Monday, September 30, 2019

Social Marketing Combating Childhood Obesity Health And Social Care Essay

Fleshiness is a status where there is extra accretion of cholesterin bed in the adipose tissue of tegument taking to overweight which becomes a wellness hazard ( Basdevant, Arnaud, 2008 ) . The addition in the fat accretion may do chronic wellness jobs in long term which becomes a major wellness concern ( Basdevant, Arnaud, 2008 ) . The people with weight more than 85 per centum of Body mass index are considered as corpulence and the people with the organic structure mass index more than 95 per centum are considered as corpulent ( Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant, 2005 ) .Adverse effects associated with fleshiness:Fleshiness may do multiple jobs including physical, physiological and psychological jobs ( Davis et al, 2007 ) . Fleshiness is one of the major grounds for assorted chronic diseases like, diabetes, Hypertension, osteoorthritis and those related to bosom liver, gall bladder, birthrate and gestation ( WHO, 2011 ) , in add-on to physical uncomfortableness it besides causes psychol ogical hurt and decreased ego assurance in the societal life due to hapless organic structure image and visual aspect ( Wardle, 2005 ) .Factors doing the job:The present life manner is wholly filled with mental emphasis as people are busy with their everyday activities and have no clip to pass for healthy activities like exercising and holding a healthy diet ( Basdevant, 2008 ) . These factors may take to fast nutrient civilization and sedentary life manner which that are doing fleshiness ( Gonz & A ; aacute ; lez, 1999 ) . The accustomed activities like passing more clip on picture games and watching telecasting may impact physical activity and lead to sedentary life manner that increases the opportunities of going corpulent ( Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant, 2005 ) . The nutrient behaviors are considered as another of import factor for fleshiness. Devouring fast nutrients with high fat content and taking surplus of measure nutrient as a wont lead to fleshiness ( Davis et al, 2007 ) . The instability between the Calories consumed and the sum of energy spent is an of import factor that causes accretion of fat in the organic structure doing fleshiness ( WHO, 2011 ) . The personal behaviors like smoke and intoxicant ingestion are besides considered as the causes of fleshiness ( Evans et al, 2010 ) .Social sellingDue to the addition in the load of the diseases all over the universe, demand to advance wellness has increased, therefore public wellness field adapted some selling schemes to acquire societal benefits which is called as societal selling ( Grier and Bryant, 2010 ) . Harmonizing to Andresen, ( 1995 ) societal selling is defined as ‘the application of commercial selling engineerings to the analysis, planning, executing, and rating of pla ns designed to act upon the voluntary behavior of mark audiences in order to better their personal public assistance and that of society ‘ . In public wellness publicity societal selling is used to promote the behavioral alterations by multi degree attacks through assorted intercessions in community and by making a positive environmental alteration around the audience by presenting the message to public ( Evans et al, 2010 ) .Principles of societal Marketing schemes:The selling schemes should be developed in a insouciant manner that focuses on the normal state of affairss in the society ; these intercessions should be developed by taking in to consideration of the capablenesss of persons ( Donaldson, 2008 ) . Making proper consciousness, supplying with the proper cognition on the issue and making the environment that encourages the coveted behavioral alteration may give satisfactory results than concentrating on the peculiar or individual intercession ( Swinburn, Gill and Kuma nyika, 2005 ) .Social selling scheme for battling fleshiness:Badness of the job:Fleshiness is considered as one of the major public wellness issues which is acquiring worse twenty-four hours by twenty-four hours. Harmonizing to NHS ( 2011 ) In United Kingdom the figure of prescriptions dispensed for the intervention of fleshiness in 2009 was 1.45 million which is more than eleven times the figure in 1999. The figure of fleshiness related instances recorded in the infirmaries related to fleshiness increased by 30 per centum compared to old old ages, in 2011 ( NHS, 2011 ) . The fleshiness has become a major public wellness and economic job globally and is considered as a major issue in many states with the chief focal point on the childhood fleshiness in peculiarly ( Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant, 2005 ) . It is of import to make consciousness among the people to get the better of the persisting job of fleshiness by the alteration of life style and adaptation of healthy behaviors which can be achieved through societal selling intercessions.High hazard persons:The kids who do non take part in out-of-door activities like out-of-door games, cycling etc, the kids who spend more clip before screen and kids with hapless dietetic wonts are high hazard persons who are prone fleshiness. The kids coming from households with hapless economical position are besides affected more with fleshiness jobs because the prevalence of corpulence is extremely dependent on societal and economical position ( Basdevant, 2008 ) .How to accomplish:By developing a community that is cognizant of the jobs associated with fleshiness by promoting kids and teens to affect more physical activity and to alter in the behavior ( Wadden, Brownell and Foster, 2002 ) . Schools play a critical function in forestalling the childhood fleshiness by developing assorted intercessions to promote healthy diet and physical activity ( Evans et al, 2010 ) . Making consciousness among all the household members migh t convey effectual alteration in behavior of kids because there is some grounds that parents with fleshiness job are more likely to hold corpulent kids due to nutrient behaviors, life style and some familial factors ( Kafia Ayadi, Brian Young, 2006 ) .Educating parents by explicating the hazard factors associated with fleshiness and reding to promote kids to affect in activities like out-of-door games and physical work ( Davis, 2007 ) . Reding the parents to regularly supervise the weight of their kids in order to forestall fleshiness is of import. Evans et Al ( 2010 ) states that driving parents to educate their kids about the measures caloric values of nutrient and to make user friendly environment that encourages physical activity might convey satisfactory alteration in behavior. Koplan, Liverman and Kraak ( 2005 ) suggest that making a healthy market topographic point and healthy media ; play a of import function in altering nutrient behaviors. For illustration, the local eating houses and the local shops might be targeted for proviso of selective low fat and rich alimentary diet to kids.Expected Behavioral alteration:The voluntary behavioral alteration is an of import result expected from societal selling ( Grier and Bryant, 2005 ) . Lifestyle alterations like increased physical activity by discontinuing the sedentary life manner and taking healthy diet like fruits and veggies alternatively of high Calorie nutrients is are major behavioral alterations expected in this program.Outcome expected:The result expected is the alteration of current behaviors which are considered as hazard factors for the present job that is fleshiness, by larning the needed behaviors to command fleshiness, to accomplish good physical and mental wellness. Controling fleshiness through weight loss is the primary end and bar of the job of weight regain in the hereafter is the result expected from the mark audience ( Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant, 2005 ) .Cleavage of audience:Anderson , ( 2005 ) suggests that it is about impossible to advert each and every person in the society because every attack does non suit for all persons. Grier and Bryant ( 2005 ) claim that the mark end is non suited for all because it depends on the assorted factors like personal behaviors, past experiences, single attitudes and demographic variables like age and ethnicity that have impact on the people. So, sectioning the audience is really of import for an effectual societal selling. The cleavage is helpful in making the mark group and concentrating the people with high hazard to act upon behavioral alterations ( Grier and Bryant, 2005 ) .Target audience:The kids of both genders between the age of five and 15 with hapless economical background are selected and targeted for behavioral alterations through societal selling because there is a relationship between economic position and fleshiness ( Youfa wang, 2001 ) . The adolescent age people are besides targeted to efficaciously alter their behaviors like fast nutrient civilization, smoke, imbibing, and inactive showing and to promote them to take part in out-of-door games which involve physical activity.Why to concentrate on a peculiar group:The adolescents and kids are focused and targeted because childhood and adolescent age are two stages of a human life either to geting good wellness wonts or to develop hazard behaviors like alcohol addiction and smoke ( Pyle et al, 2006 ) . If healthy behaviors are initiated in the teens the fleshiness and the jobs associated with it might be controlled in the hereafter ( Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant, 2005 ) .Target country:The focal point shall be on a geographical country demoing high incidence of fleshiness job and hapless wellness behaviors with particular concentration on Population with hapless socio economic background and hapless wellness attention installations, underscoring the relationship betwe en hapless economic position and wellness behaviors ( Youfa wang, 2001 ) .Consumer barriers:Wayss to understand consumer barriers:The best manner in turn toing the societal selling barriers of people of a peculiar country is, affecting the local wellness militants and administrations as spouses in wellness publicity ( siegel and doner, 2004 ) . Taking some research through qualitative methods like questioning local people and their household members helps to hold an penetration of their behaviors ( Henley and raffin, 2010 ) . Effective communicating which plays a cardinal function in wellness publicity research shall be a good scheme to affect local leaders and individuals inclined to publicity of wellness in their country because communicating plays a cardinal function in wellness publicity research ( Hastings and Haywood, 1991 ) . For illustration parents and household members can efficaciously pass on with kids, have an penetration and can actuate them to alter the behavior ( Eva ns et al, 2010 ) .Target behavioral ends:The set of behavioral ends are planned by utilizing ‘SMART ‘ program which includes ‘Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound, to acquire the best result ( Clerck, 2010 ) . The major end is diminishing the extra weight by altering the current behavior by a set of behavioral alterations. The behavioral alterations include 1 ) Increased physical activity by bring oning self involvement 2 ) Monitoring the nutrient wonts and Calories 3 ) Regular showing of the organic structure mass index. The ends should be planned in an easy come-at-able mode so that the kid can achieve self efficaciousness on the alteration ( Davis et al, 2007 ) . Davis et Al ( 2007 ) besides suggests that parents should develop a uninterrupted communicating on the expected behavioral alterations and a clip end is arranged for all the set of activities.Aims:To better the physical activity of the kids by promoting out-of-door activities like g ames, cycling etc, through support from household, community and assorted school intercessions. To better the dietetic wonts like eating more fruits and veggies and discontinuing the nutrient with high fat content or calorific value like fast nutrients.Schemes to implement the ends:The selling might be made harmonizing to the kids and teens psychological science. for illustration if the kids are passing their maximal clip in forepart of the screen, they shall be encouraged to see programmes related to wellness instruction, athleticss and fittingness which have a positive consequence on their behaviors ( Evanss et al, 2010 ) . Hanley and Raffin ( 2010 ) suggest that Schemes for kids below the age of 10 should be planned in a playful mode by doing utilizing more colorss, lifes and pictural presentation, so that they indulge in the activities. For adolescents scheme shall be competitory type. A multi degree programme is designed to derive the policy support, to acquire support from local societal groups and cognition interlingual renditions are critical to supervise the wellness direction systems ( WHO, 2010 ) . Schools play an of import function in actuating kids to alter their behaviors. The fleshiness intercessions used in schools should concentrate more on achieving healthy weight instead than diminishing present weight ( Pyle, 2006 ) . The authorities policy support is really of import to implement wellness schemes and achieve selling ends. Regulating advertizement of unhealthy nutrient and drinks may assist in bettering healthy nutrient wonts among kids ( Wadden, Brownell and Foster, 2002 ) . In add-on Dehghan, Danesh and Merchant, ( 2005 ) advice that cut downing revenue enhancements on low Calories nutrient may convey alteration in nutrient choosing behavior because monetary values of nutrient have a great influence on the populace. Wadden, Brownell and Foster ( 2002 ) suggest that supplying more resources for supplying drama land bettering pavements etc may promote adolescent age people for physical activity. The selling programme should be implemented in multilevel which reference, authorities policies, community degree programmes, school degree, household degree and personal degree ( Evans et al, 2010 ) .Marketing Mix:The Marketing mix is the considered as the best manner to implement the ends in the society and it is proved to be effectual in making the populace ( Grier and Bryant, 2005 ) . Marketing mix includes ‘four P ‘s ‘ they are, ‘Product, Price, Place and publicity ‘ ( Rayner, 2007 ) . Merchandise: Merchandise is an advice or solution given to the consumer which gives personal benefit for himself ( Grier and Bryant, 2005 ) . In the present societal selling program merchandise is the services provided to alter the current behavior. The merchandise is, accommodating patterns of physical activity by passing some clip to regular exercising and healthy nutrition degrees by avoiding fatty nutrients and adding fruits and veggies to regular dietetic bill of fare. Monetary value: In selling monetary value is the cost spent by client whereas in societal selling monetary value of the present mark audience is the clip spent for behavioral alterations. Here monetary value agencies passing around an hr a twenty-four hours for exercising, physical attempt, and psychological uncomfortableness for altering behaviors ( Grier and Bryant, 2005 ) . Topographic point: The topographic point where the kids and teens spend more clip like schools, establishments and in communities they live are chosen in this selling program. Promotion: Promotion of healthier picks is really of import. Healthy behaviors are promoted utilizing assorted intercessions including media runs, booklets demoing images and marks, events with function theoretical accounts and other schemes ( Hastings and Haywood, 1991 ) .Exchange theory in societal selling:Exchange theory is adopted from the commercial selling where the consumer gives money in exchange of the coveted merchandise ( Rothschild, 1999 ) . In societal selling the consumer is giving up the present behaviors voluntarily by passing his valuable clip, some costs for diet alterations and other behaviors. In return the consumer may anticipate better and healthy life which is of existent value for him ( Antonoidis et al, 2003 ) . In the present theoretical account the consumer is discontinuing sedentary behaviors and hazardous nutrient behaviors and in bend anticipating good wellness and positive alteration in his personal and societal life.Development:The jobs within the peop le include the cultural, societal, personal and environmental factors that show impact on their behaviors ( Koplan, Liverman and Kraak, 2005 ) . Koplan, Liverman and Kraak, ( 2005 ) suggests there should be a good grounds of the effectivity of the intercessions. Extensive research utilizing both qualitative and quantitative may assist in cognizing the wide scope of factors associated with the present hazard factor in accomplishing good consequences. The jobs within the administration include the deficiency of clip, deficiency of resources, working staff and deficiency of support from the direction or wellness attention workers. In add-on the Action program: or ( rating ) Strengths:Failing:Decision:In the current state of affairs where fleshiness is presenting a major menace to the society, societal selling has to play an of import function in conveying about major alteration in single wonts. In add-on to this societal selling has to pave way to reforms by the authoritiess to command the unhealthy and hazardous behavior in the society. On the whole societal selling intercessions on childhood fleshiness may give positive consequences in constructing up healthy society. Social selling on childhood fleshiness should be taken up globally taking in to consideration of the geographical, environmental and local societal factors.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

