Improving Brand Loyalty through Brand Image Starbucks Company Dissertation

Improving Brand Loyalty through Brand Image Starbucks Company - Dissertation Example Gaining a competitive advantage by not just selling a product but selling a community; a place where people could have a sense of belonging. By touching people's emotions, they were able to hit right at the heart, where people are moved, and decisions are easily made based on emotions and what touches them. Their customers were made to feel special and a part of an elite group surrounded by others like them as those who purchased the coffees, other products (such as holiday items), and music could share the same social lifestyle-one that is upscale yet affordable (compared to real luxury brands that only the wealthy can partake.) It is more than just a mere cup of coffee that they were getting. It is a lifestyle, a community, a way of life. Starbucks 4 Table of Contents 1. Presentation1 1.1 Title..1 1.2 Executive Summary..2 1.3 Table of Contents..3 1.4 List of Tables..6 1.5 List of Figures.8 1.6 References/Bibliography..9 2. Introduction20 2.1 Background20 2.2 Research Problem/Justification of the Study22 2.3 Aims.23 2.4 Objectives/Research Questions..23 3.Literature Review24 3.1 Relevance..24 3.2 Up to Date..57 3. Methodology64 4.1 Selection and Justification of Research Method/Approach...64 4.2 Appropriateness of the Research Method/Approach..65 4.3 Research Design (Addressing Matters of Validity and Reliability)....68 4.4 Selection and justification of data collection methods.71 Starbucks 5 5. Research Results72 5.1 Analysis of Results72 5.2 Presentation...72 5.3 Discussion..75 6. Conclusion/Recommendations and Limitations of the Study..76 6.1 Link with the Aims and Objectives77 6.2 Link with the Research Problem...78 6.3 Practicality of recommendations...78 6.4 Awareness of... 2. Introduction 2.1 Background of the Study In today’s world, there are numerous of products on the market. In fact, there are too many products and brands to mention as it seems that just about every single thing imaginable has already been invented and available for sale. Due to technological advances, the Internet has provided tools for that businesses can use to create their brand and deliver the image that it wants consumers to have regarding their products like never before. So competition is fierce and companies must come up with new ideas that will make their products more desirable to consumers. The culture of the â€Å"luxury† brands industry is one of image. Nowadays people do not just buy a product simply for the product itself. Purchasing in order to just to have the product is not the only reason for investing money anymore. No longer do the days and age of mere survival (such as the Depression Era or before the Industrial Revolution) exist. Money and credit is at our disposal and life is more leisurely than before. Therefore, products must meet higher demands and standards. People live more luxuriously if even in appearance and image. It is this image and the culture that people buy into. For example, an individual who is making minimum wage and trying to make ends meet typically is happy with a car that is dependable. Then as life progresses, he/she becomes more comfortable and wants a car that does more than â€Å"run†. Features such as air conditioning, heater, and a radio become important.

SUV Pricing for Environmental and Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SUV Pricing for Environmental and Safety - Essay Example Due to the cost as well as the safety aspect associated with SUV's the demand for these vehicles is slowing down. According to a study carried out by Cambridge Energy Research, the percentage of sales of sports utility vehicles dropped from 56 percent of all vehicles sold in 2004 to 53 percent in 2006 (Williamson, 2006). Safety Concerns: There is a misconception that SUV's are safer than car, however they are more dangerous and according to a government study, the occupant death rate for mid-sized SUV is 6% higher than the car and for large SUVs the death rate of occupants is 6% higher than mid sized cars or minivan (SUVs: Dangers on the road, n.d.). SUVs are not safe as these appear and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government agency, has described two characteristics of SUVs and other light trucks that can increase the fatalities: rollovers propensity and crash compatibility (SUVs: Escalating risks on the highways, n.d.). Rollover is a major safety concern in SUV's. The main reason are these vehicles are heavier and ride higher than regular cars and these factors particularly the later contributes propensity to roll over in accidents and similarly the recent study shows that SUVs on roads are greatly increasing the dangers for drivers and passengers in other cars (SUVs: Escalating risks on highways, n.d.). Environ... Actually the government regulations for SUVs are ambiguous and these vehicles are categorized with light truck where the average fuel economy achieved by these is only 20.7 mpg in compare to 27.5 mpg set for cars (Environmental double standards for sports utility vehicles, n.d.). California along with nine other states has demanded to raise the fuel economy standards for these vehicles so that the environmental pollution produced by these vehicles can be minimized (Baker, May, 2, 2006). California is the first state who has argued in favor of toughest regulation on air standards and fuel economy. A car having mileage of 27.5 mpg is likely to emit 54 tons of carbon dioxide from burning of gasoline over its life time as compare to 100 tons from a SUV that has a mileage of 14 mpg over its entire life (Environmental double standards for sports utility vehicles, n.d.). Carbon dioxide contributes is one among the green house gases and it traps heat in the atmosphere (Green House Emmission, 2007). Should SUVs priced higher or lower to reflect their environmental and safety aspect A) Yes: Let us say yes, SUVs should be priced to reflect their impact on environment and safety. As we have already seen these have severe impact on environment as well the safety on road of these vehicles is not only pose a danger to the driver and passengers of SUV itself but to other driver and passengers of other vehicles especially lighter cars. The rising greenhouse gases are expected to raise the temperature from 06 to2.5 degree in the next fifty years. According to an estimate around 2000 people have been saved if their vehicles would have been hit by heavy cars instead of SUVs (Environmental double standards for

The United States Of Africa Or Pan Africanism Politics Essay

