Caribbean Folklore: Le Loupgarou and Ol Higue

Le Loupgarou† and â€Å"Ol Higue† Folklore exists in many cultures throughout the world. Folklore in the form of tales, myths and legends is passed from generation to generation through the oral tradition. Folklore in the Caribbean has been drawn from the rich and diverse backgrounds of our ancestors who came from various parts of the world. Our ancestors brought with them their language, culture, religious beliefs and practices, and their tradition of storytelling.The tales of demons, ghosts, zombies and spirits have been fascinating for the young and old alike, and variations of these stories have been told again and again. â€Å"Le Loupgarou† and â€Å"Ol' Higue† share similar characteristics as they are both based on Caribbean folklore. â€Å"Le Loupgarou† means werewolf or lagahoo. Fittingly, Derek Walcott's poem tells a tale of a man named Le Brun. He sold his soul to the devil and so he changes into a werewolf at night. He is ostracized by the village and lives all alone in a small old house.Similarly, â€Å"Ol' Higue by Mark Mcwatt is a poem about what Caribbean people would call a soucouyant which is in essence, a female vampire that takes off her old skin at night and turns into a fire ball, lurking through the nights to feed on her poor victims. Interestingly enough, the soucouyant is the female counterpart for the lagahoo. The old woman is â€Å"Ol' Higue†, like Le Brun, lives alone in an old house. She almost never comes outside during the day as her feeding is done at night.She doesn't like children and isn't amiable by nature which are also characteristic of Le Brun. Walcott’s poem opens with the line â€Å"A curious tale† suggesting that we, already from the beginning, should be questioning the verity of the story since tale usually is associated with fiction. â€Å"Ol' Higue† doesn't indicate that it is a fictitious story but as Caribbean people, it is easy to come to the conclusion just from the first stanza that she is a soucouyant. â€Å"Le loupgarou† is written in a†¦ [continues] Read full essay

Poetry Analysis Essay

The poem is quick to assert that, maybe even provide a caveat, that one should take their life seriously and live their life to the fullest. It’s interesting that Byron beings to reflect on his life at this age, and I find it even more interesting that the poem was written on the last year he would live. One thing Byron emphasizes heavily on this poem is love and compassion. His first lines are an admittance that he does not have a partner by his side (lines 5-8). Many people fear dying alone, and Byron is not immune to such anxiety. Byron is even envious for those who have found love (lines 13-15). The â€Å"Chain† Byron says he wears symbolizes loneliness, perhaps even failure. He fears that his ultimate failure in life would be his lack of a companion, and that he cannot fill that void. I think Byron than goes on to say that love is happiness: and to have an absence in love would leave a person empty. Byron realizes he has failed in the one area he defines to be the most important and to recover from that and at least die in an honorable/memorable way is to take the soldier’s death. Since he has no significant other to speak highly of him when he is gone, he could at least have his fellow brothers-in-arms speak of him when he’s gone (most likely due to the soldier’s death). Overall, I’d say Byron is quite malcontented with how he’s lived his life. But I would say he was rather too harsh on himself, he fails to recognize all the great and wonderful things he has achieved in his life. But I also know that no one can determine whether or not someone was successful in life; that can only be determined by how that individual perceives themselves. The poem as a whole seems to be a reflection, but also a sad epiphany that Byron has not done all that he could have done with his life. This leads to the reoccurring theme that has been illustrated by almost all poets of this age: The ‘carpe diem’ seize the day/moment mentality. Darkness At the beginning lines of the poem, Byron sets up the reader to understand that this vision of the future, while not a current reality, could easily become so if mankind does not change his interaction with the environment. A cataclysmic event has occurred in which the sun is destroyed. For the eco-critic, this could be representative of any sort of environmental issue that is the result of man’s irreverence for the Earth – nuclear war, pollution, overpopulation. The poem does not need to explain how the sun was destroyed, just that the event happened and as a result, mankind’s decent into chaos and death was imminent. Mankind’s reaction to the event is to burn both civilization and nature in order to provide fuel to continue its existence. The next section forewarns the reader that following environmental catastrophe will be nothing but destruction. The destruction of nature occurs in the form of the overuse of resources, such as animals for food and trees for fuel. Men and animals would seemingly succumb to an almost hysteric state in which the law of survival becomes the only law, which is heralded as truth. This state of kill or be killed ultimately produced more concerns for the fate of mankind. Not only has the environment begun to be destroyed, here represented by the loss of the sun, but what few resources remain are being consumed at an unsustainable rate. The eco-critic understands that the population of the Earth can and should only become as large as is sustainable by the resources available to it. Byron illustrates this concept through the introduction of famine in the next section of his text. â€Å"The crowd was famish’d by degrees; but two of an enormous city did survive, and they were enemies. † The ultimate warning of eco-criticism is that the result of the widespread destruction of the environment is the widespread destruction of the human race. Byron has created a world in which the only two remaining humans cling to whatever life they have left in the form of a metaphorical flame. The last section of â€Å"Darkness† leaves the reader with a haunting image of a world in which nothing living exists. According to the eco-critic, this is the warning that Byron is delivering to us: either we change our ways and amend our neglect of environmental duty and responsibility, or we eventually perish. The destruction of mankind will come at its own hands, whether it is through environmental cataclysm, overpopulation and the subsequent war and famine, or through the slow poisoning of the Earth. Darkness† is a vehicle by which the eco-critic can forewarn the reader to change. Eco-Criticism, then, becomes a vehicle for change and hope. It is not merely about the destruction of the world, but hope that destruction can be avoided. Epitaph on an Infant This is a short poem, but still has a lot of meaning behind it, pertaining to the circle of life and death. Coleridge is saying that death can come at anytime and any moment, and seize anyone it pleases. Taking the b aby’s life shouldn’t be viewed as an evil or injustice, but rather part of the cycle. The first line can be interpreted to mean that the baby was never able to become exposed to the horrors of the world (sin) or be in the world for too long to have its loss be heart-breaking (sorrow). Not saying the loss of the baby was not a saddening thing, but Coleridge is saying the baby was not in this world long enough for it to be a huge loss. The last line is hopeful, saying the baby was able to â€Å"blossom there†, with there meaning heaven obviously. This, I feel, is how Coleridge viewed situations where the cycle of life seemed to break its own norms with taking a life that many would view as too early to take. This is for those who never got to grasp the mentality that many Romantic embraced during this time, of seizing the day, and living life to its fullest, not having any regrets. Of course, the baby (or any other youngling) is unable to even encounter such mentalities or form its own attitude for life. Even the length of the poem is symbolic; it represents the life span of the young babe, and how short life can ultimately be if one does not take their time to sit back and enjoy it a bit. Human Life Here’s how I interpreted this poem to be, line (cluster) by line (cluster). Lines 1-4: if the human body dies, the soul lives on forever. Lines 5-6: A human is comprised of three things, mind, body, and spirit. Lines 7-9: Everybody dies at some point in their life, and while to may try to prolong it, it is ultimately unavoidable. Lines 10-14: Nature will choose when everyone dies, it does not discriminate. Lines 15-17: When everything does not seem to be going your way, look through your previous dreams, hopes, and fears. Then reflect, and see if everything is as bad as you are making things out to be. Lines 18-22: remember though that each previous event echoes other ones and to be honest why do we wallow in things that are not important, and yet we hide ourselves from matters of much more importance? Lines 23-26: Why do we compare ourselves to events in the past instead of matters in the present moment or future? The past does not change, but we are shaped from it. Lines 27-28: Humans feel what they feel for no apparent reason; yet they seek reasons for why they feel the way they do. And the final line (29): All of a human’s life is nothing but a contradiction. A human will seek answers to many of life’s questions within themselves, but will always have conflict within. With this poem, Coleridge takes a more dark approach to the cycle of life, with his central theme of the poem being clearly stated at the very end â€Å"A beings being is contradiction†. He takes the approach to life of many people spend hours, days, weeks even contemplating the reasons for the seasons, our existence, why we die, and all other philosophical questions; and he asks â€Å"Why even bother seeking such answers? †. Death is unavoidable, and those who try to prolong it or even avoid it, are just walking contradictions. Why try to go against what is everyone’s fate in the end? Coleridge purposes such ideas and asks provocative questions to get his readers to think: Is it wiser to spend one’s life contemplating matters that way over everyone’s head, or rather just accept that your life as you know it will end one day, but in the meantime do your best to live it and not let anything shackle you to the bonds of â€Å"I can’t therefore I won’t†. Once again, the Romantic theme of ‘carpe-diem’ is sensed as a undertone to this poem, as Coleridge is warning people to not let the worldly matters trouble them, instead seek out the best in your life. Ode On The Death Of A Favorite Cat Drowned In A Tub Of Goldfishes This poem was quite uncommon for its time, but it still shared the qualities that make the readers think about life, death, and the cycle of the two. The reader is taken on a journey into the life of this cat, Selima, experiencing not only the beauty that is said creature, but also the sad end she came to, quite undeservingly. The third person view Grey utilizes helps show the struggle between life (the cat) versus nature. With the tone being deadly erious, Grey is showing a portrait of the cat as a cat with her â€Å"conscious tale† and â€Å"ears of jet† ( lines 7,11), trying to accomplish no more than procuring a goldfish for lunch. However, the tale takes a deadly turn when the fated Selima goes a paw too far and tumbles face-first into the goldfish tub. The reader, through this tone (which some might call mock-heroic, could they not see the utter tragedy and seriousness of Selima’s fate), is t aken into the life and death of a cat who was merely hungry; alas, she ends up swimming with the fishes. The golden hue of the fish is what catches the tabby’s attention, and the cat then tries to catch it’s lunch. Eventually, the cat falls into the pond, and struggles for a while, with no help coming. This can be seen as no matter what you do in your life, when things really matter (such as a life and death situation), the only person one can rely on is themselves. Unfortunately, Grey has a grim way to convey that. The cat surfaces eight times, each time her life force growing weaker and weaker against the struggle†¦ ntil eventually Selima, having exhausted all her life, sinks amidst the objects of her lunchtime ambitions. Grey’s powerful message here is clear; be careful where you step, as you may fall into a pond of goldfish and drown. Furthermore, Gray implies, what you covet, though it may be beautiful, may lead you to your death. This can be tied back to the theme of not taking life for granted, and making each day yours. Should one be weighed down with m aterial possessions and worldly goods, they are depriving themselves of the ultimate ‘good’, life itself.

