Traditional Skills Are Disappearing

In earlier times, people willingly learned skills such as repairing their household items or making clothes. And they used to practice it to their benefit. Some would even proudly talk about it in their friends and family get togethers. such were the part time activities in those past years of human race. Though all these skills had their advantages but it also required some free time. Also, there were very less opportunities to pass leisure hours. But in this modern age, an average person is busy enough that taking some time our for even learning such skills is not possible.From childhood to adulthood and later, day-to-day routine tasks take so much efforts and time that these extra skills are nearly abandoned. Besides one reason being non-availability of free time, interest in these activities has lost its wya. there used to be a charm in designing own clothes, mending household items or even repairing furniture. But modern inventions, career building, social activities etc has pla yed its part in this downfall. In my country, except a few towns and villages, people are reluctant to pursue these past practices.Fast paced life style, interest in other curricular activities, less learning opportunities for these dying skills, and no encouragement for it is dominant around here. I think no matter how busy our life is, benefits from these skills are plentiful and one should try to practice it atleast to keep it alive. If we gain the insight into the history, it is not difficult to discover that when a country develops its technology, the traditional skills and ways of life always die out.Weather it is pointless to keep them alive is increasing becoming the focus of governments and citizen concern around the globe. In this essay I will try to analyse this issue to some cases and give my answer. Many people in my country believe it is a wise decision to keep them alive since the tradition is the heritage we inherit from our ancestors; therefore, we have the obligati on to preserve and keep them moving along in the future. Moreover, traditions now have a much pivotal role to play. For instance, Chinese conventional Spring Festival has become a crucial pportunity for Chinese families, probably live apart from each other for career and study, to strengthen their family bonds. Obviously, this kind of household party can absolutely contribute to the wellbeing and advancement of our society. It is, however, not an easy job to prove that view totally true. Some individuals firmly argue that to keep the traditional skills and ways of life alive makes nonsense. To be more specifically, the conventional ways of life, something we used to be proud of, have turned out to be the obstacle and barrier of the implementation of new technology.For example, people who live in rural area still persist in using wood and log for heating, because of the low price, which had better be replaced by solar energy, while this method costs more. Even though there will be so me resistance created by our traditional skills and ways of life when we are marching for the industrialisation. I do agree to keep them there, because it is our tradition that gives us the superiority to other creatures on this planet, that is why I prefer this view.

Macbeth sountrack Essay

In act 1 scene 5 is when Lady Macbeth found out the news about how Macbeth would become the Thane of Cawdor and king for the witches. I chose the song â€Å"I Want It All† by Queen to represent this scene. Part of the songs lyrics are â€Å"I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now†. Lady Macbeth heard the news that he would be king and she right away wanted to accomplish that. She didn’t want to wait but instead she take the steps necessary to make Macbeth king as soon as possible. In act 1 scene 6 is when the king and others arrive at Macbeth’s castle to stay the night. I chose the song â€Å"Let Em In† by Paul McCartney to represent this scene. The songs lyrics are â€Å"Someones knockin at the door, somebodys ringin the bell, do me a favor, open the door and let em in†. This perfectly describes that scene because when King Duncan arrives Lady Macbeth is there to let them in. She already has a plan figured out for them and can’t wait to execute it. In act 3 scene 4 I chose the song â€Å"I’m Going Slightly Mad† by Queen to represent this scene. In the scene Macbeth is having a dinner party and notices that all the seats are taken. When he sees that his seat is taken by the ghost of Banquo he starts talking to the ghost who is invisible to everyone else. The lyrics â€Å"I’m going slightly mad† describe how Macbeth was acting really strange and made the guests question him. The ghost later came back and made Macbeth have an outburst again alarming the guests which sent them home. A symbol that is portrayed in this play is the weather. The weather plays a role in which if something bad is coming up a storm might appear. The song â€Å"The Thunder Rolls† by Garth Brooks reminds of when the witches would enter and a storm would move in. Also the night that Duncan got murdered, a terrible storm came in that night indicating that something bad happened. These natural occurrences are hints to the audience that something isn’t right and the song does a good job of describing a thunder storm. In act 1 scene 7 is when Lady Macbeth told Macbeth to be a man and kill Duncan. â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would; Be so much more the man†. I chose the song â€Å"I’ll Make a Man out Of You† from the movie Mulan. This song is about training men to become manlier and this is what Lady Macbeth wanted Macbeth to do. She wanted him to become manlier and do what she tells him. I chose the song â€Å"Tragedy† by the Bee Gees to describe the whole play. The genre of this play is tragedy and this song describes â€Å"when you lose control† of everything. Macbeth took things too far and lost everyone that was close him. The lyric â€Å"With no one beside you, you’re goin’ nowhere† reminds when Lady Macbeth died then he really didn’t have anyone else. Since he had no one with him for support, the only way he could go was down.

Self-sacrifice: Sacrifice and Ancient Rome

In ancient Rome and Greece, during the Olympics, as many as 100 bulls would be sacrificed to show the relationship between humans and nature. In the photo, Mother and Child by Jerome Liebling, the mother is holding a bull which could be exemplifying the relation between the mother and child. In this unique relationship there are many sacrifices made for each other, the clich © is that the mother is always sacrificing for their children but there are always aspects that are given up by the child.The sacrifices that are made to keep the correlation amiable between a mother nd child have to be made from both parties The mother in the photo is holding a baby and a miniscule basket full of groceries. We can assume she had bought these groceries for herself and her child, and by the look on her face it took a lot of work to get the food. The mother is also holding a bull which can be inferred exhibits the sacrifices that she has made for her child.This photo embodies the relationship bet ween a mother and child and the compassion that is between them. Although all of the above is true, mothers do sacrifice a lot for their offspring in all species but the children also give up certain aspects for their parents. In eighth grade my mother was admitted to the hospital for several different health concerns including esophagus cancer, severe gall stones, and thyroid infection. Because of the different concerns I had to miss a lot of school and dance to care for her.Missing so much school put a plethora of pressure on me but I diligently stayed at the hospital for the beginning of the time she spent there. After around a month I started becoming frustrated that I was missing a lot because of the time I spent at the hospital. I eventually quit dancing for the rest of the year because treatment for my mom ecame expensive and I was inevitably falling behind. I did sacrifice a lot in the beginning but became fed up with it after a while. This shows that, at first the capabilit y for sacrifice is a lot larger for short term than longer.In adolescence you are trying to fgure out who you are and not being able to go to school and spending countless hours in the hospital is disheartening. The mother in the photo looks to be quite young so she could be trying to find herself or she could be very concerned about the health of her child. The mother will also have to face challenging circumstances due to the child, I also had to face challenging ircumstances because every day I was in a conundrum to either go to the hospital and support my mother or go to school, and this forced me to develop great fortitude.In the beginning I chose to go to the hospital but after a while I felt that I had done my duty by missing school and quitting dance so I started going less frequently. Consequently, in young adulthood I regret not going to support my mother in a time of adversity where she needed her family and it is evident that I was selfish with my time and did not sacrif ice nearly as much as I could have and should have at the ime. Because of this remorse I now try my best to do anything that I can for people that I care for because I don't want to regret anything else that could have been prevented.Sacrificing anything can be hard but needs to be done in order to keep relationships in your life. The mother in the photo by Jerome Liebling and I resemble each other because we botn nave nad to sacrifice tor the sake ot keeping the relationship between a family member. The situations I have been in have influenced my capacity for self-sacrifice because of situations I was put in at a young age I ecame very precocious and concerned for the well-being of others.

Cathedral by Raymond Carver Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cathedral by Raymond Carver - Research Paper Example Until the narrator realizes his own incapability to perceive, with Robert’s guidance, what a cathedral really is, he cannot understand about how the blind man, Robert, sustains an intimate relationship with his wife Beulah (also with the narrator’s wife). He further is blindfolded by outward appearance of things. Referring to Bub’s obsession with outer appearance, Teresa Alutto comments, â€Å"The narrator’s preoccupation with physical appearance is evident. Therefore, it is not surprising that he cannot understand Robert’s marriage, which was entirely based on the emotional and intellectual aspects of a relationship.† (2) Bub cannot understand that beauty or appreciation of beauty plays a very little role in a successful relationship. Neither can he delve deep into his wife’s mind to grow mutual understanding. The narrator, Bub expresses his confusion regarding Robert’s successful relationship with Beulah as following: â€Å"I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one†¦go on day after day and never receives the smallest compliment from her beloved.† (193) Bub is also aware of Robert’s closeness with the narrator’s wife. The irony of the narrator’s capability to see is that he neither tries to understand what he sees. He shows no effort to understand and explain his wife’s exasperation with him. He simply describes the mystery of Robert’s relationship with his wife in a disinterested manner. Robert takes it for granted that physical blindness is a type of obstacle in the way of close relationship. Therefore he wonders at the blind man’s ability to grow intimacy with others. In the second paragraph he comments on his wife’s disinterestedness in him, as following: â€Å"My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didnt like what she saw†

HRD, Learning Theory Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HRD, Learning Theory - Research Paper Example In the work of Mason & Reynolds (2002), Thorndike’s works can be indicted to have had its history on the need by man to have animals learn from taught behaviors. This correlates with trial and error learning that indicates that animals learn through trial and errors. Tomlinson, (1997) indicates that animals will skillfully learn through repeating behaviors that will lead to rewarding and avoid ones that lead to punishment. As a lecturer and psychologist at Columbia University, where he researched on psychology of animal knowledge and educational psychology, Thorndike’s learning theory focuses on the role of the environment in the formation of responses in the course of learning and training (Happy, 2012). If a desired behavior is evident, then learning can be indicated to have occurred. Thorndike defines learning as an interaction between various stimulus and responses in an environment (Tomlinson, 1997). In the classroom setting, the educator is able to impact change in the learners by providing them with a token of appreciation each time they give the correct answer in a test. The educator may set a limit that would check for the achievers of that target. This will reinforce the learners towards working to a specific goal so as to attain the price. In the event of continuous and consistent rewarding, the learners end up cooperating in the learning process by all means so as to attain the set target. Happy (2012) refers the reward as stimulus which stimulates learning activities such as feeling towards the subject taught, thoughts of succession and capturing sense of need to acquire something new in the learning environment. Of essence, one would argue that the extent of the connection between the responses determines the extent in which the reaction will have a long-term effect on the objects. Thorndike is also of the opinion that through constant exercise, it is probable that the connection

