Burger King SWOT Analysis

Strength: Burger King serves a lot of burgers that is typically not available in other fast foodrestaurant. Some of the examples are, BK Mushroom Swiss which serves beef patty and topped withmushroom sautà ©ed sauce, Grilled Chicken burger which is prepared by grilling the chicken patty andothers. Most of the burgers prepared in Burger King are cooked by properly grilling them over fire. Burger King also serve varieties of side dishes in their restaurants such as mozzarella sticks, apple pie,Hershey's pie and others.Weakness: Burger King does not advertise their products like their competitors do. Muslims who arenot familiar with Burger King would hesitate to try out their burgers as they are not sure whether it ishalal or not. Burger King also could not produce more sales than McDonald's because of lackmarketing strategy which would place them in a disadvantage spot in areas dominated byMcDonald's. Opportunity: Burger King could improve their sales by producing more advertisements on theirproducts. They could also open new branches in major city all around the worlds and some ruralareas.Some of the state in Malaysia doesn't have Burger King in their city so, Burger King could tryand open new outlet which will greatly improved their sales. Threat: Burger King faces threat from other major burger fast food restaurant such as McDonald's andWendy's. McDonald's produced the highest percentage sales among the three which is a threat forBurger King. The cost to produce the burger during inflation and lack of sales puts Burger King in atough spot and other burger fast food restaurant could take advantage to advertise new product andhence raising their sales.Burger King Introduction Burger King is the world’s largest flame broiled fast food restaurant chain. As of 2011, Burger King operates restaurants in 12,300 locations serving over 11 million guests daily in 76 countries and territories worldwide (Burger King , 2011). Burger King’s core competency is its unique flame-broiled burgers. This process is difficult to imitate and helps differentiates Burger King from other fast food chains that fry their burgers instead.So much so in fact, no other fast food provider flame broils their burgers. In addition, Burger King allows and encourages consumers to customize the unique flame-broiled burgers with options to their liking. This creates a win-win situation for both Burger King and the consumer. Burger King has the benefit of offering a different product and the consumer benefits by having numerous burger options. Although Burger King has expanded its menu selections, they have remained true to their original flame-broiled burgers.This product gives them an advantage over other fast food chains. Facing intense competition and limited growth opportunities domestically, Burger King hopes strengthen their competitive stance through international expansion. By mid 2009, Burger King was not in any of the following countries: France, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. Compare these countries as possible future locations for Burger King. In looking for new countries to enter, Burger King needs to identify countries that fit its ideal demographic profile.Ideally Burger King would expand in areas that fit its ideal demographic profile. They need to find countries with higher populations (preferably youth) and concentrations of urban activity. Local diets consisting of high consumption of beef would be encouraging as their signature products are made of beef. Additionally, areas which are safe, maintain politically stable pro-business environments and have available capital are ideal. Burger King employees a franchising model as a method of growth and expansion.Burger King has strengthened its franchise agreement to ensure standards of product quality control and brand image are adhered and maintained. While all of the aforementioned locations hold promise in most areas of the ideal demographic, subtle nuances pre sent unique challenges. Competitive research would need to be done to explore the feasibility of each location. Or at least provide a complete picture for expansion into the respective countries. Burger King could learn from their own past errors in the countries they had retreated from as well as the mistakes of competitors.Due to a long standing agreement with the United States military, Burger King has been able to enter into numerous international locations relatively risk free by their placement of restaurants on military installations. This enables Burger King to get an inside look at foreign locations and test products with locals. It can also help create demand and recognition. Variations in Burger King’s practices and strategies result from differences in markets, institutions and culture. Successful globalization is often synonymous with successful localization.France: Burger King previously had locations in France but withdrew from the market in 1998. One of the un ique challenges of France is the apparent disdain for Americans and American products. Sensitivity to local sentiments and possibly embracing local alternatives might be necessary. Given the high degree of tourism in France and their relative success in the rest of Europe, Burger King would benefit from international recognition making reentry easier. India: Beef consumption in India is very low and almost nonexistent. Burger King’s signature burgers may not be very successful in India.Burger King would probably have to alter their menu to more familiar vegetarian dishes. Nigeria: Burger King opened a restaurant in Nigeria in 2011. Pakistan: Political stability and safety in this region of the world is always a consideration. Adaptation to local culture would require modification of food offerings, in particular in regards to pork based offerings. South Africa: Burger King entered South Africa in 2010. (Burger King , 2011) When entering another country, discuss the advantages and disadvantages that an international restaurant company, specifically Burger King, would have in comparison with a local company in that market.Burger King is a large company with vast resources. In comparison to a local company, Burger King could have inherent advantages when entering a new market. While people are familiar with fast food chains, Burger King differentiates itself not only in the products they offer but in the way they market their products. As an international company, Burger King could benefit from this brand recognition. This recognition helps ease the transition into new markets and could help stimulate sales. They can bring the benefits of economies to scale to bear in dealing with local suppliers.Burger King is able to adapt and experiment in the local environment given their expansive resources. Burger King can enhance their product mix to cater to local culture as well as demographics. The reception and ease of operation in foreign countries is generally favorable as they are investing in the local economy and providing jobs and services. Conversely, they may be unfamiliar with or understand the customs and culture of the indigenous people. Burger King may not be truly aware of what it is required to be successful in a particular country. Local competition can be contentious.Local companies learn from foreign fast food companies. Burger King will have to compete against local enterprises that are being developed both locally and globally. Local companies are able to rapidly alter their menus and flavorings to appeal to local tastes. Local companies tend to be more sensitive to local customs and exhibit genuine passion for local interests. Additionally, there may not be enough suppliers to support both Burger King and local restaurants. About two thirds of Burger King’s restaurants are in its Americas region (United States, and Canada) and one third elsewhere.Should this relationship change? If so, why and how? The burger mar ket in North America is considered mature. Given the heavy competition and saturation of similar products, the opportunities in North America may be significantly less than in other parts of the world. Similar competitors, notably McDonalds, have experienced success in markets outside of the United States and Canada. Likewise, Burger King has experienced success in certain international markets as well. Outside of Burger King’s America’s group (United States and Canada), the majority of Burger King restaurants are in Latin American and the Caribbean.Despite the heavy concentration of restaurants in these areas, these countries accounted for only 13. 5 percent of the non-Americas group revenue in fiscal year 2009. This is attributable primarily to the relatively small populations of these countries. In order for Burger King to remain competitive and strengthen their market share, taking advantage of opportunities in other markets may make sense. Expansion in other count ries could increase revenue and improve visibility in the international market place.Expanded market share could help strengthen strategic alliances with suppliers and stimulate competition. Expansion could also help diversify Burger Kings holdings. Diversification would help Burger King become less susceptible to local economic conditions. Burger King also needs to learn from past mistakes as they evolve their franchise system. Past failures have identified circumstances when Burger King has been forced to leave a market. Inadequate franchisee investment and performance as well as ill suited market demographics have led to the exit from certain markets.The case mentions that Burger King prefers to enter countries with large number of youth and shopping centers. Why do you think these conditions would be advantageous? Burger King prefers to enter markets in foreign countries with large populations of youths and shopping centers. This demographic profile represents the ideal target m arket for Burger King restaurants, both domestically and internationally. Fast food and shopping centers tend to be marketed more directly to the youth population. Youth are accustomed to and show a preference for fast food and constitute the largest consumer group of fast foods.Older consumers tend to shy away from fast food restaurants and prefer more traditional foods and eating at home. Youth are less likely to go home and cook and are more likely to pick up food on the go. Shopping centers are an ideal setting for a fast food restaurant as they attract younger people. Offering fast food makes it convenient for consumers to obtain food while shopping or to take on the go. How has Burger King’s headquarters location influenced its international expansion? Has this location strengthened or weakened its global position? The Burger King chain has always had roots in the Miami, Florida area.The original Burger King restaurant first opened in the Miami area and the company head quarters has always been located there. The global headquarters helps Burger King manage and control all its international locations from a central location. Miami is a large metropolitan area and frequent tourist destination for travelers from all over the world in particular from Latin America. Due to a heavy concentration of Latinos, Miami has been labeled the â€Å"Capital of Latin America†. Additionally, Miami is a frequent destination for snow bird travelers thus gaining additional exposure for the Burger King brand.Burger King has benefited from this exposure and gained recognition in international communities. Familiarity with the Burger King brand helps ease the expansion in certain international markets and has strengthened its global competitive position. The close proximity to Latin America demonstrates their global commitment and helps ensure their continued presence in the Latin American community. It has facilitated the ease of oversight and allows Burger King' s management to easily â€Å"visit these countries and for franchisees to visit Burger King headquarters†.Additionally, Burger King is able to locally test products on the indigenous Latin community. The location in Miami has simplified their entry into the Latin countries. Burger King can use the experiences in South American countries as a basis for consideration for expansion in other countries. Evaluate Burger King’s strategy of using the Brazilian experience to guide its entries into Russia. Burger King’s basic strategy is to offer the lowest prices possible for its products and to continuously improve its menu to fit the needs of the customer.This can be seen in through its experiences in Brazil which serve as a model for entry into Russia (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011). Burger King observed the mistakes that have been made by other companies and used their mistakes as a learning experience and as a growth mechanism. The failure of many prior fast f ood entrants in the Brazil market made potential suppliers apprehensive. By observing the mistakes of other fast food chains, Burger King forged a strategy that has proved successful. Brazil has been one of Burger King’s fastest growing markets.This strategy can be summarized in five parts: ( 1) develop an infrastructure before putting in restaurants, ( 2) develop a local management team, ( 3) focus development on major cities and adjacent geographies with established shopping mall location, prevalent in Brazil’s largest cities, instead of the whole country, ( 4) establish a local office, and ( 5) support continuous development and the use of local suppliers that meet Burger King’s global specifications(Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011).Typically Burger King does not set regional restaurant support center for smaller markets or those where all the restaurants are franchised. Management deemed a Brazilian office necessary because of Brazil’s size (in bo th area and population), its language barrier (Portuguese), and the magnitude of investment that suppliers and franchisees would eventually need to make. From the beginning the office served to demonstrate the company’s market commitment and to handle early supply- chain procurement and management (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011).Burger King’s success in Brazil based on this model has encouraged management to use the same strategy for expansion into Russia. It has offices in Moscow, where initial penetration is planned. In fact, duplication of the successful Brazilian strategy may be even more important for Russia because Burger King lacks the same pre- entry brand recognition that it had in Brazil (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011). Conclusion Burger King has many opportunities for expansion, in particular opportunities in foreign countries.Despite its more recent international growth, Burger King still operates in less than 40 percent of the world’s co untries. Burger King faces the challenge of indentifying and deciding which locations are best suited for expansion. However, growth for growth’s sake is the mentality of a cancer cell. Burger King needs to engage in strategic expansion and only expand when the circumstances are favorable and demographical requirements have been met. Sources Burger King . (2011, November 10).Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Burger King: http://www. bk. com/en/us/international/index. html Daniels, J. , Radebaugh, L. , & Sullivan, D. (2011). International Business. In J. Daniels, L. Radebaugh, & D. Sullivan, International Business. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Our Commitment to Corporate Governance Our codes and company policies encompass not only our core ethical principles, but specific issues that our employees and business partners face on a day-to-day basis.Our goal is to continuously reinforce our policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the law as well as openness and accountab ility. 1. The core ethical and governance principles of BKC begin at the top. The board sets the â€Å"tone at the top† by promoting an ethical culture that respects and values all employees and stakeholders and encourages compliance with all laws and company policies. 2. As a condition of doing business within the BURGER KING ® system, every approved vendor must comply with the Code of Business Ethics and Conduct for Vendors. 3.We’ve partnered with, and received recognition from, a variety of organizations that share our dedication to being a good corporate citizen and improving our communities around the world. Download this Section of the Corporate Responsibility Report * Did you know? BKC's code of business ethics and conduct guides our commitment to good corporate citizenship everywhere we operate – 74 countries and U. S. territories around the world. * Did you know? Our A+ rating by The Better Business Bureau is Based on our performance related to ethica l business practices.

