to get him back out on the field again. As soon as I saw Robbie Grey land and scream out in pain I could see that an injury had occurred. As a sports trainer I am required to assess any injury on field. While running over to him I was going through my head the steps I would need to assess his injury. The following procedure are needed while assisting with any injury on the field, DRABC, STOP, TOETAPS and RICER. The first procedure I performed was DRABC. While Robbie is still out on the field injured I had to be aware that there was no DANGER surrounding him. Which meant no play, players or footballs; this was a caution as I didn’t want Robbie to increase the damage of his injury. Then I had to look for a RESPONSE, this was clearly seen as he was gritting his teeth together due to the pain and was holding onto his injury. Because he was conscious and was able to respond we didn’t have to continue with the DRABC procedure and then we were able to move on to the STOP procedure. While out on the field the STOP procedure was our next step to assess Robbie’s injury. Robbie was in that much pain that it was a too big of a risk for him to walk or move. We called for the game to STOP and we called for the stretcher. While waiting for... ...ced into football drills, trainings and exercises to build up the strength and flexibility that is required in football. As the coach it is my responsibility to make sure that all players are fit and healthy enough to be out on the field. When an injury has occurred it is up to me to make sure that Robbie is doing the exact exercises the physiotherapist gave him and that he is doing them correctly. As a coach I am to test, watch assist Robbie with his recovery back into the sport. This is done by Robbie completing fitness activities like walking in a straight line, jumping, landing, skipping, figure eight, dodging, jogging and running. If Robbie is unable to complete any of these tasks he is not ready to play and will have to keep building up the strength in his ACL. I will have to increase his drills to help slowly build up the strength to help him gain movement.

Archetypes In Raising Arizona :: essays research papers

Raising Arizona   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie â€Å"Raising Arizona† a lot of Archetypes (a pattern consisting on literary elements found in all literature regards) are used throughout. Ethan and Joel Coen turned a serious subject like kidnapping, into a hysterical comedy. The use of archetypes are strong, the movie is basically one big archetype. The uses are archetypes are found within the language, plot, and character. When looking at the different archetypes they all seemed to fall under the category of characters. The three characters that are the strongest points of archetypes are Linard Smalls, Nathan Arizona, and H.I. McDonnough.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Linard Smalls has a rough edge to him. He is the evil guy of the story, or the biker â€Å"of the apocalypse.† The outfit he wears is tired and worn. It contains furs and leathers off all sorts of animals, and a hawk skull is worn around his neck. Along with the worn outfit he wears a layer of caked on dirt and debris that tell of where he has been. In introducing himself to Nathan Arizona he calls himself â€Å"a man hunter, or tracker of sorts. Some say even part hound dog.† â€Å"When some dink breaks out of the joint or skips bail I’m the one they call.† This evil bad guy is willing to turn good for a small price of fifty-thousand dollars. If Nathan Arizona wont pay, someone in the black market will. in the end Linard is killed by one of his own grenades. He lead to his own death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathan (Huffhinds) Arizona is a funny character. Even while his son is missing â€Å"business is as usual at Unfinished Arizona.† While he is being interviewed in the beginning he isn’t even sure of which of his children where taken. When asked which child was taken his responds was â€Å"Nathan Jr. I think.† All through the movie it seems that all Nathan is concerned about is his business. When Linard offers to help he refuses his help and threatens him with the cops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  H.I. McDonnough has the most going on. he is bad gone good, and then gone good to gone bad again. We start off in the beginning with his introducing himself. He is â€Å"a repeat offender† of the law. he robs convenient stores and somehow always manages to let himself be caught. When he is brought to jail he finds â€Å"a pretty desert flower† Ed (Edwina). The bad guy, H.

