Report on Emotion, Identity, and Religion Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness, by Douglas Davies

Introduction This report is aimed at discussing the marketing campaign surrounding the release of such book as Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness, written by Douglas Davies. This work was published by Oxford University Press on 10 March, 2011.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Report on Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness, by Douglas Davies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is necessary to analyze the target audience of this book or product, the elements of the marketing mix that have been included in its promotion. Furthermore, it is important for us to discuss the competitive environment of this product and identify those factors which might pose a threat to the commercial success of this publication. Finally, it is necessary to present overall evaluation of the company’s promotion strategies, particularly regarding this book. Target market Th e target audience of this book is very difficult to define. Judging from its content, one can argue that it is intended for well-educated people, who major in religious studies, history, or psychology. One may argue that this book will be of the greatest interest to educators or students. Certainly, it is possible to say that increasing attention to the relationship between religion and culture can contribute to the success of this book among general audience. But, the main readers of this book can be graduate or post-graduate students, professors of psychology and religious studies, and those scholars, who are doing research in this field. Apart from that, we can hypothesize that the age of readers will 22 and above since at this age people are more likely to have necessary background knowledge in order to read this work. Finally, we can assume that this book is intended to both male and female readers.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More SWOT Analysis Strengths This marketing campaign has several strengths. First of all, we need to speak about brand. Oxford University Press has long been regarded as a leading scholarly publisher which always attempts to offer only the most innovative and well-researched works to the readers. Secondly, we need to mention that the author of this book Douglas Davies is a well-known expert in religious studies; thus, his opinion will be valued by the readers. Finally, the most important strength is the product itself. The book Emotion, Identity, and Religion Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness presents a thought-provoking discussion of how religion can shape a person’s identity. Weaknesses One can identify several essential weaknesses of this item. Judging from the cover of the book, one can hardly deduce its target audience. It is not clear whether it is intended for scholars, majoring in religious studies or for peopl e, who are interested in psychology, anthropology, or sociology. This lack of focus can undermine commercial performance of this item because prospective readers may not know whether this book will be of any benefit to them. The second weakness is poor use of the brand. The thing is that a potential buyer may not notice the name of the publishing house. The thing is that readers may be more willing to purchase a book, if they know that it was released by Oxford University Press. Additionally, we need to mention that the publishing house does not provide detailed information about the author. They should have mentioned that Douglas Davis has written more than 20 books about psychology and sociology of religion. By referring to these books, the publishers would have been able to attract customers, who formerly read the books of this author. These are the major limitations of this publication that we can identify. On the whole, they can significantly reduce the commercial success of th is book. Opportunities The major opportunity is increasing interest of readers to this topic. Many people (not necessarily professionals) want to understand the similarities and differences between the world’s largest religions and their impact on the identity of people and society, in general.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Report on Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness, by Douglas Davies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moreover, we should note that religious studies are becoming more and more connected with other disciplines, such as sociology or psychology. This trend can eventually increase the target audience of this title and this factor was definitely taken into account by Oxford University Press. Threats There are several external factors which downgrade the success of this marketing campaign. First, the topic has already become a subject of numerous books and artic les. A great number of books have been written about the impacts of religion in identity and human emotions. Thus, it will be rather difficult for Oxford University Press to pursue product differentiation policy in this competitive environment. Sales Figures At this point, Oxford University Press does not provide accurate statistical data about the sales rates of this book. However, the figures provided by such websites as Amazon (2010, unpaged) indicate that this book does not perform very well. Currently, the sales rank of this book is 148,881 (Amazon, 2010, unpaged). This means that there are at least 148,881 books which are selling better than this title. This sales rank indicates that a copy of this book is purchased every one in a week. Overall, one can say that this work can hardly be called a bestseller. Nonetheless, we need to emphasize the point that at the given moment these numbers are definitive. This book was released only 7 weeks ago and this period of time is not suf ficient for conclusive evaluation. Market research conducted by the company One can assume that Oxford University Press carried out in-depth research of the market prior to the publication of this item. First of all, they determine the extent to which this topic has been examined and discussed in scholarly works and identifies the major books that were previously published. Secondly, they determined if this book by Douglas Davies would enjoy demand among the prospective readers. Competitive Environment This book has been launched into a very competitive environment. As it has been said before, there are numerous books, dedicated to this topic. For instance, we can mention the book called Religion and Identity, written by Patrick O’Sullivan (2001) or the work by Sean Oliver-Dee (2009) called Religion and Identify: divided loyalties?Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, there are thousands of books which can be indirectly related to this question. The majority of them belong to the domain of religious studies. Nonetheless, there are several characteristics of this product which can contribute to its success. Such brand as Oxford University Press has always been regarded as a paragon of academic excellence, and this perception can affect the purchasing decisions of the readers. Another difficulty which must not be overlooked is the dissemination of news about this book. Douglas Davies’ book can enjoy demand among readers only if it will be of interest to scholars and teachers. If this book will be used in educational institutions, the demand for it will eventually rise. These are the main external factors that can affect the financial performance of this item. Marketing Mix At this point, it is necessary for us to show how different elements of the marketing mix can be applied to this particular title; in particular, we need to spea k about the product, price, place and promotion. Prior to the launch of any title, the publisher must insure that the book is affordable to the target audience (Woll Raccah, 2010). Secondly, they need to make the product accessible to the customers and a publishing house must have a well-developed distribution network for effective network (Cole, 2004). Finally, the company has to increase the customers’ awareness about this product. In other words, this people need to know that this work was actually published. Most importantly, the publishers must convince the readers that this book really creates value for them. Product Judging from the cover of this title, one can argue that the designers wanted to emphasize the point that this book does tell what exactly the book will be about. Stonehenge servers as a background for the title and this image is familiar to every British readers and it is immediately associated with mystery and secret. This design is supposed to encourage the potential to read the annotation for the book and look through its contents. This cover aims to show that this book is based on in-depth research undertaken by an authoritative scholar, who can bring innovative and well-grounded ideas. Yet, the image of Stonehenge is very ambiguous: it may refer to history, cultural studies, or religion studies. The title of this item and its cover do not show to which academic discipline this book is related. The main drawback that we can detect is that the cover does not tell clearly for whom this book is intended. This is one of the major limitations of this product. Furthermore, we should point out that this book is released in hardcover and paperback. One should bear in mind that hardcover books are more costly, and publishing houses reserve them only for those books or authors whom they expect