Antigone Essay - 977 Words

Women often are put in positions that often create turmoil within themselves. Women tend to make decisions based more on emotion and values as opposed to what is dictated by governing laws and rulers. By choosing to do what is â€Å"right in their heart† women often suffer great consequences such as persecution, abuse, exile and even death. Antigone deals with this turmoil because she tries to perform the noble act of loyalty to her brother, Polyneices, as well as her loyalty to her family. Polyneices was slain by his own brother, Eteocles, in a battle where both were killed by each other’s sword. King Creon sentenced Polyneices to be left dead and Eteocles to be given an honorable burial. Antigone is faced with the decision to let her†¦show more content†¦Later when Ismene and Antigone confront Creon, Ismene is willing to die with Antigone even though she had no part of the criminal act. [I did it too, if she allows my claim; I share the burden of this heavy charge. But in your stormy voyage I am glad to share the danger, traveling at your side.] (Ismene, Lines 536 and 537, Lines 540 and 541) Antigone’s loyalty to Ismene is shown when she forbids Ismene to accept punishment for something she had no part in. However, Antigone’s loyalty to the gods seems to be the most powerful. Possibly because her fear of disobeying the gods is far greater than any turmoil she has yet to face. Antigone fears that by disobeying the gods she will reap great consequences after death. She chooses to obey the laws set by the gods and accepts the punishment of death by Creon. [Was I to stand before the gods’ tribunal for disobeying them, because I feared a man? I knew that I should have to die, even without your edict; if I die before my time, why then, I count it gain; to one who lives as I do, ringed about with countless miseries, why, death is welcome.] (Antigone, Lines 458 to 463) Not all women however are as willful as Antigone. Her own sister, Ismene, portrays a women reluctant to follow what she feels is right in her own mind and follow the laws set by the governing state. Ismene’s words to Antigone, â€Å"I do them no dishonour, but to act against the city’s will I am to weak.† (Ismene,Show MoreRelatedAntigone By Sophocles Antigone1525 Words   |  7 Pagesnothing that the gods demand† (1349-1350). Sophocles’ Antigone takes place in a trying time for the city of Thebes, when Oedipus, their king, and most of the royal family have died, and Creon has just been appointed the new king. Throughout the play, Creon tries on his power as the new ruler, and seems to believe that the gods will not be angry with some of his choices as king, even though they directly violate the divine law. However, in Antigone, when there is a conflict between the divine law andRead Moreantigone987 Words   |  4 Pageshamartia and lastly they nee d to realize their mistakes and accept their consequences. In Antigone, there are two main characters that fit the criteria of a tragic hero, but only the protagonist, Antigone meets all of the conditions. Antigone meets the second requirement of a tragic heroine, by fulfilling the criteria of being neither entirely good nor completely bad. In the opening of the play, Antigone asks her sister, Ismene to help her give Polynieces a proper burial but Ismene disagrees becauseRead MoreThe Choices Of Antigone And Sophocles Antigone1560 Words   |  7 Pagesthat Antigone and Creon face in Sophocles’ Antigone differ, their decisions often end up pitted against each other’s, inviting comparison. Since I am juxtaposing the characters’ degrees of rightness, I believe that the rightness of the reasoning, not just their ultimate stances, should be examined. The entirety of his or her argument, not just the conclusion, must be taken into account. I’ll also note that my perspective of rightness could and does conflict with that of the gods in Antigone and SophoclesRead MoreCharacterization of Antigone in Sophocles Antigone2448 Words   |  10 PagesSophocles’ tra gic drama, Antigone, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are portrayed mostly through the showing technique. In â€Å"Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone,† Charles Paul Segal takes the stand that there are two protagonists in the drama (which conflicts with this reader’s interpretation): This is not to say that there are not conceptual issues involved in the characters of Creon and Antigone. But the issues areRead MoreAntigone Summary771 Words   |  4 Pagesunburied to rot. Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to admit to an act that she had not committed. Antigone took sole responsibilityRead MoreAntigone2454 Words   |  10 PagesAntigone– The Characterization Sophocles’ tragic drama, Antigone, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are portrayed mostly through the showing technique. In â€Å"Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone,† Charles Paul Segal takes the stand that there are two protagonists in the drama (which conflicts with this reader’s interpretation): This is not to say that there are not conceptual issuesRead More Antigone Essay1318 Words   |  6 PagesAntigone Essay In any story or piece of literature, there will always be the main characters to fill the pages with incessant adventure. The characters whose names appear on almost every page and the characters whose actions the story revolves around. However, a story will also always have its minor characters. These are the characters that contribute heavily to the plot, yet arent mentioned quite as often and are underestimated regarding their importance in the story. In the Greek masterpieceRead More Antigone Essay3001 Words   |  13 PagesSUBJECT Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the Kings order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the Kings orders. In the beginning, the author introduced Antigone and herRead MoreAntigone by Sophocles622 Words   |  3 PagesIn the playwright Antigone by Sophocles, the characters reveal their values while exposing a life lessons through their actions, dialogue, thoughts ,and effects on others. Antigone starts with two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, being killed at battle. Creon, the king of Thebes, declares that Eteocles’ death will be honored and Polyneices’ dishonored. He instead will lay unburied to become the food of animals. When the play opens, Antigone takes Ismene, Antigone and Ismene are sisters of the deadRead MoreEssay on Antigone1426 Words   |  6 Pagesimprudent judgments will ultimately suffer from the consequences of their actions. In Sophocles Antigone, these prejudices notably surface in the form of paternalism as demonstrated through Creons government, highlighting the importance of gender roles throughout the play. Therefore, analyzing the motif of gende r roles and its effect on the definition of justice through the perspectives of Ismene, Antigone, and Creon enables the audience to understand how Sophocles macroscopic analogy to humanitys