The United States Of Africa Or Pan Africanism Politics Essay One of the introductory sources used to introduce the Life Orientation Research Task Umbrella Topic uses the idea that all human beings originated from Africa, due to anthropological DNA profiling proof, and the idea that we are all originally African. While it is all very well that Americans and Europeans etc. want to dig into their roots finding linkages to being African, and in turn, establishing a sense of unanimity amongst all Human Beings since we all come from one place, my research project explores the topic from an African perspective, investigating whether or not Africans from different parts of the continent actually feel united themselves. An idea for a United States of Africa was first vaguely suggested back when Africa was ruled by Colonialists. However, in recent years, the African Union looked into actually making this idea a reality. My motivation behind this research topic is that as a Ghanaian by roots, but a born and bred South African, I have dealt with a bit of an identity crisis, not really feeling like I truly belong in either country. I have experienced and have been emotionally affected by situations in which Africans look down on other Africans, and see themselves as different to, or separate from other Africans of different countries and even different ethnical groups. For so many years, all African countries have had to face a range of problems, from the issue of African independence, to the continuous problem of poverty. As a continent that is perceived as primitive and underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of the world, the concept that becoming united could help us rise above the problems of Africa and possibly make us the most powerful and influential country/continent is a very attractive idea. The amount of general natural resources found all across this continent could be very beneficial for us, and as one big country, there might be more control over the resources, as opposed to foreign forces coming in and taking advantage of these resources in the possession of minor, defenceless countries. There is the potential to create a very strong force of the 54 states that could be very intimidating when it comes to foreign affairs. My aim for this project is to explore the likelihood of this idea. I aim to investigate the opinions and perspective of citizens from various African nations, investigating the way in which they perceive Africa at this current moment. I aim to compare the way in which South Africans view this issue, and the way that other Africans view this issue, to see whether the final result is a united view, or whether it is more of a South African point of view due to different cultural environments. With this information, I am going to analyse whether this could be a good idea, obviously not from a professional point of view, but from a common citizen point of view, seeing as most of my interviewees will be everyday people. Would it be practical or even realistic to form a United States of Africa as an effective solution to our problems? Would Africans be comfortable relinquishing their countrys names, flags, and proud nationality to become one and the same as people they once referred to as the other Africans? My theory is that most Africans do not see themselves as equals to Africans of other nations, and my research project will hopefully determine whether this is true or not. Literature Review The United States of Africa or Pan-Africanism The African Union, an organisation made up of members of 54 countries of Africa (all excluding Morocco due to conflicts with the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic, another member of the AU) was an organisation officially launched by Thabo Mbeki in 2002. The idea stemmed from the original Union of African States project, an alliance of three African countries (Ghana, Guinea and Mali) founded by Kwame Nkrumah, in the 1960s (McKown, 1973). He planned to start the Pan-Africanism movement, and founded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). However, the organisation as critics said did not do much in the favour of actual African citizens, but rather benefited the leaders of the countries more. The organisation was a gathering of all leaders across the continent to discuss and try to solve Africas issues, ironic since most of Africas problems were caused by dictator-like leaders. (African Union, 2012). Critics described it as a Dictators club. In 2002, as the last chairman of the organisa tion, Thabo Mbeki disbanded the OAU and established the new African Union. (African Union, 2012) Around 2006, new talk started concerning overthrowing the African Union, and replacing it with a single African government for the new United States of Africa. An AU Summit hosted in Accra, Ghana in 2007 was organised for various African leaders to come together and discuss forming a union that would help Africa flourish in this world of increasing globalisation (Soares, 2007). The government would control a 2-million man army, have stronger, combined forces in the fight against AIDS, and be represented as one voice when it came to intercontinental matters. The movement was lead for many years by the very eager Maummar Gaddafi. Some African leaders were all for the idea, some were against it, believing his motives to be questionable. Those opposed felt that more of Africas countries need to be strengthened within themselves, both economically and politically before this could become a reality. Before you put a roof on a house, you need to build the foundation, Thabo Mbeki expressed on the matter (Soares, 2007). At the 2007 AU Summit in Accra Ghana, Ugandas Yoweri Museveni expressed that he believed it would do more harm than good, and would create tension rather than cohesionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Ross, 2007). He further explained how he believed that some groups would force their identities upon others, whereas not everyone will be willing to give up their identity. He suggested that we first focus on uniting similar nations before we try and unite everyone all at once, especially considering the traditional differences such as languages and culture. He even mentioned other aspects that we should rather focus on as a continent, such as the environment, trade negotiations and managing a defence pact etc. (Ross, 2007) Baby steps is the general idea. Many people consider the goal to achieve this United States of Africa by 2015 as too hurried, and not thoroughly thought out. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerias previous finance minister, makes reference to the EU on her opinion on the matter, describing how it took them long to form a Union; some nations like Bulgaria and Romania were not easily accepted due to their gang problems and disorder. She highlights goals that we should focus on such as political and economical stability and regional infrastructure. (Soares, 2007) Advocates of Pan-Africanism Kwame Nkrumah, the chief founder of the idea of a united Africa, was Ghanas first president after they gained independence. As president of the first country to have gained independence, Kwame Nkrumah immediately launched and started promoting his idea of one African country (McKown, 1973). His vision of this included the Northern Arabic African countries, since he was well acquainted with their leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. At that time they were seen as more of an excluded part of Africa, and this was the first step to bridging the gap (Nkrumah, 2007). Much scepticism was held against Nkrumah, since he was able to build a big palace, with a 2  200-seater hall, for the Annual OAU summit to be held, all in his quest to supposedly find ways to provide for poor Africa (Soares, 2007). Maummar Gaddafi was another huge advocate of the united Africa idea. When Thabo Mbeki started the AU, Gaddafi publically branded the organisation as a failure and swore to keep pushing the idea of a United States of Africa. He simply saw no future for singular African nations (Gaddafi urges pan-African state , 2007). As a man with a strong personality and strong opinions, Gaddafi had his fair amount of enemies; people against him and the idea of a pan-African State. After his death, members of the AU commented that everything was better without the pressure that Gaddafi placed on many leaders to be pro- Pan-African movement (AU better without intimidating Gaddafi Zuma, 2011). Gaddafis urgency put a lot of strain in the matter even when so many people were sceptic about it, making his motives highly questionable. Having been in power for 42 years in Libya, many imagined that he saw himself as the president of this new country, in order to claim authority and power. Civil wars and conflict between Africans For the longest time Africa, the second largest continent in the world, consisting of 54 countries and home to about 1 billion people with almost 2000 languages (Africa, 2012) has been a relatively troubled continent. Originally consisting of different tribes and a few kingdoms even, it was seen as very primitive, especially since it hadnt yet been explored. However, as soon as it was, colonialists from other continents began taking over Africa, territory by territory. Colonialists were mostly the Arabs from the Middle East and Europeans. Years and even centuries passed before Ghana gained independence as the first country to do so. The rest of the countries soon followed, however it was from this point that a lot of Africas problems started to develop. The book Africa: Postcolonial Conflict summarises and pin points a general source to Africas problems after the colonial period. All across Africa, the main goal was the same: to successfully take back Africa and to make it thrive under the African rule. They aimed to take full advantages of the abundant resources across the continent, and use the money made to create businesses, and improve education, health care, housing and economic communications. (Downing, 2003). They aimed to spread out the wealth, using the richer countries wealth to support the poorer ones. All these aims are still the goals of the AU, and part of the USA II project (Downing, 2003). In truth, many new leaders of many of the newly independent nations of Africa had been educated outside of Africa, like Nkrumah and Liberias Charles Taylor, raised with a different lifestyle to the common people of the country, causing a divide and possible barrier of understanding between the leaders and the people (Downing, 2003). The fight for independence in the countries had been so unanimous, that the new governments did not have any opposing parties wanting power in the country. This meant that even with systems of democracy, the people did not have a choice in the leadership of the country. It also meant that the single-ruling parties began dictator-like behaviours that corrupted the countries (Downing, 2003). Under colonial rule, different ethnic groups were generally separated by European boundaries and during postcolonial times, the tension between these groups grew. The single-ruling parties of the countries usually came from one tribe, which created even more tension and bitterness, and during times of famine and financial difficulties, the tribes would point a finger of blame on each other (Downing, 2003) . War between different groups, mainly Muslims and non-Muslims, based on religious differences broke out in countries such as Sudan, Nigeria and Chad (Downing, 2003). During Colonisation, the British ruled Sudan in two parts; the Arab Muslims who lived in the North, and the black, mostly Christians who lived in the South. When they gained independence, military Muslim leaders took over, enforcing Muslim laws upon the entire country, igniting a 28-year civil war with the Southerners who formed an armed resistance. The civil war completely destroyed the country, and only came to an end in 2002 (Downing, 2003). Some African countries like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti were caught in the middle of the Cold War. The USA and the Soviet Union supported different 3rd world neighbouring African countries, providing them with economical and with military support and eventually set the countries up against each other. This lead to civil wars that severely impacting their economies, leaving them in ruin. Poverty and famines that spread over this area during this time also had a huge impact of the people (Downing, 2003). In Liberia, when the government tried to raise the price of rice, riots and protests began, and eventually a group of soldiers the Krahns, led by Master-Sergeant Samuel Doe overthrew the ruling government. They promised the people democracy and justice, but instead used violence and corruption to rule the country, and the people of the country got poorer. Soon other armies sprung up in objection, and the country went into civil war with up to 6 different tribes fighting each other, not necessarily for power, but more out of ethnic hatred. Western Africa got involved to restore the peace and Liberia had elections in 1997. Charles Taylor won these elections, but in 1999 uprisings began again, and the country sunk back into an ungovernable, unstable war zone (Downing, 2003). The double genocide of two the ethnic groups, the Tutsis and Hutus of Rwanda is probably one of the most renowned African civil wars. With a 90% population of Hutus, the Tutsis were favoured by the colonial government and this stirred hostility. When