Dell E Marketing

Dell Enhances Online Marketing Capabilities and Improves Site Performance with Commerce Server 2000 Published: September 2001 To improve performance and enable complex online marketing campaigns, Dell upgraded its online commerce platform from Microsoft Site Server 3. 0 Commerce Edition to Commerce Server 2000. The flexible component-based architecture and extensive prebuilt functionality in Commerce Server enabled Dell to implement its new campaign capabilities in just six weeks of development time. The comprehensive campaign management system integrates with Dell’s existing customer relationship management (CRM) system, moving the company much closer to its goal of a true closed-loop online marketing environment. Company Overview Dell Computer Corporation is the world’s leading direct computer system provider, with the company’s award-winning customer service, industry-leading growth, and superior financial performance continuing to differentiate Dell from its competitors. At the heart of this success is Dell’s direct-to-customer business model, enabling the company to maximize its ability to meet customer expectations while avoiding the unnecessary time and costs associated with retailers or other resellers. To Dell, the Internet is the purest and most efficient form of the direct model, providing greater convenience and efficiency to customers and, in turn, to Dell. To Dell, â€Å"direct† refers to the company’s relationships with its customers, from home PC users to the world’s largest corporations. Approximately one-third of Dell’s U. S. 28 billion in annual revenues is achieved through the company’s Home and Small Business (HSB) Division, with the remainder generated from sales to medium and large businesses and institutional customers. HSB also maintains ownership of Dell’s online accessories store, which offers users a complete selection of nearly 30,000 competitively priced software and periphera l products from leading manufacturers, carefully selected to complement Dell’s systems. Business Challenge As a premier system provider to many other e-commerce companies, Dell strongly believes in using the products it recommends and sells. Toward this end, Dell traditionally has relied on Microsoft Site Server 3. 0 Commerce Edition (SSCE) to provide significant portions of the e-commerce functionality needed for Dell’s complex Web site. â€Å"Site Server 3. 0 provided great shopping cart and checkout functionality along with other benefits, but we were still looking for ways to improve performance and get closer to our customers,† says Gregg Hansen, Development Manager for Dell HSB. â€Å"Specifically, we wanted the ability to implement campaigns and use coupons. This presented challenges due to the heterogeneous environment we had in place, with commerce functionality provided by SSCE, customer data residing in a third-party CRM solution, and a mixed bag of applications used to mine the data. † Solution To improve performance and facilitate complex online marketing campaigns, Dell decided to upgrade from Microsoft Site Server to Commerce Server 2000. The company took a phased approach, first upgrading to Commerce Server to achieve greater performance and stability, followed by implementation of the new functionality it provided that would improve the company’s e-marketing capabilities. The ‘componentized’ nature of Commerce Server 2000 allowed us to easily break the project into phases,† says Hansen. â€Å"Phase one consisted of upgrading the platform before the holiday lockdown, with phase two focused on implementing the new functionality provided by Commerce Server 2000 to improve our campaign capabilities. † Phase 1: Greater Performance and Stability; Enhanced Management Capabilities After phase one, consisting primarily of the platform upgrade from Site Server to Commerce Server 2000, Dell saw significant performance improvements in the areas of shopping cart management and user checkout. We took advantage of the improved Commerce Server 2000 platform to increase performance by up to 100 percent in some areas,† says Hansen. â€Å"While our upgrade to Windows 2000 last year resulted in much better stability and performance, migrating from SSCE to Commerce Server 2000 has led to additional improvements in these areas—something I attribute to the elimination of memory leaks and better use of the platform’s core objects. As a result, the servers no longer require the amount of attention that they used to. † The platform upgrade also provided Dell with significant benefits in the area of system administration and management. The new management functionali ty in Commerce Server 2000 has enabled us to move away from a server-by-server management environment to a more centralized one,† says Hansen. â€Å"The Microsoft Management Console snap-ins for Commerce Server 2000 make it easier to manage the large numbers of servers we employ and to bring new boxes online as we continue to grow. † Phase 2: Comprehensive Campaign Management In phase two of the project, Dell took advantage of the extensive new prebuilt functionality in Commerce Server 2000 to enable targeted marketing campaigns. Using the new components in  Commerce Server 2000, we were able to implement the functionality needed to build the concept of a campaign, tie it to a discount, and enforce it—all with just six weeks’ development time,† says Hansen. â€Å"Had we tried to do it on our own and build this functionality from scratch, it would have taken six months. † As part of this effort, Dell created a custom Commerce Server 2000 Busi ness Process Pipeline (BPP) component to handle coupons created for each campaign. â€Å"The BPP provides a great framework for modeling and implementing commerce processes,† says Hansen. Its plug-in architecture makes it highly flexible and extensible, enabling us to achieve the overall functionality we need by combining out-of-the-box pipeline components with others that are either internally developed or purchased from a third party. Pipeline performance has also been greatly increased over the previous version, resulting in better than 100 percent increases in some areas. † To allow business users to easily implement campaigns, Dell uses the Commerce Server 2000 Business Desk. â€Å"The Business Desk enables our business managers to create complex campaigns without having to involve development staff,† says Hansen. We created extensions to the Business Desk that enable users to interact with our third-party CRM system to import lists of customers for a campai gn. They can use the expression builder to define the campaign rules and create the coupons, which are then passed back to the CRM system for the e-mail campaign. When these customers are driven to the site, the new Commerce Server 2000 functionality we’ve implemented tracks the users, enforces the campaign rules, and calculates the appropriate discounts. † Moving Forward with Commerce Server 2000 With Dell’s new campaign management system now in production, Hansen is looking at other Commerce Server 2000 features to further enhance the company’s online marketing capabilities. â€Å"We’re looking at the Commerce Server 2000 Targeting System to make product recommendations based on real-time customer behavior, which should significantly improve our ability to cross-sell additional items,† says Hansen. â€Å"We’re also looking at taking advantage of new features in the Business Process Pipeline, such as its ability to support multiple ship-to locations. Why Dell Chose Commerce Server 2000 Dell selected Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 because it provided extensive out-of-the-box functionality that easily could be integrated into the existing complex environment. â€Å"We looked at  several other products, but Commerce Server 2000 was the easiest to extend and get into production,† says Hansen. â€Å"The greatest benefits provided by Co mmerce Server 2000 are its extensive out-of-the-box functionality combined with a flexible component-based architecture that  can be easily extended. With just six weeks of development, we were able to customize and integrate its prebuilt functionality into our existing environment, resulting in better performance, improved stability, and extensive new campaign management capabilities. † For More Information For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Resource Centre at (800) 563-9048. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to www. microsoft. com. For more information about Dell products and services, visit the Web site at www. dell. com. For more information on Dell/Microsoft solutions, please visit www. dell. com/microsoft.  © 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR  IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, the . NET logo, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. ———————– Solution Overview Profile Dell Computer Corporation, headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, near Austin, is the world's leading direct computer system company and a premier supplier of technology for the Internet infrastructure. Scenario Business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce Microsoft Technologies/Products Used Microsoft ® Windows ® 2000 Advanced Server oo ? Business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce ? Microsoft Technologies/Products Used ? Microsoft ® Windows ® 2000 Advanced Server operating system with Internet Information Services version 5. 0 Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 Microsoft SQL Serverâ„ ¢ 2000 Benefits By upgrading to Commerce Server 2000, Dell was able to improve performance in some areas by up  to 100 percent. The flexible, component-based architecture of Commerce Server enabled Dell to use only the functionality the company needed and made it easy to extend the product where needed to meet the company’s specific business needs. The greatest benefits provided by Commerce Server 2000 are its extensive out-of-the-box functionality combined with a flexible component-based architecture that can be easily extended. With just six weeks of development, we were able to customize and integrate its prebuilt functionality into our existing environment, resulting in better performance, improved stability, and extensive new campaign management capabilities. † Gregg Hansen Development Manager Dell HSB Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 Customer Solution Using the new components in Commerce Server 2000, we were able to implement functionality to build the concept of a campaign, tie it  to a discount, and enforce it—all with just six weeks’ development time. Had we tried to do it on our own and build this functionality from scratch, it would have taken six months. † Gregg Hansen Development Manager Dell HSB [pic] The . NET Enterprise Servers are Microsoft’s comprehensive family of server applications for building, deploying, and managing next-generation, integrated Web experiences that move beyond today’s world of stand-alone Web sites. Designed with mission-critical performance in  mind, the . NET Enterprise Servers provide fast time-to-market as well as scalability, reliability, and manageability for the global, Web-enabled enterprise. They have been built from the ground up for interoperability using open Web standards such as the Extensible Markup Language (XML). The . NET Enterprise Servers are a key part of Microsoft’s broader . NET strategy, which will enable a distributed computing model for the Internet based on Internet protocols and standards in order to revolutionize the way computers talk to one another on our behalf.