Phone Hacking Scandal

COMM101 Campbell Burke Student No. 4491002 1) * After the 2005 Royal phone hacking scandal another investigation was launched into phone hacking called operation Weeting. It was announced in January 2011 by the police that a new investigation would be conducted as a result new information. * In April 2011 News International stated that they would pay out compensation and give an official apology to eight cases that involved phone hacking and the breach of privacy, however they would contest all other petitions. After an uproar over the revealed hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone on July 4th 2011 a campaign was launched on social media sites to get advertises to drop the newspaper. During the following days News of the World would decide to stop being printed after the July 10th issue. 2) One party affected were the number of victims of the illegal phone hacking including celebrities, politicians, law enforcement officials, solicitors, and the general public. Victims ranged from B ritish soldiers' relatives who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and London terrorist attack victims.Also a number of employees from the News of the World have been arrested, totaling nine at the present, it had also caused several resignations not just from the newspaper but also from the police. Because of the eventual closure of News of the World 200 employees have been laid off. The general public have also been impacted as they have lost the trust of media corporations due to the substantial unethical behaviour of members of a large media corporation. Also another party impacted are business who are involved in media who have gained a bad reputation from just being involved in the same industry as News of the World. 3)I believe the most difficult sentence to write in the ‘Sorry’ advertisement is the line, â€Å"I realise that simply apologising is not enough. † He realises that a simple apology will not solve the problem that drastic measures will have to be taken to resolve the problem and start to mend the ethical reputation of his businesses. That it will take not only time but will cost a lot to repair the damage like the closure of News of the World and the amounts paid for compensation to the victims and the legal costs. By adding that line he is announcing that he is willing to spend the money to repair the damage caused by the phone hacking scandal. ) When unethical behaviour is discovered in a business it is important that it is dealt with as quick as possible not only to minimise the damage it will cause to the reputation of the business but also to stakeholders. For example once the Enron scandal was revealed action should have been taken to protect investors, employees and all stakeholders involved in the business who would suffer from the unethical behaviour of a few people. The quicker you deal with unethical behaviour it demonstrates to the public that you are committed to ethical business, thus gaining the trust of th e public.

Communicable Diseases

Communicable Disease * Keep in mind all have fever, swollen LN, rash etc. Scarlet Fever: * Cause: Group A beta Hemolytic Streptococcus * Spread via direct contact/droplet * May lead to RF * Uvula/pharynx beefy red; tonsils have white exudate, pinpoint lesions on palate * Sandpaper rash * Pastina Sign: hyperpigmentation at joints * TONGUE (white furry white strawberry strawberry ) * So throat culture if they have strept/sore throat *** Anybody with a sore throat that comes down to school nurse- do not send them back to class, have them sent for throat culture *** Varicella: Infectious before rash and until vesicles crust * kid cant go back to school until vesicles are crusted* Strict isolation (from A. those who haven’t had varicella vaccine B. < 12months of age) * ACUTE PHASE: maculopapular rash turns to vesicle with erythematous base oozes and crusts * Itchy scratch spread/2nd infection * @ Risk for Reye’s Syndrome * Itchiness – give Benadryl * PREVENTION vac cinate Rubeola: (measles) * Koplik spots ( white circumscribed in red in mouth) * May have photophobia – wear sunglasses * PREVENTION: MMR Rubella: * Fever is not marked Birth defects if mother exposed in first trimester * **Tylenol for (fever, pain, H/A) * ISOLATE FROM PREGNANT WOMEN Roseola Infantum: * HHV6 * Rash appears AFTER a DECLINE in fever * At risk for febrile seizures-manage temperature Erythema Enfectiosum: – ISOLATE FROM PREGNANT WOMAN EVEN IF OWN CHILD HAS IT. CAN NOT BE AROUND MOM -â€Å"5th Disease† – spread via droplet, no specific TX -Stage I – â€Å"slap cheek† 1-120days may last; Stage III- RECURRENCE of rash (with exercise temperature change etc) Impetigo:* Group A beta hemolytic STREPT, STAPH AUREUS * Insect bite Contact isolation as long as vesicle present * Lesion begin as honey color serum then yellow to brown crusts * Complication: postreptococcal glomerulonephritis (decrease urine, change color) * Culture vesicle * Children should remain home from school and daycare fo 48 hours until on antibiotics or lesions r dry * PREVENTION: handwashing, child should not touch lesion, don’t share towel etc Pediculosis: * Preschooler at increased risk * All socioeconomic classes * Pedicclosis vs. Dandruff (* can brush dandruff out; ped. Stays in hair when brushing) * Nit ( egg) louse (insect) DO NO JUMP FORM HEAD TO HEAD, spread via direct contact * Part hair, magnify to Dx * Shampoo, disinfect sheets with HOT water, teach not to exchange combs, headgear Scabies: * Happen to anyone* Burrow – leaves debris under skin * Cleanliness is NOT protection * Scabacide Q12h- apply everywhere besides genitalia and face Parastic Infections * Roundworm (GI); Hookworm (human feces); Pinworm (cecum) * PINWORMS: cause intense itching- child doesn’t wash hands- touches door knob etc. * PINWORMS: may be dosplayed as ADHD problem; so itchy PINWORM: Dx by anal scotch tape=lay eggs in anal tissue, examined then by microscope * PINWORM: Vermox; Tx all household members Fungal: Tinea Cruris: jock itch Tinea Pedis: athlete foot Tinea Capitus: ringworm Tinea Corporis: skin ( to tx these use po griseofulvin or OTC fungal cream) Conjunctivitis: -inclusion (newborn), allergic (in response to allergn), gonorrheal (infant passing thru birth canal), bacterial (self limiting, HIGHLY contagious), or via foreign obj (metal) – TX Edema: cold compress; Tx crust: warm compress; don’t want to lay there with warm compress b/c bacterial growth, child don’t rub eyesImmunologic Dysfunction (ANEMIA) * *Incidence: most common hematologic D/O child * *Etiology: decrease reticulocyte count and Hgb * effects amount of Hgb available to carry O2 * activity intolerance: pallor, no energy, fatigue **Takes a while for H&H to decrease so this wouldn’t be first s/s * anemia develops slowly * will have increased HR and cardiac output to compensate * cluster care, frequent rest periods, safety (SICKLE CELL ANEMIA) * defective Hgb molecule that changes RBC shape to sickle cell * PAIN extremeeeeee CRISIS: Sickle cells destroyed by spleen – tangle- hypoxia – tissue eschemia – necrosis * Most common in African American * Decreased life span * Each person has different thing that causes crisis ( weather, temperature, elevation) * S/s develop after 6months because up to 6month fetal Hgb is in use * Crisis Long Term Complications: Heart, lung, kidney brain changes; blood becomes thicker each time * CVA # 1 cause death (complication) b/c cerebral occlusion * 4 crisis: 1.Vaso-occlusive = tangled cells; 2. Aplastic =decreased bone marrow, infection; 3. Acute Sequestration Crisis= massive entrapment of RBC in spleen, hypovolemic shock; 4. Hemolytic = combo glucose 6 and sickle cell * No labs are definitive * No cure†¦treat s/s * Pain control keep hydrated keep away from things that cause crisis * Dx: peripheral smear * Assess all body parts * Monite r I&O, weigh pt

Discussion 1, Debits and Credits, Discussion 2 , Accural-based Essay

Discussion 1, Debits and Credits, Discussion 2 , Accural-based Financial Statemets - Essay Example DQ2 The main difference between a cash based accounting system and accrued based accounting system is that the cash based system recognizes income when cash is received, while an accrued based system recognizes income when goods and services are shipped or when services are rendered. In an accrued based the income that is not collected at the point of sale becomes an account receivable. I would recommend the use of a cash based system for small businesses such as a hot dog vendor. The hot dog vendor is dependent on his weekly income to keep the business going. Big corporations are better suited for the use of accrued based accounting. In the service industry it is not uncommon to invoice bills payable net 30 or net 60. The account receivable and account payable ledgers are very important for companies and they can only be created through the use of accrued based accounting.

