Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Avon Products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Avon Products - Case Study Example The company faced a challenge of flattening revenues and even declining operating income. There were many factors that led to this decline, one of the issues was that the company had grown at a faster proportion than the infrastructure and talent could hold. This called for an immediate intervention to save the company from collapsing. The current CEO who was known as Jung and the executive team launched a basic restructuring of the organization in starting of 2006 (Effron, 2009). Question two Leaning and transparency model was one that was targeted to bring change in the organization. For an organization to bring in change, one of the ways to ensure that change does not impact negatively to the organization is through training of employees. By doing so, employees are able to learn new tactics to use in order to integrate with the new change. In addition, employees are able to acquire skills to enable them to cope with the new requirements of the change. The company investment in exe cutive talent is one way of implementing learning model. The company planned to refurnish new talents as a way of ensuring that the company keeps up with the latest growth of the company. The employee’s new knowledge was also to be used as a model of ensuring that they are able to sustain the current growth of the company. ... The company aim to transform the organization through establishing bodies that would oversee transparency process is another example that assisted me to identify the model. The company aim of changing the top management behavior through teaching them on how to maintain a good image of the company is an aspect that is in learning and transformation model. The company also went ahead to recognize every personnel behavior as critical to the overall success of the business. These transformations were supported by performance reviews that were aimed at keeping an eye on the individual performance (Harris, & Hartman 2001). Question three One of the evaluation information that was obtained is that there is a need to create an efficient communication channel which will ensure that organizations processes are carried out in an efficient manner (Zofi, (2011). Communication plays a great role in tackling problems that might affect the organization. Efficient communication also ensures that ther e is a good relationship between leaders and their subordinates. In addition, communication plays a great role in enabling the organization to solve any issue that might affect the organization performance. This evaluation problem was to ensure that poor communication was eradicated and leaders implement policies that would enable the top management and low ranked employees to communicate frequently an aspect that would positively impact on the performance of the employees. Lastly communication would enable leaders to assess the talent of their employees. This is an important move in ensuring that categorization of talents in the organization is done appropriately (Harris, & Hartman 2001).

