A study on service quality of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon Essay

G-six Hair and Beauty Salon prides on providing a high standard of customer service. In addition to the quality hair and beauty services, the customer service has been found to be one of the main reasons of clients keep coming back to the salon. Today, beauty care becomes a big business, which can contribute to an economy significantly (Peiss 2000). Large scale production, global distribution networks, extensive advertisement efforts, scientific marketing and sales at a large scale, all these have contributed to the emergence of beauty as an industry (Peiss 2000). Beauty is always considered as an important attribute for female. From the ancient time till now, we can trace many descriptions of beauty and beauty care practices in the poetry, literature and arts (Peiss 2000). As globalization intensifies, the concept of beauty and the necessity of being beautiful have gone through an evolutionary change. Now women tend to spend more time, energy and money on beautification by visiting beauty parlors or salons (Schwer & Daneshvary 2000; Joy, Sherry, Troilo & Deschenes 2010). Physically attractive people usually income more compared to the less attractive people (Hamermesh & Biddle 1994; Frieze, Ohlson & Russell 1991). Moreover the organizations tend to earn more revenue if they hire physically attractive employees (Bosman, Pfann, Biddle &Hamermesh (1997). Besides, being attractive can increase the possibility of getting married (Young 2011). The growing importance and demand of beauty care vigorously raised the question on quality service issues for beauty parlors. As beauty care is a kind of personal service, ensuring service quality is challenging yet unavoidable need for the customers. It has been evident that, when customers’ perceptions of service quality are positive, the behavioral intentions are favorable, which strengthens their relationship with the organization (Zeithaml & Bitner 2003). On the other hand, when service-quality assessments are negative, the customers’ behavioral intentions are unfavorable (Kouthouris & Alexandris 2005). For the success of any service organization, quality is imperative and of paramount importance to the service providers (Bebko 2000). As services are becoming  commodity-like it can offer a source of competitive advantage for the service providers (Chowdhury, Iqbal&Miah 2010). A great haircut just isn’t enough to keep a client any more. The country is saturated with salons and, for most, there’s a competitor only yards away who is also well equipped to offer a technically accurate and fashionable haircut (Sophieh 2008). Having regular customers is one of the most important aspects of running a successful hair salon with consistent customer numbers and satisfied customers always proving to provide strong financial returns and reviews. In today’s era of fast-changing global marketplace, customer satisfaction has been an important aspect. With the increase of the importance of service sector in the economy of Myanmar, the measurement of service quality became important. Moreover, customers’ satisfaction may help the service providers to spread positive word-of-mouth and maintaining current customers can help the firms to be more profitable. Service quality is an approach to manage business processes in order to ensure full satisfaction of the customers which will help to increase competitiveness and effectiveness of the industry. Quality in service is very important especially for the growth and development of service sector business enterprises (Powell, 1995). We know that customers’ satisfaction with individual service encounters affect the customers’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the overall service experience (Johnston 1995). So, it is important to know whether the client’s expectation regarding the service really matches the perceived service in all dimensions of service quality. 1.1Rationale of the Study The beauty care service industry in Myanmar is growing day by day and it is contributing in the economy both in terms of revenue and employment generation. Along with the local firms, many foreign firms and franchise companies are trying to enter in the industry with professional set up and huge investment. Therefore this is the high time to explore and understand the service gap scenario of the beauty care industry. Previously, researchers had conducted several studies on service quality in different service sectors like hospitality, educational institute, financial institute, airlines, advertising agency and tourism. In today competitive  environment, majority of the businesses face with intense competition. They need not only to retain their existing customers but also to attract new customers. Among the businesses, services sector becomes important because it can create job opportunity and provide customer satisfaction. At present, in service sector, beauty care services are growing faster and booming because it can provide self-confidence, personal grooming and anti-aging in society. In the highly competitive beauty-care service industry, service quality becomes one of the most important elements for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. To satisfy and retain customers of beauty-care service industry faces challenges. Important benefits of visiting beauty shops that people get ensure of their best looks at all the times. After a stressful day, people wish to relax and to take action, so they visit a spa and salon, where they like complete relaxation with a pampering touch. It is obvious that everyone wants to look beautiful and healthy as well as this is the requirement of today’s busy lives. Among various categories of beauty-care service businesses, G-six Hair and Beauty Salon, a well-established beauty-care service salon since 2002, is serving with a wide menu of beauty service which includes Make-up and Hair dos’, Hair Braiding, Hair Extension and Weaving, Hair Perm, Hair Color and Hair Straighten with various techniques and Facial treatment to its customers in the competitive market of Myanmar. Therefore, there is a requirement to analyze the service quality leading to customer satisfaction and loyalty of G-six Hair and Beauty salon. Many of these studies have shown different patterns of service gap on the five dimensions of service quality. But being a personalized service, beauty care contains different intrinsic and extrinsic cues of quality which are different from the other industries. And so far, no significant research was done on service quality of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon in Myanmar. So, it is expected that the current study would help the industry experts and management of beauty care service providers to improvise their services. And understanding the significance and the implications of each service criteria would help them to prioritize their area of improvement, which would be especially helpful for a growing industry like this. Thus the main objective of this study is to find out the service gap, i.e. the gap between the expectations and perceptions of the customers about the service of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon. 1.2Objectives of the Study The objectives of this study are: To explore the services provided by G-six Hair and Beauty Salon To measure service quality of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon To examine the customer satisfaction on services provided by G-six Hair and Beauty Salon 1.3 Methods of the Study This study is descriptive research type. To implement these three major objectives, both primary and secondary data have been used. Primary data acquired from G-six Beauty Salon and 60 regular customers 30% of total 200 regular customers who visited to G-six Hair and Beauty Salon will be selected by using random sampling method with structured questionnaires of SERVQUAL Model GAP 5. The secondary data are obtained from profile and record of G-six events, previous research papers, relevant text books and internet websites. 1.4 Scope and Limitation of the Study The study will emphasis on services quality of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon which is located at No.6, G-floor, Pearl Condo, corner of Kabaraye Pagoda road and Sayarsan road, Bahan Township, Yangon. The study will focus on customer satisfaction towards services provided by G-six Hair and Beauty Salon. 1.5 Literature Review In the field of services marketing, service quality grabbed the most attention from the researchers (Wang, Lo & Hui 2003). To define service quality Zeithaml and Bitner (2003) emphasized on the superiority of a service. According to these scholars, perception of service quality arises from the judgment of customers, who define the service as superior. The  classic researchers has defined the term ‘service quality’ as the difference between customer expectations of the service to be received and perceptions of the service actually received (Grà ¶nroos 1984; Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry 1988). Perception was defined as consumer’s beliefs relating to the received service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry 1985). Brown and Swartz (1989) defined perceived service as â€Å"experienced service†. On the other hand, expectation was defined as the desire or want of the consumer about the service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry 1985). In most of the cases, service quality expectations involve norms and these norms are developed on the basis of previous experiences of the consumers (Carman 1990). Parasuraman and colleagues’ (1985) definition was based on the concept of â€Å"disconfirmation†, which was defined as the difference between perception and expectation. This disconfirmation in terms of service quality leaded to a service gap. Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988) considered that a customer’s assessment of overall service quality depends on this service gap. Khin Kay Khine, A study on Service quality of Able Winners Catering Company, January 2013 found that how customers perceive the service quality and being able to measure service quality can benefit as professional. Wutt Yi Soe, Customer Satisfaction on Service provided by Pin Lon Hospital, January 2013 found out that strongly positive relationship between patient satisfaction and service quality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service http://www.managementstudyguide.com/customer-satisfaction.htm 1.6 Organization of the Paper This Thesis paper is organized into five chapters. In the first chapter, it contains Introduction, Rationale of the study, Objectives of the study, Method of the study, Scope and limitation of the study, Literature review and organization of the research paper. In chapter 2, theoractical background of service quality and competitiveness are discussed. Chapter 3 presents the background of business and profile of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon. In Chapter 4, dimensions of service quality of G-six Hair and Beauty Salon are analyzed by using SERVQUAL Model. Conclusion and recommandations for findings in the study and the requirements of future research on the topic are suggested in Chapter 5. Chapter 2 Theoretical Background 2.1The Nature and Role of Services Service industries are playing an increasingly important role in the overall economies of the countries of developed and developing countries. The 21st century is considered to be as the service industry. Researchers have tried to define service and to explain what service constitutes. There are many definitions regarding the concepts of service. Services are deeds, processes, and performances (Parasuraman et al. 1985). Gronroos (1983) defined service as: â€Å"An activity or series of activities of more or less intangibles nature that normally, but not necessarily, take place in interactions between the customer and service employees and/or physical resources or goods and I or systems of service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems†. Sasser et. al.,(1978) defined another meaning for service: â€Å"A service is a package of explicit and implicit benefits performed with a supporting facility and using facilitating goods†. Service is: â€Å"Any primary or complementary activity that does not directly. Produce a physical product – that is, the non-goods part of the transaction between customer and provider† (Payne, 1993). Whereas Kotler et. al.(1999) defined service as any activity or benefit that one party offers to another which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything, and it may or may not be tied to a physical product. Services include all economic activities which are intangible, not physically apparent like products, which provide value to the customer. Service has become very crucial in all business industries due to globalization and the IT developments. Services are now seen almost to every part of our life, starting from the most essential demands, like eating to other entertainment activities, such as: sport, travelling, etc. Service is not bound to only service based businesses, like: banks, telecommunications, hotels, restaurants, and beauty salons, but it is found on all companies strategic tools for gaining a competitive advantage. Nowadays products heavily rely on   its services to acquire competitive advantage, and to satisfy customers’ needs. 2.2Nature of Service Quality

