A Dolls House Essays

A Dolls House Essays A Dolls House Essay A Dolls House Essay Miss Julies struggle against the societial expectations of her time can be compared to that of another female character of modern drama, namely Nora in Ibsens A Dolls House. Nora believed in her ability to realize her true self, but it relied on her escaping her home, which represents the trap of her loveless marriage. Noras own psychological struggle is also referenced to the arrangement of the set. Similar to Miss Julie, the dramatic activity throughout A Dolls House is focused entirely on the one room (with four doors) that is visible on stage. The set creates a visual correspondence that communicates the essential dramatic idea of the work: Nora is sheltered from the outside world in her fantasy doll house. Early in the play, Ibsen defines the space onstage as Noras: Is that my little lark twittering out there? 2 Helmer calls from his room in the opening lines of Act I. This simple line not only identifies the space on stage as Noras, but Helmers allusion to the lark further suggests that Noras life is much like a bird cage protected, confined within the boundaries of her home. Noras space thus defined, certain actions take on a symbolic context of meanings. We notice that Nora always keeps the doors leading to the other rooms closed, except when there is motion through them; for example, Nora is able to bolt the door shut to Helmers study, she takes the children out of the living area when Krogstad enters, so in a sense she has control as it relates to people invading her space. Her life in her dolls house is thus defined by the stage space, so when her life is interrupted, so is this space. For instance, Krogstads entrance through a door left ajar upsets her, unleashing the sequence of events that determines her departure. Ibsens stage directions read: Meanwhile there has been a knock at the hall door The door is half open and Krogstad appears. 3 Ibsen emphasizes the fact that the door through which Krogstad makes his unsolicited entrance had been left open and Noras life susceptible to intrusion, leaving her in a disquieted state of mind. Noras psychological struggle is further emphasized by Ibsen through the use of the Christmas tree, which aside from its use as a conventional indicator of the passage of time serves as a visual representation of Noras emotional turmoil. Soon after Krogstads visit, Nora tries to set aside the eminent threat to the destruction of her doll house by asking the maid to bring in the tree, and place it in the middle of the floor. She is confident that her home and her family must come first before any legal matter. The audience recognizes the tree as a powerful symbol representing family security and happiness, set defiantly in the center of the stage to dominate it, as if its mere presence is sufficient to banish Noras troubles. As Nora begins to dress the tree, she states: A candle here and flowers here -. The horrible man! Its all nonsense theres nothing wrong. The Tree shall be splendid! I will do everything I can to please you, Torvald! 4 Thus, the tree is the visual representation of Noras blind conviction that things will be fine, merely because she says so. However, the opening of Act II presents a very different atmosphere. In the opening stage directions, Ibsen indicates that The Christmas tree is in the corner by the piano, stripped of its ornaments and with burnt-down candle-ends on its disheveled branches. 5 One soon realizes that Nora finds herself in a greatly altered state of mind. At this point, she has become fully conscious of the reality of Krogstads threat, and she loses hope that she will succeed she is terrified. The family gaiety and happiness is spoiled, and she dares not play with the children. Whereas before, the Christmas tree dominated the stage, in Act II, when the curtain goes up, the tree has been stripped of its ornaments, and it has been pushed in a corner of the room a very fitting symbol of dejection. In Act III, there is an implication that the Christmas tree is no longer present, foreshadowing Noras shocking decision to leave her family. The act opens in the same scene, however there is no mention of the Christmas tree, which develops the symbolism one step further, seeing as the scandalous rezolution can be clearly foreseen at this point. Similarly, Strindberg utilizes prop pieces to expose Jeans psychological struggle; however, unlike Ibsens dynamic prop pieces, which change in appearance and position with the advancement of the plot, Strindberg uses several objects that remain static throughout the duration of the play. This technique is employed in portraying the Count, whose powerful presence and influence over the characters is represented mostly by scenographic means: the ringing bell and speaking tube that mediate his orders, as well as his riding boots. At the beginning of the play, Strindbergs stage directions read as follows: Jean enters, dressed in livery and carrying a pair of large riding boots, with spurs, which he puts down on the floor where they remain clearly visible. 6 Strindbergs insistence that the boots remain visible throughout the play is meant to symbolize the Counts omnipresence in the house as well as his supreme power over the characters. Jean, in particular is tormented by the counts invisible presence. Throughout the play, Jean expresses an avid desire to climb up from his social position. There are numerous power shifts between Jean and Miss Julie throughout the play, however, in the end, both end up in submission to the Count, who is both father and master. The superiority Jean gains in relation to Julie immediately founders when he is reminded of the Count, which causes him to acknowledge his inferior position in society. At one point, he exclaims: I only have to see his gloves lying on a chair, and I feel so small I only have to hear that bell up there, and I start like a frightened horse and now, when I see his boots standing there so high and mighty, it sends a shiver down my spine! [kicks the boots] 7 At this point, Jean has just shared his plans for starting a hotel abroad with Julie. He talks about his dreams of buying a title in Romania and becoming a Count. However, as soon as Julie makes any mention of the Count or his house, Jean becomes insecure and disquieted because he realizes that he is still just a mere servant despite his many ambitious plans for the future. Thus, although often undermined when reading a play, scenography is a vital component of dramaturgy; it unleashes a powerful vocabulary spoken by space and props, which act to convey ideas and define character in their own right. As was shown above, both Ibsen and Strindbergs careful attention to visual detail uncovers an entirely new dimension of the work, exposing many metaphoric parallels between the scenography and the psychology of the characters. The scenographic dimension of a drama is one of the key ones that enables the audience to interpret the private world of the fictional heroes the physical surroundings of the heroes functioning as objectifications of their inner world, and as such, acting as a window through which the audience can understand the internal struggle of the characters. A Dolls House Essays A Dolls House Paper A Dolls House Paper In my opinion, of the three terms given for us to define, feminism suits this play best.It applies to the play only in the sense that Nora, the female figure in the play, is oppressed.Henrik Ibsen;s A Doll;s House shows how a housewife is sent over the edge by her oppressed position.The action she takes exposes a hideous side of human nature.It takes the female character, Nora,and uses her as the doll in which the house belongs to, but she does not have any power over the house. The society at the time of A Doll;s House was driven almost exclusively by males.The man and wife had clearly defined roles.The man was the provider who worked during the day and rested at night.The wife had to run the homestead.She was responsible for the children and the house, but her influence on any major decisions was minimal. In the play Nora is thrown into dire circumstances.When her husband was sick she gathered a sum of money to help finance a recuperating trip.She decided to take the initiative of getting the funds, but her role in society permitted her from attaining the cash.She was dependent on a male to vouch for her, and instead of bothering her dying father she forged his signature.This act would definitely come back to haunt her. The whole fiasco led Nora to question her position within the household.She realizes that she is nothing more than a ;doll; for her father and her husband.Without their status she cannot act alone.Her whole life has been for other;s benefit and the only thing she can do to declare her independence and to make the rest of the world acknowledge her identity is to kill herself.That way she can overcome the oppressive male or male characters. In more recent times people have begun to become A Dolls House Essays A Dolls House Paper A Dolls House Paper Essay Topic: A Dolls House In the play ;A Doll House; by Henrik Ibsen, the author chooses two very unique characters to play Nora and Torvald.He sets them up in a marriage relationship, which is somewhat unrealistic in today;s standards of marriage.Nora plays a weak wife in a relationship where her every action is dominated by her husband, yet she plays along to keep him happy. Torvald is a wealthy man that controls his wife in everything that she does and in his mind believes that she is truthful about everything with him.These two characters provide for conflict although Nora stands for her husband;s abuse until she can;t take it anymore. Throughout the entire play, Torvald plays the role of the dominant character in his marriage to Nora.Nora is a delicate character and she puts up with Torvald for eight years.However, when she finally realizes his insensitivity, she knows she must leave him.One example of Torvald;s dominance over Nora, occurs when he forbids Nora to have any macaroons in the house, even though she really enjoyed them.Also, when they were going to the costume party he picked out her outfit in almost the same way a parent would treat a child.This demonstrates the one-sided nature of the marriage and household.Through everyday conversation, Nora and Torvald reveal that they have a relationship filled with meaningless talk and games, such as ;Is that my squirrel rummaging around?.;Whenever Torvald seeks Nora she comes to him as a puppy would go to their master; she is his puppet.Their relationship is empty even though they act like a normal couple when they are around others. When they are alone Torvald dominates everything that happens.While from the outside the household may have the appearance of being socially acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication.Nora is a woman that relied

