Porters Five Forces of Competition Essay Example for Free

Porters Five Forces of Competition Essay Porter’s Lesson: Michael E. Porter’s article, the five competitive forces that shape strategy, is an article that dissects the true underlying factors of competition and industrial structure. Throughout the context of the article, Porter thoroughly explains how competition and profitability does not only derive from production of goods and services or the level of sophistication of a firm. Instead, he claims that in order for an industry to be truly competitive and profitable, the industry as a whole must hold a solid structure. Porter educates the audience by introducing the five key forces of strategy that will essentially lead to a firm’s prevalence of competitiveness. He labels these forces as direct competition, customers, suppliers, potential entrants, and substitute products. Porter claims that each of these forces of competition plays their roles within any competitive and even temporarily non-competitive industry. Porter’s main lesson for his audience is that in order for an individual firm or an industry to succeed, it must strategically know how to react to any shift within the industry, whether its competitiveness, supply and demand, economical issues, potential entrants, or even natural issues. Porter also strives to explain how a company could or could not earn a return on investment based on the intensity of the competition within the industry. All in all, Porter explicitly explains each of the five forces that shape an industries competition with a breakdown of different factors for each force, as well as real life examples that make the topic very clear for the audience to understand his lesson. Analysis of the Lesson: Of the five forces, Porter clearly educated the reader about the importance of potential entrants and their threat to an industry. I felt that one of Porter’s greater lessons in this matter was when he described the seven major sources of entry barriers, and how an incumbent can strategize to react to the competitiveness of the industry if a desired entrant were to exist. One aspect that really sparked my interest was when Porter went about explaining the entrant’s hesitancy of entering into an industry based on the level of retaliation from the existing firms within the market. On the other hand, it was also interesting to know that the entrant could also alarm the incumbents, when the entrant has a large amount of capital to invest as they enter from another market which they succeeded in. Another force that Porter dissected is what most people would think of in reaction to the term competition, and that is direct competition of one firm and another, or for the lack of a better word, rivalry. Porter made a statement, and that was, â€Å"The degree to which rivalry drives down an industry’s profit potential depends, first, on the intensity with which companies compete and, second, on the basis on which they compete.† As Porter discussed the different factors that affect the intensity of a rivalry, he noted that intense rivalry tends to destruct profitability if the battle between two firms is focusing solely on price because at that point, price competition is simply transferring profits directly from an industry to its customers, which will ultimately result in the degradation of an industry. I couldn’t agree more with Porter about the fact that when it comes to rivalry between multiple firms, the industry can find an advantage when each competitor aims to serve the needs of different customer segments, by focusing on a variety of price, products, services, features, or brand identities. Most people would think of a rivalry in terms of competition, and not necessarily take the time to think of other factors that are just as important when it comes to an industry’s competitiveness. Many are so focused on what goes on within their own market that they forget to acknowledge the outside forces until it slaps a firm across the face. Porter used an example of the photographic industry as he explained the importance of substitute products. Here he argued that long time competitors such as Kodak Fuji, two large photographic film companies, were in a position to lose profitability if they didn’t focus on outside forces, such as the entry of digital cameras. Although they are not as profitable as before, both companies made large investments, along with large amounts of research and development, and both prevailed in continuing to be somewhat profitable and slightly competitive in their industry rather than falling off all together. After reading that example, I instantly thought of different firms that didn’t focus on innovating at times where substitute products came into play, and those companies are no longer around. A few examples of companies that fell or are bound to fall are Blockbuster, Circuit City, Best Buy, K-Mart, and Sears. Once Porter ended his presentation of the five forces of competition and profitability, he continued to approach his final lesson, and that is the value created if a strategist accurately analyzes the five forces of competition within an industry. He enlightened the audience that if a strategist understands the competition within the industry, he will not only prevail beyond existing rivals, but could also uncover new opportunities such