The Level of Effectiveness of Crisis Management Team in Dealing

I. INTRODUCTION The Manila hostage crisis, officially known as the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident, occurred when a dismissed Philippine National Police officer took over a tourist bus in Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines on August 23, 2010. Disgruntled former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza of the Manila Police District (MPD) hijacked a tourist bus carrying 25 people (20 tourists and a tour guide from Hong Kong, and four Filipinos) in an attempt to get his job back.He said that he had been summarily and unfairly dismissed, and that all he wanted was a fair hearing and the opportunity to defend himself. Negotiations broke down dramatically about ten hours into the stand-off, when the police arrested Mendoza's brother and thus incited him to open fire. As the shooting began, the bus driver managed to escape, and was shown on television saying â€Å"Everyone is dead† before being whisked away by policemen. Mendoza and eight of the hostages were killed and a number of others in jured.The MPD's failed rescue attempt and gun-battle with the hijacker, which took around 90 minutes, were watched by millions on live television and the internet. The Philippine and Hong Kong governments conducted separate investigations into the incident. Both inquiries judged that the victims had been unlawfully killed, and identified the Philippine officials' poor handling of the incident as the cause of the eight hostages' deaths. The assault mounted by the MPD, and the resulting shoot-out, have been widely criticized by pundits as â€Å"bungled† and â€Å"incompetent†, and the Hong Kong Government has

A Case Analysis: Integra and Intex’s Problem Project

Marketing and promoting new technology has always been undemanding due to the growing trend in business and commerce of going electronic. However, not all technology is successful in their entry into the world of business.One very good example of this incident is that of Integra and Intex’s Banking and Loan Insurance Software System (BLISS) project. Although the software was completed, it was never introduced to credit unions. What happened then? How come such a very innovative project became a wasted product?   What were the mistakes made? Most significantly, what can the two businesses do to cope with the damaging effects the project has brought about?Case BackgroundThe BLISS project was spearheaded by two firms, namely, Integra Financial Corporation and Intex Consulting. Integra Financial Corporation, a life insurance company based in Quebec, Canada, is active in insurance, trust services, securities brokerage and asset and portfolio management (Roy, 2003, p. 445). The co rporation is responsible for approximately 8 billion dollars of assets while the work force consists of more than 2,200 permanent employees (Roy, 2003, p. 445).On the other hand, the partner company, Intex Consulting is a firm that specializes in the installation and design of information systems. It is actually a Canadian branch of a large international information system integration firm who wishes to gain its prominent place in Canadian banking business (Roy, 2003, p. 445). The firm is widely known for its expertise in the U.S. banking industry concerning system integration and development (Roy, 2003, p. 447).Although Integra has a competitive share in the insurance banking business, it does not have the whole of Canada. The company only emerges in Quebec due to one of its unique insurance plan. This plan is the Loan and Mortgage Insurance plan, also called the corporation’s â€Å"cash cow† (Roy, 2003, p. 446).What makes it different from plans of other insurance co rporations is its special software that enables a customized calculation of the expenses per client and directly links Integra’s database with the participating banking institutions. However, the software is limited for use only in Quebec where the banking institutions have somewhat similar structures. When it comes to the national market, Integra cannot venture into it since the different banking structures and institutions are diverging and dissimilar. Thus, the loan insurance plan was inapplicable.This very challenge has allowed the search for a way to penetrate the loan insurance business in the national network. It is in this situation that contact was made with Intex Consulting regarding Integra’s dream software. Thus, after the meeting of the two business establishments, the BLISS project was born and launched in the beginning of 1996 (Roy, 2003, p. 448).The primary goal of the joint project was to develop an appropriate technology solution to connect Integraâ⠂¬â„¢s loan insurance systems with its prospective clients’ banking and loan systems, particularly, a software system that can bridge the differences of the different structures of the diverse banking institutions and loan systems (Roy, 2003, p. 447).Key persons in both companies were then appointed for the project’s completion. Everyone was eager to see the results and was very optimistic because at that time, the project was a major endeavor and a promising success.Everyone saw the proposal as a means to expand the company. In addition, everyone was confident with the decision of pursuing the project. One would actually ask why but why not? Everyone believed that Integra is capable of doing so, due to its very long and successful experience in loan insurance business and that Intex has the guts of designing and developing an error-free software system since the firm is known for its competitiveness (Roy, 2003, p. 448).

Medical Profession Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Medical Profession - Personal Statement Example Currently, I am working with multi-disciplinary healthcare teams. This job enables me to experience the many facets of nursing care in nine different wards, including Accident & Emergency, Stroke, Respiratory and Cardiac Units. My duties revolve around holistic nursing care system which requires and allows me to: Furthermore, I am well-versed in using MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Being a computer literate, I can file and sort patients' medical records systematically. As a professional, I am deeply aware that all information is to be regarded as strictly confidential, whether it appears important or otherwise. My excellent report writing skills and experience in presenting information to others can also be tapped by your office. During my free time, I attend training programs, symposia and seminars to improve my ability to: All of these valuable tools, I believe, are instrumental in making me an effective and valuable member of any medical team and I am confident that I will continue to learn and develop my skills as a health service provider, particularly as I provide care to a diverse patient population. With the above-mentioned training and experience not to mention my innate leadership skills, I am confident that I can be a valuable member of the National Health Service. I can adjust to new environment and would be happy to work hand in hand with the best minds in the medical profession. As such, I do not see any obstacle in carrying out my duties and responsibilities that include settings priorities and scheduling work as well as attending to the care, welfare and daily routines of client groups including adults with learning disabilities in a variety of residential settings. These tasks are very similar to the hospital environment which I am familiar with especially that I had a prior experience similar to this field at Queen Mary's Hospital where I assisted on the Reeves Ward and cared for predominantly elderly people with dementia and respiratory

Jameson (2007) has defined geography as one of the possible components Essay

Jameson (2007) has defined geography as one of the possible components of cultural identity needed for cross cultural communicat - Essay Example The operations of a multinational corporation are often performed in a multicultural environment and their successes require the managers to have deeper insights about these forces. The managers of such organization cannot succeed in the global market if they only have an understanding of their domestic cultures (Becker, 2000, p.2). One of the components that constitute the culture of a group is the geographical location. This paper focuses on geography as determinant of culture as well as how managers can utilize it in corporate management. Thesis Geography is an important component culture that has to be considered when planning operational strategies like products/ services promotion, setting prices, advertising or market segmentation. The Culture of a Group of Individuals The culture of a particular group of people defines the way of life that is practiced by these people. It entails the social laws, values, beliefs, and practices that are considered appropriate for life among a given group of people. It has been termed as the ‘coherent, learned, shared view of a group of people about life’s concern that ranks what is important, furnishes attitudes about what things are appropriate, and dictates behavior’ (Jameson, 2007, p.210). The individuals in a given geographical location will tend to share beliefs and values that define their culture. The culture will define what the group of individuals consider right or wrong and it provides a check to the acceptable behavior of the individuals within the group. The culture of a particular group of people can emerge from different dimensions. It can be defined biologically, geographically, by the language, at places of work (vocation), through a social class, or based on some philosophical principles (Jameson, 2007, p.210). The culture of a given community also affects the consumer behavior in the community (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2008, p.185). The language as another important component of culture i s very influential in the ability of individuals to interact in a multicultural environment. As one traverses across cultures, he will experience tone variations in different language, ethnic or racial groups. An individual that is to operate in such diverse cultural settings is required to be conversant with the language perceptions in these distinct groups. Geography as a key Component of Culture Geography is an important component of culture that has to be considered by businesses that operate on the global scene. It has been noted that the culture of a given group of individuals can be defined by different factors. The geographical location of a group of people is one important component of their culture that creates distinct cultural groups. Individuals can develop a given culture because they are of the same nationality (Jameson, 2007, p.213). Similarly, within the national boundaries are further differences that may reflect on the culture. The way of life of individuals in a given region within a country can be significantly different from the way of life in another part of the country. The life style in the cities and other urban regions in a given country may not be the same as the life style in the rural areas. The attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of these groups of individuals often differ. Such

Discussion broad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion broad - Essay Example Based on the Output KPIs under the second objective, help grow membership, strength of brand identity is considered. However, under attitudinal and behavioral KPIs, there are no measurement tools to show the relevance of the target output KPI, strength of brand identity. In this case, the use of survey questions to identify what effect brand strength has on membership is recommended. Additionally, the behavioral KPIs should show change in page views based on recognition of brand strength. The current lack of attitudinal and behavioral KPIs indicating the role and influence of brand strength on membership merits the recommendation of a survey to showcase the associated impact of brand strength on membership growth (Paine, 2011). Under the third communication objective, the Boston IABC website, a recommendation for Output KIPs targets the number of individuals sharing a common goal that can yield to stronger relationships among chapter members. By simple counting or use of metrics in terms of percentage, output KIPs should be able to show how effective calendar events are at bringing certain members together. Additionally, under the attitudinal KIPs, focus group analysis should be considered to indicate how much of current chapter members attend similar events and how many members have distinct tastes for events. Under the Behavioral KPIs, metrics should be used to determine the rate of change in return visitors. While event registration and activity on social media can be used to strengthen relationships, the rate at which members register for the same calendar events as well as rate of attendance for certain events over others is essential in determining how successful the communication objective is (Paine ,

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example In every action, there is personal consent of doer himself that drives him to perform or decide something. I argue that Chisholm’s belief is right. A person cannot be influenced by any internal or external reason. He takes decision as he thinks is right for him. He is self-confident and determined enough to take decisions and withstand it. God has made every human being a good brain as well as guts. He is confident enough to stand determined in a position of decisiveness. He can take his own decisions without being influenced by any factor. There can be no factor influential enough on determinism. All influences are psychological which makes a person seek those factors in their decision making ability. Chisholm’s concept is in contradiction with Frankfurt who says that there is no consent of people’s actions. He is always directed by some external or internal factors to do or decide something. It is merely an observation that a person is doing something of his own self. His decisions will apparently by himself but in a real sense, they are backed by some internal and external factors. (Earman) Although Chisholm is right about the determinism of human beings, one cannot neglect the power of external and internal factors that influence a person’s decision. There are lots of emotional, psychological, physical and societal factors that make a person decide on something. Frankfurt rightly says that a person is certainly influenced by other factors for taking his decisions. In this world where people are highly concerned about what is going on each other’s life, it is a pertinent fact that there can be a rare decision that is not influenced by any factor. Determinism of human beings and their free will is not so much free to decide whatever he wants. Being a human being, we look for the factors that are associated and included in our decisions. (Joseph Keim Campbell)We evaluate them and then give them weight of

