Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity: An Evaluation Movies are images of a certain character’s life; it depicts the character’s environment, the weather, and all the necessary ingredients that make up the movie that is being watched. There are many types of movies: comedy, drama, documentary, and sci-fi; but there is one type of genre of movie, that most people have the pleasure of watching. The scary movies; they are the best kind, they scare, yet the audience cannot turn away. Watching the movie Paranormal Activity, it really scared me.But the things that had grasped my attention were the actors, plot, scenes, sound, and cinematography. The actors were extremely well in portraying the part of a stricken girlfriend with a demon in her home with her caring boyfriend. They were very nice in screaming in all of the parts that were needed to be screamed at. But not only did it cause her, but also will cause the viewers to scream in terror and fear. Micah is this manly sort of man who feels that he can take care of the demon and his girlfriend.Katie becomes extremely annoyed by the antics of Micah and tries to find help in other ways. Another reason why I enjoyed the actors was because they made everything seem so real. They made the sleeping, the arguments, and the existence of demons real. You also see the change inMicah, he goes from unafraid, and not disturbed by her past, to a complete 360. He becomes fearful, and gets mad and try to take out the demon. All the scary movies start out the same way, everything is always normal, and something drastic happens, which makes the main character afraid of her surroundings.But in the movie, Paranormal Activity, it was always with her. It never seems to leave her alone. She was haunted by the ghost. In the end of the scary movie, nothing good ever comes out of it, something that is dramatic always plays out, in order to scare the viewers out. It is always assumed that the plot is bound to have a good twist because it is a f rightening movie, while waiting for the twist in the movie; it ended, and realized that there was no twist. It is the same old boring type of scary movie as previously seen before.It is a pretty straightforward movie, with no twist and no excitement, just a lot of scary faces. When the scene of a haunting movie takes place there is always that one scary building that has people talking about it, creating rumors, and scaring people. The only difference is that instead of a scary building it is a nice two bedroom apartment. Instead of the community creating rumors about the house, it is the girlfriend. The scenes of the movie could be established by the days of nights that they had stayed in the place.It was fairly nice as to the scenes could be distinguished from each other. It caused the viewer to establish a certain timeframe as to when and where the haunting is taking place. The scene is also great because in the woods or a big house all to youself, everyone knows what is bound to happen. The audience realizes the danger of the woods, or the mansion Yet this house is similar to your own house or one you have lived in for a while. No one really suspect any scary things to be happening in a place where you are surrounded by people in every direction.I also love the scenes because in the beginning there is no opening credit or the title of the movie, it seems like two normal happy couples with a small problem. It makes the movie really believable and scares you from even standing up in a dark room. One scene that made me think was when Micah was mad at his girlfriend for not telling him that she had a demon that came to her from time to time. It shows his concern for his safety, and his anger at her omitting some information from him.The sound in every scary movie is always the same, and so, it is true with this one as well. First the sound begins, getting you ready to be spooked, yet you let all the anticipation get hyped up, only for a door swinging back and forth. They keep on using the same sounds over and over again conditioning you, to get all scared for no particular reason. It was very well played in the sense that it had a warning bell in order for your attention. But the sound really does create a sense of urgency in you to close your eyes, run away or even take the disc out.The reoccurring sound shows that it is meant to be scary as with the night time style camera. Since the sound was played in almost every scene, it adds more horror to the film. But just when you get tired and bored of hearing the same noises over and over again each and every couple of night, you get taken aback. Shock takes over instead boredom and surprise instead tiredness. You start to rise back up into your seat, and get sucked in by what is happening, all because of the sound. The cinematography reeled me in from the start.The movie is not some guy who is a professional at handling cameras; it is the same guy that is the main character. It is done extr emely well also because it is not bumpy, nor shaky; it is held by a really steady hand. In the start you see the character and their change between Micah and Katie. They make it seem like a normal day with their normal life and nothing out of the ordinary. It is shown as a life just like you and me but at night is where the real fun begins. He puts the camera on a tripod and the night vision is turned on so we can see all that is going on.There was really good visuals on the nights, and the days, and also on the mundane activities that were going on like her making jewelry, or her talking to her friend. It sparked your interest because you wanted to know when the scary part was going to take place. Any scary movie can be scary if you throw in a demon or a ghost in the mix, but if you include all of the right mixture then you may truly scare any individuals. It may either be by the plot, scenes, actors, or even the cinematography. Overall, while the movie was a bit of a cheap thrille r, it made you flinch and your heat lurch and everyone needs a good thrill now and again.

Symbolism in Master Harold and the Boys

Because Hally’s father is an alcoholic cripple, Sam takes it upon himself to be a better role model in Hally’s life, which is why the kite is a sign of Sam’s fatherly love for Hally and a lesson to Hally to not judge people that are different.The kite is a clear symbol of Sam’s love for Hally. As a little boy, Hally did not have someone he could look up to because he was ashamed of his father’s behavior. Sam took pity on him and decided to be a good example for Hally. Sam made the kite because he loved Hally and he wanted Hally to have something that he could be proud of. When thinking back to that day, Hally said, â€Å"I was so proud of us! It was the most splendid thing I had ever seen.† Now that Hally is grown, Sam still tries to be a good father figure but he failed to help Hally because Hally is still a rude, judgmental, and racist boy. Sam tries at one final attempt to save Hally when he says, â€Å"Should we try again, Hally? †¦ Fly another kite, I suppose. It worked once, and this time I need it as much as you do.† Even though Hally became a terrible person, Sam never gave up on him because Hally was a son to him.The kite also represents Sam’s lesson to Hally to not judge people, even though that lesson clearly did not pass through Hally’s thick skull. Hally’s first thoughts about Sam making a kite were, â€Å"the sheer audacity of it took my breath away. I mean, seriously, what the hell does a black man know about flying a kite? †¦ I had no hopes for it† and â€Å"Can you remember what the poor thing looked like? †¦ Hell no, that was now only asking for a miracle to happen.† But despite its appearance, Hally said, â€Å"I still can’t believe my eyes†¦ the miracle happened†¦Ã¢â‚¬  when it proved itself by flying high in the wind. Obviously Sam failed once again to make Hally a decent human being, because Hally still proves to be judgmen tal and now very racist as a teenager.

Blue Zuma Part 2

After further analysis and the additional resources made available by Mr. Martin to the Blue Zuma Project, we have determined the following recommendations be implemented immediately to ensure that our retailers have the product by February 1, as established by our Mr. Lane. The concern with the original project plan revolved around three activities not having enough resources to complete the project per the timeline identified above.Those three activities were: Detailed Product Design, Detailed Marketing Plan and Manufacturing Process. With the additional resources made available, we are confident we can improve the process within the three activities identified above. 1. Which additional personnel assignments would you choose to complete the project before the February 1st deadline? Explain your choices as well as the reasons for not choosing other options. It appears an additional marketing specialist would be best utilized for this job.The resource sheet depicts that the marketin g specialist is still overallocated; however the other resources appear to be allocated correctly when we added the additional resources provided by Mr. Lane. Cost would be an important factor in determining if any additional employees will/would be needed. However, we can approve overtime to address some concerns. 2. How have these changes affected the sensitivity of the network? Once the changes are in place, the duration of the project has been reduced from 290 days to 274 days.This improvement has reduced the overall length of the project, thus allowing the deadline set by the Mr. Lane (President). We are confident we can now complete the project by January 27. By allocating the additional and available resources, we were able to reduce the amount of critical paths to one. In doing so, we increase the slack in non-critical activities, thus reducing or decreasing the sensitivity of the network. One critical path is now identified in the project.

Theme of Death across Dr Faustus, Paradise Lost, Shakespeares Sonnets Essay - 1

Theme of Death across Dr Faustus, Paradise Lost, Shakespeares Sonnets and The Pardoners Tale - Essay Example Death is that relentless time passing, causing everything to decay. It is the transience of things, of all that is mortal and born in time. Time devours everything (Shakespeare). Death is also a sad force that cannot be stopped, not by anything on earth (Shakespeare (b)): Since neither brass nor stone nor earth nor the limitless ocean is strong enough to resist the sad force of mortality, how can beauty possibly resist death’s rage when beauty is no stronger than a flower? How could your beauty, which is as fragile as the sweet breath of summer, hold out against the destructive assaults of time when neither invulnerable rocks nor gates of steel are strong enough to resist its decaying power? (Shakespeare (b)) Yet, in the midst of this grave and gloomy image of death as the incessant work of time, there is also an aspect of death that transcends the destruction, and that is the beauty of the beloved as immortalized in the poetry, according to Shakespeare (Shakespeare (c)): Despite death and ignorant enmity, you shall continue on. All those generations to come, down to the weary end of time, will devote space to praising you. So until Judgment Day, when you are raised up, you will live in this poetry, and in the eyes of lovers who read this. (Shakespeare (c)) In Christopher Marlowe’s ‘The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus’ again we see the same themes about death being, in essence, something that is of man’s making, through the decisions that he makes to either go with the good in him, or in the case of Dr. Faustus, to sign away his soul to the devil in exchange for his worldly ambitions and desires. Where in Milton the cause of the death in metaphorical terms was the disobedience by Adam and Eve of the express command of God, in Dr. Faustus by Marlowe there is the sense of the key protagonist willing to risk all, even his soul, for the sake of a worldly career and knowledge of a dubious magic that would not save him in the end. Knowledge