as differences in customers, suppliers, substitutes, potential entrants, and rivals that can become the basis for distinct strategies leading to superior performance. The only minor detail I felt that should have been added to this section on value is the possibility of losing value based on time devoted towards each force. Porter most definitely stated the facts when explaining the potential for new opportunities if understanding the industry as a whole. One thing he didn’t explain is what could also happen if a strategist possibly focuses on one aspect for too long, or fails to devote enough time to one competitive force versus another. I would imagine that this could possibly cause problems to arise rather than opportunity if a firm were to not manage its strategic time wisely. My Takeaways: I am fortunate that I am currently involved in a family business that allows me to relate to so many aspects of this article. My family currently owns and operates a five-store, soon to be six, supermarket chain in several parts of southern California. Like many other businesses, the everyday operation of a supermarket is exposed to countless aspects of business and its overall environment. I myself am within the world of supermarkets six out of the seven days in the week, and I can most definitely admit that this article completely enhanced my understanding of the terms competition and profitability. The amount of connections I could make with topics in this article to my everyday work is countless. For this paper, I’ll simply discuss what stood out most. First, I’ll have to give my takeaway on price competition and bargaining power. Item prices throughout the stores are what I’d consider to be the bullets in a gunfight between two competing supermarkets. There was a topic I discussed in my analysis that stated, â€Å"Firms that solely focus on price competition ultimately gives industry profitability to the customer.† In the supermarket industry, buyers constantly negotiate with suppliers for the lowest costs to provide customers with the most aggressive prices. This also relates to the section on buying power that Porter touches on. Here I learned, any store can simply raise prices or drop prices at store level, but the company that will prevail is that who is dominant in getting the lowest cost from the supplier, resulting in more aggressive margins verse the competitor. If both you and your competitor have the same price on one item, allow the competitor to give its profit to the customers by you being the one to pay less for the supply. The second factor that I can relate to which I will discuss is threat of new entrants and retaliation. If someone pulls up a map of supermarkets in a specific area, they will find seven to ten different supermarkets in a five mile radius. Competition from one company to another usually occurs within each region. At times, successful independent supermarket chains will raise awareness of other supermarket chains in a specific region by preparing to open a new store or buying out a current store that is not profitable. This is when the incumbents will do everything in their power to keep their customers from going to the new store that is most likely going to enter with highly aggressive pricing. At this time, you will see incumbent’s prices dropping, promotions increasing, advertisements become incredibly aggressive, prizes being given out, and any other form of retaliation a company can perform to keep its market share. As stated before, the connections are countless, and I could truthfully admit that I could write a twenty page paper on all the topics I can relate to in this article. I discussed a few relations above, but I must also state that this does not limit what I took away from Porter’s article that I can apply to my family’s business today. All in all, it was a highly educational read and a great tool for any business who seeks to increase competitiveness and profitability, let alone a great tool for any individual who plans to one day be a successful businessman.

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act Erica D’Souza The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act:  Impediments of Implementation Introduction to the Subject: The present paper basically focuses on the problems and impediments that have been faced in the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) in India. The paper primarily analyses and utilizes the secondary data available in the form of scholarly and newspaper articles on the concerned subject. The paper also attempts to understand, in a reverse mode, the advantages and drawbacks of the RTE Act. A new ray of hope became visible for the largely-undermined Public Education System in India when the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act came into force on 1st April, 2010. It has made free and compulsory education a fundamental right of every child in the (6 14) age group, irrespective of gender or social category (The Gazette 3). Now, it is a shared responsibility of both Central and State Governments to provide free and compulsory education to all children by all means. If a child is not getting access to the education, the State as well as the Central government will be responsible for it. The RTE Act also states that the responsibility of enrollment, attendance and completion