Racial hostility within the media Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9000 words

Racial hostility within the media - Dissertation Example Various researchers have pointed out that media has played an important role in terms of shaping the perceptions, beliefs and attitudes of people towards members of minority groups. In the United States of America, it was perceived that the media played a significant role in emphasizing the historical oppression and oppression of the African-Americans in relation to their White counterparts. In view of the same, researchers showed that the White Americans tend to have a complete lack of understanding towards the African-Americans. It is in this particular context that the researcher looked into the experiences of Michelle Obama during her husband’s presidential campaign in 2008. ... gainst a white oppressor† Generally, the racist comments were caused by the fact that Americans are not used to the fact that a Black Woman would take her place as the country’s first lady. Respondents in this particular study noted that the country is yet to be accustomed to such fact, thus they was not willing to accept Michelle Obama, thus the racist comments. Chapter 1 Introduction Background of the Study The media is known to be a very powerful institution that has been established within a democratic community. It aims to transmit and communicate cultural ideas, images, myths, and sequences of events (Nairn, Pega, McCreanor, Rankine, and Barnes 2006). Media discourse remains to be a significant means of reproducing shared beliefs and fundamental values of the society. Hence, the media plays a relevant role for exchanging opinions, knowledge, and information. The media, per se, have become a major instrument with which countries can establish and publicize its ideal s as they are expected to express a wide range of viewpoints, remain as objective and neutral as possible, and provide access to various groups, regardless of gender, racial background, religion, social class, and sexual orientation, to name a few (Wetherell and Potter 1992). Print and electronic media has made a significant impact on the daily lives of communities and its members as the television, radio, and print media, among other types of media, present the components out of which individuals can establish identities and make sense of themselves (e.g. meaning of one’s own gender, ethnicity, and national identity). Moreover, it enables the society to differentiate and understanding what it means to be â€Å"us† and â€Å"them† (McQuail 2000). At present, although the media is expected to reflect

Hotel and Outdoor Petting Zoo Essay Example for Free

Hotel and Outdoor Petting Zoo Essay There are many steps to planning a vacation to Kalahari Resorts, Ohio. First of all, you must ask yourself how many days would you like to spend at Kalahari. Once you decide, you must figure you want to book a flight or drive. Depending on certain dates, flights can be really expensive if booked during peak vaction months. Driving on the other hand, is not for everyone. It can be very expensive with the price of gas, and very tedious depending how many hours you will spend in the car. The next step is to find pricings on the hotel with their website, Kalahariresorts.com. This website provides package deals that include: the room, access to the aracde, and also access to the pool. When choosing your room, you need to pick the perks you want, such as a full kitchen or a veiw of the outdoor petting zoo. Now that you have chosen your means of transportaion and room, you must determine how much money you would like to spend while are there. This will help set a budget and keep and keep your finances in order, but also prevent you from spending too much. Always remember to have fun at Kalahari and make it a stay youll never forget. There are many steps to planning a vacation to Kalahari Resorts, Ohio. First of all, you must ask yourself how many days would you like to spend at Kalahari. Once you decide, you must figure you want to book a flight or drive. Depending on certain dates, flights can be really expensive if booked during peak vaction months. Driving on the other hand, is not for everyone. It can be very expensive with the price of gas, and very tedious depending how many hours you will spend in the car. The next step is to find pricings on the hotel with their website, Kalahariresorts.com. This website provides package deals that include: the room, access to the aracde, and also access to the pool. When choosing your room, you need to pick the perks you want, such as a full kitchen or a veiw of the outdoor petting zoo. Now that you have chosen your means of transportaion and room, you must determine how  much money you would like to spend while are there. This will help set a budget and keep and keep your finances in order, but also prevent you from spending too much. Always remember to have fun at Kalahari and make it a stay youll never forget.

Which Groups Pose an Urban Terrorist Threat :: essays research papers fc

WHICH GROUPS POSE AN URBAN TERRORIST THREAT There is not one particular group that poses an urban terrorist threat as long as the spread of the message is the only goal of the movement. Many organizations wish to gain the understanding of â€Å"outsider Americans† and try to reach as many sympathizers as possible for their movement. The problem arises when an organization seeks to gain understanding or recognition through force. An organization becomes an actual threat when they start to build up arms, purchase biological or chemical weapon supplies, or cast threats to surrounding areas. The most dangerous type of organization, which poses the greatest urban terrorist threat, is the radical doomsday organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Branch Dividian compound was an example of a doomsday organization that was building up arms for an attack in 1993. Branch Davidians believed that they are God’s chosen people and were preparing for the end of the world (John Mann). Although David Koresh, along with his organization, had not began to attack outside of its Waco Compound in Texas; the buildup of arms demonstrated the threat. The right action was taken to control group, although many have complained about the result of the government’s movement. During 1995 the Japanese experienced what could happen if a doomsday organization practices extreme measures to gain the audience of its fellow citizens. Members of the Aum Supreme Truth (Aum Shinrikyo) dropped sarin gas in the tunnels of a Tokyo subway system in March of 1995 killing 12 and injuring up to 6,000 more. The group’s leader Shoko Asahara (AKA Chizuo Matsumoto) was trying to forcefully fulfill his own prophecies in order to gain the attention of the people (Kaplan, 12). The same type of ill-fated incident could have been planned and executed by the Branch Davidians had they been allowed to continue to operate, and probably one day build a biological or chemical weapon of mass destruction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Timothy McVeigh was said to have been acting out of revenge for the Waco Compound seizure and attack by bombing the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City exactly 2 years later on April 19, 1995. There is little evidence that McVeigh was a member of any organization, and had only attended a few militia meetings (Grosscup, 117). The fact that the doomsday organization was preparing for the end of the world could very well have lead them to take an offensive action, just like McVeighs’, to facilitate their goals.