independence was gained, the Hutus took charge, leading to a number of Tutsis that fled the country. The assassination of the Hutu leader made his protective squads (Interahamwe) fight back and they began killing the suspects of the murder, i.e. the Tutsis. The Hutus were made to believe that these attacks were performed by the Tutsis, and orders went out for all Hutus to defend themselves and kill all Tutsis that were still in Rwanda. The original exiled Tutsis came back to invade Uganda for revenge but eventually, a government that contained both Tutsis and Hutus came to be, and some sort of peace was restored to the country, with a safety zone refugee camps created by the French in Zaire (DRC) for the exiled Hutus to return to (Downin g, 2003). These are all mere examples of only a few conflicts in Africa over the years, and even today, problems of power-possession, oppression, racism, and dictatorships sweep the continent. Not to mention other factors that have a serious impact on Africans such as poverty, hunger and AIDS. Africa does not seem to be in a position to be able to unite just yet, as there is so much more potential for more civil wars. Despite all of this, we must not lose sight of the benefits of a USA II, one being that problems are always better resolved with combined forces. The main factor that would allow this idea to be successful is how the people of Africa would feel about it, and their sense of unity. Methodology To carry out this project, I decided to use both quantitative and qualitative research. Secondary Research: For my literature review, I did some secondary qualitative research using the internet, books, articles and other resources in order to research previous information and matters pertaining to the focus question, specifically the history of Africa and the idea of Pan-Africanism. Primary Research: To further my research, I formulated a questionnaire of 4 questions that are relevant to the topic; questions that will investigate what people would think of a United States of Africa. The questionnaire contains multiple choice questions with space for extra comments, if anyone wished to express an opinion. This would ensure that I had both quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire was used to interview people both from Africa and a few from other continents. I compiled a list of 30 potential participants of the ages 16 and older. The participants were from Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, DRC, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe. (It was initially planned to include participants form other continents, but it was decided against, and so question number 5 on the questionnaire was cancelled.) Once I had completed the list, I went about to hand out the questionnaires to the participants. Due to my demand for very specific participants from various countries, some questionnaires were completed over social networks. After all the questionnaires had been completed, I assessed the multiple choice questions and generated bar graphs from them to illustrate the trend of the answers. I separated South African answers from other African countries answers so that I could examine whether the trends were affected by different cultural environments. I used the added comments that some participants gave on their questionnaires to write up a summary of their general view of Pan-Africanism. I also used the visible trends from my graphs to support the information. I then linked the information from the questionnaires to the information that I researched in my literature review. Finally, I drew up a conclusion based on my literature review, results and summary. I linked all my information to whether or not Africa would be able to form a single country, from the perception of my African participants. Possible Questionnaire Age: _____________________________________ Nationality: _______________________________ Citizenship: _______________________________ Gender: __________________________________ How would you describe the state of Africa with regards to political stability and issues of Xenophobia? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡ Good à ¢- ¡ Reasonable à ¢- ¡Bad à ¢- ¡Horrible _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you think Africa would be able to form a United States of Africa at this point in time, considering the political, economic and racial issues that we face in the different parts of the continent? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡ Yes à ¢- ¡No _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you think it would benefit Africa, or do more harm than good? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡It would benefit Africa à ¢- ¡It would not benefit Africa _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you think of yourself as equal to and similar to any other African from another African country? You may motivate your answer. à ¢- ¡We are all equal à ¢- ¡We are not equal à ¢- ¡I dont look down on them, but there is a difference _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I hereby give Cordelle Annor permission to use these answers in her IEB Life Orientation Research Project. Signed: _______________ Processed Findings Tables and Graphs of Results Question 1: Majority of the participants feel that the state of Africa is bad with regards to its political state and problems of Xenophobia. Questionnaires 7 and 9 state that foreigners are still referred to in derogatory terms and that Africans dont yet see each other as fellow Africans. Participant number 24 says that Africa is very far from getting a good state of stability right, whereas, the one participant (12) who actually referred to the state of Africa as good, justified it by saying that, Overall, the continent is stable, in spite of some pockets of instability. Xenophobia is a world-wide phenomenon and not limited to Africa. This is a valid point, but most of the participants dont seem to view Africa in this way, which possibly means that most Africans would feel that the continent is not stable enough to join to form a country. All the examples in my literature review of conflicts and wars between Africans, supports what most of the participants believe. Most wars and conflicts, like in Rwanda and Libya for example, have only recently kind of sorted out their conflicts, and yet, there is still a lot of conflict in those countries, as in many countries all over the continent. Even in a country that is relatively politically stable, there are still huge problems of xenophobia, like in South Africa for example. Both my literature and the questionnaire results clearly show that Africa is not very stable. Question 2: When asked if Africa