to be successful. In contrast, paperbacks are less expensive, and they are suitable for those books which may not be read very often since they are more likely to be damaged. Overall, this format enables the publishing house to reduce the costs of production and allows them to make the price more affordable but at the same time, it is less suitable for extensive reading. Thus, it is possible to say that Oxford University Press is not quite sure about the commercial success of this book. Certainly, they expect that customers will read this book more than once but they are not certain about it. One of the details, which attract attention, is poor use of branding. At first glance, one can hardly see that this book was published by Oxford University Press. The brand does not attract the reader’s attention. Price At the given moment, the price of this product is  £65.00; at least one can purchase this book from the official cite of Oxford University Press. However, one should bear in mind that this work is also available in paperback. If a customer chooses to buy it in this format; he/she would have to pay  £20.00 (Oxfor d University Press, 2011, unpaged). Thus, we can say that this publishing house attempts to pursue a flexible pricing policy. Additionally, we need to point out that prices for this book have not declined since the time of its publication. Place The customers can purchase this product from various sales outlets. First of all, we need to speak about various book stores in the United Kingdom. For instance, one can buy this book at Blackwell’s, Waterstones, Foyles, and so forth. Secondly, customers can order this work from the official website of Oxford University Press. Secondly, these book can be obtained from a host of online shops such as Amazon, e-Bay, Books-A-Milan, and so forth. Hence, it is possible for us to say that the publishers have made this book accessible to a large number of customers who may be living not only in the United Kingdom, but in other English-speaking countries as well. Promotion Oxford University Press has taken several steps to increase the custome rs’ awareness about this book. First of all, its release was immediately announced at different web-based shops such as Amazon, Alibris, Barnes Noble, Borders, IndieBound or Books-A-Milan. People, who are searching for information on the Web, especially if they are interested in religion and identity, can run accross this title. Furthermore, the new about the release of this title was released in scientific circles. For instance, this book was presented in Wolfson Research Institute which is a part of Durham University where Douglas Davis works as a Professor of Religious Studies (Durham University, 2011, unpaged). Furthermore, we need to mention that this book was reviewed by the editors of several newspapers. Evidence of sales achieved Although, Oxford University Press has yet to provide financial data about the sales rates of this book, one can say that currently, financial performance of this item leaves much to be desired. In the previous sections, we have mentioned that this book has a very low sale rank, namely 148,881 (Amazon.2011, unpaged). This figure indicates this book does not enjoy considerable demand among the potential customers. On average, a copy of this book is bought one in a week, and this is not the best result. However, we need to consider that Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness is intended for academic audience and low sales rates are not unusual for academic books. Conclusion At this point, it might be too early to judge the commercial success of such book as Emotion, Identity, and Religion Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness. As it has been said before, it was released only two months before and after a certain amount of time, the situation might change. The outcomes of this campaign depend on how this work will be received in scholarly circles. However, at this point, the marketing strategies do not bring the expected results. This can be explained by several factors such as highly competitive envir onment and increasing number of books, dedicated to this topic. However, we need to mention that in this case, the marketing mix was not developed properly, namely inadequate promotion and lack of attention to product development. These are the key reasons why this book does not enjoy considerable demand among customers. Appendixes.  Book Description Title: Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness Author: Douglas J. Davis. Publishing House: Oxford University Press. Publication Date: March 11, 2011 Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches Categories: Comparative religious studies, sociology, Christian Spirituality. References Amazon. (2011). Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness. Web. Baverstock, A, (1999). How To Market Books. 3rd Edition. Kogan Page Ltd. Blythe. J. (2006) Essentials of marketing communications. London: Pearson Education. Cole. D. 2004. The Complete Guide to Book Marketing. NY: Allworth Communications, Inc. D avies D. 2011. Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Durham University. 2011. â€Å"Emotion, Identity and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity and Otherness†. Web. Giles Clark, 2008. Inside Book Publishing. 4 Edition. London: Routledge. Oliver-Dee. S. (2009). Religion and identity: divided loyalties? Theos. Oxford University Press. 2011. â€Å"Emotion, Identity, and Religion Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness†. Web. Oxford University Press. 2011. The Official Website. Sullivan P. 2001. Religion and Identity. Dublin: Continuum Intl Pub Group. Woll T. Raccah D 2010. Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. This report on Report on Emotion, Identity, and Religion: Hope, Reciprocity, and Otherness, by Douglas Davies was written and submitted by user FatC0bra to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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Huawei Human Resource Management (HRM) The Human Resources Challenge of Huawei - Cultural clash Introduction Background of Huawei In 1987, Ren Zhengfei, then 44 years old, founded a telecom equipment-trading firm in Shenzhen, China, with startup capital of CNY 21,000. By the end of 2014, Huawei had 170,000 employees in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than one-third of the world’s population, and leading the world in international patent applications. Over 30 years, it has grown to become the largest telecom company in the world. As well as that, it has operations and representative offices in more than 100 countries and serves over 1 billion users worldwide. 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As the process of global integration accelerates and the flow of human resources in multinational enterprises like Huawei continues to accelerate, this cultural friction will increase day by day and gradually begin to manifest itself in the internal management and external operation of transnational corporations, resulting in the loss of market opportunities for transnational corporations and the inefficiency of the organizational structure and make the implementation of the global strategy in trouble. Therefore, this essay will attempt to demonstrate how the Huawei can solve this problem and develop better for its brighter future using human resources management practices. Main discussions Huaweis problem of human resources While Huawei successfully achieved its trans-national development, Huawei also encountered many challenges in its human resources management. The transnational management practice of Huawei shows that one of the important factors that affect transnational management is that various cultural conflicts arise from the differences in value orientation and behavior among people from different cultural backgrounds. How to realize the absorption and integration of culture has become a problem that Huawei constantly solves in transnational management. How to solve the cultural conflict of human resource management in Huawei With the continuous expansion and development of overseas affiliates of Huawei, Huawei conducts cross-cultural human resources management mainly through the following tactics: Localization strategy Localization strategy which means the concept of global adaptation is the business trying to integrate into the target market, and strive to become a target market strategy adopted. The essence of localization is the process of multinational corporations integrating production, marketing, management and personnel into the economy of the host country in an all-round way. Generally, they conduct a series of surveys to understand the actual local economy, culture and customs. At Huaweis overseas offices, everyone strives to create an atmosphere in which everyone, regardless of nationality and race, is a Huawei employee. Both Chinese and foreign cultures constantly collide and merge with each other. Under the influence of Huaweis culture, Huawei is gradually presenting its diversified and international characteristics. With the gradual implementation of localization business strategy, the ratio of Chinese and foreign employees in overseas institutions of Huawei continuously changes. Culturally compatible strategy Culturally compatible strategy is also the most important thing which need to understand the differences between different cultural concepts. Therefore, Huawei needs to integrate cultural differences into the overall marketing strategy to ensure that the realization