The Uk Has a Multi Party System Rather Than a Two Party System

The UK has a multi- party system rather than a two party system. Discuss. A political two party system is one where two parties have complete dominance over voting, in terms of seats and the general vote. The multi- party system however describes a system where more than two parties have the ability to win role as government. In this essay I will give a balanced argument on whether Britain is a two party, or multi- party system.Throughout a significant period in history, 1945-79, a two party system was obviously predominant; the Labour and Conservative parties being the only two with the possibility of achieving majority vote and therefore forming a government. People voted for the party which represented their social class e. g. Conservative for middle class and Labour for working class. The clear distinction between which social classes would benefit from the two parties rule kept these two parties as a high percentage of the vote. In the elections leading up to 2005 Labour and Con servative seats were a significantly high number compared to other parties e. . in 1992 Conservatives had 336 seats, labour-271 and other parties 44, meaning no other party had a real chance of winning, no matter what the vote favoured, which incidentally also supported the two dominant parties with 41. 8% Conservative votes, 34. 2% Labour votes and only 19% of votes for other parties. The structure of the House of Commons also supports this idea because the two main parties sit on opposite benches in parliament, creating a government vs. opposition system, where the two main parties move between these two seats, currently with Labour as the opposition.The first-past-the-post voting system also supports this idea because it doesn’t allow smaller powers a chance for a place in power, as they don’t have enough MPs in comparison to stronger parties. Although, the Liberal Democrat’s seats in parliament have increased significantly, if it weren’t for the votin g system, their numbers are likely to have doubled. Although people have started to look towards more minor parties such as the Green Party who want to deal with important current issues such as war, as well as their main focus-the environment, these parties are still not gaining enough votes or seats to make them significantly prominent.This leaves the continuation of two ruling parties. It could be argued, however, that the two party system which was once in place is declining, meaning more parties have a realistic chance to achieve role as government. In the last thirty years the support for the Conservative and Labour parties has been gradually decreasing, leaving them with only 67% of the vote at the 2005 general election, which was the smallest percentage they’d gained since 1918.This is an example of partisan dealignment because the working class started to transfer their party support to Conservative instead of Labour. The Liberal Democrats support was significantly i ncreasing, leaving them with 22% of the vote in the 2005 election as well as 62 seats. Their seat numbers had been increasing since 1974 when they only had 14 seats in parliament, suggesting a change in the dominance of only two parties. Today, the Liberal Democrats, who haven’t been considered a main party since, are currently the weaker part of a coalition government, with Labour in opposition.This shows a clear end to the two party system, with three parties in significant places of power. Despite the two party voting system which has been practiced in different regions since 1997, a multi-party system still exists in the House of Commons because three parties currently have the majority of party power, meaning that it is the main structure of the UK party system. The current coalition government includes the Liberal Democrats who have not recently been considered as one of the two major parties.This shows that the two party system is no longer in place; which suggests tha t in the future more coalition governments could completely eliminate the two party system for good. Although it can be argued that the UK has a multi- party system at government level, a two party system seems to exist in different regions. For example, the two dominant parties in London are Conservative and Labour, whereas in the rural South it’s Conservative and Liberal Democrats.Therefore as a country the UK does not represent the two party system or multi- party system, examples of both can be seen in different political areas. To conclude, a balanced argument can be drawn in response to this statement but I personally believe, although in the past a continuing trend of a two party system has existed, today this system is declining, with Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats as the primary parties.

Dulce Est Decorum Est and This Is the Dark Time, My Love

Neither fame nor glory can compensate for the immense suffering that war inflicts on humanity. â€Å"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori† is an ‘old’ lie told to youths ardent of joining the army. Not only are the targeted victims oppressed, but the soldiers who risk their lives fighting for their countries are left horrified. In both â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† and â€Å"This is A Dark Time, My Love†, the intimate experiences of the personas give first-hand insights of the terrors and tortures of war. Imagery, pathetic fallacy and language vividly create the ghastly image of war. This is The Dark Time, My Love† is about a people whose dreams of a better life have been threatened by the destructive power of the â€Å"strange invaders. † The persona conveys his intense anger against the British military presence and his belief that their rule is wrong and they display total injustice. Additionally, the persona accentuates the subjection, devastation, death and anger of the people of Guyana. It focuses on the â€Å"dark time† that the people are facing that the experience of the war where â€Å"all around the land brown beetles crawl about†. Everywhere the faces of men are strained and anxious† tell of the fear and tension that the victims feel. Even nature is sympathetic as â€Å"red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow. † The poet laments of the misery of his people, the instability of his people and the sorrow brought by these â€Å"strange invaders†. In â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, a soldier vividly describes the horrors of war as he hopelessly watches one of his comrades being â€Å"gassed. † Returning from the battle-field, â€Å"bent double,† coughing and limping with blood-shod feet, they had not heard the gas-filled shells being dropped. Luckily, most of the soldiers managed to escape, but unfortunately one of his comrades did not. As the persona recounts the traumatic experience, he lashes out at all who thinks that it is glorious and honourable to die for one’s country. The impact of the incident on the persona is one of loathing and revulsion. Both poets use imagery which is striking and graphic to inform us of the terrors of war. In â€Å"This is The Dark Time, My Love,† the visual image of the soldiers, â€Å"all around the land brown beetles crawl about†, in their thick armoury is like the beetles who have hard shells on their backs. All around† and â€Å"crawl† creates the image that they move around in large uniform masses, just like beetles. The word â€Å"crawl† also presents the image of the soldiers moving sneakily and invading the land with stealth. â€Å"Who comes walking in the dark night time? / Whose boot of steel tramps down the slender grass† creates the visual image of the soldiers, who can walk through the dark night fearlessly, unaffected by the dark times. An auditory image is also created as the tramping of the soldiers can be heard as they walk on the unthreatening, impotent grass. Imagery in this poem is used to describe the ways in which war oppresses innocent victims, whereas in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, similes are used to create images of the struggles soldiers face on the battlefield. The simile, â€Å"bent double, like old beggars under sacks†, is vivid as one can actually picture the soldiers â€Å"drunk with fatigue† and trying to make their way back to camp. They are hopeless and tired and though fighting for one’s country is said to be honourable, they are being compared to beggars. This line contrasts with the title of the poem. Both the visual and auditory image of the â€Å"knock-kneed† soldiers â€Å"coughing like hags† shows the choking effect of the smell of the gas. Their coughing sounds like that of an old, tired person, which they in fact are. They cannot breathe and being compared to ‘hags’ emasculates the soldiers. Pathetic fallacy is used in â€Å"This is the Dark Time, My Love† since even nature was in a state of sadness at the oppression of the society. This is seen by the personifications, â€Å"The shining sun is hidden in the sky/Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow. The flowers appear to mourn the people in the dark time who are victims of the violence of the soldiers and the suppression by the colonial powers. It seems as if the wilting flowers, whose stems are usually drooping, are actually bending their ‘heads’ in sympathy with those who have to live through the dark times. The â€Å"shining sun† represents hope and prosperity . It is unable to penetrate through the â€Å"dark times† where the people are hopeless and in despair. The sun being hidden in the sky reflects that there is no hope for the society. The emotive and intense language used in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† tells of the anger, revulsion and disgust the persona feels about being part of the war. â€Å"He plunges at me guttering, choking, drowning, â€Å"white eyes writhing in his face† and â€Å"blood come gargling from his froth-corrupted lungs† evokes sympathy in the reader. The soldier’s comrade did not die instantly from inhalation of the gas, he suffered before he died. In all the persona’s â€Å"smothering dreams,† he never thought he would experience anything like that. â€Å"Like a devil’s sick of sin† compares war to the devil who offers no good and will never be sick of sin. War only offers pain and suffering and it is as if those who declare war are in fact devils. â€Å"This is The Dark Time, My Love† and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† both aim to convey the universal message that the stereotypical assumptions about war and fighting for one’s country are lies. Both poems tell of the atrocities of war and that war affects everyone. In â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est,† the persona remarks that the battlefield is a horrifying experience and that many are scared for life and left feeling helpless and hopeless. The main comment the persona is trying to make is that dying for one’s country is neither noble nor honourable as people claim it to be and those anxious for glory should not buy into this belief. It emphasizes how much they had to suffer and the message received is that war is not worth the trauma and agony they have to endure. In â€Å"This is The dark Time, My Love,† the persona indicates that war is so dehumanising that even nature makes a statement as pathetic fallacy. The persona also refers to war as â€Å"the season of oppression . . and tears. † This alludes to the hostility and brutality to which the Guyanese are subjected and their suffering as a result. It goes on to say that it is a â€Å"festival of guns† and â€Å"Carnival of misery† showing that violence is so rampant, it seems to be a celebration. War imposes itself on the nation’s culture and robs the nation of its independence and dreams; â€Å"aiming at your dream. † War wreaks severe pain and distress on both soldiers and innocent, targeted people and this brings about the question whether war is really worth the suffering. Those who declare war do not endure the suffering and thus, preach that it is glorious to die for one’s country. However, as the both persona’s prove, it is no honour and certainly, no nobility to die for one’s country !