Challenges Faced By Media in Africa Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Challenges Faced By Media in Africa - Assignment Example All these are responsible for collecting and relaying it to the people. According to (Louw, 2009) advancement in technology has led to development of new forms of mass media. The internet is an example of the advancement in technology. For a mass media to optimally perform its duties there should be managers who check that there is a smooth running of activities on a daily basis. In the media industry there exists different sectors that’s make up the media industry as a whole. These include the print, television, social, radio media and many others. Managers have a big role to play in all the sectors. Taking the case of the print media, (Hadland, 2007) states that managers are responsible with ensuring that there is at least information that is relayed to the magazine readers in a daily basis. Streamlining of activities is performed by the managers and the management at large. The managers are responsible for ensuring that he information that the readers get is authentic and t hat it also does not infringe on the right of any person in any way. They also have to ensure that the participating people in the sector do perform their duties as delegated to them, without the managers the running of these sectors would have been very difficult. With the changing technological inventions managers have to ensure that their sector get to move with the present forms of technology that affects their sectors. Managers should have strong creativity and thinking to ensure that their strategies and objectives are attained. They should also be able to troubleshoot problems and offer solutions to them in a timely manner. Furthermore, they should be able to ensure that their sectors do run in their expenditure limits, to optimize outcome. Managers in a media industry are usually problem solvers (Begoyan, 2012). This is because for any publication to get through in the printing media, approvals are mainly made by the managers. They help solve the problems that could arise fr om their work. They have to first analyze the contents of their work and ensure that it does not break any laws stipulated. Managers are also responsible for assigning work to employees in the media sector, with any conflict in work arising they are the ones to check and ensure that normality is brought back. Also when a problem arises because of any publication managers are the ones to air out the issues concerning the problems and not the other employees. Similarities and differences do exist between the problems that exist between the media industries in Africa and other parts of the world such as the U.S. Taking an example of In Africa and other parts of the world; the print media face a lot of challenges on their day to day activities. Problems that mainly exist in Africa are mainly communication, economical, political and social. These are discussed hereunder: Communication According to (Watkins, 2005) Communication Media mainly used by the print media sector are roads. They u se this to deliver their work to the readers in the different parts of the countries. Poor delivery of magazines books and news papers are categorized by poor roads. Some countries in Africa especially the sub-Saharan regions, have very poor terrain, this renders the places impassable and therefore delivering some of the print media materials like newspapers become a very hard task to accomplish because of poor infrastructure in many parts of Africa.

Identify and research a problem caused by a U.S. corporation and then Essay

Identify and research a problem caused by a U.S. corporation and then to convince the audience that something must be done to stop them from doing this - Essay Example Even the crucial and vital concerns like statutory provisions, environmental laws, social norms, business ethics and general well being of the society are more then often compromised by the corporations to achieve their fiscal and marketing targets (Chris 16). Any well informed citizen with reasonable levels of exposure to the print and digital media will conclusively testify to the fact that more then often corporations have been found to be willing to damage the world to make more money. This deliberate willingness to hurt the human values by any individual or institution definitely deserves the concern and intervention of a civil society based on democratic values and ideals. The US based corporations, being a part of a thriving capitalist and democratic society, aught to be held responsible for the breach of statutory provisions and public trust committed by them. However, the primary problem hampering this ideal is the fact that the corporations have over the years, assimilated themselves into the society in a way that does not extend the people with specific rights and mechanisms to facilitate a close scrutiny of their day today operations. The very framework and design of the corporations extends them with the ability and power to side step or sideline the public intervention or interference. Public institutions run by the tax payers' money are constitutionally accountable to the masses and the people do have the power to comment on the validity of the decisions taken by them, though indirectly through the provision of voting and adult franchise. The private corporations tend to differ from the state institutions in the sense that they are not liable to seek the approval and validation of the masses as they are privately funded and managed. Besides the enormous funds and political power that they have at their disposal makes them practically immune to public opinion and concern. Infact such an arrangement stands to be a grave injustice to any free and democratic society. The society can not and should not be denied the right to have a say in the affairs of such big and powerful concerns like private sector corporations.This heavy handedness of the US based MNCs becomes even more unrestrained when it comes to doing business in the third world nations. Not only the statutory and monitoring arrangements in the third world countries are often vulnerable to outside influences and powers, but the rampant corruption in such nations makes it relatively easier for the private corporations to bypass and ignore the public well being, environmental laws and business ethics (Basu 34). Even if their misdeeds and blunders get exposed owing to the media activism, the massive clout and influence that the US corporations enjoy in the federal and state legislatures facilitates them with ample government backing and support, which is sometimes sufficient to snub or scare away the state and private objections and resistance. At the end of the day, the corporations have to prove it to their stockholders that they are making huge profits. This quest for profit motivates and lures the corporations to exploit and manipulate the loopholes existing in the arcane laws and administrative structures in the

TMA 02 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

TMA 02 - Essay Example The Parliament is the supreme legislative body, hence, it can enact any law it chooses; and its enactments are absolutely binding on all. Because of this supremacy, Parliament can delegate legislative power to subordinates and the delegated or subordinate legislation laid down by such persons is also binding on the courts. Because it is sovereign, Parliament can delegate some of its legislative powers (by parent or enabling’ legislation) to Ministers of the Crown, local councils, etc. For example, the Secretary of State for Trade possesses delegated power to regulate the licensing of those involved in the consumer credit industry under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Delegated or subordinate legislation has become increasingly important in recent years as a source of new law because of lack of Parliamentary time, technicality, urgency and elasticity. The types of delegated legislation include orders in Council, statutory instruments (affirmative and negative procedure), and by-laws of local authorities. While these are the principal sources, to elucidate a difficult point, writings of jurists are resorted to. Since 1972, laws made by the European Communities may be applicable in the UK pursuant to the European Communities Act 1972, ss. 2 and 3. Such laws may take the form of Regulations and Directives from the European Commission and Council of Ministers and decisions of the European Court of Justice, which UK courts are bound to take notice of. As a member state of the European Community, the UK has to a very limited extent subordinated its legal system to that of the EC. Nevertheless, EC law is undoubtedly a source of English law. This is particularly true of directly applicable EC law, such as Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome, which provides for equal pay for work of equal value, irrespective of sex. In a series of cases, this principle has been held to apply to the UK. Courts have been careful to construe this principle as existing over British

The Achievement of Success in an Individuals Life Personal Statement - 5

The Achievement of Success in an Individuals Life - Personal Statement Example I chose the difficult path because I understood that education and knowledge serve to be important in the life of a person. I put in all my strength to cope up with the educational requirements of the university and I was assisted by my faculty members, who understood my problem and were highly supportive. English is not my first language and I did not hold much expertise in the language. I got enrolled in an English University where English was the medium of education. The lectures were delivered in English and English was the language used for communication with the teachers as well as the other students. The books were in English as well. My English language skills were not very good and it was a very difficult phase for me. This was because my writing, reading as well as communication skills were not up to the mark and I had to put in much hard work to cope with my studies. I found it difficult to take down notes during the lectures. This was because I had to pay full attention t owards listening to the teacher to understand the lecture and if I started taking notes, I used to lag behind in the lecture. Note taking was also an issue as I could not spell words properly and my writing speed was not up to the mark as well. I could not understand the normally used abbreviations as I was not familiar with them and had not used them before. The text was also difficult for me to comprehend with and I could not analyze the meanings of the readings assigned to me properly. Therefore, it was a very difficult situation for me and I needed a lot of guidance and help to overcome this problem. I did not know if I would ever be able to complete my education and achieve my degree from the university. But after thinking about my problem, I became determined that a person had to sacrifice and learn for becoming successful in his life. I decreased my leisure time and devoted my time to my education and learning. I organized myself and managed my time so that I could give the m aximum time to my studies. I bought a pocket dictionary for myself so that I could look up for words and understand them instantly. I installed English learning software in my laptop as well so that I could learn the proper pronunciation of words as well and so that I could learn proper sentences and their meanings. I asked my friends to communicate with me in English and correct me where I got wrong. I kept a fixed time for reading a newspaper article every day and to understand all the words in the article. I also worked towards the improvement of my writing skills by copying newspaper articles every day for up to one hour. I implemented these strategies as a part of my schedule and I made sure that I did not skip any of these activities. These were my personal steps to achieve success in my education. Teachers serve to be as true guides in the life of a person. This was proved by the assistance that was provided to me by my teachers to overcome my problem.  