Athens in the Time of Pericles †Religion Death and Burial Essay

Pericles lived from 495-429 BC. During this time, religion was inextricably linked with Athenian society. It contributed to a lot of Athenian culture and the many aspects of religion were depicted through buildings, artworks, festivals and every day rituals. Gods and Goddesses In Greek mythology there were 12 main gods, that were prayed to and worshipped by the Athenians. It was said they lived on top of Mount Olympus. They resembled human form and through their stories of love, war and passion they were also viewed to have human feelings. The Greeks believed that the gods were immortal. The gods were associated with three main domains, Heaven, sea and earth. The 12 gods were: God/Goddess name Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Demeter Hephaestus Hera (Queen of heaven and wife of Zeus) Hermes (Messenger of the Gods) Hestia Poseidon Zeus (Lord of the Gods, Spiritual father of the Gods and the people) Heaven Heaven Heaven Heaven Earth Heaven Heaven Heaven Heaven Sea Heaven Domain Specialty Love, romance and beauty Sun, light, medicine, poetry and music War Hunting, the forest, wildlife, childbirth and the moon Agriculture Fire Marriage and magic Business Home and Homelife The sea, horses and earthquakes The sky. Dio Crysostomos (97 A.D) declared the image of Zeus so powerful that, â€Å"If a man, with a heavy heart from grief and sorrow in life, will stand in front of the statue, he will forget all these.† Athena (Patron goddess of Athens and daughter of Zeus) Heaven War, wisdom and crafts. Evidence of Athena being the patron goddess is the Athenian silver tetradrachm from 454-404 BC. Like on the coin, she’s generally depicted wearing a helmet and shown with an owl or olive tree as they were sacred to her. According to mythology, she gifted the olive tree to the city of Athens. Tara Heaslip Wednesday, 19 June 2013 6:12:56 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time Attica. Athens, c. 454-404 BC. Silver â€Å"old-style† tetradrachm. Head of Athena right, wearing crested helmet ornamented with olive leaves / Owl standing right, olive sprig and crescent moon behind. Apart from the main 12 gods and goddesses there were many others that were just as popular and worshipped just as much, for example, Dionysus. There is much evidence of the belief in these gods such as paintings, artworks and inscriptions, for example, a vase that has been dated back to 470-460 BC which depicts Zeus. Amphora, 470-460 B.C. This vase depicts Zeus aiming a lightening bolt at a giant with an eagle perched on his hand. Beliefs, practices and organisations Religion was a fundamental aspect of Greek life and the Athenian people incorporated it into their everyday lives as they believed their lives were dependent on the gods. It was believed that gods could interfere in the lives of men, so prayer was used by the people, so the gods would take favour and act kindly towards them. Xenophon said â€Å"The gods know everything and they give forewarnings to anyone they choose through sacriï ¬ ces, omens, voices and dreams.† The Athenians used sacriï ¬ ces, temples and prayers to honor particular gods and goddesses. They believed in the three ‘Fates,’ Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Clotho was the youngest, she spun the thread of destiny with a distaff and determined the time of birth of an individual. Lachesis measured the thread length to determine the length of life and Atropos cut the thread of life, determining the time of death. Worship of the gods consisted of rituals and ceremonies. The relationship between human beings and deities was based on the concept of exchange; Gods and goddesses were expected to answer prayers and humans were expected to give gifts and sacriï ¬ ces. Tara Heaslip Wednesday, 19 June 2013 6:12:56 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time Evidence of the sacriï ¬ ces made by the Athenians came from Lysias (around 400 BC) who stated, â€Å"By performing the proper sacriï ¬ ces, our ancestors left our city the most powerful and prosperous in Greece. It is therefore right that we offer the same sacriï ¬ ces as they did, if only for the sake of the good fortune which has resulted.† Sacriï ¬ ces were the central ritual act performed by Athenians. Animals sacriï ¬ ced had to be willing, therefore they would sprinkle water on it so it’ll lift it’s head and ‘nod’. The richer families gave a blood sacriï ¬ ce almost everyday, however the poor couldn’t afford it. Treasuries were built at Olympia and Delphi to store generous offerings. Evidence of this is part of a female face with inlaid eyes which has been dated back to 4th cent. BC. Ancient Greek Votive offering, 4th cent. BC, set in a niche of a pillar in the sanctuary of Asclepios in Athens Athenian religion was characterised by a diversity of cults. People joined cults because they wanted a closer connection with one particular god. Although everyone believed and worshipped all 12 Olympian gods there were cults to speciï ¬ c gods, especially those not apart of the Pantheon. Evidence of the cults was the Votive plaque which dates back to the mid-4th Century BC and depicts elements of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which was a cult which celebrated Demeter and Persephone. Tara Heaslip