Harrison Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Harrison Company - Case Study Example It is important to highlight that the company faces multiple social and ethical issues. The issues are being identified and discussed in the table below: Issue Description about the issue Association in terms of outsourcing with a Honduran company that engages unethical manufacturing practices in its units The issue of unethical manufacturing practices engaged by a Honduran company came into focus when one of the ex employees of the company spread the word in the media that the company share a buyer relationship with the Honduran company that follows slave like working conditions for its employees. The ex employee brought the accusation that Harrison Company engage in buying inexpensive clothing from the Honduran company. Lack of whistle blowing policy It can be assumed that the claim by the ex employee that he was fired because he tried to generate awareness among the top management about the unethical practices of the Honduran company as true. The reason behind considering this inc ident as a true one is because there is no possible documentation of this incident, which further reveals that the top management did not want to keep a record of this incident and preferred to keep it hidden from the employee view. The lack of a whistle policy within the organization and the option of protecting an employee who engages in whistle blowing activity for the welfare of the organization perceived as a very serious ethical issue. Lack of ability to form a union The company’s focus on restricting the freedom of the employees to form a union has to be considered seriously from the ethical angles. The inability to form a union by the company’s employees will keep themselves vulnerable to the whims and fancies of the top managements. The top management has the ability to make certain changes in regards to pay as well as working conditions which may not be on the employees’ collective favour. The lack of ability to form a union by the employees will lead to the loss of the power of the employees to engage in collective bargaining, which has the potential to develop a sustainable and healthy work environment within the company. Significant amount of donation to the charity It has been identified that the company makes a huge amount of contribution to the favourite charity of the previous president, which is located very close to the company headquarters. Since the company is facing financial difficulties in the current times, the large contributions to the charity become an indirect social issue. The reason this can be a social issue for the company is because the company is focusing on generating profits by relying on part time workers, thereby reducing the chances of full time employment for the potential employees. Significant amount of contribution to the various communities It has also been found that the company makes a considerable amount of contribution to various community specific endeavours. Since the company is facing fin ancial difficulties in the current times, the large contributions to the community endeavours become an indirect social issue. The reason this can be a social issue for the company is because the company is focusing on generating profits by relying on part time workers, thereby reducing the chances of full time employment for the potential employees. Talking in regards to a factor of environmental stability, the issue of unethical slave like manufacturing conditions within the Honduran company needs to be taken into focus. This particular issue has been considered since it has the ability to trigger a threatening situation in terms of political as well as social environment stability in the host country. It needs to be considered that the continued engagement and association of Harrison Company with the Honduran company, which already has developed a notorious reputation for slave type manufacturing conditions, will have a strong negative impact on the company’

Blog post for Public Relation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blog post for Public Relation - Research Paper Example rs are rarely looking for that complex and detailed analysis of a product that would leave them in a position to develop the same product on their own. Contrary, they are interested in simply knowing how the product will suit their needs, and better even, how the product will meet their needs better than all the similar or substitute products on the market (The Richest, 2012). Therefore, it is through seeding the internet with great content, not in form of a narrative that will help to keep the customer engaged with the article or digital post, but rather through ensuring that any content developed in respect to a brand or promotion of a commercial entity tells the customers exactly what they want to know about it; how it suits their interests better than the rest (Morgan, 2014). This being the basic step, if an individual or business manages to establish internet content that will tell the customer exactly what they seek to know when they get online to seek for a commodity, the other steps involving optimizing and releasing such news will be easy to go by, since the fundamental need of the customers, which is that knowledge of the existence of a product that suits their interests better, will have been met. According to Carrie Morgan, â€Å"the Internet is a digital haystack; your brand is the needle† (Morgan, 2014). In this respect, it is the business of the brand owner to dig into the haystack, get hold of the needle, and place it on the top layer of the haystack, so that it would be easier for the interested parties to find it easily. Through applying this analogy, the only way through which a brand can thrive in the market full of competing products that are seeking to fulfill the same need, is through developing a great promotional message that will stand out amongst the rest (The Richest, 2012). For example, let us pose for a moment to look at the success of the giant search engine globally, Google, which is an internet-based firm that came along in the

Hospitality Service Operations Management report Essay

Hospitality Service Operations Management report - Essay Example easure, track and monitor as well as continuously improving efficiency of services, quality and availability in hospitality operational environment (Knowles et al 2004). The strategy to be employed include external analysis (this assess the clients, the marketplace, and competition) self analysis (this is the evaluation of business performance) strategy identification (this covers product strategies like product profile, target, and position) there is also an aspect of functional strategy which is basically differentiation. Strategy selection is the last stage that includes real scenario with core competencies in play (Knowles et al 2004). The following are very critical components of marketing that were addressed before real implementation of the plan; strategic objective (market share and profitability), customers (products position and market segment), and strategic focus. The corporate market has been very tricky for Sunshine Hotel. This is indicated by the competitor sales report. This hotel is operating at average capital in relation to other hotels. Promotion - The marketing style adopted by hospitality Service Company was direct selling where advertisements were made through the media, fliers and mailing. Product- were packaged strategically so that clients could get packaged brands of services like transport accommodation and entertainment in one package. The hotel offered mini bar service, hotel shop, business service and internet (Kandampully & Sparks 2001). Price- the prices were set strategically in that some services will be packaged together, prices will vary seasonally and that collective purchases were discounted. Sales-sales were increased by diversifying the products; this means we operate bars, restaurants, accommodation, entertainment, transport, conference facility and internet. This resulted in the high corporate sales per weekday (847). Average room rates were fairly high (Kandampully & Sparks 2001). Leisure Market: Leisure market seems

Workplacement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Workplacement - Research Paper Example This phase is seen as the initial step towards career development (Billett, 2009). Considering the fact that work placements provide an avenue for the learners' to get a sense of what they will be facing in the future absent the threat of dismissal or unemployment and with the added incentive of learning for education's sake, work placements appear to be mechanisms aimed at ascertaining the well-being of the students (Neill and Mulholland, 2003). 1.b. Aims of the Report This report aims to: illustrate how students who undertake work placements perform under a setting wherein they are able to put theory into practice show how work placement is able to provide the students with a sense of awareness of the existent culture in their chosen field provide the readers with a glimpse as to how work placement may be considered as a preliminary step in entering the world of work; and, discuss work placement from the point of view of a student undertaking such with concrete and in-depth views o n the matter as to its perceived benefits and possible detriments. 2.a. Researching the Report / The Evidence Base Researching the report has been a challenging task. A lot of works have been written about work placement and there have been several opinions available through the internet. Prior to my engagement, I have done research and read on work placement. I wanted to prepare myself as to what to expect during the conduct of the work placement and what I should bring in order to become an asset to the organization that I will become a part of. Garavan, Hogan and Cahir-O’Donnell (2003) considered learning as a process brought about by the development of a series of actions and events. That is, learning is not to be confused or considered as an outcome of these... Researching the report has been a challenging task. A lot of works have been written about work placement and there have been several opinions available through the internet. Prior to my engagement, I have done research and read on work placement. I wanted to prepare myself as to what to expect during the conduct of the work placement and what I should bring in order to become an asset to the organization that I will become a part of. Garavan, Hogan, and Cahir-O’Donnell (2003) considered learning as a process brought about by the development of a series of actions and events. That is, learning is not to be confused or considered as an outcome of these developments (Garavan, Hogan and Cahir-O’Donnell, 2003). Furthermore, Garavan, Hogan, and Cahir-O’Donnell (2003) maintained that as a process, learning encompasses the following principles: ï‚ § that learning is not just about knowledge as it also about values, beliefs, insights, attitudes, habits, feeling, shared awareness, shared understandings, and skills; ï‚ § that learning outcomes should not be construed as a singular momentous event but rather as an incremental and gradual transformation; ï‚ § that learning as a process is a struggle which necessarily entails conflicts often concerning aims and outcomes; ï‚ § that learning is essentially individual but may likewise be collective in instances where the experience is shared; ï‚ § that there is no singular pattern or behavior in learning; ï‚ § that in order to learn, skills such as questioning, listening, challenging and enquiring are necessary;

Law Enforcement and E-Government Transnational Issues Research Paper - 1

Law Enforcement and E-Government Transnational Issues - Research Paper Example Moreover, the paper will discuss the methods of government intervention while dealing with cyber threats, especially with regard to the laws that the government has set up. In addition, the paper will discuss the impacts of government regulation on national security. #1 The private industry is vital in the provision of national security, in the United States. This is because the private sector is involved in the development of advanced security systems. Companies in the private sector are engaged in the research and development of security mechanisms, as well as gadgets that help in improving the country’s security. The National Security Agencies rely on information from the private sector to develop the security mechanisms in the country. The knowledge acquired from the research conducted is used as the basis for enhancing the country’s security. In this regard, the government has an obligation to tell the private sector what they can set up and improve their cybersecu rity (Theohary, 2010). There are several ways, which the government can use in order to tell the private sector how to improve their cybersecurity. One of the ways in which the government can justify such an action is through introducing trusted internet connections, which will benefit all stakeholders in the private sector. ... Through the use of this approach, cyber threats are reduced since the government will monitor the flow of information, as well as the messages exchanged via the internet (Theohary, 2010). The government can also justify involvement in issues that relate to cybersecurity is through regulation of the information market. Market regulation plays a crucial role since it reduces the vulnerabilities, and the threats caused by market failure. The government should guide the private sector on how they should set up their cybersecurity since when the private sector is left alone to implement such provisions; competition in the market may result to poor quality services. The government should regulate how the private sector sets up cybersecurity in order to ensure that there is adherence to the set standards. Government intervention is always crucial since the private sector cannot follow standards if they are left alone to implement cybersecurity (Powner, 2010). There tends to be certain socio -political reasons and motivations, which precipitate the government to take part in cybersecurity. The most fundamental reason why the government takes part is because of the threat posed by terrorism. Since the September 11 attacks, the United States government has strived to ensure that all sectors are protected against terrorism. Terrorism is an issue of concern in the United States. The department of homeland security strives to ensure that all threats posed by terrorism are prevented. On this regard, therefore, the government intervenes in ensuring that the private sector does not become vulnerable to threats of terrorism. The other socio-political reason for the intervention of the government