of business goals will always be a major issue. For instance, Huawei’s employees in Uzbekistans offices regularly attend local weddings, travel to cities on holidays, watch ballets and learn about local culture and customs. Whenever an employee is on his birthday, everyone congratulates on sending a gift collectively. Cross-cultural training strategy Huawei implements cross-cultural training strategy. As international enterprises become the most important intercultural organizations in the world, the source of human resources is increasingly showing an international trend among a considerable number of enterprises. More and more people of different colors become colleagues. The employees from different countries and nations have different cultural backgrounds. Employees values, needs, attitudes and behaviors are quite different. Such cultural differences within the enterprise inevitably lead to cultural conflicts. At the same time, due to cultural differences, the human resources management concepts, human resources management systems and methods of different countries vary. As a result, the human resources management concepts and management methods among the managers in the enterprises also continuously impact and collide. In the daily operation of enterprises and foreign exchanges, if employees are lack of the knowledge and skills of intercultural communication, the differences between cultures will create misunderstandings and unnecessary friction, which will affect the work efficiency and reduce the competitiveness of enterprises. Therefore, the cultural difference is also an obstacle that must be overcome in the internationalization and transnational management of human resources. Huawei employees will receive relevant training in the training department before leaving the country, such as the local cultures and related products. Daily training also includes seminars, language training, books, websites, discussion and simulation exercises and more. These trainings enhance the adaptability of employees with different cultural backgrounds and promote communication and understanding among people of different cultural backgrounds. Through continuous cross-cultural training, cross-cultural awareness has gradually developed among employees and learned to regard cultural differences as differences without distinction between good and bad, helping employees to be good at standing with people of different cultural backgrounds considering each others point of view, cross-cultural conflicts are greatly reduced. Common values management. A reason why a company can become a good company, a very important reason is that it has successfully created a kind of core values ​​and mission to enable all employees heartfelt identity, as the core values ​​of the enterprise culture once being all staff sincerely agree or share, it will affect peoples thinking and behavior patterns. HuangWeiwei (dedication – the Huawei Philosophy of Human Resources Management) claims that Huawei doesn’t like to make too much money. And the profits are not its motive – growth is. This aspect of the enterprise culture is what drives its HRM policies and approaches. In addition to regulating and managing overseas institutions under Huaweis business conditions, Huaweis corporate culture restricts every employees behavior in an invisible ideology. Even away from overseas, the militarized management style from Huawei headquarters is still not diminished. Huawei believes that only those who persist in fighting unjustly for the collective can form a united community. Therefore, Huawei advocates desire-driven, decent means, so that the formation of a group of vigorous, good management style. Huawei believes that unity and cooperation, collective struggle is the soul of Huawei. No one in Huawei has the privilege, and everyone shares the common aspiration and hardship, equality for all. Any individual interest must serve the collective interests and integrate individual efforts into the enterprise. Huawei integrated this common value, the entire enterprise burst out of the incredible combat effectiveness. So we could realize that in human resources management, only understanding cultural differences and respecting multi-culture can improve the ability of cross-cultural management. Suggestions for Huawei Cross-cultural Human Resources Management Under the multi-cultural background, the core of human resource management lies in how to integrate the scattered and isolated functions, responsibilities and activities in human resource management. By coordinating the operation of human beings and creating the competitive advantage of enterprises. In order to give play to this advantage of enterprises, Huawei can consider the following aspects in implementing cross-cultural human resources management: Firstly, Huawei should strengthen cross-cultural selection and training. Cross-cultural selection and training can enhance peoples responsiveness and adaptability to different cultural traditions, promote communication and understanding among people of different cultural backgrounds, mitigate cultural conflicts and enhance teamwork and corporate cohesion. The specific measure is that Huawei should try to select those who have the skills and qualities of a global manager. They should love the new culture, have the adventurous spirit, have strong interpersonal skills and work hard with people from different cultures to understand their opinions and attitudes. Such a global manager can adapt to the requirements of cultural integration and they also have to attend a series of trainings about the language, culture and personal occupation of so as to better adapt to the future work. Huawei should also adopt some new cross-cultural training methods, such as setting up intercultural communication programs, setting up global service projects and setting up business institutes. Secondly, based on the common understanding of culture, Huawei should establish the strong corporate culture according to the requirements of the external environment and the strategic development of the company. It helps Huawei not only to reduce cultural conflicts, so that each employee can put their thoughts and behavior with the companys business operations and objectives together, but also to make the subsidiary and the parent company closer. At the same time, it can establish a good reputation in the international market and enhance the transnational corporations ability of cultural change. Thirdly, Huawei should enhance cross-cultural communication. In order to ensure the effective implementation of effective communication in cross-cultural enterprises, Huawei must establish a culture of mutual understanding and mutual respect between management, management and employees as well as between the company and the outside. In addition, Huawei must actively establish a variety of formal and informal, effective and invisible cross-cultural communication organizations and channels, so that every employee in the enterprise have more opportunities to express their opinions. Some successful companies often organize seminars, classes and language training within the enterprise and enhance the role of managers by effectively promoting communication with people, teams and organizations through the use of media such as books, bulletin boards, websites, videos and television. As a result Huawei could improve business efficiency and maximize the effectiveness of cross-cultural human resources management. Fourthly, Huawei should enhance the localization of employees. As local managers have a deep understanding of local culture, they are easily accepted by employees and at the same time provide a promotion channel for local employees. Therefore, they have strong incentives. Local employees are familiar with the local customs, market dynamics and government regulations, hiring local employees will undoubtedly facilitate cross-cultural enterprises in the local market development and gain a firm foothold. In the development of intercultural human resources, most large multinational corporations have proposed the strategy of employees’ localization and continuously raised the proportion of senior and middle-level managers in the country. The management concept of local affairs managed by local people is being gradually realized. To some extent, the implementation of this concept can make cross-cultural enterprises eliminate cultural friction, develop their own adaptability to local culture, and its unique foreign culture affect the host countrys cultural environment, showing a companys great tolerance to multiculturalism , So Huawei could attract more outstanding employees and enhance their competitiveness. Through the above measures, the effectiveness of cross-cultural human resources management at Huawei will be greatly enhanced so that enterprises can implement effective and strategic personnel planning in a multicultural environment. Conclusions With the continuous expansion and development of Huaweis overseas subsidiaries, Huawei, as the leading telecom solution provider in the world, has faced the challenge which is cultural conflicts in the implementation of human resources management. In order to solve the conflicts caused by cultural differences, Huawei implement cross-cultural human resources management, mainly through the implementation of localization strategies, cultural compatibility strategies, cross-cultural training and common values management strategies. Huawei mainly implements localization strategy when implementing cross-cultural human resources