Prions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Prions - Essay Example Clinical signs among others include personality changes, psychiatric problems, lack of coordination, steady gait, involuntary jerking movements, unusual sensations, insomnia, confusion and severe mental impairment in the later stages. Those known to infect other vertebrate animals include scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cows, chronic wasting disease in American elk and deer, transmissible mink encephalopathy in mink and feline spongiform encephalopathy in cats (Jeffrey, Goodbrand & Goodsir 1995). One of the primary risk factors identified in relation to prion diseases is age. Studies suggest that a general mechanism might produce the remarkable reduction in disease risk as age increases. For example, in a study of scrapie outbreaks, it is observed that incidence of clinical cases peaked in sheep with age ranging from 2 to 3 years. The same age range has been noted in cattle with mad cow and deer with chronic wasting disease (Heisey 2004). In terms of its prevalence in the human population, it is estimated that 1 in 10,000 people are infected with CJD at the time of death. The actual prevalence of prion diseases are very difficult to ascertain due to overlapping symptoms that may lead to misdiagnosis. (Heaphy 2003) Research pertaining Research pertaining to prion diseases is deemed limited by the fact that studying them is substantially hampered by the unconventional properties of the presumed etiologic agent. Moreover, the long incubation period ranging from 34 to 41 years ("Mad cow could be dormant in people" 2006) of the diseases make them more difficult to detect. Moreover, the standard laboratory methods utilized for studying viruses and bacteria may not be applicable in this case (Belay & Telling). However, following reports of the outbreak of BSE, commonly termed as "mad cow" disease, in many European countries coupled with the estimated economic and medical implications of the said epidemic, the scope and nature of research on prion diseases has developed rapidly. This paper focuses on the current advancements in the study of prion diseases specifically in terms of modes of transmission, diagnosis methods, possible treatment and prevention. Modes of Transmission The manner of transmission of prion diseases is of primary concern in view of the protein nature of the prions. Note that unlike other types of infectious diseases which are spread by microbes, prion diseases are caused by misshaped protein, dubbed as prion protein, which transmits the disease between individuals causing brain deterioration (Belkin 2003). Based on recent studies, prion diseases have been considered unique as these can be inherited, sporadically occur or spread through infection. Majority of the prion disease cases are said to occur spontaneously, hence, animals with no prion protein mutation were observed infected. (Collinge 2001) On the other hand, inherited prion disease occurs in animals carrying a rare mutant prion allele. The disease is transmitted when healthy animal consume tainted tissues of other infected animals. The "mad cow" epidemic has been attributed to this mode of transmission as practice of feeding the cattle with processed remains of other cattle, which may have been infected already, became common. (Weissmann 2004) In humans, as in the cases of CJD, the

Analysis of The Johnstown Flood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of The Johnstown Flood - Essay Example McCullough focuses on various characters including the white-collar populace, the wealthy Pittsburgh steel barons, reporters, railway operators and rescuers, who jammed the scene after the disaster. The whole narration of the disaster resulted in the development of the story of post-flood mania, which was spectacular as the flood itself. Therefore, analyzing the book of McCullough, â€Å"The Johnstown Flood†, brings the novice reader to an overwhelming position, though the disaster story needs matching to the history of America. In about 60 pages, McCullough exposes the pre-flood, which leads to massive disaster. That was just before the narration reaches the night before the flood. A critical analysis of the book brings the idea that McCullough incorporates different characters and scenes from the Johnstown people to those of the railway and the building of the dam. Consequently, it led to the founding of hunting club and the south fork fishing. There is mingling of many them es of the late 19th century into the whole story with the full blare of them leading to disaster. The abandoning of the canal project and selling of the dam by Pennsylvania State resulted in the fact that professionals did not inspect them. That was due to the changing from the canals to the railroads. McCullough noted that some signs of trouble began when there was a division between the manufacturing employees and the Gilded Age millionaires. In fact, many in Johnstown feared the annual spring flood. However, the reader will be astonished to find that the dam broke in 1862 due to the fact there was mismanagement and neglect. The concrete narrative of the flood and the immediate consequences covers the majority of McCullough’s book. He epitomizes the event-based point of view. Chronologically, events are perfectly flowing, through the examination of several accounts happens at once, probably due to the amount of information. This also involves the commentaries and the post-s torm interviews. Furthermore, McCullough employs revisiting the most significant and detailed stories. Therefore, â€Å"The Johnstown Flood† book has a wealth of context and analysis, which indeed makes it an outstanding disaster book. McCullough's book highlights numerous events of the floods. A critical analysis of the book shows that McCullough places the whole event in a detailing and perspective situation; he describes how the water took its journey to Johnstown. He even tells of the speed and the height at varying times, even describing the Black Death Mist before it1. McCullough describes another highlight involving the swift organization of the people of Johnstown immediately after the disaster. In the book, the people immediately organized for meetings, recovery, cleanups, and the election of leaders. This was after their realization that the arriving of help would not be that easy because of the washing of the railroads. The leadership skills were quite visible in t he people due to their lack of lawlessness, looting, and epidemics. Afterwards, help was in, including several reporters. This led to the cleanup becoming the issue at hand, especially with the Clara Barton’s Red Cross, which later gained legitimacy.

Read Nancy Herthers Digital Natives and Immigrants Essay

Read Nancy Herthers Digital Natives and Immigrants - Essay Example A sad parent tried to sue MySpace website because their daughter got sexually assaulted (Fleming, 2008). The US District Court Judge dismissed the claim by stating that it was her parent’s duty to protect their child not of MySpace. Fleming describes the whole process of how the online community works. She portrays it in such a light that there is repulsion felt by the reader even in processes like making friends, setting up an online profile or sharing or liking each other’s posts to spread the message. Fleming’s style is a little exploitative when she stresses too much on one side of the picture because online networks like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook are not only used to advertise the most personal thoughts across the world. Different online groups have grown on such platforms where people have find their old friends. They start many good things like projects, work groups and businesses together. However, Fleming needs to portray it in such an emotionally re pulsive light because the crimes committed under exploitation of social media are so heinous that one needs to exploit the truth to make the point. Sometime persuasion requires little bit of exploitation to get the point

Premature birth & the sociological effects Research Paper

Premature birth & the sociological effects - Research Paper Example Dr. Mathew Allin, the research leader, has linked these symptoms to different possibilities such as remaining in the incubator makes bonding of the child and the parents difficult; genes could also be a reason of this personality disorder (BBC News). A premature baby faces continuous exposure to stress from invasive procedures, pain, sleep disturbances, and changes in less severe problems such as temperature, noise, and hunger. Even after being delivered to parents from the ICU care, a child experiences stress from regular fever, growth delays, and feeding problems. The life-risky problems challenge the under-developed coping mechanism of the child, as a child can undergo on an average 60 painful invasive procedures after admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In a study by Brandt et al, it was found that about 50% of all premature babies have learning disabilities in comparison to 9% of their peers. The IQ score of low-birth-weight premature babies is low in comparison to normally delivered babies (Maroney 679-83). There is a correlation between post -traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) in the parent of a premature baby and its resultant effect on the baby. The level of PTSD shown by the parent of the premature child is not definite but studies have shown that mothers of such babies show more PSTD symptoms in comparison to mothers of normally delivered healthy babies. Babies of such mothers are more prone to happenings of PSTD. Effects of such stress remain for long term in the lives of PSTD children. As the main care provider to the infant is the mother, studies have shown that due to the close relationship between the mother and the child, the mother can help the child in controlling the stress and providing a feeling of security. Parents of such children should provide Kangaroo Care with suitable Infant Massage to the child to reduce the stress level of the premature baby (Maroney 679-83). A child views the surroundings and

Explore the presentation of women in Much Ado about Nothing Essay Example for Free

Explore the presentation of women in Much Ado about Nothing Essay Explore the presentation of women in Much Ado about Nothing The women in the 1500s were always expected to do things such as taking care of the family not working outside of their houses and always seen as possessions, not people. As in Shakespeares time they were seen not heard. Shakespeare used this as a theme in him novel, Much Ado about Nothing, and the character Hero in particular portrayed the typical woman. The typical woman was modest, convectional, reserved and many women were pressured to be exactly like her. There are many other ways of which women are presented in this 1599 play about love and the deception of appearances. The play was very popular with the audience and was a comedy. Women who had a high status were usually linked with honour. Hero is an example of this as her father, Leonato, is a successful character and has high status. He is described as a, honourable father, which means that if she was to be, unfaithful, to Claudio then her whole family would go down in status and she Hero would be seen as an unclean creature now worth nothing. Heros overall presentation is a typical woman and is used as a plot device to move the story along, so she is valuable but her value is not recognised. An example of this is when she furthers the plot when she is, unfaithful, to Claudio. Hero is a possession to be passed on from father to husband as the society was patriarchal and the women were dominated by men and were assets to bargain. In the wedding scene Hero hardly says anything in her defence, and what she does say are only in one line blocks, is my Lord well that he doth speak so wide? She is not saying that he is wrong, but just asking him to rethink what he is saying. This shows us that she is a typical, modest woman and cannot stand up for herself. When Hero is accused of being unfaithful to Claudio, her father doesnt defend her like a typical father would do today, but he says, do not live Hero, do not ope thine eyes, Leonato is ashamed to be linked with his daughter and basically says that he wants her to die. This is not how women should be treated. They have no voice and people would believe a mans word over a womans. Hero is seen as a, plague right well prevented, which means she is no longer any use to Claudio and is a plague on him. Once women had lost there virginity to a man when they were not married, they were seen as useless and unclean, a woman would not be able to get a husband and would be put in a nunnery or kept indoors. Honour is linked to virginity because then the women were not worthless and so that they could be married to someone of high status. Claudio thinks Heros appearance is deceiving him and he ruins her life as she had ruined his, thoughts of harm. He ruins her life because now people think that she is unfaithful, rotten orange, she will be worthless and kept indoors. Another example of Hero as a typical Elizabethan woman is at the party when she gets proposed to. Hero is told what to say to her marriage proposal and has no choice in what to say. Beatrice even prompts her on what her actions should be, speak cousin, or if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss. Womans sexuality was controlled by men. Hero would be like any other good typical wife in Elizabethan times, she, would do any modest office. She is quiet and chaste and conforms to the norms of the society. Hero is very predictable, again like the typical woman, now going to kiss Claudio, Beatrice prompts her on her actions. In contrast Benedicks and Beatrices relationship has more equality and they come across as comfortable with one another as they use, you , and, your, as apposed to, thee, and, thou, as Hero and Claudio use. Beatrice is presented in a very different way to Hero. Beatrice is presented very openly. All of her emotions are shown and she always says what she thinks, the commendation is not in his wit, but in his villainy. This shows us that Beatrice is a very plotting and witty character who is in control of the situation. She is an independent woman, who was not like how women in Elizabethan times were presented, she was like Queen Elizabeth. Hero and Beatrice are complete opposites. Beatrice doesnt want any man to rule her life, in marriage, so takes an independent look to things. She doesnt want a husband because she wants to remain like she is, I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me. Her strong voice is a strong comparison to Heros silence; it makes them seen very opposite and is not the norms of Elizabethan society. Because Beatrice is so independent, she uses her wit to stop her from getting hurt, so I would not he should do me, my Lord, lest I should prove the mother of fools. It shows that Elizabethan women were quite vulnerable. The love that Benedick has for Beatrice is true love, this gives Beatrice the power to manipulate him, and she tells him to, kill Claudio, because she has to rely on a man to carry out what she wants to be done. The women in those times could not carry out a duel with someone else, as it was no, expected, of them to do that and they had to conform to the typical woman, like Hero. Beatrice shows her frustration when she says, O God that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market place, shes saying that if she was a man she would kill Claudio herself so makes Benedick chose if he looses a friend or love. Beatrice shows that she can be a domination person when she cuts Benedicks sentences short, Beat-, then she says, Princes and Counties! Overall I think that the women in, Much Ado about Nothing, were pressured into being quiet, chaste and not seen, like Hero. Beatrice is the total opposite and has her own strong-willed, independent mind. Men and women were not treated as equals and men had so much more power and freedom and saw the women as possessions not wives. Hero resembles the perfect presentation of what a woman should be like. Beatrice does not because she is not quiet and is not told what to do, she is different, she is stubborn and will do things her own way.