Eric Clapton essays

Eric Clapton essays Eric Patrick Clapton was born in the small English town of Ripley, Surrey on March 30, 1945. He was the son of Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Fryer. After Fryer returned from service, Patricia left Eric in the custody of his grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp. Eric was raised believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister. However, the truth was later revealed to Eric by his grandmother. As an adolescent, Clapton fell into Rock n Roll when he watched Jerry Lee Lewis perform on television. Erics love of blues and American R Clapton didnt get his big break until he joined the Yardbirds in 1963. Also in the band were Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. This is where he got his nickname Slowhand because he would bend his strings so violently that he would break them. The crowd would then do a slowhand clap while he restrung. After a couple of years in the band, he left. And in 1965, he joined John Mayalls Bluesbreakers. Again, not staying long, he left to form Cream with bass player Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. Cream achieved great success with such classics as White Room and Sunshine of Your Love. After Cream broke up, Clapton joined the bands Blind Faith and John Lennons Plastic Ono Band. After these journeys were said and done, Eric decided to form his own band, Derek and the Dominos. About the same time he formed Derek and the Dominos, Clapton began to fall in love with Pattie Harrison, the wife of his close friend George Harrison. It was Pattie who inspired Eric to write the classic song, Layla. In 1977, Eric released his Slowhand album. It was also ...

Threat Analysis for IN-n-OUT bURGER Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Threat Analysis for IN-n-OUT bURGER - Case Study Example This is a threat to the future performance of In-N-Out Burger. The other threat is the issue of health consciousness. Consumption of too much fat is not healthy. In-n-Out burger products have a lot of fats. The foods that the company prepares have too much fat which is not healthy. Fats cause a number of health complications. Customers might decide to buy fast foods from other retail chains such as McDonalds which have little fats rather than those from In-N-Out Burger. This might lead to In-n-Out Burger losing some of its customers to such retail chains (World Market Intelligence, 2011). The other threat that faces In-n-Out Burger is the fact that prices of raw materials are not constant. They are likely to escalate in the future hence increasing its cost of production. The high cost causes an increase in the selling price, and this might turn away customers (World Market Intelligence, 2011). World Market Intelligence. (2011). In-N-Out Burger: Company Profile and SWOT Analysis; Market Research; Retrieved from on September 10,

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis - Essay Example The companies had come to this point of crisis because free market had allowed them to make investments due to which the institutions were posed to risks. Millions of people in America lost their jobs and had their savings bushed. A number of factors have been blamed for this crisis but economists believe that free market is the very basic factor amongst all. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote in his book Freefall that market fundamentalists and deregulators are responsible for the mess. The situation showed that free-market economists failed and market fundamentalists were responsible for the economic crunch (Sorman 2010). The economy of United States of America witnessed only a few minor recessions each for a short period of time. Those recessions did not stir the economy enough to cause economists to develop a well descriptive recession model. With no major recessions over a long time, the economists tend to believe that the crisis may not happen. The model derived by free marke t economists was running a healthy economy from 80s to 2008 making economists believe that the model may not turn the situation upside down (Sorman 2010). The free market economists argue that it is the recession that prompted the financial crisis and not the other way around. Economists believe that recession began in 2007 when consumer spending decreased, overdue borrowing increased and lack of interest of homeowners in their mortgaged houses increased. They claim that the failure of financial derivatives were not the cause of financial turmoil as they were helping in the stabilization of the economy. Economists assume that due to a sudden economic downfall government faced pressure from political and non political forces to take immediate steps. This led to government spending and its intervention in the scenario which seemed quite logical at that time. The situation worsened with new public debts and regulations which stumbled upon the recovery of the economy (Sorman 2010; Bordo et al 2010). The economy could be recoiled in a quicker way if government had allowed enterprises to survive on their own by dealing with the crisis with an astute strategic approach. It is also believed that the financial turmoil was brought about by the recession but the initial slump was the result of energy cost as well. The US expenditure of energy as expressed in percentage of total spending had droppedfrom 8 to 5 percent between 1979 and 2004. The price of gasoline had hit $4 per gallon by June 2008, representing a sharp shift in energy share of total spending back to 7 per cent. The shift was due to the increased demand from evolving economies like China and India which soared up the prices. The price grabbed attention as the spending pattern showing a considerable upward movement was an indication of disruption. The unit sales of light truck curtailed by 23 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 in comparison to the preceding year’s 2nd quarter.The auto manufacturin g industry cut over 125,000 jobs during the same period. The energy prices affected transportation and hence the housing sector as the houses in the suburban region lost their value and attraction. Failure of the mortgage market came up as another blow in 2007, prior to the financial cri