Human Resource strategy in Recession Term Paper

Human Resource strategy in Recession - Term Paper Example wever, the recent global meltdown or in other words the recession has abruptly changed the employee as well as employer outlook particularly in the aspect of Human resource planning or HRM. So, this paper will analyze how the current economic downturn had a major impact on HRP giving more power to the HR managers when they negotiate with their employees. In this globalised world, an economic problem in one country will not get restricted to that country, but gets spread to other countries. The economies of most of the countries in the world are directly and indirectly dependent on the U.S.’s economy and with liberalization happening everywhere, the negative effects in USA will be felt everywhere, with businesses worldwide facing the negative impact on its HRP. Many companies are suffering losses and as a result of it several companies are opting for retrenchment strategy. Cost cutting would have to eventually result in job cutting. British Airways (BA) has said that it plans to cut a further 1,200 jobs after reporting a huge loss of  £292 million in the six months up to the end of September. (Hinton 2009). Fewer job requirements and constant lay offs irrespective of the sector made employers to be choosy about the kind of employees they want and more dominant in deciding the compensation package for them. Many reputed organ izations have quietly cut the salaries and other fringe benefits to their employees. BBC plans to cut the amount it spends on the salaries of its top bosses by about 25 percent, The BBC currently spends about $129.4 million on pay for its 634 senior managers and nine most senior executives. (Bryan-Low 2009). Managers have upper hand these days and really have become dominant, slightly skewing HRP. Instead of thinking about how to optimize productivity and thereby effectively overcome financial problems, managers look at the easy way out. When negotiating with their employees there are some critical issues that concern both like salary,

3010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

3010 - Essay Example nt significance to highlight that majority of the problems faced by the organizations always revolve around the management flaws, that trickle down to the employees (Shermon, 36). This contributes towards hampering the organizational performances. As such, the organization may be considerably impacted with failures in certain measures. In relation to the above, it is important to understand some of the eminent problems that most organizations always face that may always contribute towards organizational failures. One of the problems that contribute towards hindering success in organizational setups is the ineffective performance management processes employed within those organizational setups. In some situations, the organizational may fail to have any organizational performance management process in place. This is very critical for such organizations since lack of such performance management processes is always amongst the top ranking agents of failure (Shermon, 41). The other problem may take the form of lack of, as well as, ill-defined performance expectations. This may present major challenges towards the realization of success in the organizations. In some situations, the performance expectations may be poorly communicated to the staff, thereby acting as amongst the top ranked predisposing factors of organiza tional failure. Other than the listed above, the inconsistent management practices employed within organizations as well as companies may also hinder the realization of the success. Furthermore, the partial participation of the managers and some leaders may also be one of the agents of organizational failure in companies (Shermon, 56). This is a big problem since some leaders may be fully engaged in discharging the best of their efforts towards realization of good results, whereas others may essentially ignore managing the performance. This is akin to organizational failure. Therefore, in order to address these organizational challenges and problems, it

Source Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Source Evaluation - Essay Example This research paper will evaluate the 2005 publication of Environmental and Resource Economics to establish if it is a credible source for use in this paper. Authors Credentials Dr. Ida Ferrara is a PHD holder from York University. She is currently an associate professor and an undergraduate director in the department of economics, faculty of liberal arts and professional studies at York University. Ferrara is a credible and known writer who has done many publications on waste management and environment alone and with other writers. Ferrara has vast knowledge in diverse research areas including applied microeconomics, public economics, natural resource economics, environmental economics, and industrial economics. She has won many accolades on her research work and special merit on her work. This information about Ferrara makes her a credible writer. Dr. Paul Missios who worked with Ferrara in this publication is a PHD holder from York University. His teaching fields include environme ntal economics, engineering economics, and microeconomics. Dr Paul has research interests in environmental economics, natural resource economics, public economics, and international trade. ... The data used in this research was collected from households in communities across Ontario, which is within the states that cover my research. The research sought to establish a relationship between several commonly recycled materials and individual household characteristics, recycling programme attributes, and garbage collection financing methods. My research paper focuses on recycling and if it should be made mandatory for every household. The fact that this source focuses on the significant effects of mandatory recycling for almost all types of provisions, links it to my research paper. Sufficient Coverage This publication covers fully well on the topic of study. The sample collected on a few households in Ontario, Canada can give an overview of the situation in other states of USA. Data collected reveals a significant rise in recycling on introduction of user fees on garbage collection, which gives an insight on what need done to encourage household recycling (Ferrara and Missios 221) Reputable Publisher or Respected Periodical Environmental and resource economics is a peer reviewed journal published monthly in three volumes per year. This paper is a publication of European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE) started in 1991. EAERE encourage and improve communication between teachers, researchers, and academic institutions on environmental and resource economics issues. It has over 1000 membership in over 60 countries in European and beyond. EAERE awards for outstanding publication in the journal environmental and resource economics. EAERE is a reputable publisher of a respected journal of environmental and resource economics. Publication Date The journal’s publication date is in the year 2005. My research

Marketing is more than selling and promotion Essay Example for Free

Marketing is more than selling and promotion Essay The primary concern or objective of marketing is to identify and satisfy, or exceed the changing needs of customers. In view of this broad concern of marketing, it can be seen that the concept of marketing summarizes many activities in a business. Marketing, in fact, refers to any activity undertaken by a firm that has been designed to plan, price, promote and distribute ideas, goods and services to target markets. These marketing activities were executed in order to create an exchange and sales that will result in the achievement of the proprietors individual goals and the firms goals, both in the short-term and the long-term. It is then obvious that marketing forms an integral component of any businesss operations. In particular marketing activities attempt to increase a firms revenue base, by showing the importance of attracting potential customers in target markets to purchase the firms products in order to satisfy their wants, rather than those of firms competitors. Consequently, the marketing directly contributes to the attainment of the financial goals of the firm. Hence, the success of a firm is reliant upon the extent to which it is able to identify, and satisfy the customers needs more effectively. Marketing as an activity that involves several features, all of which are presented during the course of the marketing process. Such features include, firstly and most importantly, that marketing is a long process that begins with the creation of an idea and ends up as product that will be sold to satisfy a customers needs. Secondly, marketing is seen as a managerial process as it involves making managerial decisions about the particular mix of product, price, place and promotion in a firm. Furthermore, marketing involves managers planning and ensuring that particular arranged activities are carried out, in order for the marketing plan to be successful. Finally, marketing is perceived as a way in which firms are able to satisfy the needs of customers, and in turn achieve their own business goals. Marketing provides the business with the ability to satisfy the changing wants of customers. In light of this, and the fact that businesses have  become increasingly aware of the role that marketing plays in achieving success in the business, several approaches or philosophies to marketing have developed. There are different approaches to marketing, to help to define marketing and to show, how a specific marketing approach/s depends upon particular businesss marketing strategy and the type of product being marketed. Starting with a Marketing Concept, which believes that a customers need for satisfaction, is the economic and social reason for an organisations existence. This approach requires, that all of the businesss activities should be targeted towards meeting consumer wants, while at the same time meeting the organisations goals. In effect, this approach needs the firm to find out what the customer wants, and subsequently develops a product to meet these requirements and then sell it at a profit. Then the Production Concept should be considered. This approach states that the business will sell its product if it is both well made and affordable. Businesses utilising this method require management to focus on improving production techniques and cost structures of the business The Product Concept focuses on the quality, features, and performance of the product. Believing that if the product has more features or is of a better quality and performance compared to competitors, it will then gain greater sales it is defiantly less customer orientated. The Selling Concept concentrates on developing sales techniques and promotional activities in order to entice customers into buying an organisations product, whether they want it or not. Therefore this approach places direct emphasis on customers, but possibly not on their want-satisfaction. After all the Societal Marketing Concept which is the latest marketing approach, combines the main ideas of the marketing approach, that is, determining customer needs and satisfying the businesss goals, but also integrates social responsibility into the business. This social responsibility includes increasing environmental awareness, which may include tackling the problems of pollution and the exploitation of  non-renewable resources. Modern day businesses are under pressure to adopt this marketing approach, in order to become more socially responsible. This approach not only focuses on fulfilling the customers want-satisfaction, but also satisfying society. These four approaches in particular show, that marketing is more than promoting and selling a product. They could be compared with the four P?s (product, place, promotion and price), which are normally used to describe the process of marketing. But the concepts of marketing, production, product, selling and society marketing give another view into the difficult and never ending process of marketing.