Uk Supermarket Price Competition And Non Price Competition Economics Essay

Uk Supermarket Price Competition And Non Price Competition Economics Essay The British supermarket is dominated by four main suppliers, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrison which formed a large retail market chain in the UK for several years. This is called oligopoly market [Oligopoly Watch, 2003]. According to 123helpme.com (2009), an oligopoly is a market controlled by a few number of bulky firms which are interdependent. First of all, four main groceries in the UK have high degree of concentration. For example, in 2003, four supermarkets together have approximately three fourths market share in the retailers market which can be seen in the diagram. [Oligopoly Watch, 2003]. Moreover, based on the huge economics of scale and enable lower the price to consumers, the barriers to entry for other suppliers in the market are high. It is believed by Climate Change Crop (2006), consumer research told them that price, quality and convenience were the key criteria for the mass of shoppers. Therefore, the UK leading firms in supermarket chain begin the high competiti ons in price rivalry and non-price strategies. This essay will concentrate on analyzing both price competition and non-price competition among Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrison, and then evaluates the advantages and disadvantages for the customers. Grocery market share Tesco  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   27.1% Asda  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   16.9% Sainsbury  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   16.1% Morrison/Safeway  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   12.4% Sept 2003 rankings, Source: The Guardian Consumers have benefits for saving money because of immense high competition and low-price strategy among the main retailers in the UK. Those oligopoly firms such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrison are interdependence. It can be easy to lead to price rigidity among major UK supermarkets which assumes that oligopoly market have cooperation in setting stable price in similar products. In addition, if one firm increases its price while other companies stay constantly, the firm who increase the price will lose market share because consumers do not want to purchase high price if they can also buy in original price in other groceries. This is called kinked demand curve theory. [Revision Guru, 2010]. As can be seen in the following diagram, P equals to price. Q equals to quantity. MC equals to marginal cost and MR is for marginal revenue. Demand curve is more elastic for a price rise than for a price fall. MC1 then a rise in costs to MC2 would result in stable price. Kinked demand curve theory [Revision Guru, 2010] Furthermore, it is reported by 123helpme.com (2009) that an action of one firm contributes to the change of other competitors. For example, rivals will be compelled to prevent to loss market share if a retailer lower its price. In UK supermarket chain, apart from Sainsbury which focus on produce quality and outstanding value to meet consumers need, other three retailers include Asda, Tesco and Morrisons are mostly low-priced based. To be more specific, Asda offers the cheapest price of the three companies [Thinking Made Essay, 2009]. Consequently, an ardent competition happens as a result of lowering price of those three rivals. Consumers are in favour of choosing the cheapest one to buy because they can save money. However, when competitors stay their products in high price, customers should have a positive aspect in charging more money. Both branded and qualitative products can satisfy consumers needs but should be paid in higher price than unbranded products. Owing to the effectiveness of the advertising and marketing which made by large firms, customers are willing to pay more money to buy branded products to satisfy their psychological needs. The Leading firms in the UK supermarket tend to produce branded products to attract more attentions from consumers and then increase sales. Morrisons, for instance, has eight different categories for food selling which consist of The Best a premium range; Eat Smart, a healthy range; Bettabuy, economy products; Organic and the free-range Free From collection [Whitwell, 2006]. These strategies are also barriers to those companies which want to come into the market. As a result, more consumers make their first choice to the branded products. If the companies want to obtain more market share among those competitors, they must also produce products which are in good quality. Ther efore, the fixed and variable cost cause the mark-up of the qualitative and branded products higher than other plain products. Even though consumers spend more money to buy these products, they also obtained the quality guarantee of the production [Tutor 2u, 2010] Other price competition such as discount by these UK groceries results in more money cost by consumers. In oligopolistic market, because major firms want to maximise their profit, they would get together and make a same agreement on product quantity or price which means collusion [S-cool.co.uk (2010)]. According to Oligopoly Watch (2003), Asda, Tesco and Morrisons built their reputations as discount chains to gain market share quickly, this lead to the decline of Sainsbury which has been the biggest retailers since 1995. However, those three large supermarket chains hope their discount can stimulate their consumers spend more money on other profitable products. This price strategy leads to the revenue of the chain increase sharply. The whole things cost costumers much more money than they spend as usual because of the discount on cheap products. Though the price strategies help a lot on increasing consumers expenditure and reputation, non- price competitions which concentrate on other strategies for rising market occupancy are also an essential part of attracting more purchasers. Consumers have power to change the shopping place if they do not think the service and quality of the original retailers satisfy them [Biz/ed, 2005]. Non-price competitions comprise numerous strategies such as mass media advertising and marketing, home delivery systems, innovative use of technology and internet shopping for consumers [Tutor 2u, 2010]. According to Thinking Made Essay (2009), the proportion that make consumers switch to other brands are correspondingly low. The leading UK supermarkets use non-price competitions to hope customers finish shopping and continue to purchase in the next time. Therefore, each of them focus on good service to shopping people because consumers may alter their choice to other grocery if they consider the one t hey buy usually do not content them. In summary, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrison use different price strategies such as price stability and discount and non-price competition such as service. Consumers in the UK retailer chain have both positive and negative aspects. Owing to the interdependence of oligopoly, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrison use price rigidity to control the market. Consumers have benefits for low-price strategy. Furthermore, the retailers use loss leader strategy; concentrate on good value but high price to consumers who may spend more money on those qualitative products. Whats more, customers can choose the best service supermarket because every groceries use non-price strategies to attract consumers attention. Nevertheless, price competition such as discount may cost more money in other profitable things. References Section: Biz/ed.co.uk (2005) Supermarkets and Oligopolies http://www.bized.co.uk/dataserv/chron/news/2449.htm Climate Change Crop (2006) UK supermarkets Waking up to sustainability marketing http://www.climatechangecorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4503 Oligopoly Watch (2003) British grocery  oligopoly http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2003/10/13.html Revision Guru.co.uk (2010) Oligopoly http://www.revisionguru.co.uk/economics/oligopoly.htm S-cool.co.uk (2010) Other features of oligopoly http://www.s-cool.co.uk/alevel/economics/market-structure-2/the-kinked-demand-curve-model.html Thinking Made Essay, 2009 Strategic Analysis of Morrison, Asda and Tesco http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/07/strategic-analysis-of-morrison-asda-and-tesco.html Tutor 2u.net (2009) Oligopoly http://tutor2u.net/economics/content/topics/monopoly/oligopoly_notes.htm Whitwell Stuart, 2006 Stretch potential: the supermarket brands http://www.intangiblebusiness.com/Brand-services/Marketing-services/News/Stretch-potential-the-supermarket-brands~390.html 123helpme.com (2009) First 1500 characters of UK supermarkets Oligopolistic competition http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=97935]