Video case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video case - Assignment Example This would enhance creation of a sales force. Secondly, Mary Kay had to come up with the right products for the Indian market. This is important for brand creation that is identified with a certain quality and value. Finally, a good infrastructure or supply chain process would be essential in order to allow the company to be profitable in the market. A good supply chain would be vital for servicing the sales force.In order for the Company to ensure that it remains profitable it had to produce products specifically and exclusively for the Indian market. They also had to work with local manufactures to ensure that they qualified in production of quality Mary Kay products. The brand building in Indian market involved product mix and pricing which involved the following four brands. The company had to keep offering simple and skin care focussed products for the sales force in India and for a new operation. Secondly, the company had to keep the products price friendly while conveying quality and value as compared to the competitors. Third, it was important to ensure that they avoided products that would phase out shortly after the launch of the company. Lastly, the company had to address the key products categories of skin care, colour based cosmetics and body care that suited the Indian market. The mentioned guidelines were important in ensuring that average middle-class consumers would be able to access the products by meeting the local needs and expectations. Additionally, affordability and value for the products was achieved, by focussing on what the market wanted. The guidelines were also important in ensuring that they maintained many months of in ventories after establishing the product in India. Indian market faces similarity with that of China in that they both have a large population. Currently, India is estimated to have a population of about 1.1 billion people with a ten year projection estimated to surpass the population