Kinship among South Indian Communities Literature review

Kinship among South Indian Communities - Literature review Example Kinship among South Indian communities has been indispensable and the main form of social organization (caste system). The caste system was a closed hereditary group to which a person belonged strictly by birth. At one point, there were relationships based on endogamous marriage between two people from the same caste. Kinship is also concerned about the productive anxiety of relations of distinction and sameness, the main aspects being the ties that separate or bind. In a fishing village, ‘the Marianad’ what matters is the relations between siblings. The children of the same father and mother, siblings are similar apart from their gender. The strongest differentiation is made between siblings of different gender, a difference that has a great effect in the following generation (Busby 2000; 1995). Therefore, among the â€Å"Marianads† sisters are viewed to be identical in a manner that brother and sister cannot be. Sisters in this tribe, live closely, they are spot ted with each other baby either carrying or feeding it. Contrary, brothers are different in that they move to their wife’s houses in distinct villages, although they view their brother’s children as their own, and they often refer to them as their daughters or sons. The word Dravidian refers to a family dialect mainly spoken in South India. The Dravidian family is different in both origin and structure from the Anglo-Aryan family located in North India. People from South India classify kin based on the difference in sex, the difference in age, the difference in generation, and difference of kin identical with union relationship. This system exemplifies a sociological theory of marriage, and it justifies the issue of someone marrying a cross-cousin (Clark-Deces 2011; Bourdieu 1997). The Marianad people do not have the separate terminologies for the younger and elder sibling, uncles, and aunts. They also do not differentiate between kin identified to ego’s parents via same-sex association (parallel kin) and kin identified to ego’s parents via opposite se-associations. Writers such as Dumont try to suggest the differentiation between the cross and parallel kin in comprehending marriage choices and decisions in South India (Dumont 2006). The children of parents’ same or similar sex siblings (the fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law) are absorbed to the position of elder or young siblings, with whom sexual intimacy, marriage and sexual activities are prohibited. On the other hand, the children of parents’ cross-sex siblings (fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law) are absorbed to the position of spouses or wives with whom marriage is accepted or permitted in that in some castes in south India, it is preferred and prescribed. It is significant to note that these terms recommend separation between relatives (in-laws) and kin, which is not the same as our cultural differentiation between relatives by marriage and blood relatives.

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 89

Journal - Essay Example e use of the term â€Å"nigger† during communication with person of black origin can be a barrier to communication since the term is open to different interpretation. Therefore, racially oriented form of communication acts as a barrier to effective communication. Homophobic language has been cited as one of the barriers to effective communication. Homophobic language refers to use of homosexual orientation language during communication (Kadushin 44-49). One of the most commonly used homophobic term is â€Å"That’s so gay.† The reason use of such homophobic language is a barrier to communication is that it is open to infinite interpretation by the other party. For instance, â€Å"your phone is so gay!† could be interpreted to mean the phone is bad or good by different people. The same phrase could also sound offensive to a gay person causing a barrier to effective communication. Sexist way of communication on the other hand tends to discriminate one gender during communication. For instance, talking to a gender balanced audience in a way insinuating everybody is male can be termed as sexist language. A good example is using the term congressman to refer to the person holding the congress title without considering that it could be a lady. Such kind of communication gives the wrong message to the parties involved hence causing a barrier to effective communication. Conclusively, effective communication calls for articulate consideration of gender, race, sex, professional, and other types of diversities. It is important for the communicator to understand the context in which the communication is made in order to eliminate these barriers to

Response to the Summary Article entitled Nurturing Giftedness in Young Assignment

Response to the Summary Article entitled Nurturing Giftedness in Young Children and Preschoolers Too Young for Gifted Programs - Assignment Example Yes, I agree that developments among children are varied and different. Yes, I also agree that other children are fast learners while others are not. I could quote every line in Roedell’s article and say, â€Å"Yes, I agree with all of my heart.† It seems to me that Roedell merely states the facts but fails to offer any critical analysis. If Roedell made a critical analysis concerning what it means, or what are the ways, to treat a child as an individual, then Roedell could begin from there in offering a fresh perspective. Response to the Summary Article entitled â€Å"Are Preschoolers Too Young for Gifted Programs?† I agree that all G/T programs offered in schools for gifted children should be promoted and fostered. However, I think that the child’s age before enrolling him or her into a G/T program should be a special concern for parents and the academe. An age of three, I believe, is not a good measure for allowing, or worst forcing, gifted children to study in a G/T program. That’s a very young age for a young child, gifted or not, to go to school. A gifted child needs more than just intellectual stuff. He or she needs, among others, a social, physically-active, and emotional life. It also interests me why few schools offer G/T program to affluent urban families. It implies, at least to my understanding, that G/T program is a money-making business for the learning institution. Moreover, it fascinates me why parents enroll their children in G/T program. It sounds like they are doing it for the sake of prestige – namely, that their child is a â€Å"smart† kid. My Answer to Question Number One. I think that tiered instruction is better than the traditional way of teaching. Tiered instruction is premised on the idea that individuals have different levels of learning ability and therefore requires diverse teaching strategies. Different students are taught differently.

Is sickle cell pain adequately managed in a hospital setting Essay

Is sickle cell pain adequately managed in a hospital setting - Essay Example The latter is a synthesis of researches from the main contributors on the same study. The two medical research articles to be presented in this critique will be analyzed in six (6) parts. (1) First is on the statement of the research problem. For the research problem, this section will find out if the problems stated or implied in the two research articles are clear, researchable, and related to field-nursing. The first part will also examine the competence and qualifications of the researchers who conducted the research. (2) The second part is concerned about the literature review. In this section, the relevance, comprehensiveness, currency, and logic of the literature reviews will be evaluated. (3) The third part of this critique studies on the study design. It consists of the study design, discussion of the theoretical framework and the statements of the hypothesis. (4) The fourth is about the data collection. It identifies the data collection methods used in the research articles including the justifications of the usage of these methods. This part also talks abo ut the validity and reliability of the data collection methods. (5) Next part tackles the data analyses of the two articles. This section analyses the appropriateness and descriptiveness of the analysis methods on the data. The analysis methods involve the presentation of findings in the form of tables, graphs, and charts and also some discussions. (6) The last part discusses the conclusions and recommendations presented in the two researches for future studies. This section tends to evaluate if the conclusions presented justify their purposes. In Thomas, Wilson-Barnett, and Goodhart’s research article, they state the problem concerning the difficulty of the management of pain on patients with sickle cell disease. They state the problem by saying the current state in the pain management of sickle cell disease in hospitals. As quoted in their article: â€Å"Painful crisis

Poems, American Culture and Values Essay Example for Free

Poems, American Culture and Values Essay The poems â€Å"America† written by Allen Ginsberg and Langston Hughes’ â€Å"I, Too† are two of the most controversial pieces in American Literature. The two poems acquire such attention because of the subject they discussed and the points and issues they presented. Ginsberg’s â€Å"America† and â€Å"I, Too† by Hughes tackled values and ethics that is deeply embedded in the American Culture. They integrated in their writings issues about racism and various social problems that has plagued the American system, and has characterized American way of life. However, although the two poems raised identical issues, the manner in which they were presented was different. Furthermore, the prevailing emotion from the two poems was different as Ginsberg work showcased raged, anger, hatred and hopelessness to the system while in Hughes work hope for better future for things is evident. The poem America is conversational in tone and discusses the grievances and disappointments of the writer to the existing American System during that time. Ginsberg is a member of a group called the Beat Writers and the rage he expressed in writing the poem is the organization’s manifestation of hatred to the State of American Culture (Foster, 1992). As one reads the poem he may found himself lost to the illogical manner of presentation of different ideas of the poem. This hopeless illogical way of presentation, mirrors the hopeless and illogic state of American Culture. He even pointed out the insanity of American society going to war such as the â€Å"cold war†. He expressed the ridiculousness of the country, bragging itself as the â€Å"home of the free†, but is in the forefront of oppressing various countries and minority groups. All in all, Ginsberg presented irritations and frustration and how people have lost their individuality with the advent of mass media and technology. On the other hand, Hughes â€Å"I, Too† provided a different view of the social problems present in American Culture. The primary topic is oppression of minorities particularly the isolation of African Americans and whites. The use of â€Å"I† was empowering since it discusses separation and segregation of the American Culture. It iterates that African Americans are also citizens of America and should be treated equally with whites. Unlike the poem America, I, Too states that although the author understand and knew the current social dilemma he is not worried. Hughes stated that the society is slowly realizing the problems at hand, and thus soon everything will turn out write. He does not complain and instead patiently wait for the day that everyone will recognized them as part of America and eventually see how wonderful and beautiful they are as an integral part of the country. As Ginsberg’s work presented hopelessness to the present system, Hughes poem is a picture of great expectations as he viewed a better society for the American people. References Foster, E. H. (1992). Understanding the Beats. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press.