management, including staff localization, localization management, R & D localization and localization of partners. There are more than 100 countries around the world applying their products. International markets have become the main source of Huawei’s sales. In all countries and regions, Huawei has set up hundreds of branches and dozens of research institutes. More than half of its employees are local employees, and more and more local employees have become local technical backbone. Huawei has established training centers around the world, which greatly enhance Huaweis ability to provide high-quality training in these regions. While maintaining sound management, Huawei persists in its localized operation globally and has made great contributions to its countries and regions. As well as that, Huawei has established branches in more than 100 countries around the world, investing locally, setting up sales and service offices, research and development centers, training centers, technical support centers and factories, and hiring local staff. This not only deepens Huaweis understanding of the local market, but also raises the local employment rate, enhances the technical level of local engineers and promotes the development of the local economy. In addition, Huawei regards employee training as the most basic level of cross-cultural management. Cross-cultural training for employees, including training on basic knowledge of culture, training on cultural conflicts, and training on cultural adaptability, has been conducted. In terms of value management, Huaweis corporate culture affects every employee as an invisible ideology. Huawei creates the unique wolf corporate culture and it requires employees to develop the habit of learning, to have a good learning ability and a unique sense of innovation and awareness. In summary, cross-cultural human resources management has an important impact on the survival and development of Huawei and also plays an important role in the productivity of Huawei. A successful human resources management will bring a value-added effect of 1 + 1> 2 to the enterprise, otherwise, it will have a negative impact and hinder the development of the enterprise. References Fang Lee Cooke The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2012, p.1845 Huang Weiwei Dedication the Huawei Philosophy of Human Resources Management Huawei The startup that became the largest telecom company in the world

Literature Reveiw About Ethics and Organic Food Essay

Since the last ten years, the fastest growing sector in the food industry has been the organic food. Organic food are certified by labels that ensure that they are produced without pesticides and antibiotics and that they preserve the environment with the use of renewable resources (Organic Produce Export Committee, 2002, cited Lea and Worsley, 2005). In France, the AB label ensures that at least 95% of the production is organic and compels the producers to state clearly the origin and the method of production (CSA Agence Bio, 2006). In France in 2006, 43% of the population has consumed organic product at least once a month which corresponds to an increase of 6% since 2003. The growth rate of organic consumption is about 10 percent per year since 1999. (CSA Agence Bio,2006). Abroad, the same phenomena occurs, and organic, even if it represented no more than 3% of total food consumption in Europe (Soil Association 2000, cited in Aarset et al. 2004) appears to be real trend that will growth over time. This mainstream has been strengthening by the BSE scandal and the controversy about the genetically modified food effects. Regarding this postulate, researchers and marketers began to study the organic consumer in the late 90’s. It is very important for food providers to understand why the consumers purchase this new kind of food. In our study, we chose to focus on the determination of consumers’ profiles as well as their motives to act. Most of the studies we discuss emphasized on the determination of consumers profiles in term of socio-demographic factors related to their attitudes or motivation. But we can wonder if those factors are sufficient in order to give a global understanding of the organics buyers. The research problem is here to define which factors influence the organic food consumption, and to understand their inter-relationship in a global context of food consumption. In a first part, we will try to understand the impact on culture on consumption and then the need to look at each country particularly. Then we will discuss the main factors that influence the consumers that is to say: attitudes, values and motivations (combined with socio-demographic factors). Eventually, we will present and analyse the research we decided to base our study on in order to develop the constructs and the propositions of the conceptual framework. 1Market development and cultural factors. 1. 1Culture influences the food choice. The most primary factor that gives a direction to an individual is certainly is culture or region of origin. Solomon (1991, chap 15) defines it as â€Å"a society’s personality†. It’s the sharing among a population of traditions, norms, beliefs and attitudes in one country or in one specific region. Culture is the first socio-demographic factor that would affect the decision to purchase. Socio-demographic factors (Mac Carthy and Perreault, 1990, p79-81) are the dimensions that affect the consumer act of purchase in a specific consumption context. The typical ways to segment and define consumers are presented in the exhibit 1: the socio-demographic factors. Regarding this postulate, we can assume that the behaviour will be different from a country to another. For instance, Aarset et. Al (2004) highlighted that from a country to another, organic products are not seen to be the same even if they are. Thus, they compared the meaning of â€Å"organic† and the perception of labelling system in France, Germany, Norway and UK. The study highlights the fact that these notions are unclear and clouded for the consumer and that different countries perceived them in different ways. The two tables below resume the cross-national comparison: Table 1: The definition of â€Å"organic† in the five countries (Aarset et. al, 2004): France GermanyNorwaySpainUK ?Natural ?Limited Human intervention? High welfare ?Natural ?Environmentally kind? Characterised by confusion and ambivalence ? Natural? Ecological and natural ?Non-use of pesticides ?Not environmentally damaging? freedom from artificial inputs ? limiting environment damage Table 2: The perception of the labelling system: (Aarset et. al, 2004) France GermanyNorwaySpainUK ?Easily duped ?Legislative system required at the EU level ?Aware of â€Å"Bio† label ?Trust the AB system? Spectical consumers ?Unfamiliar with labels ?Limited knowledge of regulations? Sceptical labelling as gimmick ? Limited knowledge of regulations? Labels should reflect quality ? Ignorant about current labels? Limited knowledge of regulations ?Trust government certifications? Should be free from government inputs ? Sceptical ?Unfamiliar ?Limited knowledge of regulations More specially, Beharrel and Mac Fie (1991, cited in Squires et. al, 2001) showed that the motivations and the attitudes towards organic food were country specific. People are influenced by their society and by their way of life inside. Furthermore, longitudinal studies (Douglas and Wildavsky, 1982 and Davies et al. 1995, cited in Squires et. al, 2001) show that behaviour evolves over time. In this way in the first study Irish consumers ranked environmental concerns at the top and four years later, the same concern was equally cited by consumers with health concern (Squires et al. 2001). 1. 2The level of development of the country market influences organic food choice 1. 2. 1A cross- national study of Danish and New-Zealand organic consumers. A cross-national study made by Squires et. al (2001) compares the behaviour of Danish and New-Zealand organic consumer regarding the level of organic food market development. Denmark is considered to be a mature market where organic food products are well implemented and New-Zealand is seen as a novice one. Lampkin (1992, cited in Squires et al. 2001) established that in a mature market, environment is the most important motive to consume organic products. The range, the prices and the availability will also have an impact on sales. The study about Danes and New Zealanders confirms these findings. Thus, New-Zealanders who are health focused, tend to be more heavy consumers of organic food, while for Danes the same motivation appear to be not significant. Environmentally friendly and green consumers are more likely to be heavy consumers of organic food products in Denmark. Finally, the research paper highlights that the macro-environment has an impact. For instance, Danish health and care system is well developed so we can assume that they don’t seek at first to protect their bodies but that they are more focus on environmental concern as Denmark is one of the most â€Å"green country†. Squires et al. (2001) advocates that study should take into account the macro-environment of countries studies as well as the market development concerning the organic food market. The stage of development of the industry in the life-cycle is also a predictor of moderators of organic consumption. These factors should be considered when hypotheses and propositions are made about one specific country and its organic food consumption trends. 1. 2. 