Prison Overcrowding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prison Overcrowding - Essay Example It is not just the problem of a country. Rather, it is an international phenomenon. In this context, the present essay is an attempt to report the mounting problem of overcrowding in prisons in general. The essay takes an argumentative approach wherein an attempt is made to suggest solutions to the problem of overcrowding. The essay also throws lights on the causes of overcrowding such as increased crime rates. The inmates of a prison might be either pre-trail detainees or convicted/sentenced offenders. Irrespective of the type of offence and length of punishment, inmates are accommodated almost alike. Consequently, when the problem of overcrowding arises, it is likely to affect all the inmates more or less in the same manner. Overcrowding will result in serious repercussions which adversely affect the smooth running of the correction centres and the very purpose of judiciary. According to an earlier research in the area, three effects have been identified owing to overcrowding (John Howard Society of Alberta 2002). The first and foremost problem is that there is less of everything to go around; which eventually contributes to same spaces and resources will have to be shared among the inmates; that reduces the opportunities for prisoners to correct themselves by reducing the chances of self-improvement and rehabilitative programs, such as and vocational and academic training, employment etc. Moreover, this will lead to the deprivation of inmates from work or work opportunities, as a result of which they will exhibit discontent and disruptive behaviour (Cox et al. 1984). Overcrowding can also creates behavioral problems such as stress, fear, noise, and even some violent outburst (Johnston 1991). Stress may lead to aggression or depression. These psychological problems may have impact upon the social relationship and interaction among the inmates (Smith 1982). The third implication is that the inmates may be classified on the basis of the spaces they have been allotted rather than measure like security reasons and the like. It has been observed that any attempt to adjust with the limited space and the resulting overcrowding can only bring misclassification of prisoners (Cox et al. 1984). "The effects of misclassifying offenders due to overcrowding extend beyond the immediate consideration of there being too little space and too few resources. It also leads to slow progress through the corrections system and consequently to slow exit, which in turn perpetuates or increases the overcrowding problem" (John Howard Society of Alberta 2002). In a nut shell, over population in prison provides no way for offenders to be rehabilitated, the correction of criminal behavior, to avail human dignity. It may also cause outbreak of certain epidemic diseases such as AIDS. Causes of Overcrowding The root cause for over population in prison is the increased crime rates and punishment rates. Moreover, the length of punishment and reduced parole has compounded the rate of prison population. Overcrowding may cause many threats to the inhabitants; which result in further offences happen inside the correction centres. However, there has been slight decrease in the crime rates in country like United Kingdom. The problem of overcrowding can be attributed to the reasons listed below (Factors Impacting Prison Overcrowding 2000): There has been an increase due to the "war on drugs", high recidivism

Intellectual Property Rights Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intellectual Property Rights - Assignment Example One cannot use government trademarks or the logos of government agencies without getting permission from relevant authorities. For instance, people are prohibited from using government’s agencies logo/trademark on their social media pages. Copyright may protect works that have been prepared for the government by independent entities. The government may have the exclusive rights to use such works. Individuals are not permitted to use government works in ways that show endorsement by a government agency or worker. For instance, it is illegal to use a photo of a government official who is wearing a product of a person/company in an advertisement.4. What are the different types of Government contract data rights?If the government funds a project on its own, it obtains an â€Å"unlimited rights† license. The rights apply to non-commercial technical data, computer software, and computer software documentation. In cases where both the government and a contractor fund a project , there will be a need for a â€Å"Government purpose rights† license. In case a contractor solely funds the project; there will be a need for a â€Å"restricted rights† license in non-commercial computer software. A â€Å"limited rights† license will apply to noncommercial technical data .5. How does the government claim title to an invention while if someone files for a patent while working for the government?Federal law states that rights to inventions created by federal employees belong to the government in some situations.

Non-strategic games Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Non-strategic games - Case Study Example Games are normally based on certain strategic principles (Condon 498-410). In non-strategic games, little skills are involved. In fact, there are no predetermined solutions and results and hence none of the players can determine how the outcome of the game would be. Experience in non-strategic games is not of essence. The crucial factor that separates this type of game and business models from the rest is that there exists relatively little chance involved. All players, or business partners in a business scenario, have equal degree of knowledge of the elements of the game or business market constraints. Little or no physical skills are required in this game. Examples of strategic games include the Mastermind, English Draughts, Chess, Go, and the Nine Men's Morris. Non-strategic games are also different from the strategic ones which involve strategic decision making. Non-strategic games do not focus on important issues of the game, they do not consider long term horizons nor do they bother with the need to be accountable. There is very little or no accounts for uncertainty. Businesses and business managers heavily employ the concept of non-strategic games in their decision making processes. A strategy or tactics in general are usually contrasted with luck. ... Wishful behaviors are not associated to strategic games. Games exist on a continuum from pure skill to pure chance, with strategic games usually towards the skill end of the spectrum (462). There exist so many non-strategic games in Europe and in other parts of the world. Some of these games are chess and other chase related games, paper and pencil games such as dot and boxes and the sprouts game, the n-in-a-row games among others. A game of skills is not a strategic game. This is precisely because the the outcome is determined mainly by mental and sometimes by the physical skills and not purely ones chance. Non-strategic games, unlike other games of skill, are not a means of exploring one's own capabilities. They also do not encourage the players to understand, look into and even experience what is happening. Technological advancement has for quite a long time encouraged the use and development of non-strategic games. Even though most games involve a degree of chance, randomization devices are used mainly to ensure that the chances of an instance repeating itself are minimal. Some of the commonly used randomization devices and games include the coin flip, the dice, playing cards and the random number generator. There is always a legal importance in the distinction between chance and the use of skills in accomplishing a given task. Chance games and even chance business management strategies and decision making models are differentiated from the ones where skills are employed. However, the legal distinction between the two terms is often vague and it varies widely from one set up to anoth er. Unlike non-strategic games, abstract strategy games are only loosely tied to a real-world theme, if at all. A small category of non-perfect and abstract strategy

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

International marketing - Essay Example The process of international marketing engages targeting of the consumers for a particular product in the international market, approaches to enter in the particular country, marketing mix strategies along with strategic business plans to compete in the international market (Onkvisit & Shaw, â€Å"International Marketing: Analysis and Strategy†). From the perspective of American Marketing Association (AMA), international marketing is the global practice of planning and manipulating the inherent strategies of an organization along with the pricing strategies, strategies of promotion and allocation of products, services or ideas that satisfy the consumers along with the organization goals (Onkvisit & Shaw, â€Å"International Marketing: Analysis and Strategy†). The paper intends to study about the various aspects of international marketing which will affect TATA Motors’ cars in the United States market. The study of market analysis with various aspects, such as general information of the US market, social and cultural analysis of the US consumers, economic analysis of the US market as well as political and legal situation of the US has been focused upon through this paper. Market entry strategy of TATA Motors including situational analysis, target market and product positioning along with different features of marketing mix have also been highlighted through this paper. In the present globalised market scenario within the automobile sector, the US car market is one of the most sought after places for the international car manufacturing companies. However, the car market segment of the country has faced deficits in terms of selling units. The sales of personal cars or light weight vehicles were previously 11% in the year 2010 and increased by 10% in the year of 2011. The fluctuating scenario of the US car market signifies the increasing

DHS Homeland Security Advisory System and DoD FPCON Research Paper

DHS Homeland Security Advisory System and DoD FPCON - Research Paper Example In order to protect military and civilian targets, the Department of Defense (DoD) devised two separate terrorist response systems. FPCON is devised to protect military personnel and facilities while the Homeland Security Advisory System is implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Alert levels in these systems could last for weeks or months depending on the perceived situation by authorities. Aside from the laws implemented to deter, detect, and punish terrorists after 9/11, the federal government has devised warning systems to guide civilians and military personnel on how to respond to terrorist threats. HSAS was implemented on March 11, 2002, to make the dissemination of threats faster and more efficient. To avoid confusion with its military counterpart, the existing THREATCON was renamed to FPCON by the military (U.S. Defense Attachà ©, 2009). The advisory system is primarily designed to inform government agencies and department (federal, state, and local) public and private sectors, and citizens in general of an imminent or perceived terrorist threat in the country. Established on March 11, 2002, the Advisory System is organized into five color codes, each code of which corresponds to descriptions of a terrorist threat level. The lowest risk of terrorist threat is coded green. This warning signals minimum threat but it calls for the refinement of preplanned preventive measures to deter an attack. It further calls for the assessment of vulnerabilities and to take measures that these vulnerabilities are safeguarded and secured against terrorists. The next threat level is coded blue, with â€Å"guarded† as its corresponding descriptor. In code blue, there is a general risk of terrorist attacks and emergency response communications and systems are assessed.  

Philosphy 103 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosphy 103 - Essay Example In his work entitled â€Å"The Ethics of Belief†, Clifford highlighted two core reasons he felt beliefs are not just peoples’ private business (Kessler, p. 324). This stance on beliefs courted as many enemies and friends for Clifford as people opposed and supported his notions in equal measure. â€Å"The Ethics of Belief† sought to emphasize the principles of his feelings about beliefs. However, the central issues in this essay, like in most other essays he wrote on belief, was to show that it is wrong for a person to accept or believe in or about things without supporting and considerable evidences (Kessler, p. 324). In fact, it is Clifford’s notions and principles, which are considered the principles on which modern scientific reasoning is based. The main reason Clifford asserts that beliefs are not personal businesses is the fact that one’s beliefs affect others in society. ... The other strong argument fronted by Clifford is that believing things on poor or flimsy grounds makes a person and society vulnerable to believe in falsehood, which may then be transferred to the larger family or society (Kessler, p. 324). On the contrary, in 1896, William James conducted a lecture entitled â€Å"The Will to Believe†. In essence, this lecture sought to counter Clifford’s assertion that beliefs should be based on significant evidences. That is, James felt that beliefs need not be based on prior evidences of truth (Kessler, p. 324). The lecture by James is largely regarded as being defensive of religious faith, which is often seen to lack evidence of truth. The central argument in this lecture was that the initial adoption of beliefs should form the basis of accessing truth and ascertaining whether evidences exist for the beliefs in question (Kessler, p. 324). For instance, according to James, one may believe in his ability to execute a given task, if su ch a task requires one to be confident. In fact, James opines that even scientific inquiries are based on first believing that something exists without first having significant evidence. Thus, for James, like one may believe in his or her ability to accomplish a task, religious belief may be rational if a person initially lacks evidence of the truth of the belief (Kessler, p. 324). However, James’ theory gives room for situations in which it is not entirely clear whether one is likely to lose or gain truth. That is, by not making up one’s mind, one may save himself or herself by throwing away the chance of gaining the truth about a belief (Kessler, p. 324). These scenarios are those in which one is not often forced to choose between believing falsehood and truth