Consumers Buying Behaviour Of Fashion Magazines

Consumers Buying Behaviour Of Fashion Magazines Vogue and GQ are the two fashion and lifestyle magazines which are published monthly. Vogue is published in 18 national and one regional edition by Conde Nast Publications. Vogue is most famous as a presenter of images of high fashion and high society. Vogue is giving the millions of women each month of the inspiration and challenge to see things in a different way both for themselves and the world. GQ which is mainly focusing on the mens sector is focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on movies, health, food, sports, music, travel and books. It is published internationally in 17 countries and 12 different languages. It is the one which covers almost all the aspects of the males life. In our research the comparison of two fashion magazines, we covered the some characteristics of Consumer Buying Behaviours i.e societal changes overtime, demographics, personality, social group influence and consumer relationship. We also carried out the Primary research in order to attain our research findings. History (Societal Changes) Vogue which is the worlds most influential fashion magazine was founded in the year 1892, by Arthur Baldwin Turnure. After his death the magazine was picked by Conde Nast who changed the magazine from a weekly to a biweekly. Vogues target audience appears to be mainly women and those who prefer to embrace fashion and culture as a lifestyle. Gentlemens Quarterly (GQ) has been a leading voice in mens magazines, covering mens style and culture from fashion and politics to travel, entertainment, sports, technology and relationships. It all began in 1931, when Apparel Arts was founded as a mens fashion magazine. In 1958, Apparel Arts was reborn as fashion supplement issued quarterly for Esquire subscribers and renamed Gentlemens Quarterly. Through the 1970s, Gentlemens Quarterly retained its concentration on mens fashion and style. In 1983 Conde Nast purchased Gentlemens Quarterly and simplified the name to GQ. The up and downs in the growth of both magazines from the time of their first published till date, Vogue has several up and downs in every year but from 1990 it start growing rapidly. In the beginning GQ was also facing difficulties in capturing the market but when it introduced for general public it start growing rapidly. Magazine Covers, Cover Lines Content Over time, magazines covers have changed radically, and that change can be observed by following how magazines used cover lines. This article traces the history of magazine cover lines from early, bookish designs, through the emergence of the poster cover and its dominance, through the integration of type with art, to the proliferation of cover lines at the beginning of the 21st century. In the beginning both magazines shows a characteristic poster cover. The stunning design dwarfs the rest of the cover, even the magazines name. The amazing illustration, the designer has utilized many of the methods that will be re-invented throughout the 20th century for integrating cover lines with cover art: A large title with the models face overlapping it A model in a (nearly) full body pose A model in an unusual and expressive posture (rotated somewhat, spiralling down to the bottom cover line) Cover lines on all sides of her, carefully positioned in relation to the model and the background (The Amazing Fraud is written across the beam of the sailboat, other lines appear against the sail) THEN NOW The images are no longer in the foreground. Cover lines appear in front of the cover models, covering significant parts of their images. We see these beautiful people through the cover lines that surround them, as if they were in the bushes and the bushes were made of words. Vogue combines a modern mix of glamour, style and wit with a passionate flow of intelligent writing and cutting-edge photography. Whereas GQ is the pinnacle of the premium mens lifestyle and covers style, culture, entertainment, health, sports, luxury and life. As far as magazines are concern they also changes time to time the major changes come in their quality of the paper, printing, content etc. Research methodology The research methodology was divided into two stages which involve two sources for collecting the data in order to achieve the objective of our project. 1. Collecting data regarding the potential customers from the existing Magazines. 2. Collecting the primary data directly with the customer with the help of the interviews and questionnaires (Refer Annexure-1). Research design In this project multi stage sampling is used because the total population was too large and due to time constraint it was not practically possible to make a list of entire population. At first stage we have divided it into income wise and then further divided it into three factors which we target i.e. Fashion, Style and Cosmetics so that we can get correct and related information. Sample design Sampling Unit: Fashion Magazine Customers Sampling Size: 15 potential customers Sampling technique: multistage sampling Sampling area: London Contact Method: Personal Contacts. Demographics Segmentation: It is a check to characteristic of Human population and also used in identification of gender, race, age, income, disability, mobility, educational attainment, home ownership, employment statue and location. CLASSES IN DEMOGRAPHICS SHOPPING ORIENTATION VALUE, LIFESTYLE CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND SHOPPING ATTITUDE LIFE STYLE: This has been described as gaining the understanding of your customers. STRENGTH: Here are the strategies which the gq magazines uses to get the audience of their customers. The magazines consider age in publication of their magazines because their target audience are male with age 25-39 and gq magazine have desire for style. The success with style has always been the ethos around which gq was created, a provocative mix of the very best writing, strong visuals and an unrivalled sense of achievement, intelligence and irreverence, the ultimate urban mens tips sheet. Its the pinnacle of the premium mens life style magazine market and covers style, culture, entertainment, tech, health, sport, luxury and life. In vogue magazine it is a famous as a presenter of images of high fashion and high society. This publisher of the magazine also includes art, culture, politics and ideas to enhance the readers more on information. At the front pages of the both magazines theirs are some icons of information displayed on it with the details of the stories in side, which means that the magazines are educating to the customers. VOGUE MAGAZINE AGE:-The age of the target audience is 25-54 and the 82% of the readers are female. Again the 65% of the reader are full time or part time workers and the 26% of the readers are in AB socioeconomic quintile. Final the average household income is AUB 84, 850.( Roy Morgan Research March 2009.) READERSHIP:-348,000. CIRCULATION:-50,752. (ABC statement June 2009) GQ MAGAZINE AGE:-The age of the target audience is 25-30 and the 73% of the readers are men, 63% are single. INCOME:-The 65% of the readers had annual income of $50000 or greater and 25% had an annual income greater than $75000. SEGMENTATION: The vogue magazine implemented strategies which helps them to gain the customers by dividing their formats which are:- Information seekers Sensation seekers Utilitarian consumers Conspicuous consumer It was also revealed that fashion lifestyle segment have a very stronger effect in the vogue magazine readers because in the world today an average person want to be informed and perceives products or services he is purchasing. Personality The specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors, and mannerism that distinguishes one individual from other individuals. Vogue Femininity Sincerity Sophistication Need for cognition Super ego High dogmatism Compliant individuals Colour (Pink) Vogue is targeting the female sector and in its most of its issues femininity is very clear. On the cover page of magazine they are using the female models with sublime makeover to attract its target market. The magazine is making every effort in order to create the sincerity among its customers. They make them feel as a part of the magazine group by introducing the brands and celebrities of the liking of its customers. As they are targeting the female sector so the sophistication is an important element in it. They are introducing more and more glamorous, charming and appealing objects in the magazine. Cognition is the development of information to knowledge. The act of cognition consists of representing and transforming information. This can be done by sensing something directly, or indirectly by reasoning. The magazine is realizing this need and they are including the advertisements that are more perceived by the target market. Still there is much more to do in it to further reach to the wants of the people they are targeting. The magazine readers are super ego people who do have their self beliefs and attitudes. They have the personality composed of their internalized ideals that they have acquired from their parents and from society they belong to. People they are targeting are high in dogmatism and prefer established products rather than new innovative ones. They feel they are comfortable with what they are used to. The people magazine is targeting are high compliant individuals who have lofty goals in their lives and wants to be prominent from all others they are part of. The magazine is using light colours like pink and sky blue etc. which give the feelings to be cool and are highly attractive for women and more demanding in their lifestyles. GQ Masculinity Sincerity Ruggedness Product Personality Ego Low dogmatism Aggressive individuals Colour (Black white) GQ is focusing on the lifestyles of men so they are using more masculine attracted styles and products. There target market men are also very sincere towards the brand selection and products that are advertised in the magazine. They feel comfortable with what they get in the magazine. The target market is more rugged towards their approach for the products. They like aggressive styles and get more involved in these kinds of advertisements. The product personality mainly matches with the demands and likings of the men. The target market of GQ is egoistic and they feel themselves a part of the community if they are getting that what they want. They are in usual having low dogmatism so the people the magazine is targeting are closed minded persons generally prefer innovative products to traditional alternatives. They are normally the trend setters in their society. They want to try different and new things in order to get more attraction in a group they belong to. They are usually aggre ssive in nature and like to be prominent among others. They love to be more experimental in their ideas and approach towards the lifestyles. The GQ normally uses the colour combinations of black and white in order to show the aggressiveness in their styles and products. Social groups There is a difference when consumers make decisions of their perception as an individual and perception of themselves as a member of a group. Their purchase is affected by taking these factors into consideration. (Gary Charness Luca Rigotti Aldo Rustichini, 2005) The motivation to be a part of the particular group depends upon how attractive the Reference group is. These Reference groups sometimes influence that what product is purchased regardless of its brand but on some occasions brand matters but not the decision that what product to buy. (John OShaughnessy, 1995) Social groups are the communication network within the society. Sometimes the general communication within a society is so influential that it effects more than the proper and highly budgeted advertisements. (John OShaughnessy, 1995) There are three reference group influences: informational, utilitarian and value expressive. Informational influence is when individual seeks information about various brands from association of professionals. Utilitarian is when he or she satisfies the expectations of fellow work associates and Value expressive influence is when individual feels that the purchase or use of a particular brand will enhance the image others have of him or her. GQ users are those who mostly have utilitarian influence and try to purchase those products which are preferred by the people they have the social interaction with. On the other hand Vogue target market has mostly Value expressive influence as they want to purchase the brand which they feel that will enhance the image the others have about them. So they feel that by using particular brand they will look as nice as the person advertising the brand is. According to some psychologists there is the existence of trio of needs. These needs can be summed within Maslows theory but considered as individually. These needs have the unique relevance to consumer motivation in a group. These are power, affiliation and achievement. These are ego, social and self actualization needs respectively. As both Vogue and GQ are targeting the upper middle class so these needs plays an important role in the behaviour of the individual to get influenced by the group they belong to. The target market of GQ is more of the field of professionals and they want to be different in their groups. So they carry expensive products and whenever they see some new innovative product they try to be the first to introduce in their group. Vogue users are mostly females and females are usually more sensitive in their approach towards fashion and style in the group they belong to. They are very much conscious about trying new things so they go for the products that are mor e attracting to them in a group they belong to. Consumer relationship Consumer Relations is all about satisfying, safeguarding, enhancing, monitoring, and being responsive towards consumers needs remain profitable. Vogue and GQ are the living example of consumer relationship, since the day of their First Edition till date they never compromised on the factors of consumer relationship and due to which they retain their old consumers as well as attracting new customers, this has become possible because they are continuously taking feedback from their consumers and enhancing the quality in term of their contents and keeping it up to date according to their consumers needs. This responsiveness towards consumers made these magazines successful in their own categories. The strong relationship of Vogue and GQ magazines with their consumers increases their growth in the market. Data Analysis The above chart shows that the income of 20% of the Vogue users is less than  £50,000 while 45% of the magazine users fall under the income range of  £100,000 and we found no user of vogue in our sample size whose income level is above  £100,000. In case of GQ users most of the users have the income level around  £100,000 or more. The above graph inferences that mostly womens (around 60 %) goes for Vogue magazines is because of the Fashion Trends, around 40 % prefer style and the rest 10 % purchase it to get latest update about the cosmetics and accessories. This graph inference that mostly mens (around 60 %) goes for GQ magazines is because of the Style, around 40 % prefer Fashion Trends and as this magazine is mostly targeting the male gender of the society, so people do not prefer it for cosmetics. When we asked about the contents of the magazine such as brands, advertisements, articles etc. the majority of respondents replied in favour of it these magazines as shown in the above charts. CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS Since Fashion is continuously changing and market is increasing, people are purchasing Fashion magazines to get up to date with the current and upcoming Fashion and Style. Questionnaire Name: _________________________________________ Gender: Male Female Occupation: Business Service Student Unemployed What is your annual income?  £ Less than 50,000 50,001 75,000 75,001 100,000 More than 100,001 Which Fashion Magazine do you prefer? Vogue GQ Gentlemen Quarterly Which factor you prefer most while buying a magazine? Fashion Style Cosmetics What do you think about the content of this magazine? Good Average Poor If the particular magazine was not available in the market will you go for any other magazine? Definitely No, I will wait for it If you see your favourite celebrity endorsing in some other magazine would you switch from your existing magazine? Yes, for sure No, Do you discuss about the brands advertised in the magazine with your friends? Yes, I always do No (www.newsspace.com.an/gq) (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1628136show=pdf) (www.wisegeek.com/what-is-magazine-advertising.htm) http://quazen.com/reference/about-vogue/#ixzz17XHMV3BM http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=history+of+vogue+magazinehl=enrlz=1R2SKPB_enGB399prmd=ivtbs=tl:1tbo=uei=76v_TJaMKcGIhQf358CvCwsa=Xoi=timeline_resultct=titleresnum=11ved=0CFoQ5wIwCg http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=history+of+gq+magazinehl=enprmd=ivsa=Xei=eqv_TO-AK5KwhAes5u3VCwved=0CHoQpQItbs=tl:1,tlul:1930,tluh:2010. http://aejmcmagazine.bsu.edu/testfolder/ http://www.bookrags.com/history/vogue-sjpc-05/ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MvilOZhaRkACpg=PA10lpg=PA10dq=role+of+personality+in+vogue+magazinesource=blots=QxDa7RWl7Ssig=SB7BzSjhBTmJ_C_0la7K8f-A0Jghl=enei=sMH_TLS4GsjAhAf9j8miCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=10ved=0CEIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepageqf=false