of 8 years of schooling of every child will also be borne by the State. There is a special provision for the differently-able children in the Act. They will also be educated in the ordinary schools as well as up to the age of 18 (Soni and Rahman 6). Some important features of the act in brief (Gazette of India II): Every child belonging to the age group of 6-14 has the right to free and compulsory education. Private school will also have to take 25% of their class strength from the weaker section and the underprivileged groups of the society and that is also through a random selection process. It also states that there should not be any vacant seat in 25% quota in private schools. Moreover, these children from weaker background should be treated equally in all ways. Every school will have to follow norms and standards prescribed in the Act and school that does not follow these standards within 3 years will not be permitted to function further. No admission test or interview will be taken for children or parents in order to secure admission. A fixed student and teacher ratio is to be maintained suggested by the central government. The ratio is (30:1). The Government must ensure a Primary school within 1 KM and secondary school in 3 KM of all the territory of the State to ensure 100% enrollment. Impediments of Implementations: Different organizations have carried out various studies to find out status of implementation of the RTE Act focusing both on the educational infrastructure and quality of education. The most comprehensive and important survey is the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) which is carried out by Pratham, an education foundation bringing such annual report since 2005. ASER is carried out carried out by a local institution in every rural district in India. It is carried out each year in two months: September and November. In 2012, the survey reached 567 districts, 16,166 villages, 331,881 households and 5,96,846 children. About 500 organizations and 25,000 volunteers participated in this effort (Status 7). The ASER report for the status of implementation of the RTE Act in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan reveals two major findings which are not very gratifying for the implementation of the RTE Act in India and universalization of education: poor quality of education and privatization (8). The reports also provides some specific findings such as: turn down trend in student and teacher attendance; enrolment is high, but proportion of out-of-school children also high, first choice was given for private schools and declining reading skill, private tution in demand etc. In his article â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of RTE Act†, published in The Hindu on 21 May 2013, Mohamed Imranullah S. argues that despite 25% reservation for children from the weaker sections of the society in private schools, they do not end up enrolling themselves in the lack of proper information about it (Imaranullah 2). It shows that lack of awareness regarding the RTE Act and facilities which one can avail under this right is one of the major impediments in the successful implementation of the RTE Act. Siddhartha Shome in her article â€Å"What is Wrong with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act† draws our attention to a discrepancy inherent in the law itself which may also affect the proper implementation of the Act itself. She point out that if a private school fails to meet the required norms and standards, it will be fined heavily. But, in the same condition, a government run school will face no punishment (Shome 4). This inherent discrepancy, I feel, will also affect the attitudes of authorities in charge as they will not be responsible to provide answers if they fail to meet the given standards. And that will surely affect the education of children too. In their jointly written article â€Å"Feasibility of Implementation of Right to Education Act† and published in Economic and Political Weekly, Pankaj S Jain and Ravindra H Dholakia argue that insufficient allocation of the funds for the universal school system also weakens the proper impleme ntation of the RTE Act (Jain and Dholakia 38). They argue that government school system is inefficient to fulfill the dream nurtured by the Act and as a kind of solution to this problem they suggest to â€Å"rely on low cost private schools as a significant instrument of the government education policy† (Jain and Dholakia 38-43). In response to their article’s argument, Vimala Ramachandran in her article â€Å"Right to Education Act: A Comment† argues that reliance on alternative schools or private schooling will condemn the poor and marginalized to a second-rate education as they can never afford private and expensive schooling (Vimala 155). Status of Implementation of the RTE Act (2013): The study carried out in the year 2013 in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan regarding the implementation of the RTE Act reveals two major impediments in the implementation of the RTE Act: 1) The role of the state and 2) the coordination between the implementing agencies (The Status 26-27). The report reveals that the state is not very much willing to spend money on the proper implementation and there is a lack of coordination between implementing agencies such as the Labor Ministry