What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the Essay - 1

What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the environment and its preservation or restoration - Essay Example And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth† (King James Version Genesis 6:26) One of the priorities that Christians should have within the framework of the way in which they conduct their lives is to be good stewards of the Earth. As good stewards of the Earth it is the responsibility of Christians to make sure that their associations and personal responsibilities are toward an effort to support the creation of the Earth in the manner that God intended. Through looking at the creation story in Genesis, one can clearly see that human kind was given dominion over the Earth. This is further supported in Psalms. However, the concept of dominion often is misunderstood as having the use of the Earth, rather than being held responsible for the way in which the Earth is cared for as a living world. The concept of free will is sometimes considered more the manifestation of God’s will rather than taking responsibility for what has happened to come to terrible outcomes where the Earth is concerned. In looking at the way in which the dominion over the Earth has be en considered, the way in which Christians engage their world should be revised with the attitude that in giving human kind this responsibility, a great trust was handed to human kind. This trust should not be violated by those who believe in Him. When God created the Earth and all of the creations within the realm that is the Earth, the Bible states that man was given dominion over all of His creation. Brown (2011) quotes a portion of Psalms to support the assertion that man was given this power. It states in the Bible that â€Å"You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet† (New King James

Using Sports as a Key Promotional Vehicle. (Adidas) Essay

Using Sports as a Key Promotional Vehicle. (Adidas) - Essay Example Other areas that the marketing plan shall address include choosing a media through which to do the advertisement. Such media could be electronic media, print media or web as an online marketing media. The paper will also discuss developing of an advertisement schedule that will define when and how long the advert is running in case it is a live broadcast. It will also define a clear way through which the plan will be able to measure the effectiveness of the advertisement (Caskey, & Subirana, 2007, p. 670). This paper will also address ways in which to go about the components of strategic marketing plan such as mission, goals, product planning, and marketing information management. It will also analyze and discuss distribution system, pricing, promotion strategies, financing, and issues to do with purchasing. The marketing plan will also address concerns around risk management, actual selling, and internal communication systems for effective management and passing of information. The promotion plan will also discuss other administrative plans such as a timeline for implementing the promotion and appropriate intervals when the promotion will run. In order to achieve all these, the plan will first set mission and vision. Marketing in general presents an opportunity for any business to grow. Additionally, this In fact, how much a business does its marketing plan determines how much the business is going to benefit in terms of sales turnover. The Sports Promotion Plan for Adidas This market ing promotion is all about Adidas and its assorted sports products. Adidas aims at sponsoring Euro 2012 to market itself. To do this, Adidas Company must find out all the stadiums where teams will play. Using Porter’s Generic model, the promotional plan for the sports equipment that Adidas must first consider will be the need to concentrate on cost leadership strategy as put ward by Chowdhury (Chowdhury, 2005, p. 64). Under this model, Adidas will have to set its prices averagely low so that it can earn a share of the market in the short run as it anticipates other competitor such as Fila to respond. The first promotional strategy for Adidas will be to secure the sponsorship in part but as the leading sponsor. This will give Adidas the power to make sure that it has a say on how Euro 2012 is going to engage in advertisement. The most recommendable promotion means in the forthcoming Euro 2012 will be to inside stadium advertisement and television promotion of the event. It wil l be satisfactory if the business also sponsors referee t-shirts and other sports assortment that there may be, then the business can just maintain its positions as other firms experience decrease in sales (Daniel, 2003, p. 233). Mission and Vision Adidas mission for Euro 2012 is to be the leading supplier for all sports assortments to teams and fans. Its vision is to reach most parts of rural and urban Europe to campaign for increased interests in sports. Adidas is aware that such a campaign will translate into increased demand for its products during the Euro 2012. The post-match period could also be profitable from the new market acquired during the Euro 2012 sponsorship. Other goals for the industry could be making sure that at the back of receipts sold, the front design has Adidas name in the

The Wishing Tree Essay Example for Free

The Wishing Tree Essay February 27, 2013 It was the beginning of fall and the wind carried the aroma of fresh fallen leaves. The day was calm; children were playing outside, bikers were riding in the wind and homes were content with fall joy. Things seemed to be going well for everyone, everyone except Samantha Lewinski and her mother. Even the most amazing weather in the world couldn’t stop them from arguing. Samantha was growing into a young woman and she felt she knew everything she needed to know to take care of herself. Samantha had an idea of who she wanted to be and what she wanted to do. Her mother had a different idea. Her mother knew that Samantha was growing into a little woman but she was concerned with Samantha’s safety. These two different perspectives caused a whirlwind of confusion which in result caused many disputes. Samantha and her mother were known for their disruptive arguments throughout the neighborhood and this was the tenth argument this week for them. In their anger they were unaware of the changes to come. Maybe they should have enjoyed the beautiful evening. â€Å"No Sam! That party is going to run until 3:30am and if you don’t want to come home earlier than that, you’re not going at all! Samantha’s mother yelled so loud and hard the veins bulged out of the sides of her face. â€Å"You never let me do anything! Samantha’s heart was beating furiously. She quickly ran out the back door; tears wildly flying out the corners of her eyes. She hated her mother and all she wanted to do was get away. Into the woods she ran. She ran until she could feel her thighs and ankles burning from exhaustion. She sat on the ground, leaning against a large tree breathing violent, harsh breaths. Looking around she realized she had reached a calm, quiet, open spot in the woods. She had never seen this place before. The grass peeking through the fallen leaves was green and soft. The branches from the tree she leaned on reached across a small creek in front of her and the sun glittered off of the water like sprinkles of pixie dust. Samantha sat there in the silence thinking out loud. I’m so sick of my mom, she doesn’t understand me†, Samantha spoke out loud between breaths. Suddenly she heard a voice say, â€Å"I can remove your troubles. Three wishes I’ll provide you with and your problems will drift away. † Samantha, frightened yet curious turned around to see who was speaking to her up in the tree. Only no one was there. Soon she realized it was the tree that was speaking to her but her fear slid away as she pondered on the offer from the tree. Samantha looked at the tree with a sly grin saying, â€Å"I wish I belonged to a different family where the mom will let me do anything I want. The wishing tree shifted its branches and said, â€Å"Your wish has come true. † Samantha smiled with a grin from ear to ear, thanked the tree and immediately ran back home. Minutes later, Samantha arrived home. Bursting through the door with excitement and expectation, she ran into the living room. Samantha was very disappointed. Everyone in her family was the same, nothing had changed. Then she came up with an idea to ask her mother about the party again. This time when she asked, her mother looked at her with blank eyes and simply said, â€Å"Yes, you may. Samantha ran to her room to get dressed, called a ride and was shortly prancing out the front door. The party was a sweet 16 for S amantha’s’ close friend Julie. It was supposed to be pure innocent fun; Samantha had no knowledge of the events to come. Deeper into the party around 1am Samantha’s crush since elementary, Shawn Roberts entered into the party with a large cooler. Eventually it became obvious to Samantha and Julie that the cooler contained alcohol. Everyone drank except Samantha. People began to argue and things got out of control. Consequently, the cops were called by a neighbor and everyone in the party was taken to the police station. Samantha was terrified and wondered if she had made a mistake by asking the wishing tree for a new family. Moments later at the police station everyone was only given a warning and had their parents called. Samantha’s mother pulled in last. She entered the police station with an expression that showed no emotion or anger. Her mother stayed calm throughout the whole drive and even when they arrived home. Samantha kind of wanted to get in trouble for the first time in her life. She realized that her mother was right that day during the argument in the kitchen. If her mother was normal she would have never been in that situation. Now Samantha regretted her wish but she didn’t want to waste a wish to get her real mother back. The next morning Samantha woke up extra early so she could go back to the wishing tree to get her next wish. She ran as fast as she could, the wind blowing through her hair as she dodged twigs and branches. Swiftly, she had once again reached the calm spot in the woods. It seemed even more beautiful than before. It was a little warmer than before and the sun glistened on the water so bright it hurt to look at it. The wind blew roughly, whistling as it passed through the tall strong trees. The wishing tree sat very still in its dramatically stretched pose, looking as though it was trying to touch the water beneath it. Samantha was so excited to get her wish she felt like she was going to burst. As she approached the tree it spoke slowly saying, â€Å"Now child, there is one thing I have forgotten to tell you. Once you have made a wish it can never be taken back†. â€Å"Ok, yea, whatever just hurry before my mom comes looking for me†, said Samantha. Alright, young lady please state your second wish†, said the wishing tree. Samantha looked at the tree with the brightest eyes â€Å"I wish I could be beautiful forever and never grow old†, she told the wishing tree. â€Å"Your wish has come true,† said the tree. Without hesitation Samantha pivoted on her toes and proudly trotted back home. The following day Samantha’s mother left to go shopping. She decided to leave without bothering Samantha because she figured Samantha wouldn’t want to go anyway. Samantha’s mother arrived at the store slowly searching the racks for a new button up for work. She wasn’t having any luck so she looked up and strolled away from the area she was when suddenly she saw the most stunning blouse. It was a deep red button up with ruffles along the center. As she studied the shirt she noticed the face on the mannequin resembled her daughters’, almost exactly. The mannequins close resemblance began to gross her out so she backed away. â€Å"The eyes look so real†, thought Samantha’s mother as she turned around and walked off to find a different shirt. A tear ran out of the mannequins’ eye and down its plastic cheek as it watched the woman walk away.