2The moderators of consumption depend on the market development Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) investigated the two major barriers of organic food consumption: the price and the availability of products (Tregear et al, 1994; Magnusson et al. 2001, cited in Tarkiainen and Sundqvist, 2005). The price is a barrier when the product has no special added value for the buyer (Roddy et al. 1996, cited in Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002). Generally, the willingness to pay differs from the range of products, for instance 52% of German accept to pay more for fresh products and 34% for animal products like meat ( Meier-Ploeger and Woodward, 1999, cited in Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002). A priori, these moderators would have an impact everywhere and would have an influence in the country studied, Finland (Tarkiainen and Sundqvist, 2005). Actually, the hypotheses that the price and availability of products were both rejected by the study. Indeed, the range of products analysed (breads) were not price premium compared to conventional bread. Furthermore, it appears that there is no availability issue and no short supply in Finland as the market is well implemented in this country. If we look at the same factors in Spain, (Sanjuan et al. 2003), it showed that in Spain, the price has a strong impact on the consumption of organic food. Thus, the willingness to pay was below the actual difference between organic and conventional products. It also stated that the willingness to pay was different among different range of products, for example, Spanish are more ready to buy at a price premium if they are considering fresh products. In the same way, a Greek survey (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002) about purchasing motives and organic food illustrated that the availability of products was the main barriers as the choice and the number of retailers are very limited. As Conclusion, we can state that culture as well as market development are important factors when considering the consumption of organic food. As far as the situation is different country by country, it is interesting to study behaviours in specific situation. Culture and market development are not the only determinants that will influence the behaviour regarding organic products. Socio-demographic factors will also influence the decision making process of organic consumer. These factors can be combined with values, attitudes and/or motivations in order to design different consumer profiles. We the next parts, we will discuss the impact of these determinants in the organic food consumption. 2The attitudes that influence consumer 2. 1Attitudes and the Theory of Planned Behaviour 2. 1. 1Attitudes Attitudes are different from values because they concern objects like a behaviour, a person, an idea or a thing. Attitudes are the expression of the thinking in a precise situation. Attitudes are judged through our values. (Antonides and Raajj, 1998, p. 138). The attitude is central to the model of â€Å"values-attitudes-behaviour† where â€Å"the influence should theoreotically flow from abstract values to mid-range attitudes to specific behaviour† (Homer and Kahle, 1988; cited in Soyoen and Eastlick, 1998). As we will see next, attitudes are central in the context of ethical choices. 2. 1. 2The Theory of Planned Behaviour and consumers ethics 2. 1. 2. 1The presentation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The theory of reasoned action (TRA), developed Ajzen and Fishbein in 1980, is a value-attitude-behavior’s framework where the objective is to understand which factors would influence the consumer in an ethical context. The model is based on the fact that behaviour is a direct function of Intention where intention is built in function of attitude and subjective norm. Intention to purchase are considering to be good determinant of the behaviour (Honkanen et al. 2006). Furthermore it concerns a rational decision making process where an individual has control. The attitude is made by the sum of individuals’ beliefs and the evaluation of those beliefs. In the same way, the subjective norm is the sum of two elements: -â€Å"individuals beliefs that important to other think they should or not should perform the behaviour question† -â€Å"The motivation to comply with other†. In 1985, Adjzen added a new variable, the perceived behavioural control. This theory is widespread supported by researchers (Ajzen, 1991), but it is stated that additional predictors could be included in the model if there are significant to forecast consumer behaviour. Figure 2 : The theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) 2. 1. 2. 2The relationship between TPB and food choice behaviour. In 1994, Thompson et. al (1998)analyzed the food behaviour with the TPB model in the context of growing consumption of olive oil in United Kingdom. The constructs of perceived behaviour control was removed because Spark et al. (1995, cited in Thompson et. al, 1994) stated that the olive oil usage was not â€Å"significantly impeded†. In this case of olive oil, the model was significant and confirmed that TPB is well adapted to food consumption (Saegert and Young,1983 ; Towler and Shepherd, 1992 : cited in Thompson et. al, 1994). Additionally, the study showed that attitudes is a powerful predictor and explain the major part of the behaviour. It emphasizes that olive consumption is mainly due to the willingness to improve the taste of salad. Furthermore, the subjective norms play a minor role in the model, and reveals to be not significant. This fact is due the low involvement of consumers in the act of eating or drinking. The consumption of organic food is more involved act as it reflects the life-style and the values of an individual. In the next study, we will see that subjective norm plays a key role when it’s integrated in the model as antecedents of attitudes. 2. 2The TPB in the context of organic food consumption 2. 2. 1The importance of subjective norms as antecedents of values. The research conducted by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist (2005) looks at the subjective norms and attitudes that influence the organic food consumption in Finland. As we emphasized previously, the perceived control behaviour as â€Å"price† and availability were found not significant. The most important finding of this study is the integration in the model of subjective norms as an antecedent of attitudes. As we said before, the subjective norms were often viewed as non significant because of the low-involvement in the food and drink consumption. However, Chang (1998), Sherphed and O’Keefe (1984), Shimp and Kavas (1984) and Vallerland et al. (1992) (cited in Tarkiainen and Sundqvist 2005) demonstrated that subjective norms were significant when the decision is related to an ethical context and when there are placed as antecedents of attitudes. The result of the study illustrated the importance of the behaviour in relation with others thinking. Furthermore, the specific attitude took into account in the study that is to say the health consciousness, is not sufficient in order to explain attitudes. The authors advise that further studies should look at several motives/beliefs to explain attitudes as environment concern. The next study we will discuss considers more variables in the model of TPB. 2. 2. 2The multivariate modelling approach of ethical consumer choice. Using the theory of planned behaviour, Shaw and Shiu (2003) explored the important factors that occur in the context of organic food shopping. They proposed a study based on self-interest factors. In this way, they added two constructs in the primary theory: the self-identity and ethical obligation. Ethical obligation refers to ethical beliefs that would represent a person’s beliefs of what is good or bad. Self-identity can be defined as â€Å"the pertinent part of an individual’s self that relates to a particular behaviour† (Shaw and Shiu, 2002). As Shaw and Shiu stated in 2000, these construct have an impact on the consumer behaviour in an ethical context and have been neglected before. Figure 3: Modified theory of Planned behaviour (Shaw and Shiu, 2003) This model was validated through a structural equation modelling in order to predict the behaviour of organic consumer. The study explains 52% percent of the actions of them. The theory of planned behaviour gives the opportunity to have more insight that a classical socio-demographic analysis which usually defines the consumer profile (Shaw and Shiu, 2003). However some factors remain unexplained (48%) and authors proposed to look at values that would influence the behaviour in order to understand which ones are underlying the self-identity and ethical obligation. In another hand, the study emphasized that information and emotions are very important in the ethical decision making (Shaw and Clark, 1999, cited in Shaw and Shiu, 2003). In the next step, we will focus on the values that influence the consumer decision process in the context of organic food shopping. 3The relationship between Values and organic consumption 3. 