Drafting & Process Analysis

According to the ‘Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English’ a ‘Process’ is defined as a ‘continued set of actions performed intentionally in order to reach some result’ If making anything constitutes a process then I decided one fine day to indulge myself in some kind of activity the fruits of whose labour I can thoroughly enjoy later on. I decided to brew beer at my home. Other than the obvious highs that it gives you even the csting is very less, so it wont be a burden on the pocket too. It was taught to me by one of my closest chums and involves a number of steps before embarking on the real process.The right kind of equipment is a must for the successful completion of this kind of task. The quality of beer depends a lot upon the kind of equipment that you are using and the ingredients. Lets first start with lining up the equipment. The basic equipment you need is readily available on any of the hardware stores and includes One 10 Gallon fe rmenter with lid, Brew Pot, Spoon, Siphon Hose, Vinyl Tubing, Hose Clamp for siphon, some plastic pop bottles with lid, Hydrometer, Thermometer and a measuring cup.The main ingredients that one will need are the Malt Extract in size according to the quantity of beer you wish to make. It can be taken in a flavour of your liking i. e. light or dark. Yeast is a important ingredient in the process of brewing beer, so you will need around 50gms of Yeast also. Other than that you will require around 5-6 cups of white sugar. After getting ready with your things the all the equipments needed in the beer making process should be cleaned thoroughly for hygienic reasons. In the large pot boil around 10 litres of water.Also pour about the same quantity of cold water in to the fermenter. Add around 1 – 1. 5 kg of malt in the boiling water and let it cook on low to medium flame for about 30 minutes. Cooking on medium to low flame helps cooking in a better manner. Add some sugar to the boil ing mixture. The moment the sugar dissolves in the hot mixture, pour all the contents inside the fermenter with yeast. Add some cold water to bring down the temperature to room level. After that cover the lid and let the beer brew. Normally it will take around a week for the beer to brew completely at room temperature.After a week test the quality of beer with the help of an hydrometer or otherwise seasoned beer makers can tell its quality just by tasting it manually. After that comes the stage of taking the beer if its ready out of the fermenter and poring it inside the bottles. Do it carefully without spilling the precious liquid on the floor. Pour the beer from the fermenter inside the bottles with the help of a funnel. Frothing should also be avoided while filling and the bottles should also not be filled completely.Store the bottles in a warm dark area for few days and then make them cool. The beer is ready to drink but if you want to improve the quality then they should be sto red for a bit longer period. Though it cannot be said that this kind of product and process is only for tipplers. Anybody can make and then enjoy a homemade beer in just a few simple steps as explained above. The biggest advantage of making beer at home is that it is sans any kind of preservatives and chemicals and is very pure. So, pals go ahead and make your first lot of Home made Beer and Enjoy. Cheers†¦.