Beer and Heineken Free Essays

string(110) " Heineken Pilsener This is Heineken’s regular beer which is the same as the original Heineken started with\." Budweiser Vs. Heineken – Presentation Transcript 1. Budweiser Marketing Mix 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Beer and Heineken or any similar topic only for you Order Now Heineken 3. Many of lifeapos;s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas Edison 4. Introduction * Anheuser-Busch * Anheuser-Busch Inc. is a strong and dominating company that is a leader in the beer market. They are a company that is rooted in values, ethics and sheer determination. * Anheuser-Busch targets consumers who are interested in alcoholic beverages that provide the best taste and quality. Their targets are anyone from the lower class of society, all the way up to the upper class. They have a wide range of brands and beverages to offer that are appealing to each social class. 5. Brief History * Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. traces its roots to 1852 and the Bavarian Brewery in St. Louis. * Adolphus Busch, a successful German businessman, joined his father-in-law in the business in the 1860s and took on increasing responsibility. * Budweiser was the first national beer brand, introduced in 1876. * In 2008, Anheuser-Busch and InBev combined to become Anheuser-Busch InBev. The new company is the world’s largest brewer and one of the top 5 consumer goods companies in the world. 6. Introduction The Heineken family entered the beer business in 1864, when Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery in the heart of Amsterdam. Over the past 140 years, four generations of the Heineken family have built and expanded the brand and the company in Europe and around the world. It is thanks to the leadership of Gerard, Henry and Alfred Heineken that Heineken is one of the world’s leading brewing groups. Today Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is delegate member of the Board of directors of Heineken Holding N. V. 7. Introduction At the end of 2007, Heineken has expanded to a number of 119 brewers in more than 65 countries all over the world with a number of 50,004 employee in the year of 2007. (Heineken N. V. , 2008). 8. Product 9. Product * Product Definition * General: Good, idea, method, information, object, service, etc. , that is the end result of a process and serves as a need or want satisfier. It is usually a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes (benefits, features, functions, uses) that a seller offers to a buyer for purchase. 10. Product: Budweiser Anheuser-Busch is an American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United States. * Budweiser is made up of large proportion (up to 40%) of rice in addition to hops and barley malt. * Budweiser is produced in various breweries located aound the United States and the rest of the world. * It is a filtered beer available in draught and packaged forms. 11. * Introduced in 1982 * It was one of the first light beer s in the world * Bud Light is the best-selling beer in the U. S. and the #1 beer in the world * It’s brewed at all 12 Anheuser-Busch U. S. based breweries. Bud Light is brewed with all-natural ingredients – water, barley malt, rice, premium hops and yeast. * A blend of two and six row malt and cereal grains give bud light its clean, crisp, smooth taste. * There is 110 calories, 6. 6 grams of carbohydrates and is 4. 2 % alcohol by volume in each 12 OZ. serving Product: Bud Light 12. Product: Bud Select * Bavarian hops and an extended brewing process combine to give the Budweiser Select its distinctively full flavor-despite weighing in at only 99 calories. Dark gold in color and pleasingly aromatic, Budweiser select is impressive from any angle. The Exception to the Rule. 13. Product: Bud Light Lime * Bud Light Lime is a premium light beer that combines the superior drinkability of Bud Light with a splash of 100% natural lime flavor. * A light beer with 4. 2% ABV and 116 calories per 12 ounce serving 14. Product: American Ale * Debuted in September 2008. * The beer offer complex taste without much bitterness. * It is the first beer under the Budweiser name that is brewed as an ale rather than a lager. The beer has a darker color which is a departure from other Budweiser brands 15. Product: Bud Dry was introduced in the U. S. in 1990 with the slogan of â€Å"Why ask why? Drink Bud Dry. † * It was originally successful in the test markets and was expected to be a popular beer with the rise in lager popularity. * However, with the introduction of Bud Ice in 1994, Bud Dry began to decline in the mainstream popularity and no longer receives attention. 16. Product: Bud Ice * Introduced in 1994 as â€Å"Ice by Budweiser†. * Contains more alcohol (5. 5%ABV) more than Budweiser. * Bud Ice Light was introduced in 2007. * Contains 4. 1% ABV and 110 calories. 17. Product: Clamato Chelada. A blend of Budweiser or Bud light and Clamato. This bevera ge became available nationally in late 2007 due to overwhelming popularity during test marketing. * In its most basic form, the chelada is a fairly innocuous mixing of beer with lime and salt. Millerapos;s new product, Miller Chill, incorporates these flavors in their new product, which they have slotted as a super premium light beer 18. Marketing Mix: Product Keegan and Schlegelmilch define a product as a collection of physical, psychological and symbolic attributes that collectively yield satisfaction, or benefits, to a buyer or user. When we interpolate the above definition into Heineken, we see that all three parts mentioned above, i. e. Physical, Psychological and Symbolic apply to Heineken products. 19. Brief Summary * When looking at the marketing mix of Heineken, we see that they have only a limited amount of products as they have a large diversity of brands. Their main product is of course, ‘the beer’. Currently, they have only four kinds of beer: * Heineken Pilsener * Heineken Premium Light * Heineken Tarwebok * Heineken Oud Bruin * The last two are specialty beers available only in USA and Netherlands. Of course they have a large variety of other brands to compensate 20. Products Heineken Pilsener This is Heineken’s regular beer which is the same as the original Heineken started with. You read "Beer and Heineken" in category "Papers" Its mildly bitter taste, fresh, fruity aroma, bright color and exceptional clarity are obtained using only the purest water, hops and barley malt. Alcohol: 5% vol. 21. Products Heineken Premium light Heineken’s Premium Light is a beer brewed by Heineken mostly for the US market. It was introduced in 2005 and took them 10 years of market research, and was chosen from twenty options. The introduction of this beer was a big step for Heineken. Alcohol: 3. 3% vol. 22. Products Heineken Tarwebok/Special Dark (USA) Traditionally brewed and drunk in autumn, this aromatic, strong beer has a full-bodied, spicy taste derived from unique malts made with roasted spring barley and wheat. It is available only in Netherlands and in US under the name Special Dark 23. Products Heineken Oud Bruin One of the most traditional Dutch beer types, ‘Old Brown’ derives its rich, dark color and taste from its dark malt and hops. Natural sugar gives it a mildly sweet, caramel taste. It is available only in the Netherlands. 24. Products: Draught BeerTender A joint venture between Heineken and the electronic company Krupps resulted in the BeerTender which is a beer tapping system for use at home. It uses small lightweight 4-5 Lt. kegs. It is a closed system meaning that only available beer is from Heineken itself. It was first introduced in Netherlands in 2004 and found its was to eight other countries by 2008. In 2007 there were already 300,000 BeerTenders sold. 25. Products: Draught 6. Products: Draught DraughtKeg Another similar product that is developed and engineered is the DraughtKeg. It is a 5 Lt keg that has the entire tapping system built into it. The keg is portable, disposable, 100% recyclable and is manufactured in lightweight steel. It was first introduced in France in 2005. In 2007, it was available in 90 countries and sold more than 10 million units. 27. Products: Draught 28. Physical: Styling an d Packaging * Budweiser has introduced many can designs with co-branding and sports marketing promotional packaging. Today, most of these promotional programs are represented only on the 16 ounce aluminum bottle container. However, many major league baseball and NFL teams also promote 24 ounce cans marked with team logos. * NFL team-specific packaging for 28 National Football League teams from Budweiser and Bud Light. * Anheuser-Busch domestic breweries will be involved in the team specific packaging campaign, which will produce more than 78 different packaging combinations on 12 million cases of Budweiser and Bud Light aluminum cans. 29. Physical: Styling and Packaging Packages are sometimes tailored to local customs and traditions * In St. Maryapos;s County, Maryland, ten ounce cans are the preferred package. * Chicagoans widely prefer the 16 ounce can. * Michigan prefer the eight ounce can. 30. Styling and Packaging * Presently, Budweiser is distributed in four large container volumes: half-barrel 15. 5 gal), quarter-barrel, 1/6 barrel and beer balls (5. 2 gallons). In smaller consumption volume s, Budweiser is distributed in eight, ten, 12, 16, 22, 24, 32 and 40 ounce containers. Smaller containers may be made of glass, aluminum or plastic. 1. Physical: Styling and Packaging * The Budweiser bottle has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1876. * The top label is red and currently reads quot;Budweiserquot;. The top of the main label is red with a white banner with a pledge on it, which has changed three times. Below the banner is a coat of arms of sorts, which features an Anheuser-Busch stylization. Below that is a large white box. 32. Physical: Styling and Packaging * Through early 1950s Budweiser was primarily distributed in just 3 packages: * Kegs * 12 ounce bottles * Quart bottles 3. Physical: Styling and Packaging * Metal Container Corp. supplies more than 60 percent of Anheuser-Busch’s domestic lids. * Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corp. recycles used beverage cans, which are remelted into new sheet aluminum. This business unit provides a positive alternative to mandatory deposits and helps reduce container costs. A-BRC annually recycles more aluminum cans than Anheuser-Busch sells domestically. 34. Physical: Styling and Packaging * Eagle Packaging Inc. supplies 100 percent of Anheuser-Busch’s domestic crown and closure liner materials * Longhorn Glass Corp. roduces longneck glass bottles and ships all its output to the Anheuser-Busch Houston brewery. LGC supplies the Houston brewery with more than 60 percent of Anheuser-Busch’ total glass bottle needs. 