Paris Is Burning Case Study Essay

1.I would argue that the group of poor gay minorities, like the people in the ball, is a subculture in itself. This group is a subculture of the gay culture. The distinguishing aspects of the group are that they are poor, gay, and minorities. Another distinguishing aspect is that members of this subculture are typically outcasts. They have been rejected by family members, friends, and American society as a whole. â€Å"It’s hard to imagine a more outcast group in American society than black and Hispanic homosexuals,† (Levy). I identified this group of poor, gay, minority men who participate in balls as a microculture. This microculture’s distinguishing aspects are that these men all seem to live for balls, with dreams of fame and fortune, â€Å"The balls are our fantasies of being superstars,† (Pepper Labeija). This group also has an extreme love for, and competitive drive to be successful at vogeuing. Another trait this group shares is a love for fashion. They use fashion and style in order to appear â€Å"real.† This subculture wants to appear to be authentically white, straight, and female (Levy). This is depicted throughout the film Paris is Burning. Another microculture that I identified in the film is the transvestite microculture. This microculture defines itself by dressing up like the opposite sex, in this case men dressing as women, but who do not wish to become women. They could be considered androgynous, (Solomon, 186). While they do not identify with females, they wish to look female. The third microculture I identified in the film is the transvestite microculture. This group’s ideal self (Solomon, 177) is female. They identify with females and wish to eventually become female. 2.The goal of this subculture is to become a â€Å"real† female, if not to transform completely, to at least look like a real female. They are motivated by the celebrities they see in magazines and on TV. Straight, white, females are this group’s comparative influence, (Solomon, 409). There are a few gay masculine men in this film; their goal would be to look authentically masculine and straight. The whole point of the balls is for members of this group to act out their fantasies. Nearly everyone in the film was pretending to be someone that they were not. Competing in the balls was â€Å"achieving in fantasy what the world had denied in [their] reality,† (Green). Acting out this fantasy allows the people in this film to compensate for dissatisfaction with their actual selves, (Solomon, 172). They desire to look like the beautiful celebrities in the magazines, (Venus Xtravaganza), so this group is doing whatever it can to make themselves more like these women. Sadly, usually the most they can do is pretend, by dressing and acting like these women. This subculture does not â€Å"wish to replace dominant culture, they long to be members of the society they imitate,† (Levy). Part of achieving their goal is purchasing clothing, make-up, shoes, even hormones and female body parts to look the part of a â€Å"real woman†. Without the possibility of consumption, it would not be possible for this group of people to achieve their goals and dreams. They wake up in the mornings as men, and leave their house in the afternoons as women because of the products they consume. They look at their reference group, (Solomon, 404) of straight females, and strive to look like them by purchasing the same products that these women use. To achieve their desired social identity they are acting out the symbolic self-completion theory, (Solomon, 176) by acquiring the clothes, hair, softer features, etc. that they see on women who are their ideals of beauty (Solomon, 196). In my opinion this is very similar to the actions of mainstream culture. â€Å"The movie is a successful attempt by outsiders to dramatize how success and status in the world often depend on props you can buy, or steal, almost anywhere – assuming you have the style to know how to use them,† (Ebert). I have observed that the common belief in mainstream culture seems to be that a person has to look a certain way to be successful. The more fashionable and beautiful a person looks, the more successful and therefore desirable they are perceived to be. Mainstream culture consumers spend millions every year attempting to make themselves look more successful and beautiful than everyone else around them. This is similar to the drag queen subculture portrayed in the movie in many ways. Both groups are trying to appear one way by purchasing clothing, plastic surgery, make-up, nice homes, etc. Both groups are desperate to be accepted by mainstream culture and both groups use style and purchasing power to try to achieve this dream they have of popularity and acceptance. There is a huge difference though. Main stream culture is constantly consuming goods and services in an attempt to fit in with each other. Drag queen subcultures are consuming these same goods to try to fit in with main stream culture. They dream of the fame and fortune that comes with being a beautiful, straight, stylish woman. â€Å"Livingston blames the advertisements they see in the media for fostering their unrealistic yearnings,† (Levy). They are competing with a completely different group of people. Not only is their competition different, it is nearly impossible to compete with. â€Å"The models compete to see who could pass in worlds that are almost completely closed to gays and blacks – especially, gay blacks,† (Ebert). The balls are this group’s opportunity to flaunt their consumptions, and practice for the â€Å"real world.† The winners are those who exhibit the most style, and often those who can afford to spend the most on their costumes, (Dorian Corey). Sadly, this group is competing with â€Å"members of a society that will never accept them,† (Levy). 3.Not surprisingly, this subculture faces many conflicts in their daily lives. These conflicts include dealing primarily with prejudices, money shortages, and abandonment. Conflicts are handled in many different ways. Prejudice is a problem all over the world and will probably never cease to be a problem. It is not depicted much in the film how this group of people handles this problem except to ignore it for the most part since there is really nothing that can be done about it. â€Å"I am white so I have the ability to write those grants and push my little body through whatever door I need to get it through. If [drag queens] wanted to make a film about themselves they would not be able, I wish that weren’t so, but that’s the way society is structured,† (Green). This subculture has very little, if any, power with anyone but themselves because of prejudices. This problem causes the other main conflicts they are faced with, money shortages and abandonment. Many of the people in this subculture have no other way to make money but to become â€Å"hussies†. They will use their physical tools to get what they want and need. â€Å"He’s taking me out for dinner later this evening, or for cocktails after midnight. I know he’ll give me some money just for me to maybe buy some shoes and a nice dress, so that the next time he sees me, he’ll see me looking more and more beautiful, the way he wants to see me. But I don’t have to go to bed with him, or anything like that. At times they do expect sexual favors, but that is between myself and them, so I don’t want to talk about that any further,† (Venus Xtravaganza). It is later discovered that Venus was found dead in a motel. She always did what she wanted to get what she wanted, such as getting into cars with men. Sadly, that is the life of a transsexual living in New York City, (Angie Xtravaganza). Money shortages give this group a risky shift, (Solomon, 267), distinguishing aspect of resorting to dangerous alternatives to make money, such as becoming prostitutes. This group also steals to get food as well as acquire props and clothing for their ball competitions. â€Å"Faggots,† or gay young men, are the best at â€Å"playing pranks† or stealing, (Freddie Pendavis). Many of the drag queens featured in this film have been abandoned by their families because they are homosexuals. To resolve this, this subgroup has formed its own families, or â€Å"houses,† as they are referenced to in the movie. Each house has a mother and a father. While these are not literal houses, it is a small community that offers support to its members. Family members assist each other with ball competitions, stealing, and encouraging each other when times are tough. 4.This subculture is very similar to mainstream culture. Both groups of people have a longing to be accepted. Both groups put a huge emphasis on how stylish a person is. The big difference is that the drag queen subculture is daring to be different to be who they want to be and fit in with whom they want to fit in. They could easily live in New York as straight men. They could live everyday pretending to be someone they were not and living a life they were not happy with to avoid the hardships that come along with being drag queens. â€Å"Beatings, violence and rejection are daily realities for men who want to pass as women, and so there is a certain courage exhibited by their choice,† (Ebert). Mainstream culture, however, is not so brave. Many people who are considered â€Å"mainstream† most likely have interests and tastes that are not considered the norms, (Solomon, 429). Some examples are a boy who enjoys dancing rather than football, or a female teacher who enjoys listening to metal rather than mainstream music. Both examples go against the stereotypes. While I personally believe many Americans, if they let their true selves show, would have personality traits that go against the stereotype that is associated with them, they will not let these traits show. They are not brave enough to go against mainstream culture and be the people they truly want to be. This drag queen subculture has dared to step out of the norm and try to become the people they really want to be. In most cases, this dream they have will be impossible to achieve. Mainstream culture influences this drag queen group completely. The drag queen subculture is striving to actually become part of the mainstream culture. Members of this group want to be like mainstream culture in every way. This is why they are pretending to be this mainstream group of people who will never accept them, (Ebert). Mainstream culture affects how this subculture looks, dresses and lives; nearly every aspect of their lives is determined by what mainstream culture does. However, the drag queen subculture has very little impact on mainstream culture. The only part mainstream culture has plucked from the drag queen subculture is â€Å"voguing.† Popular celebrities like Madonna got voguing into mainstream culture. Ironically, while mainstream culture was learning how to â€Å"vogue† it â€Å"began to copy a subculture that was copying it,† (Green). This is a very small influence that the drag queen subculture had on the mainstream culture, however, compared to the impact mainstream culture has on their lives. 5.Mainstream culture is the trends, attitudes, living styles, etc. that are made popular by the media. I do not think it is a collection of subcultures. I think that the media can pick certain aspects from subcultures and make them become mainstream culture, but I truly believe it is the media that affects what we call mainstream culture. The media controls trends by having celebrities endorse certain products. I think that we look at celebrities, see their beauty and/or success and assume they must know what the best product is. We want to be lovely and successful like them, so we try to imitate them. This catches on because everyone in mainstream culture wants to be accepted, and since what is considered acceptable and desirable is what the celebrities are endorsing, which is what we all do and buy. We also have the need to be accepted by our mainstream peers. If our peers believe what the celebrities are endorsing is what is most desirable, we will come to think it is desirable, in order to be accepted and desired.

Analysis of The Cool Web by Robert Graves Essay

Why is the title of the poem â€Å"The cool web†? Give a reason for your answer. The poem discusses an adult’s predisposition to use linguistic dexterity to avoid the consequences of extreme emotion. The title combines two words, â€Å"cool† and â€Å"web†, each of which evokes a strong impression, to create a third even more evocative image. There are many English expressions which use the word â€Å"cool† to convey repressing emotion. This usage is similar to using â€Å"calm†: â€Å"cool down†, â€Å"don’t lose your cool†, â€Å"go and cool off†, â€Å"cool it!† and so on. Even the slang interpretation of â€Å"cool† in the sense of fashionable or sophisticated conjures up the idea of a relaxed and casual attitude. In the context of the poem, â€Å"cool† can be seen as synonymous with a lack of passion and an increase of self-control. â€Å"Web† is used to convey the sense of being enveloped by a layer which inhibits freedom. Graves could have used â€Å"net† or â€Å"mesh†, however those words lack the sinister connotation of the most common use of â€Å"web†: that of a â€Å"spider’s web†. In this sense, there is an air of vulnerability and menace; the spider’s prey has not chosen to be caught in the web, but is ensnared nevertheless. The combination of â€Å"cool† and â€Å"web† creates an image of forced composure. The â€Å"cool web† is a linguistic lobotomy which life imposes on humankind. What is the effect of the repetition of ‘hot’ and ‘dreadful’ in the first stanza? The first stanza creates a threatening atmosphere. The adjectives used are  intense: the day is not warm, it is hot; the evening is not dark, but black; the soldiers are full of dread, not just alarming. (Although now used in the same way as frightening, â€Å"dreadful† really describes a greater level of terror.) This development of menace is further emphasised by the repetition of the â€Å"hot† and â€Å"dreadful†. The point is driven home to the reader. If Graves had used synonyms – blistering for â€Å"hot† and frightening for â€Å"dreadful† – in the second instances of each, the meaning would be essentially unchanged. However, the sound and rhythm of the stanza would be significantly affected. The effect is also assisted by repeating not only â€Å"hot†, but the assonance and alliteration of the phrase â€Å"how hot†. The repetition and emphasis of â€Å"hot† in lines 1 and 2 also provides contrast between the word â€Å"cool† in the title and â€Å"chill† in line 5. â€Å"Cool† and â€Å"coldly† are also used in the body of the poem in contrast to â€Å"hot†. (This emphasis through repetition is used a number of times: in the second stanza with â€Å"spell†; in line 10 with â€Å"too much† and in the last stanza with â€Å"facing†.) Who are ‘we’ in the second stanza (line 5)? The use of â€Å"but† at the beginning of line 5 contrasts â€Å"we† from the children of the first stanza and presumably Graves therefore means adults. Adults have a more sophisticated command of language with which to interpret events. Children are direct in their approach to the world and do not attempt to obscure reality for any reason. On meeting an overweight person, a young child will cheerfully ask them why they are so fat. An adult would be unlikely to broach the subject at all. Children simply state what they think; adults use euphemisms and oblique vocabulary to ward off unwelcome emotions. Comment on the use of: The adjectives ‘cruel’ to describe the rose’s scent and ‘overhanging’ to  describe the night (lines 6 and 7). The reader is jolted as these adjectives are associated with unfamiliar subjects. This is a form of foregrounding to draw attention to the language of the poem. The use of â€Å"cruel† to describe the scent of a rose is especially jarring. Almost without exception the rose is a symbol of romance and love, not one of cruelty. Graves seems to be implying that anything that intrudes – even something pleasant – is objectionable and to be â€Å"dulled†. By describing the night as â€Å"overhanging† Graves refers to the sense of intimidation, of something unexpected looming over us. The poet then tells us that this should – and can be – be spelled away as undesirable. The verb ‘spell’ in the phrase ‘we spell away’ (lines 7 and 8) Graves exploits a double meaning of â€Å"spell† to intertwine the ideas of language and trickery. In the linguistic context â€Å"spell† means to form a word by arranging its constituent letters in the correct order. ‘Spell† also means to influence someone or something by means of magical powers. In this way, the poet concentrates a number of images into a single word. An adult’s desire to misrepresent reality is a form of magical spell, but it requires the ability to spell words. (Graves also uses this technique in line 1 by describing children as â€Å"dumb†. This could mean that they are stupid and therefore unable to manipulate and distort the world. It could also mean that children have no linguistic faculty as in â€Å"deaf and dumb.† Of course, he means both.) Explain how, in your opinion, ‘the cool web’ may protect one against ‘too much joy or too much fear’ (lines 5 to 11). â€Å"The cool web† of language is used to rationalise extreme emotions. Instead of reacting instinctively to a situation, we can drown it in verbose explanations. From pulpit to parliament, and from lawyer to liar, we use language to distort reality to suit ourselves. It is through language that we can persuade ourselves that the noise we hear in the night is just the  cat and not a violent burglar. This is the basis for Graves’s reference to retreating from â€Å"too much fear.† Less obvious is the desire to protect ourselves from â€Å"too much joy†, a condition that would appear to be desirable. Perhaps the poet believes that we are unable to cope adequately with either extreme of fortune. There are a number of superstitions in this regard such as labelling something as being â€Å"too good to be true†. It may be that Graves is suggesting that we subconsciously know that we can’t sustain a state of delight for long and that the pain of the ensuing disappointment is not worth the moment of joy. It reflects a low-risk paradigm where we would forego the highs to avoid the subsequent inevitable lows. What indications are there in stanza 4 to show us what the speaker’s attitude is towards such protection? The phrases â€Å"self-possession† and â€Å"throwing off† show us that the speaker believes that the protection which language offers is an imposition and not a natural state of affairs. He notes that this enforced situation controls us for our whole life until we die. While implying that this protection is a burden, Graves also tells us that without it we would go mad. In other words, this protection is a necessary evil. Why do references to the day, the rose, the night and the soldiers recur throughout the poem? These words occur in the first, second and fourth (last) stanzas. The repetition in the second stanza and the fourth stanza fulfil different purposes. The reference in the second stanza forms the basis for a contrast with the initial reference in the first stanza. In the first stanza these objects are described via a child’s simple outlook: hot and dreadful. In the second stanza the same words are described via an adult’s more complex, language-distorted view. The last stanza has a different form than the first three; it breaks a  pattern of 4-line stanzas and, by doing so, demands extra attention from the reader. In this last stanza the words â€Å"day†, â€Å"rose†, â€Å"night† and â€Å"drums† are listed simply without adjectives. This neatly reminds the reader of the beginning of the poem and completes the comparison between children and adults, and their differing use of language. Briefly state the speaker’s conclusion about the role of language in our lives (lines 13 to 18). The speaker concludes that we need language to protect ourselves from the reality of life. Graves states that without the capacity for persuading ourselves that situations are not what they appear, we would find it impossible to cope and would go mad. The diction (choice of words), structure, rhythm and tone of the first and last stanzas are markedly different. What do you think the purpose of these differences is? The first three stanzas have a relatively simple rhyme scheme of A B C C. The effect of lines 3 and 4 of each of these stanzas rhyming is that each stanza is concluded firmly. Three stanzas with the same structure creates a pattern and an expectation that the next stanza will be the same. The fact that it is not is a surprise and a type of foregrounding. The last stanza has a rhyme of A B C D C D and this difference in structure alerts the reader and demands additional attention. This warning is welcome as the message in the last stanza is far more direct than previously where metaphor and allusion are used. The last line states unequivocally â€Å"we shall go mad no doubt.† It is in this last stanza that Graves delivers his judgement on our use of language.

