Cyclermate Report Essay Example for Free

Cyclermate Report Essay I. An executive summary Dai Armstrong and Lewis Llewellyn are the two men who planned to open their own company after being superfluous due to the shutting down of the steel plants in their town of South Wales were Dai Armstrong and Lewis Llewellyn. They became good friends because of taking part in the local club of cycle touring together and decided to start Cyclermate, which was a bicycle manufacturing company that was laid down in the year 1988. In the beginning of time, Cyclermate gained a huge influence over the share of the market. The company appeared well with no problems and difficulties up to 2010, the time when the business is in trouble, it confronted lots of consequences with respect to operation human resource and finance. Therefore, the demand by purchasers fell continue sadly even though the prices were cut down by the company; the distinguishing attributes of the goods were not up to the quality as they were earlier. The rising complaints from the customers regarding degrading quality and faults in the product and the concern by the bank manager regarding the overdraft could cause trouble if the problems are not solved as soon as possible. Because of that, the company requires a right way to deal with this issue and save it from the edge of going bankrupt. II. Introduction Based on case study research in Cyclermate Ltd. and a series of case in community, this report will work out the financial problems and various other problems confronted by Cyclermate. It has been designed to analysis the business environment and management, measured by SWOT and PET models that are required to be looked upon. The report also draws on a brief summary for the financial side of the business. In addition, this report takes into account an examination of difficulties confronted by Cyclermate and possible solution for the problems, included short and long term solutions. Another function of this report is to examine how the company could get out of the crisis and get back to the current market share. Finally, the report brings us some recommendations and conclusion of the whole Cyclermate case study. III. Analysis of Business Environment 1. PEST Analysis PEST analysis is involved in the chief external environmental that effect or control considerably a business strategy. As we can see, PEST is aimed for Political, Economic, Social and Technological matters that can affect the business. PEST is recognized to persuade it in a utile manner of summarizing the external environment. However, it may be adopted the ability of how an establishment should react to these factors. Political Factor A political factor has a powerful impact on income tax, labor law, trade restriction and many more. Company did not recruit enough workers to meet the targets and worker had to work overtime to get the work done and workers are getting paid at normal rate. Using a traditional method may harm workers health and decreased their productivity as well. These mistakes made Cyclermate become a target of health and safety agencies. They have to improve the quality or else they can be stuck in authorized issues. On the  other hand, they also need to achieve higher standard in manufacturing to meet requirements of the market, especially foreign markets. Economic Factor Cyclermate had purchased a larger storehouse for goods, which indeed was essential to them but did not suffice their requirements. Purchasing a warehouse, which fulfilled the needs of the company, could have saved a lot of money and that same money could have used in new or currently in existence projects. Another factor in economics that affects to the development of Cyclermate Ltd is labor. The unemployment rate is increasing, therefore, this is a good chance for this company to choose worker more easily, and employ them easily with affordable price. Social Factor Social factor has a powerful impact on human behavior, Cyclermate had many order but they did not have enough workforce to complete these orders. They have to work long hours in order to achieve their goals. One more important thing is that high-speed innovation as well as the increasing demands of consumers requires Cyclermate to change and improve every day. But there is a truly infact that living standard of clients could effect to their choices. The higher income distribution they get, the higher demands they re Technological Factor Cyclermate Ltd is using the oldest way to advertise their products by posting advertisement in traditional newspapers. It has limited their goods to the customers. Instead, this company can set up its own website. In addition, Cyclermate Ltd is using the oldest way to advertise their products by posting advertisement in traditional newspapers. It has limited their goods to the customers. Instead, this company can set up its own website. 2. SWOT Analysis It is a methodical technique that is utilized to categorize and identify substantial external (Opportunities and Threats) and internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) factors confronted with a specific area. (Johnson, 1993) It  renders data which are useful in corresponding the capabilities and resources to the spiritual atmosphere in which it functions and hence is a significant addition to the planning and marketing procedure. (Pearce, 2005) Let have look at the SWOT of cyclermate to understand more about the current issue that company has to face with. Strengths Direct channels of sale Cyclermate has direct channels of sales with the direct sales and direct shops; hence intermediary’s cost is largely eliminated. Reducing the cost of manufacturing could unquestionably help Cyclermate achieve a huge share of the market. As direct channels are in direct contact with the providers, thus, it could help in increasing in quantity or value of the sales and it provides a good opportunity to the providers to empathize the clients and could make required changes are per the requirement of the customers. Motivated workforce The employees at the Cyclermate are extremely pioneering and are can fully utilize and achieve