All that Jazz workshop Diary Essay

Introduction On the 3rd of November 2009, we were treated to a professional performance of Faustus. Faustus follows the life of Lucifer, who gives away his soul to the devil for 24 years where he is given omniscience and omnipotence. He is given a servant called Mephistopheles, who listens to all his wishes and grants these wishes. However some of his most wanted thoughts were not fulfilled by Mephistopheles as they were against the devils thoughts, and then we find out that he is also the devils servant. The piece was segmented up into 4 parts, and these were changed when the devil changed the number on Lucifer’s shirt to replicate the passing of 6 years. We see Lucifer flit away his life as he makes silly choices as to what to do with his omniscience and omnipotence, and we see the regrets he has in the latter stages of the production. Via the help of angels he then tries to get rid of the contract and buy back his soul, but unfortunately that proves to be a fruitless attempt and he eventually has his soul taken away by the devil. The performance of this piece was not only interesting and engaging to watch, but also allowed to pick up some tips for our own acting and learnt a little bit more about the Brechtian way to act. The Skills Used In the Performance As previously highlighted, the performance was of a Brechtian style. The Brecht approach was to make the audience feel like they were actually in the theatre, and therefore making sure that they used unbelievable characters and would even come out of character to make sure that the audience were part of the performance. The audience could gage what was happening because of the use of placards, and these helped to tell the audience what was going to happen in the scene so they did not have to work this out and followed the story more easily. The three things that I will focus on will commence with gesture. In Brechtian this is named â€Å"gestus†, which means an exaggerated gesture. In this particular helped to enhance the characters and show which characters were played as the actors were all involved in multi-rolling. Another element I would like to make comment on is the communication to the audience. The communication was strong between the audience and the actors and even got the audience involved with some bits of the performance. This helped to believe that the performance was in the theatre and did not look into the story any more as their thoughts were fully on the performer and what he was doing. Finally there use of special awareness was good because they all used a template constantly, for example, the person speaking would be in the centre and forward, an entering person would go through the curtain, and the less dominant character would be stood or making an action on the back right of the stage. I feel these skills have given us a good idea of what we need to do in future to enhance our own dramatic levels. Why did the performers use the elements you specified in the previous point? The performers will have used several devices to make the performance what it was. The reason why the performers used gesture was because it helped to enhance the characters even more as I previously stated, an example would be when the character came out of the curtain and made his body into a L shape whilst maintaining full contact with the audience visually. This created a focal point for the viewers and made them concentrate on the character rather than the storyline itself. They used several bits of gesture in their performance to illustrate what they were doing such as moving their hands vertically up and down to enhance the verisimilitude of the performance. The second thing I focussed on is the communication to the audience. This is important because the audience determine how successful the performance is, and by keeping in constant contact they maintained that relationship, a good example of this was when they got someone out of the audience to play one of the characters. This was particularly effective as it made sure the audience felt like they were in the room and not the story. The final thing I focussed on is special awareness, and they used special awareness in that way to signify the new character had been brought into the piece and this helped the audience understand this and ensured there was no confusion regarding characters. The particular use of the Brechtian technique was really good as it encapsulated all the basics and used them very well; the gestus and the coming out of character were particularly effective because it kept the audience viewpoint clear and direct at the stage and not the storyline. How effective did you feel that these skills/techniques were in communicating ideas to the audience? I believe that the communication between the performers and the audience was the key to success for Faustus. They used a varied style of performing rather than being totally bog standard to make sure that the play stood out and was memorable to the audience. I feel the strongest component of the performance were the strong gestures, as these are key in both the play but also the whole Brechtian technique. Because the gestures were so strange and imaginative, the audience needed to see these because it highlighted the character. A failure to see this gesture may have meant that they miss which character is being performed, and therefore they lose the plot and just become uninterested. Again with the mixture of oddness and the 3 second holding of this pose meant that the audience were focused on this action and kept hold of the plot throughout. I also feel that looking at the play helped me to gain more experience of the Brechtian elements that made the play so successful, and in future I will hope to add these in to certain performances (where applicable) to enhance my performance.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Budget Plan Essay