Christmas at the White House In the 19th Century

Christmas at the White House In the 19th Century Christmas celebrations at the White House have fascinated the public for decades. And especially since the 1960s, when Jacqueline Kennedy had the presidents house decorated based on the theme of The Nutcracker, First Ladies have supervised elaborate transformations for the holiday season. In the 1800s things were quite different. That isnt entirely surprising. In the early decades of the 19th century Americans viewed Christmas as a religious holiday to be celebrated in a modest manner with family members. And the high point of the holiday social season at the White House would have taken place on New Years Day. Tradition throughout the 1800s was that the president hosted an open house on the first day of each year. He would patiently stand for hours, and people who had waited on a long line stretching out to Pennsylvania Avenue would file in to shake the presidents hand and wish him Happy New Year.   Despite the apparent lack of Christmas celebrations at the White House in the early 1800s, a number of  legends of White House Christmases circulated a century later. After Christmas had become a widely celebrated and very public holiday, newspapers in the early 1900s routinely published articles presenting some highly questionable history. In these creative versions, Christmas traditions which hadnt been observed until decades later were sometimes ascribed to early presidents. For instance, an article in the Evening Star, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, published on December 16, 1906, related how Thomas Jeffersons daughter Martha decorated the White House with Christmas trees. That seems unlikely. There are reports of Christmas trees appearing in America in the late 1700s in specific regions. But the custom of Christmas trees did not become common in America until decades later. The same article also claimed that the family of Ulysses S. Grant family celebrated with elaborate Christmas trees in the late 1860s and early 1870s. Yet the White House Historical Society claims the first White House Christmas tree appeared fairly late in the century, in 1889. Its easy to see that many stories of early Christmases in the White House are either greatly exaggerated or simply untrue. In part, thats because an essentially private holiday celebrated with family members would naturally have gone unreported. And the absence of reliable information led to the creation of comfortable yet  fake history. An apparent need to exaggerate the history of Christmas in the White House may have been motivated in part by something often overlooked today. For much of its early history, the White House was a residence seemingly cursed with a number of tragedies. A number of presidents were in mourning throughout part of their time in office, including Abraham Lincoln, whose son Willie died in the White House in 1862. Andrew Jacksons wife Rachel died just days before Christmas in 1828, a month after he was elected president. Jackson traveled to Washington and took up residence in the Presidents House, as it was known at the time, as a grieving  widower. Two 19th century presidents died in office before celebrating a Christmas (William Henry Harrison and James Garfield), while one died after celebrating only one Christmas (Zachary Taylor). Two wives of 19th century presidents died while their husbands were in office.Letitia Tyler, the wife of John Tyler, suffered a stroke and later died in the White House on September 10, 1842. And Caroline Scott Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harrison, died of tuberculosis in the White House on October 25, 1892. It could seem that the story of Christmas in the first century of the White House is simply too depressing to think about. Yet, one of those who would be touched by tragedy in the White House was, a few years previously, the unlikely hero who emerged late in the 1800s to make Christmas a major celebration in the big mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue. People today tend to only remember Benjamin Harrison because he holds a unique place in presidential trivia. His single term in office came between the two non-consecutive terms of Grover Cleveland. Harrison holds another distinction. He was the president credited with having the first White House Christmas tree, installed during his first Christmas in the White House, in 1889. He was not just enthusiastic about Christmas. Harrison seemed eager to let the public know he was celebrating it in grand style. Benjamin Harrisons Lavish Christmas Benjamin Harrison was not known for celebrations. He was generally considered to have a fairly bland personality. He was quiet and scholarly, and after serving as president he wrote a textbook on government. Voters knew that he taught Sunday school. His reputation was not for frivolity, so it seems odd that he would be known for having the first White House Christmas tree. He took office in March 1889, at a time when most Americans had adapted to the idea of Christmas as a celebratory holiday symbolized by Santa Claus and Christmas trees. So its possible that Harrisons Christmas cheer was simply a matter of timing. It is also conceivable that Harrison took a great interest in Christmas because of his own family history. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was elected president when Benjamin was seven years old. And, the elder Harrison served the shortest term of any president. A cold he caught, probably while delivering his inaugural address, turned into pneumonia. William Henry Harrison died in the White House on April 4, 1841, only a month after taking office. His grandson never got to enjoy a Christmas in the White House as a child. Perhaps thats why Harrison made an effort to have elaborate Christmas celebrations in the White House focused on the amusement of his own grandchildren. Harrisons grandfather, though born on a Virginia plantation, had campaigned in 1840 by aligning himself with common folk with the Log Cabin and Hard Cider campaign. His grandson, taking office at the height of the Gilded Age, had no embarrassment about showcasing an affluent lifestyle in the White House . The newspaper accounts of the Harrison family Christmas in 1889 are packed full of details which must have been willingly passed along for public consumption. A story on the front page of the New York Times on Christmas Day 1889 began by noting that many presents intended for the presidents grandchildren had been stowed away in a White House bedroom. The article also mentioned the wonderful Christmas tree, which is to dazzle the eyes of the White House babies... The tree was described as a foxtail hemock, 8 or 9 feet tall, liberally decked with glittering glass balls and pendants, while from the topmost branch to the edge of the square table on which the tree stands it is showered over with countless strands of gold tinsel. To add to the brilliant effect, the end of every branch is capped with four-sided lanterns of various colors and finished with a long point of shining glass filled with quicksilver. The New York Times article also described a lavish array of toys President Harrison would be giving to his grandson on Christmas morning: Among the many things which the President has purchased for his favorite grandchild is a mechanical toy an engine which, on being wound up, puffs and snorts at a terrific rate as it speeds over the floor, carrying behind a train of cars. There there is a sled, a drum, guns, horns without number, tiny blackboards on miniature easels, with crayons of every hue and color for the baby fingers, a hook-and-ladder apparatus which would send a thrill of delight to the heart of any little boy in creation, and a long slim box containing parlor croquet. The article also noted that the presidents young granddaughter would be receiving a number of gifts, including jumping jacks with cap and bells, a tiny piano, rocking chairs, all manner of furry coated animals, and bits of jewelry, and last, but by no means least, at the base of the tree is to stand a real Santa Claus, three feet high, laden with toys, dolls, and stockings filled with bonbons. The article concluded with a florid description of how the tree would be lit late on Christmas Day:   In the evening, between 4 and 5 oclock, the tree is to be lighted, that the children may view it in its full glory, when they will be joined by several little friends, who will add their quota to the joyous clatter and din incident to Christmas. The first White House Christmas tree to be decorated with electric lights appeared in December 1894, during the second term of Grover Cleveland. According to the White House Historical Association, the tree lit with electric bulbs was placed in the second floor library and was enjoyed by Clevelands two young daughters. A small front-page item in the New York Times on Christmas Eve 1894 seemed to refer to that tree when it stated, A gorgeous Christmas tree will be lighted at twilight with vari-colored electric lamps. The way Christmas was celebrated in the White House at the end of the 19th century was vastly different than when the century began. First White House Christmas The first president to live in the Presidents House was John Adams. He arrived to take up residence on November 1, 1800, in the final year of his single term as president. The building was still unfinished, and when his wife, Abigail Adams, arrived weeks later, she found herself living in a mansion that was partly a construction site. The first residents of the White House were almost immediately plunged into mourning. On November 30, 1800, their son Charles Adams, who had suffered from alcoholism for years, died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 30. Bad news continued for John Adams as he learned in early December that his attempt to gain a second term as president had been thwarted. On Christmas Eve 1800 a Washington, D.C., newspaper, the National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser, published a front-page article showing that two candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, would surely place ahead of Adams. The election of 1800 was eventually decided by balloting in the House of Representatives when Jefferson and Burr became locked in a tie in the electoral college. Despite this cascade of bad news, it is believed that John and Abigail Adams held a small Christmas celebration for a four-year-old granddaughter. And other children of official Washington may have been invited. A week later, Adams began the tradition of holding an open house on New Years Day. That practice continued well into the 20th century.