Gender Stereotypes in Young Children

Gender Stereotypes in Young Children à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Sugar and Spice and everything nice, thats what little girls are made of. Society today has made a clear cut line about what is appropriate for a little boy and what is appropriate for a little girl. Society has made that distinction through gender stereotyping. If you walk into a preschool class room today, little girls will be playing dress-up with fairy and princess costumes while the boys will be tackling each other or playing with dump trucks. Even though many people believe that gender is not learned, but instinctual instead, there may be outside influences on gender roles that children fall victim to, for example parents influence gender roles by the language they use and media and toys reinforce gender stereotypes in children by character portrayal and advertisements. There are many different parenting styles that are seen today. Psychologist Diana Baumrind discovered four basic styles of parenting; authoritarian, permissive-indifferent, permissive-indulgent, and authoritative (Morris, 310). Regardless of the parenting style that one family opts for, there seems to be a common thread; the majority of parents will dress little boys in blue and little girls in pink. The thought process behind this is so that their gender can be identified properly by an outside source. No parent wants to be walking through a store with their little boy and have a stranger ask, How old is she? Interestingly enough however, according to the article Whats Wrong with Cinderella? author Peggy Orenstein points out when colors were first introduced to the nursery in the early part of the twentieth century, pink was considered the more masculine hue, a pastel version of red. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, was thought to be dainty. Somewhere along the line, the reverse was thought true; pink was more feminine and blue was more masculine, and is so enforced by todays standards. Another example of how strongly parents influence gender was learned when an experiment was performed at Harvard University. Male babies were dressed in pink outfits and were then given to adults to handle under the impression that they were girls. The language used with the boy babies dressed in pink fell into the female stereotype, while the girl babies dressed in blue fell into the male stereotype, being called handsome and tough (Pruett). Language is a big influence on gender interpretation. Often we tell boys not to cry and explain things with different tones for boys versus girls. If a little girl hits a friend, parents/caregivers might use a gentler phrase like, gentle hands on your friends please. If a little boy hits a friend, parents/caregivers might just shrug the action off as Boys will be boys as the common saying goes or raise their voices to get the point across more strongly, We DO NOT hit our friends! Even the compliments that adults bestow upon children can be gender stereotyping. When you tell a little a girl how pretty she looks in her dress is an illustration of that. Parents lead by example. Their children learn behavior from what they see their parents doing, even if unintentional. If a child sees their mother as the one who always does the laundry and cooks the meals and the father as the one who always takes the trash out, then chances are that the child will follow the same roles when as they grow up. Media also plays a large part in where children learn about what their gender role is. Disney movies are a prime example of this. In these movies, the leading female character, usually a princess, is sweet, romantic, daydreams about Prince Charming, and almost always wears a dress in a pastel color. On the other hand, the same Disney movie can represent the male population watching with a prince, who is usually strong, willing to fight, and always gets the girl at the end. These characters often lead to a misconception of what is feminine and what is masculine. On the spectrum of gender identity, Disney may represent the extremes of what the appropriate gender role is. Advertisements are often seen using gender as a marketing strategy for toys or games. If you look at a commercial for Tonka Trucks, there wont be a little girl to be seen in these ads. However, if you see a commercial for Easy-Bake oven, the opposite will be true. There will be no boys in those commercials. Seeing these on television demonstrates to children what should be an appropriate toy for a little boy and what should be appropriate for a little girl. Even the behaviors of children portrayed in television advertisements are stereotypic. Boys are often seen as active and domineering while the girls are portrayed as shy or overly silly. These advertisements usually lead to the purchase of the toys shown for the sex it was targeted to. Parents often wonder if you give a baby doll to a little boy or a dump truck to a little girl, will they be gender confused. Even the most new-age parents might find it bizarre to see their little boys walking around preschool with a purse and in dress shoes. Boys have a harder time crossing the gender line, whereas some parents of females might think that its alright for their daughters to play with dump trucks or Legos. This does not mean that the son will be more feminine and the daughter will be a tom-boy, but a majority of parents do not want to risk that. Not everyone believes, however, that gender is strictly a learned behavior. In 2009, Texas AM University used eye tracking software to measure infants interest in either male or female toys (Shaffer). According to an article published in 2010, the author M. Fox, found the results to be extremely informative: Hormone levels in the saliva, as well as finger dimensions that indicate prenatal testosterone exposure were measured to see if these things could explain why the infants visually preferred certain toys over others. The results revealed that while the girls preferences werent affected by hormone levels at all, the boys preferences were affected by both current and prenatal hormone levels. It appears that the higher the presence of testosterone at the time of the test, the greater the preference for groups of figures over individual figures, and those who indicated a higher exposure to prenatal testosterone had a stronger preference for the ball over the doll. This means that the boys showed an optical penchant for gender specific toys. In an article in New Scientist, Linda Geddes states that research has been done to show that the introduction of changing levels of testosterone and estrogen while babies are in utero may also have some sway in which toys boys and girls pick. There are other theorists that believe that there is a cognitive connection to gender development. Carol Lynn Martin and Diane Ruble are two such theorists. They discuss Kohlbergs theory of gender development is and what the impact is of knowing your gender does not change. This is an important fact for children to learn, generally setting the concepts of what is correct behavior for your gender type. Martin and Ruble think that there are important cognitive themes for gender development, rather than the influence of a specific outside source. The first important theme discussed is The Emergence of Gender Identity and Its Consequences. In this stage, it is allegedly general knowledge that children understand that there are two different types of genders, and they have the realization that they fall into one of those two categorizing sexes. This first theme is then broken down into two sub-categories, Evaluative Consequences and Motivational and Informational Consequences. The former meaning that the child understands and identifies one group as their own and sees this group as a positive. The latter sub-category means that one the child picks a gender to identify with and while the want to understand the opposite sex dwindles, the individual seems only interested it their own gender identity. The second theme that is thought to be a cognitive gender identity link is Active, Self-Initiated View of Gender Development and the final theme is Developmental Patterns. In these two themes, the thought is that the main focus is learning about the social gender group that they most identify with, and forming and developing the characteristics that are most familiar with the identified gender. While exploring the cognitive connection to gender, many place a strong association to motivational significances and developmental configurations of the gender identity theory. Even though many theorists believe that gender is not a learned behavior, but you are born knowing the difference between appropriate male behaviors and toys and appropriate female behaviors and toys, others disagree. Those people state that there are many possible outside influences on children when they are learning their gender roles in society. Some also believe that being aware of specific gender stereotypes has a connection to how one behaves. The media and toys that children do see and use play an intricate part in the concept of gender roles and parents influence gender identity by using specific language and actions. Whether or not gender is identity is solely obtained by influence or is pre-determined by some cognitive connection, it is an intriguing issue. Should boys and girls be able to make the choice of the toy that they want to play with or what their favorite color is going to be regardless of what society claims is normal? With the role that parents or caregivers pl ay in gender role identification, they should learn different methods for breaking stereotypes. Adults could make sure that they use the same language for both sexes or become involved in activities such as cuddling with boys or wrestling with girls. Connecting children of both sexes in such a manner is a good way to encourage the cycles of gender stereotyping to end.

Military Leaders in Developing Countries Essay -- Military Politics Ar

Military Leaders in Developing Countries The role of the military in any country is one of prestige. Unless having been through it personally, one could not imagine willingly subjecting oneself to the rigorous training received by so many young men and women today. The role played by the military is always to protect, defend, and assist its country in both war and peacetime, but in developing nations there are quite different roles as well. To be a leader in the armed forces, one must be strong both physically and mentally, as well as having a certain charisma, or skill with people. This is true because in order to lead, one must appeal to those he or she is leading. Not only does a developing country have armed forces for defense, but on occasion, the leaders of third world militaries use them for the overthrow of their own government. Currently serving as a soldier(reservist), I can identify with the saying, "spilling blood in the mud ," as we are trained, contracted, and sworn to do so on command, but if ever asked to he lp plan or execute an act against our government, I would be appalled. This is exactly what several third world country military officers have done. Momar Quadaffi was a Lieutenant in the Libyan military and with the help of some other lower ranking officers, he successfully staged a revolution. Which is not at all bad because he is so popular he can drive around in his Volkswagen Convertible without any type of security but could you imagine Bill Clinton riding a bike down Pennsylvania Avenue without the secret service along for the ride ( I apologize if I have just created a bad mental image)? The point is, where on earth could a group of officers secretly join together and overthrow the government, oth... ...itself. One could make several connections between Castro's military background and government. In conclusion, there are many ideals and virtues that are instilled when one goes through formal military training, and these involve leadership, charisma, and a fair sense of judgment. All of these virtues can be shown in several developing nation's leaders as they themselves have gone through rigorous physical and mental training in order to help them better defend their country and its way of life. Though each leader may differ in terms of race, color, creed, or culture, their primary objective and ideologies are quite similar. While each leader has his or her country's best interest at heart when making policies and decisions that have long-standing ramifications, one can be assured that these leaders and their policies are based upon their firm military training.

Oceans :: essays research papers

Oceans   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ocean covers Seventy-one percent of our planets surface. Life is concentrated, however, in about four percent of it, and it is this four percent that is being polluted by the tons every day. Everyone needs to understand that the oceans are not endless, and not bottomless. They also much see that the ocean contains much marine life which are essential to our eco-system. And in order to preserve this other world of life, we must stop polluting the oceans, and begin to clean them up. Although using the ocean for a toxic waste dump may provide for a cheap alternative, we must not succumb to these barbaric urges. If we neglect to deal with these ideals, than the world as we know it may not be as great a world for our children as it was for us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, we need to understand that the oceans are not the vast resources that we believe them to be, but just vulnerable natural resources. Before Columbus' day, the ocean were thought to be boundless. Although Columbus proved this theory incorrect, the thought still remains in today's societies. â€Å"For we of the 20th century still treat the ocean as the endless, bottomless pit it was considered to be in medieval times.†(Heyerdahl) The majority of the world's population still lives under the misconception that the ocean is a hungry abyss, eager to devour all their waste. These beliefs, however, are all untrue. The average depth of the oceans is only a little more than a mile, when in fact, some lakes exceed this depth rather handily. Although the size of the ocean is often pondered, the thought that it may one day be gone, is never even considered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The vast majority of all life in the ocean, inhabits only 1/25 of these waters, but it is these surroundings that are in the most danger. In the beginning of the world, marine plankton was vital to the evolution of man. Today, it is even more important to us, being that it provides us with a great percentage of oxygen we receive. â€Å"These minute plant species manufactured so much oxygen that it rose above the surface to help form the atmosphere we have today.†(Heyerdahl) With the disappearance of the plankton through increased pollution, the obvious result will be a total deprivation of our oxygen supply, in turn limiting all people to certain limits. And with urban expansion leading to deforestation, our dependence upon marine life becomes heightened. The importance of marine plankton cannot be emphasized enough, yet most people fail to recognize it as the vital life supply it is.