When managing a project, there are several factors that project managers must consider that will ensure a successful project. The steps will help assemble, develop and manage a project team. In addition, planning allows for smother execution and addresses how managers can evaluate the progress and performance during the project. American Bank of Indiana (ABI) has recently acquired First America Financial Service Group (FAFS), this acquisition will require the project manager to structure a project that will widen the bank’s portfolio as well as implement the latest technologies. Assembling a project teams takes thought and consideration. Since the success of the project depends on the engagement of the members of the team, the assembly is a vital part of project management. Putting together a good project team is no easy task. The goal is to make sure, from beginning to end, that the project runs as smooth as possible. Getting the assembly wrong could cost time, money and result in a failed project. Due to the uniqueness of the acquisition between establishing a core team to complete the project would ensure speed. Core project team members are experienced professionals, which means team members would devote their time and undivided attention to the project (Gray & Larson). Assembling a team with core member can also decrease risk and ensure that projects are completed on time. Another thing to consider is the latest technologies that have been adopted by ABI. It’s vital that this investment remains intact throughout the acquisitions. The core team, based on professional experience, can develop a project that will utilize this technology and maintain ABI’s position as a leading player among regional bank. Once core team leaders are selected they will be given the opportunity to select individuals to help complete the makeup of their teams. Core member will be responsible for the development of their team based on the need of their specific portion of the project. Before the project begins, leaders will be responsible for identifying each team member’s professional goals and what ways they can be motivated to enhance performance. Once motivational tools have been identified, project manager will roll out the project with a kick off that will get the team excited about the beginning phase of the project. In addition, project leader will have weekly meeting with team member to maintain an open flow of communication throughout each phase of the project. This communication will ensure that team members are updated on any changes and will also allow them to interact with other team members. Another factor that will contribute to the development of the team is clear goals accompanied with a completion time line. Once the team has moved from getting to know each other their focus will begin to move towards getting the goal accomplished (Gray & Larson, 2008). This focus will create a higher-level of performance amongst team members especially when rewards and incentives have been implemented. In addition to rewards, team managers will make sure that each team member is adequately train to perform their job function. Job training gives the team members the confidence and skills needed required to perform their perspective duties. After the teams have been assembled and developed, managing the project now because the focus. In order to ensure the highest performance from project managers must maintain their involvement in the projects from beginning to end. Project managers play a key role in developing a high-performance team. They recruit members, conduct meetings, establish indemnity, create a common sense of purpose or a shared vision, manage reward systems that encourage team work, orchestrate decision making, resolve conflict that emerge within the team, and rejuvenate the team when energy wanes (Gray & Larson, 2008). Managing this process also gives the better knowledge of the challenges as well as the successes of the project. Project managers will also conduct plan meetings for the team. These meetings will establish rules and update on the progress during each phase of the project. Another important factor in the project management process is the execustion phase. Project execution phase refers managing the individual work components that is required to advance the process of the project development. The goal of managing a projects execution is to guide the project to the ultimate goal (www. project-management-knowledge. com). Since the execution phase is directly related to the success of the project, developing a contingency plan can prepare the project for any unforeseeable obstacles. According to Lewwongcharoen and Milosevic, a contingency plan has a positive impact on the outcome of a project. When a contingency plan is prepared, project managers can handle the anticipated changes that occur in the later stages of the project life cycle (Lewwongcharoen & Milosevic, 2010). The banking industry is predictably unpredictable, project managers must be able to adapt to any changes that many occur throughout the course of the project. Tracking the progress and performance evaluation is another important measure of project management. One of the major goals of progress reporting is to catch any negative variances from plan as early as possible to determine if corrective action is necessary (Gray & Larson, 2008). Control chart is a method frequently used to monitor a projects progress. When progress charts are used, managers are able to mark milestones. Mangers can also identify key points within a project and use these points to support an action to keep the project on the right path. Once manages has stabled how the progress of the project will be evaluated, they can then determine performance evaluation. Before performance can be evaluated, managers must have communicated performance standards. The best way to measure the performance of a project is to do so against the plan of the organization. One method that can be used is a work breakdown structure (WBS). A work breakdown structure is the cornerstone of every program because it defines in detail the work necessary to accomplish a project objective (GAO Reports, 2009). Not only will a WBS clearly define the goals of the project but it also is a great tool for measuring performance. Each phase of the project is as equally as important as the next. Another vital factor to consider is the project leadership and the importance of having a sponsor. Project leadership is important because it involves recognizing and articulating the need to significantly alter the direction and operation of the project, aligning people to the new direction, and motivating them to work together to overcome hurdles produced by the change and to realize new objectives (Gray & Larson, 2008). There are consistent changes that arise when completing a project. What’s special about leadership is that when these changes occur, leaders are able to align the team in the new direction of the project. Without this alignment, a change in direction could cause the team to split into spate direction was well. Some people deal well with change, those individual show signs of strong leadership and would be an asset to the project goals. Project sponsor also contribute greatly to the success of the project. Project sponsors champion the project and use their influence to gain approval of the project (Gray & Larson, 2008). Like leaders, sponsors are able to rally individual behind the final goal of the project. Sponsors are simultaneously involved with juggling multiple needs of stakeholders and user groups, departmental procedures, and government edicts while continually dealing with a legacy of mistrust and adversarial contracts (Kloppenborg, Manolis & Tesch, 2009). Managing a project and its risk is a big deal. There are many factors that project managers must consider once the organization has decided to take on a new project. Teams must be assembled, goals must be determined and risk must be evaluated. When done correctly the end result is not only a successful project but also a motivated team. References www. project-management-knowledge. com/definitions

Friday, September 27, 2019

Employability and Professional Development Essay

Employability and Professional Development - Essay Example My main focus was to improve my skills in report writing, because as a spinal research coordinator, I am required to write various projects and business cases. In addition, my skills in budgeting, assertiveness, leadership, team working and knowing how to deal with difficult situations in line with HR policies are all important skills. 2.0 Evaluation of my Employability Skills Evaluation is an important stage in the self-reflection as it helps me to focus on my career goals and those of the organization (Pedler, 2001). In my role as a spinal research coordinator I am required to liaise and coordinate with different levels of staff - medical and non-medical - within the spinal deformity unit and across the hospital. The coordination of various research projects, managing elements of operational delivery of the spinal deformity unit, and resource planning and assessment, are all requirements of my role. These requirements are in line with my plan to become more conversant with HR polic ies. Thus I have developed team building skills since this role involved ffamiliarizing myself with HR policies and regulations would enable me to work with human resource activities which require management. This plan has helped to improve my service delivery in the field of human resources and use my time more effectively to fulfil my potential and further my career. My personal development plan was to improve my report-writing skills which seem to meet the requirements of my organisation. The role of a spinal research coordinator in my organisation requires someone with knowledge of writing various reports and working on business cases. Since at the moment I have little skills in regard to report writing, developing these skills shall be of paramount importance in attaining my organisation’s requirements in this area (Schon, 1991). Other requirements of my organisation, such as assisting the human resources department in recruitment and resource planning, are tasks that a resource manager should be accountable for. These are skills I planned to achieve but I have not yet achieved them since my writing skills are still low. I have not achieved them but I hope to apply my strengths to report-writing to be able deliver reports quickly and on time, so I am confident I can develop in this area. My career objective is to one day work as a service manager. However, being a manager requires the ability to perform a lot of tasks and use problem solving skills in various situations. In my plan I wanted to develop team-working skills and decisions making. Having to deal with the problem of team working and knowing how to make decisions in difficult situations might be important in the realization of my dream of becoming a service manager, as I can apply my problem-solving skills to improve in these areas. Public speaking is an important skill in management (Pedler, 2001). I realized after my SWOT analysis that I have a fear of public speaking which I needed to develop. Since I want to be the service manager of my organisation I need to work on being confident at public speaking as during the course of my role as a service manager I might be required to represent my organisation at meetings or give speeches regarding the vision and mission of my organisation. 3.0 A Review of Theoretical Principles I have developed leadership skills that would enable me in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Profit Maximization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Profit Maximization - Essay Example Businesses have developed a heightened interest in promoting awareness on ethical responsibility. Issues concerning environmental damage, improper work regulations and inappropriate employee treatments and faulty production of products which either cause inconvenience to customers or danger public safety are resolved through the links on their objectives and actions. Value-based decision-making through integration of clearly-defined values into organizational structures of numerous organizations proactively address a broad range of community dilemmas. These organizations which attach functional aspects of operations to public welfare include various companies ranging from pharmaceuticals, automobiles, consumer goods to services. Corporate social responsibility, described as the alignment of a company's activity to public expectations, governs organizations which clearly show that public concerns and not profit maximisation is the common objective among organizations. British organizations alone would prove that improving the quality of human life is the primary objective of their operations. Consider GlaxoSmith Kline, a pharmaceutical company established in London whose aim is to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. The mission to contribute to the improvement of lives guides the company in developing innovative medicines and products that help millions of people around the world. It does research for medicines and vaccines for the World Health Organization's priority diseases that include HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The company shows its care to Third World countries where debilitating diseases affect millions of people by providing discounted medicines to let more patients acquire necessary cures. These cost reduction schemes applied by the company in its business operations entailed losses from probable profit collections. Actual earnings have been reduced as a result of the pro spects that considered lowering of prices through discounts. The corporate strategy is indeed a way of the company to provide value to consumers and society notwithstanding the objective of financial advantages and profit maximisation (GlaxoSmith Kline, 2001). In the early part of the 21st century, the company made efforts to lower its prices on HIV/AIDS drugs for the benefit of developing countries in relation to their commitment to deliver ways to reduce costs and pass the savings to patients. As a result of their action, patients suffering from the illness in various developing countries were able to take medications and these constitute live of millions of individuals. Due to its desires to continuously improve access for healthcare products, the company gained international recognitions for its decisions that reduced barriers in the consumption of health products (Baker, 2003). In the pharmaceutical industry, social responsibility is not a practice of a single organization. Aside from the GlaxoSmith Kline, another international company with British operations that promotes global corporate social responsibility is Astra Zeneca. Corporate social responsibility is an integral part on how operations are run by the company