Bird Watching Tips for Beginners

Bird Watching Tips for Beginners Identifying a bird can be challenging. Birds are active, energetic animals and you need a quick eye to spot as many details as possible in a short span of time. The obstacles are many- the light may be dim, you could have the sun in your eyes, or the bird may dive into a bush. So to stand the best chance of landing a name for a bird, youll want to know what to look for- what matters most and how to spend your precious viewing time. Keep Your Eye on the Bird Photo  © Marc Romanelli / Getty Images. When you spot a bird, dont immediately try to flip through the pages of a field guide to identify it. Every moment of viewing time is precious. Keep your eye fixed on the bird and study it- absorb details of its markings, movements, song, feeding habits, and size. You may want to jot down notes or quickly sketch things that catch your eye. But dont focus too much on your jottings, try to maximize the time you have the bird in view, as this is your time to study it and you dont know how long it will be before the bird dashes off, out of sight. Listen for Calls and Song Listening out for a birds vocalizations is simple but its also easy to forget to do. The odds are, if you dont make a conscious effort to listen, you wont remember the birds song and youll miss out on one of the best bird identification tools there is. The good news is that you can listen to a bird while you look at it- its easy to do both at the same time. Look for bill movements along with the calls you hear, just to ensure youre associating the correct song with the bird youre trying to identify. Estimate General Size and Shape A general picture of the bird, that is its approximate size and shape, will often give you many clues when placing it into the correct family of birds. Therefore, begin with an assessment of the birds overall appearance. What is the approximate size of the bird? Its easiest to estimate size in relation to well know birds. For instance, is the bird youre observing about the size of a sparrow? A robin? A pigeon? A crow? A turkey? Think in terms of silhouettes and try to get an inkling for its general body shape. Does it stand upright and walk with ease, or is it unsteady and awkward on land? Make Note of Facial Markings and Bill Characteristics After determining its general size and shape, then youre ready to start noticing details. Start at the head first. Look for distinctive strips and patches of color including crown stripes, eye lines, nape color, eye arcs or rings. Does it have a black hood on its head? Do its feathers form a crest atop its head? Also note the color and shape of the birds bill. How long is the bill in relation to the birds head? Is it straight or curved, conical or flattened? Look for Wing Bars and Tail Shape Next look for details on the birds body, wings, and tail. Keep an eye out for wing bars, color patches, and markings on the birds body, when it is stationary or in flight. What color is its back and its belly? How long is its tail in relation to the birds body length? How does it hold its tail? Does it have a forked tail or is it square or rounded? Observe Leg Color and Length Now study the birds legs. Does the bird have long legs or short legs? What color are its legs? If you can catch a glimpse of its feet, try and determine if its feet are webbed, or if it has talons. Some birds even have toes that arranged differently than others and if youre fortunate enough to have a close-up view, see how many of its toes point forwards or backwards. Study Movement and Flight Patterns Observe the way the bird walks, how it holds its tail, or how it jumps from branch to branch. If it flies off, watch for a pattern in its flight, does it swoop up and down in gentle arcs with each wingbeat or does it glide gently and steadily? Determine Feeding Habits If you can, try and determine what the bird is eating or how it feeds. Does it cling to a tree t trunk and dig at the bark looking for insects? Or does it forage across your lawn, tilting its head to watch for insects scurrying amongst blades of grass. Does it sway its bill through the water at the edge of a pond? Describe Habitat, Region, and Climate Make note of the habitat in which you have observed the bird. You can do this even after the bird has flown off, so its best to leave this step until last. Did you spot the bird in a wetland or woodland? Are you in an urban setting or a farm field? Each species of bird has a typical region that they inhabit and making note of the region youre in when you observe a bird can narrow the possibilities when you try to identify that bird. Also, birds migrate and species composition in a region changes throughout the seasons, so make note of the time of year (or specific date you observe the bird). Record Your Observations After viewing the bird, jot down your observations for later reference. From markings to behavior, write down anything you noticed, it can all help when you later sit down with a field guide to confirm the birds species. Also, note the location, date, time of day of the siting.

Battle of Fallen Timbers - Northwest Indian War

Battle of Fallen Timbers - Northwest Indian War The Battle of Fallen Timbers was fought August 20, 1794 and was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795). As part of the treaty ending the American Revolution, Great Britain ceded to the new United States the lands over the Appalachian Mountains as far west as the Mississippi River. In Ohio, several Native American tribes came together in 1785, to form the Western Confederacy with the goal of dealing jointly with the United States. The following year, they decided that the Ohio River would serve as the border between their lands and the Americans. In the mid-1780s, the Confederacy began a series of raids south of the Ohio into Kentucky to discourage settlement. Conflict on the Frontier To deal with the threat posed by the Confederacy, President George Washington instructed Brigadier General Josiah Harmar to attack into Shawnee and Miami lands with the goal of destroying the village of Kekionga (present-day Fort Wayne, IN). As the US Army had essentially been disbanded after the American Revolution, Harmar marched west with a small force of regulars and approximately 1,100 militia. Fighting two battles in October 1790, Harmar was defeated by Confederacy warriors led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket. St. Clairs Defeat The following year, another force was dispatched under Major General Arthur St. Clair.  Preparations for the campaign began in early 1791 with the goal of moving north to take the Miami capital of Kekionga. Though Washington advised St. Clair to march during the warmer summer months, incessant supply problems and logistical issues delayed the expeditions departure until October. When St. Clair departed Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati, OH), he possessed around 2,000 men of which only 600 were regulars. Attacked by Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, and  Buckongahelas on November 4, St. Clairs army was routed. In the battle, his command lost 632 killed/captured and 264 wounded. In addition, almost all of the 200 camp followers, many of whom had fought alongside the soldiers, were killed. Of the 920 soldiers who entered the fight, only 24 emerged uninjured. In the victory, Little Turtles force only sustained 21 killed and 40 wounded. With a casualty rate of 97.4%, the Battle of the Wabash marked the worst defeat in the history of the US Army.   Armies Commanders United States Major General Anthony Wayne3,000 men Western Confederacy Blue JacketBuckongahelasLittle Turtle1,500 men Wayne Prepares In 1792, Washington turned to Major General Anthony Wayne and asked him build a force capable of defeating the Confederacy. An aggressive Pennsylvanian, Wayne had repeatedly distinguished himself during the American Revolution. At the suggestion of Secretary of War Henry Knox, the decision was made recruit and train a legion which would combine light and heavy infantry with artillery and cavalry. This concept was approved by Congress which agreed to augment the small standing army for the duration of the conflict with the Native Americans. Moving quickly, Wayne commenced assembling a new force near Ambridge, PA at a camp dubbed Legionville. Realizing that previous forces had lacked training and discipline, Wayne spent much of 1793 drilling and instructing his men.   Titling his army the Legion of the United States, Waynes force consisted of four sub-legions, each commanded by a lieutenant colonel. These contained of two battalions of infantry, a battalion of riflemen/skirmishers, a troop of dragoons, and a battery of artillery. The self-contained structure of the sub-legions meant they could operate effectively on their own.   Moving to Battle In late 1793, Wayne shifted his command down the Ohio to Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati, OH). From here, units moved north as Wayne built a series of forts to protect his supply lines and the settlers in his rear. As Waynes 3,000 men moved north, Little Turtle became concerned about the Confederacys ability to defeat him. Following an exploratory attack near Fort Recovery in June 1794, Little Turtle began to advocate in favor of negotiating with the US. Rebuffed by the Confederacy, Little Turtle ceded complete command to Blue Jacket. Moving to confront Wayne, Blue Jacket assumed a defensive position along the Maumee River near a copse of fallen trees and close to British-held Fort Miami. It was hoped that the fallen trees would slow the advance of Waynes men. The Americans Strike On August 20, 1794, the lead elements of Waynes command came under fire from Confederacy forces.   Quickly assessing the situation, Wayne deployed the his troops with his infantry led by Brigadier General James Wilkinson on the right and Colonel John Hamtramck on the left.   The Legions cavalry guarded the American right while brigade of mounted Kentuckians protected the other wing.   As the terrain appeared to preclude the effective use of cavalry, Wayne ordered his infantry to mount a bayonet attack to flush the enemy from the fallen trees.   This done, they could be effectively dispatched with musket fire. Advancing, the superior discipline of Waynes troops quickly began to tell and the Confederacy was soon forced out of its position. Starting to break, they began to flee the field when the American cavalry, charging over the fallen trees, joined the fray. Routed, the Confederacys warriors fled towards Fort Miami hoping that the British would provide protection. Arriving there found the gates closed as the forts commander did not wish to start a war with the Americans. As the Confederacys men fled, Wayne ordered his troops to burn all of the villages and crops in the area and then withdrawal to Fort Greenville. Aftermath Impact In the fighting at Fallen Timbers, Waynes Legion lost 33 dead and 100 wounded. Reports conflict regarding the Confederacys casualties, with Wayne claiming 30-40 dead on the field to the British Indian Department stating 19. The victory at Fallen Timbers ultimately led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ended the conflict and removed all Confederacy claims to Ohio and the surrounding lands. Among those Confederacy leaders who refused to sign the treaty was Tecumseh, who would renew the conflict ten years later.