Cda Competency Goal # 1 Essays Examples

Competency Goal #1 To establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment. One of the primary concerns in a preschool center based program is establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment. I will explain how I maintain this with examples in different areas and the goals I feel are important for a child to achieve. Two of the activities that I practice are fire safety and tornado drills. The purpose of fire/tornado drills is to let the children know where and what to do in case of and emergency situation.The most important reason for these drills enforces is to try and to teach the children to be calm and feel safe. We practice the drills monthly. The classroom is another area of significance for safety. The toys are checked daily, the room is clean and clutter free. The child’s personal belongings are put in his or her cubby and marked with their name. All medicines and chemicals are stored in a cabinet and are locked at all times. The room is set u p in a manner that my Para’s and I are able to supervise the children at all times. The telephone numbers of each child’s parents are in a file cabinet located next to the office phone.All emergency numbers are posted next to the office phone. The outdoor play area is checked daily for debris and equipment is in good and stable condition. We practice hygiene habits such as washing hands before and after meals, after the use of the bathroom and after they have their diaper changed. By establishing this habit at a young age, the children will grow-up developing cleanliness and pride in taking care of themselves. I use a private room separate from the classroom when changing diapers and use the Universal Safety precautions as well.The room is clean and tidy. The toys are washed weekly and the diaper area after each change with Clorox wipes and a disinfecting spray. This helps to keep germs from spreading. Good nutrition is essential in young children. Serving well balance d meals by choosing foods from the Food Pyramid (4 basic food groups) is important. All of our meals and snacks are provided through our school meal service and is pre-portioned for each child. I also use nutrition as an overall theme by doing activities like art, stories, and food tasting projects.The children sit at tables and chairs; also use silverware that is size appropriate. Meal time is a learning experience so all the children serve themselves family style. The actual room is set in an organized manner with open stations for the children to see materials and are able to play freely. All of the centers are labeled and books are shelved in an orderly fashion. I have developed a daily schedule and weekly themes to provide stimulation and knowledge. Having the room structured assists me to meet my goals as a lead teacher.

Extended commentary of ‘The Pine Planters’ by Thomas Hardy Essay

On the Title: A simple reference to the characters described in the first part of the poem. Overall, though, it refers to an earlier work by Hardy, named ‘The Woodlanders’. Marty South – note the lack of explicit gender reference in the name – is a character from ‘The Woodlanders’ whose thoughts are expressed in an odd, stream-of-consciousness-esque reverie. Hardy is interested in the melancholy of both human relationships and within nature; the lack of meaning he can find in natural suffering. Overall Structure: Hardy splits the poem into two parts, with two very different structural styles: 1. Part I takes a ballad form; 8 English quatrains with a mostly ABCB rhyme scheme, but with the occasional use of an alternate scheme when emphasis is required. Hardy uses very simple language throughout this stanza – the images presented are equally so. 2. Part II contains three stanzas of 12 lines, with an alternate rhyme scheme. Consequently, the poem loses its sense of ballad and, as the lines increase in length, becomes more abstract and ‘deep’. This allows for an increased intensity, both in the content and exploration of the images produced. It allows for no more emotive punctuation either! Despite being linked in content, the two parts have very different structural nuances. Difficult Language Notes: â€Å"Halt and hoary† is an archaic phrase for ‘old and grey’. Themes: Nature’s lament, Man and Nature, Relationships Notes on Part I The poem must be discussed separately, in terms of its parts, before comparing the two. However, Hardy writes in such short stanzas that analysing each one would be pointless, yet the meaning behind Hardy’s ‘Part I’ is described very gradually. Therefore, a summary: Hardy writes, in the first person, of a couple who work in forestry. It is assumed that the persona is female (or otherwise homosexual, which would present an interesting perspective) and is called ‘Marty South’ – in this case, the ambiguous name is quite certainly female. South is a character originating, as mentioned before, from Hardy’s earlier work ‘The Woodlanders’. South is engaged in a relationship with a partner upon whom she dotes, but is slighted due to the male’s ‘wandering eye’. South ‘writes’ to explain his apparent indifference towards her. However, Hardy uses this idea of suffering (in relationships) and applies it, in Part II, to the trees that the pair plant. In Detail: Relative movement of the two characters is of great importance to Hardy – or rather, the fact that the persona doesn’t move and therefore suffers the cold of the ‘blast and breeze’. This is made clear, along with the setting for her predicament, in the first stanza; â€Å"He fills the earth in/ I hold the trees†. The woman has no mobility. This is made clearer in the second stanza; â€Å"what I do/ Keeps me from moving/ And chills me through.† More importantly, though, â€Å"he does not notice†. This simple observation of a married man not noticing his wife’s routine suffering (suffering, as it is later revealed, which is endured only to be near him.) is shocking to the reader. The wife is made initially into a tragic beast of burden – this lack of physical motion will eventually come to represent her inability to achieve any motion in life. Hardy deliberately utilises the understatement and plainness of speech to accentuate this fact. In the next stanza, he reveals why. â€Å"He has seen one fairer†. Again, utilising understatement, Hardy introduces (in a noticeably less ‘fixed’ reality) a third figure to the poem – the male’s true love interest. Hardy, by portraying such a betrayal from the victim’s eyes (as well as condemning the male to interest based upon attractiveness alone) again achieves a sense of sympathy from the reader. The male’s â€Å"eye†¦ skims me as though I were not by.† Apart from the obvious sense of being ignored, Hardy’s use of ‘skims’ is particularly effective in emphasizing the male’s partial glimpse of his partner. [Add. Note: The last line of each stanza is somewhat contracted, drawing attention to it. It is therefore noticeable that each ‘4th line’ features an emotive sentiment – all express revealing elements of the characters’ relationships. This is equally accentuated through the rhyme scheme, which draws both the 2nd and 4th lines together.] Hardy’s key emphasis next is that â€Å"since she passed here† the male has thought only of (the new) ‘her’ and the forest; â€Å"the woodland hold him alone.† Equally, the persona is busy with her thoughts – presumably in the form of this reverie! This stanza’s final line is particularly noticeable through its contraction. On a different note, there is an element of complaint in the persona’s tone; she â€Å"never win[s] any small word of praise!† This highlights a coming theme, in that the pair fail to talk to each other at all. They are both equally silent with their thoughts and he, as above, never offers praise – nor, it seems, any verbal or emotional contact. What makes the relationship tragic is that she makes no effort either: The final two stanzas of the first part require more focussed analysis, as they begin to move to action on the part of Marty – or rather (as it may be) to further inaction. â€Å"Shall I not sigh (1) to him That I work on Glad to be nigh to him (2) Though hope is gone (3)? Nay, though he never Knew (4) love like mine, I’ll bear it ever (5) And make no sign (6)!† Desperation, along with paradoxical pleasure, dominates Hardy’s final stanzas: ‘sighing’ has always been a poetic expression of desperation, enforced by the visible expression of hopelessness (3). One therefore questions Marty’s judgement; if she is aware that her relationship with her male partner has been afflicted to its present demise (an argument further supported by the use of the past tense at (4)) then why does she stay there? Why is she unable to move herself physically, emotionally or verbally from her fixed spot? She is like the tree which she plants; immovable but suffering because of it. Much as one can muse upon Hardy’s own Modernist views (see the previous poem for the question of Modernist principles upon human suffering) on the matter, the persona suggests a very simple answer – see (2). She still loves the male. This creates a scenario – an immovable object, enduring suffering, refuses to resign from desperation because Nature/emotion has dictated it must stay – which is passed on to Part II. [Note the irony of the persona: she says, through the medium of literary suspension, that she can make no sign. But we are reading it†¦ She’s making a sign, therefore†¦ So, perhaps Marty South’s Reverie is her paradoxical sign?]