Health Implications and Identifying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health Implications and Identifying - Essay Example The article stresses the role of the nurses in preventing the health impact on the vulnerable groups. Many victims of human trafficking are at risk of living with mental and physical health problems. The health problems that they experience will not stop as a result of lack of awareness of the health impact of trafficking and the sensitivity of the subject. In order to help save the victims of trafficking it is important for nurses to understand the intricacies of human trafficking and its impact on the victims. Notably, the nurse must strive to uncover hidden signs and symptoms of prospective victims of human trafficking to provide the necessary assistance. This will entail asking them the right questions that will go a long way to revealing their nature of work and further help liberate them from bondage. The journal by Eccleston (2013) presents a case of identifying the victims of human trafficking with an aim of establishing the health impact they face. There is a need to protect the victims of human trafficking from the evident health consequences. Health care workers, such as nurses fail to understand the signs and impact of human trafficking on the health of the victims. Besides, insufficient studies are conducted to establish the health impact of these victims of human trafficking. This is rooted in the sensitivity of the subject. Human trafficking is commonly an abusive process where the victims are forced or abducted fraudulently. The abduction is also through deception or by use of power, drugging and exploitation for numerous purposes, such as prostitution, drug peddling or enslavement/forced labour. The victims of trafficking are physically abused, placed in confinement, threatened or denied access to their travel documents. These victims may be psychologically affected as a result of the denial of basic needs, humiliation,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

John Lewis new product 4p's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

John Lewis new product 4p's - Essay Example John Lewis has come up with one of the interesting range of products in the children department and one of their latest hits seems to be that of Childtablet (Barker and Angelopulo, 2005). In this paper, let us see the marketing strategy that can be used in order to promote the product Childtablet in the market. Any marketing strategy has Four Ps as their crux based on which all of the marketing activities are carried out. According to Baker and Hart (2007), Product strategy is the ground for a product’s competitiveness and also the maintenance of its position in the market. John Lewis is one of the most established names not only in the UK market but has a good standing all over the world. Products from John Lewis have a competitive advantage over the other educational electronic tablets that are out there in the market. All of John Lewis kid products have done good business so far and people give importance to brand factor very much. When it comes to pricing, it is better to provide some discount offers or promotional offers in the beginning so that people will get used to the product. Once the quality of the product gets established then pricing will not be an issue. In order to gain a winning edge over the competitors, it become absolutely necessary to monitor the competitor price and provide a slightly lesser price than that. Demand and supply forms are the basic when it comes to pricing (Onkvisit S and Shaw J J 2008). As per Smith (2003), Place constitutes the most important aspect when it comes to marketing. John Lewis is a world renowned store that has more number of visitors each day thus it becomes easier to sell the Child Tablet through the outlets. Also, John Lewis has a wide spread branch of department store all over Britain and also some parts of the world. Thus the product can be market both indigenously as well as in the international market. Distributing the child tablets to places that has a good record

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis of House of Blue Leaves Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of House of Blue Leaves - Essay Example Guare a chance to associate hope of a better life to Vatican and Hollywood. At the time, there was war at Vietnam and America was in the verge of losing thus forcing everybody to look for a way out. As such, in the play, all the characters who are middle or working –class in this black comedy, sought refuge in celebrity life from their humdrum lives. This mix of black comedy with social commentary and real drama faced many critics who thought that the play fails to address serious issues due to its comedic nature (Shapiro 1966). Nevertheless, it enjoyed equal support and indeed went ahead to record 337 performances and won several awards including the Best American Play in the New York Drama critics Circle Award. This paper will address an arguable claim related to the play. The clam is that, â€Å"isolation or a feeling of not belonging forms the foundation of the play, The House of Blue Leaves. All characters in the play seek to move from their status to a presumably better position.† The main character is a middle-class married zookeeper, acting as Artie. Artie is not comfortable with his zookeeping job and he has a conviction to achieve better things. As such, he does the zookeeping job during the day and attends amateur night to play his original songs despite being the oldest person in the amateur. He is destined to make a for wand move though some circumstances limit his quest. Indeed, we can sense his dissatisfaction and sense of not belonging where the play opens with him on the stage of the El Dorado Bar & Grill playing the piano as he sings his songs. However, his frustration manifests when he cannot get a spotlight and the audience ignores his singing. Nevertheless, he continues to sing and when he finishes with no applause from the audience, he quits a disappointed man with an urge to become a better songwriter. He claims his aspirations are old enough despite his middle age and thus his urge to achieve this bothers him so much. His p ursuit to become a songwriter is seemingly absurd as he even plans to abandon his schizophrenic wife, Bananas, and their unstable soldier son for the sake of realizing his dreams. Actually, he desperately seeks to escape to Hollywood with his mistress, Bunny Flingus who stays just downstairs. Most unfortunately is the fact that despite his absurd ambitions, most of his songs are terrible. Indeed, everybody can sense that he has no talent and his dreams may be in vain. Nevertheless, he is prepared to do anything to become a songwriter who will win Oscar awards. As seen herein, the main character is in a world that he does not enjoy a feeling of belonging. Indeed, despite his age, middle –class status, family commitments, and a schizophrenic wife, Artie is still convinced that he can become celebrated songwriter and thus puts a lot of effort to it (Shapiro 1966). In fact, despite his current songs being terrible and the audience showing no interest in them, he aims to be at the top. However, his dreams draw some absurdity where he even plans to abandon his needy family to pursue his ambitions in Hollywood. Again, Artie is not comfortable with his schizophrenic wife and therefore does not have a feeling of belonging to her hence looking for a mistress just downstairs. Another character who is seemingly not enjoying his status is Bunny Flingus, the downstairs neighbor of Artie. Indeed,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Blog critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blog critique - Essay Example It concentrated on collecting the marketing and advertising materials that reveal the interface between Coca- Cola drink and its consumers. Through the extensive photographic collections that catches local and international distribution, the archivist used those resources and created a blog focusing on modern culture and heritage. However, criticism has risen from various groups and individuals concerning a variety of issues. Primarily, they include environmental matters, business practices, and health effects. The company’s products and subsidiaries have sustained criticism by both watchdogs and consumers particularly from the onset of 2000s. The health aspect of the Coca-Cola drink has been in the spotlight severally with questions being raised on its disadvantages. Critics have often suggested that the drink leads to obesity and should be considered to be unhealthy. Unbottled is a blog created by the company to be a platform where people could share ideologies about the history of Coca- Cola, advertising, collectibles and the role of the brand in the pop culture. This blog provides unique opportunities for individuals to voice their opinions hence influencing the decision makers directly in a company. The basal purpose of this blog was to introduce the business to social marketing platforms and create a community whereby opinions can be reviewed. The blog creates a sense of community through interactive posting of comments and questions for discussion giving us an opportunity for creating interactions. Through the blog, I have felt more connected to the company in various ways. This has primarily been enhanced by the integrity portrayed by the response team. Not only does the blog educate on the company’s welfare but portrays strong, inspiring leadership skills that can be employed by the clients. Consistent social interactions demonstrate clear objectives that have been established and the relationship between

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare Essay This poem is called let me not to the marriage of true minds and its written by William Shakespeare. It was first published in 1609. This sonnet is one of Shakespeares most famous love sonnets. William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright. He is often called Englands national poet and the Bard of Avon. His surviving work consists of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems and several other poems, but he is most known for his plays, such as Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth, and for his sonnets. He lived from 1564 until 1616. He was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, but he later moved to London with his wife Anne Hathaway, who was 8 years older than Shakespeare and pregnant when they married. They had three children; Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career as an actor, writer and part owner of a playing company. He produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, but he then started to write tragedies, including plays like Othello and Macbeth, which are considered some of the finest work in English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies (romances) and collaborated with other playwrights. Although he was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, his reputation didnt rise to its present heights until the 19th century. His work remains highly popular today and he is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language. His plays are translated into every language and are constantly studied and performed. This sonnet is about love in its most ideal form; never ending, fading or faltering. It attemps to define love, by telling both what it is and what its not. In the first line it speaks about marriage of true minds, which refers to the love between two people who are like-minded rather than to an actual ceremonial marriage. The first quatrain says that true love is unchanging, strong and that is doesnt change even when though people and circumstances may change. In the second quatrain love is compared to the North Star, which never moves in the sky and guides lost ships home, meaning that true love will survive any crisis. This metaphorical star is mysterious and incomprehensible, even though we can chart its location. This means that loves actual worth cant be known and that even though we may be able to measure love to some degree, well never be able to fully understand it. The third quatrain tells that love isnt susceptible to time and mortality, even when youth and beauty disappear. It doesnt change as the days go by, it remains strong until the lovers death. In the last couplet the poet stakes his own reputation on this definition, declaring that if his idea of true love can be proven wrong, he must take back all of his writings. Furthermore, he adds that if he has in fact jugded love inappropiately, than nobody, as far as the poet is concerned, has ever loved at all. I think the meaning of this poem is that love cannot be true if it can be changed by any reasons. Its supposed to be constant and not susceptible to time. It doesnt fade but instead lasts forever. Personally I really like this poem. He praises lovers who enter a relationship based on understanding and trust between them. I totally agree with this, I think understanding and trusting each other are really one of the most important things in a relationship. Since I havent had that much life experience yet, I obviously cant judge his idea about love, but if I ever truly fall in love, I hope that itll be like the way Shakespeare describes it in this sonnet. Also, I think the tone of this sonnet is very honest and passionate, which makes it more relatable. Its not very complex, but in my opinion a poem doesnt have to be complex to be good. This sonnet is particular for the time it was written in. In Elizabethan England—the era during which Shakespeare’s sonnets were written—the sonnet was the form of choice for lyric poets, particularly lyric poets seeking to engage with traditional themes of love and romance. The Shakespearean sonnet, the form of sonnet utilized throughout Shakespeare’s sequence, is divided into four parts. The first three parts are each four lines long, and are known as quatrains, rhymed ABAB; the fourth part is called the couplet, and is rhymed CC. The Shakespearean sonnet is often used to develop a sequence of metaphors or ideas, one in each quatrain, while the couplet offers either a summary or a new take on the preceding images or ideas.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Theories Of Management And Leadership On Strategy