Does Chinas Rise Challenge Us Hegemony Politics Essay

Does Chinas Rise Challenge Us Hegemony Politics Essay Undoubtedly, the rise of China is one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. China is the worlds second largest economic power after United States. And also it is the worlds largest fast growing economy with the average rates of 10% for the last thirty years (Ho-Fung, 2009). At present china are the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world. For 2010, inbound foreign direct investment into China surpassed $100bn for the first time, and investment overseas by Chinese companies in non-financial sectors totalled $59 billion. At present, china has the greatest openness to trade of any largest economy. The growth of China is perhaps one of the most discussed matters in existing scholarship on global politics. In adding up, foreigners frequently concern that Chinas quick economic expansion will present a danger to the solidity of the current world order (Ho-Fung, 2009). Because of this, other countries, particularly United States more and more anxious about lo sing its superiority, are often even more outspoken than Chinese pundits in proclaiming the about to happen rise of a Chinese extremity on the global power-map. It is said that the economic rise of china is an unlikely pillar to US economic hegemony. It is big question that, will china become a threat to the economic hegemony of United States. The fear of America comes from its hegemonic status in the world politics and the ideological incompatibility of china with the Western value system. The west believes that the economic growth of china is a matter of fact until china becomes the world super power. But the ideological orientation makes china a revolutionary which is threatening to the many western countries especially US (Kiely, 2008). They fear that the economic growth of china may take away the status of the United States and the global structure. There are mainly three factors which make china threat to America. They are ideological and cultural factors, geopolitical and geo-economics factors and the collapse of china. Once, Napoleon said that when china comes out of their slumbers, it will surprise the world. By the effort of three decades, china has come up to a level of a most important position in international relationships from their powerlessness and the backwardness. It will turn out to be the second principal manufacturer of goods and services, which was anticipated just five years ago to happen only in 2020. It will help them to capture their old historic position as the worlds largest economy and will displace the United States. Americas devaluation of its own political economic prestige has helped china to become the world power and succeed the United States. As the rise of china, the hegemony of America in different fields such as politics and economy is in a great threat. Other states of the world have started to play a major role in determining the word order and status and so a new world order may come into act with in years. In the case of china, it is a fast growing country and has the power to overpower the United States in coming years. As it grows rapidly in every field especially in the economic field, it shows the signs of joining America as one of the worlds superpowers. Experts say that the Chinese challenge to American hegemony is in fact the most significant threat to global peace in the future, and that it is in our international systems best attention for there to be continued American unipolar supremacy of the world, because the transition from one hegemony to hegemony will always end up in wars and conflicts. It will also add fire to the fuel as the US is democratic hegemony and china is the autocratic hegemony. From the middle of the 20th century, America maintains the place of the worlds controlling super power. Our international system may face something similar to what happened during the Cold War, if china to take over the hegemony of the US. There was a bipolar international system during the cold war. So, in order to preserve the peace among the nations, America should continue as the world power. Nevertheless, while it is definitely true that Chinas augment will cause geopolitical chaos; a Sino-American war is not inevitable. Whether such a clash occurs will pivot more on Washingtons tactical choices than on Beijings. From 1980s, chinas economy is growing in a rapid rate of approximately 10 percent per year. And in 2006 the china economic growth was above 11 percent. Chinas extraordinary economic growth is driving its emer ­gence as an immense power and this is a recognizable pat ­tern in worldwide politics (Harvey, 2005). The economic authority of states grows at dissimilar rates, which means that some states are constantly gaining power and some are behind power relative to others. The management in Beijing appreciates the connection between monetary power and geopolitical influence. It understands that, if China can carry on to maintain near-double digit enlargement rates in the early decades of this century, it will exceed the United States as the worlds largest economy. Because of this amazing financial growth, China is, as journalist James Kynge has put it, really shaking the world equally economically and geopolitically. Studies by the US Central Intelligence Agency and others have proà ‚ ­jected that China will be a first-rate military power and will challenge America in global power by 2020 (Harvey, 2005). Of course, throughout the past decade, China has been watchful of its chance in international deal and asset. But this does not justify the US plan of engagement. Chinas present strategy mirrors the reality that, for at the moment, Beijing distinguishes its tactical interest in protecting tranquility in East Asia. Constancy in the region, and in Sino-American rela ­tions, permits China to turn out to be wealthier and to catch up to the United States in relative power. This is the best real po ­litical strategy, buying time for its economy to raise so that the nation can explicitly balance next to the United States militar ­ily and set up its own provincial hegemony in East Asia. Beijing is pursu ­ing a diplomatic policy today in order to make stronger itself to tackle the United States tomorrow. The conviction that a self-governing or more open-minded China would be soothing and collaborative in its outside policies is likewise doubtful. This vision rests on the so called democratic peace theory which is close and valued to many US overseas policy specialists. In detail, the democratic peace theory is another one of those bits of foreign policy conven ­tional understanding that is based on fragile confirmation. The chronological evidence shows that when very important nationwide interests have been at hazard, democratic states have regularly practiced big stick diplomacy against other democracies. In other words, when the chances are highly sufficient, large powers take action like great powers still in their relations with other democracies. Therefore, even if China does experience political liberalization in the future, there is no motive to consider that its overseas policy performance would be basically exaggerated. The competitive advantage of china to become the world power is its vast supply of super-exploitable labour. And its economy is growing with a rapid speed. China has gained increasing influence and leverage as the leaders of the nation has tried their best to make china powerful and strengthen the country in all aspects. But at present, china is also under the pressure of the US imperialism. It is actually a threat to chinas growth and at the same time, chinas growth is a challenge to USs hegemony (Nolan, 2001). In this framework the rulers of china are trying to pursue their own strategies and become the world power. But it is a great challenge for them as they are still in the frame work of the US imperialism. The rise of china as an imperialist power will make many problems in the world such as crises, wars, class struggles in China and the world, and revolutions. It will make many economic, political, and military developments in the world system, including unexpected development s. However the growing strength and the complex dynamic of dependency are shaping chinas development and help to become the world number one in all field (Nolan, 2001). At present china is the second largest economy in the world after the United States. China has a growth rate of 10 percent in gross domestic product over the last two decades. In contrast to other countries, chinas gross domestic product is doubled between 1990 and 2005 ((Kiely, 2008). But still, china is a poor country with the output per person far below that of the advanced capitalist countries. Chinas remarkably far above the ground and continued rate of enlargement and industrialization over the last two decades may well be without example in the olden times of capitalism. More to the point, this constant growth is leading to an enormous build up of productive capacity in China; deeply influencing the route of global capitalist development; and causative to Chinas fast rise as a world monetary power. China has got a major role in contributing to the world economy. Now china is the centre of attraction for the world manufacturing. China is the one of the main destinations for the foreign investment and the place for foreign industrial investment in the world. Now is china is considered as the growth engine for the imperialist world economy. About 20 to 25 percentage of total supply of iron, steel, aluminium, and copper is from china. And for oil, many countries depend on china. As china is deeply involved in the world economy, it is the worlds largest non-US holder of dollars. It is occupied in spirited struggles for raw materials and energy resources in Africa and in other places with the U.S and also with other imperialist powers in the world. China is budding as a rising and ever more self-confident geo-economics force in the world. And U.S. imperialism, for its part, has been more and more aiming China as a possible long-term contestant and opponent. Foreign investment capital is the main medium of chinas rapid growth and it controls chinas leading industrial sectors. Enterprises in which foreign capital is invested account for almost 60 percent of Chinas imports and exports. China is the biggest exporter of electronic and information technology goods to the US especially the computer electronics and the other IT goods. China is the major beneficiary of direct foreign investment in the Third World. Rates of come back on U.S. industrialized investments in China are two times the level of equivalent investments in the European Union (EU) countries, and advanced than in Latin America. Today china is a growing economic power with the strategic goals. In world currency and financial markets china has become a major actor. The United States imports more goods from china than from any other country. In foreign exchange reserves china holds around $1.8 trillion (Kiely, 2007). This is the store of wealth of china which is used as a means of international payments. It comes mainly from the export earnings and the many other investment earnings. As America exporting many goods from china than from any other nation, china has become an export machine. China now has surpassed in foreign exchange reserves and will defeat America in the near future. As America has huge trade deficits, it borrows huge amounts of money to tackle the international financial imbalances. And, united states have to depend up on china to tackle their debts and other problems. China imports a huge amount of fuels and minerals and it results in 40 percent of world market growth for these goods since 1995 (Kiely, 2007). And China is seeking to secure access to raw materials to feed its industrial machine. In Latin America and Africa, China is investing in extractive industries and buying up firms. Chinas foreign direct investment increased from $1.8 billion in 2003 to $16.1 billion in 2006 (Kiely, 2007). About half of this is in natural resource industries. From the middle of 1990s, china has stated to flourish its activities in Africa. And now china is Africas third largest country to trade with them. It has turned out to be a shareholder in Algerias oil manufacturing. And it has been manufacturing its own investments into the oil divisions of Angola and Nigeria. Africa at the present supplies about 30 percent of Chinas oil import needs. Chinese mining firms in search of cobalt, uranium, copper, and other industrial minerals, held up by the Chinese state, h ave been spending in, making bigger monetary aid, and falsifying closer ties with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. There is significant role for the capital investment in the growth of china, which has made the country more productive. Chinas output has risen due to the more investment in the new machinery, better technology, and more investment in infrastructure. It turns out that it is advanced output that has carried out this latest economic wonder in Asia. Chinese efficiency increased at a yearly rate of 3.9 percent throughout 1979-94, in contrast with 1.1  percent during 1953-78. By the early 1990s, productivitys divide of productivity growth went beyond 50 percent, while the share added by wealth arrangement cut down below 33 percent. Such unstable expansion in output is remarkable, the U.S. efficiency augmentation speed averaged 0.4 percent for the duration of 1960-89 and enviable, since productivity guided development is more probable to be continued. Examination of the pre and post 1978 phases points out that the market oriented improvements assumed by China were significant in making this output explosion (Nolan, 2002). The changes raised financial competence by introducing income inducements to countryside communal ventures, family farms, little private industries, and overseas shareholders and dealers. They also not tied up many enterprises from steady interference by state establishments. As a consequence, between 1978 and 1992, the production of state owned enterprises turned down from 56 percent of national productivity to 40  percent, while the share of group enterprises increased from 42 to 50  percent and that of confidential businesses and combined ventures rose from 2 to 10 percent. The revenue incentives come into view to have had an additional optimistic result in the personal asset market, as industrial unit owners and minute producers enthusiastic to boost profits dedicated more and more of their firms own revenues to getting better business presentation. So in all means, the economic growth of china is a challenge to United States. Though china is only a growing country only, approximately by 2020, china will surpass United States in all fields and United States will depending up on china for their economic needs and existence (Breslin, 2005). China will be completely dominated over United States by 2020. Sin china is a great challenge to the power of America as they are dominating in all fields today. China is the only power in the world that can compete with US today. So the united states have a little fear with them although they are not expressing them. The present US president Barrack Obama admits that china has the power to become the world power. They admit it but at the same time they might have been praying not to happen it because America will use their power, if china becomes the super power in the world. So they have to obey the policies of china in the future. In that way they may not like the leader ship of china. It is true that china will take some more time to become the world power, but no doubt about that. It becomes very evident from their increasing gross domestic product per year. Their gross domestic product is increasing in every year. It helps china to become the worlds super power economically. And by 2020, china will lead the world like America is doing now. Now America has got many debts and they are borrowing it from other countries to sustain their economic stability. Even they are borrowing from china for their economic stability which shows that they are slowly coming under the power of china. China has got a major role in contributing to the world economy. Now china is the centre of attraction for the world manufacturing. China is the one of the main destinations for the foreign investment and the place for foreign industrial investment in the world. Now is china is considered as the growth engine for the imperialist world economy. About 20 to 25 percentage of total supply o f iron, steel, aluminium, and copper is from china. And for oil, many countries depend on china. But in all these fields America is going down at their early stage. So the economic power of America is going down by every year and the power of china is increasing per year. Conclusion Undoubtedly, we can say that china will become the world super power by 2020 and will dominate United States in all means. China is having trade relation with almost all the major countries in the world and many countries upon them for their existence. The present super power America also exports and exports different goods china. It shows the economic growth and the resourcefulness of china. They have got much potential with them which will enable them to be the world super power in the near future. China is the worlds second largest economic power after United States. At present, china has the greatest openness to trade of any largest economy. The growth of China is perhaps one of the most discussed matters in existing scholarship on global politics. It is said that the economic rise of china is an unlikely pillar to US economic hegemony. United States fear that the economic growth of china may take away the status of the United States and the global structure. There are mainly thr ee factors which make china threat to America. They are ideological and cultural factors, geopolitical and geo-economics factors and the collapse of china. The competitive advantage of china to become the world power is its vast supply of super-exploitable labour. And its economy is growing with a rapid speed. China has gained increasing influence and leverage as the leaders of the nation has tried their best to make china powerful and strengthen the country in all aspects. So it is true that the chinas rise is a challenge to the United States hegemony, but when china overcomes the US, it may result in the wars and may affect the world peace.