Overseas M&A of Chinese Enterprises Essay Example for Free

Overseas MA of Chinese Enterprises Essay The purpose of this article is to summarize the problems related to the overseas MA of Chinese firms and to propose suggestions on its corresponding improvements. It firstly describes the brief history of China’s overseas MA in three phases and its current status including the growth trend, the location preference and the sector distribution ; iand illustrates one succesussfulrvived case of Lenovo and two failed cases of Chinalco and SAIC. Then Seondly it analyzes the factors contributing to the success: economy growth, exchange rate, foreign currency reserve and proper management; points out the reasons of failure: political resistance, strategy error, integration difficulty and cultural difference. After that it refers to the practice of Japanese enterprises on image making, strategy selection, management localization and relation maintaining. Finally it provideoffers recommendations to improvebetter the execution of China’s overseas MA including regarding public relationship, strategic thinking, management enhancement and cultural communication and ; draws a conclusion that whether the overseas MA is ‘cake’ or ‘trap’ depends on what we choose to do. Overseas MA of Chinese Companies: Cake or Trap? Introduction On 26th February 2013, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) announced in Beijing that it successfully completed the 15. 1 billion US$ acquisition of a Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc NXY. TO, which was Chinas largest-ever foreign takeover. This was exactly the epitome of the ‘Great Leap Forward’ of overseas MA of Chinese companies. Along with the economic boom in more thanof 30 years, encouraged by the ‘go-out’ strategy of the government, Chinese companies have madeseen robust strides in international investment markets. However, wereas most MA cases closed as successfully as the case of CNOOC’s acquisition of Nexon? The answer must be negative should you pay attention to many failures such as Chinalco1’s acquisition of Rio Tinto2. Did every successful starting reach a happy ending? Neveror the answer would be affirmative since the bloody costs Chinese companies have paid in overseasabroad m markets. The aim of this article is to raise a critical question to the overheated enthusiasm on international acquisitions of Chinese enterprises: would it bring a worthy return or rather a bottomless pit? Serving this purpose, the article will firstly draw a brief portrait of the history and the present situation of China’s overseas MA and summarize its characters, experiences and lessons. Then it will analyze the reasons for the successes and failures and compare China’s performance with the practice of its international peers. FinallyIn the end, t, he authorit would like to propose some recommendation on the improvement of the MA operation of Chinese enterprises. Status quo The overseas MA of Chinese enterprises started in the 1990s and could be roughly divided into three phases. The first phase was from the 1990s to the year 2001, when Chinese enterprises just entered the international market and tried to ‘cross the river by feeling the stones’ and to discover acquisition opportunities. The annual amount figure of transactions at that time was below 0. 1 billion US$. The second stage was after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 when the volume of overseas purchase takeovers reached 1 billion for the first time and till 2005 when the amount climbed to about 5 billions. The third period was fromafter 2006 till now especially after 2009 afterwards when global financial crisis seriously grilled struck the world’s major economies. During this period, the scale of China’s abroad overseas acquisitions exploded and each year it saw a total deal of tens of billions of dollars. In 2010, it was up to the height of 38 billion dollars, occupying 11% of the world’s transactions amount of that year3. There were some trends underlying the wavesis of overseas acquisitions waves. In terms of the quantity of deals, it was climbing climbed constantly with a number of 27 in 2003, 45 in 2005, 61 in 2007, 97 in 2009 and arrived at the record-breaking 147 in 20104. Meanwhile, the size of one transaction increased remarkably and the significant example was the abovementioned takeover of NEXON by CNOOC in 2013, a single deal of 15. 1 billion US$, overpassing exceeding the annual total of many previous years. With regard to the areas where China’s enterprises invested, American,USA Europe and Asia were their top 3 priorities, making up 27%, 21% and 15%5 respectively of the abroad acquisition volumes in 2010. About the sectors where they were interested in, the energy and mining fields were undoubtedly their first choice since 65%6 of the transactions occurred in this industry in 2010. Nonetheless, compared with the general traits, the individual cases are worth researching more carefully. A perfect example is the caseTake the story of China’s giant PC producer Lenovo7 as example, i. In December 2004 Lenovo acquired the PC department sector of IBM at the price of 1. 75 billion US dollars. After almost 10 years’ development, it was impressive that IBM became a super brand of business laptops and PCs and Lenovo had successfully enhanced its brand value and market share during the integration of two firms. It was this deal that made Lenovo a world PC giant. Conversely, the majority of Chinese buyers tasted the bitter flavor of defeats. According to the statistics of Mckinsey8 published in 2010, in the past 20 years, the success rate of international MA was less than 50% while the failure rate of China’s overseas acquisitions was more that 67%9. In 2008, the total loss of China’s multi-national deals was nearly 35 billion US$10. For instance, in June 2009, Rio Tinto Group unexpectedly announced to breach the acquisition agreement with Chinalco and although Rio Tinto paid 0. 195 billion US$ break-up fee to Chinalco, the latter had to must pay multifold btimes of breaching compensation to China’s state-owned commercial banks and assume tremendous losses resulted from the dropping share price of Rio Tinto. Another perfect example is the case SAIC Motor11 took over SsangYong Motor12 which illustrated a failing integration after a triumphant acquisition. SAIC invested 0. 5 billion US$ to buy 48. 92% shares of SsangYong Motor in 2004 and increased its to 51. 33% in 2005. However, a smooth deal did not forecast a disaster of cultural integration. Neither SAIC achieved the aim of technology importation nor the new management team solved the annoying strikes and salary disputes so that the new enterprise staggered till 2009 when the local court approved the bankruptcy protection of SSangYong Motor, indicating the death of this acquisition. Analysis Based on the facts and cases revealed in previous chapter, we could can not help wondering that what was inside the box? In other words, what experiencepoints we can summarizecould summarize from the successful cases and what lessons we should learn from the failed ones? On one hand, the significant development of China’s overseas MA might be generated by the following contributing factors. Firstly, the rapid economy growth drove solid requests forof the raw materials such as oil, gas or mining but subject to the limited domestic resources, Chinese enterprises turned their attention to global markets by active merging and acquiring. Secondly, since the exchange rate reform starting from 2005, the Chinese Currency RMB was appreciating gradually, for example the rate of US$ to RMB was 1: 8. 2 in 2005 but is 1: 6. 1 in 2014. In addition, the global financial crisis resulted from the subordinated debts storm in the USA remarkably dropped the share prices of listed companies in global capital markets. Both factorsThis change considerably lowered the costs of international acquisitions in recent years and created realistic opportunities for Chinese companies. Thirdly, holding the massive foreign currency reserve, for instance, 3820 billion US$ in the end of 201313, the central government of China broadened the control of foreign exchange and launched a ‘go-out’ policy to stimulate the internationalization of domestic enterprises, creating a relatively loose macro surroundings for Chinese companies. Fourthly, some Chinese companies were playing games in global markets more and more expertly. They adopted correct strategy to obtain global assets and products, executed it in accordance with international conventions, gained the advanced technology and sales networks, expanded the market share, established competitive edge and moved forward to the aim of multi-nationalization. On the other hand, it is indeed necessary to figure find out what caused the noticeable failure of Chinese acquirers. From my point of view, the reasons could be explained in four aspects. Political resistance:Political factors bear the brunt of the failure of China’s overseas acquisitions. Most Chinese enterprises engaging in international MA were state-owned enterprises, which in the westerners eyes were regarded as the representatives of Chinese government. Although they emphasized the independence status and commercial orientation when doing business in other countries, the host governments were as prone to link them to the Communist Party of ChinaChinese government. Even if they were not state-owned, the public media often mislabeled them as Chinese SOEs because it was hard for the foreigners to distinguish the nature of one Chinese firm from the other. This was truly an extra risk of Chinese firms and constituted one fundamental obstacle toof China’s overseas acquisitions. Unfortunately, in most cases, Chinese firms had no say and did not know how to communicate with the local government or the public, only to accept the destiny of defeat. For example, the government of USA denied the 18. 5-billion-dollars acquisition of UNOCAL14 by CNOOC for the reason of state security. The failure of Chinalco’ acquisition of Rio Tinto was also attributed to the concern of economic safety of Australia. Strategic error:The core value of enterprise MA probably is increasing the critical competitive advantage and sustainable development capacity thorough obtaining the essential resources of acquired firms, which requires thorough and appropriate strategies. Nevertheless, most Chinese enterprises, when operating international MA, did not have a complete and clear strategiesy or did have a strategiesy but lost control of the operation and could not survive the ever-changing global markets. Some of them failed to properly evaluate their overall strengths and to completely understand the rules of international acquisitions therefore executed rush transactions blindly just catering for the individual preference of the boss or following the ‘going-out’ fashion of ‘going-out’. TheA lack of strategiesy must not realize an anticipated results. After a series of losses in international acquisitions, TCL15 admitted that the insufficient strategic preparation was the major reason contributed to its failure16. Another relevant case is the bidding for Hummer17 by Tengzhong18. Although had published an official industrial planning aiming at developing new energy vehicles in 2009, Tengzhong announced a bid for Hummer, the producer of large displacement vehicles, which completely contradicted its strategy of energy saving and emission reduction. Integration difficulty:After applause, flowers, champagnes and wines in the signature ceremony, the real challenge just starts because of the integration or management difficulties of Chinese firms. Though more and more Chinese enterprises enlarged tremendously in recent years, for example, 100 Chinese firms were listed on the Fortune Global 500 Rankings 