Theories Of Management And Leadership On Strategy Different Management and Leadership theories are adopted by the organisations to achieve their goals. Leaders possess a certain type of skills, which enables them to follow any theory in a given situation. The decision making process need to be flexible enough to adapt any kind of environment since outcome from it will be have a great impact on organisation, that impact can be on strategy, goals or its culture. Theories of Leadership and Management Different Leadership and Management theories are: The Trait Theory This theory is derived from the great man theory, which identifies the key characteristics of a good and successful leader. They have personality, dominance, charisma, self-confidence, achievements and ability to formulate a clear vision It is believed that through this approach critical leadership traits could be isolated and that people with such traits could then be recruited, selected, and installed into leadership positions. The table below lists the main leadership traits and skills identified by Stogdill in 1974. Traits Skills -Adaptable to situations Alert to social environment Assertive Cooperative Decisive Dependable Dominant (desire to influence others) Energetic (high activity level) Persistent Self-confident Tolerant of stress Willing to assume responsibility Clever (smart and intelligent) Conceptually skilled Creative Diplomatic and tactful Fluent in speaking Knowledgeable about group task Organised (administrative ability) Persuasive Socially skilled Impact on Organisational Strategy A leader with these traits and skills is able to drive the organisation. It is of this reason that Armed Forces around the world look for these traits in the candidates for the commission. For-example: At PCW, where high dedication from Manager is required, if they dont have a charismatic figure or lack self confidence than how they will motivate their team or employees. Before a leader leads other, it needs to lead itself, this is called self-leadership. It begins with introspection and development of ones emotional intelligence. They need to explore their inner self before they lead others. Leader is responsible for everything the team does or fails to do. Since they are in direct contact with employees so they need to have following traits and act as a role-model. At organisational level, leaders are required to influence the whole organisation by managing the cultural norms, rewards and recognition programs, and communication. When they get at a high level where they have to lead a city, state or a multi-national corporation, they require power of persuasion and charisma, if they are going to get elected. Their self-confidence enables them to challenge change, and their communication skills helps them to gain trust of others, since they have persuasion power. The point where Traits Theory fails is when following questions are asked Do these traits produce successful leaders? Is leadership more than just bringing change? Leaders are born or can they be made? The trait theory unfortunately does not prescribe the most effective traits that successful leaders should have. Nonetheless, the theory makes good sense when interpreting successful leaders with their remarkable traits. The most important problem in applying it is how leaders can know better about themselves and their leadership qualities. Transformational Theory James MacGregor wrote in his Burns Leadership was the first to put forward the concept of Transforming leadership. To MacGregor transforming leadership is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts, followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. He also identified that: [Transforming leadership] occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and moralityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This theory is based on charismatic leaders, who have additional characteristics such as vision and development, and abilities to motivate it followers. Impact on Organisational Strategy Howell and Avolio (1999) assert that transformational leadership with its five key pillars vision, inspiration, stimulation, coaching, and team building. And a leader with such characteristics will bring tremendous payoffs in business performance and innovation. There are certain transformational leadership factors identified by Nahavandi, which are: intellectual stimulation to generate new ideas and empowerment charisma and inspiration to overcome resistance to change, individual incentives and consideration to motivate and encourage the followers. Since our current business environment is very dynamic, so does the need for change in leadership style. For-example: Back in days at PCW, managers with certain charismatic qualities were effective in Generation X, and were able to drive their followers. However this cannot be feasible for Generation Y, which is current situation. People values most on personal skills and development and prefer to work outside of the organisational boundary. Hence a Transformation theory is required. In the same way, management theory practices in China cannot be practiced in US, since there are cultural differences, and this has a direct impact on organisational strategy. Transformational Leadership is also not very perfect, it has its own flaws. This theory fails when a leader thinks that they have achieved everything; the false connection when its team members / followers do not respond appropriately and become yes-man; the fear of betrayal from followers. Create a Leadership Strategy that supports organisational direction As per Leadership Theories, a good leader has certain characteristics and skills. Leadership is not only a function of a position on an organisational chart, but also individual performance. Anyone ar any level of the organisation can be a leader. They are recognized for their leadership in setting the pace and high standards in their work. STRATEGIC SKILLS AND ABILITIES Leaders at all levels require skills and abilities in three broad areas: Technical knowledge and skills required in the position, especially about executive information systems. Interpersonal/communication knowledge and skills. Conceptual skills which allow the strategic leader to make decisions and cope with the level of complexity associated with a particular position. Leadership Strategy for PC World Self-Leadership: Before Leaders commit to lead others, they need to commit to themselves. Leaders need to ensure that they have qualities and characteristics of a good leader. They need to create a personal vision. They need to explore themselves first. What they can achieve with their talent, tools and time. They need to create a big picture of their vision and align it with that of organisation. Once that is down, the next step is to bring their followers on board, and align their motivation with PCWs strategy. To create a charismatic figure or to act as a role-model, leaders need to show concern for their employees. In old Model practiced that PCW, Leaders were in control of everything and they were driving the teams. They were doing what they wanted to do. Since the environment is changing so leaders need to transform themselves. They should give what the teams need not what they want. Leaders need to be available to the employees all the time, this is done by implementing open-door policy in the organisation. Leaders need to be democratic and should have a two way communication with the followers, unlike the old one-sided communication. This way they can get good feedback and complete tasks. Team Leadership This is very important in order to empower team member and their networking activities. It is helpful at PCW since there are people with different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Everyone has different skills and fields of specialization. It is important for leaders to ensure that team members are selected on the basis of their field of specialization, unique talents, skills and share a same vision. Every team member need to play its own part and should not depend on others. Like in sales team, every member has its own sales target, which they have to achieve on their own. But this does not mean that members cannot take help from each other in case of stock control. Empowerment is promoted in the project teams, which enables them to make certain decisions, like sales assistant is empowered to make a sale or refuse it, or if they like to entertain the 2% discount on certain items. When leaders are acting as a role-model they motivate the team and show them the good picture of the future. Mentoring Mentoring is another good strategy, for project based teams. It acts in two ways, one way is that people learn from their good leaders. The formula is to observe their leaders and learn from them. This is the idea of transformational leadership theory; the followers become leaders for others. On the other side it helps team-members to develop their personal skills. A sales assistant can follow the steps of their team leader and become a leader or a role model for other team-members, this way it can acts as a motivating factors. Leaders acting as a mentor need to provide assurance and personal reflective space, coaches set goals, identify solutions to problems, and provide feedback on the subordinates performance.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Celebritization Of Monarchy Media Essay