would be able to form a United States of Africa, most participants felt that it wouldnt be ready for such. Some said that there was just too much diversity between the African countries, and that countries that are less stable would bring the well-being of other countries down. The well-off countries would not want to combine with the less stable countries being aware of the problems that they are facing. Questionnaire 20 even states that it might be unfair to join the countries. Some of the participants blamed the leaders of the African countries, saying that they are too selfish, and that there is too much dictatorship in Africa. Africa would not be able to unite unless there was a deep sense of kinship, belonging and unity, questionnaire 8 declares. However, one participant (3) thinks that Africa would be able to form a country, since most of the political issues are triggered by external factors such as the colonialists. The information in my literature review reflected opinions much like the general response to this question. Most of the African leaders that were at the AU summit in Ghana in 2007 were opposed to the idea because they felt that most countries had to strengthen themselves before Africa could possibly unite (Soares, 2007). Yoweri Museveni from Uganda believed that some African groups would force their identity on others, and not everyone would want to give up their identity (Ross, 2007). Question 3: Despite the obviously negative response to the possibility of forming a USAII at this point in time, a lot more participants believed that it would eventually be a good thing for Africa. Those for it believe that uniting will be good for tackling the problems that the various countries face. Participant 16 believes that if unity works positively in smaller communities then it should work for a continent. However, those against it believe that there are simply too many differences between the countries, politically, economically, and socially. Becoming united might lead to a continental war, as well as distract Africa from the serious issues at hand as everyone, including leaders will focus on petty things such as who will lead the country. In the literature review, I found that a few people thought that the way to approach this topic was with baby steps, and that Africa needs to focus on individual countries and smaller countries before it attempts such a big project. Thabo Mbeki motivated this opinion by saying that we need to build the foundation before we try to put a roof on a house (Soares, 2007). Museveni believes that it would do more harm than good; just as most of the participants expressed as well, and he motivated this by saying it would cause tension rather that cohesion. Question 4: Through all of this, most of the participants still felt that all Africans are equal; that there is no one nation that is better than the other, as we are all Africans at the end of the day. There were very few participants that opposed this opinion, and a lot of them felt that while there is no one better than the other, there are very distinct differences between the different religions and cultural differences. One participant (15), although she ticked that she believes that all Africans are equal, she stated that other Africans possibly still dislike one another, and do not believe that they do not believe that we are all equal. Some participants pointed out that due to the vast differences between economical classes, some Africans being rich and educated, others not, one cannot exactly say that we are equal because of this difference (Questionnaire 25). This response shows that even though majority of the participants dont believe that Africa should unite, they dont feel and particular hatred of dislike for other Africans. Although this sample cannot represent the feelings of the rest of Africa, as other Africans in different parts of Africa, or even different parts of the country may have stronger feelings on this matter. However, it shows that there has been some sort of improvement in the attitude of Africa, in that civil wars are less likely if Africans believe that they are equal. That was the problem in the conflicts and wars mentioned in the literature review; the different cultural groups believed that there was a difference between them and others, and that they were more superior to the other cultural groups. Female 15 Male 15 South African 15 Other Countries 15 Ages younger than 20 15 Ages older than 20 15 Who the participants were: Fortunately, I was able to get a good balance in the different kinds of people that I questioned, and to truly evaluate my results, I feel its best to compare South African opinions to opinions of people from other countries. Although all of my participants are currently staying in South Africa, and therefore are all influenced by the South African society in a way, this comparison will analyse whether there is more of a trend in the answers of people who come from and have lived in other parts of Africa as opposed participants who most likely only know South Africa, as it is their home. The State of Africa In describing the state of Africa, majority of the South Africans and other African nations feel that the state of Africa is bad. Wherein the foreigners show a more diverse trend in answers, having had two participants describe the state of Africa as the two extremes, Good and Horrible, the South Africans stuck mostly to the Reasonable and Bad options, and two South African participants that said it was Horrible. Would Africa be able to form a United States? Once Again, majority of South Africans and the people from other African nations feel that Africa would not be able to form a United States of Africa at this moment, but absolutely no South Africans believed that it was possible, whereas some Africans from other nations believe that it might be possible. Would it benefit Africa to form a United States of Africa? A very clear majority of South Africans believe that forming a united country would not benefit Africa, and they were a bit more negative about this question, whereas the foreigners showed a trend of going both ways. More of the foreigners are optimistic about a single African country. Are Africans equal? An equal amount of South Africans and foreigners believe that all Africans are equal and there is no one Nation better that the other, however there are 2 foreigners that believe that we are not equal, and only one South African. Quite a number of both groups believe that we are equal but there is a difference between each country, and although not the majority, both are very close to the majority. The results for each question for both categories of Africans are relatively similar, but