1Presentation and meaning of values The concept of values is defined as what is behind attitudes and behaviour of an individual in the context of organisation, institutions and society (M. Rockeach, 1973). Personal values are known to explain consumers’ behaviour in very broad situations (Rockeach, 1973). Personal values are defined by Schwartz and Bilsky (1987, cited in Steenhaut, 2006) as â€Å"concept or beliefs about desirable end states or behaviours that transcend specific situations, guide selection or evaluation of behaviour and events, and are ordered by relative importance†. Milton Rockeach (1973) developed a wide range of values which are divided into two categories: the instrumental and the terminal one. The 36 kinds of different values are presented in the exhibit 2: Instrumental and terminal values defined by M. Rockeach (1973, chap 3). Based on the work of M. Rockeach, Schwartz (1992, cited in Schwartz 2001) developed ten groups of values within a circular structure where the set of values is linked to each other. These ten groups of values are (Schwartz, 2001): -Self-direction -Stimulation -Achievement -Hedonism -Security -Benevolence -Universalism. -Conformity -Power -Tradition For the detailed meaning of each value, please refer to the exhibit 3: Definitions of type of values and items that represent and measure them (Schwartz, 2001). According to Schwartz (2001), values can be antagonist or congruent to each other. The circular pattern above shows the relationship between the ten groups. If two values are near, they tend to be congruent and if they are at the opposite, they are in conflict. Two axes resume the scheme: â€Å"Self-enhancement versus self transcendence opposes power and achievement to universalism and benevolence values. Openness to change to versus conservatism opposes the self-direction and stimulation values to security and conformity. † (Schwartz, 2001) Figure 4: The relationship among 10 motivational types of values. 3. 2Exploring the organic food consumption towards the Schwartz Value Survey In the aftermath of the result of the Theory of Planned Behaviour applied to organic food consumers, authors (Shaw et al. , 2005) investigated the pertinence of personal values in the same context. They used the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) explained above. The result of the study can be summarizes in the following table: Table 3: Values that are important in an ethical point of view (from Shaw et al. 2005) Groups of ValuesSpecific items related to an ethical issues AchievementInfluential: people are drive by ethical obligation and want to influence others. SecurityHealthy: people want to eat and drink something that would protect or at least not harm themselves BenevolenceHelpful: want to have information for staff Honest: relationship based on trust UniversalismEquality and social justice: protection and welfare of all people Protecting the environment: preserving the nature. In addition to the SVS, authors defined three values that were important for choosing organic food: the capitalism as a negative one, consumer power and the animal welfare as positive one. In conclusion, values are not all meaningful and were inappropriate to study the ethical consumer. The most important finding is that the universalism values are the most relevant one in this specific context. A second study investigates the personal values combined with the Hunt-Vitell scheme as we will see now. 3. 3Relationship between personal values, ethical ideology and ethical beliefs. The Hunt-Vitell theory examines the judgment and the evaluation of an ethical problem of an individual. In this review of consumer ethics, Vitell (2003) emphasized that two major factors influence the evaluation of consumers: the idealism and the relativism. After a presentation about the model that will be used, we will discuss the purpose of the research paper. 3. 3. 1Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics Hunt and Vitell (1986) developed a model that’s studying the decision making process of an individual when (s)he is facing an ethical issue. When a person is in front an issue, (s)he has alternatives that he can chose. These â€Å"perceived alternatives† are evaluated thanks to two ways of analysis: the deontological and the teleological point of view. The deontological evaluation concentrates on the evaluation of the behaviour itself and compares the evaluation of alternatives in term of wrongness or rightness. This is directly related to personal norms and beliefs that a person develops. The teleological evaluation focuses on the consequences of the alternatives, and wants to state if it’s good or bad to take one decision. It contains four major constructs: -â€Å"the perceived consequences of each alternatives for various stakeholders, -The probability that each consequence will occur to each stakeholder, -The desirability or lack of desirability of each consequence, -The importance of each stakeholder group† (Hunt and Vitell, 1986, p. 9). These predictors sum up together, build the ethical judgment of an individual which is turned into intention to behave and into behaviour. Finally, we also have a predictor called â€Å"Situational Constraints† which is related to the macro-environment that could impact the behaviour (eg.opportunity). The concept established that four areas will impacted the perceived ethical issue, alternatives and consequences: -The cultural environment -The personal characteristics -The industry environment -The organizational environment. As we can see Hunt and Vitell theory is a global concept that occurs in businesses related situation, however if we remove the constructs related to a professional situation, this model is valid to study the consumer behaviour (Scott J. Vitell, 2003). Figure 1: the Hunt and Vitell theory without professional situational predictors (Hunt and Vitell, 1986). 3. 3. 2Findings about the relationship between personal values, ethical beliefs and ethical ideology The purpose of the research done by Steenhaut and Kenhove (2006) was to examine the influence and the impact of individual personal values priorities in the ethical judgment. To do so, they used the Hunt-Vitell theory combined with the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1994, cited in Steenhaut and Kenhove, 2006). To measure the ethical beliefs, they use the Consumer Ethics Scale developed and validated by Vitell and Muncy (1992, cited in Vitell 2003). This scale looked at the reactions of consumers in front of ethical questionable actions (e. g. the reaction facing a passive benefit at the expense of others). The study found that idealism was determinant: more a consumer is attached to tradition, security and conformity; the more likely he is to act ethically. Furthermore, more a consumer is attached to universalism and benevolence (self-transcendent), the more is likely to act ethically. ? Two major types of values are important in an ethical context. The universalism and benevolence (self-transcendent) are the most important values in the context of organic food shopping. These findings can’t explain a lot of the behaviour (no more than 10% in Shaw et al. 2006), so we propose that more specific values related to food choices and ethical behaviour have to be studied. ?These findings give the opportunity to marketer to stress their communication actions on values that care for organic consumers. However, personal values are only an indirect linked to the consumer behaviour, and it is noticed in the both studies (Shaw et al. 2006 and Steenhaut and Kenhove, 2006) illustrated that personal values are not enough to predict ethical decision making process especially in the context of organic shopping. Even if self-transcendent values need to be studied in the case of organic food consumption, it’s just a set of explanation. These values are to general and are shared by people in a culture (Honkanen et al. 2006) so it appears that different ways to investigate the relationship between values and organic food consumption should be discussed. In the next part, we will investigate countrywide surveys that have explored the organic consumers. They take into account more variables like socio-demographic factors, beliefs and motives regarding organic consumption. 4Analyzing the organic consumers through their motivation and their socio-demographic factors 4. 1What are the main motivations towards organic consumption? 4. 1. 1The health motives Most of the researches done on organic consumers’ state that the most important factor that influences the decision to purchase is the health (Fagerli and Wandel 1999, Rozin et al. 1999, cited in Magnusson et al. 2003). Even if there are no clear evidence that organic food consumption is healthier than the conventional one, this factor is generally ranked at the top. 4. 1. 2The environmentally friendly consumers/ Concern for the environment is the other one most important motive to purchase organic products. In this case, people want to act in order to protect the environment, the nature and more generally the â€Å"eco-system†. These consumers also care about the pollution, the usage of non renewable resources and species preservations. (McEachern and McClean,2002). The animal welfare is also a motivation for environmentally friendly consumers. 4. 1. 3The food safety One of the reasons for seeking food safety (Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002) is related to recent food scandal like the BSE crisis in UK and all over Europe. People are looking for better quality and safety in order to protect themselves and that include organic products. Furthermore, the genetically modified food appears to be risky for a range of consumers , they would have positive thinking about organics compared to negative thoughts about GM (Rimal et al. 2005). 4. 1. 