any given objective or alterations in the company but they are inhibited by the administration as a result they are unable to express their views freely. The employees could have a crucial role in the company for its overall growth and development. Possession of buildings and lands Unlike Cyclermate most of the companies don’t possess either building or land and hence have to pay the heavy rents which adds to the cost but cyclermate can make any changes in the buildings and could capitalize in whichever way they wish to as they own it, which reduces the overall cost. Weaknesses Inexperience and unmotivated staffs of the company The company has made use of untrained workers. These untrained workers are not given the proper training after their employment. It is the fact that the employees and the staff are never allowed to put forward their creative and self-ideas due to the policies of the management, as a result of this  motivation in the staff is lost. Sales are decreasing in amount or degree and there is piling up of stocks in the warehouses which generates a feeling among the staff that they are not under a good management and as this feeling flourishes they lose hopes from the company and it has a very bad impact on their morale. The investors do not truly interested in the business Due to the low returns on the capital invested by the investors, they are unhappy with the performance of the company and are losing faith in it. In addition, the very fact that the shareholders were not paid any interest last year, it may result in the withdrawal of their money from the company. The quality concerns Because lack of the power to be effective of the staffs to keep up the measures of the goods and the quality of raw material utilized is leading to degraded quality of the goods eventually. Old machinery such as traditional spaying technique, painting and low-quality stock control technology needs updating as soon as possible if the business hopes to improve the production and sales in the coming time. Opportunities Take the advantages of social media Cyclermate should launch its website, which provides complete detail and range of the products available with them. Company can employ a new computer system for keeping a good database of the company. They can introduce online selling and modification according to the wish of customers. Introduction of new machines They should introduce some of the modern machinery in order to achieve higher-level productivity. Cyclermate could bring in new robotic machinery in the production process that will lead to speedy output and a superior quality of goods. Employ trained workers They have the opportunity to make use of the trained workforce, which has been recently laid off from the nearby production site. More workforce means opportunity to gain more productivity. Threats Overseas competitors As a result of the growth to a global or worldwide scale, many companies from across the globe have entered the market with products of low price and high quality, which certainly is a threat for Cyclermate as it supplies good with high cost and of lower quality. Due to recession, which is prevailing in Europe the purchasing power of people is going down. Thus, company can have reduced sales or can face financial crises. Reputation Due to poor-quality product for a period of Cyclermate’s reputation is going down and therefore people do not like to go for their products. Huge retail Merchants Retail Merchants like Argos and Halfords are captivating the market eventually and it might happen that Cyclermate may lose the market share completely. Customer threatens them to sue their company after their product was fail in delivering the good performance. IV. Analysis of Business Management 1. Financial Problems Prob. 1.1: Uncontrolled cost The main problem that company is in this situation is because of the uncontrolled cost and mismanaged budget. The costs are increasing yearly with the sales and selling price of the products going down. Let have look at the financial statement that company has  £210,800 worth of non-current assets. Loan request will be refused as company only holds cash fund of  £675 into their bank account. Costs are increasing at a rapid rate year after year. Asset turnover ratio is 2.06:1. This indicates that the profit margins for the company are very low that’s why the ratio is so high. We can also conclude from this that the company’s pricing strategy is not effective leading to lower profits. Prob. 1.2: Dealing with a big loan Creditor days – 24 days leads to the company has to pay back it its debtors in 24 days and it is just left with 675 £ of cash. The Company is liable to pay  £87,500 to the creditors and if they don’t so a legal action may be taken on them, which are not good for company’s reputation. They may talk to the creditors and ask for an extension in time for payments as they are going through financial crisis and don’t have money right now to pay back. Prob. 1.3: Lots of inventories Besides, it shows that the majority of inventories are stored and not effectively managed, that is why current ratio is at such high level, which also means low sales and low revenue gained. Moreover, the company relies on the bank loan as the main monetary support. 2. Operation Problems Prob. 2.1: Stock control system Disturbingly, materials are always in the shortage which results in the disruption of the production process recently. Although the demand is higher and higher, company cannot meet their requirement because of lacking necessary components. Prob. 2.2: Inappropriate division of duties The inappropriate division of duties obviously had made such a burden on many workers. In particular, Dai Armstrong has to deal with many tasks such as making all the frames, factory manager and business director at the same time. He himself also finds it hard to keep up the level of production (approximately 8 frames/day) because it requires the harsh physical demands. Prob. 2.3: Assembly is a complex process Moreover, assembly is a complex process, which takes 2 or 3 hours for one person. Janice Jones and Ffred Gregory often have to work overtime to catch up with the progress. As a result, their health and time issue could be heavily damaged. 