this may be because, as mentioned before, all the participants have some sort of South African society influence. In some questions, however, South Africans seem to have answered more negatively, for example, in describing the state of Africa, as well as in question 2, in which the participants were asked if Africa could form one country now and no South Africans thought that we could. A reason for this may be that since South Africa is a country that is considered to be one of the richer, more developed countries of Africa, it would get affected by a union, as some of the participants mentioned, joining countries would make the poorer, worse off countries being down the developed countries as money would be more distributed etc. This information confirms the facts in the literature review; that the joining of African countries is in fact influenced by different cultural environments. The South African participants are like South African leaders like Mbeki and Zuma, who were also opposed to the idea of a single African country. Evidence of completing questionnaires online C:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010747.jpg C:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_01098.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_011129.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010813.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010725.jpgC:UsersCorbbieDownloadsScreen_20120608_010842.jpg Conclusion After doing the research that I presented in the Literature Review, I saw that Africa seemed very unstable, what with its history being full of so many wars and conflicts. The information on the African Union illustrated how not even the leaders of the African countries are unanimous on the decision to form a single country. From the literature review, you can understand that potentially could be a need for uniting the continent, so help each other deal with issues that we are faced with. It could benefit a lot of countries, and the continent as a whole, but the literature review also provided clear evidence that countries are not stable enough, and there is too much corruption going on for this plan to be successful. The questionnaire results showed that the participants are quite negative about the idea; they do not feel that Africa can or should form a United States of Africa. They feel that the continent is unstable and too corrupted, and that there are far too many reasons that would get in the way of successfully, and peacefully uniting. Not only that, but that it would cause more problems than it would solve, and actually turn out to be harmful to the state of Africans. Their response was much like the African leaders: they were not unanimous. If we do consider this sample to be a true representative of the continent, then Africans do not feel united within themselves, whether they are South African or from another country. South Africans tend to have a more negative response, but the general trend of both groups is opposed to the idea. So while there is a movement overseas to support the idea that every individual of the human race is tied together by our African origin, being African does not necessarily mean unison. There will forever be cultural, political and a variety of difference that separate each different groups of human beings. However, as mentioned before, the results of this project can be greatly refined. 30 participants is a very small sample for dealing with such a huge topic that deals with the whole of Africa, and if this research topic could be carried out on a more professional level, many more participants should be included. The sample could expand to involve Africans who have only ever known their own countries. It should include Africans of different economic classes, as the questionnaires also suggested that this is another barrier that makes people unequal. There are a lot of different categories that need to be included, and interviews with profes

Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights Essay -- Wuthering Heights Essays

Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Emily Bronte wrote only one novel in her life. Wuthering Heights written under her pen name, Ellis Bell, was published in 1847. Although, Wuthering Heights is said to be the most imaginative and poetic of all the Bronte's novels, Emily's book was not as popular as her older sister, Charlotte's, new release, Jane Eyre ("Bronte Sisters" 408). In looking at Bronte's writings, the major influences were her family, her isolation growing up, and her school experiences.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and their brother Branwell lived with their father, the Reverend Patrick Bronte, in a parsonage high above the village at Haworth in Yorkshire, England ("Bronte Sisters" 408). The parsonage was amongst the largest houses in Haworth, though in comparison with the homes of clergymen in more affluent areas of Britain, it would have been considered small (www.bronte.org.uk). Patrick Bronte entered the church because it was the one career that offered to lift him out of his poor and Irish background. He was born in a cottage at Emdale, County Down, on the 17th of March in 1777. As a teacher in a boy's school at Glascar, as a tutor in a private family, and as teacher in the parish school at Drumballyroney, he made the grade and got a scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, in October 1802 (Scott-Kilvert 105). Years later, with the crisis provoked by the Luddite riots (1811-1812)- in which the role of the clergy in industrial districts became one of an active peacekeeping force- Patrick was among the first, and the few, to carry pistols in defense of his parishioners' property. Over the remaining fifty years of his life, he primed his pistols daily, di... ...ters. 1982 ed. "Bronte." Collier's Encyclopedia. 1996 ed. Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. United States of America; Barnes & Noble Inc., 2009. "The Brontes." http://www.bronte.org.uk/brontes/victorian.asp. 23 Jan 2014. "Bronte Sisters." The New Book of Knowledge. 2012 ed. "An Emily Bronte Chronology." http://lang.nagoy-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Bronte-Emily-chro.html. 23 Jan 2014. "Emily Bronte." The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2003 ed. "Emily Jane Bronte." http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/1380/emily.html. 23 Jan 2014. Gà ©rin, Winifred. â€Å"The Brontà «s.† British Writers, Vol. V. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982. Print. "History of Emily's Life." http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/4396/history.html. 23 Jan 2014. "Wuthering Heights." Cyclopedia of Literary Characters. 2008 ed.