Assessment And Repair Of Fire Damaged Structures Engineering Essay

Assessment And Repair Of Fire Damaged Structures Engineering Essay This chapter explains how a structure is assisted and repaired after the aftermath of a fire. Often the initial response when looking over a fire-damaged structure is one of despair and horror at the extent of damage. This situation is shown by the amount of non-structural debris lying around together with the unpleasant smell of many combustion products. In most cases, the damage is not as severe as is at first thought, even though immediate decisions must be taken on the short-term safety of the structure and whether any temporary propping is necessary or, indeed, whether some demolition work is necessary. This judgment will often need to be taken very quickly after the fire and will generally be based on a visual survey and expert judgement. It should be pointed out that the assessment of fire damaged structures is very much a black art in that it relies heavily on experience.. 4.1 Visual Inspection The aim of the visual inspection is to determine: Structural stability of the structure and The extent and severity of the fire. 4.1.2 Structural Stability If possible, the original drawings for the structure should be consulted at this stage these allow assessment of how the structure transmits the applied loading and enables the principal load carrying members to be identified, as well as those providing structural stability. The inspection needs to check any excessive deformation, deflection or cracking in the main load-carrying members and integrity at the connections between the main members (1). It is vital to check for structural stability if excessive bowing of structural elements such as masonry cladding or internal compartment walls, which would be observed in the inspection stage of a structure. Anywhere the fire has only affected part of the structure, it is crucial that the inspection also extend to any part of the structure not damaged indirectly by the fire; it is possible that a significant redistribution of forces can occur into the unaffected part of the structure. For a example in the Broadgate fire scenario when the structure behaved during the fire in a totally different manner to the way it was designed, in that forces were redistributed away from the fire by columns acting in tension to transmit forces to the relatively cool upper stories of the structure(2). 4.1.3 Estimation of fire severity The first method of obtaining a rough estimate of the fire severity is by the use of the fire brigade records in terms of the number of vehicles called out, the length of time taken to fight the fire, the length of time between the fire being noted and the arrival of the brigade, the operation of any automatic fire detection or fire fighting equipment and the degree of effort required to fight the fire. The second method is to estimate the temperature reached in the fire by studying the debris caused by the fire and therefore it is essential that no debris is removed until such a study is carried out in order to maintain evidence. Provided the materials generating the debris can be identified, the knowledge may be used to give an indication of temperature reached, since most materials have known specific melting or softening temperatures. Table.1 gives typical melting temperatures of different materials that could be found in a fire according to the Building Research Establishment (BRE). material Behaviour Approximate temperature (ËÅ ¡C) Softening or collapse of polystyrene 120 Melting of polystyrene 250 Aluminium softens 400 Aluminium melts 650 Softening of glass 700-800 Melting point of brass 800-1000 Melting point of sliver 950 Melting point of copper 1100 Melting point of cast iron 1100-1200 Table.1: melting point data (Source: Parker and Nurse (1956) BRE) It is very important that care is taken in consideration when using data as the temperatures varies over the height of a fire compartment; therefore the original position of a particular artefact is important. This method of assessment only gives an Indication that particular temperatures were reached but not the duration of exposure to that temperature. The third method that is available to give an estimate in terms of either the standard furnace test duration or a known fire, is to measure the charring depth on any sizeable piece of timber known to have been exposed to the fire from the start of the fire. The charring depth can be related back to the standard furnace exposure since timber of known, or established, density can be assumed to char at a constant rate between 30 and 90 min standard exposure. The position of the timber specimen in the compartment should also be noted. A fourth method is to calculate the fire severity from estimates of the compartment size, the fire load density and the area of openings (ventilation factor). In practice, no one of the above methods is completely reliable and therefore a combination of methods must be used to give a reasonable answer. The visual inspection, once carried out, will have identified those areas which must be either immediately demolished (where the damage is beyond that capable of being repaired) or those areas which may be capable of being repaired if sufficient strength can be attained (1). The inspection will also identify where there is no, or only very apparent damage. If repair of a structure is considered feasible, then a much more detailed investigation is required to ascertain the extent and severity of any damage and the residual strength of the structure. To do this, it is first necessary to clear all debris from the structure and to clean as much smoke damage as possible to allow an unhindered examination of all surfaces. 4.2 Damage Assessment In order to carry out any assessment of damage on a steel structure a number of stages needs to be carried out. The first stage involves a complete fully detailed survey of the structure. The second stage ascertains the residual strength of both the individual members and of the complete structure. 4.2.1 Structural survey For all structures, the first stage is to carry out, where appropriate, a full line and level survey. This is required to assess the residual deformations and deflections in the structure. The measured deflections should be compared with those for which the structure was designed. Care should be taken to note the effect of any horizontal movements due to thermal actions during the fire. Such effects of horizontal movement are often apparent away from the seat of the fire (Malhotra, 1978; Beitel and Iwankiw, 2005). In steel structures, since most structural steels regain more strength on cooling, there will be a slight loss in strength. However, the resultant deformations are likely to indicate the state of the structure. In this case, it is important to assess the integrity of the connections; it is possible that bolts could have failed within the connection or could have become excessively deformed. Where the floors comprise of profile sheet steel decking and in situ concrete, examination should be made for any separation between the decking and the beams. This separation can still occur even if thorough deck stud welding was used. Another potential point of failure is the shear bond between the decking and the in situ concrete. Fig 4.1 shows concrete separated away from the metal deck floor. Even with substantial damage of the types mentioned above, the structure may still be intact as demonstrated after the fire tests on the steel frame structures at Cardington (Bailey, 2004a)(6). Fig 4.1 Measurement of the gap of concrete gap after the fire (http://www.google.ie/images) Whilst carrying out the visual survey, attention should be given to the need for carrying tests on the structural materials to ascertain their residual strengths. The testing methods used may either be non-destructive or involve the taking of samples from damaged portions on the structure, together with control specimens from undamaged areas. 4.3 Testing There are two approaches that may be used to assess residual steel strengths for steel. The first is to remove test coupons or samples and subject those specimens to a standard tensile test.Fig.4.1 shows test results for a piece of S350GD+Z structural steel. Great Care should taken in removing test specimens in that the damaged structure is not further weakened, and that again any necessary propping should be used. Fig 4.2 Tensile test results for structural steel S350GD+Z, the test pieces taken before and after high temperature compression tests, where the material reached temperatures up to 950 °C, (Y. C. Wang P6) The second is to use non-destructive tests of which the most suitable is a hardness indentation test usually measuring the Brinell hardness. There is a direct, sensibly linear, relationship between the Brinell hardness number (BHN) and tensile strength as shown in fig.4.2. It is important that care is taken in using this test since a number of results are needed before the strength estimates are statistically reliable. Fig4.2: Relationship between steel strengths and Brinell hardness number (BHN) (Kirby, Lapwood and Thompson, 1986, p 370). 4.3.1 Residual strength For Grade 43A (S275) steel there is no residual strength loss based on the 0,2% proof s0 tress when the steel is heated to temperatures up to 600à ¢- ¦C but a 30% reduction at a temperature of 1000à ¢- ¦C(5). The variation in residual strength between these temperatures is sensibly linear. The pattern for Grade 50D (S355 J2) steel is similar except that the strength loss at 1000à ¢- ¦C is only about 15%. It should be noted that in all the tests, except for the American steel at 800à ¢- ¦C, the measured tensile strengths exceeded the minimum guaranteed yield strength. Data on such steels are presented in Fig. 4.4 (Holmes et al., 1982), where it is seen that the yield strength for reinforcing steel shows an increase above ambient strength at temperatures below about 550à ¢- ¦C, but a decrease at temperatures above 550à ¢- ¦C. Pre-stressing steels show no change in strength below 300à ¢- ¦C, but a substantial drop after this point such that at 800à ¢- ¦C only around 50% of strength remains Wrought iron appears to show a marginal strength increase at temperatures up to 900à ¢- ¦C and thus appears able to perform well in a fire provided however, that excessive deformations do not occur. Cast iron will also perform reasonably well unless undue large bending moments are applied to the member during the fire. The good fire performance in real structures is in part due to the very low stresses to which cast iron members were subjected in design. One problem that can occur is that brittle failure is possible if cast iron is quenched by cold water from firemens hoses whilst still red-hot, or if additional loads are induced during the fire (7). Fig.4.4: Variation of residual strengths of reinforcing and pre-stressing steels with temperature (Holmes et al., 1982). 4.4 Methods of repair As far as steelwork is concerned, any repair will be in the form of partial replacement where the original structure has deformed beyond the point at which it can be reused. Where the steelwork is still intact, it is almost certain that the fire protection system used will need partial or total replacement. Any intumescent paint systems will certainly need renewing. 4.5 Demolition of fire damaged structures Clearly, the same safety hazards that exist for structures being demolished for reasons other than fire damage exist for those so damaged; except that problems of stability are exacerbated for fire-damaged structures as the structure itself is naturally weaker, often to such an extent that little physical effort may be needed for demolition. 4.6 Re-use of steel after a fire An often quoted general rule for fire affected hot rolled structural steels is that if the steel is straight and there are no obvious distortions then the steel is probably still fit for use. At 600 °C the yield strength of steel is equal to about 40% of its room temperature value; it follows therefore that any steel still remaining straight after the fire and which had been carrying an appreciable load was probably not heated beyond 600 °C, will not have undergone any metallurgical changes and will probably be fit for re-use. However, where the load in the fire was less than the full design load, and also with high strength steels, this cannot always be held to be true. In such cases it is recommended that hardness tests are carried out on the affected steel. In practice it is recommended that, in all instances, some hardness tests should be carried out. For grade S275 steel, if the ultimate tensile strength resulting from the tests are within the range specified in  the table 2 below, then the steel is reusable. Table.2Ultimatetensilestrengths (source:http://www.corusconstruction.com/en/design_guidance/structural_design) For grade S355 steel additional tensile test coupons should be taken from fire affected high strength steel members when hardness tests show that: There is more than 10% difference in hardness compared to non-fire affected steelwork, or Hardness test results indicate that the strength is within 10% of the specified minimum. Where deflections are visible, general guidelines on the maximum permissible levels of deflection to ensure satisfactory performance are difficult to specify. The amount of deflection or distortion must be checked so that its effect under load can be calculated to ensure that permissible stresses are not exceeded and the functioning of the building is not impaired. Therefore every building should be considered as a separate case and the structural engineer involved in the reinstatement exercise must decide what level is acceptable to satisfy the relevant Codes. 4.7 Conclusion It can be concluded that the assessment of steel structures after a fire is crucial in order to judge the structural stability of the structure and seen can the building can be reused after the fire. Steel structure can behave different that they have been designed for and this can have a effect on the structural stability of the building, for example the broadgate fire behaved in a different manner than it designed for. It is essential that testing of steel is carried out after the fire in order to see if the steel is capable of been reused.It can be conclude that for Grade 43A steel there is no residual strength loss based on the 0,2% proof stress when the steel is heated to temperatures up to 600à ¢- ¦C but a 30% reduction at a temperature of 1000à ¢- ¦C. The variation in residual strength and temperatures has a linear relationship as they are directly proportional to each other. [1] Steel Construction Industry Forum (SCIF), 1991. Structural Fire Engineering: Investigation of Broadgate Phase 8 Fire, Steel Construction Institute, UK. [2] Fire Safety Engineering Design of Structures Second Edition John A. Purkiss BSc(Eng), PhD [3] Outinen,J.Mà ¤kelà ¤inen,P.,2004.Mechanical properties of structural steel at elevated temperatures and after cooling Fire and Materials, 28 (2-4), pp. 237-251. [4] Kirby, B.R., Lapwood, D.G. Thomson, G., 1986. The Reinstatement of Fire Damaged Steel and Iron Framed Structures, British Steel Corporation (now Corus), London, p. 46 [5] Wang Y.C., Wald F., Tà ¶rà ¶k A., Hajpà ¡l M., 2008. Fire damaged structures, in Technical sheets Urban habitat constructions under catastrophic events, Print PraÃ…Â ¾skà ¡ technika, Czech Technical University in Prague. [6] Bailey, C.G. (2004b) Structural Fire Engineering Design: Materials Behaviour- Steel, Digest 487 Part 2, BRE. [7] Holmes, M., Anchor, R.D., Cooke, G.M.E., and Crook, R.N. (1982) The effects of elevated temperatures on the strength properties of reinforcing and prestressing steels. Structural Engineer, 60B, 7-13 [8] Barnfield,J.R. and Porter, A.M. (1984) Historic buildings and fire; fire performance of cast-iron structural elements. Structural Engineer, 62A, 373-80. 4.0 Assessment and repair of fire-damaged structures 4.1 Visual Inspection 4.1.2 Structural Stability 4.1.3 Estimation of fire severity 4.2 Damage Assessment 4.2.1 Structural survey 4.3 Testing 4.3.1 Residual strength 4.4 Methods of repair 4.5 Demolition of Fire-Damaged Structures