Marketing and Soft Drink Concentrate Essay

The brand Rasna is owned by Pioma Industries that introduced the concept of Soft Drink Concentrate (SDC), a segment that had been created and nurtured by the company in the Indian beverages Market. The brand was originally launched by the name of ‘Jaffe’ in 1976 and marketed with the help of Voltas, but was renamed to ‘Rasna’ in 1979. When the product did not do as well as it was expected, in 1983, the advertising was handed over to an advertising agency named Mudra Communications Ltd. Pioma Industries Limited is perhaps not a familiar name for the average Indian consumer. But Pioma’s brand Rasna is very well known. In fact, the name Rasna is almost a generic name for soft drink concentrates in Indian beverages market. Rasna’s extremely popular advertisements with the tagline â€Å"I love you Rasna† had become an integral part of the Indian advertising folklore. In March, 2002, Pioma announced a radical overhauling of its strategies for the Rasna Brand. This development was rather unexpected, as the brand had been lying dormant since long. Rasna is the market leader in the 250 Crore Indian soft drink concentrate industry. The SDC industry is miniscule compared to the 5000 crore carbonated soft drink industry (CSD). The powdered soft drink concentrate industry is worth around 90 crore. During the ‘80s, Soft Drink Concentrate (SDC) was not a known concept. For the consumers, Soft Drinks were just the aerated drinks which could be purchased in bottles and were usually consumed outdoors. Rasna came, and changed the whole mind set. COMPETITORS IN THE MARKET As the pioneers in Concentrated Soft Drink Industry in India, Rasna, never had to face any threatening from any of its competitors, be it a global player or a small local company. Powder concentrate occupy 85% of the total soft drinks concentrate market. Here, in this study, we are considering both Powder and Syrup CSD as competition for the Brand Rasna. Following are some of the competitors who tried to make their mark in the 250 Crore Indian soft drink concentrate industry: 1. Tang- Kraft Foods. 2. Sunfill- Coca Cola. 3. Fanta Fun Times- Coca Cola. 4. Sugarfree D’lite- Zydus Cadila. 5. Kissan Mr Fruit- Hindustan Unilever. The journey of a brand is not always easy. The market is very dynamic and a brand needs to keep a track of the changes in the market. Rasna had to face such challenges too. But it is the resurrection this brand has shown, through strategic marketing, in all instances that makes it stand out and lead the market. MARKET SHARE Rasna has always been recognised at large for Brand and Company. It ranks No. 1 in the beverages category as â€Å"Most Trusted Brand of India†. It is listed among the top 15 brands in the country. It was awarded as the most preferred brand in the SDC category at the FMCG Most Preferred Awards 2003 and 2004 and Consumer World Award 2004. It has pioneered not only with its strong marketing strategies but also with its proper scaled distribution chain. Rasna has always concentrated on its marketing and brand building and has achieved an expertise in flavour technology. Its efficient management in production and market environments has harnessed to bring to the global consumers, technologically superior products in fruits, vegetables, beverages and confectioneries and to stand as the leader in processed food industry. Rasna has adequate and in-depth knowledge and information on Market sizes and behaviours, Growth prospects, Project Viabilities, Government Policies, Finances etc.and access to more, enabling the company to respond fast to any proposal with suitable recommendation. It believes that there is a huge and emerging market for Rasna’s kind of product range, all over the world. Rasna is capable of managing global sized manufacturing set-ups working on the most advanced technologies to cater to the huge markets, locally and globally. Rasna has managed to dominate the colossal SDC market because of its massive International operations. One of Rasna’s biggest strength is its marketing and sales set-up, through which millions of customers worldwide is experiencing the flavour of satisfaction. It provides a strong and pro-active marketing support to its distributors and importers around the world- just so that their products stand out and apart on the shelves. Timely delivery schedules of its products anywhere in the world are what have helped them to reach a strong position in the global market. Rasna has its offices in the following countries: * USA and Canada * UK and Europe * Saudi Arabia * Russia * Fiji This strong chain of distribution to large number of countries within a stipulated period of time has helped the brand gain a reputation in the market. It has also helped Rasna in creating enormous business relations all over the globe. The countries which imports Rasna products globally are as under: In recent years, the brand has had to face off challenges, though not from its direct competitors. International soft drink giants like Coca-Cola (Sunfill) and Kraft Foods (Tang) have introduced competitor products in the market. PepsiCo India too is gearing to launch a glucose-based ready-to-drink beverage under the Lehar brand that will be sold at price point of Rs. 5 for a 200 ml stock-keeping unit. All of them have deep marketing pockets and standard products to lure customers away from Rasna. Even the profile of Rasna’s target audience is changing. Kids today are a lot more aware, and their parents don’t mind buying more expensive ready-to-drink products, which the MNCs have. But, true to its entrepreneurial spirit, Rasna is not about to give any ground to its rivals. Though some analysts feel that Rasna has been slow to react to the competition, Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, Rasna, still dismisses the challenge saying â€Å"water is our only competition. † According to the 2010 data, Rasna leads the SDC market. The market shares of Rasna and all the competitors are as follows: * Rasna- 97. 2 % * Coca-Cola’s Sunfill – 2% * Sugarfree D’lite- 0. 2% * Kissan Mr Fruit- 0. 1% and * Tang- 0. 5%. COMPARTIVE STUDY ON 4 Ps SCALE The Marketing Mix: Here in this study of the Brand Rasna, we are comparing the brand with its competitors available in the market on the scale of the 4 Ps. The 4 Ps of the marketing mix are: 1. Product. 2. Price. 3. Promotion. 4. Place. Product Line of Rasna: Rasna began with 9 flavours in 1982, and added the 10th in the year 1987. The company was revamped in the year 2002. * In 2002, Rasna changed its look and came up with a new logo. * The tagline of the company was also changed and with a new tagline â€Å"Relish a Gain†, Rasna has tried a deep penetration in the rural and semi-urban market. The recent product line of Rasna is as follows: Name| Pack Size| Flavour| Price ()| Rasna Frootfun| 32 glasses| Orange, Mango, Lemon, Pinaple| 35| Rasna Frootfun| 12 glasses| Orange, Mango, Lemon| 10| Rasna Freshfun| 32 glasses| Shahi Gulab, Keshar Elaichi, Kool Khus, Cola Cola| 35| Rasna Freshfun| 12 glasses| Shahi Gulab, Cola Cola| 10| Rasna 1 ka 2| 2 glasses| Orange, Mango, Lemon| 1|. Rasna FrootPlus Jar| 500 grams| Orange, Mango, Lemon| 85| Rasna FrootPlus Pouch| 750 grams| Orange, Mango, Lemon| 105| Rasna FrootPlus Pouch| 500 grams| Orange, Mango, Lemon| 75| Packing Details: The operating product line of Rasna consists several sku. The company follows different pack size on carton basis. These pack sizes may vary depending on local market demand. The following table will give a general idea of the pack sizes. Sr. No. | Product| Units per Carton| 1| Rasna Instant Drink (powder beverages)| | | Laminate Pouch Packings| | A| 3 gm pouch pack| 50*60|. B| Single Serve pouch pack (12 gm pouch-orange)| 10*12*6| C| 25 gm single serve sachet| 12*2*12| D| 250 gn refill packs| 36| E| 500 gm refill packs| 24| F| 750 gm standby refill packs| 15| G| 1 kg standby refill pack| 15| H| Litro packs 1 ltr| 12*10| | Glass Jar Packings| | A| 250 gm glass jar| 40| B| 500 gm glass jar| 20| C| 750 gm sleek glass jar| 15| | Plastic jar packing 1 kg| 15| | OTS tin Packing| | | 900 gm tin| 15| | 1. 5 kg tin| 6| | 2. 5 kg tin| 6| 2| Litro Pack Instant Drink| | | Pouch suitable to make 1 litre| 12*10| 3| Gofrut Instant Drink (5gm pouch)| 72*10| 4| Shakeup Instant Drink| |. | 25 gm single serve pack | 24*30| | 150 gm standby pouch| 108| 5| Rasna Lite 250 gm jar | 15| 6| Rasna Soft Drink Concentrate| | | 32 glass pack| 200| 7| Rasna Single Serve Iced Tea 9 gm | 14*24*20| Whereas Rasna has so many different varieties of drinks (flavours) and in so many different sized packets its competitors are lacking behind in both flavours and availability of different quantity packs. The Price of Rasna: Accessing all socio-economic class: Rasna’s sole goal has been always to make profit with the volume sale. The pricing strategy has always been the key of Rasna’s success. It targeted the mass rather than the class. * Rasna has always made its products in such a way that it can be accessible to all socio-economic classes. * Its volume sale starts at as low as 1 popular in the name of 1 ka 2. * The added sugar product Rasna Frootplus starts from 2 and goes up to 105 for the family pack. * The box pack has a starting price of 10 which can make 12 glasses of drink and is known popularly as 10 ka 12. * The family box pack is available at 35 which is enough for 32 glasses of water. * Rasna has some skus which are very interesting for regular use. The air tight jar has different pack size with price range starting from Rs. 75. The company is constantly focussing on the rural market of India. So, accurate pricing is very important for the company’s growth. For Rasna, accurate pricing has been the key growth driver. They understood that the Indian market is highly segmented. And making products targeting each segment has helped a lot. Whereas pricing has been the key growth factor for Rasna, the competitors have not been able to enjoy that benefit of pricing. Only Tang is available at a sachet of 2 which is again meant for making 1 glass of drink. Likewise, the other competitors cannot even come close to the pricing strategy of Rasna. Promotion: Adding an Emotional Touch: Rasna has from its inception relied heavily on advertisement. The famous mass media campaign, â€Å"I love you Rasna† was one of India’s longest running TV ad. * The promotion of Rasna always highlighted a strong connection with its customers through brand association. * Rasna has always created a brand value by emotionally attaching the customer to their brand. * Focus of the promotion is always to promote the quality of Rasna. * Rasna spends a lot on Research on the target audience, and promotes there products accordingly. * Rasna has used child characters in their advertising campaigns, and through them the company emphasised on the quality of products which was an effective way of promotion. * Rasna has done a great deal to understand the pain of summer and to deliver a product which will ease the pain. This kind of unique and innovative marketing ideas and campaigns made Rasna the monopoly in the Soft Drink Concentrate industry till the time the competitors entered the market. Even now, no brand has been able to beat the promotional campaigns of Rasna. Going by the set standards of Rasna, we can say that the competitors have spent very less time and money understanding the Indian market and the promotional activities that works in the India. Place: Distribution Channel of Rasna: The distribution channel of Rasna follows 3 to 5 tier architecture. It follows the Super-Sub concept of distribution. The steps are as follows: 1. First the product produced in a factory which is strategically located to minimise the transportation cost. 2. The packed product is sent to various company depots across the country to distribute and meet the respective market demand. 3. From the company depot, the product is delivered to the different super stockists according to their previously placed order. 4. Then the goods are sent to the sub stockists or in some cases to the wholesale store. 5. The secondary sale from the super stockist or the sub stockist is ensured by the constant monitoring by the company personal. Rasna follows different distribution channel model according to local market demand. But for every model the end goal of the company is to deliver a quality product to the end user. With a distribution channel consisting of 35 depots across the country and 1. 8 million retail outlets Rasna is bound to be the leader. Among the competitors the only one that has a good and competitive network of distribution is Sunfill by Coca Cola, but still they are not able to compete as availability with retailers is not as widespread as Rasna. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE The competitive advantages of Rasna are listed below: * Being the Pioneer in the market Rasna is well known and very much trusted in the Indian market. * Being in the market for a long time, Rasna knows the Indian taste the best. * Having 7 state of the art production units across the country, the production is never disturbed for any reason. * Because of the widespread distribution network, it is more close to the public. * The marketing strategies used by the company are of superior standard. * Last but not the least, the pricing of the product, which is so low that it is affordable by the lowest segment of the pyramid also. The competitive advantages of Tang are: * Being one of the largest brands of the world, Tang has the sustainability even if it is hit at the beginning. * Tang is available in variety of flavours based on local consumer’s preference. * Tang is fortified with vitamins and minerals. * It is available as powdered and ready to drink bottles. * The powdered Tang is available at low cost. The Competitive advantages of Sunfill are: * Being a brand owned by Coca Cola, the distribution cost is cheaper, so can offer the product at a low and competitive price. * The taste is superior compared to other competitive brands. * Setting up of a production unit close to the target customer segment will help in better marketing. * The company can spend substantial amount on advertising and promotion. The Competitive advantages of Sugarfree D’lite are: * It is a brand owned by a medical company, so people have trust in the product. * It contains no sugar, so it is healthier. * Has medicinal advantages. * Helps in controlling blood sugar level, at the same time gives the pleasures of a soft drink. The Competitive advantages of Kissan Mr.fruit are: * It is there in the market for a long time, so knows the customer taste and preferences. * Tastier than many of the competitor products. * Supply chain is quite strong as it’s a product owned by Hindustan Unilever. SUGGESTIONS FOR GAINING UPPER MARKET SHARE As we conclude the study on the No. 1 Soft Drink Concentrate in India, Rasna, I have the following suggestions to make so that the company can gain more market share and continue to be the leader of the industry: Product- In terms of product, the following can be done: 1. Try to minimise waste in production, so that the cost of production comes down further. 2. Venture into new products, like ready to drink bottled drinks. 3. Try producing sugar free products so that even a diabetic patient can enjoy the drinks. 4. Health drinks and energy drinks is another field where the company can venture into. 5. Backward integration is another option that can be suggested to minimise the cost of production. Price- the Company can be more price effective and in turn can gain more market share if, 1. More products are offered in the lower price category. 2. Price be reduced for the larger quantity cartons or bottles. 3. New and introductory products are sold for lesser price so that people are interested in trying the new things. Promotion- In terms of promotion, the company can follow the following suggestions: 1. Use newer and cheaper modes of advertisement, like the social networking sites. 2. Spend more on Banners, posters, Hoardings. 3. Stop the use of sportspersons and celebrities, as the same doesn’t have a long standing effect on the general public. 4. Remove the time lag between the promotion and the availability of new products in the market. Place- Place plays a vital role in the success of a company or a brand. The following are my recommendations for improving the market share: 1. Go to the newer potential places which have not been tapped earlier. 2. The untimely dispatch of goods from the depot to the super stockist needs to be taken care of as it may lead to cancellation of order bookings. 3. Unavailability of goods at certain periods needs to be taken care of with a proper distribution control. 4. Promotional events along with the distribution of brochures, stickers and leaflets should be done through sub-stockists and retailers which will help in increasing the brand value. References: During the preparation of this project, help and references has been taken from many web sites and blogs and articles. They are mentioned here: -Rasna Pvt Ltd. Official site. -Wikipedia-the free encyclopaedia -Puneet Tandon Blogs -Economic Times -Times of India Articles -4psbusinessand marketing. com.