Is President Obama’s nuclear non-proliferation policy realistic Essay - 1

Is President Obama’s nuclear non-proliferation policy realistic (Policy Brief) - Essay Example President Obama also announced willingness to negotiate with North Korea and Iran to stop nuclear proliferation not withstanding other issues with these nations (Allison, G. & Dillon, D. 2010). The policy also urges nations without nuclear arms to stop acquisition and permits access to nuclear energy. These objectives can be achieved by strengthening international inspections with more resources and authority and the implementation of rules to foil black markets, uncover and intercept the trafficking of nuclear materials and use financial instruments to interrupt nuclear trade (President Obama speech on Nuclear Disarmament 2009). ii. The willingness of President Obama to hold wide ranging and direct talks with Iran provides the best opportunity to build a cooperative relationship and an acceptable agreement through an effective policy can even prevent the nation from building nuclear weapons plant and stabilize the surrounding region (Bertram, C. 2009). iii. The decade long favouritism of British people towards investment in nuclear weapons has taken a turn with their opinion to scrap all nuclear weapons instead of building a new nuclear weapon plant which is a positive sign for collective action from nuclear weapon powers (Glover, J. 2009). iv. The disarmament of United States can provoke nuclear proliferation in small size because the deterrence factor will not prevail thus increasing the prospects of more Irans and North Koreas in future (Mazol, J. 2009). iii. Suggested voluntary and forced nuclear disarmament aspects are (i) global adherence to IAEA safeguards (ii) rules to prevent withdrawal from NPT and hold nations responsible for violations of NPT (iii) compulsory adherence to Additional Protocol to use peaceful nuclear technologies and (iv) automatic penalties for nations that violate safeguard agreements (Pifer, S., Cirincione, J. & Gaddy, C. 2010). Russia’s consent to

What do you think the most serious problem in the world Why Essay

What do you think the most serious problem in the world Why - Essay Example Knowing the broader implications of ideas allows one to move beyond the superficial nature (and seemingly discreteness) of our modern problems. With this foundation, it seems the most serious problem afflicting the world today is nihilism, which is the idea that values do not and cannot exist. Nihilism can take form in philosophy, but it is more recognizable in actions. Incidentally, there are a number of examples of nihilism applied to action that correlate to what the BBC found were the most serious problems. A recent example was the 2011 London riots, in which youth rioters destroyed and looted urban streets. As one commentator notes, â€Å"Nihilism, or the conviction that life on Earth is totally pointless, saps the young of their energy, their ambition, and their will to strive, struggle and triumph† (Dean). In this case, people commit violence not to achieve something, but for violence for violence’s sake. On a larger scale, in his book Ominous Parallels, philosopher Leonard Peikoff indicates that Nazi Germany arose out a culture of nihilism, which fanned the flames of extreme poverty, military aggression, and genocide. Anders Behring Breivik, perpetrator of the Oslo terrorist attack, committed his crime in the attempt to destroy as much value as possible (Nowicki). In fact, this is a consistent theme across time and space, among humankind’s most grievous catastrophes and crimes: the desire to destroy and the results of that attitude. BBC World Service. "Poverty most serious world problem, says global poll." 17 January 2010. BBC World Service. 16 September 2011

Cover Letter Essay Example for Free

Cover Letter Essay Hello Beaumont: I am interested in the Hospitality, Please review the attached resume, which highlight skills and accomplishments that will enable me to contribute to your team. I have computer knowledge and years of customer service skills along with my ability to work within teams if needed for the job. I would appreciate the chance to show, apply, and learn more useful skills that will help me in pursuing my long-term career goals. I can be reached via email and or phone. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about this employment opportunity. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Street Address] [Address 2] [City, ST ZIP Code] [Phone] [E-Mail] [Website] [Date] [Recipient Name] [Title] [Company Name] [Street Address] [Address 2] [City, ST ZIP Code] Dear [Recipient Name]: [Name of Person Referring] suggested that I contact you regarding the open [job title] position with [Company Name]. My educational background in [field of study], along with my professional experience, makes me an excellent candidate for this position. As you will see from the enclosed resume, I have more than [number] years of experience in the field of [area of professional expertise]. My resume shows that I have been consistently rewarded for hard work with promotions and increased responsibilities. These rewards are a direct result of my expertise in [area of professional expertise], my commitment to personal and professional excellence, and my excellent written and oral communication skills. If you have questions, or if you want to schedule an interview, please contact me at [phone number]. I look forward to meeting you to further discuss employment opportunities with [Company Name]. Sincerely, [Your Name] Enclosure