Monday, October 28, 2019

Branding Universities Essay Example for Free

Branding Universities Essay The end of the 1990s witnessed the corporatization of public universities in Malaysia resulting in the publication of corporate literature in these universities and the type of writing Fairclough (1993) refers to as the marketization of academic discourse. Marketization is necessary in public universities due to stiff competition in attracting students among the public universities as well as from the increasing number of private universities. This article reports how Malaysian universities re-brand themselves using the results of an investigation on corporate brochures from these universities. The investigation employs a structural analysis and a textual analysis. Although informative in nature, these corporate brochures exhibit the use of promotional elements in the texts as seen in the contents and the language use. The communicative functions of university brochures are viewed to be more promotional than informative. ABSTRACT KEY WORDS: brochures, corporate culture, genre analysis, re-branding, universities Introduction Academic institutions, particularly public universities, used to be regarded as the pinnacle of learning. Most of these universities were reputed for providing the best tertiary education and the mere mention of their names lit up the faces of those who had the privilege of learning from these fountains of knowledge and those who aspired to be associated with them. There was a time when admission was ‘by invitation only’, otherwise young men and women were seen struggling to gain admission into these prestigious institutions. These public universities acquired a promotional value (Wernick, 1991) without having to promote or market themselves. In advertising terms, these universities did not go through the process of branding. Branding is a fundamental strategic process of effectively marketing a product or service which includes creating a brand name and identity, designing Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 58 Discourse Communication 2(1) the packaging and promoting the product or service (Randall, 1997). Although Randall (1997) argues that ‘brands (and therefore branding) are so fundamentally important to the survival and success of many firms’ (p.2), this was not the case in public universities in the past. This is significantly due to the fact that these academic institutions were claimed to be free from other influences as evidenced by Cardinal Newman’s view of universities cited by Wernick (1991) as: . . . the high protecting power of all knowledge and science, of fact and principle, of inquiry and discovery, of experiment and speculation; it maps out the territory of the intellect, and sees that . . . there is neither encroachment nor surrender from any side . . . (Cardinal Newman, 1847, cited in Wernick, 1991:151) That was the traditional image of public universities, independent of political or societal influence and this image was not built by advertising or branding. As centres of academe, public universities were known for their quality education based on the results of their graduates and their performance in the careers they embarked on upon graduation. As years passed, more aspiring young people would apply for admission in certain universities due to their reputation. This reputation in turn became the  image of the universities which automatically created the promotional value (Wernick, 1991) of these universities, mentioned earlier as the pinnacle of learning. Each university was identified by its name or logo and no further promotional strategies were required. By providing quality education, these universities successfully built ‘a distinct brand personality’ (Randall, 1997: 67) for themselves as the success of branding is justified when people are reminded of a particular brand just by looking at the logo or hearing its brand name. The traditional role of public universities was to manage society (Jarvis, 2001) by producing scholars in the various fields of study so that they can go out to make the world a better place to live or join the academia to continue producing scholars. However, towards the end of the 20th century, the role of universities started changing from serving the state in managing society to serving the industry and commerce in ensuring that people are employable (Jarvis, 2001). This is partly due to the demands of the contemporary knowledge-based society (Veitch, 1999) where consumers have become more knowledgeable and have started demanding for better education and improved quality of life. Changes started taking place in public universities in the West as early as the 1980s where the governments were forced to abolish academic tenure and decrease funding for these universities. This was when many traditional universities started transforming into corporate universities (Jarvis, 2001) where they have to assume a more corporate form and function more like a corporation. From being the centre of academe, universities have become business-like entities (Connell and Galasinski, 1998). In Malaysia, a number of public universities have recently been corporatized, a move taken by the Malaysian government in its effort to inculcate better and more efficient management of these institutions. As corporate culture (Treadwell and Treadwell, 2000) is a new culture in all these universities, most of them Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising have set up corporate communications departments (Hajibah Osman, 2005) to handle corporate matters. Among the functions of these departments are managing corporate information and publication and projecting a positive image of the universities which are part of corporate advertising. Corporate advertising Business corporations use corporate advertising to enhance the image of the whole organization, or of the general brand in order to influence social values or to establish a connection between the corporation/brand and an already established positive value and in this era of identity, a lot of emphasis has been put on the importance of brand and corporate identities (Richards et al. , 2000). Unlike business organizations, universities are non-profit institutions. Public universities are viewed to use corporate advertising to enhance the strong foundation and to highlight the quality of these institutions of higher education. While it is common for business corporations to publish informative or promotional literature from time to time to inform the public about new developments in the organization (monthly or yearly reports) or to introduce new products or services (product launch leaflets), the use of promotional literature in academic institutions is a recent development. Malaysian public universities have started producing informative literature in the form of university brochures and special booklets in conjunction with certain celebrations in the universities as well as promotional literature in the form of leaflets providing brief information on academic programmes offered by the universities or introducing new programmes (Hajibah Osman, 2005). By employing new strategies to market their traditional image, from the advertising perspective, these universities are re-branding their products and services. Re-branding is the process of marketing an existing product or service of one brand with a different identity involving radical changes to the brand name, logo, image, marketing strategy and advertising themes (Wikipedia, 2006). In the advertising industry, re-branding is often referred to as re-positioning, that is, re-positioning a product or service in order to improve sales. Although there was no actual initial branding taking place in universities, being non-profit making institutions, the term ‘re-branding’ is used in this article to illustrate the change in the image of these universities particularly since the late 20th century. Significantly, this change has been effected without compromising the traditional characteristics and values of these institutions as the pinnacle of higher learning. The process of re-branding is aimed at improving the image of the universities by focusing on the facilities and highlighting the quality of the academic programmes. This article attempts to investigate the process of re-branding in public universities in Malaysia by conducting a genre analysis on university brochures, one type of print materials published by the institutions that represent corporate advertising. Analysing genres can lead to a ‘thick description’ (Bhatia, 1993) Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 59 60 Discourse Communication 2(1) of the texts contained in these genres, explaining why certain texts have been constructed the way they are. The specific objective of this article is to identify and discuss the strategies used in the re-branding process based on the structural organization of university brochures and the communicative functions of this type of brochure. Previous investigations of advertising genres mostly focused on straightsell advertisements of products or services. Bruthiaux (2000), for instance, investigated how advertisers make use of a limited space available to them to create successful advertising copies by examining the syntactic features in an undisclosed number of display and classified advertisements. His results show that the degree of syntactic elaboration ‘varies substantially even when content of equal simplicity/complexity or familiarity to readers is being presented. This variation appears to correlate with perceptions of status on the parts of both writers and readers’ (p. 298) and the persuasive elements lie in the vacuous displays of linguistic sophistication designed to create a largely artificial sense of exclusiveness among status-conscious readers (p. 369). Investigations have also been conducted on the language of advertising in Asia, for instance, Tej Bhatia’s (2000) investigation of language of advertising in Rural India and Henry and Roseberry’s (1998) investigation of the linguistic features in tourist information brochures from Brunei. Thus far, there have been very few linguistic analyses conducted on the genre of corporate advertising. Therefore, the genre selected for analysis in this article is brochure, specifically corporate brochure from academic institutions. A brochure is a printed document of six or more pages, used to introduce an organization, published only once and distributed to special publics for a single purpose (Newsom and Carrell, 2001). The discourse community of Public Relations (PR) specifies five characteristics of brochures, three of which are related to the present article: always having a singular message statement; having a purpose – to persuade or to inform and educate; and attracting and holding the attention of the audience. Brochure genre makes an interesting study because, first, this genre is viewed as a ‘blurred genre’ (a term borrowed from Scollon et al. , 1999) in that the term ‘brochure’ has been used to refer to other forms of publications including booklet, flyer, leaflet and pamphlet (Newsom and Carrell, 2001). Second, a brochure is a genre of persuasive discourse shaping the thoughts, feelings and lives of the public (Dyer, 1993) placing it under the field of advertising. However, according to Newsom and Carrell (2001), brochures are produced by PR practitioners rather than advertising practitioners. This is probably due to the fact that PR, among other things, incorporates looking after the reputation of an organization ‘with the aim of earning understanding and support, and influencing opinion and behaviour’ (Beard, 2001: 7). The question of ownership arises placing brochures in an even more ‘blurred’ state as the communicative functions of brochures have been set by the discourse community to which the genre belongs. In the context of this article, brochures are categorized as a corporate genre (basically PR) involving the principles of corporate writing (Treadwell Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising and Treadwell, 2000). Brochures are readily available, particularly in print version, and are easily accessible electronically. Finally, brochure genre needs to be investigated because brochure format is one of the most frequently used information formats in advertising and PR but is ironically the least written-about (Bivins and Ryan, 1991). Corporate genre in academic institutions This article establishes that any publications from universities, particularly those produced by the Corporate or Public Relations Office, are referred to as corporate genre. Corporate brochures are usually categorized as informative brochures (Richards et al. , 2000) providing all the necessary information about the organizations they represent. There are certain corporate elements present to qualify them as corporate brochures, but mostly these brochures are informative. However, an analysis of corporate brochures from multinational corporations by Askehave and Swales (2001) prove that these brochures also function to promote the organization. This is evident in the presence of promotional elements selected as syntactic choices in these brochures. Corporate brochures also function to establish long-lasting trading relationships which are in fact paramount in today’s industrial market. Hajibah Osman (2005) also notes that corporate brochures from academic institutions are promotional in nature with the use of promotional strategies apart from corporate and informative strategies. Another corporate genre in academic institutions, the university prospectus, started changing in form in the 1990s (Fairclough, 1993) where apart from providing information on the core business of the university, that is, the academic programmes, the prospectus has also included information on other aspects of the universities. Based on a critical discourse analysis of prospectuses from a number of British universities, Fairclough notes that these universities started promoting their programmes because they have come increasingly under (mostly government’s) pressure to operate like other types of businesses competing to sell their products to consumers. The university prospectus has become a ‘genre of consumer advertising colonising professional and public service orders of discourse on a massive scale, generating many new hybrid partly promotional genres’ (Fairclough, 1993: 139). Academic institutions in Malaysia have also published promotional leaflets (Hajibah Osman, 2005) to advertise their academic programmes and these are circulated to potential students particularly before a new academic year begins. These leaflets are no longer the plain, boring information sheets but colourful and interesting ones. This article concurs with Askehave and Swales (2001) that corporate brochures function as promotional brochures more than projecting the corporate image and providing information. Thus, the investigation in this article attempts to identify and discuss the strategies that realize the promotional functions in this type of brochure as part of the re-branding process in public universities. Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 61 62 Discourse Communication 2(1) Methodology In 2005, there were 11 public universities in Malaysia (currently, there are 20). Brochures were obtained from the 11 universities and were initially analysed to identify the possible structural organization. Based on the organization, the communicative functions of these brochures were determined. The 11 public universities included in this investigation are: International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM/UIA); Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM); Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM); Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS); Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS); Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM); Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI); Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM); Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM); Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM); University of Malaya (UM). A textual analysis was conducted to examine the strategies used in the rebranding process. The strategies in the context of this article are tactical choices (Bhatia, 1993) which are cognitive processes ‘exploited by the writer to make writing more effective keeping in mind any special reader requirements, considerations arising from the use of medium or constraints imposed by organizational and other factors’ (p. 20). The strategies used by universities in re-branding the institutions are discussed within the framework of the sociolinguistic theory which considers writing as ‘part of the overall activities of a group and organization’ (Gunnarsson, 1997: 140) and in relation to the corporate culture (Hagberg and Heifetz, 2000) practised by the universities. As a genre is a typical form of utterances, it should be studied in its social contexts of use (Berkenkotter and Huckin, 1993). Sociolinguistics does not only describe linguistic variation and the social context in which such a variation occurs, but also shows how linguistic differentiation reflects social structure (Coupland, 2001). The sociolinguistic perspective in this article considers the existence of factors underpinning the construction of university brochures and the concept of promotional culture (Wernick, 1991). Re-branding academic institutions It has been established that university brochures form part of the corporate advertising strategies in Malaysian universities which in turn are part of the rebranding process in these traditional institutions. The structural organization in these brochures consists of 10 sections identified as moves (Table 1). Some of the moves are exemplified with extracts from the university brochures in Figure 1 (see Appendix). In identifying the moves, the term ‘service’ is used to refer to the educational services and the support services offered by the universities. All the brochures from the 11 universities include Moves I, C, L, D, J and S, indicating that these six moves are obligatory. Ninety-one percent of the brochures include Moves A, T and E, while 81 percent include Move V, making them optional moves. The 10 moves have been used to realize three communicative functions of the university brochures which are: †¢ To inform the public about the academic programmes offered in the university and the facilities and other services available to support the academic programmes; Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising †¢ †¢ To portray a corporate image of the university; and To promote the university as an academic institution based on the quality and the variety of academic programmes offered as well as the facilities available. These communicative functions of university brochures correspond with the general functions of brochures (Newsom and Carrell, 2001) set by the discourse community of PR. Re-branding strategies The 10 sections in university brochures have been identified as moves and these moves are realized with the use of strategies, and for the purpose of discussion in this article, re-branding strategies. The article discusses how the strategies contribute to the re-branding process and what their communicative functions are. NAME AND LOGO The first move in university brochures is called identifying the service which presents the name and the logo of the university. Although the brochures are in English language, the names of the universities are in Malay, the national language of Malaysia except two universities, International Islamic University Malaysia and University of Malaya. The names of the public universities were officially changed to Malay when the national language was made the medium of instruction in the mid-1970s. In the case of IIUM, however, the acronym by which it is commonly referred to by Malaysians is the Malay version, UIA. Similarly, University of Malaya is now popularly known as Universiti Malaya (UM). Interestingly, alumni up to the early 1980s still refer to this oldest university in the country as MU (Malaya University). TA B L E 1. Structural organization of university brochures Section Move identification Name of the university University slogan or motto Vision/Mission statement Profile or background of the university Location and size of the university Academic programmes offered at the university Facilities available to support the academic programmes Entry requirements, fees charged and duration of the programmes Career opportunities and recognition received by the university Contact addresses and telephone numbers Identifying the service (I) Attracting reader attention (A) Targeting the market (T) Establishing credentials (C) Locating the service (L) Describing the service (D) Justifying the service (J) Indicating the value of service (V) Endorsing the value of service (E) Soliciting response (S) Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 63 64 Discourse Communication 2(1) In the past, universities were identified by their crests but now these crests have been generally referred to as logos. Although it cannot be ascertained when the change exactly took place, this is the first re-branding strategy. However, this is not an obvious re-branding element because some of the established traditional universities in the world still use the term crest, for example, Oxford University (http://www. ox. ac. uk/web/crest.shtml). As far as Malaysian universities are concerned, both terms are similar and a recent survey of the university websites shows that most of the public universities in Malaysia refer to the crest as the logo while two universities (UKM and USM) refer to them as emblems. Most of the websites also provide the rationale for the design of the logo (e. g. UiTM, UPM). Whether used as crest, logo or emblem, interestingly, there are two common shapes observed: the shape of a shield (six universities) and a round shape (five universities) (Figure 2, see Appendix). The shape of USM’s emblem differs significantly from other logos in that it resembles a state emblem. This qualifies for the use of the term ‘emblem’ (a heraldic device or symbolic object as a distinctive badge of a nation, organization or family – Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, 2001) by the university. Although the current shape of UPSI’s logo is round, it once had the shape of a shield (Figure 3, see Appendix). Compared with the logos of established universities which include traditional designs representing the academe, the current logos of Malaysian public universities include elements of modern designs. In fact, some of these logos have gone through some kind of ‘evolution’ as in the case of UiTM, UPM and UPSI. UPM ‘evolved’ from a training school to a college to a university focusing on agriculture. Later, the university started including more disciplines and the name was changed from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Malaysia University of Agriculture) to Universiti Putra Malaysia (Putra University of Malaysia) in 1997, taking after the name of the first prime minister at the same time keeping the same acronym. UPSI and UiTM underwent almost similar ‘evolution’; from a centre to a college to an institute and finally to a university. Throughout the ‘evolution’, the logos have also gone through many changes where the concept incorporated in the logos mainly represents the focus of the university. While UPSI’s logo changed in shape but not in concept, UiTM’s and UPM’s logos underwent a total facelift (Figure 3, see Appendix). This is probably due to the fact that UPSI’s focus of training teachers remains throughout. MOTTO AND SLOGAN A motto is a short sentence or phrase that expresses a rule for sensible behaviour, especially a way of behaving in a particular situation (Collins Cobuild Dictionary, 2001). Most of the university logos have the motto inscribed on them as the motto represents the culture or the way of life in the university. Once again, all the mottos of the public universities are in Malay. The more established universities still retain this culture inscribed in the logo as seen in UM’s motto (translated as) ‘Knowledge, the Source of Development’, UPSI’s ‘Knowledge, the Beacon of Pure Character’, UTM’s ‘By the Name of God for Mankind’ and UUM’s ‘Scholarship, Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising Virtue, Service’. UPSI keeps the same motto inscribed on the logo throughout its ‘evolution’ but UiTM left out its motto of 39 years from its new logo. The newly established universities (UMS and UNIMAS) do not have a motto inscribed in their logos. While a motto is a traditional feature of a public university, having a slogan is a new phenomenon. A slogan is a distinctive catchphrase that serves as a motto for a promotion campaign (Wells et al., 2003) used to sum up a theme for the benefit of the product or the service in order to deliver a message in a few words which are easily remembered. There are two types of slogans (Russell and Lane, 1990): hard-sell slogans are strongly competitive, epitomizing the special significant features of the product or service being advertised. Institutional slogans establish a prestigious image for companies which they need in order to enhance their products or services. Slogans in university brochures fall under the category of institutional slogans. Again, it cannot be ascertained when universities started creating slogans but there is a strong probability that they started at the same time when Malaysian public universities were undergoing corporatization in the late 20th century. Slogans started appearing on brochures and prospectuses of these public universities. The use of slogans has been viewed as a significant re-branding strategy as slogans represent the most promotional element in advertising. The purpose of having a slogan is to attract the reader’s attention and to let it linger on the reader’s mind. According to Russell and Lane (1990), the memorability of slogans can be enhanced by making use of literary techniques. These techniques consist of certain types of words including: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Boldness – use of strong powerful words, and startling or unexpected phrases; Parallelism – use of a repeated structure of a sentence or phrase; Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration – use of repeated sounds; Aptness – use of appropriate, direct words (Russell and Lane, 1990). Slogans in university brochures have been created based on good advertising principles as they have been observed to make use of the literary techniques, for example: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ boldness: Garden of Knowledge and Virtue (IIUM) parallelism: The National University with an International Reach (UKM) aptness: Your Inspiration parallelism: Contemporary and Forward Looking (UNIMAS) boldness: Towards a World-Class University (UPM) boldness: Towards Excellence and Supremacy (UPSI) Boldness is exemplified with words such as ‘virtue’, ‘world-class’ and ‘supremacy’ where the universities are bold enough to associate themselves with such high stature. Traditionally, public universities are centres of academe which do not portray an image of flaunting. Slogans using parallelism aim for jingle-like sounds so that readers can remember them easily while aptness acts like punchlines, strong and effective to be easily remembered. The bottom line is that a slogan is an Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 65 66 Discourse Communication 2(1) advertising concept and a marketing tool. The fact that public universities as nonprofit making academic institutions use slogans place them in a different light. They are currently functioning more like business entities. MISSION STATEMENT This move is identified as targeting the market based on the communicative functions of the mission statements. A mission statement provides information about what type of organization it is and what it does (Falsey, 1989) at the same time highlighting the positive factors in the organization. Stating the mission of the university is viewed as one of the two crucial strategies (the other being using slogans) in re-branding academic institutions as this move never appeared in academic genres before. This move has placed public universities in the same league as other successful corporations. Mission statements of public universities in Malaysia are observed to provide information as to what and how they can contribute to the public in terms of tertiary education as highlighted (underlined) in the following examples: (10) To become a distinguished university, aspiring to promote academic excellence in higher education and professional training necessary for the country’s socio-economic development (UiTM). (11) To be a premier university seeking excellence in the advancement of knowledge to meet the aspirations of the nation (UM) (12) To become an exemplary university of internationally acknowledged stature and as a scholarly institution of preference and choice for students and academics through the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and scholarship (UNIMAS) (13) To lead in the development of creative human resource and technology in line with the aspirations of the nation (UTM). The words ‘distinguished’, ‘premier’, and ‘exemplary’ are used to emphasize the quality of the universities. Other words like ‘excellence’, ‘advancement’ and ‘stature’ as well as ‘to lead’ are all bold words of promise by the universities. PROFILE OF THE UNIVERSITY This section is identified as the move to establish the credentials of the university as it provides information on the background and/or the current status of the university. The background information includes the date of establishment and the reason for the establishment while information on the current status of the university usually includes the achievements of the university in terms of academic programmes and physical development as well as the quality of the programmes offered. This move is supposed to be informational but there are a number of instances where the brochures provide the information on the current status of the university using ‘promotional’ words and phrases. For example: (14) UNIMAS is an ISO-certified university . . . Its undergraduate programmes have been designed to suit the needs of society and industry. Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising An ISO certification for an organization confirms the quality of that organization and it is now a common practice among public universities to obtain such certification to convince the public about the quality of the university, particularly the academic programmes on offer. Universities with ISO certification usually highlight it in their brochures as a strategy to promote the institutions. Other instances of promotional words can be observed in the following examples: (15) The university is the catalyst for regional growth in the northern region of Peninsula Malaysia (UUM) (16) From these humble beginnings, UM grew hand-in-hand with the young nation to become the nucleus for producing graduates of the highest quality and calibre. The word ‘catalyst’ denotes the importance of the university in the regional growth of the northern region of the country, without which there would not have been much growth in that region, thus promoting the significance of the university. Similarly, the word ‘nucleus’ conveys the significance of UM to the developing nation. Another instance is when a university states the commitment of the university to the public or the nation. UPM boldly states its commitment to become a worldclass university to convince the public to come and enrol in this university. (17) Named Universiti Putra Malaysia in honour of the pioneering Prime Minister of Malaysia, . . . has adopted this pioneering spirit and is committed to become the world class Univers.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

