Corporate Strategy †Zara Essay

The core concept of Zara’s business model is they sell â€Å"medium quality fashion clothing at affordable prices†, and vertical integration and quick-response is key to Zara’s business model. Through the entire process of Zara’s business system: designing, sourcing and manufacturing, distribution and retailing, they presented four fundamental success factors: short cycle time, small batches per product, extensive variety of product every season and heavy investment in information and communication technology. These four elements are involved in every aspect of the business. Zara’s Business Model Zara’s business model can be broken down into three basic components: concept, capabilities, and value drivers. Zara’s fundamental concept is to maintain design, production, and distribution processes that will enable Zara to respond quickly to shifts in consumer demands. Jose Maria Castellano, CEO of Inditex stated that â€Å"the fashion world is in constant flux and is driven not by supply but by customer demand. We need to give consumers what they want, and if I go to South America or Asia to make clothes, I simply can’t move fast enough. This highlights the importance of this quick response time to Zara’s operations. Capabilities of Zara, or the required resources needed to exploit the opportunities and execute this conceptual strategy, are numerous for Zara. Zara maintains tight control over their production processes keeping design and manufacturing in-house or with some strategic partnerships located nearby Headquarters. Currently, Zara maintains 80% of its production processes in Europe, 50% in Spain which is very close to La Coruna headquarters. They have strategic agreements with local manufacturers that ensure timely delivery and service. Through these strategic partnerships and the benefits brought by this proximity of manufacturing and operational processes, Zara maintains the flexibility necessary to design and produce over 12000 new items annually. This capability allows Zara to achieve their strategy of expedited response to consumer demand. Competitive Advantage Fundamental to Zara’s success is their commitment to rapid response in customer trends in fashion, producing clothing often and with short life spans (10 wears). Their commitment to this goal and the capabilities that they have developed to achieve it, have provided significant competitive advantage to Zara especially in the areas of product development, strategic partnerships and cost of production, advertising and marketing, and information technology infrastructure. The efficiencies and processes developed in these four functions differ significantly from their competitors and stand out in providing additional value and profitability to Zara. Product Development Zara’s unique approach to product development is instrumental to their success. Zara gives store managers significant autonomy in both determining the products to display in their stores and which to place on sale, and relaying market research and store trends back to their headquarters in La Coruna. At headquarters there are teams of commercials who take this information into account to design and effectively plan and produce all of Zara’s products. Zara maintains a design team of 200 people, all of which produce approximately 12,000 new styles per year for Zara. The process of obtaining market information and relaying it to design and production teams expedites product development by shortening the throughput time of a product to 3-4 weeks from design to distribution. This process is very different from its competitors. Many competitors rely on a small elite design team that plans both design and production needs well in advance. Stores have little autonomy in deciding which products to display or put on sale because Headquarters plans accordingly and ships quantities as forecasted. Zara’s speed to market in product development exceeds the capabilities of its competitors. This in itself provides additional value to stakeholders, customers, and stores in producing quality clothing at affordable prices . Zara’s product development capabilities are essential to Zara’s business strategy and future success. Strategic Partnerships and Cost of Production In comparison to competitors, Zara’s business strategy, in regards to strategic partnerships and cost of production, provide for a strategic competitive advantage. Zara, unlike its competitors such as Gap, Benetton, and H&M, does not use Asian outsourcing. Eighty percent of Zara’s materials are manufactured in Europe, with 50% made in Zara controlled facilities in the Galicia region of Spain near headquarters. Most of Zara’s competitors have 100% outsourcing to cheap Asian countries. Though the cost of production in Spain is 17-20% more expensive than Asia, Zara does have a competitive advantage over its competitors in regards to operations. The local strategic partnerships that Zara maintains with manufacturers in Europe allow for a product throughput time of 3-4 weeks from conception to distribution. To make this happen, the company designs and cuts its fabric in-house and it acquires fabrics in only four colours to keep costs low. The proximity of these suppliers gives Zara great flexibility in adapting their product lines based on up to date market trends and consumer behaviour. It also decreases costs of holding inventory. Zara’s competitors, through outsourcing to Asian countries such as China, sacrifice the benefits of proximity for low labour and production costs. Though there is a cost advantage in their approach in regards to labour, the lack of flexibility in changing orders based on current trends hinders their operational efficiencies. Inventory costs are higher for competitors because orders are placed for a whole season well in advance and then held in distribution facilities until periodic shipment to stores. This proximity effect and the flexibility that it gives Zara is fundamental to their basic concept to respond quickly to shifts in consumer demand and has provided them with a competitive edge in comparison to their peers. The striking thing is that Zara has found differences that matter to customers and differentiated itself from its competitors by performing key activities [in its supply chain] differently. It is this that sets challenges for competitors because they will not find it easy to imitate or equal Zara’s positioning and it is this achievement that has given Zara sustainable competitive differentiation and positioning. Through a clear focus and vision, Zara has tapped into the power of fashion. It has shortened conventional supply chain response from 5-7 month down to 2-2? onths and their customers are eagerly awaiting next week’s—take note, not next season’s new fashion! Zara maintains a strong relationship with their contractors and suppliers—viewing them as part of the company. Small and frequent shipments keep product inventories fresh and scarce—compelling customers to frequent the store in search of what’s new and to buy now because it will be gone tomorrow. To successfully react to consumers demands, design decisions are delayed as long as possible. In today’s competitive environment, Zara has shown that fine tuning the supply chain is no longer a strategic tool, but a necessity. It has shown that supply chain management can be managed provide sustainable competitive differentiation and positioning on the one hand and increase throughput, reduce inventories and operating expenses on the other. Decision-making is encouraged and bad decisions are not severely punished. Designers are trained to limit the number of reviews and changes, speeding up the development process and minimizing the number of samples made.