Romania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Romania - Essay Example The Revolution in Romania in 1989 led to scores of deaths and put an end to Communist rule in Romania. Ceausescu and his wife were summarily produced before a sham court, declared guilty of mass murder, sentenced and executed by the end of 1989. If we step away from these incidents and look at the years preceding, we will see that till 1947 Romania was truly liberal in its politics and economic organization. During the next twelve years Soviet style government was imposed on Romania and the party's dictates had to be followed, The Securitate (police) was at the centre of a net of covert Russian style security system created to keep a watch on even private lives of people, this was later to be exploited by Ceausescu. The activities of the Church were restricted and in its stead, mass organizations were put into place mainly to harness public opinion. Stalinist style planning was introduced and industrial production tended to lean more toward heavy machinery rather than goods for mass consumption. Artists and writers were expected to express the views of the State. Everything Soviet was eulogized and emulated. But, Romanians did not sympathize with this regime. This resistance led to the imposition of COMECON and the Warsaw Treaty Organization, created to counter the military and economic influence of the Western Allies. Increasing disenchantment with Communist Russia and the emergence of Romanian national Communism led to a relatively liberal period during the 1960's when curbs on artists were relaxed and health care and social benefits were introduced along with interactions with the United States. This situation even led to the "declaration of independence" by the Romanian Communist Party m albeit still under the basic Communist structure. Nicolae Ceausescu continued with this 'liberal' trend disallowing Warsaw Pact military maneuvers in Romania and really showed his fangs when he suddenly advocated a return to rigid orthodoxy when once again, private life was intruded on and the supremacy of the Party was above all. 2 In his 24 years in power Ceausescu attempted to spread Communism through his ban on abortion from the 1960's. This was supposed to increase the Communist population to over 20 million by the beginning of the second millennium. To enforce this, a clampdown was imposed on abortions and the use of contraceptives coupled with a law stating that each couple has at least five children. Monetary rewards were bestowed after the birth of each child and a family with more children would be given 500 lei monthly. The result was that the overwhelming population of children had to be moved to orphanages. Over 100000 million children were inmates of these state run orphanages and living under the threat of imminent disease and abuse. The healthy ones were picked to be trained to join the infamous state police or Securitate and the frail were left to their own fate in filthy conditions m uncared for and unwanted.3 In conclusion it should be mentioned that after Ceausescu's execution, these orphanages were visited by journalists and then the impact of the calamity was really felt. But nothing much has been done about these orphanages - the children continue to remain there under terrible conditions and inadequate medical care. With

Illinois Risk Mangement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Illinois Risk Mangement - Essay Example This paper has addressed these similarities as well as the differences. In its findings, it was established that the University has a different approach when it comes to the amount of risks it can handle from that of the Illinois government. Overall, one will realize that there are more similarities than differences in these two mainly because they both have people to care for and guarantee both safety and security. The business world is one that is more dependent on a businessperson’s level of knowledge coupled with their ability or willingness to apply it. Because of the unpredictability rife in almost every business, there are several measures taken to either eliminate any risk or mitigate them where they become inevitable. A Risk Management (RM) program is vital for corporate and other institutions to speculate and subsequently plan for the ever-present risks. Often, an institution might still incur losses if the RM program was not properly organized or if there is no clear continuity plan. Because the risks vary with institutions, the RM programs tend to differ. In this paper, a comparison of Illinois and Chicago State University’s RM programs has been done. Chicago State University (CSU) is a learning institution based in Chicago in the state of Illinois that offers several courses to students from all backgrounds. Its major risks include fire, natural calamities, and theft of vital learning equipment and injuries that might occur to students. On the other hand, the government of Illinois (GI) is tasked with providing crucial services to the state’s residents. This onus comes with ensuring that some incidents likely to cause loss of properties or lives are well mitigated. In short, both the CSU and GI have a somewhat similar duty. Both have people to whom security and safety has to be assured. The following section will compare and contrast the two institutions concerning the RM. Worth noting, every RM program foresees risks faced by a firm or

Western Art and Contemporary Chinese Painting Essay

Western Art and Contemporary Chinese Painting - Essay Example The essay "Western Art and Contemporary Chinese Painting" examines to what extent has contemporary Chinese painting been influenced western art both abstract and representational. The art prevailing in different areas of the world have numerous distinct factors as well as traits in common. The Chinese painting is a distinguished sector in World Art which contemporarily has innovations of western art in it. Investigation on the matter becomes significant for the academics on World Art as contemporary sector is in flourish nowadays. The people in China attached to Chinese painting demonstrate the mix of traditionalism from Chinese as well as western. Aesthetics of a nation is something that has substantial traits of entire evolution of the cultural setup of the society. Study on the topic necessitates prior identification of both traditions and the tools and techniques used in those specifically. The characteristics are recognized for them followed by analysing market for the same. The history leads researchers to remember renowned names from the field which resulted in the comparison of their works. Influences are offered by Chinese as well as western mutually which is seen in the contemporary works of both sectors. As an overall fact, real time boom in Chinese painting is being recognized through the study on the matter. Many of the current artists from China adopt complete western approach for their paintings rather than a merge of Chinese and western. Though it is accepted widely, this trend can ruin.

Holmgren Engineering Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Holmgren Engineering - Case Study Example The company manufactures water storage products with pressure heating systems. The product range of the firms comprises of five models that has low variation in design such as the storage capacity and dimensions. The company employs a current process of batching production orders in a layout that is jumbled and disarranged. The production engineering head has made a proposal to the top management to change the process into a one-piece flow approach, redesign the facilities layout into a U-shaped assembly line, and transform the orientation into a make-to-order process. The benefits of the proposed changes will make the company achieve its goal of cost advantage, process simplification and inventory management. Also, the implementation of the changes will free up space in the shop floor which would create an opportunity for the company to extend the product line or expand the capacity of the production. Holmgren Engineering is a manufacturing company with core competencies in developing, manufacturing, and selling of water storage systems that include main pressure heating system. The products are marketed and sold under Hetvatten Plus trademark. The product range includes five models with different storage capacities, dimensions and dwelling type usage. Holmgren Engineering has evolved from a humble heating engineering firm, started by its founder Benny Holmgren, into a full service manufacturing company under the umbrella of Karlsson Invest conglomerate. The current CEO is John Svensson. Peter Wiklund is the production engineering head who made proposals and recommendations for changes in the current operations process. This report will initially examine the current operations process used by Holmgren Engineering. The key features of the current process will be discussed and evaluated according to their advantages and disadvantages. It will then examine the key changes of the proposal made by Wiklund. His proposal is the re-engineering of the process which would create a U-shaped production layout employing a one-piece flow orientation. Introduction of make-to-order approach was recommended by Wiklund alongside the new process. The costs on new investments and benefits that the company will gain from the proposal will be analysed. Several factors are identified that would be carefully managed in order to successfully implement the changes and will be discussed in the latter part of the report. Conclusions and recommendations in the last part will summarise the report in a nutshell. Discussion/Analysis of Case Questions 1. Examine the current operations process used by Holmgren Engineering. Explain the key features of this way of making products. The current process of producing boilers in Holmgren Engineering is called batch process. Batching is the approach of producing goods in groups or lots of similar products made on the same equipment. Batching method is efficient for medium volume products with medium variability. The method utilises specialised equipment and skilled people. Holmgren Engineering's products, which have small deviation in designs of five models and medium amount of demand, more fit the requirements of the batching process. The operations process involves four principal sub-assemblies of copper body, top tank, galvanised casing and the electrical unit. These sub-assemblies are produced in various tasks, systems and equipments.

Hot Wheels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hot Wheels - Essay Example The Hot Wheels website offers numerous video advertising spots depicting products such as an attacking octopus racetrack, a racetrack that purposely brings cars together to crash, skateboarding figures, a working radar gun and a racing timer. Each of these activities may be equally attractive to girls as they are to boys. Go to any cross country meet and you will find usually more girls running than boys – a fact that indicates girls may be just as interested in toys such as the racing timer to stage their own competitions or the radar gun to clock their speed. BMX and skateboard parks are usually populated with a relatively even mix of female and male participants, yet there isn’t even a hint of them associated with the skateboarding toys. Women are now even able to race in NASCAR. All of the commercials available illustrate that the toys are intended to be used by boys only. In each commercial featuring children, the children are invariably all male. Even in the octopus racetrack, when a crowd of people is shown at the end of the pier, there are no recognizable female figures among the children and adults fleeing the scene. These commercials are so exclusively male that there aren’t even any girls watching the action, such as standing at the sidelines of an impromptu race.

Sanlu milk powder Essay Example for Free

Sanlu milk powder Essay Consequentialism, as its name suggests, is the view that normative properties depend only on consequences. This general approach can be applied at different levels to different normative properties of different kinds of things, but the most prominent example is consequentialism about the moral rightness of acts, which holds that whether an act is morally right depends only on the consequences of that act or of something related to that act, such as the motive behind the act or a general rule requiring acts of the same kind. Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes utility, usually defined as maximizing total benefit and reducing suffering or the negatives. It also makes classic utilitarianism subject to attack from many angles. Persistent opponents posed plenty of problems for classic utilitarianism. Each objection led some utilitarians to give up some of the original claims of classic utilitarianism. By dropping one or more of those claims, descendants of utilitarianism can construct a wide variety of moral theories. Advocates of these theories often call them consequentialism rather than utilitarianism so that their theories will not be subject to refutation by association with the classic utilitarian theory. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Corporate social responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (SRB), or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Milton Friedman and others have argued that a corporations purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders, and that since only people can have social responsibilities, corporations are only responsible to their shareholders and not to society as a whole. They assert that corporations have no other obligation to society. (Freeman, 1984) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) essentially requires companies to conduct business beyond compliance with the law and beyond shareholder wealth maximization. It suggests that companies should do more than they are obligated under applicable laws governing product safety, environmental protection, labor rights, human rights, community development, corruption, and so on; it also suggests that companies should consider not only the interests of shareholders but also those of other stakeholders (e. g. , employees, consumers, suppliers, and local communities). CSR requires companies to provide not only the quantity of goods, services, and employment but also the quality of life for those whose interests are affected by corporate activities. (Carroll, 2008). Facing the challenge, in order to protect and expand the market, on one hand improve the Sanlu milk purchase cost, on the other hand, through the continuous low prices, unfair competition and reduce the product quality. At the same time, Sanlu Company launched the infant formula milk powder or occupation of the rural market, adding excipient, is as high as 40%. If the production in accordance with national quality standards enterprises not only profits, but also serious losses. Vicious competition led to price higher than the cost, one of the value and price inversion phenomenon is the direct cause of Sanlu milk powder incident. (Wu, 2007) Rethink of Corporate Social Responsibility by Sanlu Milk Incident Ethic problems in Sanlu Incident have the following aspects: (1) Ethic relationship between the enterprise and the government; (2) Ethic relationship between the enterprise and the competitors; (3) Ethic relationship between the enterprise and the consumers; (4) Ethic relationship among the enterprise, consumers, and government. The analysis is made step by step as follows.