Pornography Should Be Free from Government Control Essay

Whether one feels strongly about the viewing, making and distribution of pornography by consenting adults, one cannot argue that sex isn’t everywhere. Evident in videos, movies, pictures, and advertisements, it’s a fact that sex sells. Who is to say that because pornography can be viewed easily in many ways, that it’s not a bad thing? Yet in the discourse of pornography as a whole, where does morality and money come into play? To whatever extent pornography is considered immoral; everyone should be entitled their own intellectual freedom. The government has made some steps in order to limit the spread of pornography, yet it is apparent that little can be done to ultimately affect it. In 1968, the Supreme Court case of Ginsberg v. New York held that the government can legally prohibit children from accessing certain types of sexually explicit material, the same material that can’t be banned for adults. Even though the Supreme Court ruled that a minor does not have the constitutional right to the same content as an adult, the task of restricting content on the internet is shaky, due to the difficulty of distinguishing adults from children. In 1973, a following Supreme Court case, Miller v. California, established the phenomenon of â€Å"variable tolerance†. Leaving a variable tolerance existing for explicit material, the Supreme Court allowed communities to decide what was indecent or obscene. Different levels of tolerance of pornography from community to community could be a successful system if in fact, pornography distribution can be limited community by community. Because people are mobile and the internet is boundary-free, the government cannot effectively restrict its availability to everyone (and possibly to anyone). Another notable court case involved with pornography was the 1982 case, Ferber v. New York. This case basically addressed all material showing a ‘sexual performance’ by a child under the age of 16, as obscene. It defined a sexual performance as, â€Å"actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, sado-masochistic abuse, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.† It’s a federal offense to knowingly receive child pornography. According to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, â€Å"intellectual freedom is the right of every individual both to hold and express opinions and to seek and receive information.† The freedom of an adult to view pornography involving other adults is not really recognized as a recreational activity, mainly because it is scorned upon in many religions. Even the majority of parental figures in the world seem to demonize pornography when raising their youth. Yet no one really steps back and asks, why exactly is pornography immoral? One of the major arguments towards pornography being immoral is that in many pornographic depictions, people (usually women) seem to be victimized for a viewer’s pleasure. The only difference between an African American woman playing a role as a slave in the civil war era, an African American woman posing in shackle-like bracelets in a skinny jean advertisement, and an African American woman in a pornographic film, is that each different role requires certain talents and understandings that come together in order to entertain an audience. Immoral or not, pornographic material is nothing more than another way to make money. It’s seen or referenced to in many advertisements, and it’s difficult to find an â€Å"R† rated movie with out at least one nudity scene. Once again, sex sells. Wherever there is demand, there will be supply, and the statistics behind internet pornography are somewhat staggering. According to Information Science professor and researcher, Paul F Burton, â€Å"47% of the 11,000 most popular searches on the Internet are targeted towards pornography.† The money aspect of pornography is almost incomprehensible. There are over 1.5 million internet users viewing pornography every minute. From that audience, $3,075.64 is spent on pornography each second, and every 40 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the United States alone. The market for pornography is huge.

Public relations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public relations - Research Paper Example Effective PR is crucial in today’s culture, especially given the media saturation. Public opinion and image now account for a lot in the increasingly influential social media realm. PR is the art of making organizations look good. Professionals normally work in the background with research on public opinion, courting of journalists, and sending press releases (Gregory 2). This is done to position their employers as ethical, concerned, and positive role models. I recently talked to Tatiana Soprano, the PR manager at Ritz Carlton in Biscayne, Florida. She clarified that, while it is difficult to separate advertising from public relations, advertisers seek to sell products and PR focuses on shaping the image of that product. â€Å"Whereas marketing uses targeted communication and research to attain their desired action,† she says, â€Å"PR professionals seek to get unpaid for publicity in the media†. By cultivating relationships with journalists and reporters, PR ca n be used as an effective marketing tool although it has a disadvantage in that it does not complete the information process. This paper will cover the work of a professional PR manager and the way they handle the press. One question, which I asked Miss Tatiana, was what exactly a PR professional does. She intimated that PR professionals actually work in order to access free publicity for their client. Earlier on, this was handled by sending a press release to journalists that included information required in writing a story on the hotel in a positive way. This was easy since the local media were always looking for story ideas with a human twist in them. In this connection, the PR professional would craft a press release that would make a compelling story for the news. When she came to work at Ritz Carlton, she spent time cultivating a relationship with local journalists after seeking out those who wrote about the hotel industry. She called up some of them to discover more about wha t type of stories he or she was searching for, as well as how they preferred to receive their story pitches. A journalist is always more likely to consider a release that is timely, fresh, from a solid source, and specifically targeting their interests (Gregory 20). As PR manager, she also had to create a media kit, since journalists could request a press kit to follow up the press release. The kit is inclusive of all details that the journalist could require to understand the hotel’s business and vision. These include photos, quick facts, executive profiles and recent press releases. While in a perfect world, the hotel never makes mistakes and the media never comes asking for information, instances when they do leave Miss Tatiana and her department as the banner men at the front of the battle. She joked that all she spent her time doing was craving the attention of the media during the good times, but when things went south, she tried to escape the media as much as possible. This is where the aforementioned crisis management plan comes into play. In cases where the media misrepresents the hotel, such as when the Ritz’s rooms were claimed to be meeting points for drug lords, Tatiana used an Op-ED piece to tell the hotels side and submitted it to the newspapers. Thankfully, her contacts ran the story. â€Å"If they had failed, then I would have had to write an advertorial and pay for it,† she intimated. However, this would have made them look guilty, especially given that most papers in the region insist on titling advertorials as â€Å"Advertisements†. This led me to an important question regarding the importance of technology to PR professionals. Tatiana admits that while the email made things easy for sending releases to many journalists just by the click of a button, this had led to a rise in spam (Kitchen 43). This meant that most journalists simply clicked delete before even reading the press release. Yet another technological advance that had an impact on the profession was the web. Websites are a good way of

Babies have very good speech recognition by around 2 years of age. How Essay

Babies have very good speech recognition by around 2 years of age. How can a baby do this and what factors are important in the sensory environment to allow this to happen - Essay Example However, children learn the vocabulary and sound of their first language primarily through imitation; seldom are they any grammar. Despite this, they rapidly learn to speak in a grammatically correct language. This phenomenon supports Noam Chomsky theory that children learn grammar of particular languages because all intelligent languages base their foundation on a complex structure of universal grammatical rules that are parallel to an innate capability of the human brain (Dupoux and Mehler, 2001:371). Similar to children learning their native languages, adults too pass through these stages when they try to learn a second language. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive explanation of language acquisition, as well as a review of how infants respond to speech. Language is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. It incorporates both nonverbal and verbal aspects that most children seem to acquire quickly. Prior to birth, all nerve cells are virtually formed, and they position themselves into strategic locations in the brain of an infant. After birth, a baby can hear, see, and respond to touch, but only slightly. At this stage, the stem of the brain (a primitive region responsible for controlling vital functions such as breathing and heartbeat) has accomplished its wiring tasks (Gopnik, 2011:46). However, the connections between different nerve cells are still weak and wispy. This improves after a few months, with the high centers of the brain exploding with new synapses. Consequently, an infant is biologically prepared to tackle the stages of language acquisition. According to linguistic experts, there are four stages of language acquisition, which are phonology, syntax, pragmatics, and semantics. Phonology essentially refers to the study of the organization of speech sounds and their related functions. It serves as the primary

Short Story Criticism Argument Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Short Story Criticism Argument Paper - Essay Example But in Chopin’s age such an attempt of a woman to seek for freedom which seems to be insulting to the male-dominated society usually ends in smoke like Louise, as Wang says in the following sentence, â€Å"By the death of Louise at the end of the story, Chopin clearly implies that any woman’s search for ideal feminine selfhood is impossible in an age dominated by patriarchs† (Wang 107). Indeed the textual evidences that Wang puts forth are not strong enough to prove his proposition as a fact. In this paper, I will prove that Wang’s claim about Chopin’s motif in the story is partially right and partially wrong. It is true that Kate Chopin explores â€Å"feminine selfhood in a patriarchal society† but not through â€Å"the heroine’s spiritual journey to freedom†. Again, unlike Wang’s proposition, Chopin’s heroine does not show any sign of attempt to search for her feminine selfhood. What Wang says in support of his c laim about â€Å"the heroine’s spiritual journey to freedom† is the textual reference to Louise’s reaction to the possibility of freedom at the possible death of her husband. Louise’s one-hour reaction to the possible freedom does not involve any struggle that could provoke the protagonist’s awareness of her imprisonment in the male dominated society. Therefore, Wang’s phrase, â€Å"the heroine’s spiritual journey to freedom†, is quite meaningless in the sense that Chopin’s protagonist does not make a journey to freedom. Indeed freedom once comes to her unexpectedly. Again, since Louise is ignorant of what imprisons her in a male dominated society, she can see only the minimal aspect of freedom. For Chopin’s protagonist, freedom means to live for herself, not for others, to live on one’s own will, as the narrator of the story tells Louise’s feeling for the oncoming freedom: â€Å"There would be no o ne to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature† (Chopin 89). Such perception of freedom rather reveals the protagonist’s immaturity and failure to perceive the greater responsibility that freedom imposes upon the one who enjoys it. When ‘to live for others’ is supposed to be one’s duty one’s freedom â€Å"to avoid it† should be considered as anarchy. Louise’s perception of freedom is ultimately flawed, because she seeks freedom from her responsibilities for others and because she does not seek freedom to be responsible. However, Louise herself is not responsible for such flawed perception of freedom; rather she is a mere production of the patriarchy that shapes her psychological development in such way. Unlike Wang’s claim that Louis e makes a journey to freedom at the prospect of her husband’s death, she remains far away from freedom in its true sense. Apart from this wrong interpretation, Wang righteously asserts that Chopin’s protagonist begins to form her selfhood hearing the news of her husband’s death. Though Wang claims that Louise searches for â€Å"ideal feminine selfhood† (Wang 108), Chopin’s portrayal of Louise’s nascent self is purely asexual, not a feminine selfhood. A man also can possess the self that Louise starts to form after hearing the death-news. It is the self (the asexual one) that defies any bondage and repression in any form and that always resists the suppressive power. Louise