3. HR Management problems Prob. 3.1: Improper workforce in manufacturing Unreasonable workforce division is one of the most serious problems of Cyclermate Ltd. Besides, lack of experienced employees and the aging workforce are worrying the production process and raising a big question for a more effective training system. Prob. 3.2: The training system creates The training system creates such obstacles for the assembly process. Typically, Fred, who is 18 years old, is a new and un-experienced person; the training for him is necessary, however, not easy at all. It takes so much time to instruct Fred in traditional way, which is apparently the cause of slow production recently. Prob. 3.3: Corporate culture The staff is highly de-motivated due to decreasing sales and profits and also the behavior of the management as in the sinking company they are not free to put up their ideas even if they do they are rejected because of the superiority of the management. V. Solution A. Short term and immediate planning 1. Financial problems: Solution 1.1: Cost in selling and distribution Cost in selling and distribution could be possible declined to save more money for the company such as cutting cost for postage and courier charges by substituting by cheaper service, as well as the travelling and hospitality. Those indirect costs contribute such high cost to the manufacturing of the cycles, restricting them would help boost the sales with cheaper price. Solution 1.2: Ask for trading debtors to repay The solution to this issue is that they should strictly resolve and for the  trade debtors to repay the loans as soon as possible. The amount of $200,571 would help the financial situation better in the coming time. Once their assets are raised through and their liquidity are proved to be valuable enough to afford the loan, it will be beneficial for them to borrow money from the banks. Solution 1.3: Direct sale prices Cyclermate’s direct sale prices are higher than shop sale price. In order to generate healthy revenue, Cyclermate needs to reduce their direct sale price. By reducing the direct sale prices will increase their sale and it will be easy for them to generate healthy revenue. 2. Operation Problems Solution 2.1: Buy stock when needed Company should only buy stock when they needed. Buying stock earlier will harm company’s financial positions, because raw material does not hold their value and it has got more chances of losing its market value. Solution 2.2: Require clear division A good answer for this problem is that the company should require clear division to who is able to undertake and separate arrangement of duties. Specifically, assigning other qualified person on frame-making position so that Mr. Dai could concentrate and dedicate himself to external relations business only. Solution 2.3: hiring more experienced labors The company should consider hiring more experienced labors for assemble line and frame-making because Mr Dai can no longer put up with the physical requirement of the task. With those simple tasks like packaging, it is acceptable for free hand employees to help out, but only when they finished all their tasks. 3. HR Management problems Solution 3.1: Employ cheaper labors In this case, the company can consider employ cheaper labors that are  suggested by Maldwyn Jones: Chinese or Taiwanese labor to make the machine for them- much better quality but half the price and move Idris Pugh to higher position as a supervisor for the whole wheel-making process. Solution 3.2: Improving the staff’s skills This training program involves directly in the new changes with a purpose of improving the staff’s skills, expertise and methods to complete an error-free task, exposing them to unfamiliar ideas and of course, giving them the chance to practice task under time/speed limit. Solution 3.3: Core business value Trust in others and a firm belief in overcoming difficulties (set up new mission: overcome difficulty, minimize waste and consequence) B. Long term and efficiency improvements Present fiscal condition of Cyclermate (Accounting ratios).The acid / liquid ratio of Cyclermate is 0.76:1, which depicts Cyclermate is incapable to satisfy indebtednesses of shorter term, which mean that it would not be competent to satisfy fiscal difficulty which may happen in the time to come. The Asset turnover ratio for Cyclermate is 2.06:1. As the ratio is excessively high, this means that profit margins are very low. The pricing strategy of Cyclermate is ineffective and because of that low profit. Return on capital employed –Cyclermate has far too less returns on the capital employed, just a mere 0.11 or 11%. Debtor days –It would take Cyclermate 115 days to get back the money from debtors. Creditor days – Cyclermate has to pay back in 24 days to its debtors with a cash balance of 675 £. The financial statement of Cyclermate shows that it has non-current assets which is of worth  £210,800.Any request regarding a loan from the bank will be refused as it has a mere cash balance of  £675. It may get a loan based on the position of its non-current assets. In place of the above-discussed alternative, it can sell its freehold land, which is worth  £160,000, and use the proceeds from the sale in the business. Cyclermate could acquire funds if they pursue its trade debtors to pay off soon. Debtors worth  £200,571 are to be recovered and the funds would be acquired soon if the debtors do not  default and pay in full. Once it has sufficient fund, Cyclermate could apply for the bank loan. VI. Conclusion Overall, Cyclermate will have a better future if they operate their business in slightly different ways. Cyclermate products were famous for its quality and price,if the company still provide what the consumer wants than it would be no harm to the company. But there few changes needs to be changed and once the new rules and regulation apply into the business than it would be a great opportunity for Cyclermate to operate their services. Moreover, With the movement of new threats into the