Monopoly and olygopoly Essay

A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity (this contrasts with amonopsony which relates to a single entity’s control of a market to purchase a good or service, and with oligopoly which consists of a few entities dominating an industry) Monopolies are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce the good or service and a lack of viable substitute goods. The verb â€Å"monopolize† refers to the process by which a company gains the ability to raise prices or exclude competitors. In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices. Although monopolies may be big businesses, size is not a characteristic of a monopoly. A small business may still have the power to raise prices in a small industry (or market). A monopoly is distinguished from a monopsony, in which there is only one buyer of a product or service ; a monopoly may also have monopsony control of a sector of a market. Likewise, a monopoly should be distinguished from a cartel (a form of oligopoly), in which several providers act together to coordinate services, prices or sale of goods. Monopolies, monopsonies and oligopolies are all situations such that one or a few of the entities have market power and therefore interact with their customers (monopoly), suppliers (monopsony) and the other companies (oligopoly) in ways that leave market interactions distorted. When not coerced legally to do otherwise, monopolies typically maximize their profit by producing fewer goods and selling them at higher prices than would be the case for perfect competition Monopolies can be established by a government, form naturally, or form by integration. In economics, the idea of monopoly is important for the study of market structures, which directly concerns normative aspects of economic competition, and provides the basis for topics such asindustrial organization and economics of regulation. There are four basic types of market structures by traditional economic analysis: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. A monopoly is a market structure in which a single supplier produces and sells a given product. If there is a single seller in a certain industry and there are not any close substitutes for the product, then the market structure is that of a â€Å"pure monopoly†. Sometimes, there are many sellers in an industry and/or there exist many close substitutes for the goods being produced, but nevertheless companies retain some market power. This is termed monopolistic competition, whereas by oligopoly the companies interact strategically. Characteristics †¢ Profit Maximizer: Maximizes profits. †¢ Price Maker: Decides the price of the good or product to be sold. †¢ High Barriers to Entry: Other sellers are unable to enter the market of the monopoly. †¢ Single seller: In a monopoly, there is one seller of the good that produces all the output. Therefore, the whole market is being served by a single company, and for practical purposes, the company is the same as the industry. †¢ Price Discrimination: A monopolist can change the price and quality of the product. He sells more quantities charging less price for the product in a very elastic market and sells less quantities charging high price in a less elastic market. Natural monopoly A natural monopoly is a company that experiences increasing returns to scale over the relevant range of output and relatively high fixed costs. A natural monopoly occurs where the average cost of production â€Å"declines throughout the relevant range of product demand†. The relevant range of product demand is where the average cost curve is below the demand curve. When this situation occurs, it is always cheaper for one large company to supply the market than multiple smaller companies; in fact, absent government intervention in such markets, will naturally evolve into a monopoly. An early market entrant that takes advantage of the cost structure and can expand rapidly can exclude smaller companies from entering and can drive or buy out other companies. A natural monopoly suffers from the same inefficiencies as any other monopoly. Left to its own devices, a profit-seeking natural monopoly will produce where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. Regulation of natural monopolies is problematic. Government-granted monopoly A government-granted monopoly (also called a â€Å"de jure monopoly†) is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or company to be the sole provider of a commodity; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of government enforcement OLIGOPOLY An oligopoly is a market structure in which a few firms dominate. When a market is shared between a few firms, it is said to be highly concentrated. Although only a few firms dominate, it is possible that many small firms may also operate in the market. For example, major airlines like British Airways (BA) and Air Franceoperate their routes with only a few close competitors, but there are also many small airlines catering for the holidaymaker or offering specialist services. Concentration ratios. Oligopolies may be identified using concentration ratios, which measure the proportion of total market share controlled by a given number of firms. When there is a high concentration ratio in an industry, economiststend to identify the industry as an oligopoly. Characteristics †¢ Profit maximization conditions: An oligopoly maximizes profits by producing where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. †¢ Ability to set price: Oligopolies are price setters rather than price takers. †¢ Entry and exit: Barriers to entry are high. [3] The most important barriers are economies of scale, patents, access to expensive and complex technology, and strategic actions by incumbent firms designed to discourage or destroy nascent firms. Additional sources of barriers to entry often result from government regulation favoring existing firms making it difficult for new firms to enter the market. †¢ Number of firms: â€Å"Few† – a â€Å"handful† of sellers. [3] There are so few firms that the actions of one firm can influence the actions of the other firms. [5] †¢ Long run profits: Oligopolies can retain long run abnormal profits. High barriers of entry prevent sideline firms from entering market to capture excess profits. †¢ Product differentiation: Product may be homogeneous (steel) or differentiated (automobiles). †¢ Perfect knowledge: Assumptions about perfect knowledge vary but the knowledge of various economic factors can be generally described as selective. Oligopolies have perfect knowledge of their own cost and demand functions but their inter-firm information may be incomplete. Buyers have only imperfect knowledge as to price, cost and product quality. †¢ Interdependence: The distinctive feature of an oligopoly is interdependence. Oligopolies are typically composed of a few large firms. Each firm is so large that its actions affect market conditions. Therefore the competing firms will be aware of a firm’s market actions and will respond appropriately. This means that in contemplating a market action, a firm must take into consideration the possible reactions of all competing firms and the firm’s countermoves. It is very much like a game of chess or pool in which a player must anticipate a whole sequence of moves and countermoves in determining how to achieve his or her objectives. For example, an oligopoly considering a price reduction may wish to estimate the likelihood that competing firms would also lower their prices and possibly trigger a ruinous price war. Or if the firm is considering a price increase, it may want to know whether other firms will also increase prices or hold existing prices constant. This high degree of interdependence and need to be aware of what other firms are doing or might do is to be contrasted with lack of interdependence in other market structures. In a perfectly competitive (PC) market there is zero interdependence because no firm is large enough to affect market price. All firms in a PC market are price takers, as current market selling price can be followed predictably to maximize short-term profits. In a monopoly, there are no competitors to be concerned about. In a monopolistically-competitive market, each firm’s effects on market conditions is so negligible as to be safely ignored by competitors. †¢ Non-Price Competition: Oligopolies tend to compete on terms other than price. Loyalty schemes, advertisement, and product differentiation are all examples of non-price competition. Advantages of Oligopoly Big Businesses Gain Massive Profits †¢ One of the greatest advantages that occurs from an oligopoly is for the few businesses which control the market for a product or service to build large profits due to reduced sales costs. If just a few companies are in control of the market, the companies have limited competition. It is able to reduce the costs of sales, advertising, promotion and public relations because there is very limited competition to pull the customers away. These reductions in cost can allow the companies in the oligopoly to build larger profits than they would have earned if there were more competitiors. Ability to Determine Prices. Instead of having to keep up with the market, the oligopolies essentially control the market. Unlike other markets where there are more competitiors, the companies in an oligopoly are less concerned about what other companies charge. They are able to establish prices for goods that people want and need based on what the companies in the oligopoly want to charge. Long Term Profits. These companies not only make massive profits, but they are able to retain them for the long haul. It takes a long time and a lot of money for a company to work its way into being a major supplier and part of the oligopoly. During this time, the existing oligopoly companies are able to maintain their profits. Disadvantages of Oligopoly Power in the Hands of a Few. If only a few companies control the availability of a specific product or service, these companies control everything about those products – what they look like, what they cost and how they are sold. Putting this power in the hand of a few companies takes away the normal influences of the market and the consumer. The market and the consumer are now totally relying on the companies to make the right decisions, even during periods of market unrest such as limited availability of a specific component, or escalating prices of raw materials. When the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few companies, smaller businesses have a harder time being seen as a powerful player in the market. They would have to spend a lot of advertising and sales money to compete with the large powerful oligopoly companies. Creativity. When the knowledge and awareness of a product or service is concentrated in just a few companies, it can be difficult for new ideas to come into play. The existing companies may decide to minimize new products and new distribution methods since they are happy with their current processes and they don’t have any motivation to be competitive by lowering prices or introducing new products or processes. For the individual consumer this lack of creativity leads to out-of-date products and services. Setting Prices. These big businesses have the power to determine what the prices will be, without any concern for competition. This is a negative for the consumer and for other businesses. The whole idea of competitive pricing is thrown out the window when these businesses go about their pricing practices. As you can probably see, oligopolies appear to be beneficial for the companies involved in them, but not so great for the other businesses and consumers in the society. GLOBALISATION Globalization (or Globalisation) is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Globalization describes the interplay across cultures of macro-social forces. These forces include religion, politics, and economics. Globalization can erode and universalize the characteristics of a local group. Advances in transportation andtelecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities. Though several scholars place the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long before the European age of discoveryand voyages to the New World. Some even trace the origins to the third millennium BCE. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the pace of globalization has proceeded at an rapid rate. Benefits of Globalisation †¢ By buying products from other nations customers are offered a much wider choice of goods and services. †¢ Creates competition for local firms and thus keeps costs down. †¢ Globalisation promotes specialisation. Countries can begin to specialise in those products they are best at making. †¢ Economic Interdependence among different nations can build improved political and social links. Drawbacks of Globalisation. †¢ Cheap imports from developing nations could lead to unemployment in developed countries where the cost of production is high. †¢ Choosing to specialise in certain products may lead to unemployment in other sectors which are not prioritised. †¢ Increased competition for infant industry. †¢ ‘Dumping’ of goods by certain countries at below cost price may harm industries in order countries. Economic globalization is the increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid increase in cross-bordermovement of goods, service, technology and capital. Whereas the globalization of business is centered around the diminution of international trade regulations as well as tariffs, taxes, and other impediments that suppresses global trade, economic globalization is the process of increasing economic integration between countries, leading to the emergence of a global marketplace or a single world market. Depending on the paradigm, economic globalization can be viewed as either a positive or a negative phenomenon. Economic globalization comprises the globalization of production, markets, competition, technology, and corporations and industries. Current globalization trends can be largely accounted for by developed economies integrating with less developed economies, by means of foreign direct investment, the reduction of trade barriers as well as other economic reforms and, in many cases, immigration. Support and criticism Reactions to processes contributing to globalization have varied widely with a history as long as extraterritorial contact and trade. Philosophical differences regarding the costs and benefits of such processes give rise to a broad-range of ideologies and social movements. Proponents of economic growth, expansion and development, in general, view globalizing processes as desirable or necessary to the well-being of human society[209] Antagonists view one or more globalizing processes as detrimental to social well-being on a global or local scale;[209] this includes those who question either the social or natural sustainability of long-term and continuous economic expansion, the social structural inequality caused by these processes, and the colonial, Imperialistic, orhegemonic ethnocentrism, cultural assimilation and cultural appropriation that underlie such processes. The basic function of economy system Every economic system provides solutions to four questions: what goods and services will be produced; how they will be produced; for whom they will be produced; and how they will be allocated between consumption (for present use) and investment (for future use). In a decentralized (usually private enterprise) economic system, these questions are resolved, and economic coordination is achieved, through the price mechanism. Allocation Competitive markets — not corporate-dominated oligopolies — can perform well here so long as side-effects, such as externalities, are incorporated into prices. Ecological economists recognize a legitimate role of the market in society based on the efficiency of allocation of resources. A major improvement in markets includes the side-effects, so markets tell the ecological and social truth. However, pollution provides a subsidy to firms who would otherwise have to clean up their mess. They are easy to hide, hard to calculate, so they persist. This is called a market failure. If markets fail, this means becomes a central point of contention. ESS thus should make a big deal over market failure, which then becomes an institutional failure. Externalities. An externality is a consequence, positive or negative, of an economic activity that affects other parties without this affect being incorporated into market prices. Thus, market price deviates from the â€Å"true† social cost, sending the wrong signal. Note also the subtle linguistic trivialization. Interestingly, the economics profession has long neglected to assess the size or significance of externalities or to calculate the damages perpetrated on its victims, who by definition had these harms inflicted upon them without their participation-despite the obvious dysfunctions of industrialization and urbanization. Indeed, the bias of public policy in the USA has been to protect the producers, not the public at large. Daly comments on the trivialization of externalities by neoclassical economics: When increasingly vital facts, including the very capacity of the earth to support life, have to be treated as â€Å"externalities,† then it is past time to change the basic framework of our thinking so that we can treat these critical issues internally and centrally. Global Fairness Read Sachs and grasp his message. This is authentic social ecology. Without a grand social contract, cooperation between the Global North and the Global South will fail. The results will be disastrous. Sachs realizes that copycat development, the replication of the economic development practices of the global rich, will surely lead to global ruin: more poverty within vast ecological catastrophe. Orthodox western economics can neither be extended to the majority of the earth’s human inhabitants nor can it be sustained indefinitely by the 20% or so who enjoy its cornucopia. Sachs reveals the parasitical political character of global capitalism masquerading as shared economic development. The USA enjoys the opportunity to provide leadership here, but this moral authority has been squandered. ESS requires such leadership, soon. A good place to start is Africa. Brown provides much insight here. Left to itself, a market society will produce large maldistributions in wealth and income. In practice, the market-driven returns to capital, as profits and capital gains, accrue to the wealthy few, the capitalist class, while the returns to labor, wages and salaries, go to a multitude, the working class. This dynamic produces a class-based inequality of both wealth and income, which translates into differential political power. In the past, the inequalities were mitigated by redistributive tax policies–anathema to neo-liberalism, as exhibited by the recent Bush tax cuts. In the era of economic globalization, inequality has grown sharply within nations, including the USA, and on the global scene. Yet, economists regard this normative concern as outside the ken of â€Å"scientific economics. † Therefore, when issues of social justice are openly discussed in the context of sustainable development, do not turn to economics for insight. The usual deflection of the fairness discussion,now in play in the USA since the 2006 election, is to promote economic growth. Grow the pie rather than quibble over the size of the slices. But if the ingredients for physical growth become scarce, growth slows down and the quibbles morph into arguments. This can easily spin out of control. Count on it. Innovation Growth remains the engine of economic globalization without which the system as constituted would crash–although with runaway material growth earth’s ecosystems will surely crash. Schumpeter put it this way: Capitalism, then, is by nature a form of economic change and not only never is but never can be stationary. Schumpeter derided the â€Å"textbook picture† that depicted economic progress as the result of market-based competition . Rather, he pointed to innovation in products, sources of supply, organization, and technology that created a new context â€Å"which strikes not at the margins of the profits and the outputs of the existing firms but at their foundations and their very lives† . Indeed, Schumpeter foresaw that capitalism itself would fall victim to the turbulent task environment of its own making: The capitalist process not only destroys its own institutional framework but it also creates the conditions for another. Destruction may not be the right word after all. Perhaps I should have spoken of transformation . The pivotal move of ESS is to open up a horizon for enormous technical and social progress while maintaining and even restoring harmony with nature. Thus, sustainability offers enormous opportunity. The language of hope must replace the language of despair. There is real opportunity here. ^ Perverse Subsidies A related topic, rarely brought into view, is the plethora of perverse, often hidden, subsidies, including externalities, enjoyed by corporations in such established industries as energy, agriculture, and transportation. Not only do these gifts typically promote older, dirtier, less efficient industries, but they also stymie the development of innovative, cleaner alternatives –depressing prospects for sustainability. For example, subsidies to cotton farmers in the USA disadvantage cotton cultivators in Africa and subsidies to nuclear power generators present an unfair advantage to start-up wind power producers. These often hidden subsidies undermine economic efficiency and promote environmental damage, but go largely neglected in the economic literature. A study released in 2001 by Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent estimates the global cost of perverse subsidies at two trillion dollars, about 5. 6% of the $35 trillion global economy. The subsidy-rich, environmentally poor Bush-Cheney energy policy was formulated behind closed doors with input from energy giants like Enron but with no public disclosure. Eliminating perverse subsidies must be a first step toward building a sustainable economy. Thus, grappling with perverse subsidies and tilting the market toward renewable resources must be high on an ESS agenda. There are multiple components to economic systems. Decision-making structures of an economy determine the use of economic inputs (the means of production), distribution of output, the level of centralization in decision-making, and who makes these decisions. Decisions might be carried out byindustrial councils, by a government agency, or by private owners. Some aspects of these structures include: †¢ Coordination mechanism: How information is obtained and used to coordinate economic activity. The two dominant forms of coordination includeplanning and the market; planning can be either centralized or de-centralized, and the two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive. †¢ Productive property rights: This refers to ownership (rights to the proceeds of output generated) and control over the use of the means of production. They may be owned privately, by the state, by those who use it, or held in common by society. †¢ Incentive system: A mechanism for inducing certain economic agents to engage in productive activity; it can be based on either material reward (compensation) or moral reward (social prestige).

Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Essay INCIDENCE Breast Cancer Essay is the most common malignancy among women and has the highest fatality rate of all cancers affecting this sex. It is the leading cause of death among women aged 35-54. In 1999 an estimated 175,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. That is one woman every three minutes. At the same time 43,000 will die, at the rate of one every two minutes. The incidence of men diagnosed with breast cancer is rare, however it does occur. Approximately 1,300 men a year are diagnosed, and 400 die annually due to the disease. A total of 75% of all breast cancers occur in women with no known risk factors. 80% of breast cancers occur in women aged 50 and up. The mortality rate would decrease if every woman over 50 was informed and followed guidelines. When confined to the breast, the survival rate is 95%. Studies have shown that more white women than black women get breast cancer, however more black women die of breast cancer because they are not diagnosed at an early stage. SIGNS AND SYMPTONS Most breast cancers appear as a slowly growing, painless mass, though a vague discomfort may be present. Physical signs include a retracted nipple, bleeding from the nipple, distorted areola or breast contour, skin dimpling over the lesion, attachment of the mass to surrounding tissues including the underlying fascia and overlying skin, and enlarged lymph nodes. In most advanced stages of the disease the skin nodules with ultimate breakdown and ulcer formation may be seen. Metastases should be sought immediately so that further spread will not be a factor. Among the common sites of metastases are the lungs and pleura, the skeleton (specifically the spine, pelvis, and skull), and the liver. Whenever possible, distant spread of the disease should be confirmed by a lymph nose biopsy, by x-ray, or by liver and bone scans using radioactive isotopes. WHO IS AT RISK? All women and men are at risk of getting breast cancer. However personal history with family members having breast cancer adds an increase to the risk factor. Contradictory to this though studies have shown that 75% of breast cancer occurs in women with no history and no known risk factors. Not ever having children, or having ones first child after 30 yrs., also increases the risk of breast cancer in women. Heavy alcohol abuse is a risk factor as well. Studies have also shown that women who began menstruation early, twelve years or less, and women who began menopause late, fifty-five years plus, also have a greater risk of breast cancer. PREVENTION There are three ways to attempt to detect prevention, however since there is no cure, one cannot determine what actions to take to prevent. The most common technique for early detection is by a regular doctors examination. The second technique at detecting breast cancer is by a breast self-examination (BSE), and lastly, by mammogram. BSE should begin when a woman is eighteen or older, so that the breast is fully developed. During the BSE women should begin to learn what is normal and what is not in their breasts. Mammography is the best method at detecting breast cancer. A woman should have a mammogram when she is 40 yrs. old, and then one every two years until she is 50 yrs. old. Once a woman is 50 yrs. old she should have a mammogram annually because as ones age increases, so does the risk of getting breast cancer. Many women also need to be educated about the risks of breast cancer and how to detect it early. The majority of women with breast cancer do not know about the fortunateness of detecting breast cancer early, never mind follow the detection guidelines. TREATMENT Therapy depends mainly on the extent of the disease and the patients age. If there is evidence of wider metastasic spread, treatment will be palliative. This means that treatment will lessen the severity of pain, however it will not cure. READ: Israel Economy Essay When there is no evidence of spread, the treatment of choice is total mastectomy and modified radical mastectomy. This is an entire or partial removal of the affected breast. In the best circumstances, the 10 yr. .

Pushing hands Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Pushing hands - Essay Example Lee in this movie explores the element of cross – culture relationships and conflicts and issue related to it. This movie is a first of a kind where a father from a traditional background encounters a changing living atmosphere. This movie displays a wisdom and warmth of a traditional Chinese man in a family which has complete urban background. In this movie the character Alex is also stuck between his traditional grandfather, and his modern wife who is fussy. It is painful situation for the grandson and grandfather, as they share blood relation and have to keep up with each other’s expectations. In the end, the movie shows Mr. Chu regaining his hold on life and moves on independently. Plot of the Movie The plot of the movie is the life of an old and retired Chinese martial arts trainer, Mr. .Chu who moves to New York to join his grandson Alex. Alex is living with an American women Martha who is his wife and also a writer by profession. Martha is a neurotic and was suff ering from writer’s block which is condition which affects the writer’s mostly due to overwriting or lack of inspirational thoughts. As per (Nix)â€Å"As it so happens, Martha’s writer’s block started about the same time Mr. Chu moved in, and no one is more aware of this fact than she†. The moment when Mr. Chu joined the Alex’s family, his wife was in a disturbed condition and this makes the relationship of Mr. Chu and Martha bitter. As the movie â€Å"Pushing Hands† initiates, Mr. Chu is shown to be already in New York with his grandson and is uncomfortable and sharing a negative relationship with Martha. The film focuses much on this retired Chinese martial art teacher and his attempts to cope up with his new living atmosphere .In this he also attempts to teach Tai – Chi in a local school, where Alex is a student of Chinese Language. In the following part Mr.’ Chu encounters with a Chinese lady Mrs. Chen, and develops an attraction for her. However, due to Mr. Chu’s less aggressive nature this attraction towards Mrs. Chen s tends to falls out .Normally speaking, this movie tells all about the plight of an old Chinese immigrant in a foreign land and his attempts to fit in the new land of modernism. Background and Theme of the Movie The movie â€Å"Pushing Hands† is written by two writers namely; AngLee and James Schamas.Ang Lee is a Taiwanese man who made use of his Taiwanese heritage to create memorable movies which earned acclamation throughout the world. He has earned Masters from New York University on film, and got noticed in film arena with his classical movie like â€Å"The Wedding banquet†. This movie has earned him Academy award nomination and earned recognition as a director who crossed cultural and national barriers. James Shcamas is the co – writer of this movie â€Å"Pushing Hands† and also is an independent film producer and screen writer. During 19 90s, James Schamus have produced many interesting films which gained much attention and appraisal from film fraternity. He is known for taking risks to bring about stories with is of challenging and versatile nature. The theme of the movie â€Å"Pushing Hands† is culture clash which is prominently displayed between Mr. .Chu and his