Discussion 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Discussion 1 - Essay Example Indeed, the very dawn of religion is marked with the desire of a human being to understand phenomena that are though to be out of one’s comprehension. Another reason that may be quite compelling to pursuit the path of religious studies is to achieve a global perspective. Indeed, different areas of social life are affected by religion directly or indirectly. What is more important is that the above mentioned notion may also be used as an effective way to analyze the causes of conflicts. Finally, it must be noted that some of the reasons that were provided by Livingston may be reevaluated. It may be true that the former has been influencing the latter for many centuries; however, the process of secularization clearly divided these two institutions. In addition to that, one should also keep in mind that many nations that now belong to a particular religion were converted which resulted in the elimination of the previous state of social affairs. For example, Greece is often regarded as the stronghold of Orthodox Christianity. Nevertheless, for many centuries people of this country were genuine

Specific Language Impairment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Specific Language Impairment - Term Paper Example In some cases, they are due to a physical problem such as hearing loss; in others the delay is short and children catch up quickly with their peers. But about 4 per cent of children have a specific impairment that has no physical cause but requires clinical attention (Watkins, 1994). These language impairments take several different forms. Some children have problems with making the correct sounds, others with classifying speech sounds (not recognizing that ‘pat’ and ‘potato’ begin with the same sound, for example) or get sounds in the wrong sequence. Grammar can also pose problems: some children aged six or seven talk in a babyish way, using short, ungrammatical sentences such as â€Å"yesterday I go to school† (Watkins, 1994). Professor Dorothy Bishop, a Welcome Trust Principal Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology, has been investigating this complex group of deficits and their many associated risk factors and syndromes (Leonard, 2004). Using a wide range of techniques – including experimental psychology, electrophysiology, genetics and language assessment – she is working to characterize the disorders and understand their origins. Professor Bishop has found that most children with specific language impairment have several underlying problems. The picture emerging is that there are multiple risk factors for specific language impairment that do not cause problems if they occur alone, but in combination with other deficits they do (Watkins, 1994). For example, electrophysiological studies have found that some children show unusually rapid decay of memory for incoming sounds. This is also found in the parents, even if they have no language difficulties themselves. Impairment results when this poor short-term memory is combined with other traits such as poor discrimination of word sounds (Watkins, 1994). In studies on twins and the parents of

News in the United States Political System Essay

News in the United States Political System - Essay Example However, the qualities of reporting and journalism in the country certainly have dimensions along which they can improve, and some observers are even severely critical of the state of affairs with respect to the media. The nature of content and safeguards against bias are especially controversial aspects of the matter. There are 3 major groups of stakeholders with respect to news and the media: the people who report, their audiences, and the entities covered by these reports (Bennett, 2007, p. 6). Each of these categories is further affected by their circles of acquaintances and votaries, and the effects that media content have on their images and societal positions. However, the audience should have precedence in all matters related to the development of media, because their vital interests should not be compromised in any circumstances. This document essays a review of how information is collated, analyzed, and presented by US media to its audiences, the impacts on each of the major categories of stakeholders, and how some of the important perceived limitations can be addressed. It is largely based on a major text on the state of the US media, which is widely used, and which is current as well (Bennett, 2007, p. 6). Two significant factors dominate key US media processes: economics and technology. It is expensive to gather first hand information, and to disseminate it as well. Owners, advertisers, and theories of what audiences would like to see and hear, cast overbearing spells on the workings and decisions of reporters and most professional journalists. Economics rule news content (Hamilton, 2004, p. 7). The advantage of free enterprise becomes an entry barrier as far as the collection and dissemination of news is concerned. Editors have to function as executives, with eyes on lines of financial statements, rather than on the strengths they should have, and the accountabilities which they should hold most sacred. Interference and interventions by quarters which provide financial sustenance to the media is not blatant in any overt way, but the subtle compulsions are not to be denied. The most influential of such pressures on professional journalistic processes, relates to the role of advertisin g. The latter is directly related to sizes of audiences. Truth and relevance must be subservient to guessing as to what people would like to read and to hear. This leads to a high degree of subjectivity in the evaluation of the media and its utility, because the population which it serves is so diverse. Television has substantially displaced the print media as a source medium for news (Bennett, 2007, p. 23). Thus, technology is a determining factor in shaping views, and calls for an extension if not a shift of factual reporting skills from newspapers to electronic media forms. This aspect of media process does not end with television as the Internet grows in influence at unprecedented rates. This trend is set to accelerate much further as cellular telephones offer to keep people in touch at virtually all times. However, this does not mean that mainstream media is condemned to obsolescence, and the resurgence of radio is a reassuring example of how quality news management can retain the loyalties of audiences. The business sector of media is incredibly complex, and most lay people are not conscious of the logistics and management skills which are integral

The Western Part of Scotland Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Western Part of Scotland - Assignment Example Apart from these two rocks, alkali basalt or dikes are also scattered in this part and dates 66 ±0.4Ma.The mid-latitude regions ranging from 250m   to 350m is covered by all categories of rocks, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. These include orthogneiss, psammite, trondhjemite, polite, amphibolites and spinifex komatiite dating 800,000,000 million years ago.   The lower regions (below 250m) mainly consist of pebbly sandstone, conglomerate sandstone, limestone, white sandstone and pegmatite dikes dating about 180,000,000 years ago.   The highest point of this place lies on the eastern part and it slopes towards the western region. Where ÃŽ » is decay constant = 1.42 X 10-11 yr-1 and t is age in years. The equation takes the form y = mx + c where eÃŽ »t-1 is equal to the gradient. Rearranging gives t = Ln(1.005689) à · 1.42 X 10-11 yr-1 4.00 X 108 years

Walden by Thoreau, a Satirical criticism Essay Example for Free

Walden by Thoreau, a Satirical criticism Essay Walter Harding is most accurate when he said you could read Walden as a satirical criticism of modern life and living. Another way of saying this would be that Thoreau writes in a way that he is criticizing the way modern people are living. In fact, he believes, that we could be living in a different way, which would ideally be a more nature-oriented and simplistic form of living. In other words, Thoreau thinks the best way to live is to abandon all materialistic things and live in nature. His reasoning leads to the conclusion that you can be closer to the universal soul and fulfill more of a spiritual life. So, in this sense, we can look at the book in a way that Thoreau seems to criticize the civilization. One thing we can be sure about is that whenever Thoreau speaks of the positive points of living in nature, he is in some way criticizing nature because he claims he his nature has a better method of functioning. Although he does not insist that people remove to nature, he encourages people to do so because he believes thats the best way for them to learn about themselves and the world. One of the lessons he learns involves some criticism on modern society and possessions. An example that Thoreau brings up involves how farmers are chained to their farms as much as a person would be to jail. This can be explained by saying if you work to own things, you will restrict your freedom because you need to work to be able to own things. If you work to gain materialistic things, then you will not be able to gain personal freedom because you consume so much time with it. Thoreaus solution is that you have to realize what you need and what you want. Once you do this, then you are able to work less and work for only the necessary things. Since he is making this suggestion, he is also putting down the way society works. Secondly, Thoreau thinks the modern society has too much excess and should be simpler. A good quote to support this statement would be that he says, Most of the luxuries and many of the so called comforts of life are not only dispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. Basically he is saying that the more comfortable we get, the lazier we become,  therefore slowing down the growth and development of society. This is easily stated in the first chapter of Walden. Another example of Thoreaus criticism of the society is about how we do not simplify, like we should, because our life (society), Is frittered away with detail. Things we can simplify even include the four basic necessities. For instance, clothing isnt important, it is the man behind the clothing. Shelter is important for withstanding the weather, but good shelter doesnt take more than a few days or weeks to create. Thoreau is saying that society lives materialistic lives of excess and in the end it is better off that you arent that way. Lastly, Thoreau believes that we do not spend enough time in solitude. Solitude, to Thoreau is a person that accompanies him. In his opinion, solitude does him more good than any other company. When with solitude, he can think more clearly and deeper to learn more about himself. He believes living in nature is preferable to living in a town. Thoreau is criticizing modern living because he says we have too much work and things to think about and flood our minds with. We arent spending enough time in solitude, and we should be. We are given these four basic needs (food, fuel, clothing, and shelter) but we do not pay enough attention to simplifying our lives down to these necessities. Moreover, Thoreau feels strongly on the importance of time for solitude, so if we arent following that plan, then we arent experiencing what Thoreau thinks is essential to being complete. In conclusion, I believe that Thoreau is criticizing the modern society in many ways, which have been proven to you. Thoreau always has the words must and need in his lectures, and this must obviously mean that he is implying we are lacking something (which to him is contact with nature and spirit). If he says we as modern society are lacking something, then it is a criticism. I must also let you know that the examples I provided were chosen out of many possible ones, so there is always more evidence to prove that Thoreaus purpose was to criticize. Also Thoreau is very justified in his points, and it is easy to understand these ideas that he gives. Society is getting lazier and considering this literature lets us take a step back and look at where we are headed in this world.