marketplace the present systematic plan of action of Cyclermate is continuously below the acceptable level in its performance due to the fact that the new firms and the existing organizations are coming up with improved quality of products at a cheaper price VII. Recommendations The company must sign up correct individual as per the requirement of the position. Currently the management is interfering in the process of production and is unable to focus of the activities they should be concerned. The financial hardships through which Cyclermate is going through at present could be resolved by selling the unused stock that is piled up in the warehouse. In order to generate revenues and funds to invest in other arena of the company, Cyclermate must sell its freehold land that would certainly generate high revenue. In order to achieve higher output and productivity, modern technology should be applied in the production process. Installing a computer database through which the management could look into all the important and relevant data as and when required. Cyclermate should launch its website, which provides complete detail and range of the products available with them. Reducing both direct sales prices so as to sell the current stock and trade debtors. Employing young and trained workforce that is fit for the position.

Groupon - Daily Deal Aggregator Business Model Essay Example for Free

Groupon Daily Deal Aggregator Business Model Essay Objectives 1. Choosing a company with an Innovative Business Model Groupon Groupon is a deal-of-the day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. It is based on the daily deal aggregator business model. Groupon was launched in November 2008, and the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto. By October 2010, Groupon served more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and had 35 million registered users. In addition to generation of revenues, offering daily deals on Groupon has proved to be beneficial for various businesses. Start-ups have gained market share by offering lucrative deals for customers on Groupon and attracting them to their businesses. Once these businesses gain their initial share of customers, it becomes easier for them to retain these customers and even attract new ones, with the help of providing quality product or service. Various businesses, domestic and international, have gained by often providing daily deals on Groupon. 2. Analysing the Business Model and Identifying the Innovation The Groupon Innovation Groupon is a daily deal website considered to be one of the top ten innovative Business Models with a huge user base of 83 million across 43 countries. Groupon sells coupons in a very unique way; As mentioned above, Groupon follows Daily deal Aggregator Business Model which enables groups of people who want to purchase a particular product or service to sign up and then seek a volume discount from vendors. These discounts are in the form of daily deals/coupons for products or services. Daily Deal websites typically  offer a single product or service a day for a discount and these deals become valid only after a pre-specified number of people sign up to avail this deal. When the deal expires, or sells out, the offer is gone. Daily Deal websites typically offer one product or service a day for a discount. This Business Model reduces risk for retailers who post the offers; They can treat the coupons as quantity discounts as well as sales promotion tools. Groupon makes money by keeping approximately half the money the customer pays for the coupon. For example, an $80 haircut could be purchased by the consumer for $40 through Groupon, and then Groupon and the retailer would split the $40. That is, the parlour gives a haircut valued at $80 and gets approximately $20 from Groupon for it (under a 50%/50% split). The consumer gets the haircut, in this example, from the parlour for which they have paid $40 to Groupon. Unlike classified advertising, the merchant does not pay any upfront cost to participate: Groupon collects personal information from willing customers and then contacts only those customers, primarily by daily email, who may possibly be interested in a particular product or service. Groupon breaks into new markets by identifying successful local businesses, first by sending in an advance a number of employees to gain data about the local market; when it finds a business with outstanding reviews, salespeople approach it and explain the model, and use social marketing sites such as Facebook to further promote the idea. Groupon’s biggest strength is its user base which has grown due to its First Mover Advantage and affordable deals. The question, however, at present is the sustainability of the business model. According to the CEO, Andrew Mason, Groupon is trying to â€Å"fundamentally change the way that people buy from local businesses in the same way that e-commerce changed the way that people buy products.† 3. Analysing the Market Scenerio Present Scenerio in the market The emergence of dozens of competitors to Groupon, with customers frequently playing one site off against another, diminishes the competitive differentiation between them. In addition, merchants whose goods and services are featured on the sites are now being courted by more players, making them less loyal and less likely to be prepared to pay rich premiums for the sites directing new customers to their store locations. Further, the benefits to both customers and merchants are likely to drop as the market is flooded with same kind of offers. Moreover, some of its big rivals are backed by some major funding and engineering resources. LivingSocial is backed by Amazon it grew gross revenues 32 percent from August to September, bolstered by a blockbuster Whole Foods deal. Smaller players like TravelZoo and Bloomspothave their own advantages; They tend to be more focused on a particular niche. Apart from competition, there are also the issues of taxation; States including New York have decided merchants should collect sales taxes on the full face value of items purchased, not the price that consumers actually pay.