Philosophy In Aristophanes Play The Clouds Philosophy Essay

Philosophy In Aristophanes Play The Clouds Philosophy Essay Aristophanes play The Clouds is a play that is very intricate and in many ways speaks to the nature of mankind. It is a play that makes comments on the thoughts of the time period, predominantly comments towards philosophy. The plot of this story involves a father and his son. The father, Strepsiades, is a wealthy man, but is soon to no longer be a wealthy man if he does not do something about his situation. His situation is primarily that which involves his son. The father is in great debt at the beginning of the story because of the reckless and frivolous nature of the son Phidippides. The father is at a loss at the beginning of the play, not knowing what to do about all his debts. The father then hears about the Thinking shop where people get together and learn the art of argument in relationship to the field of philosophy. The father sees this as a form of hope for his problems. He think that if he can learn the art of persuasive argument he can pull one over on his creditors and come out ahead in the long run. Unfortunately, the father soon finds that he has no gift for learning the art of argument. He is a lost cause at the school and he is deemed too stupid to really be taught this fine art. He then sends his son to the school hoping his son could learn and then argue against the creditors. However, this plan backfires on the father. The son learns to argue incredibly well, he is a natural at it, and he turns his argument towards his father, beating him up and then offering such a logical argument that his father could not complain. However, in the end, when the son claims that he could well argue a reason to beat up his mother, the father becomes enraged and burns down the Thinkery. Aspect I find interesting in Aristophanes The Clouds, is the fact that even though its obvious Aristophanes is preaching to readers a more non-religious message of the importance of truthfulness, civic responsibility, and virtue, the play takes on a religious tone. In doing some background research into why this would be, I discovered that Aristophanes religious undertones could stem from the fact that Athenians were trying to harmonize science and religion. When new scientific theories were starting to surface and be questioned, many people couldnt even consider them without sounding as if they were committing treason against the state. Aristophanes turns to religion in order to remind his audience that both religion and science have to be equally open to questions, critique, and even in Aristophanes case, satire. This suggestion, that certain things need to be equally suceptable to critique and questions can also be seen through the way that Aristophanes suggests there is both a pr oblem with the accepted model of a well-rounded education, and the newer model brought about by such philopophers as the Sophists. Aristophanes saw the danger in not questioning an accepted theory or belief. Despite the fact I agree with Johnson in that Aristophanes may be a staunch defender of old values, Aristophanes saw that if something widely accepted was left unquestioned for too long, it would become idle. Basically, an idea that I believe should be applied more in the world we live in today. A traditionally accepted theory or belief could lose the exact fundamentals and values it was based on. This play has a very obvious shift in tone as Johnston mention in his essay. in the end of his essay, he mentions the ending Aristophanes chooses for The Clouds. I fall into the group that Johnson says, see that this powerful ominous ending as a persuasive possibility. As Johnson says, Aristophanes traps his audience; theyre engaged because of the humor and satircal nature of the beginning of the play. We can laugh at someone, like Socrates, that we have nothing in common with. But as the satire gets closer and closer to us with Strepsiades burning down the Thinkery, it becomes obvious that the audience is no longer laughing at Socrates, with whom we have nothing in common, but rather at the vision of the people we could become if we engage behavior motivated by self-interest. Ironically, as Johnson points out, Aristophanes was correct in his warnings. Athens did fall due to its own self-destruction. I find it interesting and a little bit scary because I believe we could apply this ominous warning to our own nation. We are guilty, just as the Athenians were, of sometimes being too proud of our political independence. I believe wars, like that in Iraq, could lead to our demise. Even more obvious to me is the fact that I definitely believe we are losing sight of our traditional moral virtues. Americans find it so easy to point the finger, and refuse to examine our own beliefs, trying to impose them on others that may not be able to survive our view of what democracy or freedom should be. I find it morally questionable that we centralize our efforts thousands of miles away when we have so many problems that have the potential to be our end looming within the borders of our own country. Strepsiades is pointing forward to much of the self-destructiveness which brought the Athenians, and countless other cultures proud of their values, to grief, Johnson says. I believe many of our leaders and citizens could never forsee a fate like this in America but it is that belief that has the potential to bring us off our self inflicted pedestal. Another interesting point Johnson brings to our attention is his warning in the problem of how do we keep the good will of our children on whom we are going to depend? What is it that keeps children from exerting their superior power to abuse their parents when they dont get their way? I believe that this breakdown of the immediate family is prevalent in our modern-day society. While its a bit different than what Johnson is suggesting, never before in history, has our lack of respect and concern for those who came before us been so obvious. Unfortunately, I cant think of a family who has a sick grandparent or other elder member of their family living in their home. Nursing homes and hospitals have become a place where we can tuck them away so as not to have to forfeit any aspect of our lives in order to help preseve theirs. If we forget and turn a blind eye to traditions formerly viewed as important in our society, we run the risk of as Johnson puts it, being left with a situation in which the only basis for human relationship is power. Power is the basis for all of our accepted laws and behaviors, if that for some reason shifts, so would the laws. Then, as Johnson suggets, a son would be free to harm his parents. Aristophanes does have somewhat of a different view of justice than Socrates. Whereas I believe Aristophanes is concerned more with governmental consequences of actions and adoption of certain beliefs that could be considered treason, Socrates believes that consequences will come not in his lifetime, but rather after his death. In The Apology, Socrates speaks of death as more of an unknown something he cant be afraid of, because he doesnt understand what it means. In Socrates eyes, death has the potential to be something great, as long as a person lives a good and virtuous life. Aristophanes, on the other hand, seems to be more concerned with what his peers and leaders will think of him and do to him and others, if they commit some sort of a crime. Aristophanes paints a potrait of death as more of an end, rather than having the potential to be a beginning. Comedic satire and philosophical dialectic are similar in that they are both practices of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical (and in the case of satire, funny) arguments. In the dialectic, its by presenting a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis, and combining and resolving them into a coeherent synthesis, and in satire its by attacking human vice through irony and wit. In the case of Aristophanes, he urges the people of Athens to make changes through his satirical play. This play is essentially can be piece of work which we can applicable to our own world. When we do not take time to check practices and beliefs, we have the potential to lose our value and what we thought important at the beginning. Even though people at that time would have just watched the play and laughed about it, Aristophanes actually aimed for very serious warning. A nation too proud and too sure in its own beliefs and politics has proven through history, never to work. We sometimes dont try or refuse our time to examine our belief and value. If we do not set our moral goals and hopes, one day we can have the same problem as Athenian has suffered. .