Preparing to Write and Drafting the Paper Essay Example for Free

Preparing to Write and Drafting the Paper Essay When it came to writing all these papers I gave myself time to think about the topics and tried to make sure I understood them before I sat down to write the essays. I have never really been a strong writer when it came to essays in high school it was not an easy task for me. I never had a good strategy when it came to actually writing the papers and putting everything in order. I figured out how to stop worrying so much about getting the assignment turned in on time because that would always stop me from thinking more about the paper then it would turn out bad and I would even up getting a bad grade which would make me feel horrible. I figured out that I should worry more about the paper and then I would be able to focus on the paper so I would be getting it done on time as well. My strategy for writing a paper requires me write a rough draft, take sometime to reread it and then type it making sure everything is spelled correctly. Then making sure all my grammar is correct through out my entire paper also, making sure that I have the correct punctuation everywhere its needed. Then after typing up everything I go through the paper one last time to make sure there isn’t anything I need to add or take out which is usually where I see where I need to change my sentence structure and add certain works or move sentences to different paragraphs. With this class it’s actually been a good experience for me when it came to writing papers and trying to get everything done either early or on time. My writing process has improved with taking this class because I have actually taken time to figure out what I’m going to write about when it comes to the subject and I take care of the assignment in a timely manner. These essays all seem to me that they can be directed to the same audience and can be given with the same enthusiasm because they can be directed to some one in their 20s or 30s because it talks about taking an online courses along with other things along those lines. It would be a speech that I would defiantly be interested in because of how the person would talk to us also with the vocabulary they use because it wouldn’t be a speech that I couldn’t understand. When someone is trying to give a speech or write an essay its difficult when your trying to gauge what type of audience when they are giving a speech or when they are writing a essay trying to figure out if they covered all the important points that need to be covered and that is going to give you the best grade you can get with the course your taking either online or in a classroom. When you first start out with a paper you are a little unsure as to what you are trying to tie together in the very first paper you write but they you figure out what you need for the next couple papers and it gets a little easier for constructing the paper. Trying to get people interested in the subject you are writing or speaking about can be one difficult task because people tend to get bored very easy or they want to learn, about something different not the subject that you are talking about. Papers are what you seem to make them because you can either make them hard or you can make them easy on yourself. If you stress yourself out then you make it more difficult but if you make it easy by trying to take what time your given to make it a good paper. Making sure everything is in the right order that you professor will accept it a very big deal because they look for little mistakes and want you to do the best that you can when it come to the well being of your grade and your class. When you put it all together and present it to either your professor or your audience it can go either one of two ways good or bad. You can always hope it goes good but sometimes you can get some criticism when it comes to what was good and what was bad to your paper or speech. Just making sure everything is in order and how you want everything to be good.