Future Advancements of Hyperspectral Imaging

Future Advancements of Hyperspectral Imaging Liam Zarebski Preserving forensic traces at a crime scene is a crucial part of collecting evidence It is important that these traces are detected and identified in a way that is as non-destructive as possible. One technology that has great potential to serve as a future analytical tool in forensics is Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI). Due to its non-contact method of analysis, the speed at which it can gather and process information, and the ease with which the results can be interpreted, HSI proves itself to be an excellent alternative to many forensic techniques used today. Hyperspectral Imaging combines conventional digital imaging and spectroscopy to gather and process information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. Every object in the world will reflect and absorb various wavelengths of radiation differently. These interactions can be measured and used to identify different chemical and material properties. This can be thought of as every object having their own unique spectral fingerprint. HSI is particularly useful as it could also be used to analyse chemical changes that have occurred within the sample, which can help with estimating age. Currently, HSI is mainly used for analysing fingerprints. Producing a multispectral image allows one to see details that would otherwise be invisible, even after dusting for prints. This creates a more detailed image than standard photography could produce and reveals elements which would otherwise have gone unnoticed. As HSI can identify the chemical composition of a sample, it could also be used to rapidl y identify the residue that created the print. It is also used in questioned document analysis to identify whether handwritten or printed documents have been altered by analysing the ink used. In Fire Investigation, HSI can detect flammable liquid residues in quantities as small as a microliter that have soaked into surfaces. While HSI technology has existed for around 20 years and is used in forensics today, it is becoming increasingly more relevant due to the rapid decrease in size of hyperspectral sensors, the decrease in the cost, and the increase in image processing power. In the future, it is possible that all the power of hyperspectral imaging will be integrated in regular digital cameras or even smartphones. This would open up a world of new possibilities within forensic science. Crime scene investigators could go into a crime scene and gather information about the size, age, density, and chemical composition of a sample as easily as they could take a photograph of it. This would mean that the chance of a sample being destroyed or contaminated would be drastically reduced as CSI would not even have to come into contact or move the traces to get an accurate analysis of what those traces are. If there are particular crime scenes where events have occurred that pose dangers to investigators, (eg. Cri me scenes involving explosives), a remote controlled robot could be equipped with a HSI system so that investigators can take the samples they require in a non-destructive matter without stepping foot in the crime scene. By using HSI instead of traditional methods, the process of identifying and analysing forensic traces would be drastically sped up. In addition, HSI requires little to no sample preparation, further increasing the speed at which progress can be made and thus improving the chances of the case being solved successfully. Another advantage of Hyperspectral Imaging is that the results are easy to interpret even if you dont come from a scientific background. Consequently, when the results are presented to a jury in court, they will quickly be able to understand the data and make an informed decision. If need be, additional processing steps can be taken when analysing the HSI data without having to re-examine the physical evidence. The main problem for Hyperspectral Imaging in forensics is that crime scenes tend to be very complex which can make image analysis difficult. Sunlight, external light sources, reflections from surfaces and shadows are all variables that can cause inaccuracies in readings. To combat this, specialized algorithms are required during the processing of information in order to distinguish which variables have been caused by non-uniform illumination. With image processing technology as a whole becoming more advanced, and several forensic science applications of HSI recently being explored successfully, it is easy to imagine HSI replacing some old techniques and becoming an integral part of crime scene investigation in the not too distant future. Despite the challenges that will be faced with interference and unknown variables, it is likely that the technology will be refined and the techniques will be modified so to maximize the