Role of Tourism in Economic Development

Role of Tourism in Economic Development All sectors of the economy play an important role in making a stable and long running development. Tourism is one of the sectors which plays an important role in development and also generates foreign revenues. This sector is peaceful and reflects the nature and beauty of the country. It helps people of far flung areas to promote their culture and norms, it also provide opportunity to country to make a better image around the world. There are many issues this sector is facing nowadays and the popularity of this sector is sliding down day by day means that people is not ready to make tours because of many problems and threats to security and life. Several studies and researches have been conducted on this tourism and its relation to development of economy and also that how can we promote this sector? How can we create better image to world and also what measures we can use to maximize the development? Michael Hitchcock (2004) had explained that tourism and culture have a deep relation. Culture is based on originality, authority, authenticity and many more. Tourists are attracted by such types of factors, he says that invest and reinvest is not modernization and its the human culture that remain there for a long time. Tradition is invested and process goes on its known as constructivist. Cultural transmission is not an authentic option, reproduction is not renew it have its own originality. We should make a clear difference in between the reproduction and originality. In order to save the cultural heritage and to attract tourists he says that culture should bi neat and original. Mohamed Tangi (1977) had conducted a research that Mediterranean handles one-third of world tourism that has damaged the environment of that region due to many factors. He says that Greece, Spain, Cyprus these countries are visited more and the environment is quite hurt for dense tourism to these areas. The natural sites are reduced due to excessive construction for tourists and visitors. Tourism and environment are two parallels that move together, tourism mainly depends on environment along other factors, world is facing huge and fast rising in pollution as more tourism is rising in world. Environment can be man-made, natural or cultural in nature, all have effects on tourism and vice versa, cultural environment includes art, religion and human relations, which can be effected or disturbed by tourism. The countries which are rich in these factors can attract more tourists to their region; tourists may introduce new ways or styles to the places, which can be waste or injurious to th e visited destination. He explained few alternative strategies or development policies to promote tourism to the region. It includes the land use planning, expand and construct islands, holidays and pricing policy, facilities to tourists, anti-pollution and policies, training and information to locals, rules and codes of conduct. Using these and promoting these strategies country can raise its tourism level and also promote development in the region. Tourism will be based on co-operation and planning in the future world, united nation environmental program and world tourism organization both are working and have to play an active role in tourism promotion and protection. Barry Liddle (1989) had explained that tourism is helpful for local government to have a better economy and development. Presently it is the leading sector of the world and it will be stronger in future. Tourism can be of many types i.e. for leisure, work and business or for any purpose. Here industrial tourism is important type of tourism that can generate much information and knowledge. It further has an option that modern industrial tourism means that companies choose a day and at that day they arrange a proper tour to their company or exhibition. They also provide the full tourists facilities to visitors, so to make them feel comfortable. The industrial tours can be updated to local and national level to boost the economy, audit, local, central government and different councils should step in to make this type of tourism better and popular. Erik Cohen (1984) had made a research that there are not much empirical studies in tourism economy, so this is required as we are moving into new and fast world. There are four main principles in tourism i.e. tourist that based upon his motivations, attitudes, role and reaction in response to others actions, the ideas, thinking and relationship of the locals and tourist matters in this sector, the structure and infrastructure of tourism system is an important part that can help it to flourish, the better the system the better will be the outcomes and economic and social impact from tourism to visited destinations. Tourism is based on culture that helps this industry to develop and become a helping hand to economy. More empirical study is needed to merge it with theory and provide world more information about this sector in a systematic way. Amanda Stonza (2001) has explained in the article that tourism is mainly divided into two parts i.e. origins of tourism and impacts of tourism and the main problem is that tourism origins is only concerned with tourists and foreigners, while the impacts are only related to local public. The two halves provide different meaning and together they also only provide partial meanings not full, so origins of tourism should include the local public that how they can attract tourists? How they can promote the tourism in their region? Same is the case with the impacts of tourism; it should include the tourists who are willing to visit the particular places in world. What are the changes that have occurred in tourist after the trip? Origins and impacts both should be positive then the countrys social, cultural and economical conditions will be develop and their tourism sector will grow in a positive manner. Janette Deacon (2006) explains tourism as an important sector of economy and also throws light on not so important type of tourism i.e. rock art conversation. This type of tourism is known as cultural or heritage tourism, cultural or heritage sites are main reasons behind the tourism in most Asian nations like China, India, Pakistan and SriLanka. Rock art conversation is famous in African nations, this tourism is in Africa but its not on large scale. Many ways are discussed to promote rock art conversation tourism so we can save it for vanishing from world. Factors that promote all types of tourism including this rock art conversation is training, skills, education guidelines, security, interests, attractions and many more. These factors will help tourism economy to expand that can create a better image of countrys tourism sector around the globe. International council on monuments and sites and international cultural tourism charter are two major sources to save and promote rock art conversation in tourism sector. Agha Iqrar Haroon (2002) had explained that sustainable tourism can be achieved by working together with the local public sites that can be visited. Ecotourism in Pakistan is not working in a proper manner and Pakistan is not even near to sustainable tourism. In the northern areas 70% of economy is in hands of big businessmen that belong to other provinces and only 30% are in hands of local public. This local public has to survive on daily basis wages and all this is due to big businessmen have share of 70% from revenues and they also have support of tourism companies and government either local or federal. Local public is ignored in framing the policies and sharing the generated revenues, the big businessmen can provide imported facilities to foreigners that the locals are failed to do so. These acts have a negative impact on the employment and on living and earnings of local public of those northerner areas, so government should take few daring steps to save the public from exploit ation from these wealthy investors. Government can invest in these areas, can ensure participation , secure future of local public, share more revenues to locals, heavy tax should be imposed on wealthy businessmen, irrelevant construction should be discouraged, local goods should be used that will generate profits and employment in region, training and guidance to public of concerned area. By doing all these actions our northern areas can be a top place to visit and Pakistan can achieve a sustainable and healthy development in tourism sector. Dean Maccannell (2002) says that tourism is faster growing sector and it has relations to the non-economic factors. Ego factor counts a lot in tourism that personal behavior about tourism and travel, tourism is dependent on the classical and touristy experimental commodity. Ownership and attraction are non-economic factors in tourism or travel, tourism can promote opportunity, preservation and care of cultural heritage will promote tourism and theses are the main factors along the other factors that help to make a stable growth in this fast expanding sector. In short the human ego and the attractions to tourist sites are important factor for development of tourism economy of any country. Yoel Mansfeld (1994) conducted a survey on the tourism in Middle East and what are the major factors that have reduced the tourism to the region of world? In 1980s average growth rate of world for tourism is 6.2% and for Middle East it is 5.9% approx. Turkey and Greece also suffers from the conflict in Middle East between Israel and Palestine. Author also explains that international tourism is main source for developing countries to generate revenues, boost economy, creates jobs and much more. All these things will help them develop and achieve stability. Security situation has a huge impact on tourism around the globe and especially in Middle East that how much Israel suffered? How much other Arab and non-Arab nations have to face decline in their tourism? War or conflict between the Arabs and Israel is major threat to tourism in Middle East. Spill over effects are major in world tourism that if one country suffers from security threats her neighbor will also have to face the conseq uences being a neighbor. Spill over effects will determine their market strategies it means that how well you handle the pressure which is upon you due to disturbance in your neighbor country to save tourism industry of your country? Nowadays terrorism is main threat to world and especially in Middle East as the war is on in that region. So world have to sit together to find a safe and easy solution to this security threats and terrorism to save the tourism industry. Peter Murphy et al. (1989) along with his partner conducted a research that tourism is indirectly related to natural disasters, but this combination is rarely seen in world. Recently the two such cases are occurred one at Mount St. Helen eruptions in 1980 and the second is East Kootenay forest fires in 1985. These two areas are hit by natural calamity and that also effects the tourism ratio in these regions. In first case 30% decline is showed and in second case millions of dollars loss is shown. Along the natural calamity the man-made disasters also are common in world i.e. terrorism and other security threats to world tourism, the event of hijacking of Achille Lauro in 1985 have effected the tourism in Mediterranean region. Disaster planning have for main stages i.e. assessment, warning, impact and recovery, impact and recovery are two main stages that have more effects on tourism. Media coverage plays an important role that how media will post image to world? If the coverage is po sitive then recovery will be faster and if the coverage is negative then problem grows double and tourism will be badly disturbed. So nation should always be prepare for disasters and disaster management authorities should be at standby to handle the problem and also can save tourism industry. Eric Neumayer (2004) used the fix effects panel estimators and dynamic generalized method in this research on small sample size of countries to find the effects of tourism. His main focus is on political violence and other acts that can effect the tourism economy. Tourists always look and prefer the safe sites for tour and they are not ready to take risk for enjoyment. Democratic regimes are more successful in handling the violence pressure and autocratic regimes are not able to cope with the violence that can harm tourism sector. Hall (2004) says that political stability and safety are prerequisites for a healthy tourism in country, the world faced a downstream in tourism economy since 2000-01 and developing countries are more effected, whereas Europe and U.S.A is still the most visited place in world. Terrorism in Greece, Turkey and conflict in between Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and others have a negative impact on tourism. Other nations of the region is also effected by the disturbanc e in region, they are facing a decline in tourism sector. As told above that developing nations are more hurt from this political violence and security threats to tourism sector, it took them years to correct their image in front of world. Huge loss in foreign revenues and decline in their gross domestic product is hurting them badly. So few steps are requires to save this peaceful sector from violence and disturbance. Dinah Payne et al. (1996) creates an ethical model for tourism industry that it is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world; it contributes much to GDP of country. Local community and environment is mostly kept outside from planning and management around the world. Local public should be included in the decision making and then it will helpful to all other factors in the tourism industry i.e. justice, integrity, competence and utility are the four main pillars that can help to create codes of ethics. Ethics is required in tourism sector to make it move at smooth pace and this is basic factor that is helpful in tourism. Research shows the absence of ethics from the tourism industry, environment, community tourists and employees are the main factors that are required to enhance them more in tourism sector. The more will be the ethics the more will be the public and tourists interaction. Few suggestions are that local public should not be ignored, they should be more hospit able to tourists, they must save environment from destruction and list goes on. Codes should be followed in nice manner and that will be beneficial for the public and to tourism sector of country. So this ethics is much needed factor today in tourism industry to make it more attractive and peaceful.

Americas Involvement in the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War American

America's Involvement in the Vietnam War Vietnam is a time in American history that most of us would like to forget, but really, we must learn from it. Vietnam is a time where we didn't look at the whole picture, it was 'perceived through the lens of Cold War politics.' (MP:420) With the new ?domino theory,? Americans feared for their safety and the safety of the 'free world.' If they didn't step in, they would inevitably lose the world to communism. Many Americans believed our involvement in Vietnam began around 1965?the beginning of combat with American boys. In reality, engagement began much earlier, around 1945. The US supported France and rejected to recognize the Vietnamese nationalists as an actually body. The leader of the Vietnamese nationalists was Ho Chi Mihn and he was known as a communist. Our reasons for supporting France, more or less, reflected our foreign policy: containment. Post-WWII, our main focus was to contain Communism, as seen through the Truman. Doctrine. ?Truman and his advisors, who saw Communism as a monolithic force, assumed wrongly that Ho took orders from Moscow.? (AP:897) Because they believed that Ho had a connection with Communist Russia, the US wanted to support the more democratic side. American showed its support in aiding over 3/4 of the cost of France?s war. In 1954, France?s fortress at Dien Bien Phu finally fell to Ho?s forces and France asked America to step in. An international conference in ...

Dispelling the Myths of Ageism Essay -- Age Discrimination in Western

Ageism is prejudice in which people are categorized and judged solely on the basis of their chronological age (Berger, 2008). Our western culture has embedded ageism into our everyday lives, and we may not be able to identify the ageist behavior when it occurs. Older adults are frequently given negative labels such as senile, sad, lonely, poor, sexless, ill, dependent, demented, and disabled. (McGuire, Klein, Shu-Li, 2008) It is inevitable that we will experience decline in physical and mental capacities. However, the timing, quality, and degree of the aging process are highly variable and very different for each individual. General assumptions and stereotypes about aging are harmful to individual senior adults and do not benefit society. After World War II ended in 1945, veterans returned home to get married and start families which resulted in a â€Å"baby boom.† This generation, which has been dubbed â€Å"Baby Boomers,† was born between 1946 and 1964. In 2011 this generation will begin to reach age 65, which is a pivotal age for senior adults. In 2050, the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to be 88.5 million, more than double its projected population of 40.2 million in 2010. The baby boomers are largely responsible for this increase in the older population, as they will begin crossing into this category in 2011. (US Census Bureau, 2010). With our population shifting to an older demographic, ageism will weigh heavily on our society and the importance of researching, discussing and finding solutions to ageism will come to the forefront. By definition, ageism is a form of discrimination that can occur at any age. However, it is the senior population that has been distressed the most. Only a few of the man... ...70802042123. Palmore, E. (2004). Research note: Ageism in Canada and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 19(1), 41-46. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. Palmore, E. (2005). Three decades of research on ageism. Generations, 29(3), 87-90. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. Ryan, E., Jin, Y., Anas, A., & Luh, J. (2004). Communication beliefs about youth and old age in Asia and Canada. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 19(4), 343-360. doi:10.1023/B:JCCG.0000044688.27282.7b. US Census Bureau (2010), The next four decades: The older population in the United States 2010 to 2050, Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p25-1138.pdf Zhou, L. (2007). What college students know about older adults: A cross-cultural qualitative study. Educational Gerontology, 33(10), 811-831. doi:10.1080/03601270701364545.