Macroeconomics - Economic Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Macroeconomics - Economic Growth - Essay Example Most of the regional developments have been caused by local and international investments. Research has placed China among the top countries with increased industrial developments. Economic leaders have ensured friendly policies so that investors can start businesses in local areas. Finance has also been offered to local investors with business ideas through the sale of bonds by local governments. The regions act as economic blocks where production and trade is regulated (China Central Television 2014). Free trade and a large capital and human resource have contributed to most of the economic developments in China. Industries in these regions range from electronic companies to designer clothing firms. They provide job to locals leading to middle and upper class lifestyles. China’s high population has been advantageous in the provision of local markets (China Central Television 2014). Most of the produced goods are sold locally while the national government invests in exports as a source of income. Reliance on internal sources of raw materials has also enhanced the country’s economic stability because economic meltdowns in other countries do not cause a chain reaction. Despite its high population, presence of skilled labor and investment programs has led to job creations leading to better lifestyles that are a sign of economic development. China Central Television. (2014, May 29). China pursuing coordinated regional economic development - CCTV News - CCTV.com English. China pursuing coordinated regional economic development - CCTV News - CCTV.com English. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from

The Beatles Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Beatles Analysis - Essay Example The band managed to produce many films that include A Hard Day’s Night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine,  Abbey road, and  Let It Be (Neaverson, 1997, p.1). The band had immense  influence on  rock and roll music that saw them to greater commercial success and a controversial change of US global dominance from  rock and roll to UK acts, changes in fashion, from soloists to groups, and from professional  songwriters to self-penned songs (Medhurst, 1995, p 65). In addition, Ringo Starr who was one of the Beatle members left an impact in the film industry. In addition, many tales area also associated with the band. Their unique way of narration, characterization, music, and performance made them legends in this industry. However, the band separated later on in 1970 because of the death of the Beatles' manager, disagreements on his replacement, Brian Epstein in 1967,the marriage of Lennon and Yoko Ono, the release of let it be, and participation of Lennon in the Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival Festival. The remaining members were called The Silver Beatles.† This essay will analyze the A Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine films by the Beatles. A Hard Day's Night The film came out on 10 July 1964, and comprised of seven sound tracks. The Beatles had reasons to be skeptical about appearing in pop musicals and specifically on the A Hard Day's Night. The bands lacked any formal acting experience and hence, were initially not ready to participate in the film. Due to their demeaning confidence in the cast and subsequent profitability of the film, the United Artists' budget for  A Hard Day's Night  was considerably set at a low ?200,000 where the Beatles were to receive ?20,000, and 7% of the net profits. music The soundtrack of the film contained Can't Buy Me Love’, ‘Tell Me Why’, ‘If I Fell’, ‘I Should Have Known Better’, ‘I’m Happy Just to Dance with You’, and â €˜And I Love Her’. A Hard Day's Night became the opening title and its recording took place shortly before the completion of shooting. Indeed, the song came because of the film lacking an original title. As such, the music used especially, A Hard Day's Night develops the stars and film. Actually, Lennon had one evening to write the song and one day to play it to the producer of the film. Due to dangers posed by the railway transport, the cast had to change routes to avoid risky actions of their fans. Characterization shows the character's appearance, displays the character’s actions, reveals the character’s thoughts, lets the character speaks, and, gets the reactions of the audience. The cast of the film took place at various London locations and its recording took place at Twickenham studios in a record eight weeks. The haste involved and the short time limits created a work backlog for the Beatles. The members had a number of commitments that included atten ding awards ceremonies, making appearances on British television, shooting the film, and completing the soundtrack album. Indeed, Lennon took one evening to compose the soundtrack and present it while Lester had to shoot parts of a group sequence without Lennon, who was committed somewhere else. At some point, the information on the film would have leaked as the Beatles travelled by train from locations to studios and other

History of Virginia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Virginia - Essay Example The stay of the Virginia Company in Jamestown was characterized by many ups and downs and it was very difficult for them to establish stable relations with the natives of the region who were the Indians under the command of their leader Powhatan1. When the settlers arrived they were not aware of all the troubles that they were going to face. They did not make a wise decision in choosing their location because it was surrounded by a swampy area and it did not provide them access to proper water and also they did not realize that the area that they had chosen was not occupied by Indians but still they could easily reach there. The settlers did not have a very high opinion of the Indians from the beginning and they thought that they did not deserve any rights because they were uncivilized people with no religion. So even before they had set a firm ground in Jamestown they had no plans of proper negotiations with the Indians. 2The Indians had a different thought about the settlers. They wanted to cooperate with them and in return get access to modern weapons and tools for themselves. The colonists should have realized that to make a good place for themselves they should have availed the opportunity and they should have shaken hands with the Indians and worked in collaboration with them giving the Indians what they needed and taking from them the things required by them. The Indians soon realized that the motive of the settlers was to get hold of their land. As soon as the Indians got to know of their ill plans they started attacking the settlers. Thus the death toll of the colonists rose and within a few moths their number decreased to less than half. Seeing the capabilities of john smith the company made him the next governor after a few months. During the time period when everything was under john smith the relations between the Indians and the colonists took a very good turn. At first when john smith took over he also used oppressive means against the Indians but soon he was advised by Ocanindge who was the Indian presenter to think about the outcome if the Indians would stop working on their fields. He advised him to work in collaboration with the Indians for the betterment of both the communities3. The turning point actually came when John smith and some of his fellows came under the attack of the Indians. In this attack most of the men who accompanied john smith were killed and he was made captive by the Indians. The leader of the Indians who was Powhatan ordered the killing of john smith but he was saved by the leader's daughter Pocahontas and following this event many things changed for the good. The Indians in return for modernized tools from the English provided them with crops and food for them. This did not last for a very long time because in 1609 when the area was hit by harsh winter. The Indians knew about such conditions and they had kept food reserves for themselves. Thus now they became unable to supply the settlers with food and the relations between the two sides became tense again. The settlers used oppressive forces against the Indians and the Indians replied in a similar manner. This continued for a long time. The settlers had stayed there for a very long t

Johnson and Johnson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Johnson and Johnson - Essay Example However, the operation of Johnson and Johnson is guided by its famous credo which is translated in 36 languages around the globe.1 This credo has become the company's guiding light in fulfilling its role to its various stakeholders which include its customers, its employees, its community, and its stockholders. In its quest to satisfy its customers, Johnson and Johnson promises the delivery of high quality products and services and efficient operations to maintain reasonable prices. The company also promises to enable its suppliers and distributors make a good profit from their partnerships. Johnson and Johnson recognizes the huge role carried out by its employees to ensure its success. With this, its credo promises the elimination of discrimination, hazardous working condition and abuse. Instead, the company provides respect, job security, equitable compensation, and opportunities for growth. Johnson and Johnson also encourages its employee to voice their various concerns. The compa ny is also mindful of the externalities it bring to the society where it operates. With this, Johnson and Johnson strive to become a good corporate citizen by supporting charities, paying taxes, and pushing for sustainable development. Lastly, Johnson and Johnson gives credit to its stockholders by ensuring the profitability of its operations (Johnson and Johnson 3). The credo of Johnson and Johnson provides a glimpse of the company's goals and objectives namely profitability, innovation, social responsibility, growth, and leadership. As with any other business organization, Johnson and Johnson's primary goal is the maximization of profit. With this, the company can have the financial muscle to back its operations. At the heart of its goals is the innovation of products which can be released to the public in order to convey greater customer satisfaction. Johnson and Johnson's goal of maintaining sustainable development is fueled by its being a socially responsible business organization. The company also continues to push for growth and market leadership. In order to achieve these goals, Johnson and Johnson has crafted strategies. On the corporate level, the company is seen to utilize its credo to achieve its numerous goals. However, the interdependence within its departments and the diversity of its product line leads to multiple strategies within its divisions. Taken altogether, the company's primary strategy in fulfilling its goal is the creation of high quality medicine, medical equipment, and consumer goods at reasonable prices. In order to market its product efficiently, Johnson and Johnson creates an excellent brand image by actively taking part in socially responsible programs and activities. It can also be seen that one of its main strategies is the acquisition of small companies which have embarked on promising new products. The company's broad product lines and growth has been the result of numerous acquisitions. However, it can also be seen that the business organization is slowly coming to grips with the reality that thi s strategy is unsustainable in the long run and that it needs to develop new products. Johnson and Johnson is comprised of three main divisions-Pharmaceuticals, Devices and Diagnostics, and Consumer Goods (Johnson and Joh

Legality of professional boxing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Legality of professional boxing - Essay Example Key focus is laid on professional boxing, with the current set of safety measures placed in consideration. The paper will source t support from future litigation involving the complaints associated to the brutal nature of the sport. Various sporting events source contrivances over their legality, and the ethical attributions accorded unto them. Boxing is amongst the most controversial sporting events in the history of recreation. The sport involves the utilization of fists over the opponent in a scenario akin to a fight. The difference between the two is the restrictions and the rules invoked in boxing. Additionally, boxing involves the utilization of officiating officers who oversees its success. However, the rest of the aspects of boxing may be confused to those of a fight with ease. There exists a sense of bad blood between rivals, a factor that fuels the energy witnessed in a match. Professional boxing, commonly referred to as PRO boxing has attracted an increased number of inter ests from the legal dimensions. This focuses on both its legality and the safety of the participants. However, prior to examining these interests, it is vital to examine the opinions shared by other partisans over the matter. This is because legal concerns are built from such interests. On this regard, the art of boxing invokes considerable number of support, as well as loathers in almost equal proportions. There are various reasons that explain this development. Amongst them is the central purpose of any sporting event. Analysis Sports are meant for recreation based effects, as well as physical fitness.1 While viewed from that dimension, boxing promotes this understanding via all of its aspects. The participants engage into rounds of action that help them keep fit. On the other hand, the fans utilize the moment for their recreation gains by enjoying each occasion. Under professional settings, the boxers enjoy earnings in as a supplement to their performance. PRO boxing is a real ca reer that can see the participants lead a successful life. The earnings coupled to the fights make the boxers adjust their lifestyles to a flamboyant one, while still boasting of fans under their names. Their determination that sees them several rounds of senseless thumbing may be echoed as a source of motivation to the respective fans. Boxers can thus be viewed as outstanding role models to the society. This, while coupled with their fame in the ring, assists to elevate their legacy in the glimmer of their fans, as well as the general public. Subsequently, boxing as a profession offers wide opportunities to make global tours. This can be utilized in funding other campaigns that steers towards unifying the community and eliminating various vices that affect certain communities. Some boxing tournaments may be established in support of certain ambitions for the welfare of the marginalized. This helps unite communities, as well as upraise the marginalized communities. Another vital con sideration in the field of boxing is the self will deployed in the acquisition of pugilists.2 This reflects on the understanding that the boxers are recruited into a combat by their own free will. The legal restrictions accorded to this process only focus on the age of the recruit. This is in accordance to the specification of the responsible country of citizenship. In a majority of the cases, eighteen is the ultimate age upon