effectiveness of the technology, and allow future investigators to analyse useful traces non-destructively. Hyperspectral imaging has many uses in forensics but it also has a vast number of uses in a wide variety of fields: in agriculture, where HSI can be used to detect animal proteins in cattle feed to avoid mad cow disease; in medicine, for early diagnosis of diseases; in mineralogy, to rapidly identify minerals in geological samples; and in astrology, to identify materials and chemicals present on distant planets. There are many examples of HSI being used in professional environments however it is also a possibility that it will end up becoming integrated with the technology used by the general public on a daily basis. Roughly two billion people on earth use smartphones, most of which come equipped with built in digital cameras. In the future, it is possible that these cameras will be built with components that can be used to detect other electromagnetic waves than just visual light. Using cloud computing, a library of different spectral signatures could be created and made available to the public and used for reference. Access to such a technology could prove to be particularly useful when it comes to monitoring ones own health. People would be able to use their phones to scan fruit and find out whether or not it is fresh depending on its sugar content and moisture levels; people could also use it to check if perishable foods are still safe to eat or to check whether or not their milk has gone off. Many smartphones nowadays can measure how many steps you walk a day and your heart rate, but a phone equipped with hyperspectral imaging technology would be able to detect biochemical changes due to dis ease development like cancer cell metabolism. A non-intrusive retina scan could be performed in the comfort of your own phone merely by taking a photo of your eye, or a suspicious looking mole could be checked out and diagnosed all within an application. Sources: http://www.hyspex.no/hyperspectral_imaging/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S03790738http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys1230/phys1230_fa01/topic7.html12004495http://www.chemimage.com/webinars/HSI-Basics-6-14-11/CI_Intro_HSI_Webinar0614.pdf http://arrow.dit.ie/schfsehart/97/

Essay --

El Salvador (The republic of The Savior) is known to be the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. San Salvador has been announced as the Capital City. It is considered to an important cultural and commercial center for the whole Central America. It borders with Guatemala, Honduras, The Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Fonseca. It’s the only country in this region not on the Caribbean Sea. El Salvador has a large presence of mountains and is also known as the Land of Volcanoes. Hence, most part of it is on a fertile volcanic plateau about 2,000 ft (607 m) high. 5,744,113 people composed predominantly of Mestizos. Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America to mean a person of combined European and Amerindian descent. Other include 12% white, 1% Indigenous. The colon was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar. Based on the research carried out in 2010, El Salvador ranked 12th among the Latin American countries in the category of Human Development Index and fourth in Central America and is increasing rapidly when it comes to the industrial sector. Government: †¢ President – Maruicio Funes †¢ Vice president – Salvador Ceren †¢ Speaker Of the Assembly – Sigfrido Morales †¢ Supreme Court President – Jose Balermino Jaime Legislature: †¢ Legislative Assembly - A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. Area: †¢ Total – 21,040 Sq Km (153rd in the world) †¢ Water – 1.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP): †¢ According to an estimate from 2012, the GDP of El Salvador stands at 23.79 billion USD. †¢ Per Capita accordingly is 3,855$‎ Gross National Product (GNP): †¢ According to an estimate from... ...ed a lot of wars and revolutions against other Central American republics. †¢ In 1969, El Salvador went on a war with the Honduras as the Honduran’s were deporting several thousands of Salvadorans. The four day war was later named as the ‘Football War’ as it broke out during a football match between the two countries. †¢ The 12 year Civil War, which was fought between the Military-led government and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). This War dated from 1979 – 1992. †¢ El Salvador also had its fair share in World War II, War on Terror and the United States Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1965- 66). Independence †¢ El Salvador achieved its independence on September 15th, 1821 from Spain and was recognized by Spain as a separate nation in 1865. Whereas, recognition from the Greater Republic of Central America was achieved in November 13, 1898.