Wednesday, 19 June 2013 6:12:56 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time Votive plaque, discovered in the sanctuary at Eleusis (mid-4th century BC) Private worship included family prayers and wine offerings. In the home, there were household shrines and many people offered daily libations to different gods. Private rituals included prayers, meals and storytelling. This god would be chosen depending on the families needs and lifestyle. E.g. Demeter, if they were a agricultural/farming family. They would pay this god special honor but made sure they didn’t exclude any of the others. Worship of the gods also took place publicly. Public meetings opened with recognition of the gods, festivals were dedicated to the gods as were temples, statues and artworks and many sacriï ¬ ces made to the gods were a public event. Mockery of the gods wasn’t regarded as blasphemy and was accepted in athenian life. Evidence of this is Aristophanes play, The Frogs, which depicts Dionysus as cowardly, gluttonous and morally depraved, was acted at Athens at the Lenaean festival (B.C. 405). Temples and Sanctuaries The Acropolis is the oldest part of Athens, it’s the sacred hill and during the reign of Pericles it became the place of the most famous Athenian temples, shrines and statues dedicated to the Gods. Pericles’ building program further evidences the Athenian’s devotion to the gods in all aspects of daily life. Pericles built many temples in honour of the various gods and goddesses, particularly to Athena, to thank her for Athens’ success in the Persian wars. The Parthenon was a temple built on the Acropolis in 448-432 BC. It was built in dedication to Athena for the salvation of Athens and Greece in the Persian wars. It was also used as a treasury. A statue of Athena was built, by Phidias, inside which stood 10 meters tall, made of ivory and gold. A big part of the Parthenon is the Panathenaic Frieze, which was made to depict the Panathenaic festival. Metopes were sculpted into the Parthenon. On the east side the struggle between the gods and the giants was depicted, on the west side was an Amazonomachy, on the south side the battle between the lapiths and the centaurs was shown and depicted on the north side was the Trojan War. There were also many pedimental sculptures which depicted images such as the contest between Poseidon and Athena. Tara Heaslip Wednesday, 19 June 2013 6:12:56 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time South Metope 31, Lapith and Centaur, 447-432 B.C. The Erechtheum is a temple on the northern side of the Acropolis and was dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. It was built between 421 and 407 BC and was designed to accommodate the Plynteria and the Panathenaia. Within the temple lived the sacred snake, which represented a spirit who was thought to keep the city safe. The snake was fed honey-cakes by the priestesses of Athena Polias. The snake’s occasional refusal to eat the cakes was seen as a bad omen. Festivals The Panathenaia is a festival held annually and is the most important as it was dedicated to Athena. It’s held on the 28th day of Hekatombaion which is believed to be Athena’s birthday. Every four years the festival would be extended with many games and a contests being held, this was known as the Greater Panathenaia, whilst the festival held every other year was known as the lesser Panathenaia. The festival holds great religious signiï ¬ cance however it was used to implement the power and political supremacy of Athens. A large part was the Panathenaic games included solo and group contests. The games began with individual activities such as wrestling, horse drawn chariot races and the pentathlon. The individual contests were open for all greek citizens however the group contests were reserved for Athenian citizens. The group contests consisted of a beauty contest between athletes, military dances and a mock combat. Participants from all over Greece were also invited to participate in musical and poetry competitions. A torch race took place in the evening and was then followed by a night of dancing and singing. Evidence of these competitions was the Panathenaic amphoras, which were given to the winners of competitions as a prize. Panathenaic Amphora, depicting foot races at the games, 530 B.C. Tara Heaslip Wednesday, 19 June 2013 6:12:56 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time Amphora, depicting a musician performing with a music instrument used in festivals, 490 B.C. The next day held one of the most important aspects of the festival which was the Panathenaic procession. During this procession a peplos was given as a gift to Athena. A new one was woven and decorated for her every year. It was an honor to be chosen as one of the Ergastinai to make the peplos. Many offerings were brought on to the life size statue of Athena at the end of the procession. Only citizens were allowed to the Acropolis, everyone else remained at the gateway. The Hecatomb was made at the Acropolis. Upon the altar of Athena meat from sacriï ¬ ced animals such as cows and sheep was used in a ritual meal to end the festival, however only certain people were invited to this. Evidence of the Panathenaia and the procession is the Parthenon frieze depicts many aspects of the festival such as the procession and the games.