35. Analysis * Budweiser packaging concentrates more on co-branding and sports promotional packaging. * The can packaging size differs from one community to the other. * Larger container volumes ranges from 5. 2 gallons to 15. 5 gallons * A distinctive coat of arms of some sort which features Anheuser-Busch stylization. 36. Physical: Styling Packaging Styling and packaging is critical and very important for Heineken. They also emphasize this by saying the following in their annual report of 2007: â€Å" Packaging is a key element in Heineken’s marketing and innovation strategy. New pack types create new consumption moments, build excitement around our brands, improved margins and higher volumes. † In this way, Heineken moves beyond from selling just beer to selling experiences by augmenting their product. We will see some examples of the creativity and innovation of Heineken when it comes to packaging. 7. Physical: Styling Packaging Beer is typically served in two main types of packaging, bottles and cans. 38. Physical: Styling Packaging Paco Bottle In 2004 Heineken introduced the Paco bottle which is made out of striking green aluminum to reinforce the brand’s premium positioning. With the Paco bottle, Heineken was the first beer brand to win Frontier’s Star Product of th e Year award in 2005. â€Å" Heineken has succeeded in creating a brand new high value subcategory without cannibalizing from existing sales. The product, placement and price are all well adjusted to the travel retail environment. Paco creates a premium perception in a category that has never been perceived as premium. † [Pittilla, 2005] 39. Physical: Styling Packaging DraughtKeg The DraughtKeg mentioned earlier caused a disruption in the beer market. Its unique functionality, offering real draft beer from a keg that is scaled down for convenience, improves the customer experience. What makes this so special is that it is done by a revolutionary packaging instead of a new flavor or a new style of brewing. 0. Physical: Styling Packaging DraughtKeg It took 15 years to develop and an investment of $15million in a new production line. It results in 12-14 beers and costs only slightly more than a regular 12-pack. Because Heineken is a premium brand, this light increase in price will not bother the consumers since they get a better and fresher taste from the DraughtKeg. Since the margins on low-end beer are too slim to s upport this type of delivery system, Heineken has managed to use its creative packaging abilities to disrupt the commodity beer market. 41. Physical: Styling Packaging Heineken WOBO In 1963, the then chairman , Alfred Heineken visited the Caribbean and noticed beaches littered with beer bottles and a shortage of building materials. This gave him the idea to use the beer bottle for another purpose then just hold beer and came up with the Heineken WOBO (World Bottle). The specially designed bottle was meant function like normal ‘brick and mortar’ construction. However, only 100,000 bottles were produced and now they have become a treasured collector’s item. 42. Psychological: Entertainment Sponsorship of the world’s premier sporting events * Maintains a high-profile presence with adult audiences through innovative marketing and sponsorship programs in sports, music and entertainment. 43. Busch Entertainment Corp. * It generates solid financial returns, supports Anheuser-Busch’s beer brands and enhances the Company’s image. * Busch Entertainment Adventure parks; * New shows and attr actions (â€Å"Believe†) * Wildlife conservation and commitment to guest service: Seaworld Busch Gardens 44. Psychological: Environment The company recognizes the importance of being a good environmental steward in the communities where it operates. * Bio-Energy * Wastewater into a renewable fuel source * Recycles more than 97 percent of the waste it generates * Projects with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 45. Psychological: A positive lifestyle – Enjoy Heineken responsibly In 2004, Heineken became the first alcohol company in the world to link a responsibility message on bottles, cans and secondary packaging with a dedicated alcohol education website. This website, www. enjoyheinekenresponsibly. om , holds information on Heineken’s alcohol policy and provides information on the effects of alcohol and guidelines for responsible drinking. It also can redirect visitors to organizations dedicated to the subject. 46. Psychological: A positive lifestyle â €“ Heineken Alcohol Policy Statement Heineken formed an alcohol policy statement, Heineken Alcohol Policy Statement (HAPS), that contains eight ruling principles shown below (Heineken Alcohol Policy, 2008). 1. Responsible consumption of beer is consistent with the maintenance of a balanced and positive lifestyle for most adults who choose to drink 2. The informed individual is responsible for his/her own behaviour 3. Heineken is committed to raising awareness regarding responsible consumption 4. We demand responsible behaviour of all employees in our family of companies around the world 47. Psychological: A positive lifestyle – Heineken Alcohol Policy Statement 5. Heineken companies are charged with ensuring that their commercial activities meet legal requirements and do not encourage irresponsible consumption 6. We want to help prevent abuse and misuse through dialogue and action 7. Implementation of the Heineken Alcohol Policy is mandatory in all Heineken companies 8. We will report on our actions related to our Heineken Alcohol Policy 48. Psychological: A positive lifestyle – Heineken Alcohol Policy Statement 49. Brand Image * We are all aware that it is very difficult to taste the difference between the varieties of available beer brands when given it unlabelled, it is almost impossible for a common man to say for sure what brand is it, and there are several cases on this issue. Therefore the styling and, packaging and brand image is very important. In the world of brew, consumer loyalty is shaped by brand culture (Barnet, 2001). 0. Positioning * Globally brewed and considered as leader on the market. * Holding a 49% market share of US beer sales * Quality product, best tasting, satisfying beer on market * Target market is 21 years and older * – Fun loving * – Care free individuals * – Drink occasionally and or on daily basis 51. Positioning 52. Positioning 53. Brand Strategy * Breweries: * 14 breweries in the US * 14 in China (to be 15 soon) * 1 in the UK * Brewing in partnership with Grupo Modelo in Mexico and Labatt Brewing Company in Canada * Not sell direct to customers Good sold to wholesalers, then retailers and finally to customers * Line strategy * Brand extension 54. Brand Strategy * Brand positioning * Attributes * Benefits * Benefits and values * Brand name selection * Selection * Protection 55. Brand strategy cont†¦ * Brand sponsorship * Manufacturers brand * Co-branding * Brand development * Line extension * Brand extension 56. Budweiser Brand Health * Measuring brand health gives a view of forward momentum — keeping the brand position relevant by staying ahead of constantly shifting customer needs and competitive pressure. Brands can be eternal if nurtured well. * Budweiser feels that, the â€Å"white and red blood cells† of healthy brands are resilience and leveragability thus their brand custodians must always realize that maintaining long-term brand health is usually more important than the short-term $ gains, thus they try to promote the health of their product through sponsorship. 57. Other brands * Bud light Budweiser/Bud Select Bud Ice Light Bud Ice 58. Other brands Budweiser American Ale Bud Silver Bud Light Lime Bud Dry 59. * Budweiser Clamato Chelada Other brands Bud Light Clamato Chelada 60. Brand Image Heineken is a group which owns a worldwide portfolio of over 170 beer brands, mainly pale lager, though some other beer styles are produced. As of 2006, Heineken owns over 130 breweries in more than 65 countries and employs approximately 57,557 people. The global beer market is expanding steadily, despite a decline in the traditional markets of West Europe and North America to approximately 1. 5 billion hectoliters in 2005 from 1. 4 billion hectoliters in 2002. 61. Brand Image â€Å" Heineken. Meet you There† Heineken USA as leading importer of beer into the US, including the flagship Heineken beer. Alaska distributors is a wholesaler of malt beverages in Washington and Alaska. Heineken did not approve a proposed transfer of distribution rights to another wholesaler, and later terminated the existing wholesaler and appointed a new wholesaler, Alaska Distributors. The market area for the distributor was North of Seattle, Washington. 62. Brand Image Heineken total beer volume was made up- Heineken brand 18. 7%, Amstel 9. 1% and other beer brands 72. 2%. 63. Filip Wouters VP Marketing Heineken Heineken USA Brand Image Heineken is an iconic brand that represents heritage, premiumness, innovation and quality around the world and is the gold standard for imports in U. S 64. Positioning Heineken is the world’s most valuable International premium beer brand. Heineken hopes to consolidate its position within the high growth Romanian beer and mineral water market by acquiring Transylvania-based brewer Bere Mures for an as yet undisclosed fee. As of 2007, Heineken owns over 119 breweries in more than 65 countries and employs approximately 54,004 people. 5. Positioning 66. Brand Strategy Building a winning brand portfolio centered around Heineken. Their brand strategy is to build a strong portfolio that combines the power of local and international brands and which has Heineken at its center. The consistent growth of Heineken requires solid creative brand management, which they always coordinate centrally. For the Heineken Amstel brands, they develop and maintain central guidelines and standards for brand style, brand value and brand development. 67. Brand Strategy Heineken applies the following global brand strategy: â€Å"Our brand strategy is to build a strong portfolio that combines the power of local and international brands and which has Heineken at its center. (Heineken N. V 2005) 68. Brand Strategy 69. Heineken Brand Dashboard Heineken introduce a standard for measuring brand performance. Heineken brand Dashboard is a new system for measuring and reporting all essential keys performance indicators on sales, marketing and finance relating to the Heineken brand. This tools will make it easier to diagnose brand health issues and to have a consistent vies of the most successful growth drivers for the Heineken brand across the business. 70. Other Brand The Company’s other brands with some international distribution are Amstel which sold 630 million liters, Buckler, a nonalcoholic beer, which sold 90 million liter and Murphy’s Stout, recently acquired. As a result of acquisitions, Heineken also oversaw the brewing of many local and regional beer brands marked by its subsidiaries, such as Bir Bintang, the leading Indonesian brand. 71. Thank you How to cite Beer and Heineken, Papers