Jackie Robinson :: essays research papers

Jackie Robinson: Breaking the Color Barrier It’s April 15, 1947 opening day at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn. Many people have turned out to see one man, the first black person to ever play in major league baseball. He is setting new standards for all blacks now and those to come. His name is Jack Roosevelt Robinson. We all wish him well and hope he can surmount the racial differences. At this time it was unheard of to have a black person treated equally to a white person, more the less it was highly unlikely to have a black person play on the same field as a white person. But for one man who stands alone Jackie Robinson’s conquest to break through the color barrier with the help of Branch Rickey has set new standards for all black athlete’s to come. Jackie Robinson grew up in Cairo, Georgia. Jackie attended UCLA where he played baseball, basketball, football, and track. After collage Jackie enrolled in world war two. After the war Jackie got an honorable discharge. After the end of the war Jackie didn’t know what he wanted to do and he was very short on money. Finally Jackie decided he wanted to join the Negro Leagues. In 1944 Jackie officially was on a Negro baseball team.(Shorto,Russell p. 5-10) In 1945 Branch Rickey the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers was looking for a black player to break the serration barrier and rise above it all and join the Major League Baseball Association. Rickey said that whoever the person was to be would have to cope with taunts and insult, with name calling and abuse. Rickey heard of the success of Jackie on the Negro League and sent his scouts to see Jackie. (Ritter, S. Lawrence p. 43-51). After a long meeting with Rickey, Jackie agreed to join the Brooklyn organization. Rickey singed Robinson to a Minor League deal in 1945. Jackie’s biggest challenge would be to overcome racial issues sought toward him without acting out with everybody looking at him. Jackie had death threats, racial slur’s, and people wanting to seriously take him out of the game of baseball. (Rampersad Arnold p. 176) In 1947 Rickey called up Jackie to compete on a Major League level and take his career to a much higher level. When people heard of this, that Jackie was going to play on a Major League level players said that if Jackie was going to play they would strike, even some of Jackie’s teammates demanded to be traded

Is Censorship Justified? Essay -- social issues

Is Censorship Justified? Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others. There are varieties of other definitions but all have in common the concept of withholding information and/or resources from those who seek it. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html) Censorship is not a recent development. It wasn’t imposed properly or there weren’t strict regulations before. In the article â€Å"Hate Radio† by Patricia J. Williams, the writer says that radio was a powerful source of media. It had influenced a lot of people. The power of media can change the course of history. The host on the radio such as Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern were also influencing a lot of people. The theme was not merely the specific intolerance on hot topics as race and gender, but a much more general contempt for the world, a verbal stoning of anything different. Most of the audience on this radio shows were white and male. Most of the callers have spent their lives walling themselves off from any real experience with blacks, feminists, lesbians or gays. Rush Limbaugh tell his audience â€Å"what you believe inside, you can talk about it in the marketplace.† Unfortunately what’s inside is then mistaken for what’s outside, tr eated empirical and political reality. Most of the talks on the radio were being racist against the blacks. This had influenced so much that a statistics showed that 53 percent of people in America agree that blacks and Latinos are less intelligent than whites, and a majority believed that blacks are lazy, violent, welfare-dependent and unpatriotic. Hence this stereotype among the people was due to the lack of censorship.(Williams,502) ... ... between exposure to pornography and commission of violence, but this research was conducted in 1993 which is now outdated. Another point, which she emphasized, was that a greater availability of sexually explicit material seems to correlate with higher indices of gender equality. But when the sexually explicit material shows the subordination of women or women presented as sexual object who enjoy pain or humiliation, how can they be equal as men when the men are shown as the gender that enjoys subordinating women. (Strossen,550). Feminist author Diana Russell notes in her book Rape and Marriage the correlation between deviant behavior (including abuse) and pornography. She also found that pornography leads men and women to experience conflict, suffering, and sexual dissatisfaction. (http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/porno.html) Hence censorship is essential in order to maintain peace and stability in the society. It will decrease the crime rates. Children can be exposed to sexual matters in school in a different manner as education. Excessive amount of sexual explicit material would surely be harmful. Censorship does not have a downside and it will be a better society.