201419, taking up one fifth of the world’s biggest companies. But compared with international giants such as Exxon Mobile, BP or Shell, Chinese firms are weak on management issues such as corporate governance, business operations, management communication skills, international reputation and marketing channels and internal integration etc. Multi-national acquisition and integration is so complicated that Chinese companies are short of not only managers who could communicate professionally with their counter-parts and standardize the operation with global horizon but also experts who are familiar with international market operations from legal, financial or managerial background20. Take TCL’s acquisition of Thomson21 for instance, after the deal was done, in less than three years, all the former executives of Thomson left the ‘new’ company22 and it fell into a crisis of management resulting in huge profit losses in the following fiscal years. It was truly a failure of team integration due to managerial incompetence. Even worse, Chinese firms were used to manage the integration after acquisitions with domestic management styles and most of them were caught in serious internal frictions, causing which caused productivity declining and profit dropping. Moreover, Chinese firms were merely accustomed to employ Chinese workers no matter where they were doing business, which exerted extensive concerns in the host country. For example, when Chinese firms acquired a local mining, a railway or harbor construction project in Africa, thousands of Chinese workers were hired to work there. It maybe impressive for many when we watched TV that more than 30,000 Chinese workers retreated from Libya after the civil war following the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in 2010. In the countries with tight policies on foreign labors, the employment patterns of Chinese acquisitions were controversial. Culture difference:Cultural is an indispensible influential factor in international MA yet ignoring its significance is a common failing of Chinese acquirers. Many host countries complained that Chinese firms were mining robots or money machines, developing business simply on their own without incorporating themselves into the local communities and respecting the unique cultural backgrounds. The failure of SAIC’s acquisition of SsangYong, discussed mentioned in previous episode, could cast light on how the culture conflict ruined a takeover. It seems that the primary reason was SAIC’s insufficient acknowledgement of culture difference. Korea is an island country and its people have tremendous national pride therefore when SsangYong was acquired by SCIA which is from an undeveloped country of China, its employees were reluctant to accept the reality of control change and to co-operate well with the new boss. That was why they behaved negatively in the integration and apparently SAIC failed to figure out a proper strategy to deal with this issue. Moreover, SAIC underestimated the power of Labor Union and the complexity of labor disputes while paid more attention to enhance the relationship with the governmental authorities, which is anan exact reflection of Chinese culture, not suitable in Korea. The result of ignoring it was remarkable. Comparison After the analysis of what caused Chinese firms’ poor performance, before giving advice on how to improve it, it seems necessary to catch a glance at how the international peers did their MA deals. Japan, one neighbor of China, is a perfect model we could refer to. Similar as today’s China, Japan is a country short of natural resources, from the 1960s when Japanese economy began to soar, Japanese enterprises invested massively in overseas markets to pursue a steady resource supplies. In the 1970s and 1980s, they also encountered various barriers and obstacles but Japanese firms gradually diminished the hostility and cautiousness and successfully took initiatives in global investment sectors23. Image-making:Japanese firms laid emphasis on image-polishing via the ‘think tank’ and the news media. In the 1980s, in response to the increasing hostility, Japanese firms implemented diverse strategies to turn them acceptable to the American society. Since most official critics were from the Congress, major Japanese companies established or enlarged the representative offices in Washington, DC. They tried to create the mainstream opinion via the cooperation with the think tanks, journalists orand former governmental officials and in return the think tanks held periodically forums on Japanese investments and published reports arguing that Japanese investments were beneficial to the USA economy. In most cases, Japanese firms sponsored or funded the researches or cooperated with the scholars in this field. Sustainable strategy: Japanese firms focused on a long-term effect of investments, pursued a resource-preferred acquisition strategy and did not deviate from the aim easily even if confronting temporary losses or missing profitable opportunities. As a result, the investment terms of Japanese firms were longer than those of Chinese firms. In addition, Japanese companies coordinated well with each other and avoided internal malicious competitions (which often happened among their Chinese peers) to maximize their coalition strength. Differing from Chinese acquirers in Australian market, Japanese companies were used to form an acquisition group of 3-4 firms to optimize the bargaining potential and profit margin. Local management: Unlike Chinese companies which preferred to appoint Chinese executives in overseas subordinates, Japanese investors trusted localAmerican managers and appointed them as executives. Besides, they tried to localize material supplies as much as possible. According to the report published in 2002 by the Bureau of Economics Analysis24, USA, from 1982 to 2002, the number of American suppliers of Honda25had climbed from 40 to 55026. Likewise, when negotiating with partners for acquisition deals, Japanese companies seldom requested to participated in the business operation so that they could avoid the employment, salary or land disputes, which considerably reduced the management risk and integration failure. Community relation: When investing in overseas countries, Japanese firms endeavored to integrate themselves to local culture and contribute to the construction of local communities. For example, sponsoring a baseball team or funding a cancer research center, Japanese firm had donated millions of dollars for local charity. All of these merits of goodness conveyed the information that Japanese firms respected local culture and put high value on local development. This is a sharp contrast to Chinese firms’ behavior in that they were only keen on making money but were indifferent to the lives of local residents. Recommendation Corresponding to the problems figured out discussed and the comparisons analyzed above, I would like to share my view on how to improve the overseas MA operations of Chinese enterprises. Firstly, we should reduce the role the state plays in international acquisitions and create effective communications with stakeholders. To be honest, many overseas MA cases illustrated the economic targets of Chinese government, which is the most controversial issue and the biggest concern in foreign markets. As the government, it must be aware of its duty and the boundary of public power, decrease the interference to micro economic operation and liberate the creativities of Chinese enterprises in overseas markets. On the other hand, Chinese government should provide necessary supervision and guidance of overseas acquisitions, reform improper and complicated formalities of abroad transaction and facilitate the currency flow by loosing strict exchange control. However, to eliminate political obstacles, the majority of the tasks are at the shoulder of Chinese enterprises themselves. It shouldmay be necessary for them to put public relationship management top of their agenda. For example, learn to communicate with the public media and the local communities in the language and style they could understand, find spokesmen in think tanks and sponsor local research academies or educational institutions are all constructive measures to enhance the soft powerimage of Chinese enterprises. In principle, we must try to let the host country, the local public, the local staff and other stakeholders believe that Chinese acquisitions are not only a business but also a kindness, not a threatens but an opportunitiesy, to all of them. Secondly, it is essential to break the spell of speculation and to adopt strategic thinking. Acquisition is not gambling but rather implementation of strategy, hence before initiating offers Chinese buyers must set up definite targets and strategies. In short, what do we exactly want? Every overseas acquisition case must have a clear strategic demand: to enhance the buyer’s weight in the value chain; to extend the brand reputation; to expand the production line or to extend the market share? We should not launch an acquisition merely because the target company is cheap or the acquisition is an eye-catching advertisement. Nothing would be more surprising than the news that a Chinese Millionaire Chen Guangbiao, whose business is recycle resourcing, announced a plan to buy New York Times. After the aim is set up, Chinese enterprise should establish and hold a firm strategy, draw an feasible plan in details to implement the strategy step by step and unless the market surroundings changes fundamentally, do not give up the fixed strategy easily. Thirdly, it could be urgent for Chinese firms to substantially enhance their management strength to survive the integration difficulties after takeovers. It is desirable for the acquirer to keep the previous management team of the acquired firm as much as possible and to pursue a ‘win-win’ target by satisfying both the requirements of the buyer and the demands of the seller as well asand its employees. Plus, they also should build a thorough management systems in accordance with international convention, enhance overall managerial strengthability, perfect internal corporate governance and establish rational incentive mechanism, to achieve a smooth integration and a sustainable development. Fourthly, it is not exaggerating to say that the failure of an overseas acquisition is actually the failure of cultural communication, which reminds Chinese buyers to take care of the cultural difference. Currently, most of the targeted firms are matured western enterprises which have built their own tradition and culture and hope to maintain rather than change it. In the contrary, Chinese firms have not developed a systematic and matured cultures. That is, China buyers have to absorb the advanced elements of the existing cultures and mix them in the formation of a new culture. Under some unique circumstances it is necessary to give up or reform the unreasonable parts in our own cultures that iare s unacceptable to the host country. Conclusion To summarize, overseas MA is an effective way for Chinese enterprises to realize the hyper-normal development in global markets. But every opportunity could also be seen as a crisis and vice versa. It is a cake or a trap merely depends on what areis our choices. Friendly market, clear strategy, efficient management and proper communication may bring you a bright perspectives while hostile surrounding, blind expansion, poor administration and cultural conflict could catch usyou in a deep traps. For the better preparation to survive international MA competitions, it is high time for Chinese enterprises to sum up the successful experiences and to learn from the costly lessons. If this article could provide some advisable suggestions on this topic, it would be my greatest pleasure.