Foreign Direct Investment in Singapore

Foreign Direct Investment in Singapore Chapter 1: Introduction Singapore was a commercial trading centre in the early 19th century and today it has since attained a remarkable transformation into one of the most globally integrated economies in the world, achieving total mechanism and service trading performing triple or more its gross national product and inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock index among the developing market. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has an exceptional and emerging role internationally. It acquired the primary role in both theoretically and practically, which can be observed in different economic, social, cultural, political, finance, and technological dimensions of the world. Objective of Study The objective of this project is to study into the national strategies adopted by Singapore, so far, focusing on their nature and outcomes. A critical assessment will be made on the current challenges ahead, and appropriate strategic options identified. Singapore, to a large extend has relied on foreign MNCs to drive its own industrialization and growth. What is beyond doubt is that Singapores unique ability to attract and retain FDI has undoubtedly been a key ingredient of its economic success. Therefore, it is worthwhile to investigate the determinants of Singapores FDI inflows. Scope of Study In this paper, we examine the interrelations among the variables FDI, the entry modes, the benefits and costs, government policies and the liberalization of FDI. The study of the relationship addresses a few points: Mainly, how dependent is Singapore on FDI? How are the imports and exports of MNCs affecting Singapores FDI inflows? What are the factors being driven by the shift of FDI towards services? What is the main driving force of FDI? Is there a contribution and/or positive link between higher GDP and FDI? Does trade liberalization foster FDI in emerging countries/markets? The overall objective of the study is to determine the efforts that Singapore makes to attract inward FDI, the successful and unsuccessful outcomes and the future developments of FDI in Singapore. The remainder of the study is organized as follows: In Chapter 2, the trends, source, patterns and forms of FDI is being introduced. Chapter 3 explains the reasons why firms choose foreign direct investment instead of exporting, the trade barriers involved and the other forms of entry modes. In Chapter 4, the connection between Singapore and FDI is being analyzed. Chapter 5 presents the benefits and costs of FDI while Chapter 6 briefly discusses the economic growth in the different industrial sectors and how the culture of Singapore affects inwards FDI. In Chapter 7, it describes government intervention and its policies. Chapter 8 involves the discussion of the liberalization of FDI and MAI. And lastly, Chapter 9 comprehends the findings of the future developments of FDI in Singapore and Chapter 10 ends the study with conclusions. Methodology This project is based on secondary research. Data were extracted and researched from various sources from the internet, report findings, ebooks, ejournals, newspapers, textbooks, and databases from the National Library. The actual figures of the FDI are applied to the project to act as evidence. The research is mainly focused in Singapore to highlight the attractiveness of this country and why is it a popular FDI destination. Limitation of study With respect to the analysis and data, there were some limitations that might affect the accuracy of the study The limited data on the impact of liberalization on Singapore, examples of recent FDI in Singapore, statistical information about the forms and type of entry strategies that FDI or local companies adopted, made this research time consuming and challenging. Chapter 2: Theories of FDI Forms of FDI In recent years, the internationalisation of firms has assumed two new features. First, firms increasingly enter foreign markets by acquiring a local producer also known as merger acquisition. Secondly, opening a new subsidiary also known as greenfield investment. Researches suggest that the majority of cross border investments take place in the form of mergers and acquisitions rather than greenfield investments. It is estimated that about 40- 80% of all FDI inflows were in the form of MAs simply because many firms prefer to acquire existing assets which are quicker to execute than Greenfield investments as they are an establishment of a wholly new operation. Also, the outstanding fact that the modern business worlds market evolves rapidly hence firms opt for the easier and perhaps the less risky option- to acquire desired assets than to build them from scratch. Desired assets could include brand name, customer loyalty, trademarks/patents, distribution systems, etc. Typically, firms adopt this approach as means of making a quick entry into a market or establishing a market presence. For instance, in 2000, cement manufacturer, CEMEX acquire Southland to enter the into U.S growing construction market. Lastly, firms believe that through MAs it enables an increase in the efficiency of an acquired unit by transferring capital, technology, management skills, etc. like how CEMEX transferred its technological know how to Southland after the acquisition. The shift towards Services FDI is increasing shifting away from manufacturing and extractive industries and towards services. As service industries were largely national, are becoming transnational recently. The shift to services is being driven by: the general move in many developed countries towards service as the composition of FDI in services have changed, it is mainly concentrated on trade and financial services. In addition, the fact that many services need to be produced where they are consumed. There is also a liberalization of policies governing FDI in services. Lastly, the rise of internet based global telecommunications networks. For instance, Dells call answering centres are located in India. The services sector has been the bulwark of the economy, providing stability and contributing significantly to GDP growth. Figure 2.1 shows that the services sector accounted for about two-thirds of real GDP growth in the 1990s. Further studies also showed that the global FDI stock in the services sector had more than quadrupled during the period 1990-2002. As a result of more rapid growth in this sector than in the other sectors, services accounted for about 60% of the global stock of inward FDI in 2002, compared to less than 50% a decade earlier. Services now account for the largest share of the inward FDI stock in many countries, and Foreign-affiliate service providers play an important role in a growing number of services. Most service FDI has been domestic-market seeking, in such traditional services as finance, tourism and trading, or in industries that have only recently opened up to the private sector, such as electricity, water or telecommunications. Employment in services has also been much less vulnerable to cyclical economic fluctuations than employment in manufacturing. During periods of economic slowdown as shown in Figure 2.2, manufacturing employment fell by an average of 5% in contrast to the employment growth of 3% in the services sector. While in 1996, employment in manufacturing grew only 2% as compared to 5% in services. Realizing the importance, the government takes measures to ensure world-class standards of service excellence and leadership, such as introducing schemes, activities, programmes and even institutes aimed at enhancing service levels, capabilities, mindsets and leadership. Examples include the Singapore Service Star, the Excellent Service Award (EXSA), Go The Extra Mile for Service (GEMS), Public Service for the 21st Century movement (PS21), The Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES) and Certified Service Professional programme by WDA. Gradual development over time has garnered its interdependence involving the manufacturing sector. In the long run, manufacturing and services group will replicate each other and allow firms to share the development of new knowledge-based products. However, many countries have difficulty quantifying FDI flows in services sectors. Determining trade in services is complicated given that services are not traded at a distinct entry or exit points, but rather across four modes of supply. While quantifying investment in services presents further challenges due to the complex nature of FDI definitions. While FDI in services remains more restricted, both developed and developing countries have taken steps to open up their service industries. In fact, starting from a higher level of restrictiveness, developing countries tended to liberalize their service industries at an even more rapid pace than developed countries over the past decade. The competitive impact of FDI entry on service supply conditions depend considerably on initial conditions in a host country, especially the level of economic and service development, market structure of service and the regulatory framework. Entry strategy and strategic alliances Any firm contemplating foreign expansion must first struggle with the issue of which foreign market to enter, when (late or early entry) and on what scale to enter (large or small scale entry) and lastly, which entry mode to use. Basic entry decisions are ultimately based on the assessment of a nations long run growth and profit potential. It is noted that the attractiveness of a country as a political market for an international business depends on balancing the benefits, costs and risks. Benefits include the ability to leverage products and competencies- both technological and management know-how, realizing location economies, and experience effects. Costs include trade barriers, transportation costs, import quotas, tariffs, etc. While the risks involve are political and economic risks. All of these are associated with doing business in that country. Other factors like the size of the market, the present wealth of consumers (purchasing power) and the likely future wealth of consumers are dependent upon economic growth rates. For example, India which is relatively poor is growing rapidly. Economies which are well developed, with relatively low inflation rates and private sector debts have an advantage over those without. Taking Singapores education system as an example- It is a big part of Singapores economic development strategy which attracted and encouraged many international educational establishments. Alternatively, weak economic growth in Indonesia is evidently a far less attractive market. Once firms have decided to enter a foreign market, they have to choose the best mode of entry. Firms can use six different modes to enter foreign markets: Exporting, being a temporary strategy is like a stepping stone in the international expansion process for most firms. In the past, Seagate was a well know example which concentrated its manufacturing operations in one location enables it to move down the experience curve and achieve location economies. However, Singapore has recently taken this approach to a higher level as the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) collaborates with Hangzhou Xihu (Westlake) to export Singapores expertise in Hospitality and Tourism. Turnkey projects, are popular because firms can continue with normal business operations while the contractor handle the time consuming and resource intensive projects for a foreign client. Singapore shipyard is reputable for handling sophisticated turnkey projects regardless of is complex requirements and other considerations. This industry is well known in the economic development for the last 40 years and will continue to play the critical role in our economy in order to achieve the goal for Singapore to become a leading international maritime link. Another example would be Sitra Holdings (International) Limited, the international producer of integrated wood based products and turnkey services, secured several turnkey design and build contracts in November 2009. Amongst these contracts, the single largest contract is worth S$3.24 million at the Marina Bay precinct. Licensing, enables a firm to gain access into new markets otherwise inaccessible, hence to facilitate the growth of licensing activities in Singapore with additional focus on brand licensing, character licensing and know-how licensing, the Franchising and Licensing Association (FLA) aims to encourage the adoption of licensing as a growth strategy by producing a report to raise the awareness of how licensing can translate to income stream for companies. Franchising, in Singapore has grown tremendously and is a preferred strategy for SMEs, as it involves minimal investment and staff, thus reducing costs. Local entrepreneurs have successfully made their mark internationally through franchising like BreadTalk, Charles Keith, and OSIM. Larger companies can also make use of the networks of their established franchise partners to grow globally. Joint ventures enable firms to share the benefit of the work process from a local subsidiarys knowledge of the host country such as the competitors, culture, political and business systems and access to greater resources including staff specialized in technology, finance, and so on. In November 2009, QATARQatar Petroleum International (QPI) and Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd have sealed agreements in which QPI takes stakes in two Shell Chemicals joint ventures in Singapore. The deal, to be completed in December, Shell will sell its existing shareholdings in two companies to a new joint venture called QPI and Shell Petrochemicals (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Establishing new wholly owned subsidiaries would be best adopted by firms pursuing the global and transnational strategies, for instance, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited invested approximately S$900 million in Fraser Neave Limited (FN) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seletar Investments Pte Ltd1 in December 2006. The investment would represent approximately 15 per cent of the total shares outstanding of FN on a fully-diluted basis. This investment marks Temaseks most substantial investment in the food and beverage space in recent years. Chapter 3: Country Focus political economy and cultural factors of Singapore Political and economic systems of Singapore The Government of Singapore (GOS) is substantially consigned to maintaining an open economy and taking a leadership role strategize Singapores future economic development. The government do so by adopting a free enterprise, open door policy to attract foreign investors from all types of services sector involving finance, business, tourism, telecommunication and consultancy services. As such, Singapore has exports hitting 186% of 2008 GDP. While Singapores stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 23.4% from $370.5 billion in 2006 to $457.0 billion in 2007. United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Japan were the top sources of FDI in Singapore. Evidently, the high FDI index reflects Singapores role as a manufacturing base for foreign multinationals (MNCs) and as a financial, transportation, logistics, and trading hub. Also, with high real growth rate and low inflation played a great role in shaping the Singapore economy. Singapore is one of the most enterprising and dynamic economies in the world. In this section, we compare Singapores recent trade performance with its performance in past crises, namely the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis where many countries and industries were affected by the deep fall of exports during the recession and the 2001-2002 Dot-Com Bust where IT industries around the world were affected by the large scale cancellation of electronic orders due to the over-investments by IT firms. In 2008 till present, Singapore is experiencing a slow down in the economy due to the US subprime crisis. The main issue is that the US Subprime Market is generating an extension of recessions in some economies and accelerating global recession in a way. Thus, Singapores total output of the country has decreased and the export of electronics goods has reduced significantly. Differences in culture The difference between international and domestic business is that countries are different. In this section, we will explore how differences in culture across and within countries can affect international business. The culture of a nation is the values that are shared among a group of people living together. While it is possible for a nation/state to have a uniform culture, this is not always the case. Multiple cultures can exist, and cultures can also cut across national borders. Taking Singapore as an example, where it is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society with the residential population in Singapore 75% are ethnic Chinese, 17% ethnic Malays, 7% ethnic Indians and a small category of `Others. Therefore foreign direct investors and managers need an understanding of the culture or cultures prevail in the countries where they do business in or intend to. Culture, society, and the nation state International business is different from national business because countries and societies are different. Societies differ because their cultures vary. Their cultures vary because of profound differences in social structure, religion, language, education, economic and political philosophies. 2 important implications flow from these differences: The first is the need to develop cross- cultural literacy. There is a need not only to appreciate that cultural difference exist, but also to appreciate what such difference mean for international business. Therefore, one of the biggest dangers comforting a company is the danger of being ill-informed. Being ill-informed about the practices of another culture, any business is likely to fail. Doing business in different cultures requires adaption to embrace all aspects of an international firms operations in a foreign country. For instance, the way in which discussions are organized, the welfare of employees, the structure of a firm, the manner in which is the product is being promoted, the tenor of relations between the management and labour, and so on, are all sensitive to cultural differences. To overcome the danger of being ill-informed, the solution is for international business to consider employing local citizens to help them do business in a particular culture, while ensuring h ome-country executives work along side and understand the differences in culture and how it affects their business. With the incorporation of large western MNCs, the Singapore work culture is a unique interaction of Asian and Western cultural exchanges. Where large western MNCs often exhibit predominantly western-style work culture, a greater influence of traditional Asian culture exists. Local firms are mainly influenced by cultural characteristics: collectivism, high power distance and high-uncertainty avoidance. Additionally, among the differences between US and Singapores working culture, local jargon is only one of the many. There are several other differences that are mainly caused by different circumstances and cultural values of the two nations. The bottom line is what works in one culture may not work in another. A simple example illustrates how important cross cultural literacy can be. According to my lecturer, Mr. Rowland Sam, with his many years of experiences has shared with us how the Chinese in China who tend to be informal in nature, does not mix business and pleasure. The Chinese perceives their lunch/ tea breaks as an important factor in the lives as when it is lunch/ tea time, they would stop all work for that. Initially, Mr. Sam was taken aback as they have not finished their respective jobs or meet the deadline, but they would still go for their breaks. He then finally concluded that the breaks were the only time workers get to drink, eat and enjoy themselves after a long days work. A second implication centres on the connection between culture and national competitive advantage. Fundamentally, the value systems and norms of a country influence the costs of doing business in that country which in turn influences the ability of firms to establish a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. For instance, the choice of countries in which to locate production facilities and do business; It makes little sense to base production facilities that require skilled expertise to operate, in a country where education is so poor, the pool of skilled and educated workers are unavailable, the degree of stratification of class is high and there are more than 2 linguistic groups. But as important as culture is, it is probably less important than economic, political and legal systems in explaining differential economic growth between nations. Cultural differences are significant, but we should not overemphasize their importance in the economic sphere. Other implications Besides transferring of management and technological know-how, FDI also has the capabilities to bring environmental and social benefits to host countrys economies. However, there is a danger or probability that foreign owned enterprises would use FDI to export productions or equipments that are prohibited in their home countries due to their regulations and policies. Host countries that are keen on attracting FDI are especially prone to fall into this trap where the government would risk lowering or freezing regulatory standards. For example, MNEs moving equipments that considered to be environmentally unsuitable in their home country, to their subsidiaries in developing countries. The sort of environmental risk associated with FDI is being reflected. Additionally, some micro-oriented problems such as the distributional changes and the need for industrial restructuring in the host economy, increases costs and inconveniences to the people. Fortunately, these problems can be salvaged when appropriate practices are pursued towards flexibility, couple with macroeconomic stability and the implementation on adequate legal and regulatory frameworks. Not to mention that using FDI, the presence of financially strong foreign enterprises may not be sufficient to assist economic development when domestic legal, competition and environmental frameworks are weak or weakly enforced. Finally, like official development aid, FDI cannot be the foundation for solving poor countries development problems. With an average of 15% of capital formation in developing countries, FDI acts a complement to domestic fixed capital rather than a primary source of finance. Likewise, while FDI may contribute significantly to human capital formation, the transfer of state-of-the-art technologies, enterprise restructuring and increased competition, it is the host country authorities that must undertake basic efforts to raise education levels, invest in infrastructure and improve the health of domestic business sectors. The link between FDI inflows and accessibility of government information In this section, we will find out to what extend does government information contribute to investors decision making and how does it influence FDI decision making. Firstly, with governments information, the quality of investors knowledge of the performance, operations and functions of companies in the target market can be further enhanced for better understanding, which enforces rules of equity and resource utilization, and promotes competition. Secondly, by providing information, the government contributes data and perspectives on how investment projects can be best commenced and managed as foreign investors are able to obtain sufficient information from host governments in order to make informed decisions and meet obligations and commitments. Generally, it also helps build the countrys image. However, it is still possible for a country to receive lower FDI than its potential if it has a generally negative image, despite having a good resource base and strong economic fundamentals, taking Indonesia for instance. Apparently, a countrys image does affect investors perception and investment inflows. Hence it is a legitimate practice to use specialized and general forms of government information in order to build an affirmative image of a country. Also, reduces uncertainty about changes in policies and administrative practices in the business environment in the near future. Finally, the accessibility of government information increases transparency of transactions, however there may be some concerns. Both the host country and investors may want to have access to information concerning each other as part of its policy-making processes and for regulatory purposes. The main objective of transparency with relation to FDI is to limit circumvention, boost the predictability and stability of the investment relationship, monitor performance and evasion of obligations by covert or indirect means. Certain country characteristics are quote as attracting FDI, including substantial macroeconomic policy management, political freedom and stability, physical security, reliable legal frameworks, an open trading environment, competent institutions, and no or low corruption. Regulatory regimes based on transparency, predictability, and fairness is also important. But the potency of these conditions is dependent of the accessibility of information, especially government information, because foreign direct investors are affected by market failures due to their lack of adequate information due partly to geographical asymmetry of information accessibility (Portes and Rey, 2000). Chapter 4: FDI strategy Background to Singapores FDI strategy Singapores assertive efforts to attain FDI for more support of its economic strategy have enabled the country to develop into a basis for multinational corporations (MNCs). Singapores investment promotion agency, the Economic Development Board (EDB), focuses on obtaining major investments in highly valued services and/or manufacturing activities, deepening its industrial and export structure, using selective interventions to capture cross-industry externalities and move away from labour intensive to capital-skill and technology-intensive activities, by acquiring and upgrading the modern technologies in highly internalized forms. This strategy allowed the country to concentrate in specific phases in the production process, depriving from the flow of innovation and investing lesser in its own innovative effort. Singapores FDI policies were based on liberal entry and ownership conditions, easy access to expatriate skills and generous incentives for the activities that it was seeking to promote. The EDB was mainly set up to synchronize policy, offer incentives to lead foreign investors into targeted activities, acquire and construct industrial estates to attract MNCs. The public sector played an important role in launching and promoting activities selected by the government, acting as a catalyst to private investment or entering areas that were to risky for the private sector. Often it was the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of government response that gave Singapore the edge over competing host countries. The importance of inward FDI to Singapore FDI has played a crucial role through the years in accelerating the economic development in Singapore. Being a small country with no natural resources, Singapore had depended on leading international companies not only in bringing in capital funds to broaden her economic base, but also in upgrading the technology and skill content of her industries. Since FDI is one way that Singapore can tap foreign technology, therefore a substantial amount of capital is required to help generate GDP. Furthermore, exchange rate will also play a role in determining GDP. A slow appreciation of the currency will increase the confidence of those who are investing in Singapore and help to attract more investment. The Singapore dollar appreciation will also curb imported inflation. The importance of FDI in Singapore is reflected in the countrys ratio of inward FDI stock to GDP: at 72%, the ratio is the highest in the world. That importance is also reflected in the fact that 90% of value added in Singapores electronics industry (remarkable growth in exports and income) is accounted for by foreign investors, and that FDI accounts for fully two-thirds of equity capital in the countrys manufacturing sector. In addition, Singapores productivity increased fastest in those industries in which FDI was concentrated. The rank correlation coefficients between increases in value added per worker and increases in FDI share and FDI level were .62 and .45. Moreover, because foreign direct investors profits and outward remittances have tended to move in close tandem with the general performance of Singapores economy and the health of its balance of payments, while the economic risk taking function is also borne by those investors, time and again Singapores exceptional reliance on FDI has effectively cushioned its economy from the balance of payments and debt crises that have hurt many other developing economies. Host Country policies FDI is attracted to Singapore mainly due to Singapores favourable investment climate and strategic geographical location. Some other reasons include non-fiscal advantages, Singapores small domestic market combined with no tariffs on most imports and low corporate tax rates have made Singapore into a popular low-risk high-return FDI destination. In general, corporate taxes, or taxes imposed on corporate income, is an important determinant of MNCs location decisions, just as individual income tax rates is an important determinant of where a person decides to work and live. Theoretically, other things equal, MNCs would prefer countries with lower corporate tax rates over countries with higher rates. Furthermore, a wide range of new incentives have been added over the years to promote FDI inflows. Burdensome regulations and performance requirements for FDI can offset a generous package of tax incentives. However, in Singapores case, the restrictions and regulations governing both the entry and operation of foreign enterprises and personnel are minimal. Overall, foreign investors are subject to the same government regulations as local investors, and both have a lot of freedom in pursuing their profit objectives. In addition to the general absence of performance requirements, Singapore has also signed a large number of avoidance of double taxation agreements, which mutually protect countries for a specific time against war and non-commercial risks of expropriation and nationalization. The four areas of Singapores government regulations in different areas relevant to foreign investors are the foreign exchange regime, equity ownership, performance requirements and human resources. First, the foreign exchange regime is highly liberal and freely allows repatriation of capital and remittance of profits, dividends, interests, royalty payments and technical licensing fees, as well as the free importation of goods and services for consumption, investment and production purposes. Second, foreign participation is permitted in most sectors of the economy except for some limitations in the monetary sector, areas of trained and skilled personnel. However, 100% foreign equity ownership is readily permitted. Third, there are no perform