Periodic Table and Sodium Essay

Sodium, one of many elements in the periodic table is being used in everyday life, it is also an essential element within your body. It is just another element, but one of the differences is that this element is something that most people consume every day. Sodium has played an important role in everyday life because of its uses in medicine, industry, and agriculture(Shriver). Sodium was discovered in 1807 by a man named Sir Humphrey Davy. He was well known for his discoveries of most alkali metals and Alkaline Earth Metals, such as potassium, magnesium, and many more(Chemicool Periodic Table). Sodium is from the alkali metal family. There are five more chemical elements from the same exact family. The period number of sodium is three. Na is the chemical symbol of sodium on the periodic table. Na is the symbol because it comes from the Latin word â€Å"Natrium†, which means sodium (Periodic). It’s atomic number is eleven and it has the atomic mass of 22. 98977, which makes it the fifth largest in its family(Web Elements). Each and every element has difference has a difference between each of them. When Sodium is not exposed to air it is silvery- white in color and is bright and shiny. When it is kept in open air, it becomes dull and gray because of the reaction with the oxygen present in the atmosphere. At room temperature, sodium is found in the form of a solid which is very soft to touch. Due to its softness, you can easily cut it with a table knife(Mukherjee). It’s melting point is 97. 72 degrees Celsius and 207. 9 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezing point is the same as the melting point but the boiling point is 883 degrees Celsius and 1621 degrees Fahrenheit(Web Elements). When a fresh piece of sodium comes in contact with air, it forms sodium oxide and this oxide forms a white coating and protects the metal from any other reaction. The reaction with sodium and water can be very dangerous. Reaction of sodium with water results in sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. As heat is produced during this reaction, it is called exothermic reaction. This released heat often burns the hydrogen gas and as a result fire may break out. If large pieces of sodium are put into water it can lead to loud explosions(Mukherjee). Most elements are used in everyday life. They can be used in same ways and different ways. Sodium compounds have many uses in industry, medicine, agriculture, and photography. Manufactures use sodium borate in making ceramics, soaps , and many more. Sodium hydroxide is an important industrial alkali used in refining petroleum and many people take sodium bicarbonate to relieve an overly acid stomach Pure sodium mostly is used in industrial uses. Some is used to produce such metals as titanium and zirconium. One of main everyday uses of sodium that everyone knows about is salt. Forty percent of sodium is used to make salt and most likely people consume salt every day(Shriver). Sodium is the fourth most abundant element and it makes up almost 2. 6% of the Earth’s crust. Another fact is that sodium is highly reactive , which makes the storage of the element a very hard task. The best way to store it is by putting it into liquid hydrocarbons. Sodium is also very important to the body because it helps regulate blood pressure, muscle relaxation, fluid balance in the body, and much more(Periodic Table). This element is incorporated in the project by the using table salt. The table salt represents the element sodium and it will be hit by a marble which will tilt the salt to pour onto the fries. This element was chosen because it is very commonly used in everyday life, it would be very easily incorporated in the project, it was a very interesting element, and while it is very easy to incorporate in the project it also seems very challenging. In conclusion, Sodium is highly used in everyday life. It can be used in medicine, food, and more(Shriver). It has many interesting facts that many people probably do not know, but should know. There are about 115 elements in the periodic table and sodium is just one of those elements(Chemicool Periodic Table)