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Business Law - Essay Example This can be done through the name and address certification of the agent who is resident in the state. The company can also certify the name, address of the agent in the state, and acquire a certification of satisfactory standing from the concerned state or county where the business s set up. The advantage of using a branch is that there are no legal formalities associated with setting up a business and the only requirement is the qualifications to carry on business. A disadvantage of this approach is that, in case of liabilities by the activities of the branch office, the exposure of the assets of the parent company to such liabilities is not avoidable. A foreign company can also use a subsidiary in the U.S to carry on its business and carry on its operations. The subsidiary must be organized through the relevant legislation of the state the subsidiary operates in. The major advantage of operating through a subsidiary is that, in case of a liability, only the assets of the subsidiar y are at risk and not the parent foreign company assets. The other advantage of a subsidiary is that the formation of a subsidiary in the U.S enables the clarification of the portion of income subjected to either foreign or U.s taxation. The use of a subsidiary also limits the liability of the shareholders, directors and officers of the corporation in terms of liability in terms of the debts of the corporation. It is more convenient to use a subsidiary than to open a branch of the company as most benefits and advantages lie in the use of a subsidiary. The employing of the new federal imposed tax on branch profits brings to an equal level the branches amount of tax and that of the subsidiaries. The taxation works in limiting the advantage of branch tax liability as compared to subsidiaries. Partnership with a local firm The other form of entry of the company into the U.S market is by entering into a partnership with a U.S based company. This is a situation where there is a contemplat ion of a joint venture in a situation. In this case, the foreign company enters into a relationship with a company already located in the U.S where they share resources. The entry into a partnership done by the foreign company by contributing capital with the US based company to a newly formed corporation in order to obtain a subsidiary. The other form of partnership is where the foreign company can enter into a general partnership with the U.S based company and carry on business in common. The partnership is subject to various legal and taxation rules as per the relevant state statutes. Procedure of forming an entity The formation and the running of a business enterprise in the United States require compliance of a number of various registration standards. The basic requirement is that the company must comply with the rules of the registration and regulating authorities. Employment issues Foreign companies and their subsidiaries doing business in the U.S should comply with the empl oyment and labor laws of the United States. In some situations, the foreign parent companies become liable for omissions or actions of the subsidiary companies operating in the United States. The labor laws in the United States are more comprehensive and pose some technicality in operation especially if a foreign employer does not understand the laws. The dangers associated with non-compliance of these laws include

Legality of professional boxing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Legality of professional boxing - Essay Example Key focus is laid on professional boxing, with the current set of safety measures placed in consideration. The paper will source t support from future litigation involving the complaints associated to the brutal nature of the sport. Various sporting events source contrivances over their legality, and the ethical attributions accorded unto them. Boxing is amongst the most controversial sporting events in the history of recreation. The sport involves the utilization of fists over the opponent in a scenario akin to a fight. The difference between the two is the restrictions and the rules invoked in boxing. Additionally, boxing involves the utilization of officiating officers who oversees its success. However, the rest of the aspects of boxing may be confused to those of a fight with ease. There exists a sense of bad blood between rivals, a factor that fuels the energy witnessed in a match. Professional boxing, commonly referred to as PRO boxing has attracted an increased number of inter ests from the legal dimensions. This focuses on both its legality and the safety of the participants. However, prior to examining these interests, it is vital to examine the opinions shared by other partisans over the matter. This is because legal concerns are built from such interests. On this regard, the art of boxing invokes considerable number of support, as well as loathers in almost equal proportions. There are various reasons that explain this development. Amongst them is the central purpose of any sporting event. Analysis Sports are meant for recreation based effects, as well as physical fitness.1 While viewed from that dimension, boxing promotes this understanding via all of its aspects. The participants engage into rounds of action that help them keep fit. On the other hand, the fans utilize the moment for their recreation gains by enjoying each occasion. Under professional settings, the boxers enjoy earnings in as a supplement to their performance. PRO boxing is a real ca reer that can see the participants lead a successful life. The earnings coupled to the fights make the boxers adjust their lifestyles to a flamboyant one, while still boasting of fans under their names. Their determination that sees them several rounds of senseless thumbing may be echoed as a source of motivation to the respective fans. Boxers can thus be viewed as outstanding role models to the society. This, while coupled with their fame in the ring, assists to elevate their legacy in the glimmer of their fans, as well as the general public. Subsequently, boxing as a profession offers wide opportunities to make global tours. This can be utilized in funding other campaigns that steers towards unifying the community and eliminating various vices that affect certain communities. Some boxing tournaments may be established in support of certain ambitions for the welfare of the marginalized. This helps unite communities, as well as upraise the marginalized communities. Another vital con sideration in the field of boxing is the self will deployed in the acquisition of pugilists.2 This reflects on the understanding that the boxers are recruited into a combat by their own free will. The legal restrictions accorded to this process only focus on the age of the recruit. This is in accordance to the specification of the responsible country of citizenship. In a majority of the cases, eighteen is the ultimate age upon

Not deciding yet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Not deciding yet - Essay Example In other words, we can also say that the gradual increase in the minimum wage rate will show relatively negative values of the employment rate in the US labor market. The maximum wage rate will result into the highest negative value of the employment rate. These statistics are shown in the research study conducted by the Federal Department, which was conducted to check the implications of the proposal of increase in the minimum wage rate maximum up to $ 9 – 10 / hour. In case of a perfect competition in the market among different firms, all the resources are equally available to all the possible market players. The firms are facing a neck-to-neck competition between each other competitive firm. In this situation, every decision should be taken very carefully because the firm managers will have to compete with many other game players also. Therefore, according to my opinion an increase in the minimum wage rate in case of a perfect competitive market will cause a decrease in the employment rate of that particular labor market. Because if any State or Government is increasing the wage rates then firms or the employers still have other options available to hire the cheap labor from where it is available. In case of a monopolistic competition, all the firms have individual products and services; they are not competing directly with each other just because of the reason that their products are not exactly substitute to each other. In case of a monopoli stic competitive market, the increase the minimum wage rate may also cause an increase in the employment rate just because of the reason that every firm will require certain skills and expertise for their production. They cannot hire any available labor if they are cheap as compare to the home market. The products and services of the firms are not similar to each other therefore; there will be certain set of skills, which is required by any manager of the firm. Therefore, we can predict that in case of a

Advert Review Skoda Fabia Essay Example for Free

Advert Review Skoda Fabia Essay The Skoda Fabia vRS isn’t like a fruit cake at all. It’s just plain evil! Skoda’s cars have been considered cheap claptrap for years. If I asked anyone old enough to have an opinion they would answer â€Å"useless pile of junk† or â€Å"Eastern European unreliability†. Skoda, wanting to give themselves a new image came up with the â€Å"Cake† ad. With the tagline â€Å"Made of Lovely Stuff† they were obviously trying to rebrand their product, to say their cars were made of good quality materials with love and attention. Skoda’s famous cake advert would have you believe the Skoda Fabia is made of chocolately goodness and gluttonous cake; think Willy Wonka’s birthday cake. Skoda has now made the sequel, and it is not cakey, nor chocolately. To show just how tough the Fabia vRS is the new advert shows a group of utter nutters lovingly biting, punching and rattling the hot Fabia. Skoda is currently enjoying its best year on record; and obviously the company wants to build on the momentum by launching a new TV campaign for the Fabia vRS hot hatchback. Skoda decided to follow in other companies footsteps and create a tongue in cheek parody of their product. The new ad, which is meant to show the darker side of the 180-horsepower-strong hatchback, features the Made from Meaner Stuff tagline. Following a similar format to the Fabia ‘Cake’ advert, the new ‘meaner’ vRS campaign now adopts a much darker feel. Set in a secret location within the Skoda factory, the liquorice, treacle and jelly vehicle components of cake make way for a bone chassis, a snake-powered engine and some unorthodox finishing techniques. The recent ad appeals to a new audience compared to the earlier cake ad. It is aimed at a younger male audience. Hot-hatchbacks, such as this, are perfect for a younger male car owner as they are practical for driving with your mates and are also fast and fun to drive. It has been turbocharged and supercharged to produce a smidgen under 180 horsepower giving it a top speed of 139 miles an hour (good for a â€Å"Skoda†). The Fabia comes with sports suspension so is quick and less floppy in the corners than the standard version. All this adds up to it being altogether fun to drive and go fast in. The ad also accentuates the â€Å"meanness† of the car with humorous and strange materials used for creating the car. The engine is made of snakes and runs on snake venom. The chassis is made out of a skull. The alloys are cast from samurai swords. All this adds up to equal â€Å"MEAN†. The man biting the door into shape reminds us of Jaws from the Bond movies. While the crossbow that ends up being the windscreen wiper which is extremely crazy. The song in both ads is â€Å"These are some of my Favourite Things† however while in the cake ad it is the original version with Julia Andrews. In the â€Å"Made of Meaner Stuff† ad it is a heavy rock version by The Amatory Murder. While it may appeal to a younger male audience, this ad may not appeal to an older audience because of the mean nature of the ad and older people are generally more precautious so wouldn’t want a sports car. This would lose Skoda a large proportion of the market however that audience wouldn’t be likely to buy a souped up hot-hatchback anyway. This means they didn’t actually lose much of the potential market anyway. And the older female audience would be more interested in the normal Fabia which Skoda advertised with the Cake ad, which incidentally increased their profits to their best year on record. Overall the ad is successful and memorable with a clear and excellent â€Å"unique selling point†. It creates a mean and crazy impression of the car that I’m sure would convince many a young adult to buy the Skoda Fabia vRS instead of say a Ford Fiesta ST or Golf GTi. Skoda will surely succeeded in putting out there that they make â€Å"exceedingly good† cars.