Ethernet system Essay Example for Free

Ethernet system Essay Robert Metcalfe with his colleagues at the Xerox Palo Alto research Center (PARC) developed the experimental Ethernet system. According to O’Reilly and associates (2000) the main purpose of developing the Ethernet system is to interconnect a personal workstation with graphical user interface called Xerox Alto. The experimental system was used in order to connect Altos and also printers and servers. The systems interface‘s signal clock was patterned in the Alto’s system clock. This resulted to 2. 94 Mbps. data transmission rate on the experimental Ethernet. Ethernet was originally known as Alto Aloha Network. Alto Aloha Network was changed its name to Ethernet by Metcalfe to indicate that the system not only support Alto’s but also other computers. And Metcalfe also point out that the Ethernet has progressed way beyond the Aloha system. He chose the name ether as to describe the essential feature of the system which is the physical medium carries bits to all stations the same way as the aluminiferous ether was once believe to proliferate There are two ways which can be used to allocate the capacity of transmission media: baseband and broadband transmissions. Baseband transmission allocates the entire capacity of the medium to one communication channel. It uses distinct values by measuring the voltage in wire which only carried one signal at a time. In broadband transmission, the system allows two or more communication channels to share the bandwidth of the communication medium. The system uses the technique of dividing the bandwidth into frequency bands which is called frequency division multiplexing (FDM) which works only with analog signals. There is also another technique called time-division multiplexing (TDM) that supports digital signals. Figure 1, show the difference between baseband and broadband transmission mode of operation: Figure 1. Difference in the mode of operation between baseband and broadband Broadband transmission is used in the web hosting companies. This is because of the higher speeds of the broadband. With the use of broadband, people can enjoy the full range of internet services like downloading videos, music, watching movies and plying online games. Transceivers have different speeds which are measured in MHz and also specified in wavelengths. The larger the value of the fiber core of the transceivers, measured in microns, there will be more bandwidth possible but also the distance will be shorter. The 1000 Base-LX is the long wavelength with a signaling speed of 1. 25 ±100 ppm GBd. This transceiver can use both 62. 5 and 50 micron multimode fiber and it also uses single-mode fiber optic cables with distances of 440m, 550m and 5 km. Another transreceiver is the 100 Base-TX which uses 4B5B binary encoding to encode 100 Mbps data stream in a signal of 125 MHz. One pair is used for transmitting data while the other pair is used for receiving the data. Given this, one user can setup a system for full duplex communication given that there are only interfaces in the same collision domain. It is either the two computers are directly connected to each other by crossover cable or a computer directly connected to a switch. Full duplex communication result to doubling the potential throughput but not often reached more than the modest improvement. Based on Sheldon and Big Sur Multimedia (2001), link aggregation is the process of connecting together two or more data channels in order to become a single channel which appears as a single, higher-bandwidth logical link. Also this aggregated links can provide redundancy and fault tolerance if the links follow different physical path. By linking the digital lines, the link aggregation improves the access to public networks. The aggregation is also use in enterprise network to build multigigabit backbone links. It also allows the network’s backbone speed to grow increasingly when the demands on the network increases without replacing everything and buy new and expensive hardware. Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol was intended for local area network (LAN) environments where in all the nodes are positioned few hundred feet from each other. The importance of the protocol is to listen up each node to the channels in a short period of time before it transmits. The main assumption of the protocol is that each node should be able to hear the transmission from every other station. But this assumption is violated in access network and this resulted to several problems. One of the serious problems encountered is the hidden transmitter problem. This occurs when the CSMA/CA cannot function properly due to a wireless node cannot hear one or more of the other nodes. And when this happen, multiple nodes attempt to transmit their data simultaneously over the shared data thus resulting to interference with each other. To address the hidden transmitter problem, the 802. 11 standard uses the protocol request to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS). Before transmitting each packet, each node transmit an RTS packet to other nodes to warn them that it is about to transmit data and after each transmission, it broadcasts CTS packet. This process is time and bandwidth consuming process and it is required for each and every transmission by each and every wireless node. But this process sill does not address the hidden transmitter problem fully because RTS/CTS packets are subjected to repeated collisions. In most applications, the wireless standard 802. 11b operating at 2. 4 ghz is ample enough. This wireless standard is the mostly widely accepted standard among the three wireless standards and also the price of the equipment is the cheapest because of the rising demand for the 802. 11g. Its distance will rely mostly on the communicating devices whether it have line of site or not. And with fewer obstacles among the transmitting and receiving devices, there will be better wireless connection and therefore much better web surfing. The 802. 11b wireless standard is good enough if using wireless route or access point only for internet usage because the connection to internet via broadband modem operates about 2mbps which is very fast. The 802. 11b transfer data at the rate of 11mbps which is sufficient for internet usage. This device saves money on equipment and gives great web surfing services. Another wireless standard being used is the 802. 11g standard. It is replacing the widely accepted standard which is the 802. 11b because both operate on the same frequency and the price drastically goes down on products. This standard is much very similar to 802. 11b because it also usually needs a line of site to achieve optical performance. Both standards, 802. 11b and 802. 11g operate at the same frequency range of 2. 4ghz and are inter-operable with each other. All the devices of 802. 11g can communicate with 802. 11 devices and the main advantage of the 802. 11g devices is that when transferring files betweens computers or networks, it is usually at a greater speed. It is recommended to use 802. 11g when using wireless connection to transfer files (data files, voice, music, and videos) around the home and office. 802. 11g standard also allows manufacturers to developed devices which work at speed of up to 108mbps because it recommended when transferring large data or audio files within LAN. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a security technology that is used in wireless network. This was created by an industry trade group called the Wi-Fi Alliance which owns the trademark for the name Wi-Fi and certifies products that bear the name. WPA was created in order to response on the serious weaknesses of the previous system, the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and also to improve the authentication and encryption features of the WEP. It implements majority of the IEEE 802. 11i and intended to take place the place of WEP. It was designed in order to work with all wireless network interface cards but not with first generation wireless access point. Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) is one of the key technologies behind WPA which deals with the encryption weaknesses of the WEP. Also the WAP have built-in authentication which is a key component. The WAP uses the RC4 stream cipher which has a 128-bit key and a 49-bit initialization vector (IV). With the combination of the TKIP and the RC4 stream cipher; this solves the problem of key recovery attacks which was found in WEP. In addition, the WPA provides much improved payload integrity. WPA uses a more secured message authentication code (MAC) but also termed as MIC which stand for message integrity code which is an algorithm â€Å"Michael†. MIC includes a frame counter preventing replay attacks. With the features of the WPA like having increased size of the keys and IV’s, reduced number of packets sent with related keys and adding up of a secured message verification system, it is far more difficult to break in within the system. There is one variation in WPA which is called the WPA pre shared key (WPA-PSK), which is also known as personal mode. This was designed for home and small office usage and networks which can’t afford the cost and complexity of the 802. 1X authentication server. To access the network, the user must enter a pass phrase, with 8 to 63 printable ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal digits. This can be stored in the user’s computer with discretion under most operating system in order to avoid re-entry and must remain in the Wi-Fi access point. Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) securely transmits authentication information which includes password, over wired and wireless network. It is also an 802. 1x authentication type for wireless LAN’s. The PEAP is created by the Cisco Systems, Microsoft and RSA Security which is base on the Internet Draft submitted to the IETF. (Cisco Systems, 2007) The system uses only server side public key certificates which authenticate clients by creating encrypted SSL/TLS tunnel in between client and authentic server. This protects from casual inspection the resulting exchange of authentication. According to the Cisco Systems Inc. , the following are important benefits of the PEAP web security system: †¢ It relies on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) which allow non-encrypted authentication types (EAP-Generic Token Card and One Time Password (OTP)) support †¢ It uses the server-side Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) based digital certification authentication †¢ It allows for the authentication to an extended suite of directories which include Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Novell NDS and OTPA databases †¢ It uses the TLS in order to encrypt all the user-sensitive authentication information †¢ It supports the password change at expiration †¢ It does not display the logon username in the EAP identity response †¢ The system is not susceptible to dictionary attacks †¢ It offer dynamic privacy protection while using in combination with Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) or the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Also the PEAP have enterprise benefit. Based on the Cisco System Inc. , PEAP is based upon the server-side EAP-TLS. This means that organization can avoid the issue associated in the installing of digital certificates on every client machine which is required by the EAP-TLS. This provides the enterprise to choose what method of client authentication depending on their needs. PEAP authentication work in two phases: ? In phase 1, performing the server-side TLS authentication will result to creation of an encrypted tunnel and will achieve server-side authentication. One the process is done the data are encrypted with all the user-sensitive information ? For phase 2 according to the Cisco System Inc. , the client is authenticated by using methods like the EAP-GTC and the Microsoft Challenge Authentication Protocol (MS-CHAP) Public switched telephone network (PSTN) is referred as the public communication providing local, extended and long distance call telephone service. It is composed of telephone exchanges arranged in order to have nationwide telephone communication system. The system is open for those who can afford the service. Packets, pieces of the caller’s conversation are switched and then sent simultaneously to many connections to reach a receiver in the other end. All the phones in PSTN are connected in a way that any phone can call to any other phone due to all the local phone systems are connected to each other. Mitchell (2007) cited that PSTN provides the traditional Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) to establishments and residences and also some parts of the PSTN are being utilized for DSL, VoIP and other internet-based network. In much relation to internet, this provides much of the internet’s long-distance infrastructure. Internet service providers (ISP) pay the long distance provider for the access to their infrastructure and they share the circuits among users in the process called packet switching. PSTN network link supports 64 kbps and in residences the PSTN phone lines carrying the bandwidth is made up of copper cable. Dial-up modems utilize 56kbps of the bandwidth when they are connected to a phone line. Also the PSTN utilizes the SS7 signaling protocol. SS7 signaling protocol support the exchange of special-purpose messages on public telephone networks. SS7 messages pass over separate channel different from the channel used for voice communication and it is referred as out of band signaling. Wireless local loop is sometimes called radio in the loop (RITL) or fixed –radio access (FRA). It is a system that connects users and subscribers to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) by the use of radio signals as substitute for copper for all part of the connection between subscriber and the switch. This includes cordless access systems; propriety fixed radio access and fixed cellular systems. One of the advantages of the wireless local loop is that it can be deployed in just weeks or months in comparison with copper wire systems which took months and years for the deployments. The instillation of the wireless local loop considerately has much lower construction cost than laying copper lines. The maintenance and operations of the wireless local loop are that easy and the average maintenance time per subscriber is shorter by 3 to 4 times. Signaling is the exchange between information which concerns about the establishment and in the control of a connection and the management of the network. There are many types of signaling: †¢ In-band signaling pertains to the exchange of signaling information within the same channel of the telephone call †¢ Out-of-band signaling is telecommunication signaling meaning exchange of information to control telephone call. It is done over a channel and it separates from channels which is use for telephone call. This signaling is used by Signaling system #7, the signaling standard controlling the world’s phone calls †¢ Line signaling is much concerned in transmitting information on the state of line or channel †¢ Register signaling is focused on the transmittance of information in the calling/ called telephone number †¢ Channels-associated signaling utilizes signaling channels dedicating to a specific bearer channel †¢ Common-channels signaling, utilizes signaling channels which transmit signaling information to multiple bearer channels. †¢ Compelled signaling pertains to the need of the receive signal to be fully acknowledged before the next signal is sent. †¢ Subscriber signaling pertains to the telephone and the telephone exchanges †¢ Trunk signaling pertains to the exchange. References Buis, Paul. (1996, September). Common 100 Mbps Hardware Variations. Ethernet Technology:Underlying Technologies. (Chapter 4). Retrieved September 16,2007 from http://www. cs. bsu. edu/homepages/peb/cs637/ethernet/100mbps. htm Computer Hope. (2007). Ethernet. Retrieved September 16,2007 from http://www. computerhope. com/jargon/e/ethernet. htm ETSTechNEWS. What is the difference between 802. 11g and 802. 11b? Retrieved September 17, 2007 from http://web. monroecc. edu/ETSTechNEWS/80211g Fleishman, Glenn. (2003, November 4). Weakness in Passphrase Choice in WPA Interface. Retrieved September 17,2007 from http://wifinetnews. com/archives/002452. html GNS Wireless LLC. 802. 11a vs. 802. 11b vs. 802. 11g. 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2007 from the http://www. gnswireless. com/AvsBvsG. htm Laverty, Denis. WPA vs. WEP: How your Choice Affects your Wireless Network Security. Retrieved September 16,2007 from http://www. openxtra. co. uk/articles/wpa-vs-wep. php McLauren, Bruce. (1998). Cabling Options. How Gigabit Ethernet works. Retrieved September 15,2007 from http://misnt. indstate. edu/coutinho/ge/WORKS. HTM Mitchell, Bradley. Wireless/networking: â€Å"WPA: Wi-Fi Protected Access. Retrieved September 16,2007 from http://searchnetworking. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci214316,00. html Ou, George. (2005,June 2). Understanding the updated WPA and WPA2 standards. Message posted to http://blogs. zdnet. com/Ou/index. php? p=67 Pidgeon,Nick. Introduction to how Ethernet Works. The Ethernet. Retrieved September 16,2007 from http://computer. howstuffworks. com/ethernet. Sheldon, Tom. Link Aggregation. â€Å"The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications. Retrieve September 16,2007 from http://www. linktionary. com/l/link_aggregation. html Spurgeon, Charles E.. (2000). Why is it called Ethernet?. Ethernet: The Definitive Guide. Retrieved September 16,2007 from http://www. ethermanage. com/ethernet/ethername. html ICT Global. What is Ethernet?. Ethernet FAQ. Retrieved September 16,2007from http://www. ictglobal. com/ICT010/faq1. html Networking Essentials. Band Usage (Baseband or Broadband). Retrieved September 17,2007 from http://www. measureup. com/testobjects/MS_NetEss/5a67289. htm