Climate Changes Implications To Pacific Islands

Climate Changes Implications To Pacific Islands Based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) fourth assessment report, it identifies small island states as being the most vulnerable countries of the world to the adverse impacts of climate change. The Pacific islands in fact without doubt one of worlds most vulnerable regions when it comes to the risks of disaster due to climate change, especially to the several of the low-laying coral islands. Climate change is already affecting Pacific islands with dramatic revenue loss across sectors such as agriculture, water resources, forestry, tourism and other industry-related sectors. The Pacific islands are subjected to the impacts of climate change caused by excessive fossil burning, deforestation and atmospheric pollution. The Pacific islands see climate change is the major disaster and have openly and continually blame the industrialized nations for failure to take definitive steps towards deteriorating pollution of the global atmosphere. Climate change poses an existe ntial threat to the Pacific islands and may further aggravate conflicts over increasingly scarce resources. This paper examines the implications of climate change on economic, social and political security in the Pacific islands states. KEYWORDS: Climate change, Pacific islands, Small Island states, Pollution Introduction Pacific islands consist of small islands like Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Cook Islands, Marshal Islands, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Pacific islands are one of the region are being affected by climate change. Due to their geographical size, the impacts of climate change seem faster that other regions. What is climate change? According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC), climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that changes the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. As the United Nations Secretary General has said, it is the major, overriding environmental issue of our time, and the single greatest challenge facing environmental regulators. It is a growing crisis with economic, health and safety, food production, security, and other dimensions. Based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) fourth assessment report, it identifies small island states as being the most vulnerable countries of the world to the unpleasant impacts of climate change. The Pacific islands in fact without doubt one of worlds most vulnerable regions when it comes to the risks of disaster due to climate change, especially to the several of the low-laying coral islands like Kiribati and Tuvalu. Climate change is already affecting Pacific islands with dramatic revenue loss across sectors such as forestry, tourism, water resources, agriculture, and other related sectors. The 41st meeting of the Pacific islands Forum, which took place in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 4th to 5th of August 2010, concluded with the issuance of a Communiquà ©, which contains a section on climate change. According to the Communiquà ©, climate change remains the greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific islands. The Pacific islands leaders stress the need for a meaningful legally-binding agreement on emissions reduction to be reached urgently and without delay. This paper will focus on the implications of climate change on economic, social and political security in the Pacific islands. The first part of this paper will provide a brief summary on climate change and the Pacific islands and issues arise from climate change; second, we will examine the implications of climate change: threat to human security such as food, natural resources and ecosystem, and health; migration; and political instability. The impacts of climate change are quite varied. If we look at the physical impacts that climate change is having, we will see the issues arise from climate change are sea level rises and temperature increases. According to Espen Ronneberg, changes in atmospheric and ocean temperatures will be having impacts on Pacific islands through a mixture of physical interactions and one of them is changes in precipitation patterns. Hence, climate change creates an existential threat to the Pacific islands and may further exacerbate conflicts over increasingly scarce resources. Climate change is increasing the harshness and frequency of disasters, which are causing displacement, livelihood insecurity and increasing political instability. This research paper is attempted to discover the implications of climate change on economic, social and political security in the Pacific islands even though there are a few consensus regarding the climate change have been made for example during the 108th Congr ess (2003-2004), nearly 100 bills, resolutions, and amendments specifically addressing climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were introduced. The bills, resolutions, and amendments focused primarily on climate change research and comprehensive emissions cap and trade programs. Additional bills concentrated on GHG reporting and power plant emissions of CO2. Physical Evidences of Climatic Change The Pacific islands are subjected to the impacts of climate change caused by human influences such as excessive fossil burning, deforestation and atmospheric pollution; and due to natural reasons for instance the movement of tectonic plates, orbital variations, volcanism and ocean variability. The Pacific islands see climate change as the major disaster and have openly and continually blame the industrialized nations like United States for failure to take definitive steps towards deteriorating pollution of the global atmosphere. Besides that, the increasing of population growth, tourism and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources negatively impacts the ecosystem. The growth of population is expected to further exacerbate land and resource scarcity and make the situation more badly. Climate change poses an existential threat to the Pacific islands and may further exacerbate conflicts over increasingly scarce resources. Below are the two major issues that arise due to climate c hange. Sea Level Rising The issues arise due to climate change are sea-levels rising, extreme weather events and disasters and livelihood degradation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) agrees the primary issue arise due to climate change is rising of the sea level. Relatively small rises in sea level would make some densely settled coastal plains uninhabitable and create a significant problem. Moreover, any increase in sea level will accelerate the coastal erosion and cause the low-lying island states like what happen in Tuvalu and Kiribati. It is estimated that, the sea-levels are likely to rise for the next centuries to come. Presently, the IPCC predicts sea level rise is most probable to be just short of half a meter, and at least between 9 and 88 cm through 2100, but they also warn that climate change during that time may lead to irreversible changes in the earths glacial system and ultimately melt enough ice to raise sea level many meters over the next decade. Tuvalu is the best example to explain issue of rise of sea level. In early 2000, there were a series of media reporting over sea level rise issues using Tuvalu as an example. The daily life of Tuvalu revolves around the ocean and the immediate threat on the Tuvaluan, economy, environment and its islands is of concern to the Tuvalu government. Tuvalu government has concluded that Tuvalu was destined to become the first nation to be sunk by climate change because it is one of the smallest and lowest-lying countries in the world. Erosion due to sea level rise is not the only issue in Tuvalu. Inundation will increase further inland together with salt water intrusion to destroy underground the freshwater sources. According to McCracken of the United States Global Change Research of Climate change, a 1 cm rise in sea level can consume 1 m or more of beach width towards the sea. Below figure shows the sea level trends for Tuvalu since 1995. Figure 1: The sea level trends Source: Than Aung, Awnesh Singh and Uma Prasad. Sea Level Threat in Tuvalu. (2009) The issue of the rising of sea level is not a new issue to Tuvalu. The actual danger to Tuvalu is the rate of the sea level rise. Figure 1 shows the sea level trends with time, it is quite clear that trends for Tuvalu are more or less horizontal since 1999. It clearly indicates that the sea level rise rate is not accelerating but however, as mention earlier a 1 cm rise in sea level can consume 1 m or more of beach width towards the sea; it shows how dangerous the rising of sea level may affect small islands like Tuvalu. Extreme Weather Events and Disasters The Pacific islands states are more exposed to extreme weather events and climate variability than most countries. The increase in temperature and sea level rise is expected to trigger an increase in natural disasters. The region will experience increasing frequency and severity of extreme events such as heat waves, exceptional rainfall events, droughts, tropical cyclones, storm surges, EI-Nino conditions, and severe diseases. Floods and droughts are particularly devastating for small islands. Many islands rely on regular rainfall to recharge limited groundwater resources. When there is too little rain, or too much at one time, these reservoirs are taxed, threatening food and water security. Flooding and droughts will render whole islands, particularly low-lying atolls, uninhabitable, leading to their abandonment, migration and conflicts over resources, thus endangering security on the islands. This extreme weather has gave impacts to economy such as it led to the decline of tourists to Pacific islands, a good example was the case of Niue, in 2004 Cyclone Heta had destroyed a large part of the island. The summary of the impacts of extreme weather and events as per shown in the below table. Table 1: Impacts of Extreme Weather Events and Disasters Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change Implications of the Climate change to Pacific Islands Threat to Human Security Climate change may result a threat to human security. It may become more difficult for human to satisfy their basic needs. As far as everybody concerned, the needs of immediate action to find solutions for people whose homes, lands and livelihood, are being destroyed by rising of the sea levels and the extreme weather disasters. Ajay Chhibber, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General once said, We recognize climate change to be a critical development challenge with enormous implications for the entire range of development concerns: poverty, livelihoods, food security, conflict and social cohesion, to name a few. He added, At a time of global economic crisis, climate change has the potential to reverse hard-won development gains in the region, which could compromise our collective ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and plans for a prosperous, peaceful and secure region. Sea level rise will increase salt water intrusion, thus degrading fresh water resources. The impacts of climate change on freshwater systems are mainly due to the observed and projected increases in temperature, sea level and rainfall variability. An increase in the ratio of winter to annual flows, and possibly the reduction in low flows caused by decreased glacier extent or snow water storage, is predicted. Sea-level rise will extend areas of salinisation of groundwater and estuaries, resulting in a decrease in freshwater availability for humans and ecosystems in coastal areas. Increased rainfall intensity and variability is projected to increase the risks of flooding and droughts in many areas of the world especially to small island states. This will diminish economic sectors such as agricultural production unless new resistant crops are introduced to offset these impacts. The Pacific islands states have traditionally depended upon food production for survival and economic development. In addition, the issue of sea level rise is not the only cause a threat to human security in terms of food security, but the extreme weather also brings negative impact to food security in the Pacific islands. The extreme weather that cause drought also cause many problems particularly in agriculture all over the region. Increased risk of flooding in river catchments also threatens food production. Heavy flooding of the Wainibuka and Rewa rivers in Fiji in April 2004, for example, damaged between 50% and 70% of crops. A few studies have focused on the impacts of climate change on agriculture sector in Fiji. For example changes in temperature and rainfall have influence agricultural production. Sugarcane production is expected to drop by 9% from current conditions with losses averaging US$13.7million a year by 2050. Impacts on traditional crops with 11-15% drop in taro, y am and cassava production with a loss of US$680,000 a year in lost food crops. In terms of the economic costs of climate change impacts, the island of Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, could suffer economic damage averaging at least US$23 -US$52 million a year by 2050 (i.e. equivalent to 2-4% of Fijis GDP). Another best example of the impact of climate change to the lost of agricultural production or food production was Cyclone Ami, for example, caused over US$35 million in lost crops in Fiji in 2003. Furthermore, climate change exposures are likely to affect the health status of millions of people, particularly those with low adaptive capacity, through: increases in malnutrition and consequent disorders, with implications for child growth and development; increased deaths, disease and injury due to heat waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts; the increased burden of diarrhoeal disease; and the increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone related to climate change. Moreover, climate change may cause the spread of disease such as malaria and dengue fever. For instance, warming in Papua New Guinea is likely to cause a contraction of the cooler malaria free zone in the highlands. Studies show positive associations between temperature increases and diarrhoea, and between warmer sea-surface temperatures and ciguatera outbreaks. Since the health services in most Pacific islands states already ill equipped and struggling to cope with existing health problems, it is unlikely there will be capacity to effectively respond to the increased health burden caused by climate change. Furthermore, climate change was likely to increase the rates of diarrhoeal disease in Fiji and Kiribati due to decreases in rainfall and increases in temperature. No evidence was presented to show relationship between flooding or heavy rainfall and cases of diarrhoea. yet, the 1997/98 drought (associated with El-Nino) had widespread impact, including malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency in children and infants. In addition, we may see the implications or impacts of the climate change to the Pacific islands states in case of Vanuatu. According to Edward Natapei, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, more than 80%, of the population of Vanuatu depend on the land for their subsistence farming and contributions to the national economy. Their traditional farming practices have been shaped by their subsistence needs and climatic conditions. Land has always been culturally precious to the Ni-Vanuatu mainly because rights to its ownership and use form a central part of their culture and traditional governance. Increasingly considerable pressure is being placed on access to land by the rapidly growing population. Above has discussed, the three fundamental pillars of human security are natural resources and ecosystems, food, and health. According to United Nations University writer Christian Webersik (2010) identifies climate change as a variable that can drastically undermine each of these pillars, with stark consequences. A poor response to natural hazards and may create anti-government grievances in societies with weak governance structures and stricken by political violence and poverty. Migration The impact of sea level rise from climate change could be catastrophic for the Pacific islands states. The increasing of population growth, shrinking of land mass and declining of income opportunities may result to migration from outer to central islands or to other countries. The unpleasant impacts of climate change increase the rate of domestic migration and relocation, with people from rural areas and remote islands moving to urban centres. The number is growing as people in rural areas are losing their livelihoods and land because of natural disasters and sea level rise. The International Federation of the Red Cross in the World Disasters Report 2001 estimated that more people are now forced to leave their homes because of environmental disasters than war. According to Jonathan Adams in his article written for the New York Times (2007), some experts warn that, ultimately, these issues will combine to power a wave of emigrants fleeing the Pacific islands. Indeed, there are already signs of flight: according to a study by the Australian government, applications for New Zealand residency from eligible Pacific island nations shot up sharply in 2005 and 2006, compared with 2003. Afifi and Warner (2008) find a statistically significant link between environmental degradation and outward migration. Due to the extreme weather events and disasters such as hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, and sea level rise in the source country are found to have a significant and positive link with migration flows. For example, flooding in the source country is found to increase migration, but this relationship is not statistically significant. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change report noted that climate change is likely to very likely to cause higher maximum temperatures, more intense rainfall events, increased risk of drought, increase in tropical cyclone peak wind intensities, and an increasing number of floods in some areas. Tuvalu is the best example to explain the impacts of climate change in the case of migration. Economic factors associated with environmental factors, forcing people from Tuvalu to migrate to new place, this will result in a brain drain. Tuvalu already has an ad hoc agreement with New Zealand to allow phased relocation and many residents have been leaving the islands. The New Zealand government already takes in a quota of Tuvaluans every year, many of whom have found jobs in the strawberry fields and packing plants around Auckland. It has assured Tuvalu that it will absorb the entire population if the worst comes to pass. That is a lifeline that many similarly threatened island nations including Kiribati, Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. There was a debate on the issue of climate change, Climate change Threatens International Peace, Pacific islands Tell UN Debate, on 26 September 2008. The Pacific Island states voice out at the General Assembly on the issue of climate change, promising to table a draft resolution during the climate session that will call on the United Nations to scrutinize the threat posed by climate change to international peace and security. Prime Minister Feleti Vakauta Sevele of Tonga, addressed to the Assemblys annual General Debate to urge other Member States outside the region to show their support for the draft resolution. The prospect of climate refugees from some of the Pacific Island Forum countries is no longer a prospect but a reality, with relocations of communities due to sea level rise already taking place, he said. The resolution is expected to ask United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to commission a report on climate change and security, and to invite the Security Council an d the General Assembly to work together on possible recommendations to deal with any problems identified. In addition, Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, urged countries to convert the commitments they made about greenhouse gas reduction into reality. Only through selfless and concerted efforts by all countries led by the major greenhouse gas emitters can we have a fighting chance of lessening the destructive impact of climate change, he said, adding that it also enhances the chances of a credible agreement beyond the current Kyoto Protocol. Derek Sikua, Solomon Islands Prime Minister said he feared that the magnitude of climate change has already outgrown the existing capacity of the UN system to respond. Many smaller countries were being left to find their own solution for themselves against the impact of climate change, as regional groups and other organizations charted their own course. The Prime Minister called for the UNs Small Islands Developing States Unit to be strengthened so that it can help countries, such as those in the Pacific Ocean facing rising sea levels, with special needs. There are a lot of actions was taken by many institution bodies to overcome this problem, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change has changed its initial position on the likely patterns of migration in response to increased disasters and negative effects of climate change. The second change is recognition that physical vulnerability to climate change constitutes only one factor in a persons overall vulnerability to environmental hazards. Political Instability The nations of the Pacific are, in general, developing island states that are geographically distributed and economically varied. The level of development of the Forums island member countries varies considerably across the region as does the quality of governance. Access to resources is often difficult due to the geographic distances and resources are often scarce and in demand. Climate change is increasing the unpredictability of weather patterns, such as increasing the incidence and intensity of cyclones. Political stability is volatile in many of the regions nations especially to Pacific islands region. Across the region, the population demographics are changing with the average age reducing; while education and access to it is improving opportunities for youth are still limited compared to the more developed nations of the world. If a country becomes unstable and no longer capable to respond to other challenges, it will diminish the capacity of the country to peacefully interfere domestic and international conflicts. The multiple stresses may give rise of to several conflicts constellations, where the interactions of climate change with other factors increase the risk of violent conflicts. Disputes over land as a result of inequalities and frictions between traditional and introduced of land management system as well as intra-state migration may become aggravated. Many conflicts were related to land issues. However, the scale and intensity of conflicts and the level of instability vary across the regions. The adverse impacts of climate change alter the distribution and quality of natural resources such as fresh water, arable land, coastal territory, and marine resources. These changes can increase competition for scarce resources, with the increased possibility of armed conflict. Existing tensions within the Pacific islands states will similarly be heightened especially in already unstable areas and can endanger national security as well as be a threat to international peace and security. According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (2001), owing to factors of limited size, availability, and geology and topography, water resources in small islands are extremely vulnerable to changes and variations in climate. Moreover, a reduction in the size of the island, resulting from land loss accompanying sea level rise, is likely to reduce the thickness of the freshwater lens on atolls by as much as 29%. Increases in demand related to population and economic growth, in particular tourism continue to place serious stress on existing water resources. Shifting boundaries of existing land are particularly problematic for communities with collectively owned lands. The blurring of boundaries can intensify the disputes between communities over land ownership and usage, as communities may fight to re-claim their share of natural resources. This could lead to conflicts between individuals and communities as they try to redistribute resources, and is likely to evolve into a security threat if not dealt with in a transparent and equitable manner. Multipliers of Conflicts Climate change is not like other conventional security threats. The combination of the threats stemming from climate change impacts of increased water and food insecurities, rising sea levels, and increased extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and cyclones, will create risks to national and regional security as well as to international peace and security. Because climate change has multiple impacts in many different areas, it has the potential to cause multiple problems simultaneously and erode already fragile conditions, both environmental and economic. The combination of increased disease due to lack of potable water, flooding and coastal erosion, lack of food, and migration will continue to escalate into humanitarian crises that will strain government resources around the globe and especially within the Pacific. In the Solomon Islands, the combination of various adverse impacts of climate change led to armed conflict, requiring the deployment of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). As environmental migration is usually internal and short term, the possible for instigating conflict is quite minimal. Yet, unstable urban and rural demographics are related to higher risks of civil war and low level communal conflicts during periods of environmental stress are common. The Future of Pacific Islands The Survival of Pacific Islands Environmentalists have warned that the effects of climate change, caused by a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, will include thermal expansion and a meltdown of glaciers. That could lead to the rising of the sea level and extreme weather events and disasters, and would be devastating for countries such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and China. However, the small nations of the Pacific, where some of the worlds lowest-lying islands are situated, would be the first to be swamped. Those considered mostly in danger, as well as Kiribati, are Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and parts of Papua New Guinea. Dozens of families have been forced to move, dismantling their wooden huts piece by piece and reassembling them further back from the water. Now the population is being squeezed into an ever narrower strip of land between the lagoon and the Pacific. Environmentalists have predicted that the effects of rising sea levels will be borne disproportionately by the worlds most poor countries, which make a insignificant contribution to climate change and are least well equipped to adapt. A report this month by the CSIRO, Australias government scientific organisation, forecast that climate change in the Asia-Pacific region could see the rising of sea level by up to 19 inches by 2070. So, there are possibilities that small islands states in the Pacific islands could be sunk in the future. So, what are the options that the Pacific islands have? For those islanders who are worried about the future, have been leaving their island for other Pacific states like Australia and New Zealand. In the case of the New Zealand, their government has a scheme entitled Pacific Access Category (PAC) that allocate up to 75 Tuvaluans per year to settle in New Zealand as Climate Changed refugees. According to Oxfam, in order to overcome or at least reduce the impact of climate change, they have outlined a few adaptation projects. Among the adaptation are protective planting, crops diversifications, water harvesting, irrigation and water reservoirs, community climate-proofing programmes and so forth. In the protective planting what they do is they plant trees to combat erosion problem. For example, in Tuvalu, work is being done in response to the flooding of agricultural land. Communities are drawing on local knowledge, with a strong focus on planting mangroves to stabilise the coastal environment. Activities like this are developed using local peoples traditional methods rather than new and unfamiliar ones. Moreover, on Fiji and Kiribati, mangroves are being planted to stabilise coastlines and riverbanks to help combat the effects of erosion. On the other hands, in crop diversification programme, the Members of the Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN) are looking at climate adaptation initiatives to address issues like coastal erosion and food security. Root crops like taro take years to be harvested; with the current sea surges, the salty water gets into the taro pits and kills the plants. The group is looking at bringing in species from other countries to help overcome this problem. Climate change adaptation in the Pacific involves, among other projects, rainwater harvesting and desalination. The Tuvalu governments Water and Sanitation Strategy includes the construction of around 300 large rainwater tanks in the capital, Funafuti. Households are instructed in the maintenance of roof catchment and guttering and the management of the collected water for domestic use. Following the Samoa tsunami in 2009, Oxfam provided affected families with rainwater harvesting materials. Guttering and collection tanks were provided for families who had relocated inland, and the system was incorporated into the design of new homes. This means an ongoing supply of clean water, with communities able to respond to future water shortages. Small grant schemes in Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga provide funds for community-initiated climate change adaptation projects. In Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu, communities have increased their water storage capacity by constructing rainwater tanks. On the drought-prone island of Aniwa in Vanuatu, communities have built small solar desalination stills capable of producing enough fresh water for drinking. In the Pacific islands itself, there are many innovative community-based projects initiate by Oxfam that aim to climate-proof villages and develop resilience to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. For instance in Fiji, the Fijian village of Korotarase is located on low-lying, swampy land alongside a river and beach on the northern island of Vanua Levu. In March 2007, heavy upstream rainfall combined with a king tide and the village was flooded. The people of Korotarase have since joined with five other Fijian villages and are working to climate-proof their homes and communities in preparation for future impacts caused by tidal surges, coastal erosion or flooding. They are trialling salt-resistant varieties of staple foods such as taro; planting mangroves, native grasses and other trees to halt coastal and riverbank erosion; protecting fresh water wells from salt-water intrusion; and relocating homes and community buildings away from vulnerable coastlines. Another example is Kiribati. The Republic of Kiribati is one of the worlds least developed countries (LDCs). The low-lying nation is made up of 33 atolls and reef islands stretching 5000 kilometres across the central Pacific. The Kiribati Adaptation Program is made up of a range of actions, including raising awar