Role of SHRM in Organisational Effectiveness Sample for Students

Question: Discuss the Strategic Human Resource Management Plays a Significant Role in Organisational Effectiveness and Strategic Planning is an Essential Element of Anticipating the Future HR Needs of an Organisation. Answer: Introduction The human resource department has an important role to play while it comes to the smooth functioning of the organization (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley 2016). They look after the employees and tries to meet the demands and needs of the employees so that they are satisfied and work for the betterment of the organization (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung 2016). Even though human resource department looks after the welfare of the employees, the external conditions at times have huge impact on the functions and operations of the organization internally (Storey 2014). In other words, it can be said that the internal functions of the human resource management is affected by the conditions of the external market. The situation is different for the educational sector. The employees of the educational sector are not handling the typical customers. Other than the official staffs, there are the teachers who are handling the students. Hence, the human resource management will be bit different from t he ones that are done in normal companies. However, quite similar to other situations, the external environment will also affect the way the employees are managed in the organization (Purce 2014). The teachers and other staffs need to more careful with their work as they are handling the future of the students and the human resource department should act by keeping in mind the people that the employees are handling in the institution (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang 2014). The essay will evaluate the human resource planning and management at University of Sydney. The planning and the human resource management will be assessed with the help of the model proposed by Jackson and Schuler in the years 1995. The model has taken into consideration the external factors that can affect the operations of the human resource in an organization. The internal factors of the human resource management like planning, retentions, recruitment, training and employee relation will be discussed in the essay. The factors will be discussed by keeping in mind the educational sector. The external factors that have been mentioned in the model of Jackson and Schuler will be analyzed and the impact of the factors in the operations of the HR department will be studied in the essay. The external factors mentioned in the model might have positive as well as negative impacts on the HR functions of the institution. Background of the educational institution Education for all, leadership for good is the motto for University of Sydney (The University of Sydney 2017). University of Sydney believes that thinking progressively, challenge the status quo, break the convention and bringing improvement in the world is in their DNA. William Charles Wentworth laid the stone of University of Sydney in the year 1850 and he became the one who founded the first university of Australia. He wanted to impart education to the children without discriminating between their classes. Moreover, he wanted that every child should get education so that he or she becomes useful for developing the future of its respective countries. The idea and value of William Charles Wentworth has not being changed and since the past 60 years, University of Sydney is following Wentworths path. However, things got better in the university and in the year 1881 women were admitted in equal number as the male students. The initiative is truly commendable, as until then neither Oxfor d University nor Jesus College at Cambridge University has taken any such step. University of Sydney gives opportunities to the talented and deserving students by giving away hundreds of scholarships for the students who come from poor financial backgrounds. University of Sydney can boast the famous alumni. The names of the past students suggest that it has been one of the best places that helps in the development of the career pof the individuals. Some of the names that re associated with University of Sydney are Victor Chang, the famous heart transplant surgeon and Gough Whitlam. Some of the names might not have been able to get the spotlight but their contribution for the development of the society is commendable. Among other alumni, there are Mary Kostakidis, the famous journalist and broadcaster, the eminent activist, Charles Perkins, Dame Joan Sutherland, opera singer, the famous lawmaker, Michael Kirby and the writer, Clive James. Five Australian prime ministers have been associated with University of Sydney. Edmund Bartonis one such personality who won the inaugural federal election for Australia in the year, 1901. The alumni have made their presence felt in developing the social sector of the country. Noel Pearson is fighting fo r the rights and recognition for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. They have been able to make their presence felt in politics as well. Professor Marie Bashir who is one of the most eminent public and academic figures has been the former governor of New South Wales. The vision of University of Sydney is to lead in the society to improve the world where the people live in. The values of University of Sydney is instilled since its inception-they believe in giving education for all and implement leadership that will make the lives better. They believe leadership should not be present in a person rather it should be present in culture. The strategy of University of Sydney is to build a place where the bets researcher could practice their work and the most deserving students should be able achieve their goals by applying their potential. University of Sydney is not left behind as far as sustainability is concerned. They have included water and energy consumption in their priority list. They have also adopted recycling products and waste management as ways to bring improvement in the society. Discussion of external environmental factors as presented in Jackson and Schulers (1995) HRM model According to Jackson and Schuler (1995), human resource management and planning in an organization is not only about the internal management but also about the external factors. Some of the factors that have been identified by the authors are: The laws and regulations of a country are responsible for the way the teachers and other employees will be given the pay. The minimum wage that is given to the employees of a country should be given to the employees of the organization (Renwick, Redman and Maguire 2013). In addition to this, the wage should be increased based on the experience of the person. The employees of an organization should be work as per the working hours assigned to the labors of the country (Budhwar and Debrah 2013). The companies cannot make the employees work more than the working hour assigned to the employees working in that country. The employee becomes eligible for extra pay if the person is working more than the assigned working hour (Alfes et al. 2013). Different countries have different work cultures. In some places, the employees are only concerned about themselves and individual growth while in some places, they think the growth of the organization will help in development of their career (Riley 2014). Some countries believe that working all day long will help them in gaining proper success, while some employees in other countries feel that they should take rest and work simultaneously to be successful at work (Wilton 2016). The work culture is some countries show that there should be proper distinction between the designations of the staffs who are working there, while in some countries they feel that the employees should work together (Aswathappa 2013). The designation among the employees are only for different paychecks, else they work in an informal manner. Thus, the work culture of various countries seem to have huge effect on the employees in an organization are handled. It will be the duty of the HR manager to make any new employee from any international country to understand about the work culture and help the person adjust with the work culture of the country (Marler and Fisher 2013). The stability of the political power in a country has a huge effect on the way the employees work. The most affected part is the peacefulness with which the employees work. If the government is not stable, it will affect the work of the employees, as they will constantly fear of unrest (Messersmith and Wales 2013). In addition to this, the remuneration of the employees will also be affected (Beer, Boselie and Brewster 2015). If the organization is not sure about the future of the country and the conditions in which they work, the business will not be up to the mark (Boella and Goss-Turner 2013). As a result, they will not be able to pay the employees properly. Market and industry dynamics go hand in hand when it comes to the human resource manager of an organization. If the industry is not able to function properly, it will affect the way the business of the organization (Carmeli, Gelbard and Reiter?Palmon 2013). As a result, the people might not be interested to work in the particular sector where the company is functioning (Jamali, El Dirani and Harwood 2015). Thus, the company will suffer from loss as they would not get proper employee to work for them. In addition to this, the existing employees might also leave in search of better opportunities in some other sector as the particular sector is not been able to prove fruitful for the development of the career (Shields et al. 2015). Once the industry is in good shape, the companies working in that industry will perform well and it will be able to keep the employees satisfied and happy in their work (Knowles, Holton III and Swanson 2014). HR functions The planning, resourcing and retention, which are some of the vital factors of human resource functions in a normal organization are different from the HR functions that are carried out in an educational institution (Kehoe and Wright 2013). While planning the human resource management functions, they have to look after the following things The stakeholders who are involved with the organization The environment where the institution is working The resources available for the organization The technological impact on the organization The intellectual capital that is present in the institution Even though HR is an internal matter, the external factors hugely influences the HR related activities (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley 2016). The above-mentioned factors might be related to the internal organization, but the variations in the factors will happen mainly due to the external environment (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung 2016). The recruitment and selection in the university is done with precision. University of Sydney aims at giving the unmatched services to the student who comes here from various countries and wants that every individual from any type of class will should get proper education (Storey 2014). Hence, while recruitment and selections of the employees starting from the lecturers to the official staffs are communicated about this idea. In addition to this, no differentiations among the staffs are done when it comes to culture and ethnicity (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang 2014). External and internal recruitment processes are taken into account (Purce 2014). When any new employee is recruited, the external recruitment process is taken into account (Renwick, Redman and Maguire 2013). On the contrary, the junior staffs are also given the opportunity to go up the ladder and take more roles that are challenging in the university (Budhwar and Debrah 2013). Training and development is a continuous process (Alfes et al. 2013). The change in the course materials and nee regulations of the government should be taken into account by the university (Riley 2014). In such a situation, the employees need to know the change and bring in the change in the way they handle the students and other official works (Wilton 2016). Remuneration and rewards are the important factors to keep the employees motivated n their work (Aswathappa 2013). The employees are appraised once year based on their performance. Other than the appraisals, the employees are given rewards based on their performance throughout the year. The rewards are not necessarily monetary (Marler and Fisher 2013). Giving recognition to the official staffs and the teachers are also a part of the proper functioning of the institution (Messersmith and Wales 2013). The institution is known for taking part social welfare; hence, if any of the employees of the institution is taking part in the social welfare or sustainability in the institution then the person is given special recognition (Beer, Boselie and Brewster 2015). The recognition not only helps to boost the morale of the employees but also help the institution to stay ahead and the serve the society in a better manner (Boella and Goss-Turner 2013). The employee relation is one of the important factors of HR as far as smooth functioning of any organization is concerned (Carmeli, Gelbard and Reiter?Palmon 2013). There should be competition at work but the competition should not be taken to such a level where the work culture is hampered (Jamali, El Dirani and Harwood 2015). In addition to this, the employees come from different cultural backgrounds, hence it is necessary that they should work in close contact with each other so that they are able to take the university forward (Shields et al. 2015). Even though, each department needs to excel in their respected field, the university sees to the fact none of the lecturers are having any problem with each other. They compete as well as cooperate to keep the work of the university going well and help the university to serve the people in a better manner (Knowles, Holton III and Swanson 2014). Analysis and Impact of the external factors on the HR functions The laws and regulations of the country is not only for the employees but also for the students. Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) act help in creating a legislative framework so that it is able to support the students, the reputation of the education system of Australia is protected, and the integrity of the migration system of Australia is maintained (universitiesaustralia.edu.au 2013). In addition to the students, Fair Work Act 2009, Legislation in the Employment and Workplace Relations Portfolio, Sex Discrimination Act and theRacial Discrimination Actand Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (Cth) looks after the rights of the employees (Awu.net.au 2017). The government after the fact that none of the employees is being discriminated based on age, race, ethnicity, background or gender. Right from planning for the resource until the employee retention, the laws and the regulations should be kept into mind by the university. While recruiting the employees, the university should not discriminate between them and the sole concern while recruiting the staffs will be the capability. The remunerations and rewards should not be different from the employees. The only thing that should be taken is the performance of the employees. The opportunities for training and development should be equal for the employees. There should be no discrimination while deciding who should get the training in the institution. The work culture at Australia is straightforward and direct. They do not beating around the bush and talk to the point. It not only helps the Australians to save time but it also makes the work faster. In addition to this, maintaining bureaucracy and hierarchy at work is seldom seen in the working culture of Australia (Webb et al. 2014). They can go up to the higher authority to discuss any issue. They would not have to pass through a number of people before reaching the higher authority. As they can directly speak to the person they want, it makes the process faster. The work culture of Australia will be beneficial for the university as the coordination among the employees will be better. While they will plan the placement of the employees they would not have to think the way they should communicate. The exit formality will also be easy if any of the employees want to leave the organization. The political system of Australia is stable and it believes in religious tolerance and freedom of speech for the people of Australia (abc.net.au 2017). The companies in Australia will be able to work in a better manner. The employees will be able to work freely and they can speak for their rights in the organization. as the political system is stable, the university will be able to recruit the employees and the relation between the employees will be good as they will be able to work freely in the institution. The market and the industry dynamics have changed for Australia over the period. Students are looking forward to private institution for their education. Australia is considered to be one of the most attractive country that provides high quality education to the students from all over the world. Australia stands fifth after the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France as far as international is concerned. Every year students from 200 different counties come to Australia to study and the footfall of the crosses 450,000 (Investinaustralia.com 2017). After tourism, the educations sector of Australia is considered to be the highest contributor to the economy as far as the expert services are concerned. It has been forecasted that the Australian education sector has the capacity to provide education to 268,156 students from various countries by the year 2025. The demands for the seats in the universities will more than the supply of seats by the year, 2020. There can be shortfall of 22,692 places for the students. As the education industry of Australia is rising, there will be more footfalls of students in the University of Sydney. They will have acquired more teachers who would be able to cater to the needs of the needs of the students. There will be a need to increase the training and development of the employees, as they will have to handle more students. Recruitment process should be more on external process as more number of teachers would be required to help the university grow. To attract more teachers who could cater to the needs of the student, the remuneration should also be increased as per the demand of the industry. Once the teachers and the employees will be happy working in the organization, University of Sydney will be able to cater to the needs of the industry. Conclusion After going through the human resource management of University of Sydney and the HRM model proposed by Jackson and Schuler in the year 1995, it can be concluded that internal and external factors are inter-dependent on each other. The operations of the internal factors will affect the business of the company while the conditions of the external environment will affects the internal functions of the company. University of Sydney is one of the leading educational institutions with a strong past and even stronger present, they aim at imparting education to the students of all classes. Being a well-known institution, the responsibly also increases accordingly. The HR activities that are prevalent not only in any organization but also in University of Sydney are the planning of the resources and retentions of the staffs, providing proper training and help in development of the staffs, adhering to proper recruitment process and maintain a healthy relations among the employees. The external factors that are taken into account by the HRM model by Jackson and Schuler are political conditions of a country, laws and regulations, culture of the place and the market and industry dynamics. The present conditions of the factors affect the HR is practiced in the institution. If the condition is good, the employees will be happy and the result will be opposite if the conditions are not favorable. The laws and regulations of Australia not only look after proper rights of the employees but alos have maintained a structure that will help the students to study peacefully in the country. The government of Australia maintains no discrimination policy. University of Sydney should abide by the rules and it would not affect them negatively as they already support equality. Then political conditions of the country are stable and hence, they would not have to fear of loss of human resources. The work culture of the country suggests that people are straight forward and they do not believe in maintaining hierarchy. They are informal when it comes to work. It will also help the university, as there will be coordination among the teachers. However, they might face issue with the straight forwardness as teacher some from various backgrounds and not all the employees might be well acquainted with the straight forwardness. The educational sector is quite promising for the country and is growin g and cater to the needs of huge footfall of students. It has been expected that is future, the footfall, of the student will rise but there might not be enough seats for them. Hence, University of Sydney would not have to think of employee loss but will have to look forward for more recruitments and better training to handle the huge number of students. References abc.net.au, 2017.Australias Political System. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/ra/federasi/tema1/aus_pol_chart_e.pdf [Accessed 3 Apr. 2017]. Alfes, K., Shantz, A.D., Truss, C. and Soane, E.C., 2013. The link between perceived human resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: a moderated mediation model.The international journal of human resource management,24(2), pp.330-351. Aswathappa, K., 2013.Human resource management: Text and cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Awu.net.au, 2017.Employment Legislation | The Australian Workers' Union - National. [online] Awu.net.au. Available at: https://www.awu.net.au/employment-legislation [Accessed 2 Apr. 2017]. Beer, M., Boselie, P. and Brewster, C., 2015. Back to the future: Implications for the field of HRM of the multistakeholder perspective proposed 30 years ago.Human Resource Management,54(3), pp.427-438. Boella, M. and Goss-Turner, S., 2013.Human resource management in the hospitality industry: A guide to best practice. Routledge. Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W. and Morley, M. eds., 2016.New Challenges for European Resource Management. Springer. Budhwar, P.S. and Debrah, Y.A. eds., 2013.Human resource management in developing countries. Routledge. Carmeli, A., Gelbard, R. and Reiter?Palmon, R., 2013. Leadership, creative problem?solving capacity, and creative performance: The importance of knowledge sharing.Human Resource Management,52(1), pp.95-121. Investinaustralia.com, 2017.EDUCATION TRAINING Industry in Australia | Invest in Australia. [online] Investinaustralia.com. Available at: https://www.investinaustralia.com/industry/education-training/education-training-industry-australia [Accessed 2 Apr. 2017]. Jackson, S.E. and Schuler, R.S., 1995. Understanding human resource management in the context of organizations and their environments.Annual review of psychology,46(1), pp.237-264. Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. and Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management.The Academy of Management Annals,8(1), pp.1-56. Jamali, D.R., El Dirani, A.M. and Harwood, I.A., 2015. Exploring human resource management roles in corporate social responsibility: the CSR?HRM co?creation model.Business Ethics: A European Review,24(2), pp.125-143. Kehoe, R.R. and Wright, P.M., 2013. The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees attitudes and behaviors.Journal of management,39(2), pp.366-391. Knowles, M.S., Holton III, E.F. and Swanson, R.A., 2014.The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Routledge. Marler, J.H. and Fisher, S.L., 2013. An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management.Human Resource Management Review,23(1), pp.18-36. Messersmith, J.G. and Wales, W.J., 2013. Entrepreneurial orientation and performance in young firms: The role of human resource management.International Small Business Journal,31(2), pp.115-136. Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals),67. Renwick, D.W., Redman, T. and Maguire, S., 2013. Green human resource management: A review and research agenda.International Journal of Management Reviews,15(1), pp.1-14. Riley, M., 2014.Human resource management in the hospitality and tourism industry. Routledge. Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns, R., Robinson, J., O'Leary, P. and Plimmer, G., 2015.Managing Employee Performance Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press. Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016.Globalizing human resource management. Routledge. Storey, J., 2014.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. The University of Sydney, 2017.Home. [online] The University of Sydney. Available at: https://sydney.edu.au/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2017]. universitiesaustralia.edu.au, 2013.Legislation and Regulation. [online] universitiesaustralia.edu.au/. Available at: https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/global-engagement/legislation-and-regulation#.WOChD2-GPIV [Accessed 2 Apr. 2017]. Webb, S., Black, R., Plowright, S., Morton, R. and Roy, R., 2014, January. Geographical dimensions of imagined futures: post school participation in education and work in peri-urban and regional Australia. InRefereed proceedings, annual meeting of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association(pp. 1-20). Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association. Wilton, N., 2016.An introduction to human resource management. Sage.