and the police, the Human Resource Development Ministry, the child rights commissions in each state, etc. For example, In Uttar-Pradesh, the state has no intention of contributing towards implementation of Act and is wholly depended on the central government (Rai 3). The RTE Act states that a child must have access to a school near their home. How many schools would we have to build to meet the needs of the population? Dilara Sayeed in her article â €Å"Hurdles in implementation of Right to Education Act in India† draws our attention towards this problem. She argues that proper infrastructure, poor distribution of budget, acute shortage of teachers and great heterogeneity of citizenry all make proper and smooth implementation of RTE Act very difficult (Sayeed 4). According to her the lack of schools is a major hurdle for the implementation. She argues that for educating every Indian as proposed in RTE Act, not many schools have been built up by the centre or state government to meet the needs of the population (5). Moreover, the alarming growth of private tution-based education with heavy load of fee is also another reason. And because of it children of the poor class lag behind (6). Ramakant Rai in his article â€Å"Challenges in Implementing the RTE Act† draws our attention to another fragile issue which obstructs the smooth implementation of the RTE Act in India. He argues that the Indian Constitution has clear ly stated that implementation of RTE Act cannot be only done by the state but the Centre will have to contribute equally. Lack of funds cannot be the only hurdle for its implementation but lack of intent and political will is the primary obstacle. There is improvement seen in the facilities provided by schools and in infrastructure facilities but still quality of learning could not bring remarkable change over the period of nine years (Madhav Chavan- ASER report). There are many accusations against government school being questioned with mismanagement, skipping, negligence and of appointment made on political expediency (RTE Wiki). The act has provision for orphans to provide admission without seeking any certificates but still schools are not admitting students without required documents (RTE). It has also been argued that the RTE Act has been hastily drafted without concerning many expertise scholars in the field of education. Moreover, it did not properly mention the actual defin ition for quality education. Bibliography: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act, 2009). The Gazette of India. Web. http://www.ncte-india.org/Norms/RTE-1.pdf>. Soni, R.B.L. and Md. Atiqur Rahman. Status of Implementation of RTE Act-2009 in Context of Disadvantaged Children at Elementary Stage. Deptt. of Elementary Education. National Council of Educational Research and Training. Delhi. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). Pratham. Jain, Pankaj S and Ravindra H. Dholakia. â€Å"Feasibility of Implementation of Right to Education Act.† EPW 44.25 (2009):38-43. Print. Ramchandran, Vimala. â€Å"Right to Education Act: A Comment.† EPW. 44.28 (2009): 155-157. Print. Imaranulllah, Mohamed S. â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of RTE Act.† The Hindu. May 21, 2013. Sarkar, Chanchal Chand. â€Å"Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and Its Implementation.† India’s Infrastructure Report 2012. Shome, Sidhartha. â€Å"What is Wrong with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.† Manushi: Working Towards Solutions. http://www.manushi.in/ articles.php.> Accessed on October 18 2014. Status of Implementation of the RTE Act: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Web. https://socialissuesindia.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/status-of-implementation-of-rte-2013.pdf>. Srivastava, Prachi and Claire Noronha. â€Å"Institutional Framing of the Right to Education Act: Contestation, Controversy and Concessions.† EPW 49.18 (2014): 442-456. Print. Rai, Ramakant. â€Å"Challenges in implementing the RTE Act.† Infochange News Features. May 2012. Web. http://infochangeindia.org/education/backgrounders/challenges-in-implementing-the-rte-act.html>. Sayeed, Dilara. â€Å"Hurdels in Implementation of Right to Education Act in India.† India Tribune. Web.http://www.indiatribune.com/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=7659:hurdles-in-implementation-of-right-to-education-act-in-india-catid=30:opinionItemid=460>.

Reggae music on Rastafarians

Reggae music on Rastafarians The origins and significance of reggae music on Rastafarians Regarded as the core of Rastafarian culture, reggae music is also the heart and soul of Jamaica. Rastafarianism emerged in the 20th century along with reggae music in the 1960s. The latter has been a way of revealing Rastafarianism to individuals while Rastafarianism has contributed to the growth of the reggae genre, illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the two. One of the major promoters of both Rastafarianism and its music has been Bob Marley who, via globally famous tracks, has helped the two proliferate. I wish to look at the influence of reggae and rastafari beyond the West Indies because I feel that Reggae is unique, joyful and does something to people, different to other music. This is mostly due to the ideas behind it, and I want to show that its not just about