Paid News In The Indian Media

Paid News In The Indian Media The emergence of Media Corporation, through growing cross media ownership is having their impact on medias public service commitments. In recent times, the Indian media and its journalistic practices have been criticised for breaking the trust of the public. Indian media have successfully succeeded in growing their economy through cross-ownership and advertorials. Under the influence of profit making, commercial interests which are controlling the news content, as editorial contents are being sold like other commodities. This commercialization of the media content is evident in phenomena like paid news. News is meant to be objective, fair and unbiased. This is the only difference between news and opinions. But, recently, the lines between news and advertisements are blurring because paid advertisements are deceived as news which favours a particular organization or a person by selling editorial spaces. The media organizations misguide the readers by providing no true information to them. By doing this, the media questions its own credibility and is fast losing the trust of the society. The readers/viewers cannot distinguish the difference between a news report and advertorials. This paper argues that the media is no longer the fourth estate of journalism and has become like any other marketable product with reference to paid news. The face of journalism in India has changed. The press is mostly owned and controlled by the capitalist class (i.e. the rich and powerful in society; opinion leaders; gatekeepers), who can use the press to report facts which are convenient to them. Over years, the ownership pattern, organizational structure and the content of the newspapers have changed. They are on sale for paid news and private treaties. In addition, this paper also tires to observe the impacts and analyse the responses of the media, civil society and the state on paid news. Paid News and the Private Treaties Phenomenon 1Paid news is run to pass off an advertisement, apiece of propaganda and advertisementpass that as news, pretend that it is news that is paid news P. Sainath. It is a deal signed by the media organizations with an individual especially corporate houses and the candidate standing for elections, assuring them a fixed amount of coverage through advertisements and news reports in favour of them. In addition, additional fee can be charged to run negative campaign against their rivals. The paid news operation is done secretly and no disclosure is made before such news printed or broadcasted. Journalists willing or otherwise practice this phenomenon on a large scale. Journalists who do not wish to practice this phenomenon are either sacked from their organizations or the individuals are denied coverage and also suffer media blackouts. 2The advertisers, who are ever anxious to catch consumers off guard, believe that simply there cannot be a better way of breaking into consumer mind space than disguising the brand messages as news, which is more credible and convincing than raw advertising, says Santosh Desai, managing director and CEO, Future Brands. Such content is priced more than the regular advertising rates. Private Treaties Private treaties are signed with corporate organizations because media owners want to grow their organizations. In 2002, Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd (BCCL) launched this phenomenon of private treaties by singing deals with potential advertisers who could not afford mainstream advertising in return for equity shares in their companies. Many corporate leaders say that when the news space is available for sale, there are many buyers for it, especially when it meets their needs. Example: In The Times of India, Delhi Edition, Olay brand articles were a part of paid marketing campaign by Proctor and Gamble, India. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) reported that media organizations are entering into agreements called private treaties with corporate organizations whose equity shares are listed on the stock exchanges that come out with public offer of their shares. The media organizations are picking up stakes in such companies and in return are providing favourable coverage through advertisements, news reports and editorials. Repercussions of Selling Editorial Space Most media organizations are interested in making profits for which they sacrifice the ethical norms of journalistic practice in favour of paid news. The first paid news phenomenon was broken down by P. Sainath. Paid news is common in Lok Sabha and state assemblies elections especially in states like Maharashtra and Haryana.  [3]  As per media reports, the size of the paid news market in Andhra Pradesh in the elections in 2009 alone, was said to be over Rs 1,000 crore. In Maharashtra, it is said to be in multi thousand crores. A lot of evidence is available of the malpractice. Example: Ashok Chavan used the print media effectively during the Maharashtra state elections in 2009. Identical articles with photographs and headlines having appeared in competing publications carrying by-lines of different authors around the same time praising candidates claiming that both are likely to win the election hints at some unholy dealings. Nowhere, is there any indication that the publication of such news reports has entailed financial transaction or has been sponsored by certain individuals or political parties. Press Council of Indias draft report of enquiry titled Paid News: How corruption in the Indian Media Undermines Indian Democracy points out that the deception that paid news involves takes place at three distinct levels (Sainath, 2010a): 4The reader or the viewer is deceived into believing that what is essentially an advertisement is in fact, independently produced news content. Moreover, candidates contesting elections do not disclose the true expenditure incurred on campaigning thereby violating the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which have been framed by, and are meant to be enforced by, the Election Commission of India under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The newspapers and television channels concerned usually receive funds for paid news in cash and do not disclose such earnings in their company balance sheets or official statements of accounts. Thus, by not accounting for the money received from candidates, the concerned media company or its representatives are violating the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 as well as the Income Tax Act, 1961, among other laws. Edelman, an independent public relations firm, in its 2010 Trust Barometer Survey states that the Indian news media have been losing their credibility and trust among the people.  [5]  Over the past two years, trust on television news dropped sharply from 61 per cent to just 36 per cent, that of business magazines has gone down from 72 per cent to 47 per cent, and that of newspapers has gone down from 61 per cent to 40 per cent. Trust in the media in India as a whole declined by 7 per cent (from 65 per cent in 2009 to 58 per cent in 2010). This decline in trust speaks volumes about the future role of the media in India and the threats to its hard earned freedom. According to the 2nd Press Commission report, the role of press should be constructive critic. It must oppose an official policy when needed; support it when it can at most of the times, bring out instructive opinions on important issues covering all aspects/ angles to provide knowledge to people. Journalists are accepted as moral guides in the Indian society. They are accepted because of the foundation on which the concept of media freedom was built. India guaranteed freedom of speech and expression to its citizens. It is a fundamental right under Article 19(1) (A) of the Indian Constitution, which allows everyone to express their views as well as allows the right to print matters which are borrowed from someone or printed under the direction of that person. Paid News Syndrome and Need for Greater Accountability The paid news syndrome has become a debateable topic for various platforms. When the credibility of the media is lost, its freedom gets restricted. Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India said that the explosive growth in the media had highlighted the fact that the Fourth Estate is only one among the pillars of democracy that has an identifiable commercial and profit facade. Disapproving paid news in any form, Sitaram Yechury says that paid news is not merely a serious matter influencing the functioning of a free press, but it is an issue that also concerns the future of parliamentary democracy in India. Providing access to unbiased, unfiltered and objective news or information is the role that media are supposed to play in a parliamentary democracy. This comes under very severe strain with the emergence of the paid news syndrome. Strongly arguing against paid news, Arun Jaitley claims that those who are in a position to pay more for information expressed as paid news shape the human minds in this country accordingly. This cannot be free speech. At best, it could be trade, it could be business, and, therefore, the government has to take this out of the arena of free speech and put it in the arena of business or trade, all in public interest. Favouring deterrent penalty against those who indulge in such practices he suggests that in the case of (a) candidate, it has to be an offence under election law (The phrase) corrupt practice must be amended in the Representation of the People Act and this should be a ground for setting aside the election and disqualifying the candidate, and if parties indulge in thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦there must be action against this.

Poverty and Food Shortages :: Famine World Hunger

There is a serious development that concerns not only hungry people but all of us. Food is becoming too expensive and food riots are spreading. There were tortilla riots in Mexico when the praise of grain became unaffordable which can happen again. Most countries have been able to feed their own but there is a fear that the millions of the unfed will come across borders to eat. If this happens those with food will battle to keep it from the hungry. Supermarkets will be forced to place armed guards in front of their doors and refrigerators will be padlocked. There are food riots going on at the present time in Haiti where the government was overthrown. Nobody can predict tomorrows costs of grain or rice. Many say it will double in price in the coming months. Over a billion Chinese people are now eating meat products that are grain fed. This is a result of an increase in their standard of living. They grow very little grain so more than ninety percent of all meat eaten in China is imported. This is one of the causes of the shortage of world wide grain. The Chinese people have a right to eat as much meat as they can afford. It would be ridiculous to ask them to curb their appetites for the sake of the hungry in other countries. We must look elsewhere for a solution. The rising price of oil is the main cause of rising grain costs. Harvesters and trucks that use oil have to pass on added expenses. A loaf of bread cannot be sold for one dollar when it costs two to produce. The hungry must eat but if they cant afford to buy bread who will pay to feed them? The best solution is to lower oil prices which will bring down the costs of grain production. This would bring to a halt world wide hunger. There have been many famines where millions have starved to death. The Ukraine suffered a man made famine less than seventy five years ago where over a million died of hunger.