Automobiles and the Environment

In his book Restless Nation: Starting Over in America, James Jasper (2002) explores the comfort Americans derive from the auto industry and its consequential effects to the environment. Jasper (2002) argues that one of the main reasons why American are restless and moves more than any other people in the world is presence of automobiles and cheap gas in the country.Since the starting of the auto industry in the beginning of the 20th century, automobiles have been surrounded with controversy and conspiracy. It has been argued that unethical practices and conspiracy between oil and automobile industry has brought the world to an environmental mess in a less than one century but it will take more than one century to reverse the trend.Since their invention, automobiles have had various negative impacts to the environment.   With little consideration of the way you perceive the relationship between the environment and automobiles, there are negative aspects right from the manufacturing process to the end mess which is piled in the junkyards.  Whether in terms of energy usage, air pollution, water pollution, there is an obvious negative impact to the environment. Referring to statistics, it is evident that automobiles have had greater negative impact to United States and other countries around the world.More than two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and one aspect contributing to this trend is reduced physical exercise and increase use of automobiles. U.S consumers account for more than 25% of the world’s energy production while it produces only 10% of world energy which means cars and light trucks contribute to higher energy consumption. Automobiles therefore consumer resources and emit pollution affected our health. All the way from manufacturing process to the end of life cycle of that car, automobiles affect the environment in various ways.Research questionThe following will be the research questions that will guide the study:a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã ‚  Ã‚   Historically, how have automobiles affected our culture?b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In which ways, has automobiles affected the environment?c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What can be done to reverse the trend?Driving our way to pollutionIn his book, James Jasper (2002) exposes the impact of automobile on lives of Americans. On average, Americans drive more than any other people in the world, thanks to presence of cheap car, cheap gas, and capitalism. He asserts that automobile is not just an asset in the modern life but it is a part of emerging world culture. Time has elapse when owning an automobile was a preserve for the rich and today, it has become a basic necessity (McCarthy, 2007).At the peak of growth of the industry in 1920s, Henry Ford embarked on a major campaign to popularize the use of motor vehicles (Melosi, 2000). His invention of Fordism production system led to mass production of cars enabling the middle class Americans to own cars.   The automobile culture grew rapidly and even today, it has become difficult to change this culture (Eban, 2001).   From environmental perspective, this was however an enigma of auto mobility, a paradox difficult to solve.For a long time in the history of the industry, the relationship of automakers and  Ã‚  Ã‚   their customers was not suspicious (Melosi, 2000). However, the second half of the twentieth century came with oil crisis and for once in the course of the century, people realized that gas can be costly and fuel efficient cars were important compared to gas guzzlers.At the same time, American government realized the importance of having legislations which regulated consumption of energy in the country (McCarthy, 2007). The Clean Energy Act of 1971 came with devastating effects on American automakers as consumer preferred environmental friendly cars. This culminated in other acts like in California where all cars were required to have zero emission.However, industrial conspiracy between automakers and oil industry orchestrated destruction of several electric cars, killing the dream of environment friendly cars (Melosi, 2000).   More than ever, environment effects of automobiles are evident to everyone  Ã‚   from our polluted cities to junkyard full of old automobiles. However, the world has continued to drive its way to pollution and perhaps eventual extinction of life on earth if not urgent measures are taken.What do we mean by driving our way to environmental pollution? To understand this question well, it is important to review environmental effects of automobiles right from manufacturing process of their end of life cycle.

Focus on Trash Island, Save Our Life Essay

Ignored by humans for decades of years, garbage floating on the ocean has become a trash island. The island consists of plastic bags, cans, tires and other plastic debris. The worse thing is that the trash island is still growing. The seawater in the center of Subtropical Airflow of pacific flows extremely slowly, with the addition of weather patterns, a large amount of garbage gather in this place. Year after year, a trash island has formed, which was called â€Å"the eighth continent†. It consists of four million tons of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris, researchers estimate island area may be twice the size of Texas! (Wikipedia.com) The floating debris can absorb organic pollutants from seawater, and then such debris can be ingested by small fish, which are then eaten by larger fish. Many of these fish are then consumed by humans, resulting in their ingestion of toxic chemicals. (Ballard 2004). Therefore, human life will be threatened by this situation. What should be done to reduce the amount of pollution and garbage building up on trash islands? It is undeniable we should take this problem seriously; otherwise humans will be faced with disaster. After realized how urgent we should clean the trash island, humans did a lot of work, try to diminish it. Once it was a project called â€Å"Project Kaisei†, which devoted to study the ways of cleaning up the trash island. According to the material, in 2009, Project Kaisei embarked on its first expedition to the Pacific Patch. There are two vessels in this trip, one is the â€Å"Kaisei†, and the other is the â€Å"New Horizon†. Each research vessel had a crew of scientists and volunteers on board in order to research the effects that might be occurring as a result of the large amounts of floating debris in this area of ocean. Investigation was carried out for material science, toxicity, invasive species, ecosystem impact and new catch methods to develop ways for removing some of the debris in the future in a larger scale.(projectkaisei.org). Similar projects are taken; scientists and government are trying to find ways to recycle plastic wastes. Project Kaisei drawn out a plan to save the ocean, which will raise about 200 million dollars in the next 18 month, then it will clean up more than 400,000 tons of garbage; those garbage can be decomposed as fuel. The Kaisei Project indeed got a good return, basically it clean up part of the island, however, the island is still growing because those factories never stop dumping plastic waste into the ocean. Take the real situation into consideration, I think the best strategy we should do is to avoid the island growing bigger. Charles Moore, who firstly found â€Å"the eighth continent†, said even cost all the country’s financial resources, and killed a large number of wildlife, it is impossible to clean up the whole trash island in the Pacific Ocean. (Earth Island Journal, 2010). The technology may not be advanced so much that we can’t clean up the whole island at present; moreover, the costs have far exceeded the benefits. I believe we should develop the technology firstly and seek out the most effective and economical process to recycle and resolve the trash. On the other hand, we can take other actions to prevent more debris from inflowing the ocean. And the costs will be much lower than cleaning the island up. Unquestionably the garbage island is a serious issue that worth to think. Prevention may not solve the problem once for all, but it can avoid it getting worse. And it is practical and workable, has a chance to be enacted. Government can encourage entrepreneur to develop green industry; policy can be carried out to close those factories which had high pollution productive process. Research and development department has the ability to improve technology, as a result, the discharge of pollutant will be reduced and eliminated. Communities can contribute by lobbying companies to find environmentally safe alternatives to plastic and formulate reusable packaging. â€Å"International treaties prohibiting dumping at sea must also be enforced, such as prohibiting sewage from being allowed to flow into the ocean, or eliminating the use of plastic bags†(Silverman, 2007). Factories can find a way to reduce the discharge of plastic waste, or they can stop dumping the wasted into the ocean; there must be approach to resolve the waste rather than simply discard them to the sea. With all efforts, the trash island will not bigger any more. Beyond this, our individual should stop dumping plastic wastes into the sea. As an article said, about 80% of the debris comes from land, much of which is plastic bags, bottles and other consumer products as wind â€Å"blows plastic rubbish out of littered streets and landfills where it gets into rivers and storm drains before riding the tides and currents out to sea† (Grant, 2009). Some tourists always think the ocean is â€Å"a big trash dustbin†, they enjoy the scenery as well as drop the trash unconsciously. Environmental protection advertisement, public announcement and collection can be made to wake up the awareness of environmental protection from human. Although it’s hard to persuade those factories to close down their pollution business, the policies still need to be put into effect. It is indeed the most helpful approach to prevent the trash island grow up. At the national level in the United States, authorities like the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 do not specifically mention marine debris, but include standards applicable to the control of land based sources of marine debris (Interagency 2008). The most important thing is, such management can heighten human’s awareness of protecting environmental, constant dropping wears the stone, I believe it will lead a right direction. If we can change our habits, the trash island will not grow. â€Å"Ultimately more plastic recycling and wider use of biodegradable materials is the best hope for controlling these garbage patches† (McLendon, 2010). Without global effort, we cannot successfully control the situation and protect the ocean environment; marine animals and human’s life will be at risk. Changes and actions need to be made, thus we can fix the problem and prevent it from occurring again. In conclusion, reduction of sources and international collaboration for cleanup is the most efficient way to reduce the expansion of the trash island. Work Cited â€Å"Project Kaisei – Capturing the Plastic Vortex.† Project Kaisei – Capturing the Plastic Vortex. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Ballard, K. ―The importance and conservation of Biomes.â€â€" University of California. (2004) â€Å"Great Pacific Garbage Patch. â€Å"Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation . Captain Charles Moore. Earth Island Journal, Aug. 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Silverman,J.(2007,September 19).Why is the World’s Biggest Land fill in the Pacific Ocean Retrieved February13,2012,from HowStuffWorks: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/greatYpacificYgarbageYpatch3.html Grant, R.(2009,April 24).Drowning in plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France.The’Telegraph . Interagency Report on Marine Debris Sources, Impacts, Strategies and Recommendations. Interagency marine debris coordinating committee (2008) McLendon,R.(2010,February 24).What’is’the’Great’ Pacific’Garbage’Patch? Retrieved February 13, 2012,from Mother Nature Network: http://www.mnn.com/earthYmatters/translatingYuncleYsam/stories/whatYisYtheYgreatYpacificYoceanYgarbageYpatch