Effect Of Arab Spring On Arab Countries

Effect Of Arab Spring On Arab Countries The 18th and 19th century witnessed the colonisation of majority of Arab countries. The discovery of oil in Persia in 1908 subsequently in Saudi Arabia in 1938 has been one of the significant development in the Arab world. France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. Though most of these states gained independence in the 1950s and 1960s, but the region has traditionally been characterized by dictators, hereditary monarchies, long serving military regimes and autocrats. These forms of rule deprived these countries from the winds of change . 11. The Arab countries are mostly deprived of Human Rights,lack of freedom of public opinion and expression, fear of regimes, corruption, favouritism and nepotism. Transparency has receded giving way to all sorts of malpractices and misuse of power. All this led to economic degradation and a fall in national income in most of the Arab countries during the past 60 years. 2 The main reasons for Arab Spring in mostly affected countries are as under:- (a) Tunisia. The revolution was sparked by a youth setting himself ablaze due to poverty and the resultant confrontation with security forces. (b) Egypt. The movement was a call for better economic conditions and opposition to inheritance of power. (c) Libya It was against suppression and the rule of one man without any political institutions. (d) Yemen. it was against the dictatorship of one man and his tribe. (e) Syria. It was against family and sectarian dictatorship. 3. Though this revolution was triggered by different factors specific to their own unique socio-economic and political structures but they have one unifying factor that they have been all youth-led movements. 2. However the roots of the Arab Spring lay in the following factors:- (a) An entrenched dictatorship/autocracy/monarchy vs the peoples desire for freedom and democracy. (b) Widespread corruption on the part of the ruling elite. Frequent violation of human rights and brutal repression by the national security force. The rich poor divide getting wider. High cost of living that was constantly on the rise and low income. Lack of adequate job opportunities and the high rate of unemployment among the educated youth. Rejection of the idea of the inheritance of presidency. Social network media namely, facebook and twitter ,which served to rally the youth. 3. There has been a monarchical exception in the Arab Spring which makes one believe that monarchies could be more resilient during popular unrest. With the exception of Bahrain to an extent , other monarchies were not seriously affected. Arab Spring has brought to fore the role of monarchy in regime stability also. 2. The Arab Spring has altered the politics in the Arab world by bringing new political forces. The Islamists have emerged as political parties in Egypt and Tunisia. It can concluded that Islamists have been the real gainers of the undergoing socio-political transformation. Tunisia 2. In Tunisia, the formulation of a new constitution is by now under way after the termination of election for the Constituent Assembly in October 2011. Tunisia also witnessed the arrival of the Islamists in the power struggle after decades of alienation by Ben Ali. Tunisia was the first country to observe regime change when the Islamic An-Nahda party won the majority of votes. Hamadi Jebali, Secretary General of An-Nahda, is the new Prime Minister and the Islamic party is presently working in close alliance with Progressive Democratic Party. Though at present their roadmap is devoid of any Islamic rhetoric, it is concentrating more on the model of civic governance. The biggest challenge to Tunisian democracy is likely to be from the Salfists who represent the Islamic fundamentalists. Egypt 2. The Freedom and Justice Party, a political arm of Muslim Brotherhood ,has made a clean sweep in the Parliamentary elections,but the liberals failed to make an impact in the first ever fair election. The departure of the army from the helm of the affairs also brings to an end to the era of ruler-army nexus in Egypt. It is not only Muslim Brotherhood which gained ground, but there other Islamic groups like the Salafists have also risen to a considerable position and are dominating national politics. So far, the Islamists have adopted the strategy of adjustment . The surfacing of several liberal parties like Third Current, Free Egyptian Party, Egyptian Social Democratic Party and the Tagammu Party is a positive sign and signals evolution of a multi-party system which had been absent for decades. Presently Mohamed Morsi has been elected as the new president in June 2012 but he has grabbed unbridled power for himself , which has led to violent outburst from the masses in the country. Libya 2. The departure of Colonel Gaddafi after the involvement of the NATO set the stage for democratic practice in the country. In July, 2012, the election was held for the General National Congress, the first democratic election in Libya in half a century. In contrast to Egypt and Tunisia, in the Libyan election, liberal forces won the elections. The poor show of the Islamists may be accredited to the time-honored Sufi character of Libyan Islam and peoples non- proclivity towards Islamic brand of politics. In addition, during Gaddafis regime, most of Islamist never surfaced and were aslo not organised like Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt or An-Nahda of Tunisia. 3. The democratic process in Libya has been unsuccessful in bringing about the political solidity such as the one in Egypt or Tunisia. The country has turned out to be more delicate and vulnerable. It is also the tribal character of society in Libya that is causing disintegration and disorder of the social fabrics. Libyan society is now both horizontally and vertically disjointed and neo-tribalism has replaced the old national uniqueness and loyalty. Morocco 3. Political concessions approved by King Mohammed VI led to referendum on constitutional reforms. In dissimilarity with protesters in other countries, the Moroccans who initiated the Feb 20 movement for transformation have not voiced for the kings overthrow. Instead, their focal point has been on significant constitutional reforms, which restricts the powers of the king and consolidates the theory of separation of powers. The demonstrations right through the country have been generally peaceful and free of violent expression. 2. Similarly, in the recent elections too, the Islamist won the majority of seats and the King designated Abdelilah Benkirane, an Islamist figure, as Prime Minister. The delicate balance is to be seen between the monarchy and the new Islamists forces, and how they are adjusted in national politics. The King has by now initiated a major political reform capable of empowerment of the people. Syria 4. The Syrian National Council an opposition government formed in exile has not been recognized by the Western Arab nations due to the councils internal divisions. Syria was expelled from the Arab League after it agreed to a peace plan only to step up attacks on protesters. In late 2011 and early 2012, Syria agreed to allow league observers into the country but their presence did nothing to slow the violence. In February 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution condemning President Assads unbridled crackdown on the uprising, but China and Russia, Syrias traditional patrons, blocked all efforts for stronger Security Council action. Iran, Syrias closest ally in the region, also doubled down on its support for Mr. Assad. The conflict is becoming more radicalized, homegrown Muslim jihadists, as well as small groups of fighters from Al Qaeda, have been taking a more prominent role and demanding a say in running the resistance. Recent months h ave witnessed the emergence of larger, more organized and better armed Syrian militant organizations pushing an agenda based on jihad. As the conflict has continued without resolution, the Assad regime has lost many key players, as growing numbers of high-ranking government and military officials have defected. In early August 2012, President Assad fired his prime minister, RiyadFarid Hijab who defected to neighboring Jordan. Days after Mr Hijabs defection, Mr Assad appointed a new prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi. 2. Except for Syria, nearly each country affected by the Arab Spring is steadily moving towards some sort of stability. The bloodiest upshot of the Arab Spring has been the incessant war in Syria. Syria is subject to Sunni-Alawite conflict but the Arab Spring has aggravated the crisis. The continuing civil war between Free Syrian Army, the main umbrella group for fighters the Syrian Army has resulted in the death of more than 30,000 people. By September 2012, 2,34,000 Syrian refugees had registered in neighboring countries about half of whom left during August.The end of continuing unrest is nowhere in sight  [1]  . The violent clashes between the regime and the rebels reflect the deep hatred between the Sunni majority and the ruling Alwite minority. Syrian civil war has all the potential to become the scene of an international conflict. So far, no endeavor, including the U.N.-Arab League Mission led by Kofi Annan, could contain this strife. Even the new U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi confessed that he was not certain that he would be able to end the conflict. Yemen 5. President Saleh signed the GCC sponsored peace process on 23 Nov 11, in which he agreed to step down and set the stage for transfer of power to his vice president.A presidential election was held on 21 Feb 12 in which AbdRabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi (the only candidate) won 99.8% of vote. The new president has been mandated to lead a two year political transition process including a fully inclusive National Dialogue, constitutional electoral reforms ending with full Presidential Parliamentary elections in 2014  [2]  .In addition monetary assistance has been received from World Bank to improve the economic condition. The developments as of now put an end to more than 12 months of violence civil unrest across Yemen. 2. After the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) mediated an agreement between the opposition groups and President Abdullah Saleh to leave the Presidentship, Yemen underwent the Presidential election in February 2012 and acting President Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi won 99.8% of vote and was was elected as the President. But the elections have failed to amalgamate a society that is divided by cultural and tribal loyalties. The Houthis, an insurgent Shiite group, boycotted the elections which reflects the political division in Yemen and leaves enough room for trouble in future. In addition new governance could not rein in the new resurgent groups operating in the name of north-south and sectarian entity. Bahrain 5. Bahrains political arrangement has been unable to keep tempo with demands for representation for the majority Shia population and has almost responded to unrest with an iron fist  [3]  . King Hamad did attempt to provide some amount of economic concession by giving out financial relief to each Bahraini family also initiated judicial, security economic measures. However as per Amnesty report, these reforms appear to have scratched the surface as human rights crisis still continue  [4]  .During the unrest, the old sectarian fault lines between Shiites and Sunnis surfaced. To soothe anti-government protestors, the King dismissed several cabinet ministers and pardoned political prisoners, including the Shia opposition leader Hassan Mushaimaa, who had been in exile in Lebanon. 2. The condition in Bahrain can be seen in similarity to that in Syria where minority Sunnis rule over majority Shiites. It was GCC under the direction of Saudi Arabia which suppressed the revolt in Bahrain. Besides, Bahrain has also turned out to be a battle ground of power between Iran and Saudi Arabia.. 2. The situation at hand appears to be calm but one cannot rule out the likelihood of repetition in the near future because of the unpredictable nature of the region. Furthermore, Iran may endeavor to capitalise on the amplified sectarian tension. Jordan 5. Subsequent to the initial protest the government upturned the rise in fuel prices, but protestors still persisted with their demands for reforms. The King in an attempt to soothe the masses have dismissed three prime ministers from the time when the of Arab Spring started, finally paving way for Fayez al- Tarawneh to head the cabinet to deliver reform agenda  [5]  . Frequent and small scale protests and turmoil still continues in Jordan to keep the system off balance. Saudi Arabia 5. Saudi Arabia is also transiting through low level sectarian conflict. The Shiite minority in the eastern part is making recurrent protests seeking rights and freedom. The king dolled out economic concessions in the form of US $ 130 billion. Subsequently Municipal elections were held in Sep 2011. Reforms were also initiated for womens participation in municipal election in 2015 and for their nomination to Consultative Assembly. Oman 6. Political reforms were announced in reaction to the spate of protests. The most noteworthy reforms include the granting of Consultative Council (Majilis) of Oman ample legislative and audit powers  [6]  . Sultan Qaboos reorganized the Council of Ministers and replaced three top administration officials. A new body was also shaped to manage the countrys economy while Sultan Qaboos promised extra 50,000 jobs  [7]  . The generally affirmative Omani views of Sultan Qaboos, attached with the economic and supplementary political reform measures caused the unrest to subside. Kuwait 5. As a consequence of the protests that demanded political transparency and a clamp down on corruption within the government, the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, resigned on 29 Nov 2011. The government used financial generosity like budgets laden with subsidies and salary increases as well as used oppressive measures in terms of imprisonment which kept the public display of dissent relatively restricted. As Kuwait is a relatively wealthy society where it appears that most citizens do not want to risk their economic wellbeing to bring the downfall of Al Sabah rule  [8]  . 2. From the events as it unfolds in Arab world ,it can be generalized that the historic phenomenon of Arab Spring reflects the following which has wide implications for non- Arab countries also :- (a) The deep structural malisie of Arab society in general. (b) The democratic aspiration of the marginalised section of Arab society, particularly the youth, for a dignified livelihood, a kind of social, economic and political reform that ensures respect for individual identity, dignity and social equity. (c) The inspiration for this movement is deeply Arab-Islamic, rather than tradition of western democracy and therefore eventhough the movement aspires for democratic space but it does not necessarity imagine this democractic space in terms of western democratic values and principles. (d) It is the rainbow of multiple ideological currents vis islamism, nationalism, tribalism, sectarism and localism with each competing with each other for representation in future power-arrangement but also uniting for loosely defined national purpose against external challanges. (e) The movement is likely to have long term implication for the stability and security of the region. (f) The relatively peaceful, leaderless, unorganised but having mass element only reienforces the notion that people remains the motor of wider social and political changes and in the process totally delegitimise the violence-prone politics and discourses of radical/militant Islamic organisations in the name of islamic transformation of Muslim societies.