Visual Rhetoric Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Visual Rhetoric - Case Study Example Visual rhetoric is the use of images in order to further an argument, and encompasses the analysis of the visual images and text as well as their arrangement on a page. (www.owl.english.purdue.edu). Through the nature and form of the visual images as well as the corresponding text that is used, the two images which are the subject of this essay, both convey differing, contradictory messages on the same issue of gun control. The first image is a black and white cartoon image. Editorial cartoons are communicative tools because the cartoonist makes use of visual symbols for the purpose of communicating with his or her audience. In order to be classified as a visual rhetoric, an artifact must possess three elements (a) it must be symbolic (b) it must involve human interaction and (c) it must be presented to an audience for the purpose of communicating. (Foss, 2004: 304). Both the images qualify as visual rhetoric because they are utilized to symbolically convey a message on gun control and both images involve human characters. The first image is entirely in black and white and utilizes black text on a white background which shows high contrast levels. Since this image is purely in black and white, it utilizes shading in order to heighten contrasts. Lines are clean and simple and the drawing creates the effects of light and shadow through strategic shading. The image utilizes approximate symmetry, whereby the figures are organized around the central fulcrum point on the street, with the family arranged on one side and the odd looking man on the other. The element of stunned surprise and shock of the family of four at the sight of the man with the gun is conveyed through the backward slanting lines that are used. The larger size of the odd looking man is counterbalanced by the varying sizes of the family. The picture maintains an overall balance with the houses and playground in the background appearing smaller, thereby conveying the impression of distance. The use of dots and shading on the gun toting individual highlights the impression of general scruffiness, while the clean faces of the family suggest their contrasting nature. The text size is proportionate to the other figures in the image, and has been capitalized in order to make it more distinct and readable in black against a white background. The focal point of the image is the family of six and the odd looking man, however the greater amount of space devoted to the gun toting character suggests the relative importance of this character as the focal point to the whole image. In the second image however, it is color rather than shading that provides elements of contrast. The figure in the image stands out in stark contrast to the pitch black border, which also forms the backdrop for the text. The use of white text on a black background is however, not ideal. This image is focused almost exclusively around the gun, especially by pushing it directly into the foreground and lighting the area around it. The background is notably stripped of any distracting elements and is a plain gray background. The picture has been taken in such a manner that it is designed to draw attention to the gun, which is the subject of the message. The man's hand that is holding the gun is disproportionately large as

Research proposal in identity theft in banking,uk Essay

Research proposal in identity theft in banking,uk - Essay Example 1 billion every year to identity theft which is already sending warning signals to the online bankers. With more banks venturing in online services and online financial transfer is dominant in these sectors, the banks and the customers are at a very high risk of losing their money to fraudsters. This research intends to narrow down to cybercrime, an area that has had little coverage by researchers of identity theft, yet a threatening one. By taking a quantitative approach to identify the severity cybercrime in identity theft and identifying possible security approaches that can be used to reduce instances of identity theft, it is possible to make viable recommendations that would go way far in reducing identity theft. Problem statement In the UK, the banking sector loses approximately ?1 billion to cyber crime and customer trust is at stake in this sector (Barclays, 2013). The banking sector is a major contributor to the economy of the country contributing about 8% of the UK Gross Do mestic Product. Therefore, it is one of the sectors that must be protected to ensure economic stability in the UK. Online banking is an innovative strategy that has enhanced business growth in the UK and has ensured customer comfort and satisfaction. However, as the internet technology grows, network aware experts delve in cyber crime and take advantage of innocent customers who do not know the threats that they expose themselves to wherever they conduct an online bank transaction in the UK. By identifying the vulnerability of the people and possible mitigation measures it is possible to protect the banking industry and consequently contribute to the economic development of the UK. Research Questions This research study intends to provide the answers to two critical research questions; What are the factors that predispose customers to identity theft during their online transactions? And what are the possible mitigation measures that would reduce the risk of customers falling victims of cybercrime? Objectives of the Study Main objectives To identify the factors that predispose customers to identity theft during their online bank transactions. To identify possible mitigative measures to protect online bank transactions from cyber crime. Specific Objectives To gather information from the public on their awareness risk of the identity theft while conducting online bank transactions. To assess the UK bank's security policies that protect their customers from identity theft within the scope of their online services. To identify the efficiency of the banking security policies in protecting their customers from cybercrime. To quantitatively analyse the data and make possible conclusions on identity theft To make viable recommendations on the possible measures that can protect bank customers from identity theft. Literature Review According to Haldane (2011, Para. 3), an economic analyst, the UK banking sector contributes to over 8% of the country gross domestic product and employs millions of UK residents. This points out that the UK banking sector is a major contributor in the economic development of the country, hence the need to protect it from any kind of business threat. Surprisingly, the UK banking sector continues to lose over ?1 billion every year from identity theft which has led to loss of trust in customers and a consequential drop in their revenue margin. In the current technology driven business sector,

Analysis of a Career Assessment Instrument Essay

Analysis of a Career Assessment Instrument - Essay Example Additional reason for choosing the MMPI relates to its enhanced accuracy after having undergone series of rephrasing and adjustments to overcome unnecessary biases. The original MMPI underwent revisions to become MMPI-2, MMPI-2RF and MMPI-A. Additionally, the choice for the instrument was due to the possibility of using it in legal and criminal settings to understanding psychological behaviors of criminals, and high-risk employment setup to measure mental fitness of candidates. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a clinical test and measurement tool mostly used for investigating mental health issues. The instrument has a number of benefits that are important to recognize. To begin with, the instrument provides counselors with ability to avoid discriminations. This aspect is a factor of many revisions that the MMPI passed through with the latest taking place in 2008. For instance, the initial MMPI had certain elements that focused more on Christianity while ignoring other religions. Another benefit of using the MMPI relates to the availability of about 10 scales of measurement that target different forms of mental illness. For instance, Scale1 is hypochondriasis scale, Scale 2 is depression, Scale 3-hysteria, Scale 4- psychopathic deviate scale and Scale 5 refers to masculinity-femininity scale. As argued by Brown and Lent (2013), this division of scales makes it easy for professional counselors using the tool to conduct quick assessme nt whose results are mostly specific and accurate. Even with the scales, the instrument allows users to avoid prejudging patient conditions, and advocates mention of scale number as in â€Å"Scale 1† instead of hypochondriasis. Another benefit of MMPI relates to its synchronization to technological advancements that has made it compatible with computer. It is possible to analyze the test outcomes using computer software. The Minnesota

Anayse how language is used in a couple of texts( opening pages of Essay

Anayse how language is used in a couple of texts( opening pages of Gone with the wind and Romeo and Juliet - Essay Example These elements include phonology, lexis, punctuation, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. By comparing the usage of these elements between two classic texts, such as William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, evidence can be found in each element of language that demonstrate how the usage of language changes over time and place as well as through dominant format of the communication goals. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1597 reflecting the Elizabethan values and traditions of England while focusing on the story of a young couple in Verona. In this way, he also incorporates some of the values that were understood in his time to have been important to people of an even earlier time. Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind in 1936 America reflecting the struggles of the Great Depression and capturing some of the major issues that faced people living in the Civil War south. Like Shakespeare, although she didn’t live during that time period, she incorporates many of the values that were understood in her generation to have been important issues a generation or so earlier. In each case, there is a strong sense of identity reflected in every aspect of the language used. While each novel is written in the same general English language, each illustrates the ideas of love coming to bitter conclusions and each struggles to portray a period of time prior to that in which the author lived, each does so in such a unique way as to make it seem as if they were each written in separate languages all together, which can be teased out by examining the various aspects of language used to tell the story. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare establishes early on a formal and literary tone within the lexis of his text. For example, in the Prologue, he indicates the scene of his play is in â€Å"fair Verona†, a use of the word ‘fair’ that falls within the formal lexicon, especially

Italian Political Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Italian Political Violence - Essay Example ship (1922-1943), Italian history, before and after Mussolini, has been characterized by an enormous volume of political violence† (Leonard & Lee, 1987, p.34). Major violent events have been recorded as occurring at pace of about one every two years from the 1860s until the advent of Fascist rule and then resuming at only a slightly reduced rate in the years. After the World War II, Many of these violent activities came up as a result of workers and peasant strikes, land seizures and factory occupations. Others included bread riots, anti-tax riots and anti-war demonstration. While some events were aimed at the government others were between private groups fighting among themselves. Some scholars have never the less downplayed this past event as being non terrorist and argued that real terrorist activities began in the 1960’s with the bombing of the National Agricultural Bank at Piazza Fontana in Milan and to have subsided with the arrest and eventual prosecution of large numbers of terrorists, after General James Dozier was liberated from the Red Brigade in 1982. Never the less the timeline between these two occurrences saw terrorist organizations (claiming inspiration from either anarchist, communist or neo-fascist doctrines) commit several acts of violence. These activities caused hundreds of deaths, some of which included that of a former prime minister. Thousands of people were reported injured including a pope, and in retrospect, more thousands were sent to prison for committing the violence. All this occurred in a country governed by a democratic political regime, no less and probably somewhat more democratic in 19132 than it was in 1969, with an advanced industrialized economy and having a population noted justifiably for its cultural sophistication and social tolerance. Each of the countrys 94 provinces is said to have been a venue for political violence. For example: Turin, Milan, and Rome. But what were the reasons for this renewed trend of