American Post-War Occupation of Japan Essay -- Economics Economy Essay

American Post-War Occupation of Japan The intent of the United States’ occupation of Japan was to neutralize the threat of another war, to nourish the Japanese economy back to health, and to provide a stable democratic government for the defeated nation. With General Douglas MacArthur acting as the supreme commander in charge of the occupation, Japan changed drastically. Special attention was paid to the areas of military, economy, and government. The effects of the United States’ occupation of Japan were profound almost beyond reckoning, and have had enormous impacts on modern Japanese society as well as on almost every other society in the modern world and throughout the course of history. The original occupation plan, conceived by President Roosevelt, was to split Japan into four quadrants. The United States, Great Britain, the USSR, and China would have each controlled a section. Upon his death, however, President Roosevelt’s plan also died. In its stead was placed a new plan, which called for a one hundred percent American operation. America had insufficient manpower to make a military government of Japan possible; so, it was decided that they would act through the existing Japanese government. America’s top priority following the initial occupation in 1945 was the complete demilitarization of the Japanese imperial forces. This was actually the quickest phase of the occupation. Beginning immediately after the occupation, complete demilitarization was reported as being complete by October 15, 1945. In his report dated the same day, General MacArthur said the following: â€Å"Today the Japanese armed forces throughout Japan completed their demobilization and ceased to exist as such. These forces are now completely abolished. I know of no demobilization in history, either in war or peace, by our own or any other country, that has been accomplished so rapidly or so frictionlessly. Everything military, naval or air is forbidden to Japan† (Headquarters 1) The United States disarmed Japan to guarantee its war objective: That Japan never again become a threat to the United States. As one considers how this affected the state of affairs in postwar Asia, however, it could be viewed as a significant mistake. Due to the American fear of the spread of communism, Japan was allowed a limited standing force, beginning in 1953, for defending their homeland. In ... ...y went into effect in April 1952, officially terminating the United States occupation and restoring full independence, plus government and economic stability, to Japan. What is extraordinary in the occupation and its aftermath was the insignificance of the unpleasant compared to the huge social, economic, and political gains for Japan. The nobility of the American ideals and their non-violent presence assuaged much of the bitterness of the Japanese defeat, which gave the Americans room to promote peace and democracy. Consequently, the occupation served to firmly plant a substantial capital of good will, on which both America and Japan would both draw in years to come. Bibliography: Dower, John. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999 Schaller, Michael. The American Occupation of Japan. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 1985 General Headquarters. Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and U.S. Army Forces. Pacific. Summary of the Month of October 1945. War Department Record Branch, A.G.O., The Adjutant general’s Office, 15 October 1945. Sheldon, Walt. The Honorable Conquerors. New York: The Macmillan Company., 1965

Thursday, October 24, 2019

“Liquidity Management Via Interest Rate Corridor in Pakistan- and Experience of Other Countries’ Emerging Markets”

STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT 2011 â€Å"Liquidity Management via Interest Rate Corridor in Pakistan- and Experience of Other Countries’ Emerging Markets† Submitted to: Sir Mubarak By: Tooba Sarfaraz Rafia Parvez Sumbul Masood Introduction to State Bank of Pakistan: State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country was established in July 1948 I. e. , within one year after Pakistan gained independence. Being the central bank, it regulates the monetary policy and the credit system of the country to foster its growth in the best national interest with a view to secure monetary stability and to fully utilize the productive resources of the country. The bank’s operations also include preserving the value as well as maintaining stability in the Banking system. Vision: â€Å"To transform the SBP into a modern and dynamic central bank, highly professional and efficient, fully equipped to play a meaningful role in sustainable basis in the economic and social development of Pakistan. † Mission: To promote monetary and financial stability and foster a sound and dynamic financial system, so as to achieve, sustained and equitable economic growth and prosperity. † Introduction to Domestic markets and monetary management department (DMMD): Domestic Markets and monetary management department was created in Sept 2006 as a result of comprehensive restructuring within State Bank of Pakistan with the objective of transforming the central bank into a dynamic institution more responsive to the growing sophistication in the financial markets. DMMD is an offshoot of the previous Exchange and Debt Management Department (EDMD), which was established in Feb 2000. Vision: â€Å"To illustrate a proactive, professional and planned approach for effective management of exchange and debt markets so as to contribute towards accomplishment of exchange and monetary policy objectives. † Mission: DMMD strives to set performance benchmark within SBP and Pakistan’s financial markets. Departmental goals: The core objective of DMMD is to implement the monetary policy objective of the State bank of Pakistan by using the available tools in both the money and foreign exchange markets. Departmental objectives: * Monetary Policy Implementation: a. Maintenance of stable interest rates in inter-bank money market through proactive management of money market liquidity. b. Raising short term government debt and developing yield curve through auction of market treasury bills c. Proactive management of money market liquidity through open market operations d. Liquidity management through interest rate corridor system. * Exchange Rate Policy Management: a. Stable exchange rates and Forward premiums at appropriate /sustainable levels b. Sale and purchase of third currencies at optimum prices c. Smooth and sufficiently liquid foreign exchange markets d. Optimal accumulation of foreign exchange reserves and forward portfolio * Reserve Management: a. Optimal utilization of reserve portfolio and maximum returns on investment of surplus reserves. Hiring of investment consultants and fund managers for optimizing returns. * Debt Management a. Domestic debt i. Developing the markets for government securities ii. Coordination between monetary and fiscal policies iii. Raising short term and long term domestic debt for the government v. Data base management of permanent and floating debts. b. External debt i. Monitoring and ensuring prompt payment of external debt installments through state bank of Pakistan and commercial banks. Introduction of an Interest Rate Corridor In order to reduce the volatility in short term interest rates and to bring more transparency in the implementation of monetary policy, State Bank of Pakistan has decided to introduce an interest rate corridor for the money market overnight repo rates. The corridor will operate through standing overnight repo / reverse-repo facilities (i. . floor & ceiling), setting a formal corridor for the money market overnight repo rates consistent with the monetary policy of State Bank of Pakistan. The salient features of the interest rate corridor are as follows: 1. The interest rate corridor will consist of two end-of-day Standing facilities offered by State Bank of Pakistan: Existing SBP 3-day Repo Facility will be renamed as SBP Overnight Reverse-Repo Facility, which will become the ‘Ceiling’; and a new SBP Overnight Repo Facility to absorb excess funds from the market will serve as the ‘Floor’ of the corridor. . The procedure for availing the end-of-day financing facility from State Bank of Pakistan at the ‘Ceiling’ rate in case the market is short of funds will continue to be in accordance with the existin g practices and instructions issued by State Bank of Pakistan from time to time in reference to the ‘SBP 3 day Repo Facility (now renamed as SBP Overnight Reverse-Repo Facility) against Government of Pakistan Market Treasury Bills and Federal/Pakistan Investment Bonds. 3. The overnight end-of-day standing repo facility at the ‘Floor’ rate will be available to scheduled banks and primary dealers which are left with excess funds in the interbank market. These funds can be placed with State Bank of Pakistan in the form of an overnight repo against Treasury Bills at the   Ã¢â‚¬ËœFloor’ rate. Some of the operational details are as under: a. Only scheduled banks and primary dealers will be eligible to place the funds at the ‘Floor’ rate with State Bank of Pakistan . This facility will only be available at the end of the day, when it can be ascertained that the market has excess funds. c. The time for intimating this amount to the State Bank of Pakistan will be between 2:30pm to 3. 30pm from Monday to Friday and between 12:00pm to 1. 00pm on Saturday. (Specimen format is enclosed). d. The minimum amount for the Overnight Repo/Reverse Repo Facility will be PKR. 100 million, and in multiples of PKR. 50 million thereof. e. The Treasury Bills acquired under the Standing Overnight Repo facility from State Bank of Pakistan will be SLR eligible. 4. The ‘Floor’ and the ‘Ceiling’ rates (and the width of the corridor) will be advised by the State Bank of Pakistan from time to time as deemed necessary. 5. State Bank of Pakistan will continue to conduct term Open Market Operations (OMOs) in the form of repos/ reverse-repos as per current practice in addition to these standing facilities. 6. The interest rate corridor will be applicable from 17Aug, 2009. i. MONETARY POLICY: Monetary policy is the mechanism or the process through which the government, the central bank or the monetary authority of any country controls or determines the (a) supply of money, (b) the availability of money, (c) the cost of money or the interest rate, keeping in mind the broad strategic objectives of the state regarding price level, growth and stability in an economy and the overall policies that supports or u nder which people would want to start businesses and provide employment. When the incident of 9/11 happened, the overall economic environment of the world was affected very seriously and an impact of tightening monetary policy also falls. After the incident the foreign investment shoot up and flow of money continuously increased, although the value of money was stabilized but it causes inflation in many countries as well as in Pakistan. The inflow of foreign remittances resulted in inflationary pressure. In 2001, SBP revised its policy to control the flow of money. Since 2004, SBP in continuously issuing monetary policy statement biannually from Jan-June and second from July-Dec. TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTING MONETARY POPLICY: To implement its objectives , some tools are required: 1. Direct Instruments 2. Indirect Instruments DIRECT INSTRUMENTS: * Cash Reserve Requirements (CRR) * Statutory Liquidity Requirements (SLR) CASH RESEVE REQUIREMENTS (CRR):

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Evolution of English Churches