Entrepreneurial Marketing: The Critical Difference Essay

Introductions usually have three parts: presentation of the problem or the research inquiry purpose and focus of the current paper summary or overview of the writer’s position or arguments As you can see, a thoughtfully written introduction can provide a blueprint for the entire research paper. In the first part of the introduction, the presentation of the problem, or the research inquiry, state the problem or express it so that the question is implied. Then, sketch the background on the problem and review the literature on it to give your readers a context to show them how your research inquiry fits into the conversation currently ongoing in your subject area. You may tell why this problem has been a problem, why previous attempts have failed to solve it, or why you think this particular slant or angle to the problem is important. You can also mention what benefits are to be gained from solving this problem or exploring this topic from your perspective. In the second part of the introduction, state your purpose and focus. Here, you may even present your actual thesis. Sometimes your purpose statement can take the place of the thesis by letting your reader know your intentions. Some writers like to delay presenting their thesis, especially if their readers may not be ready to accept it. The third part, the summary or overview of the paper, briefly leads readers through the discussion, forecasting the main ideas and giving readers a blueprint for the paper. This example of a well-organized introduction provides such a blueprint. Example of an Introduction Entrepreneurial Marketing: The Critical Difference In an article in the Harvard Business Review, John A. Welsh and Jerry F. White remind us that â€Å"a small business is not a little big business.† An entrepreneur is not a multinational conglomerate but a profit-seeking individual. To survive, he must have a different outlook and must apply different principles to his endeavors than does the president of a large or even medium-sized corporation. Not only does the scale of small and big businesses differ but small businesses also suffer from what the Harvard Business Review article calls â€Å"resource poverty.† This is a problem and opportunity that requires an entirely different approach to marketing. Where large ad budgets are not necessary or feasible, where expensive ad production squanders limited capital, where every marketing dollar must do the work of two dollars, if not five dollars or even ten, where a person’s company, capital, and material well-being are all on the line—that is, where guerrilla marketing can save the day and secure the bottom line. (Levinson, 1984, p. 9) In this example, the first sentence gives us the general academic conversation that this article will join. Sentence 2 narrows the discussion slightly to the entrepreneur. Sentence 3 explains why the entrepreneur and the small business are different and suggests the research question: How does the entrepreneur with his business principles differ from the corporate CEO and â€Å"big business† principles? Sentence 4 again places the discussion here within the academic conversation about entrepreneurs and slants the subject to â€Å"resource poverty.† Sentence 5 suggests why this issue is significant and even hints that perhaps it hasn’t been covered sufficiently. The author is defining his â€Å"research space,† where his research will fit in the conversation. The last and longest sentence succinctly summarizes the areas covered in this article and presents the thesis statement â€Å". . . that is, where guerrilla marketing can save the day and secure the bottom line.† As an aside, notice that the title of our example has two parts. Readers use such academic titles to select articles and to get a quick sense of what an article is about. Academic titles can state the research question, summarize the thesis or purpose, or be written as a two-part title with a colon. As in this example, the first part of the title gives the context of the article,  the academic discussion, and the second part gives the slant of the article, this writer’s special research space in the conversation. By reviewing the introductions to research articles in the discipline in which you are writing your research paper, you can get an idea of what is considered the norm for that discipline. Study several of these before you begin your paper so that you know what may be expected. If you are unsure of the kind of introduction your paper needs, ask your teacher for more information. As an added note, the introduction is usually written in present tense. The Methods Section The methods section of your research paper should describe in detail what methodology and special materials, if any, you used to think through or perform your research. You should include any materials you used or designed for yourself, such as questionnaires or interview questions, to generate data or information for your research paper. You want to include any methodologies that are specific to your particular field of study, such as lab procedures for a lab experiment or data-gathering instruments for field research. If you are writing a literary research paper, you would want to use the methodologies scholars use to examine texts and place the author and the literary piece into its literary and historical context. If you are writing a business management research paper, you would want to use the methodologies that place your discussion in the context of business and economics. Next to your own critical review of the scholarship in your discipline, your teacher is the best source of what methodologies are used in it. Many writers of research begin with this section because it is often the easiest to write. This section is usually written in past tense. The Results Section How you present the results of your research depends on what kind of research  you did, your subject matter, and your readers’ expectations. Quantitative information, data that can be measured, can be presented systematically and economically in tables, charts, and graphs. Quantitative information includes quantities and comparisons of sets of data. If you are unfamiliar with the conventions, you may find it challenging to present quantitative findings. You may include some commentary to explain to your reader what your findings are and how to read them. The distinction between the results section and the discussion section is not always so clear-cut. Although many writers think you should simply present and report your findings on the data you have collected, others believe some evaluation and commentary on your data may be appropriate and even necessary here. You and your teacher can decide how strict you want to be in this decision. Qualitative information, which includes brief descriptions, explanations, or instructions, can also be presented in prose tables. This kind of descriptive or explanatory information, however, is often presented in essay-like prose or even lists. There are specific conventions for creating tables, charts, and graphs and organizing the information they contain. In general, you should use these only when you are sure they will enlighten your readers rather than confuse them. In the accompanying explanation and your discussion, always refer to the graphic by number and explain specifically what you are referring to. Give your graphic element a descriptive caption as well. The rule of thumb for presenting a graphic is first to introduce it by name, show it, and then interpret it. You can consult a textbook, such as Lannon’s Technical Writing for more information and guidance. The results section is usually written in past tense. The Discussion Section Your discussion section should generalize on what you have learned from your research. One way to generalize is to explain the consequences or meaning of  your results and then make your points that support and refer back to the statements you made in your introduction. Your discussion should be organized so that it relates directly to your thesis. You want to avoid introducing new ideas here or discussing tangential issues not directly related to the exploration and discovery of your thesis. This section, along with the introduction, is usually written in present tense. The Conclusions and Recommendations Section Some academic research assignments might end with the discussion and not need a separate conclusions and recommendations section. Often, in shorter assignments, your conclusion is just a paragraph or two added to the discussion section. In many of your research assignments, however, you will be asked to provide your conclusions and recommendations in your research paper. Conclusions unify your research results and discussion and elaborate on their significance to your thesis. Your conclusion ties your research to your thesis, binding together all the main ideas in your thinking and writing. By presenting the logical outcome of your research and thinking, your conclusion answers your research inquiry for you and your readers. Your conclusions should relate directly to the ideas presented in your introduction section and not present any new ideas. You may be asked to present your recommendations separately in your research assignment. If so, you will want to add some elements to your conclusion section. For example, you may be asked to recommend a course of action, make a prediction, propose a solution to a problem, offer a judgment, or speculate on the implications and consequences of your ideas. The conclusions and recommendations section is usually written in present tense.

Martin Luther King’s Religous Beliefs Essay

Martin Luther King lived from 1929 to1968 in America, there was much discrimination against black people. Even though slavery had been abolished in 1869, most black people still lived in poverty. Black people earned half the amount white people earned and many could not vote. Martin Luther King was Black American Christian who believed that god made everyone equal. Because of his Christian beliefs he worked towards equal rights through non-violent protests; his beliefs being that there was never an excuse for violence as that doesn`t express the love of god – just hatred. King followed in his father and grandfathers footsteps by becoming a pastor in 1954 in a Baptist church in Montgomery. Following Rosas Parks protest through refusing to move from her seat on the bus to give it to a white person, he became involved in the civil rights movement. Mixing the Christian idea of perfect love (Agape) with St. Thomas Aquinas` philosophy that an unjust law in the eyes of God is immoral, and therefore, not a law. King said in his letter from Birmingham Jail that, â€Å"an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. † Furthermore his campaign of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience began to take shape. After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move from her seat to allow a white person to sit down, King decided it was time to start acting and after calling a meeting, where it was decided for all black people to stop using the buses. This was called a ‘bus boycott’. After 381 days with buses being virtually empty (costing the company lots of money), the government passed a law to state that it was illegal to segregate black people from white people on the buses. This was a victory for King and his beliefs in non-violent direct action. King believed that the Good Samaritan parable was a prime example of how we should treat each other equally. In the parable a Jew is beaten, mugged and left for dead. A priest, a Levite both cross to the other side of the road when the see him. However when a Samaritan sees him he helps him and pays for accommodation and care for him despite Jews and Samaritans despising each other. This parable showed you should love each other as neighbours despite religion or race. King demonstrated how you should stick up for your dreams, follow your beliefs and how violence isn`t needed to achieve your goal. His work made life in America better for everybody, his message to black and white people caused them to think and change the way things were being done.