Ford Motor Company Supply Chain Strategy Essay -- Ford business Strate

Ford Motor Company Supply Chain Strategy Background In 1913, Henry Ford revolutionized product manufacturing by introducing the first assembly line to the automotive industry. Ford’s hallmark of achievement proved to be a key competence for the motor company as the low cost of the Model T attracted a broader, new range of prospective car-owners. However, after many decades of success, customers have become harder to find. Due to relatively new threats to the industry, increasing numbers of cars and trucks are parked in dealer lots and showrooms creating an alarming trend of stagnation and profit erosion. Foreign-based automakers, such as Toyota and Honda, have expanded operations onto domestic shores and, in turn, have wrestled market share from American automakers. As a direct result, unit over-capacity has steadily risen, while heightened competition and diverse product lines have led to increasing customer demands. To answer these threats, Ford has made recent attempts to transform its dated vertical integration production model into a maneuverable, efficient supply chain. Emphasizing methods such as Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Synchronous Material Flow (SMF), Ford has derived a multi-tiered system of supply. The tier system consists of numerous generic suppliers, â€Å"tier two† and below, who are managed by â€Å"tier one† vehicle sub-system suppliers. The â€Å"tier one† suppliers, by nature, are completely dependent upon Ford’s survival since the provided sub-system component is specific solely to Ford. Dell and Virtual Integration Despite the revamping effort, Ford remains plagued with prolonged Order-To-Delivery (OTD) time periods, congested inventories and error-ridden procurement processes. Upon investigation, these troublesome issues appear to be well addressed by the radically new direct business model of the Dell Computer Corporation. Dell differentiates itself through the utilization of virtual integration, an efficient and effective direct business model facilitated by electronic business providing Build-To-Order (BTO) products directly to customers. The process begins with the customer specifying exactly which features are to be included in the desired computer. Dell, then, buys components from several different suppliers via Internet-based JIT ordering. By using Dell’s process of JIT ordering , misal... ...ndustry by integrating a direct supply network. Ford’s goal of TQM could be easily met by implementing a variation of Dell’s already successful virtual integration business model. Fostering cooperation through incentives is key since compliance of supply chain partners is necessary to gain first-mover advantage. Conclusion In today’s competitive environment, it is important for any business to focus on the customer and to provide unique value in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Without virtual integration, competitive advantage is lost. Successful implementation of virtual integration initiatives allows supplier companies, which are performing only certain processes, to work together as one entity. Therefore, operations become more efficient by reducing inventory, assuring quality, and reducing delivery time. More importantly, the organization maintains the ability to thrive in a competitive marketplace by achieving increased customer satisfaction through unique and strategic core competences. Virtual integration will redefine corporations and , eventually, entire industries as supply chains evolve into a new business model of cooperation and sharing.