Guidence for Getting Answers

Case 2 Intranets: Invest First, Analyze Later? Questions: 1. Where and under what circumstances is the â€Å"invest first, analyze later† approach appropriate? where and when is it inappropriate? Give specific examples of technologies and other circumstances. 2. How long do you think the â€Å"invest first , analyze later† approach will be appropriate for intranet projects? When (and why) will the emphasis shift to traditional project justification approaches? (Or has the shift already occurred? ) 3. What are the risks of going into projects that have not received a through financial analysis? How can organization reduce these risks? . Based on the numbers provided for Cadence Design System’s intranet project, use a spread sheet to calculate the net present value of the project. Assume a 5-year life for the system. Case 3 Putting IT to Work at Home Depot Questions: 1. Explain why the team based structure at Home Depot is so successful. 2. The structure means that the SPST reports to both marketing and technology. This is known as a matrix structure. What are the potential advantages and problems? 3. How is collaboration facilitated by IT in this case? 4. Why is the process flow important in this case? Case 4 Dartmouth College Goes WirelessQuestions: 1. In what ways is the Wi-Fi technology changing the Dartmouth students? 2. Some says that the wireless system will become part of the background of everybody’s life – that the mobile devices are just an afterthought. Explain. 3. Is the system contributing to improved learning, or just adding entertainment that may reduce the time available for studying? Debate your point of view with students who hold a different opinion. 4. What are the major benefits of the wireless system over the previous wire line one? Do you think wire line systems will disappear from campus one day? (Do some research on the topic. )

Teens and Sex Education

Teens and Sex Education | | |Home >>Teen Sexuality | |[pic] | | | |[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] | |Teen sex education, or teen sex ed, is important for helping teens to understand the changes in their bodies and in their | |relationships during the teenage years.Sex education helps teens make healthy choices about relationships and sex. | |Sex education for teens should start well before the teenage years. Starting early, parents should have age-appropriate | |discussions with their children about love, relationships, values, and sex. It is appropriate to give children and teens honest, | |clear answers when they ask questions about their bodies or about relationships. For young children these answers do not need to | |be graphic, but should be straightforward. |If parents make sex education an open, ongoing discussion with their child, by the time the child is a teen he or she will feel | |more comfortable asking his or her parents questions about sex and the changes brought about by sexual development in the teen | |years.Parental opinion is one of the most important factors teens use to make decisions about sex. If parents have not educated | |their teens about sex, or discourage questions from their teens, the teens will get more of their sex education from friends and | |the media, which are not reliable sources. |Teens do learn about sex from television, movies, music, and magazines; those teens who were exposed to sex through any of these | |media when young are more likely to begin having sex at an early age. The need to correct the false impressions teens may get | |from the media about sex is an important reason that teens should get sex education from their parents. | |Sex education conducted through schools or religious groups can also help to correct the misinformed and sometimes deceptive sex | |education teens get from the media and from friends.Some types of sex education presented by schools or religious organizations | |for children an d teens might include: | |Good touch-bad touch talks for elementary students, teaching them that they have the right to be safe from inappropriate physical| |contact, and that they should respect this right in others. | |Basic descriptions of the reproductive system, usually presented in middle school, before puberty, to pre-teens separated by | |gender. |Discussions of human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, and types of birth control, including abstinence, usually | |presented to teens in high school sex education courses. | |Value-based, age-appropriate discussions about relationships and sexuality offered by religious groups. | |These sex education classes generally require parental approval before the child or teen can participate, and give parents | |another opportunity to discuss relationships and values with their children or teens.Schools, religious groups, and community | |organizations may also offer advice or written materials to help parents talk to their teens about sex. | |Some parents are afraid that teen sex education encourages their teens to have sex. A recent study in Texas, however, found that | |teens who took a two week sex education class became more interested in waiting until after high school to have sex; before the | |class 84 percent of the teens wanted to wait, and after the class 87 percent were planning on waiting.Also, before the class 60 | |percent of the teens said they wanted to wait until marriage to have sex, and after the class 71 percent were planning on | |abstaining until marriage. | |The likelihood that teens will have sex is also reduced if they watch less than 2 hours of television on school nights, attend | |religious services, and come from a family with both parents. | |Parents, whether married or single, are still the strongest influence on the choices their teens make about sex. By being | |involved in their teens' sex education, parents can help their teens develop healthy attitudes about love and sex. |