Midsummer Nights Dream Essays - Demetrius, Hermia, Helena

Midsummer Night's Dream After a night of wandering through the woods, chasing fairies, having various potions rubbed over their eyes, falling in and out of love, and threatening each other's lives and limbs, the four lovers of A Midsummer Night's Dream wake up in the forest to the trumpeting of horns and find themselves surrounded by nobility. It's no wonder they are confused, and "cannot truly say .. ." (IV.1.7) how they ended up where they are and what happened the night before. But what they are sure about is how they feel towards one another. Whether it's a love that has faded, grown anew or been there all along, the four lovers possess a certainty about who (m) they love that is as strong if not stronger than it is at any other point in the play. Lysander is the first of the four paramours to react to Theseus' wonderment at their situation. He admits that "I shall reply amazedly, /Half sleep, half waking. But as yet, I swear, /I cannot truly say how I came here." (IV.1.145-7). In this excerpt, Lysander's tone is understandably a bit dazed and unsure, and his response is littered with uncertainty. This tone of astonishment is also present in the thoughts of Demetrius, Helena, and Hermia. "Methinks I see these things with parted eye, /When everything seems double" (IV.1.188-9) exclaims Hermia, and Helena agrees that "So methinks."(IV.1.190). Demetrius is so bewildered that he finds it necessary to ask the others "Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me/ That yet we sleep, we dream." (IV.1.192-4). The underlying tone throughout this 'waking scene' is one of uneasiness and confusion between dreams and reality; but the only time the lovers express real uncertainty is while they are sorting out what just happened in front of them involving the Duke and his hunting party. Demetrius asks the others "Do not you think/The Duke was here, and bid us follow him?" (IV.1.194-5), and only concludes that "Why, then, we are awake." (IV.1.197) after receiving confirmation from the others. But this tone of uncertainty fades when the four talk about their true loves. Demetrius admits that "I wot know by what power . . ." (IV.1.163) that his love for Hermia has "Melted as the snow . . ."(IV.1.165), but he is sure that "The object and the pleasure of mine eye, /is only Helena." (IV.1.169-70). Lysander and Hermia don't even refer to their love as anytime being in doubt--their confusion again only pertains to what is happening presently; what Hermia sees as if out of focus, "with parted eye .. ." (IV.1.188). While it would take a whole other paper to debate whether or not Demetrius is really in love with Helena in his drugged state, she at least is convinced of his love. In the woods, Helena was sure that Demetrius' vows of adoration were to scorn her, and even as he claimed to love her, she lamented "Wherefore speaks he this/To her he hates?" (III.2.227-8). But the next morning, she regards his vows with less doubt, and instead reflects that she has "Found Demetrius, like a jewel/Mine own and not mine own."(IV.1.190). She acknowledges that Demetrius was lost to her own at one point, but more importantly she now knows that he is found. Helena's new acceptance of Demetrius' love could be because his vows are much more concrete than they were in the woods. There Demetrius proclaimed his love through claims of admiration and idolatry; using spin words of poets without real depth, like when he awakens and out of the blue declares Helena to be a "goddess, nymph, perfect, divine . . ." (III.2.137). In the morning his declarations carry an air of more reason, and focus not on empty catch-phrases of beauty and passion. Instead, Demetrius declares more what he feels, saying "Now I do wish [for Helena's love], love it, long for it, /And will for evermore be true to it."(IV.1.174-5). His feelings of love are now more certain and confident, thus he is able to express them with language more concrete.

Abortion and Euthanasia Question Essay Example

Abortion and Euthanasia Question Essay Example Abortion and Euthanasia Question Essay Abortion and Euthanasia Question Essay Christians hold a strong responsibility for those at the beginning and end of their lives there for abortion and euthanasia are very important issues. Roman Catholics believe that abortion which is killing an unborn child is wrong because they believe life starts at conception so someone who commits abortion is killing a life. Christians also believe in the parable of sheeps and goats which means if someone kills a person or hurts a person it is killing Jesus and if life is harmed it is saving Jesus meaning Jesus is in everyone of us even in the unborn child and a person at the end of their life so committing abortion and euthanasia is against the Christian religion. In Mathew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching.and healing every disease and sickness among the people therefore we should help the unborn child and people suffering just like he did not resorting to abortion or euthanasia but to help the unborn child and look after the person at the end of their lives. Christian also believe We were made in gods image so everyones life should be preserved even the unborn child Some might believe that life at the beginning and the end of life are not as important as life in the middle, but all life is important according to most Christians and also in mark 10:13 the parable tells of people bringing their little children to Jesus to have him touch them. But the disciples rebuke them. Jesus sees this and says to them let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to them. Meaning Jesus believes that life at the beginning is important as well. The Orthodox Church believes abortion is a heinous act of evil and shouldnt be used to kill an unborn child. But the Church of England has a different view they believe the foetus is important and it is wrong kill the foetus but the mother has the right to have an abortion if she wants. The story of the Good Samaritan is a good example it is trying to tell us to love our enemy but how can we do it if we are allowing people to die. This tells us that Christian responsibility about abortion and abortion is strong. There are other people who argue for abortion. The Anglican Church believes abortion should be used if the mothers life is affected. So either way someone will be killed. The Beatitudes as well say happy are the merciful this means to allow abortion happen and become more merciful. The humanists believe life can be ended if they wish so abortion can be allowed to happen. But euthanasia though will only be made if the person who is ready to die wants it. The Methodists believe the same Pre death Landlines must be relieved all needs including the spiritual must be met Jesus was filled with pity for the helpless by allowing abortion and euthanasia is the common argument for abortion and euthanasia because it gets rid of the suffering of the mother and the person who will die. A Christian responds by having abortion either because of rape which is a horrible experience. And another problem for pregnant women is would they have enough money to support a child as it grows up another reason is if the mothers health is effected which can lead to the mother dieing and the child dieing as well. Also the mother may also be very young and may not hold the responsibility to look after a child or the mother is too old to give birth. Roman Catholics believe you should not have an abortion even if the mother or family is affected, but to help the mother and family through the ordeal rather than forgetting about them because of the saying Should not be indifferent to sorrow and misery. A Christian should do what he can. Christians have a different response for euthanasia, all Christians believe euthanasia is wrong however in some cases some Christians may go against the church and say it would be more merciful to allow euthanasia. Tony Bland was crushed in the Hillsborough disaster. Tony had been put on a life support machine for 4 years till it was switched off by hiss parents consent. A priest said that they had gone against Christianity and committed euthanasia. But another priest said that they werent because Tony was not showing any sign of improvement. Euthanasia is best for people who live a life of suffering and feel themselves that they would rather die than suffer. People who are against abortion or euthanasia find a better way around than allowing the child aborted or the person to die. In Euthanasia Christians care for the patient, give counselling or send them to a hospice, this gives them a good life before they die. Hospices look after patients who are ill and near to dieing, they give them happiness before they die rather than just letting them die which is a bad way to die and euthanasia is the easy way out. Even though they are suffering which in away gets those to heaven just like Jesus who suffered on the cross before being sent to heaven. Allowing Euthanasia is like killing Jesus just like the parable of the sheep and the goats. People should also have the power to decide if someone is to die that is breaking the commandment thou shall not kill. Christians who do not allow abortion keep the baby, put the baby up for adoption or get counselling. These can be difficult to do if they keep the baby it can be hard to afford to look after it or if it is put up for adoption it is hard to give it away. Christians do this so that they dont break the commandment thou shall not kill and breaking also that life start at conception. Roman Catholics say everyone should not commit abortion because Respect for life is not a duty, but embedded in the mind and heart of the human race meaning there is no excuse to have an abortion. The orthodox religion does not have abortions because they believe life is sacred. What Christians believe about life is up to them. They should not try to make others accept their position Christians would argue against this they would say the bible is the word of God, a sacred and holy book. It has wisdom that will never become outdated and will tell people what to do in everyday life. It is 4000years old and the worlds all time best seller. Christians base their rites on the bible and think it should be listened to. I disagree because the bible is old and in that day they never had situations were a pregnant women wanted to have an abortion so how can the bible give advice on how to tackle a way around on not having an abortion. Many believe that Christians should keep their opinions to themselves because they brainwash people in to believing the one thing. However pro life groups believe Christian do not brainwash people, but educate them. Christians speak for those who cannot speak for themselves such as the unborn child and terminally ill. I agree because the unborn child doesnt have the chance to make the decision to live. Many people believe Christians should be listened to because they make the world a better place. They say that Christians do this because it is right not because they will receive a reward on earth. I agree but I think some issues Christians tell our not the right way for instance in South Africa some women suffer from aids because of Christians saying they cant use artificial contraceptive to stop getting aids so women and children die, which is not the right way so Christians should allow artificial contraceptives.