Hypertext as a Medium for Writing Essay -- Exploratory Papers

Hypertext as a Medium for Writing This paper will compare and analyze theoretical ideas found in Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet H. Murry focusing on Chapter 10 â€Å"Hamlet on the Holodeck† as it relates to hypertext as a specific medium for writing, and Writing Space by Jay David Bolter focusing on Chapter 7 â€Å"Interactive Fiction† and chapter 8 â€Å"Critical Theory in a New Writing Space† and their emphasis on digital poetry and the increased role of the reader in the reading process. The information taken from these two works will then be compared to the interactive hypertext webpage entitled â€Å"Heading South† by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) English graduate student, Cheryl Ball. In relation to hypertext, the role of the reader seems to be more interactive than that of a typical offline reading. A large amount of evidence supporting the assumption that the reader plays an increased â€Å"interactive† role in interactive or hypertext material is found in both Hamlet on the Holodeck and Writing Space. These examples show how Cheryl Ball’s poetry is easy to follow and how readers are able to play an interactive part in observing her material. As background information relating to digital poetry and the readers’ role, Janez Strevhovec, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Academy of Visual Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia states, â€Å"Today digital poetry provides us with new, provocative, and challenging, to sensitivity even testing forms of experiencing. It is a medium that can only be understood on the basis of analysis of the present world of the new media, and new perception forms, which originate in the interface culture† (Streh ovec 4). Strehovec’s description of digital poetry simply addresses that it is presented in a new-aged... ...-established outcomes or only a few to choose from. I believe using hypertext as a medium for writing can only increase the importance placed on the reading, not lesson it. The information from Bolter, Murray, and what I have gained from evaluating Ball’s web site has helped me to become better aware of different aspects of hypertext, and what I will and will not use when creating my own webpage. Works Cited Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. Maywah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Murray, Janet H. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001. Strehovec, Janez. â€Å"Text as a Loop/On the Digital Poetry.† The University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2003. [Retrieved from the World Wide Web 15 March 2004]. http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/papers/Strehovec.pdf

The Weakness of Servant Leadership Essay -- Servant Leaders are Wimps

After reading various essays and commentaries on servant leadership I thought about a criticism of the theory that wasn't addressed in the readings. Are servant leaders taken advantage of and in certain instances seen as pushovers rather than true leaders? If we review the basic concept of servant leadership, my definition would be a leader who does what’s necessary to ensure his followers are successful. Is this what you really want from a leader? In my opinion that answer is no, you want a leader to exhibit these â€Å"I will help you by all means† characteristics in certain situations, but not all of the time. If this is done all of the time I see this â€Å"leader† as a targeted pushover. The lesson commentary referenced the role of parenthood as an example of servant leadership. â€Å"Parents serve their children’s needs so that the children can develop into healthy adults†¦so that they can help their own children develop† (Lesson 11 Comme ntary, p. 2 Houston). For us parents out there, we know that this can be a slippery slope. If you always come to the rescue of the child, they will not learn ...