Cuba’s Environmental Problems

When socialism was introduced to Cuba, the idea was that it would be more eco-friendly than capitalism. Instead, the Revolution to quickly controlled two major factors that eventually led to environmental problems in developing countries: population growth and poverty. Contributing to the issue of poverty in Cuba are the financial, economic and commercial blockades imposed by the United States. In order to preserve the environment in Cuba and combat these issues, serious action was necessary. The amount of environmental damage falls into two categories: a) small-scale environmental destruction committed by individuals through illegal hunting, deforestation, dumping of waste into aquatic ecosystems, etc. ; or b) large-scale environmental destruction resulting from major projects and industries approved by governmental agencies and owned by international companies, like hotel chains and mining companies after the Special Period, and agriculture before the Special Period†. [1] The opportunity for Cuba to protect its environment came after the fall of the Soviet Union and the strengthening of the US blockade in 1990. This period, referred to as the Special Period (1990-2000), witnessed a decrease in many environmentally damaging activities both by choice and by necessity, but also resulted in many decisions to resuscitate the Cuban economy. After the Earth Summit in 1992, following Fidel Castro’s speech regarding the condition of the environment on a global scale, Cuba designed and implemented a variety of programs, administrative structures, and public awareness activities to promote sound environmental management and sustainable development. What is most important is the damage that ahs already been done and the efforts to reverse these conditions. Currently, there are many efforts to bring the Cuban environment to a sustainable level. When the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe ended trade and financial relationships with Cuba, the island was forced to make severe adjustments. The emergency measures implemented by the Cuban government aimed at preventing the total economic collapse of the regime, have been referred to by the leadership as the â€Å"special period in peacetime. † This Special Period brought about â€Å"the creation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) in 1994 [which] provided an important impetus for environmental policy and management on a national scale. †[2] In 1995 the National Environmental Strategy (EAN) was designed, but was not approved by the government until 1997. Since then the EAN â€Å"is the guiding document of Cuban environmental policy, establishing the principles upon which the national environmental efforts are based. †[3] The strategy identifies the main environmental issues in Cuba and proposes ideas and various methods to prevent, solve or minimize these problems. The strategy goals are to improve environmental protection and the use of natural resources in an attempt to meet sustainable social and economic development objectives. Evaluations of Cuba's environmental record in comparison with Eastern European records shows â€Å"that environmental deterioration in Cuba over more than three decades of socialist rule responded to specific conditions not usually found in developing countries†¦ but were present in the former Soviet Union and the former Eastern European socialist countries. [4] As a result of this, Kirwin Shaffer states that: Consequently, central planning ignored local environmental concerns. Also, the absence of private ownership and the lack of citizen input in decision making meant that all decisions affecting the local level were made with regard to how they fit with the overall national plan. Results and impacts at the local level were secondary. Which leads to these conclusions: Cuban agricultural and industrial development following the Soviet models have had similar consequences for water, soil and air pollution as found in Europe. 5] The current Cuban stance that attempts to blame the USSR for these effects in Cuba benefits Cuba’s political system because it takes the blame away from the state, but it is not served by the historical record. The glorified â€Å"greening† of Cuba during the 1990s has beneficial impacts over the short term, but, according to Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez, economic costs and turns toward a development model based on tourism may soon erode those short-term gains. Cuba's pollution and contamination problems are widespread, and not completely the result of Soviet-style development projects. Yet, there is no doubt that many of the current environmental problems in Cuba result mainly from sovietization of the Cuban economy. Soil erosion and soil degradation are the main problems in agriculture. These problems started primarily due to the intensification of mechanized agriculture and the use of petrochemical herbicides and pesticides. [6] Agriculture is just one of the many environmental issues the island faces. In terms of the land, â€Å"the harm caused by permanent crops to these lands is primarily due to a lack of crop rotation causing soil depletion, poor agro-technical management and insufficient fertility measures. †[7] In 