marijuana and the usual stereotypes of Rastafarians but to show the beauty and significance of listening to Reggae and being a Rastafarian. During the 1930s Jamaica was an island where depression, discrimination and racism dominated, especially in the poorest areas. This is where Rastafarianism came in to help out the community. The Rastas claim that Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was the re incarnation of Jesus Christ and their religion worships a single God, known as Jah. Rastafarianism therefore originated in Jamaica around this time as a result of the strong oppression by Western nations. Its basic principles include the desire to defy Babylon (a common term used to define Western culture) as well as using non-violence as a method to achieve this. Furthermore their principles consist of a peaceful autonomous and independent society together with a symbiotic relationship with nature and their surrounding environment illustrated by the fact that often Rastafarians are vegetarians and prefer avoiding foodstuffs such as alcohol, meat, pork and shellfish instead basing their diets on alternative nu trients such as those in mango and coconut. Another extremely important aspect of the Rastafarian culture is dreadlocks; in fact these are a way to repudiate Babylon and its artificiality inspiring dread in its inhabitants. Furthermore Rastafarians believe that by shaking their dreadlocks a connection is created between God and themselves. Another method of completing this divine connection is by smoking ganja which also counteracts the daily oppression. The Rastafarian method of non-violence has therefore allowed the survival of Jamaicas population along with other colonies of the West Indies providing survival against the influence of Babylon as well as pride in the African culture. Originally serving as a method of restoring self awareness as well as their African roots reggae music today plays a major role in teaching the Rastafarian people about the oppressive, deceptive and divisive nature of the system under which they live and, as written above, serves as the primary way to annihilate Babylon, with Nyabinghi music being the most integral form of it. Reggae developed from several other musical styles including ska, rocksteady, mento as well as American RB. Furthermore, although the majority of radio stations were situated in Florida or Louisiana, some were powerful enough to transmit their music as far as Jamaica therefore influencing the development of this genre. Only in the 1960s did Reggae become an officially distinct genre. Reggae is based on a musical approach characterized by accents on the off-beat which is identified as the skank. It also contains a heavy backbeated rhythm which means there is an emphasis on specific beats in a bar, an example of this in beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time. This backbeat differs greatly from the usual strong African-based sounds and is not found in typical European or Asian music. The music is also frequently very straightforward, and occasionally it will be constructed and based upon no more than one or two chords. These simple recurring chord structures therefore add to the hypnotic effects of reggae. Reggae music consists of several instruments which include drums and other percussion, bass guitars and guitars, keyboards, horns and vocals. Furthermore the reggae drumbeats are usually selected from three major categories: One drop, Rockers and Steppers. In the first, the stress is fully on the third beat of the bar (typically on the snare, or joint with the bass drum). With Rockers beat, the stress is on the third beat as well as an accent on beat one (usually on bass drum) while in the last, the bass drum plays four solid beats to the bar, giving the beat an persistent force. There is also extensive variety of additional percussion instruments that are used in Reggae music. Bongos are often used in improvised patterns with African style rhythms but cowbells, shakers and claves also have fundamental roles in reggae music. Also, the bass guitar regularly plays a leading position in reggae and, united, the drum and bass are typically referred to as the riddim (Rhythm). The sound of bass in reggae is thick and heavy and the bass line is often an uncomplicated two-bar riff that is focused around its thickest and heaviest note. Another fundamental instrument in reggae music is the rhythm guitar which plays chords mainly on the second and fourth beats of a bar which, as written on the previous page, is a sequence of beat known as skank upon which reggae is largely based. Furthermore this instrument is played to produce a very short and scratchy chop sound which causes it to sound similar to a percussion instrument. From the late 1960s to the early eighties the piano was also a main feature in reggae music doubling the guitars skank rhythm, playing chords in a staccato style or occasional extra beats or riffs. From the 1980s onwards synthesizers were used to replace the piano, adopting organ-style sounds in order to achieve the choppy feel typical to this style of music. Another family of instruments utilized in reggae is the brass section, including saxophones, tr umpets and trombones. These often play introductions or counter-melodies but, in more recent times, are being replaced, along with the piano part, by