Literature Review for Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis

Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) is a robust process by which point mutation can be detected. It depends upon polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products which denature at different temperatures depending upon if they contain homoduplex or different products from both wild type and mutated genes or heteroduplex or combined strains of wild type and mutated DNA strains. Heteroduplex products contain a mismatch and therefore melt more quickly than heteroduplex products (Roelfsema and Peters, 2005, pp. 79).DGGE is used most effectively to identify point mutations in genomic DNA that cause genetic diseases, to identifiy previously unidentified mutations in recessive genes, analysis of DNA from cancer tumors, and by targeting RNA, assessing the number and type of bacteria species in soil, water, and the human body (ibid, pp. 84). The DGGE process has many complicated steps that entail trial and error starting with designing the proper Gradient Gel so that the PCR product will en ter one end as a double strand, quickly denature and then stop progressing and stick in place.First the PCR product must be designed using special software that analyses the melting curves of possible PCR products. In order to keep the DNA stuck in place once the denaturing has occurred, a GC clamp consisting of a string of 40-60 nucleotides must be attached to the PCR primer resulting in a high denaturing temperature at one end and not the other. In addition, the Gradient gel must be prepared properly with a 30% gradient and adjusted so that the DNA gets trapped directly in the middle (ibid, 80).Finally, in the most technically difficult step, a constant temperature of 60 degrees Celsius must be achieved in which to perform the electrophoresis. After this the gels are soaked in a 0. 5XTAE containing ethidium bromide to visualize the DNA. Once these steps are completed successfully, the results are very clear, and seen quickly. If large numbers of samples have to be screened, DGGE i s very reliable and cost effective(ibid, 85). The following is a summary of some of the recent uses of DGGE and findings of researchers who have been exploring new territory in their fields through the use of DGGE.This review aims to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of DGGE and its most effective applications. In a study led by J. Walter of the University of Stuttegart in Germany, 16S rhibosomal primers were also used to detect lactic acid bacteria in human faeces. Subjects were given the probiotic strain lactobacillus rhamnosus DR20 to drink, and while cultural methods only detected the strain in one of the subjects, DGGE detected it in both.In addition, the food associated samples did not appear in the rosa agar cultures, but were apparent in the DGGE profile (Walter, J et al, 2001). This shows the sensitivity and reliability of DGGE methods, and its applicability to human microbiology. Another study of faeces conducted by Maukonen et al. concluded that DGGE was an effective way to establish the stability of certain groups of gastrointestinal bacteria. They successfully established the stability and diversity of the Erecta group by using DGGE to study the bacteria from 12 subjects (Maukonen et al, 2002).Applications to the study of animal faeces uncovered that DGGE is effective in identifying complex systems such as Heliobacters which are difficult to culture (Al-Soud et al, 2003). At the University of Wales in Cardiff, a team of researchers led by Charlotte E. Davies compared bacterial microfloras of healing and nonhealing chronic venous leg ulcers using both cultural and 16S rhibosomal PCR-DGGE methods. PCR-DGGE analysis found a much higher load of pseudonomads in nonhealing wounds than was apparent in cultural analysis alone (Davies, C et al, 2003).This proves the applicability of DGGE to human microbiology and its usefulness in identifying causes of illness. Similar results were obtained in studying Hypophatasia at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Resear ch Institute. DGGE was used to identify mutations in severely affected patients and was found 100% effective in identifying recessive mutations. In addition it identified eight new mutations and one new polymorphism of hypophatasia confirming its genotypic variability (Mumm, S et al, 2002).DGGE can therefore be a powerful tool in diagnosing hypophatasia and other genetic diseases. Italian biologists used 16S rDNA PCR-DGGE and ISR-PCR methods as tools to differentiate between strains of staphyloccus isolated from fermented sausages. They obtained species specific profiles using DGGE and combining the two methods allowed them to identify 10 species and an additional 7 groups. They concluded that combining the two microbial techniques was what led to their success (Blaiotta, G et al, sep 2003).Corroborating this evidence of the need to use DGGE in combination with other techniques when studying food microbiology, a study of Cassava root fermentation in Brazzaville, Congo determined tha t the most effective method of isolating and identifying microbial communities in Cassava starch fermentation was to combine culture and DGGE methods. They found that DGGE failed to detect pure cultures recovered from enrichment and yet detected other species not apparent in any of the cultural methods used (Miambi, E, Guyote, JP and Ampe, F. , 2003).These results suggest that DGGE, while reliable and sensitive, is dependant upon other methods to complete a profile of the microbiological communities. Strides have been made to understand and identify the ecology of microbial communities, such as the work done at the University of Nottingham. Researchers used PCR-DGGE analysis focused on the V3 and V4-V5 regions of 16S genes to identify and lactobacillus and Staphlyococcus bacteria in stilton cheese. They then used Florescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) experiments to identify the spatial arrangement of microbial species in the dairy matrix.This allowed them to conclude that there a re specific ecological reasons for microbial growth in cheese, and that there are real applications of the combination of DGGE and FISH to optimize food fermentation and preservation of traditional products (Ercolini, Hill, Dodd, Jul 2001). DGGE also has applications to farm production as seen in de Olivera et al’s study of soil rhibosomes, which concluded that DGGE provides fingerprinting of rhibosomes useful in determining the effect of agricultural practices on soils.This can help in the proper amendment of soils and monitoring of pesticides (de Olivera et al, 2006). Recognizing the usefulness of DGGE in identifying and categorizing microbial communities, and the need for more effective identification of which DNA regions to study, Zhongtang Yu and Mark Morrison performed a test to compare DGGE profiles across hypervariable (V) regions taken from the same DNA regions, and identify the most useful V regions to study in gastrointestinal microbiomes.Their recommendation is th at amplification of the V3 or V1 regions of rrs genes gives the best result, but when doing a longer amplification, the V3 to V5 or V6 to V8 range should be targeted (Yu and Morrison, 2004). DGGE has been used successfully in oceanography to identify and isolate protists that are so small they lack taxonomic features and are too unstable to be studied by traditional means.Biologists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studied protistan assemblages from the Antarctic using DGGE and were able to determine that microenvironments significantly impact assemblages and that significant genetic diversity exists in each microenvironment (Gast, Dennett and Caron, 2004). Building on the sensitivity of DGGE in identifying genetic differences, biologists in Germany identified an entirely new phylogenic group of Eukariyotic bacteria in the deeper layers of tidal flats. Their technique included using primers targeted at the 18S rRNA gene.They were also able to establish distant relationshi ps between Eukaria and grazers and deposit feeders, proving DGGE’s applicability to taxonomy. Scientists at the University of Montana also recognized DGGE’s usefulness in identifying unculturable communities and developed a way to make these communities more visible by DGGE. They first put the communities through GC fractionalization to make the study size smaller which allowed previously undetectable or underrepresented bands from the full community analysis to be seen (Holbien et al, 2004).Seeking to improve the sensitivity and versatility of DGGE’s application to microbial ecology as well as provide a way to compare and standardize gradient gels, Neufeld and Mohn of the University of British Columbia tested the use of Fluorophore-Labled primers. They found that fluorophore greatly helped intralane normalization, was relatively cheap, and allows DGGE versatility including running RNA and DNA derived patterns in the same lane (Neufeld and Mohn, 2005). References Al-Soud, Waleed Abu; Bennedsen, Mads; On, Stephen L. W.; Ouis, Ibn-Sina; Vandamme, Peter; Nilsson, Hans-Olof; Ljungh, Asa; Wadstrà ¶m, Torkel Bimal D. M. Theophilus (May 2003) Assessment of PCR-DGGE for the identification of diverse Helicobacter species, and application to faecal samples from zoo animals to determine Helicobacter prevalence. PCR Mutation Detection Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology Volume 52, p.765-771. Blaiotta G, Pennacchia C, Ercolini D, Moschetti G, Villani F. (Sep 2003) Combining denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA V3 region and 16S-23S rDNA spacer region polymorphism analyses for the identification of staphylococci from Italian fermented sausages. Syst Appl Microbiol. 26(3):423-33 Davies, Charlotte, Katja E. Hill, Katja, Wilson, Melanie, Stephens, Phil, Hill, C. Michael, Harding, Keith and Thomas, David (Aug 2004) Use of 16S Ribosomal DNA PCR and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis for Analysis of the Microfloras of Healing and Nonhealing Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Vol. 42, No. 8, p. 3549-3557 de Oliveira, Valà ©ria,   Manfio, Gilson, Heitor Luiz da Costa Coutinho, Heitor Keijzer-Wolters, Anneke and van Elsas, Jan. (Apr 2006)Ribosomal RNA gene intergenic spacer based PCR and DGGE fingerprinting method for the analysis of specific rhizobial communities in soil Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 72, No. 4 p. 2756-2764 Ercolini D, Hill PJ, Dodd CE. (Jun 2003) Bacterial community structure and location in Stilton cheese.   Appl Environ Microbiol.;69(6):3540-8. Gast, Rebecca J., Dennett, Mark and Caron, David (Apr 2004) Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 70, No. 4. p. 2028-2037 Holben, Willam,   Feris, Kevin, Kettunen, Anu and Apajalahti, Juha. (Apr 2004) GC Fractionation Enhances Microbial Community Diversity Assessment and Detection of Minority Populations of Bacteria by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 70, No. 4 p. 2263-2270 Jeroen H. Roelfsema and Dorien J. M. Peters (2005), Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), Medical Biomethods Handbook, p.79-85 Maukonen, Johanna, Mà ¤ttà ¶, Jaana, Satokari, Reetta,   Sà ¶derlund, Hans, Mattila-Sandholm, Tiina and Saarela, Maria (2006) PCR DGGE and RT-PCR DGGE show diversity and short-term temporal stability in the Clostridium coccoides–Eubacterium rectale group in the human intestinal microbiota. FEMS Microbiology Ecology (Online early). Miambi E, Guyot JP, Ampe F. (Apr 2003) Identification, isolation and quantification of representative bacteria from fermented cassava dough using an integrated approach of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Int J Food Microbiol. 25;82(2):111-20. Mumm S, Jones J, Finnegan P, Henthorn PS, Podgornik MN, Whyte MP.   (Feb. 2002) Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of the tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme gene in hypophosphatasia. Mol Genet Metab. 75(2):143-53. Neufeld, Josh and Mohn, William. (Aug 2005) Fluorophore-Labeled Primers Improve the Sensitivity, Versatility, and Normalization of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol.71, No. 8 p. 4893-4896 Walter J, Hertel C, Tannock GW, Lis CM, Munro K, Hammes WP. (Jun 2001) Detection of Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, and Weissella species in human feces by using group-specific PCR primers and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Jun;67(6):2578-85 Yu, Zhongtang and Morrison, Mark. (Aug 2004)Comparisons of Different Hypervariable Regions of rrs Genes for Use in Fingerprinting of Microbial Communities by PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2004, p. 4800-4806, Vol. 70, No. 8