Gillette Essay Example for Free

Gillette Essay 1. Statement of issues/problems/opportunities (10%): Very briefly describe the organisation‟s situation. Be sure to focus on the underlying issues / problems / opportunities and not symptoms. Do not just reiterate organisational facts. 2. Recommendations (40%): What should the organisation do? Provide a detailed description of the actions necessary for the organisation to deal with the identified problems and opportunities. Be specific enough that a organisation could pick up your recommendations and act on them. 3. Justifications and analysis (50-60%): Provide a set of carefully considered arguments for why your recommendations are likely to be effective. Perform any type of analysis you like on facts obtained in developing your justifications. You can also draw on logic and experiences from materials in other sessions or courses. The bottom line, however, is you must be logical, convincing, and exhaustively thorough. Case Study One: Gillette Gillette stock price is falling from $64 in early 1999 to $24 in 2001. Market share for the profitable disposable razor sector declined about 5 percent while its competitor picked up. The sales declined three percent in 2000. The new CEO James Kilts joined Gillette in February 2001 and realized that the market share of this high profit margin brand is dropping while debt increasing. There are underutilized production capacity which can help the company to save $350 million; management looking at short-term success where they â€Å"stuff† products to distribution channels where the supply is higher than demand and caused aged stocks; to further reduce the relevant cost and solve â€Å"stuck stocks† – he is considering brand advertising and promotions – (something that Gillette seldom do to maintain leadership status). He felt that support for the brand globally got sidelined in the rush for short term results. Better forecast should be impleted to control the budget and costing better based on the market size and targeted market to penetrate. Lower down debt. Assignment questions: 1. To what extent does Gillette rely on incremental innovation or leaps in technology with each product introduction? Gillette may goes after innovation too heavily where the product is technical and sophisticated. Consumers may not understand the complexity and value the high technical functions of the product that sells at a very premium price – X% even more expensive than its preceeders. While it has ignored the value perceived of customers on shavers. The company should consider both factors – internally and externally for strategic marketing. Including political factors, economic factors (rising inflation), company financial situation, as part of the pricing strategy. 2. How successful has Gillette been with its trade-up pricing strategy and its ability to charge premium prices? Very successful. As the number of trade up is high.  However, cost of advertising to existing customers should be much lower than new customers. Priority advertising should be targeted to new market to increase market share, aside from maintaining brand position reinforce the brand in consumers. Message of advertisement is often simple and sharp. However, focus of the ads is very much on product with arg umentative wording, such as â€Å"the best†, â€Å"the only†. The brand may need to focus on brand advertisement for reinforcement purpose and stabilize the market share over the long run. 3. Should Gillette be concerned about the possible cannibalisation of the healthy sales of existing products by each new product launched? Yes. New products should target different market but should not cannibalise existing sales in long run. Different target market, e.g. more premium group where they are early adopters and enjoy premium brands As the company still sells old versions of shavers, it has even more reasons to target different products to different arget group to increase market share. 4. How global and integrated is Gillette‟s global marketing communications? Localised message should be applied to synergy better with other countries as different countries have different cultural background, norms and etc Gillette has a broad coverage strategy in place today and its â€Å"The best a man can get† theme supports this broad coverage strategy. It serves consumers ranging from disposables to high end cartridge systems. Gillette has struggled in the past when it has made attempts to add complementary goods to its offerings. Past attempts at this strategy were subsequently divested. We propose an alternative for phase 3 of the strategy. Rather than adding products that might not carry the value of a strong brand and image we propose that Gillette focus on areas of the world where they don’t have strong market share. Japan is an area specifically mentioned in the case. It is mentioned that Shick has a first mover advantage in Japan. Gillette has a very strong share of the market in the North Atlantic area. It has invested heavily in RD and is getting ready to invest more in advertising and adding plant capacity. Gillette should work to maintain its advantage in the North Atlantic through patent enforcement, new product innovation, and building on customers perceived benefits through advertising and delivery of superior products. Solidifying its leadership position in the North Atlantic, Gillette can then focus on other areas of the world. Rather than allowing Shick to imitate its new Sensor, Gillette can aggressively go after market share in other areas of the world. The marketing campaign will be critical to capturing market share in other areas of the world. Gillette has the opportunity for a first mover play in Japan with Sensor. Marketing campaigns should be tailored to position Gillette uniquely in different parts of the world market. Rather than going for a consistency approach, Gillette should customize the marketing campaigns to either strengthen its leadership position or establish itself as an innovator. The consistency approach to the marketing campaign as outlined in the case does not support this direction. Gillette might even consider launching Sensor in Japan or other parts of the world, followed quickly by a North Atlantic launch. A marketing campaign in Japan promoting first mover status with new technology could help capture increased market share. Gillette has made investments in developing the Sensor system. It now needs to ensure it is capturing appropriate levels of value based on what it can build in the way of perceived benefits to consumers through advertising and superior product. Building this benefit advantage in new and existing markets will allow Gillette to price at a point where it can capture more economic profit than it does today. The investment in plant, equipment, and inventory is a bet that needs to be made for this new product. It will be important for Gillette to be able to deliver enough product to the market and let its competition know that it is dedicated to this production and to protecting its patents. 5. Assess Gillettte‟s approach to women‟s shaving needs? Very manly design as the female designs looks very similar to the male wet shavers. Focuses on technical heavily where it may ignores the demand of consumers – females are different from males during purchase decision and process. Company should penetrate female market, new and large market for the company to yield further profit from the same technology. Focus should be on female buying process and demand, e.g. color, demand, preference, etc. in order to maintain the position of leader in wet shaver market. Both male and female markets can be equally important. However, the company can leverage on the brand equity and value of its success on male wet shaver and hence reduce the cost of advertising – advantage over other products. Penetration of female market should be easier, fast, to enjoy economies of scale at high profit margin ahead of other competitors. Should enhance on product packaging. Overall value to targeted consumers. Psychographic segmentation is concerned with identifying personality traits and distinguishing characteristics in groups of the population. Examples are young and outgoing (for the sale of new forms of music) or grey and conservative (for classical and 60s music). Pyschographic segmentation is clearly relevant to shaving patterns and behaviours. For example, busy well groomed people are likely to go for an upmarket shaving system. In order to fully penetrate market, older versions of the wet shavers – on promotions. To capture middle market and mass market. At an affordable price. Commodity and mass market products. Should achieve both cost advantage differentiation. Didn’t achieve cost advantage because there is underutilized production which may save $350 million According to the product lifecycle, it should allow higher quality at lower price Unit operation cost should go down during growth stage The case points out that Gillette’s competitors were quick to copy new products. Trac II was copied by the competition within five months and other product imitations appeared in 18 and seven months. Historically Gillette did not pursue patent enforcement because of antitrust challenges. This tactic needs to be re-thought. The RD spend needs to be protected to help Gillette retain its competitive advantage and its position as a technology leader. Gillette aggressively patented ideas during the Sensor development. Twenty-two different patents were applied for and obtained by end of 1988. Gillette has access to the patents as an isolating mechanism for building competitive advantage in the market. To protect the investment Gillette has made in the development of the Sensor system, it must leverage the isolating mechanism of the patents. By not pursuing the patents, Gillette maintains market share but does not increase market share. It is allowing consumers of the competitions’ products to stay with that brand versus switching to Gillette’s products. Why would they switch if their brand will be coming with an imitation soon? Image, reputation, and credibility all are important to protecting the superior benefits of an experience good. By not protecting the patents, Gillette is not building the consumer view that it is providing superior products. Protecting the patents will also allow Gillette to further immobilize the resource it has in technology. The equipment and plants are certainly not very mobile, but the people that developed the ideas and technology are very mobile. The patents may offer an advertising or marketing advantage; the 22 patents help Gillette illustrate the innovations they have achieved with Sensor. Though being at the top, Gillette now deals with the problem of product innovation in a somewhat stagnant and mature shaving market and needs to find other ways to remain on top. The possible solutions relate to acquiring its competitors’ business, developing and expanding the women’s market and further reducing the prices to reach more customers.