4The taste of the product Consumers often see organic products as more tasty compared to the conventional one because they are made in smaller quantities and wider varieties (Davis et al. 1995, cited in Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002). Taste’s rating is high in country like UK and Germany (Meier-Ploeger and Woodward, 1999 cited in Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002). It seems that it is one of the top five factors of motivation for buying. Nevertheless it appears that there is no scientific evidence of the higher taste of organics and it seems that the beliefs of the consumers are divergent from the reality (Hutchins and Greenhalg, 1997, cited in Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002) 4. 1. 5The confidence on food industry The study of Squires et al. (2001) showed that less an individual is confident in the conventional food industry, the more likely he is to purchase organic food. That seems logical as if a consumer is scared about conventional food, we will seek for other alternatives including organics. As we stated that there are differences between consumer profiles and habits according to the country of origin and it would be interesting to emphasize these divergences. In the next part, consumers are studied according to their purchase behaviour (intensity) thanks to the combination of motivations with socio-demographics factors. In this way, we will discuss the behaviour on several countries and try to analyse if these factors are suuficient to well understand organic consumers. 4. 2The consumers’ profiles by countries 4. 2. 1. 1? in France According to the barometer made by CSA Agence Bio in 2006, 4 out 10 people consume organic products at least once a month and that 7% consume it every week. The motives of French consumers have evolved over time and are: -The protection of the environment -The health concern -The food safety -The taste and the quality. Furthermore, the availability of the products is seen as a moderator for 19% of the population. The willingness to pay more is well accepted as consumers think that is normal to pay more for higher quality standard products like organics. The products that are the more consumed are fresh, diary, and meat items. In this study, we don’t have any information about the socio-demographic profiles about consumers as well as their values. 4. 2. 1. 2? in Australia The research of Lea and Worsley (2005) scrutinize the relationship between personal values, beliefs and socio-demographics factors in order to understand the organic consumers in Australia. They use a 12 items scale about beliefs and organic food, a 14 items scale about the self-transcendence personal values adapted from Schwartz Value Survey and a 13 items scale (age, sex, income and education) to perform their questionnaire. The results are summarized in the following table: ValuesBeliefs and MotivesModeratorsDemo. Profile The values are positively related to organic purchases. They explain only 8% of the variance in the study-Health -Taste -environmentThe expense and the availability are the major moderators as expected. 50% mistrust the organic labelling systemMore women compare to men a likely to purchase. The other factors were not significant. The profile which is more likely to purchase is a female who strongly care about nature and equality. The study suggest that not only socio-demographic and personal values factors influence the decision to purchase and that future research should look the perceived consequences of the act of buying and other concrete attribute like taste or colour. 4. 2. 1. 3? in New-Zealand The purpose of the study developed by Squires et al. (2001) was to investigate the cross-influences of the health, environmentally concerns, and the confidence in conventional food in the consumption in New-Zealand and in Denmark. The findings about the New-Zealanders are shown in the following table: Beliefs and MotivesGeneral ProfileDemo. Profile -Health -Environment -Less trust in conventional in food ind. ? + towards organics. Personal eco-identity profile: worried person about the mankind and about environmental disaster would buy more. More female, older people and more rural and suburbs consumers consume organic products. 4. 2. 1. 4? in Denmark According to the same study (Squires et al. 2001), Danes’ profile of organic consumers are: Beliefs and MotivesGeneral ProfileDemo. Profile -Environment -Health -Mistrust in conventional in food ind. ? + towards organics. Green Self-perception profile: care about the environment and its protection at first. More female, older people and live in cities. The authors advise for further research to look at more motivation factors in order to give more insights about the organic consumers. 4. 2. 1. 5? in Sweden The research made in Sweden by Magnusson et al. (2003) deals only with the two main factors that influence the organic decision to purchase, the human health and the environment and their consequences on the consumer. They design a study based on four organic types of product with two different scales: -Questions about the frequency, attitudes, availability and beliefs about organic products. -Questions about the 17 possible consequences of buying organic food in general. They find out that the consequences of the act of buying are strongly related to environment and health well-being. The Swedish are motivated by health concern in the intention and frequency to purchase and young female tend to be the most likely to consume organic product. They also state that the environmental concern is an altruistic motive and that the health concern is more an egoistic motive (I want the well-being for my relatives and me at first). Swedish who have a strong green behaviour regarding recycling for instance, have more self-centred motives for buying organic food. It can be explain by the fact that recycling or green behaviour require less involvement are easier to do everyday.? This study emphasizes the need to analyse the organic consumer in a wider way with the inclusion of his/her behaviour regarding other â€Å"green† or â€Å"ethic† activities. With the inclusion of these variables, research would have the capacity to state if other green behaviours are related or have an impact on the consumption of organics. 4. 2. 1. 6? in Greece The Greek market is a novice one regarding the consumption of organic products, and Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002) want give information about consumers in the country and investigate ways to cluster different consumers according to their behavio.

A story About Ghost and Vampires Essay

Life of Pi’ is a story that is mainly focused on the aspect of survival. Being trapped together with Richard Parker, a Royal Bengal tiger, Pi’s odds seem to have been pulverized to nothing. Yet as the story progresses, Richard Parker begins to give Pl hope and a reason to survive. Pi’s will to survive returns; If he can survive while living together with a Bengal Tiger, he can survive anything. Although seeming a huge threat to Pl at first, Richard Parker unintentionally takes on the role of ghost and rotects Pl against the vampires that he faces, glvlng him moral support, and thus the will to survive. At the beginning of the story In part two, Pl Immediately faces his first vampire: the hyena. Being trapped on a lifeboat together with an Injured zebra, an orangutan and a hyena, It quickly becomes evident to Pl who stands at the top of the food chain. It does not take long before this vampire starts to rejuvenate Itself by feasting on Pl’s companions. Right when the hyena has set its gaze on Pi, Richard Parker (the ghost) omes into play and kills Pi’s first vampire, unintentionally protecting Pi in the process. Though scared at first, Pi learns to deal with Richard Parker over time and eventually even becomes blessed with his presence. ‘It was Richard Parker who calmed me down. It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I dare say even wholeness. ‘ – Chapter 57, page 204. Richard Parker proves to be Pi’s motivator again and again throughout the story, especially when Pi encounters his next vampire: the Pacific Ocean. The saying; the ocean gives and takes’, can be taken quite literarily in this book. The ocean has given Pi basic offerings, food and water mainly, but seeps the life force out of him simultaneously with its strong razor sharp winds, bone crushing waves, and scorching sun. The ocean tries to break Pi’s spirit several times. For example when Pi spots a cargo ship, resulting in the slightest of hopes only to have it all taken away again as the ship passes and does not notice him. Richard Parker is yet again the one thing that keeps Pi going by merely being there and giving Pi moral support In the arkest of times. â€Å"l love you! † The words burst out pure and unfettered, infinite. The feeling fluttered my chest. â€Å"Truly I do. I love you Richard Parker. If I didnt have you now, I dont know what I would do. I don’t think I would make It. No, I wouldnt. I would die of hopelessness. Don’t give up, Richard Parker, dont give up. I’ll get you to land, I promise, I promise! † – Chapter 86, Page 294. Even though Richard Parker does not know It, he yet again serves as a tremendous motivator to Pl. Last but not least Pl meets his last vampire in Its purest form: the algae Island. Pl becomes enchanted with the Island and It almost seems Ilke he falls under some sort of spell or glamour, luring him Inside with Its delicious edible algae and fresh drinking water. Pl decides to spend his nights on the Island Instead of the boat, yet Is scared that Richard Parker might attack him in his sleep. He therefore decides to sleep In the trees and makes the gruesome discovery that the island feeds on its inhabitants at night.