Déjàvu and the Brain :: Biology Essays Research Papers

UGH! I Just Got the Creepiest Feeling That I Have Been Here Before: Dà ©jà   vu and the Brain, Consciousness and Self We have all some experience of a feeling, that comes over us occasionally,, of what we are saying and doing having been said and done before, in a remote time - of our having been surrounded, dim ages ago, by the same faces, objects, and circumstances - of our knowing perfectly what will be said next, as if we suddenly remember it! (Dickens in David Copperfield - chapter 39 (1)) It happens to me and it has probably happened to you. It is sudden and fleeting, leaving as unexpectedly as it came. While the experience is striking in its clarity and detail, it is difficult to recapture or recount. Generally, it is left unexplained and is described in a vague sense, often simply as, "Wow, I just got the strangest dà ©jà   vu." Because it is so difficult to research and seems to have no deleterious effects on daily and long-term nervous system function, dà ©jà   vu has been left largely to the wayside of neurobiological investigation. In all of its ambiguity, dà ©jà   vu is still a perplexing phenomenon that has not yet been fully explained. The value of truly understanding the source of dà ©jà   vu and its circuitry is in uncovering one of the many keys to the role of the conscious self in the functioning of the brain. What is dà ©jà   vu and how does it work? Dà ©jà   vu is considered a common phenomenon. Surveys show that about one third of the population has had the most common form of dà ©jà   vu sensations (1). Due to the subjective and often indescribable nature of the associated feelings, it has been difficult, to determine who is actually experiencing dà ©jà   vu. In general, however, dà ©jà   vu is "any number of hard-to-explain sometimes upsetting occurrences of unexpected recognition, in which the person involved has trouble identifying an antecedent for the events and/or places which seem so strangely and intensely familiar (1)." Dà ©jà   vu has been defined as "familiarity without awareness (13)." While the situational cues of a dà ©jà   vu are familiar, there is a definite lack of awareness about the specific source of the memory. Arthur Funkhouser (1) defines three types of dà ©jà   vu in an attempt to more clearly delineate between associated, but different, neurological experiences. These are dà ©jà   vecu (already experienced), dà ©jà   senti (already felt) and dà ©jà   visità © (already visited).