1970 La zafra de los diez millones, took place, in which the Cuban government attempted to break all historic sugar production records by producing a ten million ton sugar harvest. [8] The government fell short of their goal by two tons, but by this point the damage was already done. Because crops take so much nutrients from the land, farmers alternate crops each year to allow the land to recover. During la zafra de los diez millones crops were not alternated which took a heavy toll on the land. In Cuba, poorly designed and implemented agricultural development policies have been a major contributor to the degradation of the country’s soils: Soil degradation continued apace with the agricultural practices that came to prevail in Cuba during the first half of the twentieth century as more and more virgin islands were brought under sugarcane and livestock production. There is mounting evidence that the pace of soil deterioration intensified during the second half of the century, principally because of the widespread adoption of modern agricultural practices, particularly from the 1960s to the late 1980s. As in the Soviet Union and other socialist economies, the collectivization of the rural sector was regarded as necessary for achieving the goals of a centrally planned command economy. Collectivization would make possible economies of scale and bring the advantages of mechanization and modern scientific agriculture. 9] After the collectivization of land agrarian reforms were implemented to return the land to the state and to its’ citizens. But this shift in land ownership could have major environmental implications, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union. After the Soviets left Cuba, Cuban farming suffered a shortage of imported agricultural goods; leaving Cuban farmers to use traditional farming practices and some more modern techniques (such as rip irrigation) that are more environmentally friendly: The post-Soviet agricultural model is less dependent on imported agricultural practices that had been abandoned for their alleged backwardness: the large-scale use of beasts of burden, increased reliance on organic fertilizers and biological pest controls, the abandonment of marginal soils that had been brought under cultivation and made productive only by the intensive use of agricultural inputs, and a shift of urban labor to the countryside. [10] According to Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez, more important than this change in agricultural practices, is that transferring the control of lands to farmers who are closely tied it, â€Å"and whose economic well-being will depend on the stewardship of the natural resource base, there is the expectation that the trend of soil deterioration†¦. may at least be slowed down†¦. [but] it is too early tell how successful the new agricultural policies will be. †[11] At this point, many of Cuba’s natural resources are in danger of extinction. Because Cuba has exported sugarcane as its main commodity, sugarcane has replaced natural flora and fauna. There was a time before 1959 when over 30 different kinds of bananas grew on the island, but most of the banana trees have been replaced by sugarcane. Cuba’s crops and animals have been affected by pests and diseases introduced from abroad; coastal pollution and excessive hunting also present severe threats to wildlife populations. [12] Water aquifers have been contaminated by pollutants (and saltwater on the coasts) and their levels are declining due to nearly unrestricted use. Similarly, waterflows reaching the coasts are also highly contaminated, which constantly hurts coral reefs and breeding grounds. Dam and reservoir construction has hurt coastal lagoons and mangroves: Cuba’s fresh water system (rivers/lakes/aquifers) has very serious problems. Under Castro’s policy of voluntad hidraulica, which called for not a single drop of fresh water to â€Å"be lost† to the ocean, the government has built over 1,000 large and small dams throughout the entire island, covering 1. 4% of Cuba’s territory. Although the benefits to Cuban agriculture are clear in terms of increased irrigated land (close to 1 million hectares), the ecological effect has been quite negative in terms of lowering the water’s oxygen level and increasing salinity. Dams have also blocked the dispersal of sediment and fresh water runoff over mangrove areas, contributing to a 30% average reduction of mangrove coverage and biodiversity loss[13] In fact, â€Å"the bays of Cuba are some of the most polluted in the world. Industrial, agricultural and human discharges into the sea, as well as deforestation for strip mining, have contributed to the pollution. [14] Water diversion to reservoirs is linked to the â€Å"virtual destruction of the oyster bed and major decline in the fish catch in the Casilda coastal region of southern Santa Clara Province. †[15] These factors, along with the excessive use of aquifer waters and wells used for sugar and citrus irrigation are contributing to the salinization of the water in Cuba. â€Å"Extensive water logging of coastal aquifers has lead to salinization and soil erosion. It has been estimated in 1991 that 600,000 ha have light to modest salinization levels, while the remainder show high levels of salinization. [16] The main source of water pollution lies in the industrial facilities, warehouses, and workshops and service entities located around the bay. Fifty-three industrial facilities are located in the immediate proximity of the bay, and another 84 industries produce waste that indirectly discharges into the bay