Collective Bargaining Agreements Essays - Labour Relations, Labor

Collective Bargaining Agreements Essays - Labour Relations, Labor Collective Bargaining Agreements TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.Page 2 Management RightsPage 3 Union Security.Page 4 Wages and Benefits Page 5 Individual Security (Seniority) Rights..Page 6 Dispute Resolution..Page 7 Bibliography Page 10 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS A collective bargaining agreement collectively sets the terms on which an employer offers individual work contracts to each of its employees in the bargaining unit. A bargaining agreement, also herein referred to as a labor agreement, is a legally enforceable written commitment, which states the rights and duties of all parties involved. The labor agreement should be made in good faith and is intended to be observed and not violated. The National Labor Relations Act obligates employers and unions to bargain in good faith concerning terms and conditions of employment, including hours and wages. Like any normal contract, competent parties must enter into a labor agreement. However, a labor agreement is unique from other legal contracts in that there is no consideration involved and nothing tangible is exchanged. Many, but not all, unions require formal ratification of a new labor contract by a majority membership acceptance, which is determined through vote by the members. Until majority approval of those voting in a ratification election is received, the proposed labor contract is not final. While each labor agreement is unique to the needs of an organization and its employees, most agreements include five issues: (1) Management Rights, (2) Union Security, (3) Wages and Benefits, (4) Individual Security (Seniority) Rights, and (5) Dispute Resolution. Management Rights Management is the process of working with people and

How to Bring Your Personality into Your LinkedIn Profile!