Essay --

Critical Lens Essay John Steinbeck once stated, â€Å"It is the responsibility of the writer to expose our many grievous faults and failures and to hold up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams, for the purpose of improvement.† In others words, people should expose the many flaws and failures that every human has. By revealing them and making it eye-catching, that person can recognize that flaw and work to improve their flaws and failures. The journalistic novel Random Family by Adriene Nicole LeBlanc and the non-fiction novel Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger both reveal that true mental and emotional freedom is dependent on finding a solution for your defects and deficiency. The literary elements used to prove this quote was conflict and irony. The novel Friday Night Lights by H.G Bissinger illustrates how a person’s failures can deeply affect others negatively. For example, the conflict was a person to person---fight between two people because Charlie is angry with his son Don for failing to hold the football during a game or practice. Charlie expresses how he feels by interr...

The Sane Hamlet Essays -- GCSE English Literature Coursework

The Sane Hamlet   Ã‚   Hamlet contains the classic argument between whether or not Hamlet is mad, or a sane man under difficult circumstances. Hamlet assumes antic-disposition at times to uncover the truth of his father's death.   From my perspective I believe that Hamlet's actions and thoughts are a logical response to the situation in which he finds himself.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first act, Hamlet appears to be very straightforward in his actions and thoughts.   When questioned by Gertrude about his melancholy appearance, Hamlet says, "Seems, madam? Nay it is know not seems" (I, ii, 76).   This is to say, "I am what I appear to be."   Later he makes a clear statement about his thoughts when he commits himself to revenge.   Hamlet says, "I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brai... ...his mirror': Hamlet and the Imitation of Revenge." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 198-209 Rose, Mark. "Reforming the Role." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York City: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 117-128   Wiggins, Martin. "Hamlet Within the Prince." New Essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 209-226.

Poetry Is Key Essay

I interview Amani because she is a teenager guided by mentorship. She revealed to me how being mentored by positive, loving, and caring people has changed who she is as a person. She said â€Å"I see a big change in myself. It’s like my whole life I’ve been so angry and upset, and it was all because I was being misguided and I didn’t have the chance to become who I am now. † This interview helped me because It kind of showed me what type of response I should be getting from the kids in my program. It is simply a calibration of how the kids that decide to participate in my mentorship program should react. Frohman, Denice. â€Å"Denice Frohman – â€Å"Gangsta Poetry†Ã¢â‚¬  YouTube. YouTube, 16 June 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. This video is a video of a youth poetry mentor for PYPM (Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement) who also participated in the Unliter Us Campaign. In this poem she speaks about differ writing tools (metaphors, similes, personification, etc) and different types of poems (haiku, slam, etc). She also talks about motivating the youth to get involved in poetry and imagination. This poem will help me because It is not only an introduction to different types of poetry and all types of writing tools but it’s in a cool poem that, to me, will make the kids want to know more and be less reluctant to participate in my program. Howard, Zora. â€Å"Zora Howard Mama (lyrics). † YouTube. YouTube, 04 Mar. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is a video by a youth slam poet alumni named Zora Howard who is now on a traveling adult poetry group called Strivers Row. This video is of a poem she performed. The poem is in letter form so it starts out saying, â€Å"Dear Son,†. Evidently, she is talking to her son in the letter. Her son is in the army and she’s writing him on his birthday just reminiscing about all the things they used to talk about and do before he was drafted into the army. This poem will help me because performance wasn’t at a competition so the tension is low and she’s just releasing. Although, from my knowledge, the poem is just not real fact for her, it still tells a story in it. It will show the kids how to turn a poem from a regular free  form poem into a letter or a story. James, Cliche M. â€Å"Who Need’s Mentorship. † Personal interview. 27 Jan. 2013. I interview the mom of a boy who had never had any form of mentorship to ask her if she thought that mentorship was important and who did she think that it was for. She said that she thinks that it is a difference between â€Å"needing† mentorship and â€Å"wanting† it. She feels as though kids who going down the wrong road in life or kids who just have pain in there life that is hard to let go of should have mentorship. This interview helped me with my research because it, for the most part, proved to me that I made the right choice in targeting kids who have some pain in them, kids that practically have nothing to look forward to because of the situation that their parents are in. James, Nasir. â€Å"The Importance of Mentorship. † Personal interview. 27 Jan. 2013. I interview my nephew, a 15 year old boy who has had mentorship every super since he was 12. I asked him what the importance of mentorship was. At first he was a little reluctant because he though that he didn’t get much out of it but when I began to ask him other questions to break it down. Questions like was there anything about his personality that changed because of the interaction with someone who you could put your trust in and things like that. He ultimately said that after 3 years of being in contact with his mentors, he has seen a difference in who he is and that being with them, he now knows what kind of man he wants to be. He also said that if he didn’t have mentors, he would still have become a good person it would have taken a bit longer. This interview was important because I wanted to know how younger teens felt about mentorship because if they didn’t care, then there would be no purpose of me doing it in the long run because it wouldn’t have changed anything. Lissaint / Strivers Row, Carvens. â€Å"†Praise† by Carvens Lissaint. † YouTube. YouTube, 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is another video of a youth poet alumni from New York city. He is another member of the poetry group called strivers row and in his younger years, he was on the NYC poetry team that went to the nation wide poetry competition BNV (Brave New Voices) which  premiered on HBO in 2006. This poem is about poetry and every sense that plays a part in writing and speaking poetry. I think that this will help me because I know that a lot of people have a single story about poetry. A lot of people don’t really know what it cane be and in this poem, the poet Carvens Lissaint, touches in on all of that . Mans, Jasmine. â€Å"Michelle Obama by Jasmine Mans. † YouTube. YouTube, 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is a video of yet another strivers row poet. Jasmine Mans was on the NYC team in 2006. This is a video of a poem she recorded called Michelle Obama. This poem is about how first lady Michelle Obama inspires young black women to be great and do great things. It tells them that because she did it, that they can. I think that this will be a good video to use in my program because when I visited the shelter, there was a significant number of girls and I think that showing them this will help them find confidence. Perrin, Brianna. â€Å"The Importance of Mentorship. † Personal interview. 30 Jan. 2013. I interview a senior named Brianna Perrin about her experience with mentorship and community service to get a better understanding of how she felt about it afterward. I also got a chance to find out what she took from the experience as a person who had been mentored and decided to pass it on. I think that this interview was very helpful and very successful. It gave me a perspective of a person who had the same urge as I had. She expressed to me that to her it was more than just helping others and I feel the same way. Going to the shelter is about more than helping others its also a branch of growth for myself. â€Å"Poetic Devices. † Poetic Devices. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is a link to a list of poetic devices. This link will be useful because I know that even I don’t know so It’ll help me and help the kids at the program. â€Å"Poetry. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. I decided to use this link because some people think that poetry is only one thing, when in all actuality, poetry can be many things. This will be helpful because it will give a mor formal introduction than me saying this is was a metaphor is. It will actually explain to them what things are and how they should be used. I also think that this will show the kids the overall brand of poetry so that they know that poetry can be almost anything. This will be just an outline for what I want the kids to take from this program come April or May. Shearlds, Khalil. â€Å"Mentorship. † Personal interview. 7 Jan. 2013. This is the Manager, Center for Parenting & Early Childhood Education at the People’s Emergency Center. I interviewed him about the importance of mentorship and who needs it. This interview was important for me to do because this is what he does on a day to day basis. He mentors kids to show them where they can go and to let them know that they don’t have to stay planted in a place where they aren’t happy just because someone put them there. This will be important in the long run because, not that I already didn’t know, i will always know my mission. â€Å"What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy? † What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy? N. p. , 05 Apr. 2007. Web. 04 Jan. 2013. This is a link to the definition of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I was talking to someone about my capstone and they told me that my whole idea fell along the lines of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. When I looked it up it actually told me a lot about myself and why poetry seemed to work for me. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that is directed toward dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes. It’s basically disturbances of your feelings triggered by the things and stresses that you go through. This helped me because it told me almost exactly what these kids are going through inside. Young, B. â€Å"I Am A Queen – Urban Word NYC – BNV Semis 2008. † YouTube. YouTube, 24 July 2008. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. I decided to use this video of a New York City Poet B. Young. This poem was about his theory of why he would want to be a queen in the game of chess because it’s not about being the protected, he thinks that the protecter is the most important. I decided to use this video because I think it is a good perspective for young men to A realize how important a Queen/girl is and B to understand that being the protected or being the person who everyone who is always being looked after isn’t always who you want to be, sometimes you want to be apart of something bigger. Z. , Sharvon. â€Å"Philly Youth Poetry Movement. † Philly Youth Poetry Movement RSS 20. N. p. , 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is the website for PYPM or Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement. This is the where I got my mentoring from so not to incorporate and utilize this source would be foolish of me. This website will give me the latest updates on the PYPM team, there videos and events that I could possibly invite my teens to. I can use the videos posted on the website and some of the ideas from poetry workshops to use during my program.