Last Hurrah :: essays research papers

Edwin O'Connor's novel The Last Hurrah presents an effective view of the difficult and complex life of the Irish-American community in Boston of the 1950's. The author uses a number of characterizations to produce themes that relate to the political and social considerations of this era. He also provides most of the accounts in his novel from a single perspective, that of Frank Skeffington. He is the main character. This character in particular enables O'Connor to present the topic with some accuracy while continuing to create a fictional account of the time frame. This was his goal, to provide truth inside a fictional story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  O'Connor talks directly about and gives great consideration in the system of criminal activity. He feels it directly corresponds with the political structure in the community. The author develops his novel around Skeffington, but also around the characterization of James Michael Curley, the forceful and corrupt political force in the community in Boston. These two characters seem to be greatly different, but they also have some likeness to each other. This novel portrays the complexity of the corruption within this community and the political structure. He also demonstrates the support for this type of institution and its importance within the community itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is particular consideration given to the political climate in this story. It is incorporated with social and ethnic concerns that are prevalent. The story also addresses prejudice and the theme of ethnic stereotyping through his character development. O'Connor does not present a work that is riddled with Irish slurs or ethnic approximations. Instead, he attempts to provide an account that is both informative and accurate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One important theme that is developed through the characterization of Skeffington is the great importance he has of the historical perspective on the current life of the Irish immigrant community. While O'Connor uses this character to present a dignified representation of Irish immigrant politics, it is also clear that Skeffington serves as a contrast to Curley. Curley demonstrates a clearly determined form of corruption without concern for the ethnic or political history of the Irish immigrant community. Skeffington cannot ignore the past and the impact history has on his community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skeffington is a product of the Irish community, and reflects on his origin in many instances through out this story. There are a number of important elements that are unique to the Irish community in Boston and also significant to the life of Skeffington.

Contemporary History in Anil’s Ghost Essay -- Literary Analysis

There is always a problem of historical inaccuracies in fiction. When certain historical events become a part of the narrative (especially when these events are controversial), it is important to understand what they mean in the author’s conception of history and reality in general. Far more important is to understand their place in this conception when we see that the author’s depiction of facts is unusual and what he does seems to be not the reflection of existing reality but the deconstruction of a different one. Terrorism, civil war, separatism – it is hard to remember the themes that would be more complicated and controversial in the modern world, because questions like these never have a certain answer. Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost is a good example of a novel that deals with the most important problems of contemporary history. Anil’s Ghost, first published in 2000, and is dedicated to events of Sri Lankan Civil War. Michael Ondaatje claimed in interviews that his book is not â€Å"just about Sri Lanka; it could be Guatemala or Bosnia or Ireland† (Scanlan 302) – so it can be suggested that the author is trying to describe not this particular conflict, but the situation in general. In another interview Ondaatje says: â€Å"Anil's Ghost is a more faithful or more nonfictive version. It's a fiction. It is a novel, and it is also a point of view† (Coughlan). Sri Lanka is mentioned as one of the places in which the war â€Å"always seems to be there, and nobody goes to it anymore† (Champeon). The conflict that still takes place is set between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group. Different issues state that at the moment the number of victims is about 80.000 people. The action takes place at the end o... ...every country with the similar circumstances and not only in Sri Lanka. The experience of civil war is reconstructed in destinies of main characters – everyone of them has his personal tragedy and deals with it the way he can. And when neither the executioner nor the victim can be identified, it becomes important to give the identity to at least one of the murdered. It has to be named, and the problem has to be named, too. Through the historical situation the author tries to show us the necessity of personal choice in the times when there is no choice for the nation or the whole country. Anil’s ghost is many different ghosts – ghost of innocent people, who disappeared or died, ghost of the past, which has to be dealt with; ghost of Sarath, who finally becomes a martyr. And these ghosts don’t seem to be Anil’s only. In some reasons they belong to each other.