Circus Elephant Training Abuse by Trainers

Circus Elephant Training Abuse by Trainers It is important to note that the elephant is highly endangered. There were once millions of African elephants who roamed the entire continent. Now their numbers are estimated at around 300,000 and mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa. The Asian elephant is even more critical. Its numbers are down to only about 30,000. There were at one time millions. Not only are some animal acts harming and killing elephants, but they are also doing this to a highly endangered species. In order to train an 8,000-11,000 pound animal – who can be very deadly to humans – to perform tricks seen in circuses such as headstands, tightrope walking, roller skating and the such, often it is believed that the fierce application of negative reinforcement is required. Physical punishment has often been a standard training method for animals in circuses. Elephants are sometimes beaten, shocked, and whipped in order for them to perform repeatedly the routines of circus performance. The Animal Welfare A ct (AWA) does not prohibit the use of bullhooks, whips, electrical shock prods, or other such training devices. The elephants are beaten by several people for up to fifteen minutes at a time with bull-hooks. Their skin being as sensitive as humans, one can understand the torture this entails. Beatings According to congressional testimony provided by former Beatty-Cole elephant keeper Tom Rider, [I]n White Plains, N.Y., when Pete did not perform her act properly, she was taken to the tent and laid down, and five trainers beat her with bull-hooks. Rider also told officials that [a]fter my three years working with elephants in the circus, I can tell you that they live in confinement and they are beaten all the time when they dont perform properly (Rider). To hide this from circus goers, lacerations from bull-hooks are often covered up with wonder dust, a type of theatrical pancake makeup (according to ​circuses.com). The public does not see the violence and abuse some of these elephants endure. Not all animal trainers are abusive; some do care deeply for the animals in their trust. Nonetheless, from the easily accessible literature on the web, it appears abuse does happen. Confinement Possibly even worse than the negative reinforcement, though, is the confinement performing elephants endure. Remember elephants sometimes walk up to 50 miles a day and they are often confined to spaces no bigger than a standard American one-bedroom apartment. In states which require chaining of elephants when not performing, elephants are chained in spaces the size of an average automobile by two legs for up to twenty hours a day. Circuses.com reports: During the off-season, animals used in circuses may be housed in traveling crates or barn stalls; some are even kept in trucks. Such unrelieved physical confinement can have harmful physical and psychological effects on animals. These effects are often indicated by unnatural behaviors such as repeated head bobbing, swaying, and pacing. (Epstein) A study of circuses conducted by Animal Defenders International in the United Kingdom found abnormal behaviors of this kind in all of the species observed. Investigators witnessed elephants that were chained for 70 percent of the day, horses that were confined for 23 hours per day, and large cats that were kept in cages up to 99 percent of the time (Creamer Phillips). Danger Other than the beatings and the chaining, another reason pop culture should consider not attending animal circuses is a human danger. Eventually, after years and sometimes decades of circus life, these large animals sometimes will go mad, rampage, and kill trainers, circus members, and audience members just as Tyke did in Hawaii. In a worst-case scenario situation, an elephant named Janet rampaged with children on her back during a performance of the Great American Circus in Palm Bay. The officer who finally killed her after shooting 47 rounds into the elephant who supposedly had been chained and beaten for years said, I think these elephants are trying to tell us that zoos and circuses are not what God created them for ... but we have not been listening...this is the kind of stuff people protest about (Sahagun, Louis. Elephants Pose Giant Dangers, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 11, 1994).

Mutual Funds essays

Mutual Funds essays Introduction and Background of Mutual Fund Industry Over the past 75 years, there has been no better way to experience financial growth than to have been a long-term investor in the U.S. stock market. Even though they have experienced some dramatic downturns, stocks, which are ownership shares in public corporations, have outperformed all other types of investments including bonds, CDs and U.S. Government securities and they have stayed ahead of inflation. Like the stock market, successful investing is never a sure thing, since you can't predict what the value of your investment or your rate of return will be at any point in time. Yet, despite this uncertainty, the stock market remains among the best choices for long-term investing. Stocks or equity securities represent ownership shares in a company and the right to share in both its profits (stock dividends) and its growth (rising share price). For both of these reasons, stocks have become an "investment of choice," particularly for millions of investors looking for capital appreciation. While the stock market is known for its ups and downs, and individual stocks can rise or plummet overnight, as a whole, stocks have delivered a larger return on investment over the long run than any other instrument. Let's suppose you're just getting started as an investor and have $5,000 to invest and you have three important goals you want to achieve. First, you don't want to lose your money in a risky venture so you want security. But you also want to make the most money you can, so you want the prospect for growth potential, too. Finally, since you don't have the time or knowledge to actively manage your money, you want professional money management occasionally diversifying your investments into promising new opportunities. That sounds like a very good plan, but where can you invest your money and have a chance to meet all three criteria? Individual stocks may carry greater potential ...

Analysis Of Speech Event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Analysis Of Speech Event - Essay Example He also expressed his great respect for President Bush, and that â€Å"he had performed magnificently during the crisis†, which had followed the September 11th attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, â€Å"and he had shown real qualities of leadership which had been required at that time†. The purpose of the interview was to obtain information on crucial world matters from a world leader. In this interview with only one main interviewee, the criterion of role, status and norm as applied to Tony Blair was one of power, and the questions were also formulated according to the needs of the situation. Since Mr. Blair had on earlier occassions been interviewed by Larry King, (as seen in the welcome given to him by King: â€Å" A return visit for the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair†) he had a good rapport with him. He paid less attention to role, status and norm, and hence his responses approached proximity language. He spoke about talking with U.S. President George Bush several times a week, as it was necessary to â€Å"keep closely in contact with key allies and partners, so that we are working things through together, because one of the almost unique features of this crisis is how many different facets it’s got†.

Nursing Education Around the Globe Research Paper

Nursing Education Around the Globe - Research Paper Example ya The major comparison in the government influence of the nursing education between China and Kenya is that; both countries’ initiative to establish nursing training and certification were started by the respective governments, with the Kenyan training and certification program running for 31/2 years, while the Chinese program took 4 years (Xu, Xu & Zhang, 2000). Political control has also characterized the nursing profession and development in both Kenya and China, where the respective governments, through the ministries of health, have been responsible for approving the nursing courses and certification programs in the countries (Klopper & Uys, 2003). The governments have been involved in establishing regulations and laws that governs and controls the nursing profession. Several laws and ordinances have been established by the two governments, to act as the tools through which the nursing profession is politically controlled. In Kenya, the 1946 June Ordinance No. 16 was est ablished to control the health activities of the nurses (Mule, 1986). Similarly, the political control of nursing profession in China can be traced back to 1949, when the education reform in China abolished the post-secondary nursing training, instead introducing the 3-year nursing training, following the 9 years of primary and secondary education (Xu, Xu & Zhang, 2000). Both countries have established Nursing organizations, responsible for uniting, developing, and promoting nursing professionalism, with the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) being the peak body of the nursing profession in the country, while the Chinese Nursing Association (CAN), is similarly the peak nursing organization in China (Xu, Xu & Zhang, 2000). Both the organizations are responsible for establishing the nursing syllabus... This paper approves that the Current System of Nursing Education in both China and Kenya occur in various cadres. Both China and Kenya have certification programs for ursing, in form of 3-years comprehensive training, which caters for the preliminary training, ward rotation and theory in clinical training. The comparison in both countries is that; the qualification for nursing certification program is the completion of secondary education. The characteristic of the current systems of nursing education in both countries is that; both countries have established post-basic nursing qualifications, which include diplomas, bachelor of nursing degree, and masters in nursing. The comparison is that the doctorate program in nursing is yet to be fully commissioned in both countries, following the governments’ regulations that have not yet approved the doctorate in nursing. All the post-basic nursing qualifications programs are undertaken in hospital-based training institutions, where the trainees in this profession are full-time based course attendants. this essay makes a conclusion that Nursing Education in both China and Kenya bears universal fundamental characteristics, in terms of government and Nursing organizations control, training and growth, notwithstanding that the nursing profession in both countries is a function of the western missionary arrival into the countries. Additionally, the high standards of qualifications are also eminent requirements in this profession for both countries, while the training period for the nurses and the areas of training are similar.