Concept And Definition Of Hrp Business Essay

Concept And Definition Of Hrp Business Essay It is very natural that, the continual positive development of any business owe to its effective planning. Making all the necessary preparations and appropriate arrangements proactively basing upon what is expected to happen in future and performing a series of tasks and activities accordingly in a systematic and organized way is one of the important functions of management, which necessitates an effective and proactive planning process. Proper planning and designing an effective organizational structure by assigning an assortment of responsibilities to the concerned employees may help the business organizations to accomplish their set of objectives. Putting the right person at the right place and at the right time is essentially much important to any business as it comprises of a wide and comprehensive range of activities in relation to the management of man. Manpower power planning, not only focuses on the effective utilization of existing human elements but also concern in fulfill ing future manpower need of the organizations at the time of need. Man power planning is the process of determining manpower needs and the means and ways to meet those needs in order to carry out the integrated organizational plan. It is very much indispensable for any organization to perform the activities efficiently and to produce desired results. It is an apparently well known fact that, the success of any business highly rest upon the competent people that a business organization posses. Man power planning is considered as crucial functions of human resource management. It gives due importance to the human element than that of material elements and strive to manage and maintain the good will of a business. It endeavours to add to the organizational development and success of the business with due recognition of knowledge, skills, competence, experiences, expertise and talent of the employees. Effective recruitment and selection process follows an effective manpower planning process in fulfilling future manpower need as and when needed by the organisation. That necessitates manpower planning process and put lot of significance to it. At the same time, it contributes significantly to the achievement of organizational objectives by avoiding overstaffing and understaffing. However, although the notion of Human Resource Planning is well established in the HRM vocabulary, in practice, it does not seem to be as key HR activity. Need for man power planning is continuously driven by many of the factors in the organizations. It is essential when labour turnover is to be determined. There are situations that compel to replace older employees, disabled personnel and people whose medical conditions cause disturbances to usual functioning of the organisation. While executing effectively, man power planning process entails analyzing the requirements of present and future vacancies. These situations usually take place at the time of retirements, transfer of employees or they are upgraded due to promotion. Similarly, manpower planning is inevitable to deal with the situations that arise at the time, when employees avail their leaves or in case of their absences. In order to carry out the assigned task in a planned or intended way business organizations need personnel having necessary qualifications and experience which can be accomplished optimally through a effective man power planning process. Manpower planning is of great importance in identifying the surplus and shortages of the employees. In case of surplus, the man power may be redeployed from one area or activity to another in case of the former, whereas shortages demand providing required personnel. Man power demand forecasting, manpower supply forecasting and manpower audit are some of the important tasks concerning the process of manpower planning. Manpower demand involves estimating total man power requirements and planning accordingly. Then, the next step in manpower planning process is man power supply forecasting. It comprises of both internal supply forecasting and external supply forecasting. Internal supply forecasting works when the employees are transferred or promoted, while the need of external supply arises from the requirement of new workers when a business expands or there is change in technology or adopts new methods of production. In addition to that the process entails man power audit. Manpower audit is carried out through Skills inventory. It provides detail information about each employee. The overall value of an employee in an organization is also determined through skills inventory. For the sustenance of the key workers, man power audit analyses the factor s that compels and propels the employees to leave the current jobs and move elsewhere. As a result of which necessary measures may be taken to curb the rate of turnover in the context maximum utilization of Human Resources. Manpower planning is significant for the best interest of employees as well as for organization. While implementing appropriate selection procedures for the right candidates, Human resource planning undertakes proper recruitment methods and thereby preserves the individual talents of the employees. It focuses on assessing the requirement and the arrangement of training and development programs for the employees in order to equip them with the prerequisites of job. Manpower planning also focuses on the promotion procedures for competent people who can be entrusted with the challenges of advanced tasks. The inefficiencies of the employees are also identified by means of manpower planning process. So that necessary training may be provided leading towards improving employee morale. In this way the manpower planning process improves productivity and efficiency of the employees and their performance may be more effective and they can contribute optimally to the total organizational develo pment. Above all, the success of any business revolves round the quantity and quality of human resources of that particular organisation. CONCEPT AND DEFINITION OF HRP HRP is supposed to be an integral part of total organizational planning. The Human Resource Planning includes managerial activities that contribute to set the companys future objectives .It also determines appropriate means and ways for achieving those objectives. Where as organizational planning facilitates the realization of the companys future objectives and determines appropriate means for achieving those objectives. HRP is a systematic effort that comprises of three key elements: Workforce forecast Manpower assessment Staffing programme According to Leon C. Megginson, Human Resource Planning is an integrated approach to perform the planning aspects of the personnel function. It ensures sufficient supply of adequately developed and motivated workforce to perform the required duties and tasks to meet organizations objectives by satisfying the individual needs and goals of organizational members. Stainer defines manpower planning as a strategy for the acquisition, utilization, improvement, and preservation of human resources of an enterprise. It is a way of dealing with people in a dynamic situation. It relates to establishing job specifications or the qualitative requirements of job determining the number of personnel required and developing sources of supply of manpower. Human resource planning determines the determinants of changing job requirement. Technological advancement that requires introduction of new equipment, product, and process and invariably resulting in changes in jobs and job structure in an organization can be dealt with proper manpower planning. It is therefore, manpower planning is essential for the organization to meet the demands of future job requirements in order to survive and remain competitive. Otherwise, the organizations experiencing the effect of rapid technological change will face the shortages of skilled employees in the absence of effective human resource planning. HRP can be defined as the task of assessing and anticipating the skill, knowledge and labour time requirements of the organization and initiating necessary action to fulfil those requirements. If the organization is declining, it may need a reduction plan or redeploys its existing labour force. On the other hand, if it is growing or diversifying, it requires finding and tapping suitable sources of skilled labour. According to Coleman HR planning is The process of determining manpower requirements and the means for meeting those requirements to carry out the integrated plan of the organization. Manpower planning is the Strategy for acquisition, utilization, improvement and preservation of an enterprises Human Resources. It is the process by which management determines the path for the organization to move from its current manpower position to its desired manpower position in order to carry out integrated plan of the organization. Vetter (1967) defines Human Resource Planning as the process by which management determines how the organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kind of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing right things resulting in maximum long-run benefits both for the organization and for the individual. Human resource planning takes place within the broad framework of organizational and strategic business planning. It involves forecasting the organizations future human resource needs and planning accordingly to meet those needs. It also includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing HR programs like staffing, appraising, compensating, and providing training in order to ensure that people with the appropriate skills are available as and when the organization needs them. It may also include developing and implementing programs to improve employee performance or to increase employee satisfaction and involvement in order to boost organizational productivity, quality, or innovation (Mills, 1985b). Finally, human resource planning includes gathering data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing planning programs which will be useful for the planners when revisions in their forecasts and programs are needed. Human resource planning is the process of systematically reviewing human resource requirements to ensure that the required numbers of employees with requisite skills are available at the time of need. Human resource planning encompasses four elements: Quantity: No of employees Quality : Required, skills, knowledge and abilities Space: for which department, unit and level Time: at which point of time and how long Nature and Scope of HRP HRP includes identifying both present and future needs of various types of employees in an organisation, comparing these needs with the present workforce, and determining the numbers and types of employees to be recruited. Persons can be recruited and selected from outside the organisation or selected out of the organisations potential group and fit them into the organisational set up to get the best out of them. While extracting the best out of the employees, the organisation has also a responsibility to protect the interests of employees in terms of their career prospects, adequate compensation for their work, providing the best work environment and developing a culture of interpersonal, intrapersonal, employee-employer relationship and introduce a sense of quality consciousness within everyone to produce the best. Leading Features of HRP The leading features of HRPs are listed below. It is systematic in approach. It ensures a continuous and proper staffing. It checks on occupational imbalances i.e shortages or surplus occurring in any of the department of the organization. There is a certain degree of flexibility, which is meant for modifications and alterations in accordance with the needs of the organization or to adopt with the changing circumstances. Manpower plans can be done both at micro and at the macro levels. Thus, HRP is a kind of risk management tool. It involves realistically appraising the present human resources and anticipating the future need as far as possible in order to get the right people into right jobs at the right time. Underlying Factors of HRP Undoubtedly, there are a lot many factors that contribute for the increased attention towards human resource planning. Again, environmental forces like globalization, new technologies, economic conditions, and changing characterstics of work forces create complexity and add uncertainty for organizations. Therefore, organizations typically attempt to reduce the interference of uncertainty. While attempting so, formal planning is considered as one common tactic used by organizations to buffer themselves from environmental uncertainty (Thompson, 1967). Manpower Planning vs Human Resource Planning Manpower planning or HR planning both can be used interchangeably. HR planning is more broad-based. Human Resources planning refer to planning conducted for all aspects of Human Resources. It takes care of training, employee safety, recruitment, manning levels, Performance Management and so on. But manpower planning basically tends to revolve predominantly around numbers. The number of people required to perform efficiently and productively in order to produce the best results with minimum cost is known as manpower planning. However, these concepts are always evolving and are variously called as manpower planning, personnel planning or employment planning and human resource planning. Levels of HRP Human resource planning is done at various levels. The purpose of manpower planning determines its level. However, broadly level of manpower planning falls in the following categories. National Level: At National level, government of India undertake macro human resource plans for the entire country by anticipating the demand for and supply of human requirements at the national level. Sectoral Level: Along with central government various state governments of the country also plan human resource requirements for different sectors of the economy. Sectoral level manpower planning endeavours to cater the needs of manpower requirements of some particular sectors like Agriculture Sector, Industrial Sector and Service Sector. Industry Level: To cater to the manpower needs of a particular industry such as Engineering and Heavy Industries, Paper Industries, and Consumer Goods Industries, Public Utility Industries, Textile, Cement/Chemical Industries and so on and so forth industry level manpower planning is done. Unit/ Departmental Level: To take care the manpower needs of a particular department in a company such as Marketing Department, Production Department, Finance Department, etc unit or department level manpower planning is conducted. Job Level: Man power planning at job level fulfils the human resource requirements of a particular job family within a department. For example, the requirement of number of sales executives in the marketing department or customer care people in customer care department is done by planning at the level of Job. Periods of HRP Short -Term Human Resource Planning: Short term Human resource planning primarily focuses on designing and implementing the activities like recruitment, selection systems, and training programs to serve short-term organizational needs. Generally such activities involve an element of planning that is future-oriented to some extent. Short-term human resource planning is done to achieve long term objectives of the organisation. Long-Term Human Resource Planning: Increasingly, long-term human resource planning is done minimum for the period of three years or sometimes beyond that. Long term human resource planning is critical for the effective functioning of organizations. The rapidly changing world and highly competitive marketplace is causing firms to turn their focus on human resources for survival and competitiveness. Effective long-term human resource planning demands integration of the skills and knowledge of the manpower planner and all other executives who are responsible for strategic planning. Intermediate -Term Human Resource Planning: Human resource planning is a risk averting tool and buffer organizations from future uncertainty. Since, human resource programs such as recruitment, selection, training, and motivation of employees ensures availability of required number of people with appropriate skills at all levels in the organizations and thereby it help to reduce uncertainty. Short term human resource planning is associated with very little uncertainty about which skills and how many people will be needed. For which it is relatively easy to predict supply. However, due to rapid, turbulent and ongoing changes in todays business environment, it is difficult to anticipate future by simply projecting past trends. When the focus of planning shifts from short term to intermediate term, what is the requirement of an organisation becomes dominant problem so also the uncertainty related to the question of availability. As a result of which more technical attention is required to be given to the problem of forecasting. To minimise the uncertainty in intermediate term human resource planning, interaction between the human resource planner and line managers is even more critical for making accurate demand and supply forecasts. PURPOSE, NEED AND OBJECTIVE OF HRP Purposes of HRP   The primary function of Personnel planning is to analyze and evaluate the available human resources within the organization. It also determines how to obtain the kinds of needed personnel to staff various organisational positions starting from assembly line workers to chief executives.   