The development of English churches The English churches which are emerged during the epoch of different reigns and its architectural features are a alone country of survey. It varies in many facets from other manners of architecture every bit good as the stuffs used. The period from 600 AD to 1900 AD was the period in which the different architectural manners were emerged. It starts with the Anglo Saxon period to Victorian period. It is a huge country of survey in which the picks of construction were selected based on many grounds like influence of households or swayers, handiness of stuffs etc. Each and every period was landmarks of the architecture which influenced in the building of English churches within the cultural boundaries. During the reign of different emperors, the fortunes for doing different assortments in the building of churches became a tendency and it created different architectural manners. Every manner has difference in many facets and the workers followed the forms in similar mode on all the buildings in that period. Anglo Saxon period The Anglo Saxon period started from 600 AD to 1066 AD. The plants which carried out during this period depicts the influence of Roman business in the Britain. Later it became the far making manner of architecture spread to some other parts of Europe. The relatively geographical isolation, the distribution and handiness of edifice stuffs and workingmans contributed to this manner of British architecture which we call now as Anglo Saxon period. The influences can be seen particularly in the Basilica program, the Celtic program, etc. All the earliest churches which were built here whilst Britain belonged to the Roman Empire and in the southern parts where the influence of the Christianity predominated for long afterwards were in the basilican manners. Outside the southern England these were seldom found during the terminal of 7th century. The digging work which was carried out at the Roman town of Silchester, Hampshire, revealed a 4th century Christian church of this type. Augustine’s foremost cathedral at Canterbury has similar characteristics of St Peters basilica at Rome. Each Anglo Saxon church had its ain distinctive characteristics which is the ground the current province of each church is different other than its land program. The churches were low, unpretentious and purely functional. That is the difference of Anglo Saxon edifices with the replacements. The best sanctum crosses are done with rock in this period which are shown as an illustration of early Christian art in the northern portion. The favorite subjects of the Anglo Saxons were animate beings, birds, foliages, vines and scriptural characters. The workers chiefly worked with cocks and chisels. The church walls look strong and solid though they were non truly thick. Quoining was another characteristic of the Anglo Saxon walls in which the rocks will be placed on top of the other at the point where two walls met. Towers at this period were square, rectangular or round in form. It reaches a upper limit of 70 pess. They were non professional in building techniques that they could construct traversing towers on pies and arches. The Windowss were little and the church was affected by conditions jobs. Glass was available but it was really expensive because of its foreign beginning. Most of the Windowss were directly sided and unit of ammunition headed. There were cells built under the organic structure of the church which is called as the crypts. These were found in the edifices which were built by the well traveled missionaries. This was a convenient topographic point to hive away, exhibit and were besides used to conceal hoarded wealths or sacred relics which were collected during the pilgrim's journey. The crypts walls were thick and were divided into differentiated countries. These were the peculiar characteristics which were subsequently became treatments and hallmarks of the Anglo Saxon architectural manner. During its broad heritage of more than 5 centuries the manner made its grade in the history of British church building every bit good as the overall architecture of the British edifices, though it varied in assorted countries of England. The Norman and Transitional period These were another noticeable period which played a major function in doing the elegant manner of the British architecture. The Norman period extended from 1066 AD to 1160 AD and the Transitional period was 1150 AD to 1200 AD. Like the Anglo Saxons, the architecture in Normandy where they developed a manner of Romanesque which has its ain regional and local features. Edward the Confessor made the Norman architecture implemented in the ecclesiastical affairs. The Council of London, 1075, moved dioceses to big Centres and at that topographic point cathedrals were started in Norman manner. This tendency was ended by the male monarch William II who made great demands on the church architecture. Until 12th century the Anglo Saxon church art and sculpture was far advance than the Norman architecture. The first church which is built in Norman manner after the conquering of were solid looking and solemn, and was virtually barren of any coloring material or ornament. Norman architecture was developed in the late 30 old ages of the 11th century as it did in Normandy, but the church edifice rushed in front. The overall thought was to supply every small town with a topographic point of worship and as a consequence every medieval church will stay Norman in beginning. The ornamentations were unusual including the beak caput which was a favorite signifier of ornament, which take us into which is used in adorning truss tabular arraies. The caputs of firedrake, birds, animate beings etc were given a long beak or pointed mentum which extended over a convex modeling to turn over below. The Norman walls were holding rubble infilling between the teguments of appareled rocks and were looking midst and solid. The faces had shots which were made during the carving of the axe. Buttresss were introduced in this period which was meant chiefly for projecting from land degree against the exterior wall, in contrast to the Saxon pilasters which appeared at many points on wall surfaces. They were rather apparent built in one phase with upper surfaces inclining towards the corners. The towers were no longer provided as the chief entryway to the church, whereas it is used as the domination portion of the church which is noticeable than anything in the environment. The Normans developed a technique for back uping the cardinal tower with wharfs which is placed merely at the angles, which became the best advantage of the tower design. Towers were fundamentally built in rectangular or square base but may be built round where there is a deficiency of stuffs. The Windowss were extremely setup carbon monoxide related with the exterior wall surface, but were used as a natural visible radiation beginning. The doors were decorated with sanctuary arches which were the most dramatic characteristic of the eleventh and 12th century architecture. The perpendicular boards of oak were used as the door elements which was battened horizontally and press sets were given outdoors. The chief designs used by the Normans for their founts were round unmounted, round mounted on a cardinal root with several other supports which his either used for functional capacity whereas the square unmounted is normally thick cornered and is holding cardinal root. They carved the objects which they were most afraid of every bit good as the objects they like the most with lasting stuffs. In this period legion cosmetic thoughts were developed which was begun with petroleum carving and a figure of regional manners were evolved. In the transitional period the builders and the Masons were seeking for new ways of showing their development accomplishments. The usage of axe was replaced by chisels and cocks which made a new tendency and gave good consequences. The first transitional pointed arches were constructional which was non seen earlier. Sometimes the unit of ammunition headed arches and the pointed arches were placed side by side in such a manner that one can see how short a infinite of clip that latter took consequence. The highs of towers in this period increased and the gaps which were round in form besides contained some pointed arches. The transitional period may be otherwise called as the transmutation period from Norman to the Early English period. The Early English period It was the period in which the Victorians liked the least but for which they accorded the descriptive term ‘first pointed’ was curious to England in the old ages between Romanesque and geometrical Gothic. This period extended from 1200 AD to 1300 AD and was a glorious age where the British ecclesiastical plants started to do its English manner. In this period the barbarian enthusiasm in the architectural positions and beliefs were dominated by the echt spiritual ideas. It was influenced by the reigns of Richard ( 1189-99 ) and John ( 1199-1216 ) and their ideas made much alteration in the buildings at that clip. By the starting of 13th century the church has become rectangular or cruciform in its land program. The builders have got an thought how to manage burden and structural strains by the clip of this period in 13th century. They did experiments on the burden facets and a new assortment in the building techniques was created. The most abiding design in this period was crocket. The design was influenced by the classical capitals of abroad which was altered and made in the concave hook form with shafts and had a lobbed visual aspect. On the borders of arches and goons the Canis familiaris caput was sculptured and was the precursor of the designs in the 14th century. In some countries the churches were little and tower less. The wall doesn’t have much greater thickness to maintain them up and back up the weight from above. The walls still had a rubble masonry construction but the cognition gained by the Masons helped to better a batch in the structural parametric quantities. The realization of the mistakes in the old building plants made noticeable alteration in the walls and even in the arrangement of window. The form of window was changed to indicate headed and it extended to the tracery. The buttresses projected more from the wall than earlier and were extended above the land degree to an extent. They were largely straight sided and the borders were chamfered. The twine classs were little and elegant which can be seen throughout the edifice and had about tantamount characteristics which they were resembled. The Decorated The first Edwardian epoch was another aureate period which the Victorian loved the most for its pureness. They called this period as in-between or 2nd pointed when the church architecture resembled the Gallic constructions in the 14th century. This period started by the terminal of 13th century, to be specific 1300 AD and ended at 1377 AD. Though it has similar characteristics of Gallic manner of architecture, it doesn’t peculiarly resemble that in the concluding phase. The imaginativeness and wild thought of the emperors every bit good as the creative persons made the churches more adorned than earlier. They included more seats to the church and made it more secular than earlier. Inside the church societal events took topographic point and became more unfastened to the populace. The internal walls were coloured decently and they covered more with cosmetic elements, whereas the services were made of ritual. Overall cosmetic result of this clip was ne'er been realised. During this clip the building of many churches remained unfinished because of decease of Masons and builders due to blight. Even though these calamities happened, the term decorated genuinely depicted in largest churches. There was non much promotion in the program or executing of the church edifice, but the basic programs of aisled nave, sanctuary, western tower, north and south porch had great alterations in 14th century. Largely the new ornaments were seen in the outside. Large Windowss were inserted in to the sanctuary walls. Normally a big church was constructed with three floors named arcade, triforia and clearstory, whereas in smaller 1s the in-between bed was omitted. There were legion moldings in the 14th century, but were much less undercut than earlier. Crockets became more attractive as they implemented a natural incurvate manner. Interior walls became more decorated in coloring material, whereas the surfaces were non prepared good. Another characteristic was the cyma reversa arch which was applied every bit widely as possible. Buttresss achieved the maximal flawlessness in footings of its proportions every bit good as cosmetic beauty. They were wider than earlier and were holding more jutting visual aspect at the base. Roofs were largely built in lumber and were covered with rock tiles, lead or herpes zosters. Builders tried better ways of structural agreements which was another advantage of this period. It was non until this period and even so none excessively shortly in most countries, that full advantage began to take topographic point of the clearstory, and it became a standard characteristic. Builders started adding parapets which were better treated and has became a major component of ornament. Although some octangular towers were put up, two, three or four phase square program was largely preferred. Cornice was decorated with ball flower, rolling four leaf ornament or little caputs. Windows became another separating characteristic of the church in both figure and size, in a proportion to the available sizes. Windows of little churches had four visible radiations and may widen up to 9 in larger edifices. The outside porches were made reasonably apparent with its roofing at sensible highs and exterior gaps similar to interior room accesss. They may or may non incorporate parapet walls. But will be decorated with heraldry. Some of them were unfastened work lumber porches which were built on rock or wooden base. Doorways became more pointed whereas it varied in size. Pedestals were made in different phases like unit of ammunition, square or octangular with smaller base country. Another flowery illustration was the sides of the bowl which was divided by either the buttress or shaft, which were topped by pinnacles. The base of these was frequently on caputs or knots. Perpendicular age This age was between 1377 AD and 1547 AD when a curious English manner of church architecture was born. This period was the longest in the history than any other periods and had batch of single typical characteristics. In parish churches this tendency was executed by Masons who were non the best but who could get by with its simple lines. They had elegant manners which had beautiful proportioning. The basic perpendicular run alonging continued to widen throughout the edifice. When compared to the cosmetic age, the plants were looking plainer and the inside of the churches became colder. The form of the shadiness, shadow and visible radiation was non affected for the sculpture detailing and Masons concentrated in doing big Windowss in high walls. The shell of the church had become a topographic point for puting dominant characteristics which can be given as an illustration for originative excellence. There was an astonishing rise for the wood worker whose plants were considered every bit as Masons. Voluntary administrations came for supplying community services in the 14th century. Some of them were rich trading administrations who have the capacity to construct their ain chapels or take over a portion of church. The program of the church was made alterations harmonizing to the demands of clubs and persons for chapels and chantries. The nave walls which had protruded from the roof were taken down and reconstruct to include a clearstory. This became an ineluctable standard characteristic of perpendicular churches. Surface was decorated widely where some twine classs were omitted in small town churches smaller in size. Dripstones or label Michigans were returned at the springing of the arch, which were on occasion curved towards the wall and embattled. Walls were built high and was constructed of skillfully shaped ashlars, but weakened in themselves by the extent to which the surface country was reduced to a lower limit in order to suit big Windowss. Spouts were provided for transition of H2O from the parapet keeping. George masons experimented with different parapets and a great assortment of parapets were introduced in this clip. The parapet was constructed in elaborate ornamentation spliting into three parts named get bying set and valance. One of the disadvantages of the dilutant walls was to take slender buttresses still from the walls surface. Diagonal buttresses climbed the tower and corresponded with the phases, be givening to decease into the wall merely below the parapet. Flying buttress was non widely accepted in the state and was on occasion put up the whole length of the nave. The most beautiful roofs were built unfastened and appeared high and broad, had an absence of tie beam. The cock beam roof was considered sole for the eastern states. It support arch bases widening from the horizontal stations to the church caput. Sometimes the larger churches tried to hold a dual cock beam roof and they remained the richest among the extremely decorated 1s. The complicated vaulting was experimented during this period even though it was relatively rare.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Hester Prynne essays