Bring Safe Drinking Water to the World Essay

Lack of clean water for drinking affect many people in every continent. Around one-fifth of the population in the world stays in areas of physical scarcity while five hundred million people are said to be approaching this situation. This problem is more serious in Africa than in any other continent. Lack of safe water for drinking is explored in the accompanying paper. In this paper, results of lack of clean drinking water in Africa is assessed more so in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper also explores the impact of water scarcity on stability of Africa and the World. It further evaluates how United Nations have helped solve the problem and ways in which developing countries can ensure they have adequate clean water. Lack of safe water for drinking is a one of the leading problem in the world. It has an impact on over 1.1 billion people all over the world. Safe drinking water is defined by World health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation as water that has microbial, physical and chemical characteristics that meet the guidelines of National standard on quality of drinking water (Campbell, Caldwell, Hopkins, Heaney, Wing, Wilson, et al. 2013). Lack of safe drinking water is looked through a population to water equation treated by hydrologists as 7,700 cubic meters per person. This is the threshold for meeting water requirement for every industrial, agricultural production and the environment. It is said that a threshold of less than 1,000 cubic meters of water represent water scarcity and below 500 cubic meters of water represent a state of absolute scarcity. Inadequate safe drinking water is a major challenge to many countries. It is a major problem for developing countries that are racing forward towards physical limits of expansion of fresh water, expanding urban settlement, commercialization of agriculture and industrial sectors. Fresh water is a crucial resource in development of Africa. It is said that Africa continent has a population of 800 million people. 405 of the total population in Africa lack access to safe drinking water. It is argued that half of people living in rural areas of safe drinking water. It is reported that Sub-Saharan Africa has more water stress than other parts of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa has a population of over 320 million people have no access to quality water. It is said to be the only region in the world that will not be able to meet the 2015 millennium development goal. In 2012, a Conference on ‘’Water Scarcity in Africa: issues and Challenges† was presented with information that by 2030, 255 million to 760 millions in Africa will be staying in areas with high water stress (Barone, 2008). Scarcity of safe drinking water has lead to poor heal in Sub-Saharan Africa. People in water deprived areas use unsafe water that causes spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, typhoid fever, malaria, trachoma, typhus and plague. Scarcity of safe water forces people to respond by storing water in their households. This further increases chances of water contamination and spread of malaria due to mosquitoes. Infected people with waterborne diseases reduce chances of community development and productivity due to lack of strength. Government resources are used to buy medicine for these people. This takes away funds meant for food supply, school fees and other development projects. It is estimated by Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council that treatment of diarrhea caused by water contamination in Sub-Saharan Africa takes away 12% of countries’ health budget. Government in the areas channels their energy and part of fund allocated for other expenditures to helping people affected by lack of water at the expense of other essential services like maintaining peace and security in the region. Human Development report suggests that use of water by human is mainly on agriculture and irrigation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural activities account from over 80% of the total water consumption. Majority of people in this region depend on agriculture. In rural areas, 90% of families rely on producing their own food hence water scarcity leads to loss of food security. Conflict arises in this region due to political interferences in irrigated land due to land tenure and ownership problems. Governments in this part of the world lack funds and skilled human resources that can support technology and infrastructure needed for good water management and crop irrigation. Scarcity of safe water makes people use waste water for irrigation. This makes a lot of people to eat food with disease causing organisms. Women in this part of the world are burdened by lack of clean water for drinking. They are the collectors, managers as well as guardian of water in domestic spheres which include household chores such as washing, child rearing and cooking. They spend a considerable amount of time fetching water (Dreibelbis, Winch, Leontsini, Hulland, Ram, Unicomb, et al., 2013). This causes a decrease in the time available for education. Their health is also at risk of skeletal damage caused by carrying heavy loads of water every day over long distances. Loss of potential school days and education prevents the next generation of women from holding professional employments. Access to safe water for drinking will make women in Sub-Saharan Africa increase time allocated to education which will make them take leadership positions. Scarcity of water makes many children in this region drop out of school to help in household chores which are made more intense by lack of water. Increase in population in Africa and lack of safe water for drinking has caused a lot of strain and conflict on relations between communities and between countries.It has been argued that Nile River is a source of conflict in nine countries. Water fro Nile River is the only source of sustaining life in both Sudan and Egypt. Egyptians use military force to make sure they retain control over Nile River because she has no other source of water. This conflict runs from the colonial era when England textile factories depended on Sudan and Egypt agricultural activities. After the colonial era, Egypt continued to create political instability in Ethiopia. It blocked international financing agencies from giving loans to Ethiopia in order to finance projects on the river. The conflict is now real because Ethiopia has now managed to carry out water projects on her own like building hydro-power dams and irrigation programs. Egypt has been reported to issue threats of war to Tanzania and Ethiopia. In 1970s, Egypt armed Somalia separatist rebels in Ethiopia in the Somali invasion. The nine involved states have had agreements and treaties in a bid to control conflict. However, treaties and agreements have resulted to inequitable rights of using water from Nile River between countries. An example is a treaty between Great Britain and Ethiopia, Emperor Menelik II, king of kings of Ethiopia. He agreed with the government of His Britannic Majesty not to construct or permit construction projects across Blue Nile, the Sobat and Lake Tana in 1902. In 1906, an agreement between Britain and Government of Independent state of Congo would not construct or permit any construction of projects over or near Semliki or Isango rivet that would reduce the amount of water entering Lake Albert. In 1925, conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia escalated because Ethiopia opposed earlier agreements (Dreibelbis et al., 2013). The League of Nations demanded Italy and British government give an explanation on sovereignty of Ethiopia on Lake Tana. The League of Nations did not help resolve the conflict because there was no self enforcing and reliable mechanism to protect the property rights of stakeholders which is necessary for international water development to be applied. Due to failure of United Nations to help solve the Nile basin conflict, nine riparian states formed a partnership called Nile Basin Initiative. Its mandate is to develop Nile River in a cooperative way, sharing social-economic benefits that promote regional security and peace. World Bank agreed to support the work of Nile Basin Initiative as a development partner as well as an administrator of multi donor Nile Basin Trust Fund. Disputes have also erupted in Niger River Basin. Disagreements and disputes in this basin are caused by limited access to safe drinking water. The disputes are between communities in Mali, Nigeria, and Niger. River flows and rainfall have reduced from 1970s leading to tension between two communities that live in the basin. The two communities are pastoralists and farmers. Pastoralists are forced by lack of water to travel farther with their herds. On the other hand, farmers expand their cropland to take care of increasing population. This reduces pathways that are available to herder and their livestock. Tension increased due to poor policy decisions. In Lokoga in Nigeria, government started dredging Niger River in early 2009 to increase commercial shipping (Huang, Jacangelo & Schwab, 2011). The government of Nigeria argued that dredging would help reduce flooding but late farmer suffered from floods in 2010. Farmers resulted to building homes and cultivating land away from the river leading to reduction in land available for grazing. This has facilitated conflict between the two communities greatly. New dams rose built by the government of Nigeria raised ecological issues that provoked hard negotiations over sharing of resources equitably in Niger Basin (Loftus, 2009). It was reported that Mali and Niger did not support construction of dams across the river. Navigation of the river was also constrained by the availability of large boats when water is deep enough. Climate change in Niger Basin has caused a high degree of variability in river flows, rainfall and temperature. The international community is doing little in helping the conflicting countries in the Niger Basin resolve the conflict. Scarcity of safe drinking water has also led to a lot of competition in Volta River basin. Volter River basin is said to be one of the poorest part in Africa continent and is shared by six West African states. People in the basin depend on agriculture as their means of livelihood. The population in West Africa is growing at the rate of 3% thus putting pressure on water resources and land. Burkina Faso is increasing agricultural development upstream using surface resources such as water (Okun, 1991). Water development in Burkina Faso has had a negative impact on Akosombo Dam which Ghana depends on for its energy supply. In 1998, low water level caused energy crisis in Ghana which ended up blaming Burkina Faso water project. Low water levels could have been caused by other factors such as unreliable rainfall variability. Peaceful conflict resolutions could be hindered in the future by insufficient communication between Ghana and Burkina Faso (Ram, Kelsey, Miarintsoa, Rakotomalala, Duns ton, & Quick, 2007). Ghana wants to create dams for power generation while Burkina Faso plans to use water for irrigation hence causing conflicts of interest. This conflict received international community recognition which formed a major inter-governmental program to enhance regional cooperation. Green cross water for peace project was put in place to ensure full and also active involvement of representatives of civil societies across the region in generation of basin’s agreement, management policies and principles. Developing countries can learn form developed countries on how to have adequate water supply and sanitation facilities, management of floods, pollution, management of rivers and large dams. Ram et al. (2007) argues that good governance can help address the lack of safe drinking water. He further argues that good governance is essential in procuring loans and aid for water projects form international organizations like world bank, International Monetary Fund, Africa Development bank and from developed countries like Britain, Germany, china, France, united Sates of America and Russia (Rosenberg, 2010). An example of a country that applied good governance to address water problem is South Africa. After Apartheid, the government of South Africa inherited huge problems of access to safe drinking water. It had a population of over 15 million people lacked access to clean water. The government managed to commit itself to high standards and investment subsidies to achieve its goal. From that time South Africa has made good progress to a point where it reached the universal access to improved water source in its urban centers. Similarly, the percentage of people in rural areas with access to clean water increased from sixty six percent to seventy nine percent from 1991 to 2010 (Loftus, 2009). Good governance will help government in developing countries partner with institutions that will help turn all underperforming utilities into good service providers. They would also benefit from the expertise in local, national and international sectors. Research has shown that it is difficult to change processes in water sectors. There has been friction between stakeholder and partners in determining priorities. This led to ambiguities in the role and responsibilities allocation resulting to the high cost of transaction. Just like in developed countries, good governance in developing countries will enable providers and policymakers are accountable to water users. This assists in improving services and enhancing consumer understanding the need for changes and the possible contribution of public private partnership (Ram et al., 2007). Great relationship with international financial institutions will enable developed countries have an adequate supply of safe water. World Bank is known to finance building of infrastructure such as funds to dig boreholes. It usually subsidizes the cost of infrastructure through inter-governmental transfers, donor projects and social development funds (Okun, 1991). Developing countries should consider the use of use Decentralized Mebran Filtration system. This technology provides safe drinking water that is clean. This system employs effective ways of removing surrogate bacteria and parasites from drinking water hat is responsible for contamination of water. This method is affordable to low income countries. Decentralized Mebran Filtration system is appropriate where central municipal water treatment is not possible. It aims to apply integrated bench scale and field scale approach in evaluating sustainability of Decentralized Mebran Filtration system in providing safe drinking water (Huang et al., 2011). Another possible solution is applying desalinization technology. This technology is said to filter salty water through membranes and removing salt through a process of electro dialysis and the reverse osmosis. The technology has worked in over one hundred and thirty countries in Middle East and in North Africa. With this technology, countries that are currently using it produce over six billion gallons of safe drinking water a day. Recycling and filtration should also be encouraged because the two methods are easy and cheap. Conserving water can also be achieved on a smaller scale beginning with improvement in homes (EMD, 2009). Developed countries should explore and exploit underground water. A country like Kenya and Namibia has discovered a 10,000 year old supply of water in underground aquifers. This underground water can satisfy the needs of Namibia for over four hundred years. Researchers argue that throughout Africa, there is twenty times more underground water than volume of surface water. The population of Africa is expected to increase to over two billion in 2050. This implies that countries need to explore other sources of water since traditional sources of fresh water are affected by changes in climate, lack of rainfall and rises in temperature that evaporate lakes and rivers. Other methods that developing countries should encourage their citizens to use include boiling water. It is an efficient method of water sterilization though boiling is costly in terms of fuel use. Another method is solar disinfection by use of ultraviolet radiation. This method is cheap and less damaging. It involves putting water in transparent plastic bottles and exposing it to sunlight for about forty eight hours. This technology cost people nothing by only plastic bottles full of water on corrugated metal roof. Low income countries should also start water projects like water dams and rain catchment systems. These methods are simple and inexpensive. A well close to a village or in a village ensures people do not walk long distances in search of water. It saves time hence making sure there is enough time allocated for other things like learning (Barone, 2008). Campbell et al. (2013) argues that integrated research can help countries achieve adequate supply of safe water for drinking. He attributes the lack of water to fear and inadequate reorganization by communities. He points out that global research can help solve the problem of water scarcity and proper sanitation. This implies that United Nations should put more effort in bringing solutions to water problems. African countries can achieve adequate supply of clean water if they invest in integrated research and funding. They should also put in place policies and infrastructures that attract foreign investments from developed countries such as United States of America, France, China and Russia. Lack of safe water for drinking is a global problem. It affects both developed countries as well as developing countries. United Nations should look for ways to deal with water scarcity and amicable ways of resolving political instabilities resulting from water stress. Developing countries should learn from developed countries on the most appropriate ways of providing clean water. They should maintain good governance and a good environment that can attract foreign investors as well as donors. Through collective effort from all stakeholders, the problem of water can be solved. References Barone, J. (2008). Better Water. Discovery, 29(5), 31-32. Campbell, R. L., Caldwell, D., Hopkins, B., Heaney, C. D., Wing, S., Wilson, S. M., et al. (2013). Integrating Research and Community Organizing to Address Water and Sanitation Concerns in a Community Bordering a Landfill. Journal of Environmental Health, 75(10), 48-50. Dreibelbis, R., Winch, P. J., Leontsini, E., Hulland, K. R., Ram, P. K., Unicomb, L., et al. (2013). The Integrated Behavioural Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: a systematic review of behavioural models and a framework for designing and evaluating behaviour change interventions in infrastructure-restricted settings. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1015. EMD Millipore (2013, September 23). EMD Millipore Donates $30,000 to Charity: Water in Recognition of World Water Week. Pharma Business Week, p. 22. Huang, H., Jacangelo, J. G., & Schwab, K. J. (2011). Decentralized Membrane Filtration System for Sustainable and Safe Drinking Water Supply in Low-Income Countries: Baseline Study. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 137(11), 981-989. Loftus, A. (2009). Rethinking Political Ecologies of Water. Third World Quarterly, 30(5), 953-968. Okun, D. A. (1991). A Water and Sanitation Strategy for the Developing World. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 33(8), 16-43. Ram, P. K., Kelsey, E., Miarintsoa, R. R., Rakotomalala, O., Dunston, C., & Quick, R. E. (2007). Bringing Safe Water to Remote Populations: An Evaluation of a Portable Point-of-Use Intervention in Rural Madagascar. American Journal of Public Health, 97(3), 398-400. Rosenberg, T. (2010). The burden of thirst. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Magazine. Source document