The Celebritization Of Monarchy Media Essay Introduction Celebrities are a staple of the media industry. From tabloids that promise exclusive looks into their homes to television talk shows that offer audiences the chance to get up close and personal with actors, singers and reality TV stars, todays mediated world is awash with celebrity. Advances in media technology, the availability of 24-hour news and entertainment channels, as well as the advent of the Internet and social media, have meant that there is more celebrity available now than ever before, because there are more outlets for both those seeking news about their idols or trying to be famous themselves   (Ferris, 2010). Even in a seemingly democratized media such as social networking sites, the brightest stars are still traditional celebrities 9 out of the top 10 Twitter accounts with the most number of followers are pop stars and actors. Only US president Barack Obama is the non-celebrity in the top 10 list, although it has been argued that his image in popular culture is ce rtainly reminiscent to that of a celebrity which was both a blessing and a curse during his 2008 presidential campaign (Alexander, 2010a). It is easy to take for granted the fact that celebrities are in the public eye because they are famous; most tend to forget that celebrities are not born they are created. Through careful management of images, on-air and off-air personas, a celebrity can be manufactured out of virtually anyone (Turner, 2004). Indeed, the boom in reality TV content, which gave ordinary people a chance to be famous, and the popularity of manufactured pop stars who are auditioned, recruited, and moulded specifically to appeal to the masses, seem to prove that it is the image that is celebrated, not the person (Turner, 2004). Boorstin (1961) described a celebrity as a person who is known for his well-knownness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a human pseudo-event. Some researchers have suggested that the adoration of celebrities as role models are a normal part of identity development (e.g., Giles Maltby, 2004; Yue Cheung, 2000; cited in Swami et al., 2011). In other words, society needs celebrities in order to learn about ourselves, and needless to say, celebrities need an adoring public, without whom they would not exist. Some researchers have called this relationship a celebrity-worship culture, proposing that a psychological absorption with a celebrity results in a heightened sense of reality of the idolized celebrity, which leads to an addiction on the fans part to maintain a sense of connectedness (McCutcheon et al., 2002). One researcher even drew a comparison between modern societys celebrities and the wooden totems and masks of primitive cultures, both of which sustain meaning, ritual, and solidarity (Alexander, 2010). Celebrities, then, are the most powerful icons of our time (Alexander, 2010). What is it that makes a celebrity? Ferris (2010) offers four aspects of the personas relationship with fans or outsiders that characterize celebrity in contemporary society; the first of which is widespread recognizability meaning, you would be able to recognize George Clooney out of a crowd. The second aspect is relational asymmetry, whereby fans get to know celebrities through films or television, but it is a one-sided intimacy, as the celebrities themselves have no equivalent knowledge of fans, and few avenues through which to obtain it (Ferris, 2010). This contributes to the lack of conventional mutuality and lack of physical co-presence, where the celebrities and fans do not occupy the same space, making rare encounters and celebrity sightings a special moment, almost as if making contact with the divine (Alexander, 2010). The same could be said of monarchies; far more than ordinary celebrities, royal families live in a different world, inaccessible by the public, and the chance to meet them is a once-in-a-lifetime event riddled with special protocols. Even the worlds most prominent politicians have fumbled when meeting the Queen gaffs which ultimately make it to the news as items of, at worst, ridicule and humiliation, and at best, a surprisingly generous gesture on the Queens part, as in the case of Michelle Obamas infamous break of protocol by hugging the Queen (Thornton, 2012). In this paper, we explore the relationship between the British royal family and the media. We argue that both the technological advances in news production and consumption as well as societys evolving appetite for celebrity news have shaped the treatment and coverage of the British monarchy, likening them to celebrities in the media. Drawing from relevant cases at specific points in history, we explore the role of the media, the public, and the royal family themselves in the creation of an iconic institution. Utilizing the media The modern monarchys relationship with the media has always been a delicate one (Baldini, 2012). In 1952, the BBC then a monopoly broadcaster in Britain approached the palace for permission to broadcast the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II. Against the advice of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the church, who felt that inviting cameras (and the public) to watch the ceremony would make profane an otherwise sacred event (Turnock, 2005), the Queen agreed that it was important for the event to be televised. The coronation ceremony, the first royal event to be broadcast live, became a defining moment in the development of British broadcasting (Turnock, 2005). 20 million Britons watched the ceremony on TV (Hastings, 2012), and this single event has been credited for the sharp increase in televisions owned in Britain 2.1 million in 1953 from 1.4 million the year before. It was the first time in history that the masses witnessed this traditionally sacred and secret event, bridging the gap between the public and the distant palace. Future evolutions in the media landscape such as the emergence of tabloids and paparazzi culture, social media and the Internet would further blur the line between the masses and the sacred world of royals, but it was Queen Elizabeth IIs foresight in making the event accessible to the public that endeared her to them as their new ruler (Hastings, 2012). It would be impossible to guess the Queens true intentions at the time, but her insistence that cameras be present at Westminster Abbey signaled a motive to be in the spotlight, and demonstrated an understanding that the position of the royal family depends on public support which, in turn, depends on public access. She, above all, understood that modern monarchs will be judged for who they are, not what they do (Hastings, 2012). From the framework of Gramscis hegemonic dominance theory, the event can be seen as a stealthy assertion of power rather than being imposed from above, hegemony involves the active seeking of consent from ordinary people to comply with their own subordination (Duffett, 2004). Furthermore, the use of television to bring the coronation event into peoples homes via television can be viewed as a deliberate strategy to infiltrate peoples everyday lives, as hegemonic leadership has to operate on the terrain of common sense and in the seemingly apolitical marshla nds of popular culture (Duffett, 2004). Breaking into the media The Queens understanding of the medias power to shape public opinion can be supported by the change in the British monarchys royal persona over the years, as evident with the changing appeals in its representation from being a distant, imperious body to a lighter, brighter, more accessible dynasty, whose palaces could be toured via holiday packages, exploits reported freely and lives documented glossily on cinema and TV (Times of India, 2012). In her 60-year reign, the Queen has been the single most visually recorded human being in history (The Art Newspaper, 2012). Since her ascension to the throne in 1952, millions of images have been captured of her, but it was the media expansion of the 1920s and 1930s that helped to shape the publics demand and subsequent reception of these images. The eras media expansion saw the rapid increase of the publics demand for the personal lives of film stars and celebrities (Fraser Brown, 2002), which launched fame as a commodity in itself, manufactured and distributed by media professionals (Fame, 1931, p. 450). Instead of a byproduct of film and music, fame became an industry, which Lippmann (1960) regarded as an engine of publicity such as the world has never known before (Fraser Brown, 2002). The BBC has arguably played a critical role in maintaining the image of the royal family in the public sphere, while keeping a respectful distance. When it was a monopoly and public broadcaster in 1945, news was the staple programming and the BBC aimed to carry into the greatest number of homes everything that was best in every department of human knowledge (Clayton, 2010). The prevalent media ideology was to educate rather than attract the highest level of viewership. The launch of commercial television and radio meant selling advertising space and hence, attaining more viewership. This was seen by many as the point in time when mass media led to the dumbing down or sexing up of news and entertainment to increase their viewership. Moulding celebrity Media has been instrumental in the changing royal persona from its 1945 aura of mystique and detachment when it connected with the masses only during public events or Christmas Day broadcast to imparting them with a celebrity status, with paparazzi following their every move and the public eagerly consuming news that surrounds them. The publics need to look to the royal family as celebrities can be traced back to the enduring themes of heroes in folklore; all cultures have narratives that articulate larger-than-life personas, and todays stars and idols are a similar narrative of dynasties and gods, kings and heroes (Dale, 2001). Heroes, however, are moral characters who reach for a higher calling or defeat a villain in defense of his country. Celebrities are amoral; normal rules do not apply, and behaviour usually shunned by normal people in our lives is accepted as evidence that celebrities are not ordinary people (Campbell, 1998). Despite this clear distinction, people develop psyc hological bonds with both heroes and celebrities and seek to emulate their lives (Campbell, 1998, p.127). Nevertheless, one cant but ignore the fact that World Wars brought a large degree of social leveling, leading to apparent changes in the social dynamics of the authority figures such as the British royals family. They had to adapt from being powerful, elite and detached from the public to maintain the authority of being the rulers to connect with them socially with the change in the political power it enjoyed. Owing to their collective sacrifice, ordinary people began to feel entitled to things which had been the preserve of their betters in previous generations (Clayton, 2010). Therefore, the changing media atmosphere dictated by commercialisation led them to focus on providing the masses escapist fare with their keen interest in celebrity stories and the socio-political changes adapted by the monarchy guided the persona of the British monarchy. Documenting royalty In his article Television and the Decline of Deference, Clayton (2010) cites examples that support the fact that media have been creating both a respectful as well as critical image of the royal family. Some documentaries that showed royals in deferential light are the 2007 BBC documentary Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work; the 2008 ITV documentary on the Duke of Edinburgh and the hit film The Queen (2006), which showed the Queen in a very good light in her actions immediately following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (Clayton, 2010). Some other documentaries which have been critical of the royal family include the The Royal Family (1969), which attempted to show the royals in an informal setting to boost their popularity with the British public. A further notorious example was Its A Royal Knockout in 1987. The show, which involved Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew running around obstacle courses in costumes, was largely designed to help Prince Edward establish a career in television. The show was a public relations disaster which lowered the dignity of the royals in the eyes of the public (Clayton, 2010). Above all, the divorce and scandals that surrounded Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in the mid-1990s marked a watershed in the treatment of the royal family. The intrusion of the media coupled with peoples interest in the British royals and the Monarchys willingness to enjoy celebrity status has shaped the public opinion in terms of awe, affection, love, respect, empathy or despair towards the royals. Private to public The marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was an inevitably public affair from the beginning. The young and beautiful Lady Diana, who rose from obscurity to capture the heart of a prince, captivated the nation who identified with her humble background as a kindergarten teacher and saw her as one of their own (Pillow Cassill, 2001). The royal wedding a rare enough event became a media spectacle; it was a wedding made for television, and television knew it (Castro Cronin, 1981). 28 million people watched the televised wedding in Britain, along with 750 million viewers in 61 countries across the globe. Media coverage of the wedding emphasized its Cinderella quality (Kirby Sorensen, 2010), with a notable difference between British (which tended to be more stately) and American media, which was more up close and personal (Castro Cronin, 1981). The wedding captured front-page headlines around the world; the Times of London published a colour photograph of the royal couple as a souvenir front, and   The Economist printed its news pages in colour for the first time in its 138-year history. Even the highest circulating newspaper in the world at the time, Japans Yomiuri Shimbun (circulation 8 million), deemed the wedding story important enough to rush in a color photo midway through its evening press run (Castro Cronin, 1981). Although these figures and anecdotes are impressive, it is doubted whether the wedding of Charles and Diana attracted such media coverage because there was public demand for it, or if the medias treatment of the event that pushed the news into a global spectacle. The media environment was, after all, far less cluttered in 1981, and cable television reached fewer than 25% of all households. With the majority of people only having access to five or six channels to choose from, and all the networks covering the wedding, it became one of the last events that saw everyone tune in at the same time (Thomson, quoted in Kirby Sorensen, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Likewise, a relatively clutter-free media environment could have been responsible for the creation and public acceptance of Princess Dianas image as a global icon. Diana was one of the worlds famous media personalities, and her celebrity status was a result of people following her life story all around the world (Pujik, 2009). She was often hounded by the media, and the public loved her, nevertheless to the say, the media followed her everywhere she went and reported what she what she wore, said or was doing. The publics considered here as one of them. Her image of not being too royal, nor too ordinary, but royal and ordinary, was loved by the public (Thomas,. 2008). Shared grief Dianas death turned the public against paparazzi because they were believed to have played a part in her accident; at the same time, the public was united in grief and Dianas image was immortalized. Mendelson (2007) stated that the subsequent handwringing by members of the press, the public and governments after the death of Diana was drew tension between paparazzi and celebrities, causing heightened tension between celebrities and their right to privacy. For many, it was like losing a member of their family. In fact, many believed they knew the Princess better than anyone else in their lives. It is quite ironic how the entire world was mourning over the pictures that were clicked by the same paparazzi which they had criticized. Did the media have a set agenda behind this? According to agenda setting theory, the mass news media have a large influence on audiences by their choice of what stories to consider newsworthy and how much prominence and space to give them (McCombs, et al.,   1972). As in the case of the Dianas death, the mass media had a large influence on shaping the opinion of the audiences by continuously feeding them with reports of the sudden death of Diana. The media reaction to the Dianas death was unprecedented in its intensity and scale, a flashpoint in recent global media history in which the concerns of national and international media were united (Turner et al., 2000: 6). But the press argued that it was merely t heir duty to reflect what the public felt. As Merrin (1999) wrote, they were caught out by the outpouring of public grief at Dianas death and so quickly devoted themselves to reflecting the mood of the nation (Merrin, 1999). Here we can see that McLuhans theory of the media as the message (1962) holds through, since the very fact that the media was so clearly present in those times reflected the events significance. It has been also been argued that with regard to such media events, the public had to a greater or lesser extent been conditioned to learn their reaction from the media (Dayan Katz, 1992; Linenthal, 2001). The British media gave the death of Diana so much prominence that it turned out to be extremely newsworthy. The coverage was so exaggerated that it even was the extent of crowding out the death of another newsworthy personality Mother Theresa. The media continuously ran stories about the universal grief and how they loved Diana. The views of people who did not share the same opinion were not aired by the media. There were many who raised questions in the public, and were in turn harassed.   