Current State Laws on Human Cloning :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Current State Laws on Human Cloning California Cal. Health & Safety Code,  §Ã‚ §24185 to 24189. Bans efforts to create a human being by utilizing somatic cell nuclear transfer "for the purpose of, or to implant, the resulting product to initiate a pregnancy that could result in the birth of a human being." Ban is to expire January 1, 2003 unless extended by legislature. Louisiana La. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 40  §Ã‚ §1299.36 to 1299.36.6. Forbids any person to "clone or attempt to clone a human being," and forbids a health facility or agency to "allow any individual to clone or attempt to clone a human being in a facility owned or operated by the health facility or agency." "Clone" is defined as in California law, to involve an intent to initiate a pregnancy. However, a separate state law prohibits intentionally destroying a viable fertilized ovum, and requires that "[n]o in vitro fertilized human ovum will be farmed or cultured solely for research purposes or any other purposes." La. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 9,  §Ã‚ § 129, 122. Whether this prohibits use of cloned embryos for research depends on how courts will interpret the phrase "fertilized human ovum." Michigan Mich. Comp. Laws  §Ã‚ §333.16274, 333.16275, 750.430a. Forbids any individual to "engage in or attempt to engage in human cloning," applying civil penalties (up to a $10 million fine) and criminal penalties ($10 million fine and up to ten years in prison). "Human cloning" means "the use of human somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to produce a human embryo."  §333.16274(5). This law clearly forbids creating a cloned human embryo for any purpose, including research. A separate state law also forbids using a live human embryo "for nontherapeutic research if... the research substantially jeopardizes the life or health of the embryo..." Performing such research is a felony.  §Ã‚ §333.2685 (1), 333.2691. Rhode Island R.I. Gen. Laws  §23-16.4-2 to 23-16.4-4. Bans use of somatic cell nuclear transfer "for the purpose of initiating or attempting to initiate a human pregnancy," as well as the creation of "genetically identical human beings" by "dividing a blastocyst, zygote, or embryo." The law seems to ban cloning by nuclear transfer only if done to initiate a pregnancy. However, a separate law prohibits the use of "any live human fetus, whether before or after expulsion from its mother's womb, for scientific, laboratory research, or other kind of experimentation.

Ðrama work centered on a mystery bag

This section of our drama work centred on a mystery bag, we made various scenes and sketches about it, this acted as preparation for our final piece. Our first lessons work with the bag was brainstorming its possible owners, uses and just using imagination to create some sense of mystery about the bag. When then, in subsequent lessons had to create short plays about possible owners and uses of the bag, and also how it had come to different people. Among these one of the plays I performed was of a lawyer, losing the bag containing all of his important papers etc, for this short scene we had to find and bring in a piece of music to accompany it. Another thing we did that incorporated the bag was a set of five still images depicting an action scene that focused on the bag, for this we also used music to help create a certain atmosphere. All of this work was groundwork for our final piece, our guidelines were as follows: Make a five – ten minute play about the bag that incorporates a piece of music and one or more drama conventions. In planning our play we brainstormed and developed different ideas, and then picked the one we thought that we could act out best and the one that could be developed most. The idea that we chose was one that had already been discussed in class, but not been looked into any real detail. Here is a brief description of our play: Beginning: A museum with a guide showing visitors around the old artefacts and treasures, they come across the old wreckage of the Isabella II ship, the guide tells of how the ship sunk, they then move to watch a short video of how this happened. Middle: We act out the video of how the ship didn't sink accidentally, and how really the ships captain and his conspirators sank it on purpose in order to gain the insurance money. Ending: We come back to the museum and the guide finishes things off by showing the visitors the captain's bag that carried the plans and blueprints. We soon came across a problem in making our play; we only had three people in our group but over 10 characters (some only extras). We managed to overcome this by using different props and costume to distinguish between the people. Another setback that we came to in making our play was trying to act out being on a ship etc without having a great deal of furniture etc with which to make our set. I think that our final performance went quite well, our only problem was improvising with being on a stage, we hadn't practised like that, so we had to adapt, but other then that it went well. The audience seemed to think that it was ok, no one boo-ed and we got clapped at the end. I think its possible that if we did the play again then we could improve it; spacial awareness and positioning could have been better, but other then that I think our play was good. All in all I think that our performance was done to an adequate level and I was quite happy with it.

Ghosts Are Real

James Banner Mr. Perrington English 101 9/21/12 Ghosts Are Real! Often when people talk about ghosts or spirit’s they say â€Å"if I’ve never seen a ghost, they’re not real† but I’m here to tell you my experiences or â€Å"encounters† with ghosts. Over my 19 year life span I’ve had a few encounters with ghosts, that will make you reconsider your position on ghosts not being real. Its kind of hard to explain what you see, they’re not like a big sheet that’s portrayed in movies or very detailed people that you see.What I can tell you is my experiences with the ghosts and you can decide if you want to believe me or not. The first time I encountered a ghost was when I was around 9 years old making my little brother (that was 3 at the time) a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was late at night, I can’t remember the exact time but I know it wasn’t over 12 am. We were in the kitchen, the lights were on in the ki tchen but in the dining and living room the lights were off. Suddenly my brother dashes into the dining room and I’m left in the kitchen wondering why.Next I go to see what’s wrong with him, so I walk into the dining room to see why he’s huddled over, and then I see it. Around 5’5 I see a white lady with dark brown hair just standing there looking at me, not only could I distinguish that she was a lady, she also was naked! I’m just shocked, so I stand there for around 5 seconds, (felt like 5 hours to me) then I dash into the living room, grab my little brother and ran upstairs. I’m shivering, scared to death and I just look at my little brother and he’s just standing there like nothing happened.I tell my older brother who was up at the time what happened and he just brushes me off like I made it up. I eventually tell my sister the next day and she tells me that she’s seen her before but only in her dreams, and that frightened m e even more. The second time I encountered a ghost was around when I was 17 years old, it was during winter break and I was home alone. This time It was in the day time around 3 o’clock because I was watching Even Stevens. Remind you that its snowing a bit outside, enough were you can see the footprints where people were walking.I come downstairs, I have my headphones in so its impossible for me to hear anything and I’m fixing me a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream. I look up and see my dog barking and going wild, so I took off my headphones and I hear the alarms going off. I see that both of my front doors were wide open. I know that for sure when I came down stairs that both of the doors were locked and there was no snow prints coming in our out of the house. I’m there just standing disbelief trying to figure out what happened, until the cops called and asked what was going on.I had to give them the code for the alarm so that everything was okay but Iâ€℠¢m still there just wondering how did both of my front doors become wide open, that had double locks on both of them. I looked throughout the house, there was nobody there and I came to the conclusion that it could only be one thing and that thing had to be a ghost. The third time I encountered a ghost was last year when I watching Walking Dead my favorite television show, it was at night time around 10:20. I’m watching Walking Dead, but then it goes on to a commercial break, so I go downstairs to make me a hot pocket.I reach downstairs and all of a sudden I have to use the bathroom, so while I’m in the bathroom all of a sudden I start to hear a loud smacking sound. The thing I actually hear is the sound of the cabinet doors being closed very hard. This goes on for about 10 seconds, so I rush out of the bathroom to check out who was doing this. Remind you that it’s a school night and everyone is asleep. When I come out of the bathroom I see 4 cabinet doors wide open, I’m already paranoid easily because of past encounters so right now I’m in terror.The end signal of my hot pocket being finished in the microwave scared me half to death. I eventually get myself together and start to look around to see if anyone was downstairs. I don’t see anyone downstairs, so I grab my hot pocket and head upstairs to hopefully see if someone was awake and was playing around with me, knowing that anything these days at night being alone by myself will scare me. Sadly its to no avail, nobody is awake and I’m stuck there thinking why does the ghost/spirit keep picking on me. Have I disturbed it in someway some how?My fourth and final encounter with a ghost was this year when I was home alone doing some laundry in the day time. It takes around an hour, hour and a half to finish a load of the laundry from washer to dryer, so when I put in the clothes I went upstairs for a good 20 minutes. I remember this like it was yesterday because i t happened the most recently and spooked me a lot. I remember clearly putting in the clothes, putting in the detergent turning it on and then finishing by putting in these small tide scent balls. When I come back downstairs, in my confusion I hear the washer not washing.Next, I go downstairs, and to my disbelief I see the washer stopped, not only was it stopped but there were clothes hanging out of the washer with the lid standing up. I run upstairs to get my bat and check around the house†¦ And of course there was no one there, it seems all to familiar that these things keep happening to me for no reason. The crazy part about that is my mom told me this happened to her a few times around 15 years ago but my dad did this ritual type of thing and I guess he got the demons out of the house.Both of my parents then tell me there was a man who died in this house. The former owner until he passed his son the house died in this house when he was 93. Its okay if you still don’t believe in ghosts or spirits, I understand, believing in things like these can have you worrying more than you do now. I’m not trying to force you to believe that ghosts are real, I’m just trying to inform you on my experiences and encounters with these ghosts/spirits. It seems to me like its not trying to harm me or my family, just letting us know that its there.Its your choice, you can believe me if you want but I just wanted to share my stories. http://ehis. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? sid=b8aac38f-066c-4df2-96bd-950e48b948f9%40sessionmgr114&vid=3&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=70093461 http://find. galegroup. com/gtx/retrieve. do? sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C18%29ghosts+and+spirits%24&sort=DateDescend&inPS=true&prodId=AONE&userGroupName=monroecc&tabID=T002&searchId=R2&resultListType=RESULT