Conflict Essay

Conflict Essay Conflict Essay Conflict Essay: Avoid The Conflict In it In every day life, we deal with conflict, if not with ourselves, then with others. Conflict does not have to mean that it is bad; it is simply stated that we have different viewpoints about certain things. A conflict essay is an essay about the conflict in a movie, book or our daily life. Conflict essays usually have five paragraphs, the introductory paragraph, the three body paragraphs and the closing paragraph. Here are tips on professional essay writing: Conflict Essay: Main Structure The introductory paragraph is used to hook the reader and tell the thesis. The thesis is what you are trying to prove by writing the essay, the main point of the entire essay. This paragraph is very important because if the reader is hooked he will read the essay until the end, but if people are not hooked they will not read your paper and you wrote it all for nothing. All three body paragraphs will begin with a topic sentence and at least three pieces of evidence that will support each sentence. The topic sentence represents the main idea of the essay and supports your thesis statement. The body paragraphs in a conflict essay are usually arranged from the least exciting topic sentence to the most exciting, so the reader has something to look forward to. In your closing paragraph, you must restate your thesis statement. However, not with the same words. You have to make sure that no matter what, but your conclusion do not word to word as the original thesis statement. Summarize the three main points, and leave the reader with some final thoughts. To write a successful conflict essay, choose an event that has happened in your life and left you with vivid memories. With each vivid memory, you can describe, not tell what was going on, who was involved, what the conflict was, what feelings were generated, and how it got resolved. An essay on conflict could be on any topic like war, or family conflict, neighbor conflicts, etc. Choose the type of conflict you are most interested in and give your thoughts freedom to develop this idea. Conflict Essay: Writing Help If you do not have time for making researches on your assignments, or you feel stuck in your essay writing, you are welcome to become our customer and we will provide you with a professional help overnight! It is so easy and convenient! Read more: School English Essay Persuasive Essay Topics Personal Essay Expository Essay Essay Topics

Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court Essay

Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court - Essay Example It has been a very critical issue to decide what should be taught in schools and what should not be. While selecting the course content, according to the American constitution, it must be kept in view that the school kids must not effect because of the course content. The religious context is critical in a sense that it must need to take in the view as secularism. A very famous legal case which was heard at US Supreme Court against the propaganda of teaching the creation science in public schools; the both of the issues are close enough because the critique is based upon religion and needs a back from constitution and needs logical pro constitution arguments in order to support or dis-support the teaching of intelligent design theory (Mauro, 2006). Before coming to any of the concrete or solid point of logic, let us get an idea about a brief introduction of intelligent design theory. It is defined by the discovery institute and it is the answer to some creationism (creation sciences). By the institute it was defined as the causal effect of intelligence while the universe was being assembled; for instance, it describes that the certain factors and aspects of the universe were not emerged due to naturalism (Shanks, 2004). It is a question (in other words) on the presence of God, it supports to the intelligence and logic. It is because the institute and supporters of the theory reveal it as evidence-based theory rather than a religious critique (or religious based) (Idea center). In the legal hearing which was heard in 1987 and well known as Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) which barred the teaching of creation science in public schools. It was a decision which was taken by the Supreme Courts of the United States.  

Coronary Heart Disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coronary Heart Disease - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that coronary heart disease is caused by a waxy substance named plaque forms up inside the coronary arteries. The arteries which carry oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. If the plate breaks, a blood clot will be formed on its surface, which will block the flow of blood into the coronary artery causing heart failure. The research will emphasis on the possible causes of the coronary disease as well as its prevention mechanisms. In line with the research carried out by the national institute of health in Merced country California, coronary heart disease is one of the diseases that cause most deaths in the city. In relation to the quantitative data, Merced is rated to be the 46th in the number of death used b coronary heart disease basing on the age, the mortality rate in the year 2006-210, 25 deaths per 110,000 of the population caused by coronary heart disease. Moreover, 16,000 people in Merced County alone diagnosed with coronary heart di sease which 9% of the total population of Merced County. In addition, obesity being one of the causes of coronary heart disease is also ranked top have affected 29% of the total population of Merced County, showing that greater possibility of an increase in death rates caused by coronary heart disease. Most of the research conducted has got a positive impact on the people of Merced County at large. Because the facts gathered apparently shows the causes of coronary heart disease, and how it can be avoided and prevented at the same time.

Special Education Teacher Essay Example for Free

Special Education Teacher Essay Abstract This paper reflects on the teacher candidate’s observations of the student â€Å"Junior† and the various accommodations that were made for him in various classroom settings. It also discusses different accommodations that could be made in general education classes and special education classes. The paper discusses the need for high school students to be self-advocating or self-determining and learning to make decisions on his or her own. TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 SPE-226 Educating the Exceptional Learner Benchmark Assignment: Teaching for Exceptionalities. Students with exceptionalities are a breed all their own. Each student has individual strengths, weaknesses, and individualized education programs/plans (IEPs) tailored to those needs. There are many resources, accommodations, and settings for these students to help ensure their academic success. One particular student, herein called â€Å"Junior,† is a mixed bag of interesting. Junior’s cognitive abilities are on par with his classmates. However, he needs help with reading, writing, and other social and behavioral skills. He likes to engage in discussion, enjoys music, and is diligent in his work. Observing him, his teachers, and other various special education classrooms has given valuable information to increase my teaching strategies. Inclusive Math Class Junior’s first period class is Algebra 1-2. It is an inclusive class and is co-taught by Meinen and Geigas. Meinen, the special education teacher, is there to help students and provide assistance services to Geigas’s teaching. However, all of Geigas’s classes have some form of inclusion. Consequently, Geigas’s teaching strategies differ from regular education teaching strategies in order to appeal both to the inclusive students and regular students. For instance, Geigas uses different colored pens for different the different steps of a problem when he is teaching and doing problems with the class. He is also willing to create copies of the class worksheet for any student who needs it, not just special education students. The accommodations for Junior’s quiz were highlighting the directions for him and writing the different formulas, like point-slope form and the equation for finding the slope of a line, on his paper for easier access. Highlighting the directions for Junior’s quiz was successful. He knew what was expected of him, and what he needed to accomplish with the quiz. He did not TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 need to have the directions read to him or explained to him. In addition, writing the formulas on his paper helped keep him on track. He only needed help with one graphing question, which could be a difficult question for any student. Because Junior only missed two questions due to minor mistakes, I believe the accommodations were very successful and do not need to be changed. Furthermore, I would review the minor mistakes with Junior, have him explain where  he went wrong, and give him half-credit since he had the major concepts correct. Many other technologies or other instructional supports exist that could enhance the learning for Junior and his classmates. In the math classroom, there are white boards and a document scanner. The document scanner is what Geigas and Meinen use to do the problems together with the students. Two major benefits to having the document scanner are having a hard copy of what work was done in class and being able to go back if necessary. If the class were only using the white board, each problem would have to be erased in order to move on to the  next problem. If a student needed to go back, this would create a lot of wasted time redoing work that was previously done. Another good technology tool that students could use is Khan Academy, a website with videos and exercises to help anyone learn skills and concepts at their own pace (Khan Academy, 2013). It also tracks all data inputted and shows the user’s statistics over time. This information is private to the user, but it can be shared with teachers and coaches, so teachers can use the Khan Academy classroom in their own physical classrooms (Khan Academy, 2013). While Khan Academy is a good resource, the classroom only has one teacher computer available, so any type of technology is extremely limited. Self-Advocacy and Self-Determination Junior is just one student of many. There are many other special education students in the inclusive classrooms that could need more help. Because these are high school students, they TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 need to be taught the idea of self-advocacy or self-determination. This is the idea that the student’s ability to â€Å"consider options and make appropriate decisions and to exercise free will,  independence, and individual responsibility† (Hardman, Drew, Egan, 2009, p. 92). Therefore, many of the special education students in the inclusive classes must ask for the bigger accommodations. For instance, if a student needs to go to a separate room with less people and/or have the directions read and explain to them aloud, they must ask permission to do so (A. Geigas, personal communication, November 4, 2013). â€Å"Since self-determination skills are most effectively learned and developed by practicing them, students with disabilities should be given  ample opportunity to use their self-advocacy, decision-making and socialization skills well before they leave high school to prepare themselves for working and living in their community† (PACER Center, 2013). Allowing this type of openness is actually beneficial for the students. It allows the students to become more independent while in the safe, closed environment of the classroom. Additionally, effective self-determination teaching can increase positive transitional outcomes in moving from high school to adult life (Hardman, Drew, Egan, 2009, p. 92). For these reasons, many accommodations are not expressly given to students. Self-Contained Special Education Class When it comes to special education classes, there can be more focus on the individual student and his or her needs. In Junior’s special education behavior class period, the class focuses on what is expected of him and his classmates in social situations. They were planning a field trip to a symphony during the week, so the teacher discussed examples of the types of behaviors that would be expected of them and what behaviors would be unexpected in the given situation. As for Junior, he likes to be engaged in class, which leads to him shouting answers. In some classes, it is acceptable, and others it is not. He had to be reminded that he needed to raise TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 his hand, and be acknowledged in order to speak during his turn. Michelle Garcia Winner gives a good accommodation or lesson that can deal with this kind of behavior: I encourage teachers to keep their eyes focused on who they were talking to, hold up the palm of their hand in the direction of the blurter and say to them I was looking at this student (say the students name), I was talking to this student, I am not talking to you right now. By doing this, the teacher provides cognitive information about the process of communication that helps the student learn how to avoid blurting. (2012) On the other hand, Junior did well in understanding why certain behaviors would be unexpected, offensive, or rude while at the symphony. Given this observation, one can tell that Junior only has mild or moderate problems with social behaviors. As a result, this self-contained class was geared more towards his classmates in the room. This is a prime example of how the accommodations of special education teachers differ so greatly between rooms, classes, and  students. Conclusion Observing and talking with Junior’s teachers, special and regular education, has given me a plethora of information that has increased my teaching tools and strategies. Observing a range of classrooms and situations has given me a deeper understanding of the kind of scenarios that may be presented in my future. Overall, Junior is a very bright, engaging student. Spending time with him and observing a multitude of different classrooms has given me valuable insights into the world of teaching students with exceptionalities. TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 References Garcia Winner, Michelle. (2012). Social Thinking at School. Retrieved 13 Nov 2013 from https://www. socialthinking. com/what-is-social-thinking/-social-thinking-at-school Hardman, M. L. , Drew, C. J. , Egan, M. W. (2009). Human Exceptionality: School, Community, and Family (10th ed. ). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Khan Academy. (2013). A free world-class education for anyone anywhere. Retrieved 14 Nov 2013 from https://www. khanacademy. org/about PACER Center. (2013). SELF DETERMINATION. Retrieved 13 Nov 2013 from http://www. pacer. org/tatra/resources/self.