Risks And Challneges Of The EU Expansion :: essays research papers

Risks and challenges of the EU expansion I. Introduction For several years now the European Union is discussing a possible enlargement, because several European countries have applied for membership in the EU. These are especially the former communist countries in Eastern Europe, that have clearly turned towards the west since the fall of the iron curtain. These countries are Bulgaria, the Baltic countries Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary. Additionally Turkey, Cyprus and Malta are trying for quite some time already to join the EU. These application are not to be accepted without any further consideration because they do bring along some risks and the consequences are hard to distinguish therefore these countries are not very likely joining the European Union in the near future and will therefore not be included in the following evaluation. II. Risks and challenges If one wants to evaluate the risks and challenges of an upcoming expansion of the EU one should first take into account experiences gained during previous expansion which were somewhat comparable. Here the southern expansion from 1986 should be mentioned where two economically weak countries sought admission to the then so called European Community. The admission procedure of these two candidates, being Spain and Portugal, were lengthy and considered very problem bearing. Especially the amount of produce that would add to the already existing agricultural over-production of the Community was seen to be a problem since it would increase the load on the European budget. But seen from a global economical perspective the joining of Spain and Portugal was overall positive for the EC and the two countries, although Spain struggled with a further rise of unemployment and disparities within the Community were further amplified. The disparities within the Union will most certainly increase when it comes to an eastern expansion, but the agricultural problem will not be an issue, because the candidates have not got their focus on agriculture, already because of their communist heritage which focused on industry rather than on agriculture or the tertiary sector. In case of the approaching expansion towards Eastern Europe the Union will have to resolve several problems, the most severe being without any doubt the financial one that will go along with the extension, estimated to be â‚ ¬5 - â‚ ¬6 billion annually, just for the technologically underdeveloped agriculture in the new member states. The financial problem will also lead to a temporary discontent among the population of the existing members, since the financial load on the countries will cause budget cuts because the new members will undoubtedly belong to the payees rather than the payers. Risks And Challneges Of The EU Expansion :: essays research papers Risks and challenges of the EU expansion I. Introduction For several years now the European Union is discussing a possible enlargement, because several European countries have applied for membership in the EU. These are especially the former communist countries in Eastern Europe, that have clearly turned towards the west since the fall of the iron curtain. These countries are Bulgaria, the Baltic countries Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary. Additionally Turkey, Cyprus and Malta are trying for quite some time already to join the EU. These application are not to be accepted without any further consideration because they do bring along some risks and the consequences are hard to distinguish therefore these countries are not very likely joining the European Union in the near future and will therefore not be included in the following evaluation. II. Risks and challenges If one wants to evaluate the risks and challenges of an upcoming expansion of the EU one should first take into account experiences gained during previous expansion which were somewhat comparable. Here the southern expansion from 1986 should be mentioned where two economically weak countries sought admission to the then so called European Community. The admission procedure of these two candidates, being Spain and Portugal, were lengthy and considered very problem bearing. Especially the amount of produce that would add to the already existing agricultural over-production of the Community was seen to be a problem since it would increase the load on the European budget. But seen from a global economical perspective the joining of Spain and Portugal was overall positive for the EC and the two countries, although Spain struggled with a further rise of unemployment and disparities within the Community were further amplified. The disparities within the Union will most certainly increase when it comes to an eastern expansion, but the agricultural problem will not be an issue, because the candidates have not got their focus on agriculture, already because of their communist heritage which focused on industry rather than on agriculture or the tertiary sector. In case of the approaching expansion towards Eastern Europe the Union will have to resolve several problems, the most severe being without any doubt the financial one that will go along with the extension, estimated to be â‚ ¬5 - â‚ ¬6 billion annually, just for the technologically underdeveloped agriculture in the new member states. The financial problem will also lead to a temporary discontent among the population of the existing members, since the financial load on the countries will cause budget cuts because the new members will undoubtedly belong to the payees rather than the payers.

Essay on The Holy Bible - Genesis 1-3 and the Downfall of Mankind :: Holy Bible Genesis Essays

Genesis 1-3 and the Downfall of Mankind People hold many differing opinions about Genesis 1-3. Some people believe that God didn't want Adam and Eve to have the knowledge of good and evil because it would make them as gods. The purpose of this essay is to show that Adam and Eve caused the downfall of mankind. Now, to the untrained eye, it may be possible to interpret the aforementioned text as having certain "scheisty" tendencies coming from both the serpent and, believe it or not, God himself. As possible as it may seem, the main theme of the passages of Genesis are not trying to show God as being greedy with the knowledge of good and evil. It isn't like God was worried that Adam and Eve would gain knowledge that would empower them and make them as gods. That is almost preposterous to think that God, the almighty creator of heaven and earth, would be worried about two mortals obtaining a little bit of information. In all actuality, that idea is incredibly far from the truth. God gave Adam and Eve the world, literally. This perfect world, a "heaven on earth", was just given to them out of the goodness of his heart. All they had to do was look over God's creations and enjoy true eternal bliss. As a matter of fact, the only rule that God gave to Adam and Eve was to not eat of the tree of t he knowledge of good and evil. All they had to do to live in the eternal paradise, with all the cookies and milk they could stomach, was to follow that one freakin' rule. Acknowledging the fact that the serpent (a.k.a. Satan Incarnate) did do its part in persuading Eve to eat the fruit and to give the fruit to her husband. Even still, Eve should have realized that she was risking eternal happiness for the words of a snake. God said, "... of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shallot not eat of it: for in the day that thou neatest thereof thou shallot surely die." He wasn't speaking of an instantaneous death, or even mortal death. He was more so saying that they would lose their immortal lives, therefor being compromised by mortal death. The serpent knew of this and used his knowledge to bring about the inevitable demise of mankind.

Liberal Nature of Indian State Essay

The state is being perceived as an â€Å"organised structural and institutional whole† epitomizing the power relations of society. The state in a developing society arise from historical factors and interacts with society through its decisive role in the economic process of the nation. To study the nature of any particular state, it is necessary to analyse to relation between state, power, and social classes and the purpose of the state. The liberal democratic form stands on the foundation of democracy. The liberal critique of the Indian state can be read in the writings of Rajni Kothari, Atul Kohli, The Rudolphs, Gunnar Myrdal. The state is associated with modernity. The idea of nation is also linked with the state and is encompassed within it. The liberal movement did not develop in India, as in Europe, in response to the challenge of aggression of king but after a long anti-colonial struggle against the British Raj which culminated in the Partition of India and its Independence in 1947. The Constitution which was drawn up shortly after was essentially liberal in character. It was a product of the Western impact through British rule and contributed to India’s constitutional and political development. The constitution declared it as a sovereign socialist republic democratic country. Thus, Indian state is characterized as a liberal democratic model which provides for separation of powers and fundamental rights to the people. Moreover India is a representative form of government, where elections are held on the basis of universal adult franchise. Ram Mohan Roy, with whom the history of Indian liberalism begins, showed great concern for social reform and the upliftment of women, education as a means of social transformation, freedom of press and no censorship, all of which were inherited by the great liberals of India. Jawaharlal Nehru, ‘the chief architect’ of the modern Indian State,  considered the state to be the ‘trustee and guardian’ of the Indian people by looking after democratic aspirations and providing economic welfare. The influence of Nehru in the Indian state can be seen in the economic front, as it adopted the socialist path of development with a focus on planning for economic development. India’s liberalism in the modern period may best be described as a re-articulation, a re-articulation that was undoubtedly called forth by the new knowledge, enlightenment, political institutions and social patterns which Britain brought with her. The liberal view of the state is typically strong. Institutional strength is key in this and state and society remains separate. The state has to remain relatively autonomous from society. Legitimacy is also an important part of the liberal state, and this term started to be used in India especially during the 1975 emergency. India has been characterised as a ‘soft’ and ‘weak’ state by Gunnar Myrdal. The problem of a soft state is the crisis of legitimacy. Liberal critics have characterised India as a liberal state with strong institutions of the Parliament, independent judiciary, executive, along with fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy. Rajni Kothari argued that the Indian state sought to legitimise itself as an order-maintaining institution. The Nehruvian model succeeded during Nehru’s time, but gradually the masses awakened and pressure for redistributive politics grew. Moreover the state was becoming more centralised and lost its mediating structures of the party system. Ashis Nandy, an Indian political psychologist, envisaged the state as a protector of the interests of the Indian people from outsiders. Although, he noted that the state itself subjected the masses to oppression through institutional structures. He argued that it was preferable as the oppression worked from within and not arbitrarily. Atul Kohli explains the Indian state through its paradoxical apparatus of state government arising from growth of centralisation and powerlessness at the centre. Centralisation erodes the legitimacy of the state and its developmental power. Gunnar Myrdal criticized the inability of the state to enforce public policies to eradicate poverty or to enforce laws and dubbed the institutional model of the Indian state as â€Å"soft state†. According to Myrdal, the Indian state was soft as it had no power to rectify institutions that stood in the way of reform and development. As a result, it could not tackle the institution of caste directly, take measures of effective land reform, eradicate corruption or enforce ideas of development effectively through the people. One consequence of this softness has been the growth of left-wing extremism, which Manmohan Singh called the â€Å"gravest internal threat† to the country’s security. Myrdal’s ‘hard state’ would have been able to tackle Naxalism which has gravely affected the nation. The liberal approach focuses on institutions and processes to understand state and political power in India. The state is considered the central instrument of social progress and principal agent of transformation. According to the Rudolphs, there are two groups characterised in the Indian state, one being the ‘owners of production’ and the other being the ‘labourer’ group. They analysed the state as a mediator between these two conflicting groups, and in doing so, must remain autonomous in order to maintain structural unity of the state. The role of the state would hence be the â€Å"third actor†. The Rudolphs believe in the capability of India to become a strong state, unlike the weak state that Myrdal argued. The Rudolphs’ liberal perspective was directed at constitutional strength and legitimacy, citizen as an abstract category, and institutional strength in the form of bureaucracy which defined the identity of liberalism in the  Indian state. The bureaucracy played an important role in policy making and reflects good governance. The expertise of the members would provide efficient decision making. Liberal institutionalists believe in strengthening institutions to achive a strong state through legitimacy. This extra autonomy of legitimacy derived from law and ability to rule gets rid of the crisis of legitimacy which is a problem of the Soft State as Myrdal puts it. Before the emergence period of 1975, India had a paradoxical apparatus of state government. The excess power in the centre made the peripheries unstable, causing the core and periphery to constantly break in tussle. This led to a loss of faith from the people’s side, and re-institutionalising of the state during Indira Gandhi’s time. The bureaucracy also faces criticisms on account of maintaining neutrality arises if every rule is made by experts. And if the state becomes too reliant on expertise, it becomes idealist in nature. The Rudolph’s Command Polity talks about the state becoming the utmost power. The Rudolphs pointed out that India is a state that works and derives its legitimacy from demand.This polity in India gave way to crisis. State is not an entity which has always remained stab le. Reflection of individual liberties are a part of democratic liberalism. Demands from the lower class have to be included to maintain stability. The Marxist view sees the Indian state as a bourgeois state – where the benefits are only with the big industrialists and rich farmers. Though this nature does not completely dominates the state it exercises a powerful influence over the Indian state. India has a highly plural society marked by various ethnic groups of different language and different religion. After independence India has experienced difficulty to maintain its unity. But growth of violence, regionalism, poverty, slow development of economy has questioned the working  of Indian state and its nature. The impact of social rule is visible in India. Recently, faith in democratic, institution, redistributions, justice and secularism seems to be eroded in Indian state. However, the state continues to solve conflicting interest and development problem. Threats to individual freedom make it necessary for individuals to organise for civil liberties and constantly explore new realms for free expression. To create stability, the Indian state has to be strong. Thus today’s India stands as a political and economic paradox of a rich – poor nation with a weak – strong state. BIBLIOGRAPHY Indian Government and Politics- Sunder Raman Indian Political System – M.P Singh & Roy The Centrist Future of Indian Politics – Susanne Rudolph and Lloyd Rudolph