Review of Cyprus Economy Essay examples -- essays research papers

REVIEW OF CYPRUS ECONOMY Cyprus is a small, services oriented (services account for approximately 76% of GDP) free market economy with a record of successful economic performance – Rapid growth, full employment conditions, low inflation & external and internal stability. In terms of per capita income, currently estimated at US $ 18,500, Cyprus is classified among the high income countries. It has good business and financial services, modern telecommunications, an educated labor force and a sound legal system. Cyprus' geographical location, tax incentives, and modern infrastructure also make it a natural hub for companies looking to do business with the Middle East, Europe, the former Soviet Union and North Africa. Cyprus’ entry into the EU in May 2004 marked the crowning point of protracted efforts over the years of its most important political and economic policy objective. As regards the economy, the harmonization process has transformed the whole economic structure of Cyprus and full accession is expected to bring a number of positive results. At the same time, EU membership is a challenge to the business community to strive for increased competitiveness and the upgrading of quality of products & services. Economic growth in 2003 remained at the same levels as the previous year with the economy growing by 2% in real terms, mainly due to the containment of tourist demand. The low rate of economic growth for a second year in a row was reflected in the labour marke...

A Memorable Experience In Photography :: essays research papers fc

A Memorable Experience in Photography To experience photography, one must have a certain style of photographs to really appreciate or admire. Photographs are picturesque images and views that really catch the interest of the photographer. For me to experience and admire photography, it took me only one photographer to really appreciate the power it has his name is Robert Capa. Robert grew up in Hungary he experienced the political unrest and turmoil. He lived under the oppression of Horthy and knew the kind of anarchy that constitutes war(Images of War 8). Robert's work represented 3 categories: 1. Images of battle. 2. Images of the effects of war. 3. Images of calamity(Photographs,Introduction). His work also had a swift understanding and sympathy for the people who suffer from being caught in war. This type of suffering made it impossible for him to ignore the events which affected their lives(Images of War 9). Robert's belief on photography is "If your pictures are not good enough, your not close enough"(Photographs Foreword). Robert's breakthrough in the field of photography came during the Spanish Civil War. His most famous picture was a snapshot of a courageous man in the act of falling(Capa18). His own special talents and course of world happenings, led him into a role as a professional photographer of war(Images of War20). To really admire and understand Capa, you must have a fascination for dramatic and emotional pictures of war. There probably has been thousands who admire the work he does. Well you can include me in that group of thousands. Capa puts into perspective in just one photograph, something my grandfather will never forget. The Bombing of Pearl Harbor. The photograph that brings back these memories is taken somewhere in Europe during World War II. It's a photograph that has the air full of scores of Japanese warplanes. They are flying over war stricken farmland. As an American citizen, this photograph brings a lot of emotions through me and would have brought greater emotions to my grandfather. I used this photograph because it brings back the memory of my grandfather telling me the story of how he survived that tragic day. On December 7, 1941, my grandfather was stationed at Pearl Harbor as a airplane mechanic. It was still early in the morning and he was still sleeping. Then out of nowhere he heard numerous explosions and then the sirens went off._ _He rushed out of bed and ran upstairs to see what was happening. In the sky he saw scores of Japanese airplanes flying and bombing the area. Some of the airplanes would risk their own lives to do more damage to the ships and the