The Importance Of Data Collection

The Importance Of Data Collection In this chapter, data collection will be carrying out to meet its aim and objectives. Data collection is a way to describe a process of preparing and collection data. Furthermore data collection can defined as an important aspect of any type of research study. Any inaccurate data collection may lead to invalid result and affect result of study. In other word, this chapter will review method applies in data collection that determine the level of knowledge of the all site workers awareness to hazardous work and safety and health training. A research study can gain information with two sources which are primary sources and secondary sources. The information that obtains by internet, book, journals and magazines are secondary sources. However interview and questionnaire are classify as primary sources which these two method can obtains information and get a real picture of the study. There are three methods can be carried out to collect data. These three methods can define as case study, interview and questionnaire. In this chapter, researcher decides to use interview to collect data. To make the research more clearly and fully interpreted for achieving three objectives. Researcher will discuss rationale of the research interview and revise the statement of the research aim. In this chapter, researcher will be explaining the way of conducting the interview questionnaire. However, rationale of the questionnaire design will be included in this research which to enable interviewees understand the questions that stated in questionnaire. Last parts of this chapter will be determining the method of analysis that selected to evaluate and analysis the data. 3.1 Data Collection Technique After review to method of data collection, the method to be use in collecting data is qualitative data collection method. The reason of select qualitative data collection method; it is because qualitative data collection method is more suitable in this research study. 3.2 Interview Interview can defined as a conversation between two or more people, purpose of interviewer questioning is to obtain information from the interviewee. Beside that, interview can be flexible or inflexible which it is depending on the freedom of formulate the questions and issue being investigated. According to Dr S. G. Naoum, the interview can be classified in two forms which are structure interview and unstructured interview as Fig 3.1 Flexible interview structure Flexible interview contents Flexibility in interview questions Rigid interview structure Rigid interview contents Rigidity in interview questions and their wording 3.2.1 Advantages of Interview Interview is more applicable and useful for a complex situations compare to the other method. If interviewee encountered difficulty in answering questions or unable to understand the questions, the interviewer can direct clarify doubt to interviewee and ensure the interviewee is properly understood. In this case interview can obtain a higher understanding. Furthermore, interview will help in collecting depth data and information. The researcher can gain more detailed and accurate data through probe deep in interview situation. Face to face interview can produce a higher response rate which interviewee provides the answer through communication as interviewee may not require reading and writing the answer. Beside that, interviewing has a wider application, especially suitable for those who are week and lacks reading skills. 3.2.2Disadvantages of Interview Interview is more time-consuming and expensive compare to other method of research. Interview will spend a lot of time and may not be cost efficient if particular of research have number of tasks to study. On the other hand, the quality of data is depending on the ability of the interviewer. Quality of data collected might affected by experience and skill of communication of the interviewer. Interviewee may provide inaccurate information if interviewer being faulty in ambiguous questions to interviewee. Furthermore the other disadvantage is interviewer bias in leading. Leading is the way that interviewer guide the interviewee in answering the questions. Verbally may affect the leading by the actual word used, other than that non-verbally which is body language might effected the leading during the interview. Any faulty of leading will cause inaccurate data collected. In additional, quality of interaction might affect the quality of data collected. The interaction between interviewer and interviewee might vary from different interview, in the result the quality of data collected may dramatically lower and lack of credibility. 3.3 Statement of Research Aim In this research will carried out based on one aim and three objectives. To make the research more credibility, one aim and three objectives will apply in design of the interview and conduct the questionnaire. The aim of this study is to determine roles of safety officer to implement safety training programs, in order to create a safe workplace. In achieving this aim, there objectives stated as following: To highlight the hazard and accidents that most commonly found at construction sites, To identify the scopes and characteristics of safety officer to create a safe workplace To determine effectiveness safety training programs for site workers in Malaysia construction sites. These three objectives are generated, after the researcher critically reviews the book, articles and journal. Three objectives might apply in interview through face to face interview to local construction site personnel. 3.4 Rationale of Questionnaire Design This dissertation title is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Safety Plan in Construction Site: Safety Officer Perspectiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Safety and Health Officer is playing a very important in create a safe workplace. The accident occurs in construction site are usually affect the objective of the project. Questionnaire design may touch on background and organization of interviewee. Questionnaire will identify causes and effect of accident occurs in construction site. The interviewees are request to elaborate the hazard and risk in construction site which to achieve the first objective set out by researcher. Furthermore, roles of Safety and Health Officer will be included in the questionnaire, it is to understand task and job done by Safety and Health Officer which related to the second objective of this dissertation. Other than that, questionnaire might investigate the process of hazard assessment. The third objective will achieved that the questionnaire will determine the training element which ca rry out by Safety and Health Officer. The interviewee is requiring to explain the contents of the safety training. 3.5 Research Sample The interviewees were selected based on certain characteristics required to meet the research objective. In this chapter, the site personnel with experience in safety and health issue and training will be selected. In this case, with experience and knowledge of the interviewee, the data collected from them will become more credibility and accurate. Furthermore, project manager, site supervisor and safety and health officer will be the target population for this study. This survey target on different construction position level of interviewees, it is because every position of work may have their own opinion and knowledge in safety and health issues. The sampling area will focus in peninsular Malaysia and Sabah construction sites. It is more easier to gather the accurate information and answer. 3.6 Method of Analysis In this element, the analysis will do based on data that collected from the interviewees. The method of analysis used is trend approach that require to analysis the interactions provided by interviewees. In the analysis part, researcher will describe the out come of interview with ten site personnel in a conversation from. Every question will provided with three answers that collected from the selected interviewees. In the other hand a discussion will be included to analyze and compare the information obtained from the interviewees. 3.7 Reason of choose interview In this research, interview will carry out to gather data and information. By using this matter, data collected from interviewees will more accurate compare to other matter. If used questionnaire method, the respondents may simply answer the questions, due to respondent might not understand the questions asked. But used interview method, if interviewees not understand the questions asked, the interviewer can explain to them. In the other hand, if interviewees understand the questions asked, the answer provided by them will become credibility. 3.7 Potential Problem and Contingency plan Quality of data collected The problem might encountered during the interview are the quality of information and data that collected from the different interviewees. All interviewees are from different background, furthermore they have different experience and opinion in safety and health issues, so the data that obtained by them may vary. To over come this problem, interviewer might select the interviewees who have number of years experience in construction firm. Beside that, interviewer may interview the site personnel who currently on position project manager or site supervisor or safety and health officer. Low respond rate During the interview, the interviewer may encountered hard to make appointment with the interviewees, because not many people are willing to interview. In interviewees opinion, interview are not part of job for them, the interviewees might think spend time to accept interview and answer the questionnaire is wasting time. Therefore, the interviewer have responsibility to minimize the problem that ensure have enough people to accept interview. The method can be use to solve this problem is interviewer should list out the company to be interview. Companies selected for this interview should more than 20 companies to avoid some of the people refuse to accept interview. 3.8 Rationale of Questions The below questions were designed based on Objective 1. Question 1: Do you think apply Personal Protective Equipment can reduce the number of accident? Why? This question is to identify use of the PPE and purposes apply PPE when site workers carried out the hazardous work in construction site. Interviewees require to explain how their apply PPE when carried out the hazardous works. Question 2: In your opinion, what are the causes of accident happened in construction site? This question attempts to find out the factors and causes of accidents happened in construction site. Question 3: In point of view, what are the effects of accident occurs in the site? Please elaborate. This question attempts to request the interviewees to mentioned the effect that generated by accidents occur on site. Question 4: How does the first-aid unit locate in construction site? This question attempts to determine how interviewees locate the first-aid unit in their construction site. The below questions were designed based on Objective 2 Question 5: In practical standard, what are the roles of a Safety and Health Officer? This question attempts to identify the tasks and works should carry out by a Safety and Health Officer. Furthermore interviewees are requiring to elaborate what are the scopes of work of a Safety and Health. Question 6: Who is responsible for risk assessment and hazard control? This question attempts to find out who is responsible for risk assessment and hazard control. Question 7: What are the procedures for risk assessments? This question attempts to determine process of risk assessment to be carried out before and during the life of project. The below questions were designed based on Objective 3. Question 8: Who is responsible for safety and health training? This question attempts to find out who responsible for safety and health training. Question 9 Based on your experience, what are the elements needed to cover during the safety and health training? This question attempts to determine the contains of safety and health training. Beside that, interviewees have to explain what to be trained during the safety and health training. Question 10: In your organization, did the site personnel receive the refresher Safety and Health training? If yes, please explain how frequent the training held and how long of the training period. This question attempts to find out does every construction company have provide refresher Safety and Health training to their workers.

Machiavellian Advice from The Prince Essay -- Political Science

Niccolo Machiavelli was a middle-class and humanist-educated Florentine diplomat, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Renaissance in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Although bestowed with the title of the father of modern political theory, Machiavelli has been, and continues to be widely misunderstood and misinterpreted (Kreis). The term â€Å"Machiavellian,† and it is in the dictionary, is defined as subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty (Dictionary). In acknowledgment of the enduring impact of Machiavelli on society, psychologists have identified a distinct personality style that is characterized by manipulativeness, cynicism about human nature, and shrewdness in interpersonal behavior, and named this syndrome after Machiavelli (â€Å"48†). Machiavellianism is described as a manipulative strategy of social interaction and personality style that uses other people as tools of personal gain (â€Å"48†). In this excerpt from The Prince, Machiavelli’s most recognized and popular discourse on morality and power, the author discusses and compares numerous aspects of the necessary attributes of a successful ruler. While he debates the pros and cons of vice and virtue, Machiavelli presents a compelling case for the adroit application of vice, in the event that princely virtues will threaten the sovereignty of authority. Most of Machiavelli’s work, including the The Prince, was only formally published posthumously, and the assumption would be that his intention in writing The Prince was not to inform the general public, most of who had neither reading skills, the access to books, or held positions of leadership and government. Machiavelli’s true intention in writing The Prince was to gain the att... ...itics. That Machiavelli has become synonymous with treachery is ironic, for this essay unmistakably and definitely confirms that throughout the history of civilization, those leaders who persevered and gained recognition as icons of power, character, and intellect were those who understood the balance of virtue and vice. Works Cited Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 12 March 2012. Kirszner, Laurie G., and Mandell, Stephen R. Practical Argument. â€Å"From The Prince.† New York: Bedford-St. Martin’s. 2011. Print Kreis, Steven. â€Å"Niccolo Machiavelli.† The History Guide. The History Guide. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Prince.† SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 6 Mar. 2012. â€Å"48 Laws of Power and the Machiavellian Personality.† Psychology and Mental Health Forum. Psychology and Mental Health Forum. Web. Mar. 12 2012.