Hester Prynne essays Sense prevails over sensibility. Characters in a novel often achieve the object of their desire because they possess good sense. While those who become disillusioned with life are easily carried by their emotions. Austen displays some degree of satire in Sense and Sensibility, effectively used in exposing the hypocrisy of individuals and society. Elinor is the ideal woman, being affectionate, pragmatic and prudent. She possesses good sense. On the other hand, Marianne embodies sensibility. She is charming and clever, but impulsive. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen shows how the conflict and the setting express the theme of the novel. Both Elinor and Marianne are the protagonists of Sense and Sensibility. They are wooed by the men of their choice, but later they are let down by these men. This is the conflict of the novel. As a result, they both face disappointments and rejection. However, Elinor lets her good sense guide her, and she is ultimately united with her lover. Marianne gets carried away by her sensibility and emotion and becomes despondent. She is ultimately rewarded with a competent husband when she recovers her sense of judgement. Both Elinor and Marianne achieve the object of their desire. They just had to possess good sense. Clearly, the conflict helped Elinor and Marianne use or find their good sense. The novel is set in London and its surrounding districts. The opening of the novel is in Sussex. Henry Dashwood is living on his uncles estate in Norland. However, after the death of Henry, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters move to Devonshire. Their cottage, overlooking the Barton Valley, is a pleasant, fertile spot, well-wooded, and rich in pasture. In this part and the last part of the novel, the characters are shown living in the contryside, where they are content and expect happiness. Then the setting moves to London, when Elinor and Marianne accompany...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Freedom Through Lawlessnes essays

Freedom Through Lawlessnes essays The film Thelma and Louise, written by Callie Khouri, is a story about two ordinary women living under male domination in small-town Arkansas. Louise (Susan Sarandon), an unhappy waitress, and her best friend Thelma (Geena Davis), an unloved housewife, decide to go away for the weekend to get away from the monotony of their everyday lives. Louises plan is to drive until they reach their destination, which is a cabin in the mountains. But, during a stop at a bar along the way, Louise fails to consider that Thelma has no experience with heavy drinking and sweaty aggressive cowboys. As events unfold, Thelma is nearly raped and Louise, in rescuing her, shoots and kills the drunken male aggressor. Instinctively, the two women run while trying to comprehend what had just happened to them. Before and after the shooting, the two main characters are surrounded by male figures that are sexist, domineering, and crude. Thus, the rhetorical criticism of Thelma and Louises domination by a p atriarchal society will be critiqued through the model of feminist criticism. This criticism will require in-depth analysis, which will examine gender roles as well as how patriarchy is constructed and maintained during the film. How Thelma and Louise are treated because of their womanhood is important to the progression of the storyline. Thelma and Louises role in society is established as insignificant because of their gender. This is shown through their various encounters with men, such as when they speak with the men in their lives, when they are insulted in a bar, or even when they are sexually harassed as they are driving down the street. During the films opening scenes, Thelma is shown to be a submissive Barbie-doll type housewife, accustomed to everyone else thinking for her. Her friend, Louise is revealed as a thirty something waitress whose musician boyfriend is afraid of commitment. Thus, throughout ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Crimes of Scorecard Killer Randy Kraft

The Crimes of Scorecard Killer Randy Kraft Randolph Kraft, also known as the Scorecard Killer, the Southern California Strangler, and the Freeway Killer, is a  serial rapist, torturer, and killer who was convicted for the mutilation and deaths of at least 16 young males from 1972 through 1983 throughout  California, Oregon, and  Michigan. A cryptic list found at the time of his arrest linking him to 40 additional unsolved murders became known as Krafts Scorecard. Early Life Born on March 19, 1945, in Long Beach, California, Randolph Kraft was the youngest child and only son of four children born to Opal and Harold Kraft. As the baby of the family and the only boy, Kraft was showered with attention from his mother and sisters. However, Krafts father was distant, preferring to spend most of his non-working time with his mother and sister. Krafts childhood was mostly unremarkable. He was, however, prone to accidents. At the age of 1, he fell from a couch and broke his collarbone. A year later, he was knocked unconscious after falling down a flight of stairs but a trip to the hospital determined that there was no permanent damage. Krafts family moved to Midway City in Orange County, California when he was 3. His parents purchased a former Womens Army Corps dormitory located in a commercial zone within 10 miles of the  Pacific Ocean and converted the structure into a three-bedroom home. Although the house was modest, both parents worked to pay the bills. Early Education At the age of 5, Kraft was enrolled in the Midway City Elementary school. Although a working mother, Opal was was a member of the PTA, baked cookies for Cub Scout meetings, and was active at church, making certain that her children received Bible lessons. Kraft excelled at school where he was recognized as an above-average student. In junior high school, he was placed in the advanced curriculum program and continued to maintain excellent grades. It was during these years that his interest in conservative politics grew and he proudly declared himself a diehard Republican. By the time Kraft entered high school, he was the only child still living at home. His sisters had married and moved into homes of their own. Since both his parents worked and were not often around, Kraft was fairly independent. He had his own room, his own car, and money he earned working part-time jobs. Kraft seemed like a typical fun-loving kid. While he was academically gifted, Kraft got along well with his peers. He played the saxophone in the school band, enjoyed tennis, and was a founder and participant in a student club focused on conservative politics. Kraft graduated high school at the age of 18, ranking 10th in his class of 390 students. College Years and Homosexual Awakening During his final year of high school and unbeknownst to his family, Kraft began cruising gay bars. After graduating, Kraft enrolled at Claremont Mens College on a full scholarship where he majored in economics. His interest in conservative politics continued, and he often attended  pro-Vietnam war  demonstrations. Kraft joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps, and in 1964, was a staunch supporter of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. During his sophomore year of college, Kraft became involved in his first openly homosexual relationship. He also changed his political affiliation from conservative to left-wing liberal. (He would later explain his years as a conservative as merely an effort to be like his parents.) Although Krafts homosexuality was not a secret at Claremont, his family was still unaware of his orientation. In an effort to clue his parents in, Kraft often brought homosexual friends home to meet his family. Remarkably, they failed to make the connection and remained unaware of Krafts sexual preferences. While still in school, Kraft took a part-time job as a bartender at The Mug, a popular gay bar located in Garden Grove. During this time, Krafts sexual appetites flourished. He began cruising for male prostitutes at known pickup spots around Huntington Beach. In 1963, he was arrested after propositioning an undercover police officer but the charges were dropped because Kraft had no previous arrest record. Change in Lifestyle In 1967, Kraft adopted more of a hippie look. He let his hair grow long and started sporting a mustache. He also became a registered  Democrat and worked on the Robert Kennedy campaign. It was at about this time that Kraft also began suffering from recurring headaches and stomach pain. His family doctor prescribed tranquilizers and pain medicine- which he often mixed with beer. Between his bartending job, his own drinking and drugging, his sexual experimentation, and heavy political campaigning efforts, Krafts interest in academia declined. In his final college year, rather than studying, he spent his time getting high, gambling, and hustling. As a result, he didnt graduate on time. It took him eight additional months to earn a Bachelor of Arts in economics, which he received in February 1968. U.S. Air Force and Coming Out In June 1968, after scoring high marks on the Air Force aptitude tests, Kraft enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He threw himself into his work and quickly advanced to the rank of Airman First Class. It was at this time that Kraft finally decided to come out to his family. His ultra-conservative father flew into a rage. While she did not approve of her sons lifestyle,  Krafts mother continued to show love and support for him. His family eventually came to terms with the news, however, the relationship between Kraft and his parents was never the same. On July 26, 1969, Kraft received a general discharge from the Air Force on medical grounds. He later claimed the discharge came after he told his superiors that he was gay. Kraft briefly moved back home and took a job as a forklift operator and also worked part-time as a bartender- but not for long. Relationships with Jeff Graves and Jeff Seelig In 1971, after deciding to become a teacher, Kraft enrolled at Long Beach State University. While there, he met fellow student Jeff Graves. Kraft moved in with Graves and they stayed together until the end of 1975. It was Graves who introduced Kraft to bondage, drug-enhanced sex, and threesomes. The open relationship between Kraft and Graves grew more volatile as time went on. They frequently argued. Kraft had grown less interested in cruising for one-night stands and was looking to settle down into a monogamous relationship. Graves wanted just the opposite. Kraft met Jeff Seelig at a party in 1976, about a year after he and Graves split up. At 19, Seeling, who worked as an apprentice baker, was 10 years younger than Kraft. Kraft took on the mantle of a mentor in the relationship. He introduced Seelig to the gay bar scene and taught him about cruising a nearby U.S. Marine base for partners to engage in threesomes. Kraft and Seelig advanced in their careers. Eventually, the couple decided to purchase a small home in Long Beach but after Kraft landed a computer job with Lear Siegler Industries, he began spending a lot of time away from home on business trips to Oregon and Michigan. Tensions between the pair grew. The age gap, as well as the disparity in their educational backgrounds, and general personalities differences began to take their toll. The couple split up in 1982. The Tip of the Iceberg: Krafts First Murder Charge On May 14, 1983, two California highway patrol officers spotted a car weaving down the road. The driver was Kraft. The officers signaled for him to pull over but he continued driving for a short distance before coming to a stop. When Kraft finally pulled over, he quickly emerged from the car and walked toward the patrolmen. He smelled of alcohol and his fly was open. After failing a standard field sobriety test, the patrolmen went to take a look at Krafts car, where they found a young man, his pants pulled down and barefoot, slumped over in the passenger seat. The victims genitals were exposed, his neck showed signs of strangulation marks, and his wrists were bound. After a brief examination, it was determined the young man was dead. The victim was identified as a Marine stationed at the El Toro Marine Airbase, 25-year-old Terry Gambrel. Gambrels friends later reported that the young Marine had been hitchhiking to a party on the night he was murdered. His autopsy revealed hed been killed by ligature strangulation, and also indicated that his blood contained excessively high levels of alcohol and tranquilizers. The Scorecard and Other Key Evidence During the search of Krafts vehicle, patrolman found 47 Polaroid photos of young men, all nude, and all appearing to be unconscious- or possibly dead. The photographs were likely viewed by Kraft as trophies he could use to revisit the murders. Perhaps even more alarming was evidence found inside a briefcase taken from the trunk of Krafts car that contained a list of 61 cryptic messages. Investigators came to believe the messages- later dubbed Krafts infamous scorecard- formed a list of Krafts murder victims. Further evidence gathered at Krafts apartment- including clothing owned by victims, fibers from a rug matching fibers found at murder scenes, and Krafts fingerprints were later linked to various unsolved murders. Police also found pictures next to Krafts bed matching three cold-case murder victims. Krafts Modus Operandi All of Krafts known victims were  Caucasian males with similar physical characteristics. Some were gay, some were straight. All were tortured and murdered but the severity of torture varied by degree from victim to victim. Most were drugged and bound; several were mutilated, emasculated, sodomized, and photographed postmortem. The severity of the violence his victims endured seemed to correspond with how Kraft and his lover were getting along at the time of the incident. When Kraft and his lover were on the outs, the victims would often pay the price. Investigators learned that Kraft often traveled to Oregon and Michigan while employed at an aerospace firm from June 1980 through January 1983. Unsolved murders in both areas coincided with the dates that Kraft was there. This, along with decoding some of Krafts cryptic scorecard messages, added to the growing list of Krafts victims. Possible Accomplice Some of the investigators working the case believed Kraft must have had an accomplice. As damning as the evidence was, they couldnt ignore the fact that many of the victims had been pushed out of a car traveling at about 50 miles an hour- a feat that would be next to impossible to do achieve alone. Jeff Graves became the  main person of interest. He and Kraft had lived together during the time that 16 of the known murders took place. Graves backed up Krafts statement to police about his whereabouts on March 30, 1975, the night that 19-year-old Keith Daven Crotwell disappeared. Crotwell and his friend Kent May had gone on a drive with Kraft that evening. Kraft supplied both the teens with drugs and alcohol. Kent passed out in the back seat. Kraft pushed Kent out of the car. Crotwell was never seen alive again. Witnesses who saw May being thrown from the car helped police track Kraft down. When questioned, Kraft maintained that  he and Crotwell went for a drive and that the car had gotten stuck in the mud. He said he called Graves to come help but Graves was 45 minutes away so he decided to walk and  find help. When he returned to the car, Crotwell was gone. Graves corroborated  Krafts story. After Krafts arrest for murder, Graves, then in the advanced stages of AIDS, was questioned again. He told investigators, Im really not going to pay for it, you know. Graves succumbed to his illness before revealing anything incriminating. The Trial Kraft was initially arrested and charged with the murder of Terry Gambrel but as forensic evidence linking Kraft to other murders piled up, additional charges were filed. By the time Kraft went to trial, he was charged with 16 murders, nine counts of sexual mutilation, and three counts of sodomy. Kraft went to trial on September 26, 1988, in what turned out to be one of the longest and most costly trials in the history of Orange County. After 11 days, a jury found him guilty and he was given the death sentence. During the penalty phase of the trial, the state called Krafts first known victim, Joseph Francher to  testify  about the abuse hed suffered at Krafts hands when he was just 13, and how it had impacted his life. Kraft is currently  on death row in San Quentin. In 2000, the California Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Heather MacDonald's Hispanic Family Values Essay