Phtography Essay -- Art, Sally Mann

Sally Mann’s photographic work has received both reverence and controversy, most notably her book Immediate Family (1994), which contains nude and suggestive photographs of her three children, has also sparked overwhelming critical discussions and speculation, whilst challenging the prevailing concepts of family and childhood in the United States. Produced immediately after the Reagan revolution, which reinstated family values and a more conventional moral sensibility as vital to the framework of public policy (Berlant, 1997, p. 7), Mann’s work has resulted in her immersed into debates surrounding child pornography, the inversion of familial relationships, motherhood, and conveying a complex notion of the maternal gaze. Hà ©là ¨ne Cixous states that â€Å"binary oppositions underline most of Western [philosophical] thought† e.g. male/female, active/passive, natural/unnatural, logical/emotional (Conley, 2000, p.148) which have the effect of forming a set of standardised values within patriarchal society. Conversely, Immediate Family moves towards a state where what is traditionally considered antipodal co-exists, where neither is repressed, and offers an alternatively paradigmatic relationship between binary opposites. In addition to this, by considering Mann's work in terms of Cixous's understanding of the Freudian concept of the Uncanny, a more fluid and permeable reading of Immediate Family can be produced. The Uncanny is characterised by a strangeness that "uncovers what is hidden (anxiety) and by doing so, effects a disturbing transformation of the familiar into the unfamiliar'' (Jackson, 1981, p.65), resulting in an inability to decipher what is considered to be 'real' and what is t hought to be 'imaginary'. Mann is known for ten... ... is ultimately the girl’s subversion of the border dividing life and death. The familiar becomes dauntingly unfamiliar, as with â€Å"dreams that slip past our perceptual defences triggering a response but never quite revealing their meaning† (Williams and Newton, 2007, p.207). Subsequently, this expresses a blurring of boundaries and embodies the notion of metamorphosis where divisions cease to be defined. The animation/inactivity duality of the body defies the binary opposites of 'rational' thinking, and in doing so, introduces the Uncanny into this photograph. The more one analyses and observes this photograph, the more it constantly shifts across the prescribed boundaries of illusion and reality, often entering controversial areas. â€Å"Winter Squash† demonstrates how Mann takes the viewer from a visual affirmation of childhood and youth, to an inherent fear of death.

Ronald Reagan Life Span

Introduction On Feb. 6, 1911 a child named Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in a small town, Tampico, Illinois. His parents are the late Nelle Wilson and John (â€Å"Jack†) Reagan. Ronald grew up with one brother by the name of Neil (â€Å"Moon†) Reagan. The Reagans moved quite a few times throughout Ronald’s childhood before settling down in Dixon Illinois. Although Reagan Majored in Sociology and Economics, his love was in entertainment. In 1936 he accepted a position with the radio station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa as a sports caster. Only a year later, Reagan went on to Hollywood in Los Angeles, California to establish his acting career. His acting career lasted 25 years. Reagan became known for his political abilities in 1964 when he preformed a television speech that supported Senator Barry Goldwater’s campaign for presidency. Although Goldwater lost, the speech was moving none the less. After the speech was delivered, a group of Republicans in California approached Reagan and convinced him to run in the 1966 election for the seat of governor of California. Reagan beat out Democrat Edmund G. Brown, his opponent, by nearly a million votes. In the Race for presidency in 1980 Regan’s opponent was Jimmy Carter. Carter’s nervous mannerisms were no match for Regan’s charm and public appeal. Carter's 41% of votes was dwarfed by Reagan’s 51%. Reagan became known as â€Å"the great communicator. † Reagan became the 40th President of the United States of America. Reagan spoke out publicly against federal regulatory agencies, expensive social programs, and government bureaucracy. He was a public speaker and advocate of the middle class. However, he also thought the government had too much control and influence over businesses. Psychological Influences His father was an Irish-American. His father was a shoe salesman by trade. Reagan’s mother was Scotts-Irish. Reagan didn’t care much for his name Ronald so he went by â€Å"Dutch†, a nickname that very well could have come from his father saying he looked like a fat Dutch boy. Reagan’s mother was a huge advocate for the needy. She also supported efforts for prohibition. She thought that alcohol was a moral decay of the family fabric. This was more than likely because Reagan’s father was an alcoholic. Be that as it may, Nelle always supported Jack and never chastised him for what she classified as his â€Å"sickness†. Reagan seemed to have such an empathetic mother. She seems to be so supportive of his father as well as the rest of the family. Even though she had personal ideological disagreements with the way that Jack was living his life, Nelle had compassion and stood by Jack with emotion; showing a good moral environment for her children. Support Structure Systems Reagan was antisocial as a child and didn’t have many friends. The Reagan’s were a tightly knit unit. However, Reagan did write in his memoirs an entry along the lines of Dixon being a small town in which everyone had a sense of community for one another. It was a place where people helped others in need. This is very important because this could allude to an opinion of Reagan’s genuine concern for others. Reagan, at the age of 11, became very devout in religion. He aspired to become a Disciple of Christ and became baptized by a Disciple of Christ. Throughout his life, Reagan constantly remained vigilant in his religious endeavors. He believed in God and he believed in brotherhood. Through these two powerful belief structures, Reagan received support from within that he needed to pursue endeavors throughout his life. Neither of Reagan’s parents possessed a formal education. For this reason they were very concerned that their children did well in school. Despite Nelle and Jack’s efforts, Reagan’s interest wasn’t as much on education, as it was on sports. However, this gave him a substantial structure through his teammates on his football team. Although his educational goals gave him an early start for college and eventually for his major in economics and sociology, he also gained an important support foundation from making friends and becoming social in sports. Nelle and Jack were advocates of equal opportunity and encouraged cultural growth. On many occasions they invited Ronald’s multicultural friends into their home for social gatherings. Personality Theories Some people argue that Reagan was an Introvert merely because he was an actor previous to his career as a politician. An introvert is someone who is concerned primarily with one's own thoughts and feelings rather than with the external environment (dictionary. com). Most people become actors because they are shy and sensitive people. They are often insecure people who find difficulties expressing themselves. Some people would argue that Reagan had script writers that aided his abilities to be so charismatic. Some Introverted People resort to acting because being onstage is an out for them and a way for them to be extroverted when they can find no other means to do so. On the contrary, many people claim that Reagan was an extrovert due to his jocularity and ability to communicate very well. Extroversion is the tendency to be sociable, active, and willing to take risks (Kowalski & Western, 2005). Reagan displayed the ability to charm a crowd seemingly with no effort. Reagan was forthcoming, energetic, and open like most extroverted individuals. Extroverts tend to want to be continuously moving. Extroverts thrive on different activities, be it either physical or mental. Extroverts likewise gain their energy from their surroundings. An extrovert’s environment stimulates them greatly such as Reagan seemed to be from his. Best Match/Conclusion In 1921 a Swiss Psychoanalyst, Dr. Jung, coined the terms introvert and extrovert. He believed that people are born with these two innate attitudes. He believed that everyone possesses these two attitudes but favors one more so than the other. According to Dr. Jung’s research an introvert focuses on their feelings, emotions, and Ideas as an extrovert focuses on heavy doses of social stimulation. A research study was conducted at Berkeley and the results found online at berkeley. edu revealed that Reagan could be ranked as a disparate conservative. Other disparate conservatives that were ranked in the study with Reagan were Hitler and Mussolini. The Study believes that theses three individuals express the same traits. The traits that were observed were fear, aggression, dogmatism, intolerance of ambiguity, uncertainty, avoidance, need for cognitive closure and terror management. Many psychoanalysts associate a close relativity between extroversion with conservatives. According to Dr. Salvatore Didato, Ph. D. , Reagan is an extrovert (St. Petersburg Evening Independent 1985). By looking at Reagan’s jocular approach to his speeches and his constant drive for attention as well as combining this with the research findings of the Berkeley study, I agree. I believe that Reagan thrived on the support and attention of the public to satisfy his feelings of self fulfillment. References Introvert. Retrieved from http://dictionary. reference. om/browse/introversion on November 2, 2009. Extrovert. Retrieved from EBOOK COLLECTION: Kowalski, R. & Western, D. (2005). Psychology (4th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. On November 2, 2009. Berkely. edu research study. Retreieved online November 2, 2009. http://berkeley. edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics. shtml Dr. Salvatore Didato, Ph. D. ,†Most of us are a mix of introvert and extrovert† St. Petersburg E vening Independent Saturday March 9, 1985 retrieved from http://news. google. com/newspapers? nid=950&dat=19850311&id=Ou4LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=X1kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7075,2599676 on Nov 02, 2009.