Use of Conceit in The Flea, by John Donne Essay example -- The Flea Jo

Use of Conceit in The Flea, by John Donne   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Donne, an English poet and clergyman, was one of the greatest metaphysical poets. His poetry was marked by conceits and lush imagery. The Flea is an excellent example of how he was able to establish a parallel between two very different things. In this poem, the speaker tries to seduce a young woman by comparing the consequences of their lovemaking with those of an insignificant fleabite. He uses the flea as an argument to illustrate that the physical relationship he desires is not in itself a significant event, because a similar union has already taken place within the flea. However, if we look beneath the surface level of the poem, Donne uses the presence of the flea as a comparison to the presence of a baby, thus making the sub textual plot about aborting the baby.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker develops similarities between the fleabite and lovemaking. The first two lines of the poem, â€Å"Mark but this flea, and mark in this, How little that, which thou deny’st me, is;† I interpreted to mean that the woman doesn’t deny the flea access to her body, yet she denies the advancements of the speaker. Next the speaker uses conceit to illustrate the similarities between their lovemaking and the mingling of their blood within the flea. â€Å"Me is sucked first, and now sucks the, An in this flea our two bloods mingled be.† The speaker uses this argument to show the woman that the same physical exchange, which t...

The Poisoning of Our Ozone Layer :: essays research papers

The Poisoning of Our Ozone Layer The poisoning of the Earth’s ozone layer is increasingly attracting worldwide concern for the global environment and the health effects of life on the Planet Earth. There is not just one particular cause for the ozone’s depletion; the accumulation of different pollutants into our ozone layer has all added up and equaled a worldwide problem. There is not just one effect from the poisoning of the ozone, but instead multiple ramifications from diseases to death. The damage to the ozone is increasing with every second; moreover, there are many ways we can help reduce the problem and preserve the ozone layer. Ozone is a pale blue gaseous form of oxygen, in chemical form it is also known as O3. Ozone can be beneficial or harmful depending on its location in the Earth’s atmosphere. If the ozone is located in the troposphere (which extends from the surface of the Earth up to approxiametly10 miles) it is a harmful pollutant and a major component in smog and other environmental health problems. Such tropospheric ozone can damage plastic, rubber, plant and animal tissue. Ozone located approximately 10-25 miles above the Earth’s surface, in a part of the Earth’s atmosphere called the stratosphere is very beneficial. The ozone is a major factor that makes life possible on Earth. About 90% of the planet’s ozone is in the ozone layer. Ozone in this layer shields and filters out the Earth from 95-99 percent the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. A low level of ozone does not protect or prevent the sun’s ultraviolet rays from reaching the surface of the Earth, therefore, overexposing life on Earth causing many diseases. The depletion of the ozone is caused by many factors, but the one cause that will be elaborated on in the next paragraph is the main reason our ozone is continuously being poisoned. The major cause in the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer is because of the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons also known as CFCs, are industrially produced chemical compounds that contain the elements chlorine, fluorine, carbon, and sometimes hydrogen that will break down the protective ozone in the atmosphere. Since CFCs are heavier than air, the process of CFCs reaching the ozone will generally take from two to five years to get into the stratosphere. When CFCs reach the stratosphere, the sun’s ultraviolet radiation cause them to break apart.

Tractors in Asian Pacific Countries

* Imported Tractors: Australia, Japan, New Zealand * GDP per capita: Hong Kong, Australia, japan * Population: China, India, Indonesia * Number tractors in country: Japan, India, china * Agricultural Growth: China, South Korea, India Australia: 2/5 Japan: 3/5 New Zealand: 1/5 Hong Kong: 1/5 China:3/5 India: 3/5 Indonesia: 1/5 South Korea: 1/5 All of them. All 6 tables You need to calculate the initial score, weighting and the final score * Hard Copy 20% of total grade. * 20% attendance, 20% group project Characteristic: Big, High performance, and expensive ( very important to have some rational thinking why you would like to select it to be shipped to your specific country) * Recession started in 1947 to 2010 * Demand is lower, so they need to excess capacity and sell to the world * The target market in all Asian pacific * China and japan are the biggest industries in the world * India has the large population * Common wealth nations –Australia and New Zealand * Malaysia and I ndonesia are a pair, both tropical * China and japan are a pair New Zealand and Australia are a pair * 5 factors: opportunity, type of the demand, trade, market sustainability, political (government, recession etc. ) and economic environment. Internal and external supply. Market consideration: * Tell about the population of the ten countries. Type of the demand, the tractor use (because some don’t even use tractors), Imported tractor ( some countries never import the tractors but use their own tractors)IMPORTANT, do they portray desire? Do they have money? , agricultural growth( some countries never grow on agriculture such as Hong Kong), GDP.If they import tractor then they have a potential market. GDP, do you have money GDP per person. Consistent Growing or are they shrinking? Imported tractor is more imp than GDP, GDP is more important than agricultural growth then more important than tractor use. The least important is the population because they may not have to grow thei r own food but buy/import their foods. IMPORTED TRACTOR AND GDP MOST IMPORTANT! * 3 very important, 2 important, 1 is fairly important, . 5 less important, * Need to measure the weighted average mean *

Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried”, and His Writing Style