through tributary streams. [17] These industrial areas include the port and the nickel industries that add to the contamination of the water supply. The port activity itself is also one of the major sources of contamination for the bay. It is estimated that the ships served in the port generate 150,000 tons of refuse per year. 18] Deforestation is also a factor contributing to the poor state of Cuba’s environment. Forests have not suffered nearly as much as the land, with conservation efforts bringing Cuba's forests back to their 1945 levels, but conservation of forests has not meant saving all woodlands. One of the main problems environmentalists have with deforestation in Cuba is the fact that many of the available estimates regarding how much of the original forest cover remained before the revolution are based on rough figures made by observers with no credible statistical information. According to Eudel Eduardo Cepero: The irrational use of forests has become common practice under the Castro regime. As no current data are available on the actual total area of cover forest, the value of Cuba’s forest resources is unknown. Most of the remaining natural forests are in poor condition from being overexploited. An average of 200 forest fires occur each year, affecting some 5,000 hectares of forest. Reforestation has been precarious, due to poor quality seeds, a low survival rate of plantings, and a narrow range of forest species utilized. 19] The National Environmental Strategy offers statistics to support Cepero’s claims by offering statistical information, but not listing sources to verify its facts; it also states that the forests in Cuba have grown over the last few years, but that there is still much work to be done with regards to improving the forest cover in Cuba: Although the forest cover has increased constantly in the recent years – in th e last 43 years increasing to a total coverage of 2, 696, 587. 9 hectares, bringing us to a forested index of 24. 54% in 2005 – after-effects still persist from years of irrational exploitation of Cuban forests which practically eradicated our most valuable woodland resources†¦. Problems persist with the quality of most native forests as a consequence of prior mismanagement and exploitation – particularly in the most important watersheds. Problems also exist in the nation’s seedbed sources, which do not meet productivity or quality expectations. In addition, a lack of updated forest management plans, insufficient silviculture of forested areas, and insufficiencies and deficiencies in management plans continue to present challenges[20] The EAN suggests that more work be done to investigate invasive plant species that re threatening the native plants. It says that the survival rate of tree plantations and the success rate of trees growing to full maturity have improved over the last few years, but that the numbers are still substantially low when compared to the anticipated numbers. Also, the range of forest species used in â€Å"forestry activities† has been inadequate. Also suffering from the effects of sovietization and the special period is the biological diversity of the island. â€Å"A substantial, unquantified loss of biodiversity exists, due, among other reasons, to improper management of certain ecosystems, the application of intensive farming, the marketing of endangered species, as well as conditions making it easy for important genetic resources to leave the countryâ€Å". 21] Coral reefs, mangroves, the original forest (which used to cover most of the island) and rainforests are ecosystems that are suffering in Cuba. According to the EAN, the leading causes of this loss of biodiversity are: [1] Changes, fragmentation, or destruction of habitat/ecosystems/landscapes due primarily to changes in land use and inadequate practices employed in fishing, harvest, and agricultural soil preparation, among others. Overexploitation of resources, for example fishing and forestry resources. [3] Degradation and contamination of soils, water, and the atmosphere. 4] Introduction of exotic invasive species that displace or affect the functioning of ecosystems and native species. [5]Insufficient regulatory and control mechanisms to prevent and punish illegal activities, including unlawful hunting and fishing, trade in threatened species and other natural resources. [6]Climate change and the resulting intensification of dry periods, the incidence of torrential rains, temperature increase, sea level rise, in addition to the intensity and frequency of extreme natural disasters such as hurricanes. [7] Forest fires. [22] The EAN lists the goals it wishes to achieve and the necessary steps that should be taken in order to achieve these goals. Among these goals are increasing the amount of forest coverage to 26. 7% of national territory; have one million hectares of forest maintained by the National System of Criterion and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management; complete National Forestry Planning in 2007; reduce amount of lands affected by forest fires; 69% of forest cover used as a buffer to protect coastal areas, soils, water and conservation forests; management program for invasive plant species. 