synthesizers. In comparison to the other instruments and rhythm of reggae, the vocals are a more of crucial aspect of the genre. In fact they are distinct from other genres as they directly deliver specific messages to the audience, the nature of which will be discussed in the following paragraph. Many reggae singers use embellishments of various kinds such as tremolos (volume oscillation) or vibrato (pitch oscillation). Possibly the most fundamental part of Reggae is its lyrics, known for their tradition to cover various subjects including love, peace, religion, sexuality, relationships and socializing. Some of the messages sent to the audience via the lyrics are optimistic and upbeat, but they may also be of political significance as the singer attempts to increase the awareness of the audience to such matters. This is achieved by criticizing materialism or enlightening the listener with lyrics concerning controversial issues such as the Apartheid or human rights. Reggae song-writers mainly sing about one love and one world, unity and brotherhood of all mankind, the coming together regardless of diverse beliefs, and the hope of a new tomorrow. In addition Reggae lyrics are, as written in above pages, religion oriented, often discussing religious subject matter such as paying tribute to the Rastafari God, Jah. Other common lyrics are based on socio-political issues, for example the embrace of black nationalism, anti capitalism, criticism of political systems and Babylon which, as previously discussed, is the idiom used for the white political authority organization that has held back the black race for centuries. The lyrics in Reggae music remind the audience of the singers demand to gain freedom which in turn addresses the quest for freedom of all people who are oppressed globally. Robert Nesta Marley or more likely known, Bob Marley was born in a little countryside town in Jamaica on 6th of February 1945. He was a vocalist, performer, songwriter, and a pioneer to many because of his way of introducing reggae music to the world, and he still remains to be one of the most adored musicians to this date. Bob was the child of a black adolescent mother and a much older, soon after not present white father. His earlier years in the countryside village were spent in the community of St. Ann. This is where Marley meets one of his child-hood friends, and future collaborator in music, called Neville â€Å"Bunny Wailer† ORiley Livingston. They both attended the same school, and they mutually shared a love called music. Bob was encouraged to begin playing guitar thanks to Bunny. Nevilles father and Bob Marleys mother afterward had an affair together which resulted in all of them living together for some time in Kingston; this is according to Christopher John Farleys Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley. Marley in the late 1950s lived in Trench Town; this is one of Kingstons poorest neighborhoods. Even though the poverty influenced him a lot he still found motivation in the music that surrounded him. This is because there were a couple of successful musicians which were from Trench Town as well. Also as I mentioned before, many other sounds and music was broadcasted from America which many artists such as Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, influenced Marleys love for music. Bob and Bunny dedicated most of their time to music and under the supervision of Joe Higgs, a famous reggae musician in Jamaica, Marley tried to develop on his singing skills. Under the tutoring of Higgs Marley met another student, Peter McIntosh which later became Peter Tosh, who would play with Marley and Livingston later on, to be known as The Wailers. Approximately in 1962 a local record producer, named Leslie Kong, liked Bobs singing and produced a small number of singles for Marley, one of them being â€Å"Judge Not†. His small success as a solo artist, made Marley join and create a band with his two friends, Bunny and Tosh, to form the ‘Wailing Wailers in 1963. In January 1964 the first single that they all made called â€Å"Simmer Down† rose up to the top of Jamaican charts, at this point of the bands status 3 other members had joined the Wailing Wailers. These new band members included Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith. Even though the bands popularity was rising in Jamaica, they still had financial problems and this caused for 3 of the members to leave, these were Junior, Beverly and Cherry. The 3 original members went through a rough patch for a period of time and Marley moved to the United States where he married Rita Anderson on 1966. After some time Bob returned to his home, Jamaica and reunited with bunny and Tosh now form ‘The Wailers. At this point in Marleys life he started to develop and explore his spiritual side and his interest grew for the Rastafarian movement. At this point the Rastafarian movement had been in Jamaica over 30 years. In the late 1960s some of the songs that the wailers produced where â€Å"Trench Town Rock†, â€Å"Soul Rebel†, and â€Å"Four Hundred Years†. In the 1970s the wailers added two new members, Aston â€Å"Family Man† Barret and his brother Carlton†Carlie† Barret. They later got a contract with Island Records which resulted in the recording their first full album, Catch a Fire, and tour Britain and the United States in 1973. Burnin, their