Market Mix

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES – BANDARI COMPUS KIBWANA . K. MATAKA REG NO: D61/70919/2008 MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ASSIGNMENT A. IDENTIFY A FIRM OPERATING IN KENYA AND ANALYSE ITS PRODUCT MIX USING BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP MATRIX (BCG MATRIX) B. FOR THE SAME FIRM DISCUSS HOW CHANGES IN THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES IN THE LAST THREE YEARS HAS AFFECTED MARKETING ACTIVITIES. C. IDENTIFY LAWS/ACTS IN KENYA AFFECTING MARKETING. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LAW/ACTS. A. Identify a firm operating in Kenya and analyse its product mix using Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG Matrix)In order for us to discuss the identified firm operating in Kenya and analyse its product mix using Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG Matrix) its important to discuss Boston Consulting Group as concepts then we apply and analyse the company identified. Boston Consulting Group Matrix which is also referred as BCG Matrix, Boston matrix, Boston Box, Boston Matrix or Boston Consult ing Group analysis is a chart that has been created by Bruce Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 to help corporations with analyzing their business unit or product lines.Among its uses this model helps organizations to allocate resources and is used as analytical tool in branding marketing, product management, strategic management and portfolio analysis. For the purpose of our discussion we will analyze the East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) which has an annual turnover of over 30 billion and has the largest share of beer industry in the region. The group employs more than 1000 people across East Africa. We intend to skew our discussion on the Kenyan perspective of the company.Generally, Boston Consulting Group matrix considers two criteria the native market share and marketing growth rate. Categorically it separates products into four areas namely:- * Stars * Question Marks * Cash Cows * Dogs Question Marks Under question marks products we argue that Alvaro which is a non alcoholic malt drink qualifies to be considered into this category. These products which are also referred as problem child have high growth rates but low relative market share. In the first six months in the market the company had spent over 600,000 to promote it.Thus they are known to be growing rapidly and thus consumes large amount of cash. Alvaro has shown the potential to gain market share and become a star and eventually a cash cow when the market slows. However if the question mark does not succeed in becoming a market leader it will degenerate into a dog when the market growth declines. Question marks must be analysed carefully to determine the direction in which they are moving toward to. Stars In November 2004 EABL introduced Senator keg brand into the market.The brand has high performance since it is providing affordable and high quantity alternatives for illicit brews. It targets the low income earners. This brand qualifies to be a star. Senator Keg is probably rela tively new product in the growth phase because they have high market shares, however they may be generating sufficient growth profits to cover their investment needs. By 2008 the product had passed the mark of 3500. This products will become cash cows of the later years but it currently unlikely to be enerating a high level of revenue due to the high level of investment required to expand the product. Usually the predominant strategy is to grow then to the next stage the â€Å"cash cow† where most profits are made. To achieve this company is using the ‘Tuko Mtaani’ na senator keg promotion as the main marketing campaign. Cash Cows Tusker is the main brand for EABL with over 30% of the Kenyan beer market selling more than 700,000hectolitres per year. This brand was launched in 1923. Tusker beer has high market share in a show growing industry.This product typically generate cash in excess of the amount needed to maintain the business. With this product the market life circle has moved to maturity and the growth is slow. They are regarded as staid and boring state. Tusker beer as a cash cow, also benefit from low production costs, reaping the advantages of experience or learning curve, plus product loyalty. Pilsner beer brand may also be categorized in this category. Dogs They are products which have little or no prospects. Some books refer them as pests. These units typically break even generating enough cash to maintain the business market share.It may not yet be making a loss unless it is demanding disapproriate use of overheads. Hence this category and just like the problem child should be thoroughly analysed with a view of either improving it or even discontinued as soon as it becomes a burden. Whitecap beer brand falls under this category. It is one of the oldest brands which is targeting high ranking professional people. The overall goal of this ranking is to help corporate analysts decide which of their business units to fund and how much which units to sell.The above discussed can be summarized in the table below:- StarsSenator Keg| Question marks/problem ChildAlvaro| Cash Cows * Tusker * Pilsner| DogsWhite Cap| Market Growth Rate Low High Market Growth Rate HighLow Relative Market Share B. FOR THE SAME FIRM DISCUSS HOW CHANGES IN THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES IN THE LAST THREE YEARS HAS AFFECTED MARKETING ACTIVITIES. The Marketing Environmental factors for Kenya Breweries consist of the actors and forces that affect the company ability to develop and maintain successful relationship with its target customers.In the last three years the company experienced changes in the marketing environmental forces. These marketing environmental forces may be categories either as micro environmental forces and macro environmental forces. The changes in micro environmental forces will be discussed by looking at both the internal and external environmental forces. The changes range on the following areas:- * The company * The suppliers * Marketing intermediaries * Customer markets * Competitors * Publics During the period under review the company experience a marketing change (physically) of the top management.Recently the top management experienced a shakeup after the CEO – Mr. Gerald Mahinda, leaving the company to South Africa based company Brand house. This calls for readjustment, internal rearrangement, which affected the marketing programmes, plans and actions. More adjustments are expected since the person replacing Mr. Mahinda – Mr. Seni Setu from Ghana was working with Coca cola it is expected that he will pump in the skills gathered from the rival firm. During the electioneering period year 2007/08 the country witnessed massive violence and destruction of properties.The most affected region is the Rift Valley and central Province. These are the regions which are known for growing barley which is the main raw material for beer processing. It is in record that farms were set ab laze and farmer displaced. This greatly affected and disrupted the supply pattern and equally affected the cost of acquiring the raw material. In a large extent this compelled the company to resort to alternative sources of raw materials. Since the traditional suppliers were no longer reliable, stock not available.This greatly raised the production cost and hence cost shifting process was and is still being administered. This fact has been captured by the EABLS2009 half year results report which had the theame of â€Å" growth in extraordinary times†. Changes in Marketing intermediaries such as resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies and operations of financial intermediaries has greatly affected the marketing activities of East African Breweries and the country at large. The period under review witnessed the introduction of telebanking services.The Mpesa and Zap concepts for the safaricom and Zain mobile service providers greatly affected the mark eting intermediaries. In fact some resellers are now partnering with these two services providers. This has smoothen the marketing activities and shortened transaction period. Our discussion on marketing intermediaries is not complete without looking and analyzing the aftermath of post election violence in particular. The period under review witnessed the physical redistribution of reseller, firms and the potential customers.The resellers, firms and customers migrated away from volatile regions to neutral grounds. The company areas forced to utilize the research and development department to analyse this new trend of distribution of resellers; physical distribution firms and relocated customers. In order for East African Breweries Limited to create satisfying customer relationship it must partner with marketing intermediaries who form an important component of the company’s overall value delivery system to customers. The resellers who are at times referred to as middlemen are the main players for the company.The company distribute their products through the wholesalers to the retailers before reaching the final customers. The wholesalers are considered as the distributors. Hence like explained earlier all these were affected by the post election violence. However still the company did a lot of the intermediaries marketing. For example 500 bars were recruited and activated, 2500 waiters trained and modules and CDS manuals provided. The East African Breweries Ltd position and strength in relation to the competition and its market share has a very important influence on company strategy.The period under discussion saw the entrants of new players and aggressive advancement of new competitions such as Keroche Industries and Kuguru Food Products. This led the company into trying to reach out for the new products such as the new brand of customers. The introduction of non-alcoholic drink (Alvaro) which is a flanker product and meant to attract other customers. In order to the capture the market from illicit brews. The company introduced the Senator keg. This new products exposed the company to the major marketing battle with the Coca cola company.Under competition companies usually derive their marketing strategies from the competition rather than customer orientation. According to research about 70% of Kenyans predominantly Christian populations do not drink alcohol but do socialize in bars and pubs. According to Ndirangu Maina, – the Managing Director of Kenya Market Research firm (Consumer Insight Africa) â€Å"The non alcoholic business was owned by Coca cola, its amazing that an alcoholic company would think of that before coke. † Like explained earlier over 600,000 has been pumped for this product.The fact that we have competitors in the market implies that Kenya breweries is not a monopoly. In fact they are at times challenged by the traditional brewers who have cheap products. This prompted the company to introduce new products such as Allsops and Senator keg into the market. Basing our next argument on the studies of Kotler by looking at the seven types of publics. For the last three years all the seven publics were affected by a number of changes. The period witnessed the formation of East African Community, this has led to the company advancing into all east African Countries including Rwanda and Burundi.This greatly increased the size of publics for example citizens action publics include consumer organization, local publics, general publics and the internal publics have been increasing. This greatly changed the marketing strategies, plans and timings. Our second part of discussion is based on the macro environmental forces which are factors over which the organization has least control over the last three years. These factors have greatly changed hence affecting the marketing activities. Changes in social cultural environment is from two dimensions – social and cultural. Kibera F. N. and Waruingi B.C advance an argument of the concept of â€Å"oneness† among Africans. This belief further influences distribution in that many African distributor find it unethical to expand profit base at the expense of their own. It has further been argued that consumers go for imported goods because they view them as superior. Also related to culture are norms and believes for example EABL will not concentrate on North and eastern province because of traditional norms and religions and beliefs on alcohol. However for the purpose of our discussion let us look at social factor associated with demographic patterns.The perpetual pull of the urban centers and the push of rural centre’s have lead to concentrating the population on urban areas. This trend has now changed to pull those urban areas which have more cosmopolitan status which was as a result of post election violence. There a number of people lost their lives. This clearly shows that clenographic patterns ke eps on changing with the interaction of people and the other element of cultural borrowing and sharing. Generally the urban population is characterized by the sprawling slums for the low income people.The company resorted to introducing Senator keg campaigns of the Tuko Mitaani so s to capture this market. The fact that cultures are for people and people form the markets hence any changes in them greatly affects the marketing structure and strategies. There is negative publicity or rather attitude of the society towards bar attendants. Recently the company as a marketing venture resolved to national campaign of training the bar attendants and to a large extent sending the message to the society that there is nothing wrong with those who deal in alcohol a total of over 2500 waiters have been trained.Further those one found sellers of their products by training them they greatly improve their image and sales. The world is currently experiencing economic crunch. Inflation is on the ris e and it has passed 29. 30%. This means the cost of production is increasing, also consumers are now conscious of the prices and priority is placed on primary products. Hence EABL is witnessing a shift of customers to cheaper brands. Here the Tuko Mitaani promotion came into play. Unemployment or disguised employment is on rise. This affects the customers behavior because of absence of source of income.Further for those who are employed due to the world economic crunch and inflation, the disposable income is mainly spent on primary goods. Hence the percentage which is normally being left for luxuries is being reduced and further consumer shift to cheaper products and local brews. The economic crunch has also affected credit availability. Here many distributors continue to carry narrow assortment of merchandise. Therefore the economies of large scale distributions are largely affected. Also affected is EABL which has to get some supplies on credit.The company came up with Jisimamie n a Kshs. 50 million credit advancement strategy targeting SME’s and giving them 50,000 for a viable business plan. Since under such circumstances consumers buy what is really necessary and the EABL is out for cost saving ventures. This greatly affect marketing exercise which are generally consume a lot of cash the marketing spending yet increased by 5% in 2009 reports, EABL has to be careful therefore with pricing policies, marketing and distribution activities. EABL in 2008 alone 2. 165 million was spent on marketing alone.Coming up with Bambua Bambika million promotion meant to entice consumers to buy with the hope of getting out of economic crunch. The speed of change and the impact of technology has a major impact on the EABL ability to undertake the marketing activities. Technological environment is based on scientific knowledge, research, inventions and innovations. The period under review saw the introduction of major technologies. To mention a few introduction of new t echnology for canned beer, telebanking and widespread use of internet and world wide web.The top achievement of the company is the coming up with a high yielding barley species. The change in technological forces has greatly influenced marketing activities of EABL. Further the company has capitalized in internet to create a web site which is interactive and calls for scanning of information across the board. The canned beer is suitably parked for takeaways. The ecological/physical environment forces are calls using of physical environmental friendly ingredients. The changes in climatic conditions for the last three years is associated with global warming.We are witnessing harsh climatic conditions. The extremely hot conditions have forced EABL to start the programme of supplying refrigerators to wider areas so as to cool their products and making them more refreshing. Further harsh climatic conditions have affected production of barley hence raise cost. Further the company has launc hed the Green Goals 2010 innitiative with its six pillars such as caring for environment, enforcement of environmental standards, recycling, waste reduction and survey matters. In order to take care of pollution the company is sticking to recyclable non wasteful parking material.All these environmental issue have led to the growth importance of green issues in marketing. Related to the physical environment forces is geographical forces. Population distribution and size indicates an absolute potential consuming public. The bulk of this discussion has been explained while presenting arguments for demographic pattern and its changes. Connectivity and general infrastructure are part of geographical forces. Regions like Bundalangi and general Western region have experienced destruction of infrastructure such as roads, bridges due to harsh climatic condition.This greatly affect the distribution of products and raises the cost of production and distribution. Increasingly, political and leg al systems can have significant effects on marketing policies and strategies. Both the government and consumer have made the task of marketing more complex. The period under review has witnessed the raise of popularly known sin taxes by over 70%. This affected the cost of production. Further the government has introduced NACADA which is all out to fight alcohol and drugs consumption. This indiscriminate advocacy against alcohol has affected marketing activities of EABL.The highlighted legislations and anti alcohol lobbyist strict advertising laws shaped the company’s marketing process. This lead to the following strategies. We ID Campaign, Don’t’ drink and drive campaigns The legal framework is more inclined toward regulation of activities in general terms. The concept of free market economy has greatly affected the marketing of KBL products since foreign products fill the market. The period being discussed has witnessed the ever growing concern of alcoholic rel ated advertisement.If this law is passed then it will mean total restructuring of market process for KBL even though this law is yet to be passed yet it is causing ripples in form of lobbying and discussion farms which the company is forced to take up the responsibilities and related cost. Finally the political skirmishes related to the post election violence has greatly affected the marketing activities of EABL. A lot has been discussed about the effects post election violence in the earlier discussions. c. IDENTIFY LAWS/ACTS IN KENYA AFFECTING MARKETING. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LAW/ACTS.It must be noted that marketing does not take place in a vacuum. Among the factors which affect marketing is legal related factors. In Kenya there are a number of laws which generally affect market operations in the country. The laws regulate marketing functions right from the functions, products and even pricing. For the purpose of this discussion let us look at them one after the other. The Suppli es Preventition Management Act Cap 17 of 2007 aims at establishing, inventory, improve and publish the standard of the supplies professional. The Act guides on training and relevant examinations boards.The Acts empower the administrators of this Act register and licence all practitioner under this cadre. The Sale of Goods Act Cap 31 specializes the condition for sales of goods in Kenya. The Act specifies the formulation of a contract and the performance of a contract. The rights of unpaid sellers against the goods and action for the breach of the contract one areas which have been covered in the Act. Narcotic Drugs an Psychotropic substances Act Cap 4 of 1994 is an Act of parliament with respect to the control of the possession of trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance an cultivation of certain plants.To provide for forfeiture of property derived from or used in illicit or narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance and for committed purposes. The Tobacco Control Act Cap 4 of 2007, its objective and purpose is to provide a legal framework for the control of the production, manufacture, sale, labeling, advertising, promotion, sponsorship and use of tobacco products including exposure to tobacco smoke in order to protect the user, consumer, person below the age of 18 and secondary affected citizens.The Exchange Control Act Cap 113 (Repealed) is an Act of parliament to confer panes and impose duties and utilization in relations to gold, currency payments, security, debts and the import, export, transfer and settlement of properties and for purposes committal thereof. The Act further has rules which are regarded as the Exchange Control fees. The fire Arms Act Cap 114 is an act of parliament for regulatory, licencing and for the controlling, the manufacturer, importers and exporters, sales, repairs, storage, possession and use of firearms, ammunition, arigrams and destruction devices and commented purposes.Which its subsidiary inflation the Act has rules associated with firearms. Equally fees chargeable per fireman is specified. Another Act of Parliament charged with the responsibility to make provisions for regulatory the sale and supply of liquor and for matters incidental thereto and committed therewith is the Liquor Licencing Act Cap 121. However this act does not apply to certain areas these areas have been stipulated in the Act varying for medical purposes to sale of liquor on board of vessels.Related to this Act is the Pharmacy and Poisons Act Cap 244 which is also an Act of parliament to make better provision for control of the profession of pharmacy and the trade in drugs and poison. Copy Right Act Cap 130 (1966) is an Act of Parliament to make provision for copyright in literacy, musical and artistic works, audio visual works, sound recording and broadcasts. Under its subsidiary legislations has regulations which are amid at explaining caption 15.Agricultural produce marketing Act Cap 320 is an act of parliament to c ontrol and regulate the marketing of Agricultural produce, enable marketing brands to provide for the powers and fantasies of the boards and for matters committed therewith. This stipulates the establishment of marketing boards and under its miscellaneous part it stipulates the regulations, offences and other related matters. Associated with this Act we have National Cereal and Produce Board, Pyrethrum Act 340, Tea Act Cap 343, Cotton Act cap 335, Coconut Industry Act Cap 332 and Coffee Act Cap 9 among others are all agricultural marketing related Acts.The National Cereals and Produce Board Act which is an Act of parliament that regulates and controls the marketing and processing of maize, wheat and scheduled agricultural produce to produce NCCPB and control purpose therewith. The rest of the listed Acts listed in this paragraph are to provide respective avenue for reorganization, regulation of the respective industry and the control of growing process and most importantly marketing . That respective product for both scientific and agronomic research and any other concerned purposes.The Pest Control Product Act Cap 346 (1983) is another agricultural related Act which regulated the importation manufacture, distributors and the use of products for controls of pests, and of the organic functions for control purposes. The Restriction Board Monopolies and Price Control Act Cap 504 is and act of parliament which is geared towards encouraging competition in the economy by prohibiting restrictive trade practices continuing monopolies concentration of economic powers and prices.However even though this Act supports competition the Foreign Investment Protection Act Cap 518 gives protection to certain approved foreign investments and matters incidental thereof. In conclusion therefore legal aspects generally influenced the marketing practices in Kenya. In fact the laws discussed are only a few. There are others and in fact all the laws of Kenya has one way or another affe cted marketing either directly or indirectly.