August Wilson’s Fences Essay

August Wilson’s Fences The immigration of Africans to America as slaves has had a great effect to many things including literature. Despite their experiences in this foreign land, they brought with them a different culture that had not been experienced in the American society. The stories and experiences of African-Americans have seen authors write books and plays being staged with large audiences. This is due to the different but almost similar stories that these people have to tell regarding their journey to America and how difficult it was for them to fit in the society they found. Introduction In 1983, the American playwright August Wilson released a play titled Fences. The play has a setting of the 1950s and it explores the evolving African –American experience with race relations as one of the many themes depicted in this play. The play revolves around a 53-year-old man named Troy who is an African-America. He is struggling to provide for his family and although he is a baseball player his color is a barrier for him being able to join professional baseball thus receiving little money to support his family. This paper seeks to analyze the play and check on why it was given the title Fences (Wilson). Analysis of the play Fences by August Wilson As earlier stated, the play is about a man named Troy. The play shows how Troy is struggling to not only provide for his family but also to fit in a society in which people are judged by their skin color. The theme of race discrimination is portrayed well throughout the play. First, in the 1950s in which the play is set, people of color were seen as those who do not deserve any good thing in the society. They were associated to social crimes and ending up in jail for a crime not committed was a normal phenomenon (Wilson). However, emotional disconnect with the society they lived in and failure to secure a job so as to earn a living was greatly contributing to them ending up being involved in these social crimes. In the play, Troy is shown as a baseball player a game he had learnt and played while in prison. He had ended up in prison for an accidental murder he had committed during a robbery. From this act it is evident that due to his failure of securing a job, Troy had ended up involving himself in robbery so as to earn himself a living but this time it turned out ugly and he ended up in prison. Further, discrimination is seen at work place where some jobs could not be done by an African-American but instead they were reserved for the whites. This is seen when Troy manages to secure a job with a garbage collecting firm and he is heard asking Mr. Rand; who he refers to as the boss, why black men were not allowed to drive garbage trucks. This shows that indeed there was race discrimination at work place where African-Americans could not be bestowed with some responsibilities. The act of being denied an opportunity to drive a garbage truck can be seen as a sarcastic event. It can be viewed in the way that even if garbage collection was being seen as dirty work that could only be done by those who were seen as less fortunate in the society, the fact that driving a garbage truck was seen as â€Å"literary driving a vehicle†, an African-American would not be allowed to drive the truck since they were restricted to do so during that time (Tamura). In addition, the play shows Rose who is Troy’s wife with whom they have a son named Cory, however, Troy has a son Lyon from a previous marriage but he does not leave with him. Gabriel is Troy’s younger brother who has notable psychological damage after he suffered head injuries when he was serving as a soldier. This new development of Gabriela having served as a soldier brings contrast of sentiments of race discrimination and at the same time it can be viewed as one way in which discrimination of people of the color was being cemented. First as a contrast, this play shows how certain jobs were being reserved for whites. Soldiers were people who not only deserved respect from the society but also received a good pay. Therefore, Gabriel’s employment as a soldier, contrasts the theme of discrimination where some jobs such as a being a soldier were being reserved for those the society thought they owed respect to. However, it can be viewed differently in the sense that owing to the tasks, experiences and challenges that faced soldiers in the battle fields, African-American men were seen as the right people for the job. This follows, the understanding that most of those who served in the army died in war or if one was luck to survive they would come home having sustained severe injuries like in the case of Gabriel. This can be seen as a form of discrimination where those who were less regarded in the society were being recruited as soldiers since the society would be seen not to worry even if it lost them (Tamura). The play unfolds on a payday when Troy and his friend Bono are drinking and chatting. His son Lyon comes to him asking to be lent 10 dollars promising to refund the money soon since his girlfriend had secured a job. Troy gives him a hard time but after persuasion from his wife Rose, he finally lends his son the money. From this scenario, one can see that the family is really struggling to survive owing to Lyon’s inability to raise even 10 dollars thus leading him to borrowing from his father. This shows that African-Americans were struggling a lot so as to survive in a society where living standards were high and a society where job opportunities were rare given the much rooted racial discrimination (Wilson). Further, as the play continues, Cory tells his parents of an opportunity for a college football scholarship. Troy vehemently condemns his son’s thought of applying it and they argue. Troy does not want his son to play basket ball since he does not him to experience the racial discrimination he went through during the time he was playing baseball. The man does not back down his argument and following his experience with racial discrimination he is not ready to watch his son go through the same. As a result, Troy even approaches Cory’s coach and tells him that his son will no longer be playing football. Upon discovery of his father’s lies, Cory confronts him and they end up in a fight that causes Cory to be thrown out of the house by his father. This scenario shows the effect that racial discrimination had to Troy’s life. Following him denying his son the opportunity to play college football with an excuse of racial discrimination, one can see that indeed Troy had gone through tough time due to racial discrimination and he was protecting his son. Despite his time of playing baseball and that of his son playing football being different, Troy could hardly believe that racial discrimination could have melted away, thus, the unmoved stand exhibited by him(Wiggins & Miller). Consequently, after Cory is kicked out of the house, they no longer get along with his dad. This can be seen during the final act when Troy dies and Cory refuses to attend the funeral due to the long-standing resentment. However, after his mother’s persuasion, Cory attends the funeral to pay respect to the man who had tirelessly struggled to provide for them even if he was hard headed. The rivalry between son and father can be traced back to have been caused by racial discrimination. This is due to the fact that if Troy had not suffered through discrimination, he could not have denied his son to take the college football scholarship and as a result they could not have argued to the extent of later not setting eyes on one another. One can see the indirect effect that racial discrimination had to people’s lives (Wiggins & Miller). Further, during Troy’s burial, Cory had just come from the military training. This can be analyzed as a positive step towards fighting racial discrimination. This follows the fact that during his father’s youth days, certain jobs opportunities such as joining the military were mostly given to the whites. Therefore seeing Cory coming out of the military training it is evident that with time, racial discrimination had come to reduce thus allowing African-Americans be able to get job opportunities which earlier being people of color they could not easily get. In addition, throughout the play, Troy is shown as a man who had a different cultural influence or different socialization. First, this can be seen through his son Lyon who was from an earlier marriage. Further, in the play, Rose discovers that his husband has been having an affair with a lady called Alberta and he had made her pregnant. However, Alberta dies during childbirth and Rose accepts to adopt her daughter Raynell whose father Troy dies when she is seven years old. Being an African-American, the act of having more than one wife is not out of the norms owing to African culture with him. However, finding himself in a society where polygamy is viewed as a thing past by time, Troy could not marry Rose while still having the first wife and he could not bring Alberta as another wife thus he ended up having an affair with her other than coming to the light (Sofola).. In the African culture, to which Troy can still find some association, most communities allow polygamous marriages as this is seen as wealth as the man will have many children from these wives. Traditionally, in the African culture having more than one wife was seen as a public sign that a man had more resources that would allow him to marry as many women as he pleased. However, the culture was against adultery and a man would not be allowed to bear children outside marriage unless he would later end up marrying the lady (Sofola).. Therefore, although the African culture among the African-Americans was fading away, its influence continued to affect them for years. Consequently, Troy was a man who had been influenced by this culture but the society which he currently lived in was not in support of the culture. Therefore, this explains his act in life of having a first marriage, then marrying Rose and finally having an affair with Alberta. Troy’s case shows the effect that migration to the West had to African-Americans; it did not only give them a hard time trying to fit in a society where they were less regarded but it also eroded their cultures and presented them with a different and difficult socialization (Sofola). Having analyzed the play, one would seek to answer the question on why it was given the title â€Å"Fences†. First, the theme of racial discrimination can be seen to have portrayed the title Fences. This is seen throughout the play where lines of racial discrimination were used to deny Troy and other African-Americans job opportunities. This judgment on bases of color is a fence in itself since it prevented them from getting good money to support their families. In addition, Troy could not join professional baseball playing due to the ‘fence’ of racial discrimination. However, to Cory, his father is the fence that does not allow him to get the college football scholarship after he refused him on the grounds of racial discrimination. In addition and to the literal meaning, Rose wanted to build a fence and forced Troy to start so that she could protect what is hers in the inside and leave what belongs to the society outside the fence. Conclusion Throughout the play, racial discrimination is shown as the cause of anything that Troy’s family is going through. One can appreciate the writer’s overemphasize on this issue owing to the fact that this play is set in the 1950’s when racial discrimination was still evidently being experienced. The play assists one to understand the effect that racial discrimination had on the lives of African-Americans as well as the influence of Western culture to their socialization and culture. This play will assist in keeping the history of the experience of African-Americans in the American society and it will remain to be a crucial part of literature.