Learning environment Essay

â€Å"The environment we are in affects our moods, the ability to form relationships and the effectiveness in work or play, even our health. † (Bullard, 2006). In effectively educating children an educator must build a foundation that has a stimulating environment which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design and decor size. The outdoor learning area must be one that is organised in a way that promotes exploration and investigation of the elements of nature which includes planting trees and flowers, as well as nature stations where children can observe the different insects. On the other hand is the classroom design which also endorses discovery along with cooperation among peers. The centres should be spacious that enables free movement where group gathering can take place, as well as the different materials and manipulative that are easily accessible to children in the different learning areas in facilitating their knowledge. But however not only that, but as well as decor size which pertains to using child size toys, tools and furniture in the classroom that eliminates children from asking for assistance from adults, as well as allowing them to feel empowered by not requesting of their help. In providing a stimulating environment like the one that was now described would allow children to actively participate in their learning. This is so because the surroundings therefore cater for â€Å"appropriate ways in developing the vital skills, the knowledge and a positive attitude to learning in the individual needs of each child. It is based on â€Å"guiding children to observe, question, discuss, listen, manipulate, feel, investigate and develop the ability to think creatively and independently. This is defined as Active Learning. In discussing the importance of the active learning environment above which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design as well as decor size that promotes active learning, this paper would now focus on one such area that is assessed in the internal environment, meaning a learning centre that needs to be enhanced, as well as strategies used for improvement to reflect my curriculum goals. Description of the Learning Centre that needs to be Improved While children were in the indoor setting of the classroom I took time to sit and observe what exactly was happening at each of the different centres. While monitoring I noticed that most of them were at the diverse learning areas excluding the language centre which had only about two (2) children who took a short amount of time interacting within that area. The other centres were very attraction as they had many tangible objects that children can interact with, whereas the other had old objects that were very unattractive and discoloured. Most of the materials were posters that were stuck to the wall which were there for a very long time, in turn making it appear distasteful and unappealing. In the language centre it therefore created a barrier that enabled children to further promote their language development as there were an insufficient amount of materials that catered for it. In addition, that learning centre did not cater for the children as it did not promote active learning, because as stated earlier when a centre has materials and manipulatives that are easily accessible to children it therefore facilitates their learning as it guides them to observe, engage and grasp different concepts in a simpler way. But however, there were no materials that held the attention of the children that they can become involved with; hence it developed a barricade for the active learning process to take place. When comparing the centres I have found that this is a situation that needs to be put back into working order immediately, because â€Å"language is an important skill that allows a person to communicate. † (Brannagan, 2010). It is a significant skill that is crucial in a child’s life as they use it to adequately exchange information with others in a meaningful way, as well as understanding the uses of reading and writing and becoming successful early readers and writers as it determines a successful future for them. In contrast, if this particular skill has a delay it can create complications in communication with others. This therefore can build frustration within the child since it may lead to miscommunication about what he/she is trying to convey. This is why it is important for me as an educator to address this matter quickly, so in turn children can have the opportunity to interact within that said learning centre and not only in the others, as they would gain better knowledge by coming into contact with materials and experiences that are provided for  them by adults, hence making it easier to make sense of the world around them, as well as influencing their rate of growth. This process is referred to as The Constructivist Theory in which the philosopher Jean Piaget believed that children’s learning is an active process where there is interaction between the person and the environment. This improvement of the Language Centre would be effective as it will continually provide active learning within all the centres in the classroom without the segregation of one. My Curriculum Goals within the Language Centre As stated by the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide in the strand Effective Communication â€Å"language and literacy play a critical role in the development of children’s thinking, learning and communication. To develop into successful, contributing adults, children must learn to be effective communicators and masters of their official language. † (Ministry of Education , 2005) With this being said my curriculum goals within the Language Centre are taken from the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide. The goals are as follows: ? A growing awareness that speaking is an effective way to communicate thoughts, ideas and views. ?A growing awareness that print (common signs and symbols) conveys meaning. ?An increasing understanding of some symbols, language patterns, letter sound relationships to predict, confirm or make meanings from using their hundred languages, which includes multimodal texts. ?Develop ways to experiment with conventional letters, word signs and symbols to convey meaning. ?Understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Develop ways to explore how symbols and written and visual texts are used to communicate meaning. ?The ability to derive and convey the meaning of common signs and symbols (exit signs, area labels etc. ) in the various environments (school, home, community. ) ? A love for listening to and retelling familiar stories, as well as a desire to â€Å"read† on their own. Learn new vocabulary and extend language to communicate and negotiate ideas and plan for activities. Strategies used for Improvement in the Language Centre Letters are all around us! Therefore using environmental prints stuck to the wall in the language centre such as signs, labels and logos can be of great assistance in accomplishing some of my stated goals in developing children’s reading skills. This was stated by Colorin Colorado as an influential method in making the connection between letters and first efforts to read. It discusses how adults can make these techniques interesting to a child’s learning in talking about letters, words and print. The article suggest that in taking advantage of cereal boxes, as they are colourful to facilitate learning in which they can request for the child to find the first letter of his/her name on the box which assist in letter recognition as well as when going on a car trip. This results in children making the explicit link between letters and sounds. Another strategy the article further suggests that can be utilized, is about the use of technology in taking digital pictures of signs such as â€Å"exit† or â€Å"do not enter† to create a book for children to promote his/her reading skills. Environmental print provides lots of opportunities for kids to interact with letters, sounds, and words. † After reading â€Å"Colorin Colorado† 2010 it is concluded that not only can you facilitate children’s learning in the classroom but using the environment prints that surround us everyday can be of grand assistance. As stated by the U. S Department of Education 2011, Phonological Awareness and Training assist in the development of preschool language and literacy. The article defines Phonological Awareness as the ability to detect or manipulate the sounds in words independent of meaning whereas phonological awareness training is the means of involving various training activities that focus on teaching children to identify, detect, delete, segment, or blend segments of spoken words (i. e. , words, syllables, etc. ). In the language centre I can provide picture cards along with letter cards as well so that children can make the distinction between sounds and their letters as they are able to match the letter sound card to their pictures. Other materials may include ABC books, magnetic letters, alphabet blocks and puzzles as well as alphabet charts. It has a positive effect because it’s easier in learning alphabet letters as well as the letter sound knowledge that enables them to add letters together to form words and in turn add words together to form sentences; in addition it also provides the knowledge of print awareness and early reading abilities; Incorporating Interactive and Dialog Reading declared by the U. S Department of Education 2011 refers to the adult reading stories to the children. When teachers repeat the reading’s of favourite books it enables children to become familiarized with the books that will allow for independent reading as well as utilizing different techniques to engage children in the text, while dialog reading is the term used when the adult and child switches roles where the child now becomes the storyteller and the teacher the listener and assistance of the child. Dunst, Simkus and Hamby 2012 says â€Å"Engaging young children in retelling stories read to them by parents or teachers is a strategy that is often used to promote story-related comprehension and expressive vocabulary. This article similar to the one mentioned above suggest that in reading and repeating stories to the child or a small group of children and therefore engaging them to retell the story in their own words results in the expansion of ideas and their imagination. This becomes effective because Interactive and Dialog Reading assist in oral language and vocabulary development as the teacher may ask open ended questions in engaging the child in verbal elaborations which allow the child to gain knowledge about the meaning of spoken and written words and the development of comprehension skills which caters for early literacy and language development. To further endorse these skills in the language centre that is significant in improving and supporting literacy development the materials that would be provided are lots of good child friendly books that are attractive and prints that deals with class activities e. g. helper charts, toy shelf labels, as well as charts that display good habits etc. Apart from all those strategies mentioned above this one takes a different course. This article written by Howard Phillips Parette talks about the acquistion of Phonological Awareness and Alphabetic Principles through the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. It declares that through Microsoft PowerPoint it can facilitate a child’s phonological awareness because teachers can modify such features such as colour, pictures, sounds, animation, slide design and slide transition. This promotes the acquisition of reading skills and fluency. Whereas, alphabetic principles also known as phonemic orthography which refers to relationships between letters and their associated sounds help young children develop letter-sound correspondence. Using the techniques through technology enables the promotion of comprehension skills, the understanding of the concepts about print as well as the facilitation of vocabulary development. This article is critical as it shows how to assist children in identifying letters and sounds through the use of technology. In being educated about how to incorporate technology in teaching children the acquisition of these skills, I would therefore try my utmost best in providing a computer in the language centre that would be most available to the children, as well as undertaking that strategy of how to teach the children phonological awareness and alphabetical principles on that such computer. How does the Active Language Centre Created reflect my Curriculum Goals? When assessing the language centre before I did my creation it was evident that there were no signs of my curriculum goals, mainly because of the lack of attention I gave to that particular centre and the insufficient amount of materials that were provided to the children in classroom. But however, now when comparing the centre from how it was before to this very moment, I can observe that my curriculum goals are off course reflecting. The reason for this is because it is more attractive in the eyes of the future members of society, as well as the materials that are presented to them mirrors my goals. The materials that were mentioned and described earlier above and that would be offered to them facilitates the particular skills that would be met in the declared goals and that are of great importance to the children, as well as the teacher learning strategies that were undertaken in further endorsing and accomplishing them. Limitations and Innovations In implementing the strategies that were discussed earlier, there was off course one (1) obstacle that was preventing me from accomplishing my entire task. But luckily, there were more innovations than limitations presented. They are as follows:- Innovations – all this were possible with the help and the support of the parents ? I was able to provide lots of books in the language corner that were incredibly attractive to the children. ?The magnetic letters, some puzzles along with many beautiful charts. ?Labels ?Alphabet blocks Picture cards ?Letter sound cards ?Environmental Print e. g. (signs, logos etc. ) ?Together with the children we were able to create the book that includes the different environmental signs. Limitations ?The strategy that was very different from the others which was the incorporation of the computer into the classroom was unable to accomplish due to the expense that it would have implanted. It was hard to achieve, but however after sometime we would be able to achieve it to facilitate the children’s learning. Conclusion In discussing the strategies above that I have undertaken in enhancing the Language Centre in my classroom in reflecting my goals, it has enabled me to realize how unique this learning area is to the children in the environment and to there future. When adults create rich language and literacy environments with the appropriate materials, manipulatives and teacher learning strategies to further endorse the important skills, it boosts the child’s vocabulary along with the use of language, which in turn increases their likelihood of future success.

Praise and Children Essay

Explain how to support children and young peoples self confidence and self esteem. We can support children and young people’s self confidence/self esteem and promote this in settings by doing a range of verbal/non verbal things to ensure children have confidence. It is important that we give children encouragement when trying a new activity, we can do this by verbal speech such as ‘can you try to do it’? or non verbal ways such as hand gestures thumbs up or smiling etc. Also after a child has done something positive we must always praise them verbally with a ‘well done’! or thumbs up etc even a sticker chart or team points has the same effect. If we do not give children praise and encouragement they are less likely to join in new activities which will not give them confidence to experience new things and become independant. It is important that children are always praised for doing something good so that they have a high self esteem and will want to demonstrate the behaviour again. We must ensure that children have the confidence to make there own choices by providing chances for them o do this. for eg give them the choice of what toys they want to play with, what activities they would like to do or what snacks they would like. It is important we do this to encourage children to become more independant. If we do not allow children to make there own choices they may become dependant on an adult and not choose vital things later in life that could affect them. We can also promote self confidence by rewarding children with things such as sweets or stickers. This can be a good way of praising children but can also make children ‘go back’ with behaviour or do things to much just to get a reward. For example if a child is rewarded for using the toilet or trying to use the toilet they may just sit on it all day so they get rewarded. We must do regular observations of children to find out there interests and develop activities around these to help children meet milestones. This is important as the child is in control of there own learning and will feel like they matter. For example if a childs interested in trains you could use them in what you are doing. If the child has control of there learning they are more likely to make choices and have confidence in doing so. It is also important that we ensure the children know that they can trust their key worker and can speak to them about anything, so the child has positive relationships with the people in there setting.