Heather MacDonald's Hispanic Family Values - Essay Example Social workers and government policies are at a great quandary on how to deal with such a problem and various solutions and proposals had been put forward but it seems to no avail. This paper is a short discussion of the so-called â€Å"Hispanic problem† and the Latinization of America. Discussion Heather MacDonald's rather lengthy article delves on the growing Hispanic class of unwed mothers living in America today. The article â€Å"Hispanic Family Values?† questions the assumptions inherent in the Spanish-American society in which being a single parent has been considered as culturally acceptable but this has serious implications for American society as a whole because the Spanish-descent population of America is the fastest-growing segment and this has a profound impact on American society today and in the foreseeable future. To help in her arguments, MacDonald relied greatly on the appeal of logos (logical based on knowledge) rather than on the other two appeals in an argument, which are the ethos (ethical) and pathos (emotional). Along this line, she cited a lot of facts and figures derived from statistical studies. The structure of the essay is being expository by using strong and clear claims about the serious implications of a large population sub-segment that is unwed, reliant on the social welfare services and finds nothing objectionable to having unwed mothers, often very young. There is strong evidence for her claims and it is therefore hard to argue against these claims. A large portion of her essay was devoted to citing incontrovertible evidence using statistics and a host of anecdotes and vignettes regarding actual lives of its study subjects. Any person who had read this article would come out fairly convinced of her point of view regarding the social crisis facing Hispanic society in America today based on warrants that are essentially valid. A lot of supposedly â€Å"Hispanic family values† had instead worked against this immigrant section of the population like having a tight-knit family conducive to raising a kid without a father. A case in point is the citation regarding how fast the Spanish-American population is growing compared to other ethnic groups in America. A high birth rate (female fertility) that is coupled with an accepting and tolerant culture towards having illegitimate children had been a great contributory factor to the main social problem. The author cited these alarming statistics to show the extent of the problem: â€Å"The rate of childbirth for Mexican teenagers, who come as from by far the largest and fastest-growing immigrant population, greatly outstrips every other group. The Mexican teen birthrate is 93 births per every 1,000 girls, compared with 27 births for every 1,000 white girls, 17 births for every 1,000 Asian girls, and 65 births for every 1,000 black girls. To put these numbers into international perspective, Japan’s teen birthrate is 3.9, Italy’s i s 6.9, and France’s is 10. Even though the outsize U.S. teen birthrate is dropping, it continues to inflict unnecessary costs on the country. . .† and although the author maybe did not want to sound alarmist, the dimensions of the problem boggles the mind. Many of Spanish grandmothers are single and never wed, so their daughters never got married

Friday, October 18, 2019

In life people face many challenges which lead to growth. Analyze how Essay

In life people face many challenges which lead to growth. Analyze how challenges help people grow in many ways - Essay Example Maya Angelou’s autobiographical work ‘Graduation’ explores the author’s personal struggles and the obstacles she faced particularly in relation to racial prejudices while attending her graduation ceremony from a segregated middle school in Arkansas. The author discusses the range of emotions she felt before, during and after the event. Initially, her primary feelings were those of excitement and pride at her educational achievements and accomplishments. She then went through a period of disappointment and anger while eventually letting go of the animosity she felt for others. The author’s anticipation and enthusiasm at her impending graduation was well-deserved. She had received good grades and her family, particularly her mother, was extremely proud of her. Their preparations were detailed and filled with joy as she was given gifts, money, words of wisdom and praise. However, as the author sat at the ceremony and listened to the speeches, it became clear to her that the achievements of her black classmates were not regarded in the same way as those of her white contemporaries. The authors feelings changed immediately as she was overcome with disappointment, anger and resentment as this served to remind her of the stereotypical ‘place’ of black people as the time in terms of taking on quite menial positions such as cleaning and labour. Aspirations of further educational achievements and more respectable positions were dashed from her mind in these moments as she pondered â€Å"It was awful to be a negro and have no control over my li fe† (Angelou 37). In Andre Barrett’s ‘A Hole in the Wall’, the author similarly reflects upon a time in which she experienced a traumatic and emotionally distressing event, in this case, the 2001 World Trade Centre attacks. She recounts how very shortly after she and her husband moved to the city, she witnessed the fateful