Martial Law Essay

Batas Militar. Commonly known in its English translation as â€Å"Martial Law†. As stated in the 1973 Constitution of the Philippine Republic that the Prime Minister as the Commander-in-Chief may declare Martial Law under the same conditions, â€Å"in case of invasion, insurrection or rebellion, or imminent danger thereof, the public safety requires it. The President however, using this provision may corrupt the Military forces and become hostage of ambitious Generals who may want to exercise power through a puppet President, without corresponding responsibility. This provision as written in the Article VII, Section 10, Paragraph 2 placed the entire Republic of the Philippines as defined in Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic during the Marcos Regime is the root of the Proclamation 1018 that has been executed on September 21, 1972 and remained in force until January 17, 1981. This proclamation also suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus, this suspends the human rights of an accused person to be fight for what he believe is right in front of an authority, but instead his fate depends upon the attitude of the President towards him. On the first days of this proclamation, I believe the country responded well, because they also believe that the Philippines is sick, rebellion against the government has been in power in some rural places and communist armed forces are trying to invade the nation. But I also believed that the authority who is Ferdinand Marcos during that time exceeded to his limitations as the head of state. During the Martial law, Marcos amended the constitution for several times and I believe he used this for his own good. Democracy has been ceased and no news opposing the Marcos administration can be seen in broadsheet and even in the broadcast media such as radio and television, they also put into closure those media stations that attack the wrong doings and failures of the Marcos administration. They put into prison those people whose only objective is to say what they think is right and what they think is best for the nation. Democracy and human rights has been violated during this time, not to mention the allegations of corruption and violation of its own constitution has been brought to the face of President Marcos. The most influential person to be put into prison is Sen. Benigno â€Å"ninoy† Aquino. He’s against the Marcos regime and its corrupt performance. He’s death is the eye opener of the Filipino people who is frightened and afraid to speak out against the Marcos administration, but before that, after he was put into prison, he was exiled to the United States of America, and because of love of country and people and also, maybe, because of his desire to be the next president of the Republic he returned back to his homeland and face the consequences, he was assassinated at the tarmac of Manila International Airport and after how many years named after him and was known nowadays as Ninoy Aquino International Airport. I certainly believed that during the Martial Law era, not to mention the good things that this proclamation brought to us such as discipline, obedience and loyalty to the one who is in power. This proclamation of Martial law has been used by the authorities in such a way that the citizens of this nation will hate them, violating their own constitution, corrupting the money of the people, corrupting the rights of the citizens, corrupting the minds of the military whose prime objective is to defend the nation and not to hurt it citizens. Martial law brought back the love of country and desire to have democracy not dictatorship of the one who is power. Martial law opened the minds of the citizens to move, to join, to fight, and to love freedom. Human Rights should not be sacrificed just to obtain a common goal. In order for us to move forward, we should set our goals and vision with due respect to the rights of the citizens and respect to our own constitution.