In his story â€Å"The Things They Carried† O’Brien depicts casualties of Vietnam war through evolution of characters’ emotional and psychological state. Psychological pressure is caused by war, but O’Brien portrays it symbolically through material and emotional things the soldiers carry. He gives a detailed list of everything soldiers take. The evolution of emotional perception of the world and values is depicted through the character of Lieutenant Jim Cross.His negligence, passion for a girl and narrow-mindedness causes a death of one of the soldiers, and this event forces his to revise his values and ethical code of a soldier. O’Brien uses a simple language, but symbolism and stylistic devices helps him to unfold the message of the story. The short story â€Å"The Things They Carried† was published in 1990. It describes the events of Vietnam War and analyzes deep personal feelings of the main heroes, and things they were faced with during wartime. Soldiers carry different â€Å"things† with them.Under â€Å"things† O’Brien means weapons and ammunition as well as terror, love, personal values and beliefs, but â€Å"almost everyone humped photographs† (p. 4). This story vividly depicts inner state of the characters during wartime and their living essentials such as fear, kindness, love, and uncertainty. These things are so important for them as ammunition during wartime, because they help the main heroes to overcome depression and difficulties they face with. It is important that â€Å"a set of things† has been changed, and at the end of the story the heroes carry a completely different â€Å"things† with them.As Kaplan characterizes war stories: â€Å"Almost all of the literature on the war, both fictional and nonfictional, makes clear that the only certain thing during the Vietnam War was that nothing was certain† (Kaplan, 1993, p. 43). The main character of the book i s Lieutenant Jim Cross, a man who falls in love with a girl who does not return his feelings. Jim suffers greatly and can do nothing but dreaming about close relations with this girl. His negligence of duties costs life one of his soldiers, and after this terrible event, he puts an end to his false dreams, and rethink most of his values and views.It was really difficult to him to change his worldview but he was strong enough to cope with emotional burden, and re-sort his â€Å"things†. The main idea of the text is that wartime has a great impact on feelings and views of people. When one person's actions begin to affect another person, we have moved from personal ethics to social ethics and often have to place some limits on human behavior (Bowen, Weigl, 1997). The story morality states that everyone is responsible for his own actions, and it is useless to blame everything on the people around you.Jim Cross is depicted as the person who is full of life experience, but still ha s not found the truth of life. The story â€Å"The Things They Carried† portrays that for some soldiers their burden is too heavy and they cannot carry it any longer. At the beginning of the story O’Brien describes things they carry: â€Å"what they carry was partly a function of rank, partly a field spatiality† (O’Brien, p. 5). Further, for most of them it is difficult to change their attitude towards life, but the rat-trap of war has an great influence on their outlook.For instance, Jim Cross has burned all pictures of Martha and shifts his attention to duties. â€Å"These burdens – the supplies the men carried to stay physically alive – are placed on the same level in terms of description as the objects carried that provided emotional sustenance to the men of the platoon† (Posek, 1997). The other main characters, Ted Lavender, Kiowa, Lee Strunk, and Henry Dobbins, are also carry their â€Å"things† which differ because they have different life experiences and expectations. Nevertheless, war forces them to carry the same psychological things as scary and hope.They need to adapt to war, but the only way for them is to change their habits and personal values. Some of them like Ted Lavender’s conditioned to this reality using their own way, but fails. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs have no effects. This causes lack of coincidence between war and personal feelings, since many of the characters struggling to develop their emotions while everyone else struggles to suppress their feelings. O’Brien depicts that when fear starts to dominate, people usually act in their own interests, they degrade as the keepers of customs and morality.It remains disappointing that the social issues that are generally identified as pertaining to deal with questions of individual choice, rather than of communal responsibility. Besides, material things the characters carry emotion burden: â€Å"Grief , terror, love, longing these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. † (O’Brien p. 6). The remarkable feature of O'Brien’s style is very exact descriptions: â€Å"As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a . 45(c) caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds full loaded. † (O’Brien p. 4). Detailed list of material things the soldiers carried helps O’Brien to force a reader to understand a burden they carried. O’Brien goes far beyond a simplistic description given a weight of each item the soldiers carries. â€Å"The weapon weighed 7. 5 pounds unloaded, 8. 2 pounds with its full 20 round magazine. The riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazines†¦ adding on another 8. 4 pounds at minimum, 14 pounds at maximum. † (O’Brien, p. 5). O’Brien is a keen observer of people, historical and w ar events which is manifested in his style of writing.O’Brien depicts that a battlefield is the most terrible place he has ever seen. In this collection of the short stories he portrays the futility of soldiers deaths and sufferings of men who are still alive, but know that death is â€Å"around the corner†. The message of his stories is that war is senseless, war brings only grief and constant tension to be killed. In the story O’Brien rings up questions concerning moral health of people, and in spite of all the negative life lessons soldiers understand what it is to be an individual.Throughout the story there is a definite blame unmoral behaviour of the people, but it is most poignantly and symbolically demonstrated with the rejection of previous life. O’Brien shows that the inner state of soldiers has changed, and the readers cannot find a cynical man as most of them were before the war. On the other hand, war causes people to become insensitive. Obrie n depicts that the psychological state of Jim Cross has changed. He has not a â€Å"a love man† as he was depicted at the beginning of the story.To some extent, the moment of death caused the awakening of many characters in the story. For instance, Jim Cross sees the truth of life only when the soldier dies because of his negligence. O’Brien depicts that fear applied to love leads to individual degradation. Tolerance protects that diversity and demands respect. Jim Cross is a person who fights with his own imperfection changing his personal views after Ted Lavender’s death. When fear starts to dominate, people usually act in their own interests, they degrade as the keepers of customs and morality.It remains disappointing that the social issues that are generally identified as pertaining to deal with questions of individual choice, rather than of communal responsibility. The most impressive and powerful is the last scene of the story, when after the death of Lave nder Jim burns Martha’s letters and photographs promising never have fantasies. The facts mentioned above prove the idea that only in difficult situations people show their real nature and values. Toughness stems not from insensitivity but from a strict persona; code which functions as the characters' sole defense against the overwhelming chaos of war.O’Brien possesses a unique style of writing which appeals to readers mind and emotions. Writing of the author is filled with meaning and symbolism, hidden in plain sight beneath a seamless narrative style that breathes not a word of agenda, of dogma, or of personal belief. In this way, his writing contains knowledge that is hidden to all, but give only hints to be comprehended. Also significant in the writing style of O’Brien is a tendency to take on the character point of view in the narrative. The representation of the material is very affective.The structure of the piece is aimed to compel readers to think the p roblem over. Clear representation underlined the author’s awareness of the issues under discussion. The vocabulary is mostly neutral. Style and choice of words create a sophisticated tone, but, as the most important, unprepared readers understand the message of the chapter without difficulties, because the O’Brien’s language is very vivid and clear. He appeals to such universal virtues as equality and faith, and gives insight look into the root of the problem.The most important that the second chapter provides it readers, especially those who are not familiar with the reality of war. There are no romantic and lengthy descriptions in the short stories, but description of events and emotions ae very concise and brief. O’Brien depicts that our ordered and organized world one feels sometimes the need of a change. He â€Å"draws the reader into the text, calling the reader's attention to the process of invention and challenging him to determine which, if any, of the stories are true† (Calloway, 1995, p. 249).The repetition technique helps to shift logical stress and draws the readers attention to some key elements of the sentence structure, helping to shape authors message: â€Å"That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story. † (O'Brien p. 40). The collection of his stories can be called a â€Å"true† war story as it describes casualties of life experienced by soldiers.O†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Brien states â€Å"that war is Hell† potraying â€Å"in-depth and sensitive exploration of soldiers’ hearts and minds† (Literary Encyclopedia. 2005). The author depicts that war is a dangerous and tremendous evil which change emotion and feeling, views and customs of so ldiers. In spite of all the negative life lessons Jim Cross understands what it is to be an individual, and re-sorts his â€Å"things he carried†. It was the only way for all soldiers to survive during war. At the end of the story â€Å"things† form a strict ethical code which functions as the characters' sole defense against the overwhelming chaos of war.They set of things include the ideals of honor, courage and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic and always painful. The story teaches that a mature person acts in accordance with his own ethical code developing an approach to life that helps him get through the day. As O’Brien writes: â€Å"By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself† (O’Brien, p. 9). His characters are mature persons who act in accordance with their own morals developing an approach to life that helps them get through the day.The evolution of a character from a narrow-minded per son who does not care much about the consequences of his actions to a mature personality is another feature of style of writing: â€Å"I’d come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person, a college grad, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, all the credentials, but after seven months in the bush I realized that those high, civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities. I’d turned mean inside (O’Brien, p. 9).To conclude, O’Brien uses different specific techniques and different stylistics devices to convey a message of the stories and appeals to emotions of readers and imagination. Evolution of characters, simple vocabulary and a deep emotional impact on the reader are the main writing features of O’Brien.Brainstorming IdeasWhy did O’Brien give detailed list of all things the soldiers’ carries?O’Brien depicts a death of Ted Lavender. Why did he select this character?Was it so impo rtant to â€Å"kill† someone?O’Brien uses the theme of love at the beginning of the story. Why?What material and emotional things the soldiers carry? What is their meaning?What is the link between morality of the characters and their actions? Did it affect the other characters? How?The war is not sweet for those people who suffer from it. O’Brien describes, explains and justifies soldiers in terms of a deep and ineradicable difference between â€Å"past† and â€Å"present†. In stories O’Brien uses emotional impact with the implication of uncertainty, hesitation and deliberation. At the end, O’Brien criticizes horrific and piteous nature of war which change people and their world perception.Symbols, metaphors, repetition helps to impress the reader and appeal to his emotions. Emotional burden should not be taken for granted at a causal explanation of death. However, a war giving special significance to the ‘uniqueness' led to a p articular concern about the common sense of reflecting the desire of individual to find relief from emotional pressure. For most of the soldiers a a sense of being in the army to be fully expressed and developed requires that the people enjoy the right to decide upon their destiny.Second, at a personal level, it obviously makes relationships with others possible, creating a world of meaning. War is a true journey for men: it helps to make choices, makes possible relationships with others, and gives strength and resilience. At the beginning of the story many characters were not prepared to rescue the life to save the life of others while at the end they became real soldiers ready to rescuer their life.Note Cards1. â€Å"One thing for sure, he said. The lieutenant's in some deep hurt. I mean that crying jag — the way he was carrying on — it wasn't fake or anything, it was real heavy-duty hurt (O'Brien 17).2. (about cowardice) â€Å"In many respects this was the heavies t burden of all, for it could never be put down.† (O'Brien 13).3. The emotions are the heaviest burden because we cannot throw it down.4. The death of Ted Lavender is a push, which forces soldiers to look for the truth (sense) of life.5. The death of Ted Lavender is a watershed between past and future, old values and new ethics of a soldier.6. â€Å"It was very sad†¦ the things men carried inside. † (O'Brien 10). 7. â€Å"By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself† (O’Brien, p.9).8. â€Å"They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment† (O’Brien, p. 3).9. Fear applied to love leads to individual degradation.10. Soldiers carried the burden of the world (war).11. â€Å"Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death and damage. Some made very hard decisions, and some just tried to survive† (O’Brien, p.11).Work Cited1. Bowen, K. , Weigl, B. Writing between the Lines: An Anthology on War and Its Social Consequences, University of Massachusetts Press, 1997.2. Calloway, C. â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story: Metafiction in the Things They Carried†, Critique, Vol. 36, 1995, pp. 249-257.3. Kaplan, S. â€Å"The Undying Uncertainty of the Narrator in Tim O'Brien's the Things They Carried†. Critique, Vol. 35, 1993, pp. 43-52.4. O'Brien, T. Literary Encyclopedia. 2005. Available at: http://www. litencyc. com/php/speople. php? rec=true&UID=33705. O’Brien, T. The Things They Carried. Broadway, 1998.6. Posek, J. â€Å"The Paradox of Necessity in Tim O'Brien's â€Å"The Things They Carried† Literature Seminar 180J, November 17, 1997.Available at: http://www. nd. edu/~frsw rite/mcpartlin/1998/Posek. shtml Draft Quotes: â€Å"As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a . 45(c) caliber pistol that weighed 2. 9 pounds full loaded. † (p. 4). â€Å"The weapon weighed 7. 5 pounds unloaded, 8. 2 pounds with its full 20 round magazine. The riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazines†¦ addin