How to Bring Your Personality into Your LinkedIn Profile! I received the following note on LinkedIn ® this week from CEO and Creative Director Steve Klinetobe: I just finished reading your eBook. Thank you, thank you. Tonight Im going to read it to the kids. Never too young to start building your network! :) This was probably the first LinkedIn ® invitation I’ve ever received that made me laugh, and I was jumping up and down in my seat. How great when people can express themselves in their professional communications! Humor is sorely missing from most people’s LinkedIn ® profiles, and to be honest, it’s not always appropriate. But inserting your personality into your profile sure is. One of my clients, sales superstar Anna Wang, wrote in her self-authored profile, When I’m not bludgeoning quotas with a baseball bat, I can be found rocking out with my band, or parked at a poker table. That’s a woman I would want on my sales team! And Jess Hornyak, Marketing Director at KEVA Sports Center, crafted this paragraph as part of her LinkedIn ® Summary: When I was little, I wanted to drive a garbage truck. Then, I moved to Wisconsin and declared I would be the next Green Bay Packers QB once Brett Favre retired.?No one ever told me No (or that girls dont play in the NFL), but soon after I found art and writing, and hopes of being the next big name in football were passed along to Aaron Rodgers. Jess’s creativity shines through and would persuade me to consider her seriously for a sports marketing position. Of course humor is not the only way to express your humanity on LinkedIn ®. Take this example from one of The Essay Expert’s clients, a dedicated teacher with a background in HR, whose passion is teaching the whole child: When it comes down to it, children *are* our human resources, and it is imperative to support them to reach their full potential. To that end, educational policy and program development are intensely interesting to me. I believe strongly in differentiation in the classroom, and I believe that this is what we should offer to all of our children. If your career has taken an unconventional turn, revealing your personality might be particularly useful. Here’s an example from Nick D’Antonio, a law school graduate who decided to change paths (not that I would know anything about that†¦) My career path veered off course when I realized I didnt want to become an attorney (please hold the How many attorneys jokes). Of course, I graduated during one of the tougher periods for the employment of early careerists; many like me did what was required to remain independent and hopefully make in-roads into a career. It wasnt until recently when introspection led to the conclusion that what Ive done all along has been to build a reputation for promoting customer satisfaction through exceptional service, and a steady flow of repeat business. Not multi-million dollar repeat business yet but garnering repeat business taught me the power of the personal business connection. Sowant to talk Sales and Marketing? If I were looking for someone with an upfront personality who has what it takes to make it through law school and take the risk of following his passion, I might want to talk sales and marketing with this guy. He does not apologize for his background and makes a good argument for himself. What’s your personality and your compelling story? What’s the best way to tell it? I encourage you to put as much of yourself forward on LinkedIn ® as you are comfortable sharing, as appropriate for your background and industry. Perhaps you too can create a tale that’s worthy of reading to the kids at night.

Produce a report on the marketing of a consumer product of your choice Essay

Produce a report on the marketing of a consumer product of your choice utilizing some of the techniques discussed on your course - Essay Example In fact, Nokia Smartphones have pushed the company out of losses and set it on a path of reclamation and growth (Garside, 2013). 2. Key Market Segments for Nokia Lumia and Size of Market   2.1 Customer Segments Targeted Nokia smartphones are now available for many different customer segments as shown below: Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 These phones are based on the Windows 8 platform, are 4G enabled, and target customers who can purchase higher end products and who desire latest technology and a large variety of apps (Aulakh, 2013). Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 These smartphones target the price sensitive customer segment. These are priced at low and mid-range and provide almost similar hardware as its sophisticated higher end sets. However, the services provided are lesser. The concept behind these phones is to target customers who cannot afford high end phones but who still need cell phones for net connectivity and functional utility (Spence, 2013). Nokia Lumia 700 and 800 These are the lo w range of smartphones that were initially launched to create interest and awareness among the new customers (Spence, 2013). It can therefore be observed that Nokia Smartphones cover nearly all the customer segments with the variety of products that they have in the market. 2.2 Market Size and Growth The market for the smartphones is in the stage of rapid growth as can be seen from the growth statistics for the last year. In the second quarter of the year 2012, the mobile market grew at the rate of 1% with 406.0 million units of mobiles being shipped during the quarter (IDC Press Release, 2012). However, the smartphones market grew at a much higher rate of 42.1% in 2012 with 153.9 million  units being shipped worldwide (IDC Press Release, 2012). The main competitors in the smartphone market are Samsung and Apple. These two players have captured diverse market segments ranging from low priced to high priced. Samsung focuses on a diverse strategy where it introduces smartphones for a variety of customer segments so that it covers all sections of the market. On the other hand, Apple targets only the high end customer segment with sophisticated and highly priced smartphones. Smartphones growth markets largely consist of the European countries as well as emerging economies of Asia and Latin America. There is a continuous rise in the demand of smartphones in countries like India and China which provide a huge market due to their large populations. However, in spite of the large growth and expected progression of the smartphone market, Nokia has fallen behind the two main competitors – Samsung and Apple. The reason is largely attributed to the introduction of the Microsoft Windows Phone 8 that prevented existing uses of Nokia Lumia to upgrade to the new operating system (Garside, 2013). This restriction led to a decline in the sales of the Nokia Lumia though it is expected that the upgradation will eventually happen for the existing users. Like Samsung, Noki a also follows the strategy of penetrating diverse customer segments and has developed smartphones of varying prices and sophistication. The following graph shows the BCG matrix for smartphone market and the market position of Nokia: Figure 1: BCG Matrix for Smartphone Market and Market Position of Nokia Lumia 3. Future Trends in Smart Phone Market

Methods of Engagement in Afghanistan Research Paper

Methods of Engagement in Afghanistan - Research Paper Example Hamid Karzai, who was elected at large as president in 2004 was again re-elected in 2009. Notwithstanding the political progress gained by that war-torn country since the toppling of the Taliban, there remain serious challenges to Afghanistan’s political and economic transition (The World Factbook: Afghanistan 2010). On the security front, the Taliban have risen again to mount what is called today a neo-Taliban insurgency, which is slowly spreading in the countryside especially in the south because of the weakening of Karzai’s support among the local tribal leaders there. Afghanistan’s economy is also one big factor that is holding back the success of the reconstruction process. The long years of conflict had taken a toll on its economy and the infusion of funds from international sources during the reconstruction is not enough to turn it around and lift the country from total poverty. Poverty has led not only to shortages in housing, food, medical care and other basic support for its population but it has also led to the difficulty in eradicating opium poppies cultivation. As a matter of fact, opium poppy cultivation increased rather than decreased after the toppling of the Taliban and during reconstruction period in 2004 (The World Factbook: Afghanistan 2010; Gootnick 55). Finall y, ethnic and religious undertones often underpin conflicts that are still raging in Afghanistan as can be evidenced from the Taliban-led insurgency in the countryside. In accomplishing a successful reconstruction in Afghanistan, the US and its Coalition must succeed in eradicating the three-pronged problem that plague and hamper it: insurgency; economic poverty, and; religious and ethnic fundamentalism. One way of affecting a solution with the least loss of lives and minimal resources is a method of engagement that has already been recently put into a test by the Coalition Forces and is known as tribal engagement. This is the most credible solution to