Foreshadowing In “The Lottery” Essay

Shirley Jackson depicts a special day, June 27, in the lives of the inhabitants of a small, apparently serene village. The use of foreshadowing is applied extensively to hint to the reader that despite the seemingly festive occasion, there is something morbid about the lottery that causes the people of the town to be uneasy. Jackson foreshadows the ironic conclusion with specific examples and both ominous and tense diction. The earliest indication of the peculiarity of the day’s lottery is the little boys had â€Å"already stuffed [their] pockets full of stones† (422). One knows that a lottery in modern societies definitely does not involve rocks, so the idea that the town’s lottery is much different than the ones known in today’s world is introduced. The fact that the men who begin to gather for the lottery stand â€Å"away from the pile of stones† shows that the stones are not a jovial part of the day’s events (422). These examples give the reader the idea that there is something important, yet shady about the pile of rocks. And although the men told jokes, â€Å"they smiled rather than laughed† (422). If the lottery was a carefree event, the men would have had no problem with laughing. The description of the actions of the group of men creates the impression that the lottery is a serious event which is not about laughing matters. During the lottery, after most of the men had chosen and drawn their scrap of paper, they sat â€Å"turning them over and over nervously† (425). If the lottery was being conducted to give out some sort of reward or prize, they would have seemed eager, not nervous. Jackson also describes the way Mr. Summers and Mr. Adams grin at each other as â€Å"nervously† (425). The repetition of the word nervous reinforces that the lottery is not one of fun and games. In addition, Mrs. Dunbar’s anticipation for Mr. Summers to â€Å"hurry† shows that the lottery is not the type of occasion the people enjoy participating in and would rather get over with quickly (425). Therefore it is obvious that the lottery would not have a pleasant outcome. Instead, the lottery must have some sort of negative outcome that is serious enough to make the entire town nervous. The most significant sign of the abnormal nature of the lottery is the introduction of the â€Å"black box† (422). In most people’s minds the color black is associated with death. When it is revealed that there are scraps of paper in the box, the reader is also exposed to what the box is used for: to hold the papers which the villagers will draw. In essence, the connotation of the color black creates the impression that when the villagers draw from the box, they are drawing for a chance at death. This example foreshadows exactly what will happen when the story concludes. Next Jackson describes the lottery as being a â€Å"ritual† that once involved a â€Å"chant† (423). The connotation of these words also supports the idea that the lottery revolves around death. When one thinks of a ritual, pictures of Ancient Aztec or Mayan sacrifices come to mind. And when one thinks of chanting, images of hooded figures preparing someone for a sacrifice surface. So through the use of ominous nouns and adjectives, Jackson is explicitly stating what is going to happen as a result of the lottery; a human sacrifice is going to take place. Although as the story progresses there is more and more of a feeling of doom, the reader does not become acutely aware of what takes place after the lottery until Mrs. Hutchinson cowers in a corner with the mob approaching her. If one analyzes the color of the box and its purpose, it is possible to predict the outcome of the lottery, but otherwise all other methods of foreshadowing provide the reader with a strong feeling that something disturbing is going to occur.