next album was released that same year and this album featured songs like â€Å"I Shot the Sheriff†. Their next album in 1975, Natty Dread, reflected some of the political problems that Jamaica was facing between the Peoples National Party and the Jamaica Labor Party. Some of the conflicts between these two parties can be seen in one of their songs â€Å"Rebels†, this song was inspired because of Marleys own firsthand experience of these conflicts. One sad fact about this album was that two if the original members left to pursue their own solo careers, these were Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. The bands and reggaes popularity was increased abroad when the band toured extensively now called Bob Marley the Wailers. They were joined by I-Threes which consisted of a group of 3 female vocalists, Marleys wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. Marley was starting to be on his way to becoming an international music icon and was already a much admired star in Jamaica. He entered the U.S music charts in 1976 with the album ‘Rastaman Vibration. His devotion to his faith and his interest in political change was reflected in one of his songs, â€Å"War†. The lyrics to this song where taken from a speech by Haile Selassie, the song discusses a new Africa, freedom, and racism. In 1976 there was an attempt of assassination on Marley because of his popularity and support of the Peoples National Party from the rivals. The night of December 3, 1976, a group of armed men broke into Marleys and the Wailers rehearsal before a concert. Marley and his wife were lucky and were just injured from gun shots but Don Taylor was shot 5 times and had to have surgery in order to save him. Even though the attempt of assassination had occurred, Marley still played at the show that night. The following day the Marleys escaped the country. The next year, 1977, Bob moved to London where he began to work on ‘Exodus. This song speaks about biblical stories of Moses and the Israelites leaving exile and comparing this to his own situation. This theme also links to another topic discussed in the song being returning to Africa, to the roots of Africans. This track was very popular in Britain and this song was followed with other successful songs like ‘Waiting in Vain and ‘Jammin. The whole album was very popular and stayed in the British charts for more than a year and is considered one of the best albums ever made. During 1977, Marley wanted treatment on a toe he had injured earlier that year, then discovering it to be cancerous cells on his toe. Bob required surgery for it to be removed in Miami, Florida. Even thought Marley and the Wailers were making Exodus they all recorded what would be released on another album, Kaya, which came out the following year, 1978. The two main records in this album were ‘Is This Love and ‘Satisfy My Soul, this record theme was love. Even after his last experience in Jamaica with an attempt of assassination he returned to Jamaica and in his One Love Peace Concert he made the two parties PNP and JLP leaders shake hands on stage, I think this shows the determination of Bob towards unity and love. That same year Bob visited Africa for the first time in his life. He visited places like Kenya and Ethiopia and obviously Ethiopia being more significant to him because of the relations with Rastafarianism. His next album portrayed a lot the unity of Africa and the end of the oppression there. Survival, the album, was mostly inspired from his visit to Africa. The next album which was release in 1980 was a huge success. Songs in this album like ‘Could you be loved and ‘Redemption Song, the latter song spoke about Marleys talents of how he combined poetical lyrics with social and political importance. One of the lines of the songs quotes ‘emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds this is a clear example of the play of words and how he directs the message directly at the audience. The cancer that had been discovered earlier in his toe had unfortunately spread across all of Bobs body while they were in touring around Europe and the united states to promote their album. During his tour in Europe Bob underwent treatment in Germany where we was able to fight the cancer for a couple months, but it then was shown that he did not have much to live. When this was known Bob Marley wanted to return to his homeland but unfortunately passed away before he could make it to Jamaica. He died on the 11 of May 1981 in Miami, Florida. In part of his memorial service his wife, Rita Marley, and the Wailers played one last time for him. Figures of more than 30,000 people paid their respects to the Jamaican hero whish had received a Medal of Peace from the United States that earlier year. Marley will always be remembered till the end of times as one of the first international singer to have come from the Third World. His music is still and will be popular and fortunately his inheritance is continued by his wife and children. Also many of his children have continued in the family business and have as well succeeded in the music industry. His fight for the oppression and poverty still continues thanks to an organization created by the Marley family called the Bob Marley Foundation. This organization helps in education, health, food, and development of countries which need help.