Deception Point Page 89

Gabrielle knew Sexton was eagerly awaiting her arrival for a complete rundown on the PODS situation. Unfortunately, she also now realized that Sexton had deftly manipulated her tonight. Gabrielle Ashe did not like being managed. The senator had kept things from her tonight. The question was how much. The answers, she knew, lay inside his office-just on the other side of this restroom wall. â€Å"Five minutes,† Gabrielle said aloud, mustering her resolve. Moving toward the bathroom's supply closet, she reached up and ran a hand over the door frame. A key clattered to the floor. The cleaning crews at Philip A. Hart were federal employees and seemed to evaporate every time there was a strike of any sort, leaving this bathroom without toilet paper and tampons for weeks at a time. The women of Sexton's office, tired of being caught with their pants down, had taken matters into their own hands and secured a supply room key for â€Å"emergencies.† Tonight qualifies, she thought. She opened the closet. The interior was cramped, packed with cleansers, mops, and shelves of paper supplies. A month ago, Gabrielle had been searching for paper towels when she'd made an unusual discovery. Unable to reach the paper off the top shelf, she'd used the end of a broom to coax a roll to fall. In the process, she'd knocked out a ceiling tile. When she climbed up to replace the tile, she was surprised to hear Senator Sexton's voice. Crystal clear. From the echo, she realized the senator was talking to himself while in his office's private bathroom, which apparently was separated from this supply closet by nothing more than removable, fiberboard ceiling tiles. Now, back in the closet tonight for far more than toilet paper, Gabrielle kicked off her shoes, climbed up the shelves, popped out the fiberboard ceiling tile, and pulled herself up. So much for national security, she thought, wondering how many state and federal laws she was about to break. Lowering herself through the ceiling of Sexton's private restroom, Gabrielle placed her stockinged feet on his cold, porcelain sink and then dropped to the floor. Holding her breath, she exited into Sexton's private office. His oriental carpets felt soft and warm. 107 Thirty miles away, a black Kiowa gunship chopper tore over the scrub pine treetops of northern Delaware. Delta-One checked the coordinates locked in the auto navigation system. Although Rachel's shipboard transmission device and Pickering's cellphone were encrypted to protect the contents of their communication, intercepting content had not been the goal when the Delta Force pulse-snitched Rachel's call from sea. Intercepting the caller's position had been the goal. Global Positioning Systems and computerized triangulation made pinpointing transmission coordinates a significantly easier task than decrypting the actual content of the call. Delta-One was always amused to think that most cellphone users had no idea that every time they made a call, a government listening post, if so inclined, could detect their position to within ten feet anywhere on earth-a small hitch the cellphone companies failed to advertise. Tonight, once the Delta Force had gained access to the reception frequencies of William Pickering's cellular phone, they could easily trace the coordinates of his incoming calls. Flying now on a direct course toward their target, Delta-One closed to within twenty miles. â€Å"Umbrella primed?† he asked, turning to Delta-Two, who was manning the radar and weapons system. â€Å"Affirmative. Awaiting five-mile range.† Five miles, Delta-One thought. He had to fly this bird well within his target's radar scopes to get within range to use the Kiowa's weapons systems. He had little doubt that someone onboard the Goya was nervously watching the skies, and because the Delta Force's current task was to eliminate the target without giving them a chance to radio for help, Delta-One now had to advance on his prey without alarming them. At fifteen miles out, still safely out of radar range, Delta-One abruptly turned the Kiowa thirty-five degrees off course to the west. He climbed to three thousand feet-small airplane range-and adjusted his speed to 110 knots. On the deck of the Goya, the Coast Guard helicopter's radar scope beeped once as a new contact entered the ten-mile perimeter. The pilot sat up, studying the screen. The contact appeared to be a small cargo plane headed west up the coast. Probably for Newark. Although this plane's current trajectory would bring it within four miles of the Goya, the flight path obviously was a matter of chance. Nonetheless, being vigilant, the Coast Guard pilot watched the blinking dot trace a slow-moving 110-knot line across the right side of his scope. At its closest point, the plane was about four miles west. As expected, the plane kept moving-heading away from them now. 4.1 miles. 4.2 miles. The pilot exhaled, relaxing. And then the strangest thing happened. â€Å"Umbrella now engaged,† Delta-Two called out, giving the thumbs-up from his weapons control seat on the port side of the Kiowa gunship. â€Å"Barrage, modulated noise, and cover pulse are all activated and locked.† Delta-One took his cue and banked hard to the right, putting the craft on a direct course with the Goya. This maneuver would be invisible to the ship's radar. â€Å"Sure beats bales of tinfoil!† Delta-Two called out. Delta-One agreed. Radar jamming had been invented in WWII when a savvy British airman began throwing bales of hay wrapped in tinfoil out of his plane while on bombing runs. The Germans' radar spotted so many reflective contacts they had no idea what to shoot. The techniques had been improved on substantially since then. The Kiowa's onboard â€Å"umbrella† radar-jamming system was one of the military's most deadly electronic combat weapons. By broadcasting an umbrella of background noise into the atmosphere above a given set of surface coordinates, the Kiowa could erase the eyes, ears, and voice of their target. Moments ago, all radar screens aboard the Goya had most certainly gone blank. By the time the crew realized they needed to call for help, they would be unable to transmit. On a ship, all communications were radio-or microwave-based-no solid phone lines. If the Kiowa got close enough, all of the Goya's communications systems would stop functioning, their carrier signals blotted out by the invisible cloud of thermal noise broadcast in front of the Kiowa like a blinding headlight. Perfect isolation, Delta-One thought. They have no defenses. Their targets had made a fortunate and cunning escape from the Milne Ice Shelf, but it would not be repeated. In choosing to leave shore, Rachel Sexton and Michael Tolland had chosen poorly. It would be the last bad decision they ever made. Inside the White House, Zach Herney felt dazed as he sat up in bed holding the telephone receiver. â€Å"Now? Ekstrom wants to speak to me now?† Herney squinted again at the bedside clock. 3:17 A.M. â€Å"Yes, Mr. President,† the communications officer said. â€Å"He says it's an emergency.† 108 While Corky and Xavia huddled over the electron microprobe measuring the zirconium content in the chondrules, Rachel followed Tolland across the lab into an adjoining room. Here Tolland turned on another computer. Apparently the oceanographer had one more thing he wanted to check. As the computer powered up, Tolland turned to Rachel, his mouth poised as if he wanted to say something. He paused. â€Å"What is it?† Rachel asked, surprised how physically drawn to him she felt, even in the midst of all this chaos. She wished she could block it all out and be with him-just for a minute. â€Å"I owe you an apology,† Tolland said, looking remorseful. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"On the deck? The hammerheads? I was excited. Sometimes I forget how frightening the ocean can be to a lot of people.†