For those who felt coolly towards Diana, it was prudent to simply keep silent (Black Smith, 1999; Smith, P., Riley, A. 2011).   During Dianas funeral, it was reported that the whole world was watching, and mourned like they mourned the loss of a family member or friend (Brown, et. al. 2003). Noelle Neumanns (1993, 1984) theory of spiral of silence can be critically applied here to how public opinion was moulded with the persona created around Princesses Diana, her private life, her wedding to Charles, her celebrity status, her children, her divorce, her death and coupled with agenda setting people framed opinion based on the Medias agenda and those who didnt agree to the media framing tended to remain silent. Breaking down barriers Zelizer (1991) states that the media plays an important role in breaking down the boundaries between the private and public world. Since people interpret, discuss, and react to what they see, it can be argued that the media works as a two-way channel in the dissemination of information. In the earlier studies of Dianas wedding and television viewing, a public sphere, as stated by Zelizer, stems from a sense of connectiveness among the public. Audiences organize around media events in a strategic and directed fashion that allows them to connect effectively with othersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The result is an intrusion of the public sphere into the private domain (Zelizer, 1991). Embracing the media in its totality, the royal wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton echoed the spectacle of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981, involving over 8,000 reporting staff, broadcasting the event live worldwide. The Guardian reported, More than 36 studios, for broadcasters including the BBC, Sky News, ABC, NBC, CBS and Al-Jazeera, are housed in the three-storey structure, with outside broadcast vans and other equipment taking up so much space that part of Green Park has been closed to the public (The Guardian, April 28, 2011). Since the media today have to operate on a business model, the media took advantage of this event as a means for revenue. The Huffington Post reported that the couples uber celebrity-royal status have created a stir on the Internet and social networking sites which boosted ad revenue for online news organizations. (The Huffington Post, 11 March, 2011). The article further stated that advertisers started calling to reserve space on the website for April 29 within a nanosecond of the wedding date being announced. Thus, it could be argued that in some ways, the media too benefited from the grand occasion and celebritization of the royals. While the hype was generated by the media, social media played a large role this time round, with the general public feeding themselves with information shared over social networking sites. An analysis of social media mentions around the Royal Wedding revealed that there were over 200,000 mentions of Royal Wedding on April 27, two days before the wedding day. This increase of 1,215% mentions from the month before demonstrated that the public was indeed excited about the upcoming event (Radwanick, 2011). On the day itself, CNN reported 300 tweets with the Royal Wedding hashtag per second (CNN, April 29, 2011). The wedding was an event without borders, and anyone with a phone in their pockets could participate which was the crucial difference to the 1981 royal wedding. The existence of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter blew the event up in scale, larger than was ever expected. Bruns (2012) visualization of Twitter activity on the day of the wedding showed a sharp increase in the number of original tweets at specific points of the ceremony. The most significant spike of the day occurred at around 12:30pm the minute of the newlyweds first kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. It was as if the world let out a communal awwwà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ at that very moment (Bruns, 2012).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At a time when the UK was in economic recession, lavish public affairs funded by taxpayers was feared to cause public uproar (Dalrymple, 2011) the Queen had called off the palaces Christmas celebrations the year before in sensitivity to public sentiment (McVeigh, 2011). However, as the royal wedding prompted some parties to question the need for a monarchy and expensive events funded by taxpayers (Hastings, 2012), as demonstrated by social media, others were more than happy to participate in the media spectacle that it became. Latching on to this idea of celebrity, fashion played a big role in grappling the interest of the public. While many watched the event for its significance, there were a few different angles in which the wedding was featured. The event that saw Hollywood celebrities arriving in style was almost a fashion event in itself. Even news websites got into the action; The Telegraph Online showcased the wedding dress, with headlines using words like secret dress to hype up the wedding gown, as well as mentions of her guests hats, which became an icon of the wedding (fashion.telegraph.co.uk). Changing with the times In the ultimate signal of progression with the times, the Queen is even present on social media with a specially-made Facebook page called The British Monarchy. While users cannot poke the Queen or send her friend requests, they can like the page and become fans of the Queen. The Queen also launched a Flickr account, making more than 600 photographs of the Royal Family at work and play available to the public for the first time. A Royal Twitter account was launched in 2009 and Royal Channel went live on YouTube in 2007. The Queen also podcast her first Christmas Day message in 2006, and launched a website for herself and other members of the Royal Family in 1997. According to the Times of India published on June 5, 2012, the British Monarchy once reigned supreme as the head of the colonial rule extracting revenue which has now become the modern day revenue-earning machines. The transition is not a result of revolutions but evolution of the British Monarchy especially the Persona of the Queen. Post World War II, the monarchy understood that a cult of celebrity was fascinating the people across the globe but it was only available democratically to millions of those who were interested in reading about the lives of the celebrities or watching Hollywood. This sparked a change in the appeal and aura of the British Royal Persona and one could visibly see the domineering image giving way to the friendlier dynasty which could be documented on cinema and TV. There was a time in the history when this normalization seemed under threat with the tragic end of Princess Diana the Peoples Princess when the Royals were criticised for their coldness. But, Dia na provided the Persona with the right amount of sadness that is required of the celebrity cult. The 60th anniversary celebration of the Queens reign is a splendid example of the social and cultural status enjoyed by the Monarchy as the event was marked by millions of Celebrity fans lining the banks of the Thames to catch a glimpse of the royal flotilla sailing past. Conclusion While medieval societies viewed and accepted the top hierarchal position of royal families as ordained by God, modern society values individualism and an unprecedented mobility whereby people are no longer necessarily defined by their birthright (Handler, 1986). In a modern constitutional monarchy such as the United Kingdom, where governments are democratically elected and economic influence lies with mega-corporations rather than a handful of elite individuals, the role of royal families, too, has evolved to a more symbolic role of nationhood sovereignty rather than actual power (Duffett, 2004). Even the British monarchy, at one time commanding vast armies to colonize distant lands, has seen its political power dwindle a centuries-long process during which the Crown ceded power to government to ensure its own survival (Duffett, 2004). For the House of Windsor, public support is vital to remain relevant in a society that is no longer convinced that people are born into certain roles, or that Gods will ordains the very need for an aristocracy. The royal family, then, can be said to have a motive for being in the limelight; it needs to remain influential culturally and socially, even if limited politically in the publics eyes. Celebrity is the new royalty, and royalty needs to keep up. Unlike celebrities as defined in the introduction, whose motives of fame are usually preceded by the motivation of selling CDs, merchandise or personal brand, a royal is born in the limelight and remains there for the rest of his or her life with nothing to sell but the idea that his or her place, power and privileges in society is valid. Similarly, the media can be said to be imposing its influence in shaping public opinion in its celebritization of the royal family. A normalization of hegemonic dominance is established (Duffett, 2004), and the status quo is maintained. Beyond the medias profit-driven motives and prevalent belief that anything celebrity-related sells, is the rather sinister notion of keeping the public subordinated. Support for the monarchy, Duffett (2004) writes, implies consent for a national constitution that ensures people are governed in a particular way: by a hypercentralized state, as subjects not citizens, and, ultimately, through rule rather than total democracy. It also implies agreement that wealth and privilege should be distributed on the basis of birth rather than need, and that tradition is an acceptable reason for social inequality. Ultimately, the eager consumers of news surrounding the royal family and the citizens willingly accepting the role of the monarchy are the public, for whom the media and monarchy supposedly serve, and without whom the media and monarchy collapse. In 2008, Nepals 238-year-old monarchy faced the threat of being redundant and ousted in a contemporary society equipped with 24-hour mass media and an increasingly urban, literate and middle class population (Baltutis, 2011). Attempting to consolidate his loosening grip on national power, King Gyanendra and the royal government raised highly visible billboards as propagandistic advertisements (Baltutis, 2011). These proved to be unsuccessful, demonstrating that even with significant ruling power and an international media blackout King   Gyanendra had banned international communication in 2005 an unwilling public will not tolerate a redundant monarchy.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Political Cartoons and Republicans :: essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Republican Party was founded by a coalition in 1854 and was comprised of former members of the Whig, Free-Soil, and Know-Nothing parties. The slavery issue shattered America’s established political landscape and catapulted the Republicans from what seemed like nowhere straight into the White House in 1860. After Fremont’s attempt at winning the presidency in 1856, Lincoln won the election four years later, cementing the Republican Party’s desire for executive power. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States found itself politically gridlocked. Neither the newly formed Republicans nor the Democrats were able to gain much traction. The decades after the Civil War saw some of the closest and most controversial races in American history. The Rutherford B. Hayes commissioned election victory is a great example as he had fewer popular votes than Sam Tilden, but won the election under the guise of the Electoral College. The 1888 electi on was also very close, as less than 100,000 votes separated the leading candidates; Benjamin Harrison again won by the rules of the electoral process but lost the popular vote. During the Gilded Age of American history, the mainstream political scene was superficial and intensely partisan, but the regular Joe loved it. â€Å"Despite the lack of issues,† writes Morton Keller, â€Å"balloting – and straight ticket voting – in the 1870’s and 1880’s was at or near the highest level in American history.† He also contends that policy had become subordinate to â€Å"the sumptuous display† of parades, bonfires, and pep rallies. Accompanying this era of political advertisement and propaganda, the political system itself depended upon a spoils and patronage allowance, which gave rise to political corruption.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Political cartoons and mass media grew up with the end of the Civil War as well. As Harper’s weekly, Judge, Puck, and the New York World all competed for popular acceptance, they helped reform the political corruption of the time. After the critical election of 1896, the nature of party conflict changed. The close competition between the parties in the post Civil War period was replaced by Republican dominance. Mckinley’s defeat of William Jennings Bryan in 1896 and 1900 was followed by Republican victories in every presidential election until 1932, except for Woodrow Wilson’s victories in 1912 and 1916. This will be explored later. As the Republicans also controlled Congress from 1896 to 1930, except for during Wilson’s tenure, they were dominant everywhere but the South.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Free Essays on Homers Odyssey - My World by Polyphemus :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Odyssey - My World by Polyphemus         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No mortal or immortal being could imagine the suffering and the humiliation I went through. Before that wretched day, I used to be a powerful immortal with a blessed god as my father. I had no fear for any gods, for we Cyclopians were strong and fierce. Now I am reduced to a weak and disable Cyclops. My eye, my only eye, was put out by a man. A man with the slyness and the shrewdness of a fox although lacking physical greatness. I had a hard time dealing with my blindness and I often swear to the gods that one day I will catch him and have him for dinner. The thought of his limbs and his blood in my mouth gives me great satisfaction until today. That happened ten years ago but my story of the encounter must be told.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I was in my cave, when I first saw them. There were 13 of them all together. A man spoke up and identified themselves as Achaians from Troy who lost their way while traveling in the sea. He then threatened me with Zeus' name, hoping I would treat them well. I laughed scornfully at them and asked him where he moored his ship. He told me that it was wrecked by my father and that they were the only ones that survive. I was feeling very hungry at that time and those men aroused my appetite. I grabbed two of them and started to smash their brains out. I was determined to have them for supper. After an excellent meal, I soon fell asleep and was not awaken till the next day. The men were still there the next morning so I grabbed another two for breakfast.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I went off to tend to my sheep and was wise enough to place the stone back to its position to prevent the men from escaping. I returned only in the evening. I drove all my flocks inside the cave for I wanted to keep my eye on them. After all the sheep had been milked, I felt weary and hungry. I chose another two men to satisfy my belly.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Ancient Chinese Inventions