Research Literature Review Breast Cancer in USA Essay

Introduction Breast cancer continues to be an important focus of attention for medical professionals, policy-makers and general public in the US. The high incidence of the disease and its devastating, in many cases, fatal, outcomes rivet the attention of the professional public. Studies identified for this literature review are for the most part practically oriented, in the sense that they deal with topics that are of primary importance in detecting, treating, and preventing breast cancer. Thus, two sources deal with the programs aimed at women education in the US concerning breast cancer, and two others cover the research into environmental causes of breast cancer. The problem of treatment options for breast cancer is also considered. Education Programs In the US where the population is extremely diverse, creation of special education programs targeting various population groups in accordance with their status is of special importance. Armando Valdez, Kakoli Banerjee, Lynn Ackerson, and Maria Fernandez in their article â€Å"Multimedia breast cancer education intervention for low-income Latinas† outline a special program aimed at the segment of women including Latino women. The problem with detection and early treatment of cancer among Latino women is connected to the fact that Latina women’s screening rate is considerably lower the required government standards and the rate for other ethnic groups. The researchers arrive at the conclusion that, given the availability of subsidized mammograms for poor Latina women, the main deterrent for improvement in the screening rate is lack of knowledge about cancer risks and treatment options. Complicated level of education materials prepared for the target group by the American Cancer Society was identified as an important factor blocking the access of Latina women to adequate information as materials presented often required a superior level of reading skills and the materials were not prepared in Spanish. The paper reports â€Å"the results of a multimedia breast cancer education intervention, tailored to the needs of low-education, low-income Latinas, and attempt to document specific changes in women’s knowledge, attitudes and intentions toward mammography screening† (Valdez et al., 2002). Using the Breast Cancer Multimedia Kiosk including instructional videos exposing the target group to the dangers of breast cancer, the authors were able to conclude that interactive multimedia technologies are an effective tool in raising awareness of cancer risks among low-income women. Although the women had some prior knowledge of cancer (â€Å"the majority of baseline study participants (over 80%) knew age and family history as risk factors†), the post-exposure assessment revealed a significant increase in knowledge after the program. Krystal Ngoc-Thy Luong and Jenny K. Yi in â€Å"Apartment-Based Breast Cancer Education Program for Low Income Vietnamese American Women† evaluate a similar program targeting a different ethnic group. As in the case with Latina women, breast cancer is the leading cause of death in this subgroup. Although Asian/Pacific Islander American, or APIA, women have a lower incidence rate of breast cancer (102.0 per 100,000 versus 140.8 per 100,000 for White American women), exposure to Western lifestyle tends to push these rates up. In addition, APIA women tend to be younger when diagnosed with breast cancer than other categories. The study aimed â€Å"to develop, implement, and evaluate the effect of an apartment-based breast cancer educational program for the hard to reach low income Vietnamese women† (Luong, Yi, 2005). The program was designed to be based on apartment visits as it provided a convenient way to reach women, covering neighbourhoods with high concentration of Vietnamese families in Houston. The intervention was carried out by two educators who delivered 20 educational sessions over the period of 3 months that provided the Vietnamese women with information concerning screening, recommendations and referrals to screening. Women were supplied with promotional materials including printed educational information and videos. Measurement of the knowledge levels through telephone surveys concerning breast cancer issues demonstrated that they were â€Å"significantly higher in the intervention group after receiving education about breast cancer when compared to women in the control group† (Luong, Yi, 2005). The researchers drew the conclusion that an apartment-based program has many advantages as compared to other ones because it addresses women in comfortable home settings, giving them a chance to relax and open up more to the conversation with the educator. Environmental Hazards and Breast Cancer Another important direction of research concerns the impact of pollutants and other environmental factors on incidence of breast cancer in women. Thus, Peggy Reynolds, Susan E. Hurley, Robert B. Gunier, Sauda Yerabati, Thu Quach, and Andrew Hertz in â€Å"Residential Proximity to Agricultural Pesticide Use and Incidence of Breast Cancer in California, 1988-1997† evaluate the connection between the facts that California is the most important agricultural state and also demonstrates the highest breast cancer rates in the US. The purpose of the study was formulated as desire to find out â€Å"whether California breast cancer rates were elevated in areas with recent high agricultural pesticide use† (Reynolds et al., 2005). The research was based on the assessment of 176,302 invasive breast cancer cases including â€Å"70,968,598 person-years of observation† (Reynolds et al., 2005). Using Poisson regression analyses, the authors were not able to find a consistent link between living close to the areas of pesticide distribution and having breast cancer. The upshot of the study was that breast cancer was hardly driven by pesticide use, but was more closely related to various social factors such as socioeconomic status. Julia Green Brody and Ruthann A. Rudel in â€Å"Environmental pollutants and breast cancer† address a wider ranger of substances that can lead to breast tumors. The proliferation of breast cancer in North America has caused the need to look for more sources of this disease, examining a wider range of factors. The study covers â€Å"chemicals that may be breast carcinogens, promote growth of breast cells and hormonally sensitive tumors, or affect mammary gland development and susceptibility† (Brody, Rudel, 2003). The researchers identify already known breast cancer risk factors including reproductive factors, exposure to pharmaceutical hormones, diet, ionizing radiation, socioeconomic status and posited the need to identify more factors. Thus, the scholars point to the need to further investigate the risk associated with occupational hazards including exposure â€Å"to the mammary carcinogens benzene, PAHs, and certain organic solvents† (Brody, Rudel, 2003). For instance, speaking of organic solvents, one study identified a connection between breast cancer rates in Danish women and their exposure to these substances in the workplace. The research, after examining 7,802 women with cancer diagnosis, registered a 20-66% rise in breast cancer risk for women who have been employed in occupations that envisaged active exposure to organic solvents. Other studies demonstrated increased risk of breast cancer development for women employed in the chemical industry, textile manufacturing, or nuclear power plants. The authors conclude by saying that more research is needed in the area, but the literature available so far clearly indicates that the link exists between cancer rates and environmental factors. Treatment Options Finally, another issue which has been identified to inspire researchers is the availability of treatment options for cancer and choice between various alternatives. Kathleen B. Donaghy in â€Å"Fostering Sound Medical Treatment Decision Making: A Focusing on Treatment Choices for Breast Cancer† explores this problem. Invoking the decision-making theory, the author evaluates the potential for adequate decision-making in patients struck with this shocking diagnosis. Donaghy (2003) believes that hasty decisions concerning treatment options made on insufficient information are often regretted by the patient later on. As common deterrents that prevent responsible decision-making she identifies five key points: 1.) cognitive overload 2.) failure to fully comprehend treatment options 3.) inability or refusal to process information in the presence of a denial defense 4.) hurried presentation of information by the physician 5.) self-imposed time constraints to get decisions made. (Donaghy, 2003) The article identifies the key strategies that can be employed by the physician to help the patient in the choice, such as providing maximal possible information to guide the patient’s decisions, improving communication, framing information in an appropriate format, obtaining informed consent etc. Using the decision theory to define decision-making as a choice between status quo and other alternatives shed light on patient values that can be involved in decisions regarding breast surgery. Conclusion The pervasiveness of breast cancer in the US makes research related to the issue highly topical. Examination of causes including environmental factors can help craft governmental policies that will prevent the spread of the deadly disease. On the other hand, developing policies aimed at early detection and effective treatment can be instrumental in curbing the death rate from breast cancer. In this light, creation of programs specifically tailored to the needs of individual groups can be an effective solution. Finally, research oriented toward helping the patient make the best decision concerning treatment options will be an important prerequisite of effective treatment programs. References Ackerson, L., Banerjee, K., Fernandez, M., & Valdez, A. (2002). A Multimedia Breast Cancer Education Intervention for Low-Income Latinas. Journal of Community Health 27(1), 33+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000714747 Brody, J.G., & Rudel, R.A. (2003). Environmental Pollutants and Breast Cancer. Environmental Health Perspectives 111(8), 1007+. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002005585 Donaghy, K.B. (2003). Fostering Sound Medical Treatment Decision Making: A Focusing on Treatment Choices for Breast Cancer. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association 6(4), 6+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002578878 Gunier, G.M., Hertz, A., Hurley, S.E., Quach, T., Reynolds, P., et al. (2005). Residential Proximity to Agricultural Pesticide Use and Incidence of Breast Cancer in California, 1988-1997. Environmental Health Perspectives 113(8), 993+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5010885312 Ngoc-Thy Luong, K., & Yi, J.K. (2005). Apartment-Based Breast Cancer Education Program for Low Income Vietnamese American Women. Journal of Community Health 30(5), 2005, 345+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5011756419