History of Western Society Ch 13 Outline

History of Western Society Sixth Edition Chapter 13 Outline I. The Evolution of the Italian Renaissance A. Economic growth laid the material basis 1. Cultural achievements of the 14th to 16th centuries 2. Northern Italian cities led the way 3. Advances in ship construction greatly increased the volume of goods that could be transported; improvements in the mechanics of sailing accelerated speed 4. Italian renaissance appeared in Florence 5. The economic foundations of Florence was so strong that even severe crisis could not destroy the city 6.Driving enterprise, technical know-how, and competitive spirit saw Florence through the difficult economic period of the late 14th century B. Communes and Republics 1. The Northern Italian cities were communes, sworn associations 2. Groups tied by blood, economic interests, and social connections 3. A properly qualification, years of residence within the city, and social connections 4. In the 15th century, political power and elite culture enter ed on the princely courts of despots and oligarchs C. The Balance of Power Among the Italian City States 1. Passionate attachment to their individual city states . The kingdom of Naples had long been disputed by the Aragonese and by the French. 3. In the peace treaty signed at Lodi in 1454, Venice received territories in return for recognizing Sforza’s right to the duchy 4. Renaissance Italians invented the machinery of modern diplomacy 5. In a number of fiery sermons between 1491 and 1494, Savonarola attacked what he considered the paganism and moral vice of the city 6. The invasion of Italy in 1494 by the French king Charles VIII 7. In 1508 his cousin and heir, Louis XII, formed the league of Cambrai II. Intellectual Hallmarks of the RenaissanceA. The Renaissance was characterized by self-conscious awareness among the 14th and 15th century Italians 1. Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) considered the first two centuries of the Roman Empire to represent the peak in the developme nts of human civilization 2. The Renaissance manifested itself in a new attitude toward men, women, and the world B. Individualism 1. Middle Ages had seen the appearance of remarkable individuals 2. Large literature with the nature of individuality emerged, represented the flowering of distinctly Renaissance individualism C. Humanism 1.Humanism emphasized human beings, their achievements, interests, and capabilities 2. Renaissance humanists approached the classics differently D. Secular Spirit 1. Secularism involves a basic concern with the material world instead of with the eternal world of spirit 2. Humanist Lorenzo Valla (1406-1457) defends the pleasures of the senses as the highest good 3. Papal interests, which were far removed from spiritual concerns, fostered, rather than discouraged, the new worldly attitude III. Art and the Artist A. The subject matter of art through the early 15th century as in the Middle Agrs, remained overwhelmingly religious 1.In the 14th and 15th centu ries, a large, intricately carved wooden bed, a chest, and perhaps a bench served as its sole decorations 2. Florentine Masaccio (1401-1428) inspired a new style, realism, the new international style B. The Status of the Artist 1. The Renaissance artist was considered a free intellectual worker 2. The social status of the artist of genius was immortally secured IV. Social Change A. The Renaissance changed many aspects of Italian, and subsequently European, society 1. Renaissance culture witnessed a shift in the status and experience of women B. Education and Political Thought . One of the central preoccupations of the humanists was education and moral behavior 2. In the 16th and 17th centuries, The Courtier was widely read 3. No Renaissance book on any topic, however, has been more widely read and studied in all centuries since its publication (1513) C. The Printed Word 1. By the middle of the 15th century, paper was no problem 2. Gutenberg’s Bible of 1456, movable type had b rought about radical changes 3. Since books and other printed materials were read aloud to illiterate listeners, print bridged the gap between written and oral cultures D. Clocks . The English word quantification was first used in 1840 2. Mechanical clocks, usually installed on the cathedial or town church, were in general use in Germany by the 1330’s, in England by the 1370’s, and in France by the 1380’s 3. The status of upper-class women declined, in terms of the kind of work they performed 4. Laura Cereta (1469-1499) illustrates the successes and failures od educated Renaissance women 5. Women, of course, continued to perform economic functions 6. In the years 1338- 1358, rape was not considered a serious crime against either the victim or society 7.In the 11th century, William the Conqueror had decreed that rapists be castrated E. Gender and Culture 1. The term homosexuality was coined only in 1892 2. On April 17th, 1432, the Florentine government set up a s pecial magistracy, the Office of the Night F. Blacks 1. The beginning in the 15th century, sizable numbers of black slaves entered Europe 2. In 1491 Isabella of Este, duchess of Mantua, instructed her agent to secure a black girl between four and eight years old V. The Renaissance in the North A. Last quarter of the 15th century, Italian Renaissance thoughts inspired northern Europe 1.There More found the time to write Utopia (1516), which presents a revolutionary view of society. 2. Francois Rabelais (1490? -1553) possess a distinctly secular flavor and have attracted broad readership among the literate public 3. Many of Bosch’s paintings reflect the confusion, and anguish often associated with the end of the Middle Ages VI. Politics and the State in the Renaissance (CA 1450-1521) A. Louis XI, Henry VII, and Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain had been labeled as â€Å"new monarchs† B. France 1. In 1438 Charles published the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges 2.In 1516 the new treaty, the Concordat of Bologna, approved the pope’s right to receive the first year’s income of new bishops and abbots C. England 1. Between 1455 and 1471, adherents of the ducal houses of York and Lancaster waged civil war, the Wars of Roses 2. The council dealt with real or potential aristocratic threats through a judicial offshoot, the court of Star Chamber D. Spain 1. The centuries-long Reconquista- the wars of the northern Christian kingdoms to control the entire peninsula 2. In the administration of Castile, â€Å"New Christians† held the royal secretary ship