Ancient Chinese Inventions It is well known that China has an ancient and glorious history, from the feudal periods ending in 222 BC through the three Imperial and Intermediate Eras, up to the Modern era – over 4000 years of dynastic reigns. It may also be well known that China is the source of many wonderful and useful inventions from spaghetti to gunpowder. This list, however, will take a slightly different slant of the topic: Chinese inventions and developments that were not known to or adopted by the Western (European) world for many decades and sometimes centuries after they were common place in China.Some you may be familiar with, others perhaps less so. First on the list is Row Planting, which is from Feudal period through 6 century BC. The Chinese begin planting crops in rows sometime around 6 century BC. This allows the crops to grow stronger and a lot faster. It allows more efficient planting, weeding, harvesting and watering. There is also proof documented that they realized that when the wind travels over rows of plants it causes less damage to the crop. This development was not introduced in the western world for another 2200 years.A Chinese man by the name of Master Lu wrote in the â€Å"Spring and Autumn Annals†: If the crops are grown in rows they will mature rapidly because they will not interfere with each other’s growth. The vertical rows made for skill, the horizontal rows must be drawn well, for if the lines are straight the wind will pass gently through. Along with the above we have mechanical clock mechanisms. This was invented around 725 AD. This clock operated by dripping water that powered a wheel, which made one full revolution in 24 hours. A bronze and iron system of wheels and gears made the clock rotate.Accurate mechanical clocks were developed because of a belief in the form of astrology. This was based upon the moment of conception rather than the time of birth. In ancient years retainers would listen outside of royal bedrooms to record the possible times of conception of royal children. This event was important enough that considerable effort was devoted to developing accurate timing mechanisms. Next on the list would be the compass, which was developed around Feudal period through 4th cent BC. The Chinese developed a lodestone instrument to ndicate direction which is known as the compass. Upon development the compass were only south pointing and were primarily use for land as divination tools and direct finders. It was written that lodestone makes iron come or it attracts it. Spoons were used to point the direction, while mounted on plates. The spoons were made from lodestone, while the plates were of bronze. Later in year of 1040 thermo-remanence needles were produced for mariners. The common use of this was recorded around year 1119. The thermo-remanence technology is still in use today.Then we have deep drilling, the Chinese invented a tool used for deep drilling boreholes. This wa s invented around circa 202 BC through 220 AD. It is listed that some of these boreholes would reach the depths of 4800 feet. This technology would be easily recognizable to a modern engineer. The Chinese would stack rocks with center holes which were tube or doughnut shaped from the surface to the deep stone layer as a guide for their drills. In the search for salt wells the Chinese developed a technology of driving bamboo poles deep into the earth.In addition to brine this drilling also often tapped into reservoirs of natural gas. The natural gas was captured in barrels and used as fuel to evaporate the water from brine to produce salt. They used the gas to boil sea water which separated the salt allowing it to become drinkable. The Chinese also invented gun powder; this was invented around 850 AD. An enterprising alchemist mixed 75 parts saltpeter with 15 parts charcoal and 10 parts sulfur. This mixture had no discernible life-lengthening properties, but it did explode with a fla sh and a bang when it was exposed to an open flame.What is noted in text from the era is that smoke and flames result so that hand and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down. Then we have something that is widely used and appreciated throughout countries, cities and societies, the commonly used paper. This was invented around 105 AD and was made from a suspension of hemp waste in water, washed, soaked and beaten with a wooden mallet. A paper mold, probably a sieve of coarsely woven cloth stretched in a four sided bamboo frame, was used to dip up the fiber slurry from the vat and hold it for drying.Initially it was used for clothing rather than writing material. It was used to make body armor for soldiers. Now we have the ancient Chinese great unique invention of porcelain, which was invented around 16 century BC. In very ancient times the Chinese discovered that with the right choice of clay and firing techniques pottery could be made so thin that is was translucent. Such porcelain became universally known as china. Last but definitely not lease we have the known Chinese invention of a fabric that is soft to the skin. This fabric is called silk, which was invented around 3000 BC.For more than two thousand years the Chinese kept the secret of silk altogether to themselves. It was the most zealously guarded secret in history. The Chinese discovered that the cocoons of silk worms could be unwound and the filaments used to weave an especially light strong and beautiful cloth. All of these inventions were invented by original everyday pioneers. The saying goes everyday people do extraordinary things. Out of all of these wonderful inventions that were discussed, the invention of silk, paper, row planting and the mechanical clock mechanism would be the choice of the most important.Let’s briefly go over the reasons why these four would be the most important inventions. The invention of silk has paved the way for cent uries of fabric wearers. In the ancient years a person could distinguish who was royalty by the silk garment that was worn. Silk is 100% natural fabric and is healthy for your breathing due to the fact that silk is naturally hypoallergenic. The invention of row planting allowed more efficient growth of produce for farming which allowed more and better food to sell and to eat.The invention of the mechanical clock mechanism has evolved in time to be a much needed daily device called the clock. A clock is an instrument use to indicate, keep and coordinate time. A clock refers to any device for measuring and displaying time. This clock mechanism invention has involved into personal time keepers like a wrist watch, pocket watch etc. The invention of paper would be one of the best great inventions due to the fact that paper is used for everything in daily life. Paper was used to spread information that was on hand written letters. Paper is also used for drawings and painting.Not to mentio n that paper is used for books, newspaper and lets not forgot paper is used for making what we all love to spend money. Of all of the inventions listed above if there were one invention that would be listed as a must have invention would be the invention of paper. The invention of paper has evolved into the making of paper money. Paper money consists of 1, 5, 10, 20 dollar bills and etc. Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or a store of value. The first advantage to having money is that fact that stuff costs money. If you want things you have to have money to pay for them.Vary rarely do people just give their stuff away, they want something for it and money is the universal trade item. You can trade money for almost anything in the world. If you want a lot of stuff you need to have a lot of money. We now know that we owe a whole lot to the ancient Chinese for inventing so many things that are of important value to our lives. Makes you won der if they knew back then how important these inventions would become to be. References â€Å"About the Collection. † About the Collection. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. ipst. gatech. edu/amp/collection>. CHINESEA   INVENTIONS. † Chinese Inventions. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. vhinkle. com/china/inventions. html>. â€Å"History of Silk. † History of Silk. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. silk-road. com/artl/silkhistory. shtml>. â€Å"Natural Gas Exploration. † Natural Gas Exploration. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. explorations. org/natural_gas_exploration_cont. html>. â€Å"Origin of Chinese Porcelain. † Origin of Chinese Porcelain. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www1. chinaculture. org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_37884. htm>.