Young People in Society

Explain how political, economic and social constructs can be used to categories society. Look at how Irish society stratifies according to social class and gender. Sociologists develop theories and concepts to help reveal the structure of social life and they engage in numerous different forms of empirical Investigation to test and develop these theories. They are Interested In how people communicate and create meaning and understanding, but they are also interested in questions of power and inequality.They use a variety of sources such as historical documents, observations, river research to help develop reliable information about how society operates. Define social stratification Social stratification is a system where people are ranked hierarchically which leads to groups of people being classified into layers and strata (class, caste, slavery and estate).Class – social class system Is a system of stratification that results from unequal distribution of wealth, power and pr estige. Caste -? this is a fixed arrangement of strata from the most to the least privileged. Estate – this consist three different strata or layers – aristocracy, clergy and commoners. Slavery – this is the oldest and most extreme form of stratification or inequality in which some people are literally owned by others as property.All social stratification systems share four basic principles each reflecting how these systems cause inequalities based on class, gender, ethnicity, age, religious affiliation and consequences at an Individual and at a collective level In society, no one social stratification system Is unique, each system Is a characteristic of the society It relates to and it is not simply a reflection of differences at an individual level, nor is it a new incept as afore mentioned but it is a system that has and will persist over generations and although stratification systems may not be an exact replica In each society, fundamentally stratification systems are universal albeit widely variable, they also incorporate ideological beliefs while also engendering shared identities (Macaroni et a', 2005). Do all societies stratify? If so, in what way? Virtually all societies have some form of stratification or structured inequalities that are organized and that persist over time. It Is universal but variable and seems to be found everywhere. At the same time, what is unequal and how unequal it is varies from one society to another.For example, I) Social stratification persist over generation – in all societies, parents confer their social positions on their children, so that patterns of inequality stay much the same from generation to generation. (Monoclonal et a', 2005). II) Some Individuals do also experience social mobility -? It may be downward or upward. Society celebrate the achievements of those who rose to people are regarded as more important than others, more worthy of respect or seen as more useful than others in ce rtain situations. It is also evident that people could move downward as a result of illness, unemployment, economic break-down, business setback etc.However, social standing of most people remain unchanged for a life time – like the Royal Family in England. What system of stratification is in operation in Ireland? Is it an open or close system of stratification? The social stratification in Ireland today is undefined. However, the class system seem to be in operation in Ireland and it is considered a close system. A closed system does not afford a person the same opportunity, and as a result a person's position in fife is solely determined by the family group they are born into. Identity and belonging dominate the social class in modern Ireland. This can be to the majority of people defined by two categories: the first being wealth (Middle class).If you are wealthy you have a lot more opportunities in education, professionals or higher managerial e. G. Senior government worke rs, doctors, farmers, company directors etc. And; secondly being poor (Lower class). – these are people in lower scale in the society e. G. School teachers, driver, machine operator, bar-worker waitress, cleaner, call- centre worker etc. The rate of lower class status rocketed since recession. (Hyde et al, 2007:65-66) Describe the system of stratification found in Ireland. How is it broken down? (include tables and diagrams here if relevant) During the Celtic Tiger it was perceived that Ireland as a whole was very wealthy and many people were classed as Wealthy or ‘upper class'.However since the recession hit the social status regarding the wealth of the country has deteriorated. Today, a larger number of the population are working or middle class. The growing unemployment rate has forced many people, including well educated individuals to rely on state benefits. This has been a huge factor in the rapid decrease in the social status of the country. Social mobility in Ir eland appears to be going in the wrong direction. Not only is the social stratification in Ireland defined by its economic status, but also by a number of other factors; for example; a person's religion. In the past the influence the Catholic Church had on people determined the way they lived there life.Catholic priests were understood to be very well respected figures in society and anyone of the catholic religion were accepted as part of the community however individuals of a different faith were viewed as outsiders. Nowadays a person's faith does not have as big an influence on their social status and many people from different religious backgrounds are accepted in Irish communities. Does class/socio- economic position, impact on your health? Please provide evidence, statistics to There are differences among people in the amount of access they have to the resources of wealth and prestige in most societies. Such differences among people in terms of income and status are usually re ferred to as social class differences. The categories that people have been assigned to by virtue of their occupation have been marred with patterns of illness in society.The lower your place in the social class scale, the worse is likely to be your health status and visa-versa (Hyde et al, 2007). Although race, gender, age etc have influenced socio-economic status, classification by occupation tends to be more common; hence in Ireland, a person's social class is measured according to his or her occupation while social class of children is determined by parents' occupation (Denote and Cannon, 2003). According to Denote and Cannon, there are huge inequalities between the classes in the distribution of wealth in the country. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the population own nearly half the wealth in the country, therefore 90 per cent of the population share the other half, but not equally. Ibid:71 in McDonald B, 2009) Health inequalities are often observed along a social rise. Th is means that the more favorable your social circumstances such as income or education, the better your chance of enjoying good health and a longer life. While there is a significant gap between the wealthy and the poor, the relationship between social circumstances in health is in fact a graded one. Source of data ‘Inequalities in Mortality 1989-1998' A series of studies by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (PIP) found that the number of people living with a chronic condition is expected to increase dramatically by 2020 and that disproportionately more of these people will belong to the older population.