Introduction nokia Essay

The company that we choose from the list is Nokia. Over the past 150 years, Nokia has evolved from a riverside paper mill in southwestern Finland to a global telecommunications leader connecting over 1. 3 billion people. During that time, they’ve made rubber boots and car tires. They’ve generated electricity. They’ve even manufactured TVs. Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications and information technology corporation that is headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Its principal products are mobile telephones and portable IT devices. It also offers Internet services including applications, games, music, media and messaging, and free-of-charge digital map information and navigation services through its wholly owned subsidiary Navteq. Nokia owns a company named Nokia Solutions and Networks, which provides telecommunications network equipment and services. As of 2012, Nokia employs 101,982 people across 120 countries, conducts sales in more than 150 countries, and reports annual revenues of around â‚ ¬30 billion. By the fourth quarter of 2012, it was the world’s second-largest mobile phone maker in terms of unit sales (after Samsung), with a global market share of 18. 0%. Now, Nokia only has a 3% market share in smartphones. They lost 40% of their revenue in mobile phones in Q2 2013. Nokia is a public limited-liability company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. It is the world’s 274th-largest company measured by 2013 revenues according to the Fortune Global 500. Nokia was the world’s largest vendor of mobile phones from 1998 to 2012. However, over the past five years its market share declined as a result of the growing use of touchscreen smartphones from other vendors—principally the iPhone, by Apple, and devices running on Android, an operating system created by Google. The corporation’s share price fell from a high of US$40 in late 2007 to under US$2 in mid-2012. In a bid to recover, Nokia announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft in February 2011, leading to the replacement of Symbian with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system in all Nokia smartphones. Following the replacement of the Symbian system, Nokia’s smartphone sales figures, which had previously increased, collapsed dramatically. From the beginning of 2011 until 2013, Nokia fell from its position as the world’s largest smartphone vendor to assume the status of tenth largest. On 2 September 2013, Microsoft announced its intent to purchase Nokia’s mobile phone business unit as part of an overall deal totaling â‚ ¬5. 44 billion (US$7. 17 billion). Stephen Elop, Nokia’s former CEO, and several other executives will join Microsoft as part of the deal.

School and Workplace Violence

Violence in schools and at workplaces is a common incidence in the American community. They are indeed a major threat to the guarantee of health and safety security in these crucial institutions of our nation’s economy. There are a number of events which can lead to school or workplace violence such as unfavorable environmental and interpersonal relationships between mates (Anthony, 2000). Just like any other act of violence in the community, law enforcement agencies are bound to safe the life of the victims and arrest the offender for interrogation. Due to our nation’s concern for the sustainable safety of the people, many rules, regulations, and practices have been developed to mitigate the problem. This essay is written as a discussion on school and workplace violence. The author identifies the events, facts and those involved in violence as well as how law enforcement respond to such incidences. A discussion on changes that have been made by those made by the institutions affected by violence incidents is also given. Workplace or school violence has been defined as any act of violence physical or psychological that as the end result of compromising the health and/or safety security of the victims (Rugala, 2003). Therefore, workplace and school violence encompasses; physical or threat of physical violence, harassment, and even intimidation. However, the most common form of violence is homicide (Kelleher, 1996). According to available statistics, such incidences can affect or involve staff, students (workers), and visitors. There are a number of events which can lead to violence at workplace or schools. First are poor interpersonal relations among individuals (Anthony, 2000). Understanding and appreciating others in a society is an important factor in the realization of sustainable relationships. Just to be stated here is the fact that different people have different worldviews as well as different ways of reacting to issues and circumstances. However, strong interpersonal relations serve to control risks of overreaction by enhancing communication (Anthony, 2000). Therefore, lack effective interpersonal relationships can lead to violence. Another event that can lead to violence is peer influence (Hunt, 2010). According to available research findings, most incidents of violence among students or workers are influence by groupthink mentality (Hunt, 2010). Just to be stated here is the fact the association can have the psychological impact of compromising individual reasoning and judgmental ability. Discriminative behavior can also cause violence. School of workplace bullying based on race, social-economic and personality are cited as having a major role in causing violence (Wodarski, Roberts & Rapp-Paglicci, 2002). This is because they can result to stress and depression on the victims, thus resulting into revenge mentality. School and workplace violence is marked with numerous facts. First, they threaten the health and safety of those involved. Homicide is the leading cause of fatal injuries in schools and workplace (Hunt, 2010). Such include school or workplace shootings and/or stabbing. Therefore, violence in such institutions can be attributed to prior threats rather than instantaneous reactions. It is due to this reason that threat assessment is found to be a crucial tool for preventing violence. Another fact is that most incidents of violence are caused by lack of proper institutional policies (Wodarski, Roberts & Rapp-Paglicci, 2002). Violence like harassment and intimidation are common between management and staff or students. Just to be noted is that the management must serve as a role model for the other members of the organization. Therefore, failing to ensuring respect for the personality, ethnical and cultural diversity in the organization evidently serves to influence workers and/or students negatively. According to statistic on incidents of school and workplace violence, most of the cases involve indoor members (Rugala, 2003). This has been closely attributed to the fact that it is in the institution where conflict among members can be more pronounced. Based on this, most offenders on incidents of homicide are students or workers (Rugala, 2003). On the other hand, in incidents of harassment and intimidation, the common offenders are the institutional managers such as teachers and company managers (Kelleher, 1996). This is closely attributed to misuse of power by instituting oppressive or discriminative behaviors towards certain members. Visitors are also common offenders particularly for homicide incidents but can also be victims of intimidation and harassment by members of the organization (Rugala, 2003). It is the sole purpose of the law enforcement agents to ensure the rule of law in the society. Incidents of school and workplace violence particularly homicide and assault are legally regarded as criminal offenses (Rugala, 2003). Therefore, the initial response by law enforcement is usually to intervene to save the life of the victim and arrest the offender for interrogation (Wodarski, Roberts & Rapp-Paglicci, 2002). This is important not only in mitigating further health and safety harm to the victims but also for setting the initial step towards the realization of justice for the incident. However, the process of realizing justice for violence incident requires adequate investigations not only to collect evidence for criminal charges against the offenders but also to seek lasting solutions to such incidents in the institution (Rugala, 2003). This is why law enforcement engages with members for establishing how, why and who were involved in the incidents. Still, since some incidents occur without the presence of law enforcement agents, the process of investigation can involve forensic crime analysis. This is mainly used as a technical way of qualifying evidence given by witnesses of the incident thus enhancing its admissibility during prosecution. Incidents of school and workplace violence have evidently led to many changes to those affected. First, the government, as the sole custodian of the people, has engaged in the development of effective rules and regulations for enhancing workplace and school safety (Anthony, 2000). Such actions by the government have led to the founding of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) which seeks to educate institutions on the importance of having an environment free of violence for workers (Wodarski, Roberts & Rapp-Paglicci, 2002). On the side of law enforcement, incident prone zones are usually marked with presence of police as a measure of ensuring fast and effective response to acts of violence. Another change is that most organizations respond to violence incidents by sucking the offender and developing anti-violence policies. Creating awareness among the parties involved in an institution is quite important (Anthony, 2000). Therefore, most of these anti-violence policies by organization are mainly tailored to advice people of how to identify and report or prevent violence threat incidents. An example is the requirement for training employees to be resources of the Employee Assistance Program (Anthony, 2000). In conclusion school and workplace violence incidents are evidently preventable mainly due to their predictable nature (Rugala, 2003). It is due to this reason that all stakeholders should cooperate in the identification and finding viable solutions to the problem. Such an effective strategy should involve creation of awareness and development of stiffer rules and regulation to govern school and workplace conduct. Still important is that institutions should engage in efforts for establishing an anti-violence corporate culture for the sustainable future of school and workplace safety. References Anthony, B. (2000). Violence in the Workplace. A Prevention and Management Guide for Business. Oxnard, CA: Pathfinder Publishing. Inc. Hunt, O. (2010). School and Workplace Violence. Retrieved March 27, 2010, from http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/204655/careers_and_job_hunting/school_and_workplace_violence.html Kelleher, M. (1996). New Arenas for Violence: Homicide in the American Workplace. Westport, CT: Praeger. Rugala, E. (2003). Work Place Violence: Issue in Response. Retrieved March 27, 2010, from http://www.fbi.gov/publications/violence.pdf Wodarski, J., Roberts, A., & Rapp-Paglicci, L. (2002). Handbook of Violence. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Inc.