Identify recent key themes relating to recruitment and selection Essay

Identify recent key themes relating to recruitment and selection. Critically discuss the way in which recruitment strategies and - Essay Example Hiring the wrong person for the job can be costly for the organisation due to which it is essential that the right individual must be recruited and selected for the right job (Leopold, Harris, & Watson, 2005). Recruitment and selection is a vital process of human resource management as it attract individuals to work for the organisation based on qualification to achieve the height of success (Walker, 2009). Thus recruitment is a process to identify the potential candidate from internal and external sources for the right job and at the right time. On the other hand, selection is a process to identify the ideal candidate for the job that will be allowed to work for the organisation in order to achieve the goals and objectives. In simpler words, selection could be said as the process to make decision to â€Å"hire† or â€Å"no hire† regarding the candidates recruited for the job. Both the processes vary from country to country and from job to job. Both these processes are used by organisations to increase the odds of hiring the potential candidate for the right job at the right time to be successful at what they do (Walker, 2009). Recruitment and Selection Strategies In order to gain a competitive edge over the others in the market, organisation relies heavily on the recruitment and selection strategies that could identify and attract the best qualified candidate for the job. ... Organisation can either recruit or select potential applicants from internal or external source which is entirely based on the level of job that needs to be done. For a senior level job, organisation tends to recruit and select employees from internal sources; succession management, and for operational and technical jobs preference is given to external sources (Pilbeam & Corbridge, 2006). The process of recruitment and selection is equally important for organisations as this process helps the organisation to attain and attract qualified personnel through strategies. Getting the right person at the right place and at the right time is essential in recruiting and selection process of an organisation. Recruitment and selection strategies act side by side in order to provide the organisation with the best available personnel to work for the accomplishment of goals and objectives (Redman & Wilkinson, 2006). The recruitment process provides the organisation with a variety of talent pool ba sed on the decision to fill an existing vacancy within an organisation. The first strategy in the recruitment process is the identification of requirement for the job and fitting the job in the organisation. According to Legge (2005) the effectiveness of recruitment and selection strategy could be seen through the reduction in turnover rate and motivation of employees. The focus of recruitment and selection strategies is to match the capabilities and skills of candidates against the requirements and demands for the job (Marchington, M. & Wilkinson, 2008). An organisation can recruit and select professional as well as non-management candidate through different recruitment strategies (Salaman, Storey, & Billsbury, 2005). These strategies include; The use of internet for

Thursday, October 17, 2019

(Criminal Justice) Issues for Judges and Sentencing Assignment

(Criminal Justice) Issues for Judges and Sentencing - Assignment Example In addition to these ethical rules, the prosecutors are also bound by other rules in the constitution that govern the conduct of professionalism. The judge in black robes is the only person in the court who is as a symbol of justice. Judges are expected to be neutral, and their decisions should be impartial, knowledgeable and authoritative. The judges guide the relevant people involved in the court and help in maintaining the courts proceedings (de Castro-Rodrigues & Sacau Fontenla, 2013). There are a number of issues considered problematic in the perceived objectivities of the judge during sentencing. These include disparities during sentencing and extra-legal sentencing disparity shown in unequal punishment of legally similar offenders. It is during the sentencing the judge should be guided by the canons of the judge’s conduct. He or she should uphold and promote independence, minimize any risk of conflict and not engaging himself or herself in any political or activities of the campaign. From the discussion post, we can conclude that during the sentencing time, the judge is expected to be guided by the criminal history and the current offense level of seriousness in issuing out the appropriate sentencing. This is so to avoid unequal punishment basing on factors that do not relate to law issues (Wooldredge, 2010). Despite this freedom of issuing sentences, some federal guidelines require judges involved in some cases to impose sentences that are specific unless circumstances established are

THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN - Research Proposal Example 3. The image of God is manifested in each and every person regardless of religious orientation and belief. Need for the Study The aim of the study is to proffer issues that would deepen one’s understanding on the statement that man was created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26 – 28). Having been explained in various literatures, the meaning of the â€Å"image of God† is presented in discussing the difference between man and other creations of God, particularly animals. Further, one would seek to determine if any violation from the factors signifying man’s being created in God’s image would that necessarily defy man’s existence as being created out of God’s image. For instance, if man commits sin with utter disregard for conscience, does that mean that the statement does not apply to him, in particular? Procedure of the Study The study would be conducted using various secondary sources of information of the topic. The sour ces would be authoritative and scholarly and would present balanced and unbiased views of the authors on the subject. If the time would allow, some primary information could be solicited through simple interviews of acquaintances and people from various walks of life regarding their personal points of views and perception of the topic.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

(Criminal Justice) Issues for Judges and Sentencing Assignment

(Criminal Justice) Issues for Judges and Sentencing - Assignment Example In addition to these ethical rules, the prosecutors are also bound by other rules in the constitution that govern the conduct of professionalism. The judge in black robes is the only person in the court who is as a symbol of justice. Judges are expected to be neutral, and their decisions should be impartial, knowledgeable and authoritative. The judges guide the relevant people involved in the court and help in maintaining the courts proceedings (de Castro-Rodrigues & Sacau Fontenla, 2013). There are a number of issues considered problematic in the perceived objectivities of the judge during sentencing. These include disparities during sentencing and extra-legal sentencing disparity shown in unequal punishment of legally similar offenders. It is during the sentencing the judge should be guided by the canons of the judge’s conduct. He or she should uphold and promote independence, minimize any risk of conflict and not engaging himself or herself in any political or activities of the campaign. From the discussion post, we can conclude that during the sentencing time, the judge is expected to be guided by the criminal history and the current offense level of seriousness in issuing out the appropriate sentencing. This is so to avoid unequal punishment basing on factors that do not relate to law issues (Wooldredge, 2010). Despite this freedom of issuing sentences, some federal guidelines require judges involved in some cases to impose sentences that are specific unless circumstances established are

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Discussion 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion 3 - Assignment Example In medieval art, the work was two dimensional, color was not widely in use and the sense of movement and emotion were not shown. In Renaissance art on the other hand, attention was on the beauty of the portrait as opposed to medieval art where attention was on the image. In Renaissance art, bodies were either nude or covered. These paintings were symmetrical while in mediaeval art, paintings were asymmetrical. The Early Renaissance period began in the years 1400-1479 A.D. in Italy. Italy then was characterized by a stable economy and hence rivalry between the city states (Glyn and Kennedy, p 27). The competition to construct a bronze door for the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral can be said as the foundation of the early Rennaisance.This completion attracted Brunelleschi, Donattelli and Ghiberti. They are the pioneers of early renaissance art and Brunnelli made the dome of the cathedral sculptor. He used natural aspects of nature itself while Donattelli works took a humanistic approach by creating erotic scenes, like, the sculptor of David. All this are elements of renaissance art. High Renaissance period emerged shortly after early renaissance in 1480 A.D. The aim of artists then, was to achieve harmony and balance in using the elements of early renaissance such as light, atmospheric perspective, anatomy and color. Use of oil as a media of painting was the norm and pioneers of this art are among others Leonardo Da Vinci (Glyn and Kennedy, p 40). Donatello, an Italian artist made a sculpture called the stature of Mark. The Stature is a full scale nude sculpture draped with clay and soaked with linen which covers it. The Sculpture portrays a religious belief because the stature holds a bible. Christianity is shown as a major concern of the early Italian renaissance. Another work is by German artist, Mathias Grunewald who drew a painting known as

Monday, October 14, 2019

Hematologic Discussion Essay Example for Free

Hematologic Discussion Essay Question 1 Anemia is a condition of the blood in which the number of healthy red blood cells is very low to meet the oxygen requirements of body tissues. It is mainly classified on the basis of erythrocyte morphology, physiology and probable etiology. The classification based on morphology of red blood cells takes into account the size of erythrocytes. Under this category microcytic anemia occurs if the red blood cells are smaller than normal. Normocytic anemia is present if the red blood cells have the normal size but lower in number whereas macrocytic anemia occurs when the red blood cells are larger than normal. Based on etiology, various conditions are considered which result in either blood loss, excessive destruction of red blood cells and decreased or impaired production of red blood cells. On the same note, the physiological classification is based on hemoglobin level and occurs in three stages. These include the mild stage in which the Hb level is 110-90g/l, moderate stage in which Hb level is 90-70g/l, and severe stage in which Hb level is Laboratory criteria (Makama, 2010). The three types of anemia are iron-deficiency anemia caused by blood loss such as in cases of heavy or prolonged menstrual periods, insufficient iron supply or underutilization of iron in the body.   Aplastic anemia is caused by inability of the bone marrow to produce enough erythrocytes, platelets and white blood cells. Sickle-cell anemia is caused by a hereditary defect which affects Hb production in which the red blood cells assume an abnormal crescent shape. It is worth noting that the most common type of anemia in the United States is iron-deficiency anemia since most women are of child bearing age and experience excessive blood loss during menses. Similarly, the signs and symptoms of this type of anemia are pale skin, fatigue, headache, dizziness, gastrointestinal disturbances, and dry mouth. Its treatment involves intake of iron rich diet including iron supplements (bodyandhealth.canada.com, 2009). Question 2 DIC is an acronym that stands for disseminated intravascular coagulation. It is a serious disorder in which proteins which control blood clotting become abnormally active resulting in formation of blood clots within blood vessels. The clogging of blood vessels cuts off blood supply to various organs such as the brain, liver and kidneys. DIC can be caused by certain types of blood cancer, blood infection by fungus or bacteria and blood transfusion reactions. Clinical manifestations include excessive hemorrhage, hypertension, and blood clots. DIC can be treated by using plasma transfusions to replace blood clotting factors. Also heparin may be used to prevent blood clotting (nlm.nih.gov, 2010).