Big Fat Globalization Essay

ABSTRACT: It has often been observed that obesity follows a socioeconomic gradient which adversely affects the poor. This paper proposes the outline of a sociological theory of obesity as a consequence of ‘globalisation factors, such as labour market deregulation. Forced to work longer hours – and with lower levels of job-security – workers in low paid jobs have fewer opportunities to burn calories, and are more likely to consume fast-food. This combination has led to higher levels of obesity among the poor in countries that have adopted neo-liberal labour market reforms. There are some human phenomena, which seem to be the result of individual actions and personal decisions. Yet, these phenomena are often – on closer inspection – as much a result of social factors as of psychological ones. In 1897, Emile Durkheim (1997) showed that the suicide – perhaps the most personal of all decisions – could be analysed through the conceptual lenses of sociology. Obesity, much like suicide, is often regarded as a personal problem; result of an inability to control ones desires in front of the fridge. Obesity does have a psychological, and, indeed, a medical, dimension, yet like the suicide, this growing phenomenon also has a social dimension. This paper is an attempt to do the same for obesity as Emile Durkheim did to the study of suicide; to analyse it in the light of the theories of sociology. Obesity and Social Science Interest in the social aspects of obesity is nothing new. Jeffrey Sobal has written extensively about the social and psychological consequences of obesity , including the stigmatisation and discrimination of obese and even overweight individuals (Sobal 2004). Scholars with a more anthropological twist have written about the different social perceptions of obesity, e.g. the positive view of fatness among some indigenous peoples (Swinburne et al. 1996). In an article entitled, â€Å"An anthropological Perspective on Obesity â€Å" (Brown and Konner 1987), the authors found that â€Å"cross cultural data about body preferences for women reveal that over 80% of cultures for which shape preference data are available, people prefer a plump shape† (cited in Sobal 2004, 383). That these ideals are embedded in their respective cultures is perhaps best evidenced by the small statuette Venus of Willendorf, by common archaeological consent the oldest known work of art. Stone age man evidently preferred a big girl complete with multiple love-handles, someone who could both carry and nurture his offspring under the harsh conditions of the Palaeolithic world. Other examples of the cultural acceptance of large people obese Buddha statues in the Far East and rituals of prenuptial fattening in many cultures, where fatness is seen as sexually attractive (Brink 1989). That fat has often been a symbol of status is not merely an anthropological observation. In the 19th Century, in Britain, according to Williams and Germov, â€Å"a large, curved, body†¦connoted fertility, wealth and high status. While poor women were occupied with physical work, the voluptuous women of the middle classes were often viewed as objects of art, luxury, status, virtue and beauty† (Williams and Germov 2004, 342). â€Å"Fatness†, they go on, â€Å"was linked to emotional stability, strength (stored energy), good health, and refinement to leisure† (Ibid). These observations are worth bearing in mind when we discuss obesity. Obesity is – to a certain extend – a social construct. But obesity is also more than this. As an increasing medical problem, obesity is not merely a condition that can be – or should be – analysed in the light of perception and aesthetics. Obesity is also a product of biological, psychological, and social conditions. While not ignoring the importance of the former two factors, this paper presents an account of the latter. While correlations between obesity and  social and economic background variables have been reported (Flegal et al. 2000), sociological analyses have thus far not addressed the question of the social aetiology of obesity. This paper seeks to present a first step towards remedying this. The Obesity Debate ‘Why are we so fat?’ asked American magazine The National Geographic in a feature article in the summer of 2004 (National Geographic 2004). The use of the collective noun ‘we’ seemed particularly warranted as recent statistics show that more than 65 percent of us (the British) are overweight. (defined as having a Body-Mass Index of 25 or above). Still more alarming; 20 percent of us are clinically obese (defined as having a Body-Mass Index of 30 or above).(House of Commons Select Committee on Health 2004). Britain is not alone in this. In America the figure is even higher; 30 per cent of the Americans are obese (US Department of Health and Social Services 2000). According to a recent study of obesity in the USA, diet related illnesses are responsible for four out of the ten leading causes of death. (Bush and Williams 1999, 135). These figures matter for more than psychological and aesthetic reasons. It is estimated that more than 30.000 deaths per year in the UK are attributed to obesity or obesity related illnesses (House of Commons Select Committee on Health 2004, 6). In the colourful words of one medical expert: â€Å"this is an epidemic†¦the likes of which we have not had before in chronic disease†¦[obesity is] making HIV look, economically, like a bad case of the flu† (William Dietz quoted in Greitser 2000, 42). Add to this that close to ten percent of the total NHS budget is allocated to obesity and related illnesses, and it is difficult to dispute that obesity is a major health concern as well as a major socio-political problem. Facts1 such as these more than justify the Chief Medical Officer’s conclusion that obesity is â€Å"a health time bomb† that needs diffusion (Chief Medical Officer quoted in HC Select Committee on Health 2004, 8). But public health is not just about diagnosing and treating conditions, it is also about understanding causes, the identification of which will enable us to take the appropriate prophylactic measures to combat the epidemic. Yet, there is far from agreement on what these causes are. The explanations for the obesity epidemic cited in the popular press, e.g. in The National Geographic and in Newsweek (2004) were all biological in origin and medical in consequence. Quoting the work of medical geneticist Rudolph Leibel, The National Geographic concluded that obesity was down to genetics. â€Å"Our overeating†, the magazine quoted Leibel as saying, â€Å"is not the wilful result of deranged upbringing. It is genes talking† (National Geographic 2004, 62). This biochemical reductionism is not new – though the underlying science has changed. As far back as 1924, the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association editorialised that ‘obesity’ was purely the result of ‘malfunctions in normal metabolic processes’ (Editorial: The Journal of the American Medical Association 1924, 1003). Contrary to the impression left by features such as those in Newsweek, the National Geographic and the octogenarian editorial, the picture is a good deal more complex than that. This is increasingly recognised within medicine. A report from the American Institute of Medicine is an example of a critique of the geneticist view: â€Å"there has been no real change in the gene pool during this period of increasing obesity. The root problem, therefore must lie in the powerful social and cultural forces that promote an energy-rich diet and a sedentary lifestyle† (Institute of Medicine 1995, 152). There is evidence to support the veracity of the hypothesis that social and cultural forces play a role (Flegal et al. 2000, 6). What is striking about the obesity epidemic is the extent to which it reflects social class conditions. To cite but one example; the Health Survey  for England has shown that in 2001, 14 percent of women in professional groups were obese, while 28 percent of women from unskilled manual occupations were categorised as such (House of Commons Select Committee on Health 2004, 16). Similar examples are legion. As a study concluded; â€Å"the largest rates of obesity occur among population groups with the highest poverty rates and the least education† (Drewnowski and Specter 2004, 6). This correlation between poverty and obesity is likely to be the result of underlying social factors. It is not that there is an automatic relationship between poverty and obesity. This relationship is a new phenomenon, which, consequently, needs to be analysed in the light of recent social, political and economic developments. As Ulrich Beck has observed; ‘the struggle for one’s ‘daily bread’ has lost its urgency as the cardinal problem overshadowing everything else†¦for many people the problems of ‘overweight’ take the place of hunger’ (Bech 1997, 21). The interesting question from a sociological point of view – as well as from a medical one – is why. Globalisation and Obesity: Towards a Pattern It is difficult to dispute that obesity is a social condition, which adversely affects those in low paid/short term jobs. Needless to say, obesity does have a significant biomedical component; what happens inside the body after you have munched your Big Mac obviously requires a physiological/biochemical explanation. However, it is (from a sociological and public health point of view) equally important to determine the factors which lead you to eat the Big Mac in the first place. What we endeavour to answer is the social aetiology of obesity; the social causes, which lead to weight gain. The aforementioned research findings strongly indicate that weight problems and poverty are highly statistically correlated. As a oft-cited study said:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"diet affects the health of socially disadvantaged people from cradle to grave† (James, Nelson, Ralph, and Leather 1999, 1545). Of course a quote does not establish a fact, nor does a statistical association. The question is what lies behind these correlations? Some could – with some justification – argue that these class differences merely reflect and reconfirm the existence of serious inequalities in health – as reported in the Black Report in the early 1980s (Working Group on Inequalities in Health 1982). What has hitherto been missing from the literature on obesity – as well as that on health in general – has been more ambitious theoretical explanations linking medical conditions – in this case obesity – to more general sociological discourses and theoretical trends (such as modernisation and globalisation). One obvious – yet overlooked – hypothesis is that societal changes from a traditional industrial society to a globalised (deregulated) economy has created new patterns of life and work, which have had adverse effects on food consumption, exercise, and hence has contributed to the increase in the growth of the obesity epidemic. According to this hypothesis, the advent of a neo-liberal economic regime has had – and continues to have – profound consequences for working patterns – especially for those in low paid/insecure jobs. This hypothesis is, in fact, consistent with observations made by sociologists such as Anthony Giddens who have observed that â€Å"one of the ways globalisation has affected family life in Britain is by increasing the amount of time that people spend each week at work† (Giddens 2004, 62). In addition to working longer hours, individuals are increasingly working in service sector jobs (such as call centres) with provide little opportunity for physical exercise. With ‘flexible’ working hours, individuals are likely to eat later and more likely to consume fast-food (Dalton 2004, 95). The  medical consequence of this is that they are unlikely to burn the extra calories they consume. While no evidence of this has been published using UK figures, data from America confirm this trend; â€Å"Americans now spend almost half of their food dollars on food away from home – 47 percent, or $354.4 billion in 1998† (Dalton 2004, 94) .That the hurried life-style brought about by changes in labour market is – in part – responsible for this, is underlined by figures from the fast food chains reporting that ‘drive-thru’ sales now account for more than half of their total sales (Dalton 2004, 95)2. That this has contributed to the obesity epidemic is underlined by the fact that â€Å"away from home† foods contain more total fat and saturated fat on a per-calorie basis than â€Å"at home food† (Dalton 2004, 94). As a further consequence of the changes in working patterns – and the less free time available – individuals are less likely to engage in sport and social leisure activities – factors which have been shown to be negatively correlated with weight gain (Dalton 2004, 95). Again American figures illustrate the trend. In 1991, 46 percent of high school students and 57 percent of middle school students were enrolled in sport activities (Sallis 1993, 403). By 1999, those figures had dropped to 29 percent of high-school students and 35 percent of middle school students. On average there is a 3 percent decrease in the number of kids who take part in sporting activities on a daily basis (CDC 2000). Viewed in this light is perhaps not surprising that the countries in the forefront of ‘globalisation’ (especially labour market deregulation) are also the countries with the highest incidence of obesity (See table One). Conversely, countries with less globalised economies, have had lower – sometimes much lower – levels of obesity. A few examples will suffice. In Sweden – a country that has not followed the neo-liberal reform agenda – the number of overweight people is 39 per cent  (the same figure as France – another country that has resisted neo-liberal reforms). The figure for Norway another affluent society in the same category is even lower; 25 percent (www.iotf.org). That labour market dergeulation goes hand in hand with obesity, seems to be confirmed when we contrast the obesity figures from ‘globalised’ countries with similar figures from less globalised economies (as measured by the Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom). The Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient between this measure of globalisation (admittedly a gross proxy!) and obesity rate is a Pearson’s R of -.71. In other words, the less globalised the economy, the lower the number of obese people. While this correlation is not all conclusive – and only significant at 0.37 (two-tailed), it does suggest the existence of a causal link between obesity and globalisation. Table One: Index of Economic Freedom and Obesity Rates CountryIndex of Economic Freedom %Obese Australia1.8820 France2.63 8 Finland1.9513 Netherlands2.04 8 Norway2.25 7 United Kingdom1.7917 USA1.8525 Sources: The Heritage Foundation and www.iuns.com (accessed 14 August 2004) While governments of the most globalised economies – such as Australia, the UK and the USA – have gone to great lengths in their efforts to deregulate the economies and give ‘the market’ a stronger role, other countries – especially those with strong corporatist traditions (See Lijphart 1999) –have adopted a different approach to globalisation. In the Netherlands the government, trade unions, and employers associations have negotiated responses to globalisation, which have prevented the growing inequalities and levels of job-insecurity associated with globalisation in  Australia (Bessant and Watts 2002, 306)., Britain and the USA (Giddens 2001, 69). Consequently, the Dutch workers are not under the same pressures as their British and American counterparts in having to seek low paid/short term employment, with all the consequent negative implications on food consumption and lack of time for physical exercise (Freedman 2000). The difference between these two ‘pure types’ of welfare capitalism is not merely of importance for the reasons identified above (food intake with little opportunity to burn calories). There is also evidence to suggest that the ‘Dutch model’ is more conducive to the formation of ‘social capital’, which in turn is negatively correlated with levels of obesity (Putnam 2000, 264). Further globalisation is more than just labour market deregulation. Global liberalisation of trade under the WTO and liberalisation of the market for broadcasting are other factors to be taken into account. Globalisation is a mix of contingent factors which – when combined – create social developments. One of the consequences of globalisation is a society, in which consumers both ‘enjoy’ the benefits of cheap food from around the globe, while at the same time, are being subjected to advertisements from multinational food and beverage producers, such as McDonalds, Pepsi, Burger King, Coca Cola, and others. The level of this influence can hardly be exaggerated; in one year McDonald spent in excess of 1 billion US-dollars on advertising for kids (Brownell and Horgen 2003, 60). Globalisation has profoundly affected capitalist democracies, yet not all countries have responded by deregulating labour markets and unleashing market forces. In some cases, countries have (successfully) attempted to regulate the forces of globalisation, e.g. through restrictions on media advertising (especially on TV). In the Netherlands the public broadcasters  are not allowed to interrupt programmes aimed at the Under-12 year olds with advertisements. Similar restrictions have been introduced in Sweden and Norway (www.childrensprogrammes.org). That such restrictions have been introduced in small countries with relatively open economies is an indication – perhaps even a proof – that the effects of globalisation are not inevitable; that political intervention has not been rendered impossible by globalisation Conclusion â€Å"There is no question that the rates of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes †¦follow a socioeconomic gradient, such that the burden of disease falls disproportionally on people with limited resources, racial-ethnic minorities, and the poor†. Thus wrote two dieticians recently (Drewnowski and Specter 2004, 6). Previously, scholarly studies in the social aetiology of obesity have stopped short of developing these statistically based conclusions into a more general theoretical sociological framework. In this paper a case has been made for the view that obesity is – at least in part – a consequence of the recent political and economic developments commonly known as ‘globalisation’. Globalisation has led some governments (e.g. in the USA, Britain and Australia) to enact and implement labour market reforms (flexible job-markets with less job-security). One of the consequences of this development has been pressures on families and individuals in low paid/temporary jobs. Through this ‘globalisation’ has created conditions, which are conducive to over-consumption of high-energy foods. Forced to work longer hours, individuals have less time to prepare meals opting instead for pre-prepared fast food with a high fat content. In addition to this development, the availability of cheap food from around the globe coupled with advertising from multinationals – has resulted in new pressures which have led to a growth in the consumption of energy-rich food  among the poor. Thus a combination of social factors have contributed to the fast growing epidemic of obesity which is eroding our health budgets, lowering self-esteem and creating premature deaths. References: American Medical Association (1924), ‘What Causes Obesity’, Editorial, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1924, 83, 1003. Ulrich Beck, Risk Society. Towards a New Modernity, London, Sage, 1997, p. 21. Bessant, Judith and Watts, Rob (2002) Sociology Australia. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen&Unwin P.J. Brink (1989) â€Å"The Fattening Room Among the Annang of Nigeria: Anthropological Approaches to Nursing Research†, in Medical Anthropology, Vol. 12, pp. 131-43). Brown, P.J. and Konner, M. (1987) â€Å"An anthropological Perspective on Obesity â€Å", in Annals of the New York Academy of the Sciences, Vol. 499, pp.29-49 Brownell K.D. and Horgen, K.B (2004) Food Fight : The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America’s Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It., McGrew-Hill. Bush, L. and Williams, R. â€Å"Diet and Health: New Problems/New Solutions†, in Food Policy, Vol. 24, pp.135) Campos, Paul (2004)The Obesity Myth. Why our Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Our Health. London: Penguin. CDC. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, â€Å"Healthy People 2010†, 2000, www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/HTML (Accessed 13 September 2004). Childrens Programmes (n.d) www.childrensprogrammes.org/regulate.html. Critser, G. (2000), â€Å"Let them Eat Fat†, in Harper’s March 2000. Drewnowski, A and Specter, S.E, ‘Poverty and Obesity: the role of energy density and energy costs’, in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004, 79, 6-16. Durkheim, Emile (1997) Le Suicide. Étude de Sociologie. Paris: PUF Flegal, K.M, et al. ‘Prevalance and Trends in Obesity among US Adults 1999-2000, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000, 288, 1723-27 Freedman, Richard (2000), ‘Single Peaked versus Diversified Capitalism: The Relationship Between Economic Institutions and Outcomes’ Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper 7526, Washington, NBER. Giddens, Anthony (2004) Sociology, 4th Edition, Cambridge, Polity Press. Institute of Medicine (1995); Weighing the Options: Criteria for Evaluating Weight Management Problems, Washington DC, American Academic Press. International Obesity Task Force, www.iotf.org James, W.P.T, Nelson, M., Ralph, A. and Leather A. (1999), â€Å"Socioeconomic Determinants of Health: The Contribution of Nutrition to Inequalities in Health†, in British Medical Journal, Vol.314, No.7093, pp.1545-49. Lijphart, Arend (1999). Patterns of Democracies, New Haven, Yale University Press. National Geographic, ‘Why Are We So Fat?’, August 2004-09-16 Newsweek, (2004) â€Å"What do You Know About Fat†, in Newsweek Magazine September 20 Putnam, Robert (2000) Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Social Capital, Simon and Schuster, New York. J.F. Sallis (1993) â€Å"Epidemiology of Physical Activity and Fitness in Adolescents†, in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Vol.33. no.4-5, 403-408. Sobal, Jeffery (2004), ‘Sociological Analysis of the Stigmatisation of Obesity†, in John Germov and Lauren Williams (Editors), A Sociology of Food and Nutrition. The Social Appetite, Oxford, Oxford University Press Swinburn, Boyd. et al. ‘Do Polynesians Still Believe that Big is Beautiful?, in New Zealand Medical Journal,1996, 109. 100-103 US Department of Health and Social Services, Healthy People 2010, 2nd Ed., US Gov. Printing Office, 2000. Lauren Williams and John Germov (2004)†The Thin Ideal: Women, Food, and Dieting†, in Lauren Williams and John Germov (Editors) A Sociology of Food and Nutrition. The Social Appetite, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 342 Working Group on Inequalities in Health (1982) Inequalities in Health (The Black Report), London, HMSO, 1982.