Smaller companies have assigned the function of HR planning to the human resource department or personnel department. Larger corporations have separate departments for this function.  Personnel planning aims at minimisation of waste in employing people, lessen uncertainty of current personnel levels and future needs, and eliminate mistakes in staffing pattern.   The purpose of Human Resource Planning aims at maintaining the required level of skill by avoiding workforce skill shortages, stopping the profit-eroding effects of being overstaffed or understaffed, preparing succession plans and shaping the optimum future work force composition by hiring the right skill in appropriate numbers. Need of HRP Manpower Planning is basically a two-phased process. It analyses the current human resources, makes manpower forecasts and thereby draw employment programmes. Manpower Planning serves organisational purpose in many ways. It ensures optimum use of manpower and capitalizes on the strength of organisations Human Resources. Talent reservoir of an organisation is maintained at any point of time. The assigned tasks can be carried out easily if people skills are readily available. All these things can be possible with the help of effective HR Planning that provide information beforehand. To forecast future requirements and provides control measures: Although planning is considered as the essential process of management, HRP becomes especially critical when organizations go for mergers, relocation of plants, downsizing, right sizing or at time of closing of operating facilities. For example, expansion of scale of operations of any business requires advance planning that can ensure a continuous supply of people with appropriate skill set who can handle the challenges of the jobs easily. To face the challenges: Human resource planning helps the business to encounter the challenges that occur due to turbulent and hostile environmental forces like technology, social, economic and political factors. To adopt with technological changes: The change in technology in production, marketing methods and management techniques have been very extensive and rapid. It has profound effect both on job contents and job contexts. These changes may cause problems relating to redundancies, demand for retraining and redeployment, In order to cope with these changes, organisations need systematic manpower planning. To face Organizational Changes: The nature and pace of changes in organizational environment marked by cyclical fluctuations and discontinuities and the changes in activities and structures affect manpower positions of the organisation and require strategic considerations which necessitate perfect HR Planning. To determine recruitment/induction levels: A readily available HR plan can provide fairly good ideas about the kind of people are recruited and at what position. This will help in determining the kind of induction the organization require and thus can help to plan induction level successfully. To determine training level: Human Resource Planning helps in determining training levels in an organisation and lays foundation for management development programmes. To know the cost of manpower: In cases of expansions or opening up a new factory or if there is a new project organisation would require more number of human resources of different skill set. In those cases, Human Resource Planning helps in estimating the manpower cost. Hence a proper budgetary allocation can be made well in advance for this type of upcoming corporate strategic move. To assist in productivity bargaining: In case of automation, Human Resource Planning Data helps in negotiating for lesser workers as required for the same amount of the job. The organisation can offer higher incentives to smoothen the process of VRS, voluntary layoffs and so on. To assess physical facilities: Physical facilities such as accommodation ,canteen, school, medical help, etc. can also be planned well in advance, because a good HRP can assist in solving many problems of the firm, from day to day ones to very strategic ones. Moreover, Human Resource Planning helps in maintaining the stability of a concern preventing it to incur several intangible costs due to inadequate, improper or lack of HRP. For example, inadequate HRP may cause unfilled vacancies and the resulting loss in efficiency cost a lot to the organisation, particularly when the lead-time is required to train replacements. There are also situations in which employees are laid off in one department on the other hand applicants are hired for similar jobs in another department due to absence of proper HRP. There may be situation of over hiring resulting in the need to lay off effective employees. These are the variety of factors which necessitate Human Resource Planning in an organisation for optimum utilisation of Human Resources. Objectives of HRP The objective of human resource planning is to ensure the best fit between employees and jobs, while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. Human resource planning is a sub-system of the total organizational planning. It constitutes an integral part of corporate plan and serves the very purpose of organization in many ways. The primary purpose of human resource planning is to prepare for the future by reducing organizational uncertainty in relation to the acquisition, placement, and development of employees .Human resources planning is done to achieve the optimum use of human resources and to have the right types and correct number of employees to meet organizational goals. Objectives of Human Resource Planning are: Achieve Goal: Human Resource Planning helps in achieving individual, Organizational National goals. Since Human resource planning is linked with career planning, it can able to achieve individual goal while achieving organisational and national goal. Estimates future organizational structure and Manpower Requirements: Human Resource Planning is related with number of Personnel required for the future, job-family, age distribution of employees, qualification desired experience, salary range etc and thereby determines future organisation structure. Human Resource Audit: Human resource planning process is comprised of estimating the future needs and determining the present supply of Manpower Resources. Manpower supply analysis is done through skills inventory. This helps in preventing overstaffing as well as understaffing. Job Analysis: The process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job is called Job analysis. Job analysis is comprised of job description and job specification. Job description describes the duties and responsibilities of a particular job in an organized factual way. Job specification specifies minimum acceptable human qualities necessary to perform a particular job properly. Other objectives of HRP are as follows: To link human resource planning with organizational planning. To ensure optimum, planned use of currently employees. To forecast future skill requirements. To provide control measures in order to ensure that necessary resources are made available as and when required. To anticipate redundancies and avoid unnecessary dismissals. To provide a basis for management development programmes. To deploy the manpower in upcoming new projects. To enable the organization to identify trouble spots. To study the cost of overheads. To decide whether certain activities need to be subcontracted. To achieve more effective and efficient use of human resources. To better recruit employees having the necessary skills and competences. To determine optimum training levels. To obtain fairly satisfied and developed workforce. To facilitate the roll-out of strategic plans and missions. To achieve more effective and equal opportunity planning. To relieve the organization of unnecessary and unneeded labour. Human resources planning are human resource administration, quite similar to that of financial planning. But unlike financial planning, there are very few organizations that engage in any form of explicit human resource planning. However, if properly used, human resources planning can increase the prospects of an organizations management and of its resources by better coping with dynamic situations. Human resource planning aims at maintaining and improving the organizations ability to attain the goals by developing strategies, purporting to magnify the contribution of human resources. Objectives of HR planning are to ensure availability of the HR needs of the organization at specified times in the future. It is a systematic approach to help the organization to reach at its business objectives. TRENDS AND BEHAVIOURAL FACTORS ON HRP Trends That Impact HRP   A Personnel planner seeking to study the trends in Human Resource planning should include the following variables:   The state of the economy of the organisation: The spectrum of economic activity of the organisation which largely depends upon the companys sphere of operations is a crucial factor that is to be considered while doing HRP.     Demographics: The present and future age and sex composition, literacy level of the population of the organisation affect HRP.   Employee losses or turnover: The retirements, deaths, promotions and resignation affect the current number of individuals employed at every level.   New skill requirements:  Obsolescence of current skills and its effects along with what new skills will be needed due to new technology markets or products affect HRP.   The availability of materials: The status of the availability of material and direction of materials prices is also considered while doing HRP.    Technological changes: Rate of change of technology along with technology adoption by the organisation affects manpower planning.   Social changes: Effect of up gradation of educational backgrounds of the people in a given society and the willingness of people to take lower level jobs affect manpower planning.   Labour costs: The direction in which the labour cost move is given due consideration while doing human resource planning. Behavioural Factors on HRP Behaviour can be defined as the observable and measurable activity of human beings. Activity of human beings under this category shows a great variety. It may include anything like decision making, a mental processor, handling a machine, a physical process. Behavioural factors of HRP include: 1. Understanding Human Behaviour 2. Controlling and directing Behaviour 3. Organisation Adaptation 1. Understanding Human Behaviour: Understanding human behaviour in the organisation encompasses the following elements. (i) Individual Behaviour: It is known as first behaviour of people and provides means for analyzing why and how an Individual behaves in a particular way. (ii) Interpersonal Behaviour: It provides means for understanding the interpersonal relationship in the organization. Analysis of reciprocal relationship, role analysis, transactional analysis falls under the umbrella of interpersonal behaviour. (iii) Group Behaviour: Group behaviour comprises of group norms, cohesion, goals, procedures, communication, and leadership. (iv) Intergroup relationship: Intergroup relationships are in the form of intergroup cooperation and intergroup co-ordination. 2. Controlling and directing behaviour: these are the different factors that need to be taken care of in while controlling and directing people behaviour at workplaces. (i) Organisational Climate: it refers to total organizational situations affecting human behaviour i.e how people of an organisation interact with each other at workplace. (ii) Communication:-free flow of both way communications is inevitable in order to control and direct human behaviour because, it is through communication people come in contact with each others. (iii) Leadership: leadership style is also very much crucial and plays vital role in order to control and direct peoples behaviour at workplace. (iv) Employee empowerment: It refers to the degree of autonomy provided to people of an organisation so that they can take certain decision on their own without waiting for the supervisor to direct and may be utilized in many ways. 3. Organisation Adaptation: Organisations have to adapt themselves to the environment changes by making suitable internal arrangements like Management of Change. INFORMATION FOR HRP Information that forms the basis of Human Resource Planning include statistics of past years data on all aspect of Human Resource programmes. It includes turnover data, recruitment costs, staff numbers both actual and forecasted, budgetary information, safety statistics, and performance appraisal statistics and so on and so forth. Basically, information is gathered taking into consideration of any objective for the year. For example, if organisations seek to reduce turnover, which thereby reduces recruitment and selection costs, need to focus man power plan on retention strategies. To strategise the retention strategies the organisation may go for benchmarking from other successful companies, may seek industry information, take the help of Human Resources Institutes and so on and so forth. After getting information and ways and me