23] Before the Special Period much of the air pollution in Cuba was the result of its’ dependence on Soviet and Eastern European vehicles and factories that were contaminating the air: Urban pollution, could be partly traced to Cuba’s extreme reliance on inefficient and highly contaminating Soviet and Eastern European-built vehicles and factories. In the agricultural sector, a practice that resulted in much environmental damage was the promotion of Sovietstyle, large-scale state farm production model based on widespread mechanization, heavy chemical inputs (e. . , fertilizers and herbicides), and extensive irrigation[24] Air pollution in Cuba has increased significantly in the years since the Soviets left the island. â€Å" The absence of mitigation measures for emissions, inadequate control measures on the levels of noise generated by different activities, scarce information about the harmful effects on health and social behavior, the poor technical state of transport, and a lack of standards for emissions are also present. [25] There are few environmental reports available to the public that are based on analytical information that is collected systematically in the field and processed in laboratories. Cuban scientists state that: The two main sources of sulfuric gases within the city limits are the old thermal power plants of Tallapiedra in the Old Havana neighborhood and the Antonio Maceo plant in Regla, across the Bay of Havana. In both of these neighborhoods they recorded the highest level of environmental pollution, measuring up to 7. milligrams of sulfides per square decimeter per day at the Tallapiedra Power Plant†¦. Three secondary sources in the metallurgic, chemical and construction ind ustries were also associated with air pollution, all of them located in the environs of Havana Bay. [26] The Ministry of Public Health, better endowed for this purpose than other branches of government, has produced or published few precise documents dealing with health conditions and environmental degradation. Sulfur oxides, undesirable residues of combustion that are produced mostly in power plants when sulfur-rich fuels are burned, create respiratory problems and cause acid rain. Cuba replaced part of the vanished Soviet fuel imports of the late 1980s with domestic crude containing roughly six percent sulfur. It is used mostly in power plants and to run cement factories. [27] Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez point out that the means of transportation in Cuba are getting old and, due to poor maintenance and inadequate resources to obtain parts, they are polluting and becoming harmful to the environment. Their conclusion is that â€Å"As long as the economic crisis continues, Cuba will not be able to modernize its fleet of cars, trucks, and buses (other than for those few vehicles serving the tourist industry)†. [28] If the Cuban government would allow media to spread environmental education to the citizens of Cuba and to the rest of the world, not only would it help efforts within Cuba to protect and improve the environment but it would also help efforts to improve the environment on a global level. The strategy points out that Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic says: The state protects the nation’s environment and natural resources and recognizes their close relationship with sustainable economic and social development to make human life more rational and to ensure the survival, well being and security of present and future generations. It is the responsibility of proper governmental agencies to apply this policy. It is the duty of the citizens to contribute to the protection of the water, atmosphere, and the conservation of soil, wild flora and fauna and all the rich potential of nature. [29] Since Cuba has declared a national sovereignty over its natural resources and is actively working to restore and protect them, the state must also exercise rights over the country’s environment and resources. Similarly, Cuba must develop a national tendency towards â€Å"integrated natural resource management, commercial environmental management, and urban environmental management as fundamental traits of Cuban environmental management. †[30] The current embargo the United States has placed on Cuba keeps the island from growing economically. Which means that , since the economy is not changing or being stimulated, the people of Cuba are suffering. Meaning, because man poor, urban people cannot afford daily necessities, they resort to alternate ways to get everyday goods; even if it means depleting the natural resources. With the current government in Cuba and the restrictions caused by the embargo, it is hard to think that the Cuban environment will improve much in the next decade or two; but the National Environmental Strategy offers hope to the idea that Cuba’s environment will improve. The â€Å"National Environment Strategy 2007-2010† is dedicated to improving the environmental conditions of Cuba and finding a way to meet sustainable social and economic development goals. The eradication of extreme poverty is an achievement rooted in the very foundations of the revolutionary process. Achieving this is essential to the pursuit of environmental sustainability, first and foremost because extreme poverty cannot coexist with a healthy environment. The solution to this challenge is one of the principal achievements that Cuba can effectively show to the world. 31] The future of environmental reforms in Cuba will be influenced by a variety of cultural, economic, social, and political factors. Ultimate success or failure, however, will likely depend more on thorough laws, money, human capital, public involvement in environmental decision making, use of incentive-based tools, and international support. Strong environmental laws are a necessary foundation for sustaina ble development, but success will only occur with the continuing political will to implement and enforce them.