Can Divorce be Beneficial for Children

University I stared Into his uncontrolled, demonic eyes Just Inches from mine as I watched his body tremble and quake with wrath. It was an unbridled anger I had encountered many times before. I listened as the sharp words escaped his mouth, piercing me like daggers. Not knowing if any hasty movement would have dire repercussions, I stood frozen, heart racing, undecided of my next move. Helplessness filled my soul.I'd felt stuck for nearly 15 years now, married to this ticking time-bomb of a man, walking on eggshells dally, never knowing what was going to send him Into fit of rage. Why did I continue to stay? For the children. I had always been told that divorce was bad for children. I was afraid I would make a decision that would negatively affect them for the rest of their lives. But, in this moment I realized the abusive situation we all were living in was far worse than the possible negative effects of divorce. We had to find a way out.This scenario, drawn from my own personal ex perience, Is not as uncommon as one might think. People continue on In toxic or abusive marriages with the misconception that staying married will be best or their children. From my perspective as a single mother of 3 children who was in an emotionally abusive marriage, I have personally witnessed the positive effects that divorce can have on children. Especially, when there are cases of abuse both physical and emotional, or extreme contention within the home, divorce can have a positive effect on the children Involved.While I am only a witness to my own personal experience there has been significant research done on the topic of divorce and the effects, both positive and negative, It has on children. I will draw on the expertise of Jolliet (201 1), Clark (201 3), Amatol (2010), Coleman, Glenn (2010) as well as others, and their extensive research about the effects of divorce on children. Divorce has had a bad stigma throughout the ages because of the effects it was thought to have on children. It's often been heard, â€Å"We stayed together for the children. As divorce rates have increased, and no fault divorces have been Implemented, the perceived damage of divorce on children has started to recede. Particularly, under certain circumstances where there is much discord or abuse, divorce has proven to e beneficial for children. A divorce can end the modeling of a bad relationship, create happier parents, and a healthier environment for everyone, including the children. Historically, divorce has been viewed as a negative marital option and in fact, up until the sass's divorce was fault based.In other words, legally to get a divorce one spouse had to prove the other spouse executed a marital offense. This looked at as outcasts from a â€Å"broken-home,† Olive, 2011). Research ensued to back up these negative conceptions of divorce on children. The problem was, much of the search failed to take into consideration the effects of the pre-divorce environment . Figure 1: Shows the long-term divorce rates from 1940 – 2012. It shows the dramatic increase in divorce rates when the no-fault divorce was written into law. Source: Divorce recession drop rebound, with the 2012 rate (2014).Over time, as shown in the chart above, the no fault divorce was legislated into law, and helped to eradicate this stigma Olive, 2011). Divorce rates did rise dramatically until the early ass's, and have since populated, or even declined slightly. With this increase, people began to be ore accepting of divorce. Recent studies are revealing that divorce can have a positive effect on children. Much of the result has to do with how the parents handle the divorce with their children,; therefore, the positive effects are not Just limited to cases of abuse. As a result (of dispelling the negative divorce connotations), instead of divorce being taboo and frowned upon, people now view divorce as a second chance to be happy. Instead of being considered lost caus es, children of divorce can now be seen as resilient and able to cope,† said Jolliet, a partner at Randall & Sonnies, and family divorce attorney. With the â€Å"stay together for the sake of the children† mantra so ingrained into the ideals of society, the effects of these misconceptions of divorce still deter many from getting a divorce.So much historical research was done showing how children suffered from divorce either academically, or emotionally, and society for years has accepted this thought process. Unfortunately, this causes people to stay in abusive marriages, or marriages with extreme discord, far longer than they should, not realizing that they may actually be hurting their children far more than helping them. Brenda Clark, a child psychologist ND member of the Canadian Pediatric Society said, â€Å"If there is a high level of conflict, children appear to be better off if the marriage ends and separation occurs. Research now shows that children who were e xposed to marital conflict prior to the divorce, even in utter, were more likely to develop problems, emotionally and behaviorally (Coleman, & Glenn, 2010). There are abundant holes in past research that pointed at divorce as negatively effecting affecting children's well-being, and pre- divorce environments were not taken into consideration when making these assessments. Jolliet (2011) quotes sociologist Dry.Lisa Stretching as saying, â€Å"Perhaps we should pay more attention to what happens to kids in the period leading up to parental divorce rather than directing all our efforts to helping children after the event occurs. † Children in highly dysfunctional families actually show a drop in the level of anti-social behavior they exhibit after a parental divorce Olive, 2011). Many children, especially in cases of abuse and domestic violence, report feeling a sense of relief after the divorce (Clark, 2013). There are many positives that can come from a divorce for children.Di vorce can end the modeling of a bad relationship. When children are constantly surrounded by unhappy parents who are always quarrelling they begin to believe this type of behavior is what a relationship is be argumentative as well in their personal relationships with others, both in and outside of the home. I saw this happen with my own children. Their father was an argumentative person, not Just with me, but also with them. The rockier and more argumentative my relationship got with him, the more they fought with one another, and others around them.My relationship with their father deteriorated to the point that the bickering between my children became almost incessant. They could not be around each other without fighting. When we were finally able to separate ourselves from their father, the level of fighting dropped significantly, almost immediately. So much so in fact, that other extended family members around us remarked about how different their behavior became after getting o ut of that toxic situation. My children have each individually told me how much more relaxed they feel, and how happy they are to be out of that situation.When parents are able to end a bad relationship, and turn their interaction into more positive ones, they are able to monster what a healthy relationship looks like to their children Jacob, 2014). Another interesting concept to explore is parents who are able to get out of a bad relationship and find happiness, often have better interactions with one another, and this attitude spills over to the children Jacob, 2014). Attorney Steven R. Jacob states, â€Å"Although splitting up with your spouse is a traumatic experience, it's important to focus on the best interest of the children involved.Their happiness can best be attained by both parents seeking their own individual happiness. This holds true whether that they be together or apart. I have seen first-hand how my own post- divorce happiness has had a great impact on my children . They have all said to me how much happier they are now. For example, the first Christmas after we left, my then 13 year old son, came up to me and told me it was the best vacation break he had ever had. We didn't go anywhere, or do anything extravagant, but he told me how nice it was to feel calm and happy without his father around.Divorce can be what is best to create a positive environment in which to raise children. Divorce can ease the tension in a home, and relieve the household of unnecessary stresses that effect children Jacob, 2014). My children tell me all the time how nice it is to feel relaxed now. Alleviating the stress of not knowing what their father might do to them has allowed them to relax and come into their own. Having the ability to be relaxed has not only affected their behavior at home, it has positively affected their schoolwork, and all three are flourishing.Not all marriages that end in divorce are a result of abuse, or high levels of discord. In fact, res earch shows that there's a sizable amount number that can be categorized as â€Å"good enough marriages† without much marital discord at all (Kim 2011). How parents handle divorce with regard to their children is especially important in these cases. If a child has been exposed to little, if any, marital conflict, parental separation can come as a shock, and when this occurs children appear to be worse off than before the separation (Clark 2013).Oftentimes, children do experience a disruption to their well-being and have feelings of immediate distress during a parental divorce, but most reports show that after the dust settles from the divorce the majority of children settle into a normal development (Coleman & Glenn, 2010). Parents can avoid the negative effects of ivories on their children by learning how to co-parent in a positive way. â€Å"Research with effective discipline and limit-setting, is a powerful protective and resilience- promoting factor for children experien cing parental separation or divorce. (Clark, 2013, 2013). When parents put their differences aside and focus on the child's well- being, they are increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes on their children's well- being. Parents can also minimize or eliminate the effects of divorce by working on their interpersonal communication skills with one another, strengthening parent- hill relationships, mainlining minimizing limiting the the routine changes in routine for the children, and creating an open environment in which children can discuss their feelings Olive 2011).Going through a divorce is a difficult and emotional battle, and no divorce can really be categorized as a good divorce. â€Å"Today research has shown that one of the most important things divorcing parents can do is to educate themselves and understand how their actions along with the animosity they exhibit toward each other impacts their children in negative and destructive ways† Olive 2011).If parents show hostility toward their ex-spouse, talk poorly about them in front of the children, argue and continue to have extreme conflict during and after the divorce process, they are going to have a negative impact on their children's emotional well-being. Research has shown that ongoing inter- parental conflict is one of the most damaging aspects of divorce (Clark 2013). If parents can get along and work together the impact on their children can be positive. It's important for parents to put aside their negative feelings toward one another, and put the needs of their children's first.One effective way to do this is to develop a business-like approach to interacting with one another. Respecting one another, setting clear boundaries, and laying out ground rules for their interactions with regards to the children will all help parents to positively impact their children's well- being (Clark, 2013). Another way to create a positive impact on a child's well-being in association with divorce is to increase and nurture the parent-child relationship. Director of the Center for Family in Transition at Cortex Madder, California, Dry.Judith Wallflowers, said â€Å"what makes a difference to a child of divorce is a much more butte, much more elusive issue of how that child perceives whether he is accepted or reject by his parents† Olive, 2011). When a child is able to feel that their relationship with their parents stays intact, despite the divorce, they continue to feel loved, respected, and maintain a positive self-image. When parents share custody of their children, they each have individual time with them, giving them the opportunity to engage in more effective parenting during their time with the child.Parents who choose to utilize this time to strengthen their relationship with their children, and vive them undivided attention will allow their children to experience the full parenting of both parents Jacob 2014). Research has shown that good, effective parenting can quite possibly be the most important factor in determining a child's well-being after divorce (Coleman 2010). â€Å"In one long-term study, a good relationship with the custodial parent predicted fewer child behavior problems, better communication skills, better grades and higher ratings of adjustment (Clark 2013).The parent-child relationship seems to affect a child so much that psychologists now UT more importance on the family relationship rather than the family structure in terms of the impact it has on a child's well-being Olive 2011). â€Å"Parent-child skills, positive communication, and low levels of conflict and negativity are consistently associated with fewer negative outcomes related to mental health and with more positive outcomes related to social adaptation following a separation or divorce† (Clark 2013). When the routine off child is constantly disrupted, they have a difficult time feeling settled and grounded.When divorce transpires, inevitably disruption o ccurs in a child's day-to-day life. Divorce is often surrounded by stress, confusion, conflict, and disorientation (Clark 2013). If parents can work together to minimize these stresses, and their impact on their children, the children will be able to navigate through the divorce much easier. For a period of time, it was thought that equal Joint-custody (spending equal days in the month with each parent) was what was best for children, but research now shows that this causes too much disruption for the children, and negatively affected affects their emotional well-being.In fact, one Norwegian study showed that the closer in proximity a non-resident father lived o his children, the worse off they were in terms of educational attainment. It was theorized that this was due to the child having to split time between the two households, causing too much disruption to the needed stability in the child's life. The study showed that if a father relocated, it sheltered the child not only from parental post-divorce conflict, but also created a more stable home environment (Kali 2011).Now, this does not mean that all fathers should stay away from their children in an effort to keep the disruption to their lives at bay. Simply, it means that ireful consideration should be made, and reflection on the children's needs when determining the best way to create a stable environment for the children. Children adjust best to their post-divorce environments if there is as little disruption as possible to their schedules, activities, and social lives. The final parental consideration for positively affecting children of divorce is to create an open line of communication between parents and children.When a child feels comfortable talking about their frustrations, fears, or emotions about the divorce, they are able to maintain a normal sense of well-being Olive, 2011). While parents are in the divorce stage, children are more likely to feel loneliness, anxiety, sadness, and as a result lower self-esteem (Kim, 2011). If these children feel that it is safe for them to speak with their parents about these feelings, they can work together to get through them, and minimize their effects.It is imperative that parents communicate well and frequently with their children, and openly discuss their love and devotion to the child. It is important that children learn to understand it is normal to have a myriad of feelings about their own experience with the divorce. Learning to cope with these feelings can be a challenge for both the parent and the child (Clark 2013). There are many group support programs that have shown to be effective in helping both parents and children through the emotions of divorce. Group support helps reduce children's sense of isolation, clarifies misconceptions, and teaches how to problem- solve and communicate more effectively with parents† (Clark, 2013). Divorce should not be taken lightly, and while it can have negative effects on children, it certainly doesn't have to be that way. There are some cases, especially when abuse or mommies violence are is involved, when divorce is the best solution to an undesirable situation. It can redirect a child from a negative to a positive path of mental well- the parents are divorced.Getting children out of these situations actually drastically increases their ability to attain positive mental and physical well-being. In non- abusive, but highly dysfunctional marriages, parents have the ability to change their negative behavior towards each other during, and after the divorce, alleviating the stress of divorce on the children. When parents can create a better emotional environment for children after divorce, much of the negative effects of divorce dissipate, and the children can recover and go on to be normal, healthy adults.If you would like to learn mortem find out more about the effects of divorce on children, or if you have questions about my own personal experiences being in a n emotionally abusive marriage, and being able to get out, email me at [email  protected] Com. No abusive relationship is worth staying in for the sake of the children. If you find yourself in this situation, have the courage to get out. You will be better off for it, and our children will thank you for being strong enough to get them out of a terrible environment. As shown that the quality of parenting, as defined by warmth and nurture along 2013) When parents put their differences aside and focus on the child's well-being they are increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes on their children's well-being. â€Å"The quality of parent-child relationships is an important protective factor that predicts the long-term impact of separation and divorce on children. † (Clark, 2014) Also, if parents focus on their relationship with the child, putting the well-being of the child first, the child will feel accepted.