Creating a Vending Machine with Lego Mindstorm :: Robotics

Creating a Vending Machine with Lego Mindstorm Abstract: Vending machines have come a long way, since their introduction to human society thousands of years ago. Although the basic concept of a vending machine has not changed, modern day technology has significantly enhanced them. Our vending machine is no different. Although our vending machine is not top of the line, it is also not such a bad one either. We started out with building the five main components of a vending machine: the dispenser, trough, selection device, and payment reader entirely out of LEGOs. We decided on a door like dispenser and buttons as a selection device. The payment we decided to accept were barcodes. The only component that was actually giving us trouble was the dispenser. Our first dispenser design was severely flawed. After coming up with a door like mechanism, the dispenser was easily fixed. Although we did prove our hypothesis to be correct, there are still many improvements that we could make such as improving the design to make it easier to maintain. Question: Is it possible to create an operational candy machine with only LEGOs? Purpose: To build a candy machine that is capable of:  · Reading a barcode  · Detecting if it is a fake or not  · Sending a signal to the other RCX to allow to user to: 1) Select the candy 2) While making sure that the machine remains stationary Background: The History of Counterfeiting the US Currency The counterfeiting of money is one of the oldest crimes in history. Therefore I needed to find out the ways I could use a LEGO RCX to recognize a correct bill and reject it if it is fake. The History: During the American Revolution, the British counterfeited U.S. currency in such large amounts that the Continental currency soon became worthless. "Not worth a Continental" became a popular expression that is still heard today. During the Civil War, one-third to one-half of the currency in circulation was counterfeit. At that time, approximately 1,600 state banks designed and printed their own bills. Each bill carried a different design, making it difficult to detect counterfeit bills from the 7,000 varieties of real bills. A national currency was adopted in 1862 to resolve the counterfeiting problem. However, the national currency was soon counterfeited and circulated so extensively that it became necessary to take enforcement measures. Therefore, on July 5, 1865, the United States Secret Service was established to suppress the wide-spread counterfeiting of this nation's currency. Although the counterfeiting of money was substantially suppressed after the establishment of the Secret Service, this crime still represents a potential danger to the Nation's economy.

The Progressive Movement Essay -- Progressives American Political Poli

The Progressive Movement (ca. 1890s-1910s) Even more energetic a sphere of historical controversy than that over the Populists is the historians' argument over the Progressive movement. The Progressives were a heterogeneous collection of reformers. Active chiefly in the nation's cities and the urban mass media (and in the legislatures of such states as Wisconsin and New York), the Progressives carried out efforts to reform American society and governance on all fronts. They numbered among their ranks social Progressives (such as Jane Addams, the founder of the Hull House settlement movement), economic Progressives (such as Richard Ely, the noted Wisconsin economist who emphasized the need to prevent great concentrations of economic power), legal Progressives (such as Louis D. Brandeis, the noted Massachusetts attorney and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and his protege, Harvard Law School professor Felix Frankfurter), cultural Progressives (including novelists such as Frank Norris and Upton Sinclair and such muckraking journalist s as Ida M. Tarbel l), and of course the great Progressive politicians, themselves making up a remarkable spectrum of Progressive variations. Occupying the poles of the Progressive political spectrum were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, each of whom developed his own brand of political Progressive theory and policy. Roosevelt's New Nationalism emphasized giving a vigorous national government the power to regulate and mediate among large, clashing economic and social actors. "Mere bigness" was no sin if these powerful institutions and organizations could be brought into a stable, cooperatige relationship with one another through the medium of government. Wilson's New Freedom emphasized using government power to knock the large economic and social forces down to size and keeping government, business, labor, and society at a human scale. Rather than concentrating on using the federal government to solve national problems, Wilsonian Progressives believed in using state and local governments as laboratories of reform. Recognizing the diversity of the American nation, they argued for the need to tailor government responses to problems to the specific political, social, and economic contexts in which they would have to operate. What held these heterogeneous and quarrelsome Progressives together as a movement was the... ... become moral, sober, and industrious by adopting and enforcing the Prohibition Amendment and legislation (the notorious Volstead Act) putting it into effect. The historians' debate on Progressivism divides between "backward-looking" and "forward-looking" interpreters. Richard Hofstadter, the founder and still the leading exponent of the "backward-looking" school, saw Progressives as middle-class Americans, small businessmen and tradesman and professionals, who yearned to restore the idealized America of their youth. Of course, Hofstadter noted in passing, this idealized America never existed, confronting the Progressives with a paradox rich in irony and poignancy. In trying to revive something that was, at best, an inspiring myth, they actually helped to transform the nature of American society, economy, and politics. By contrast, the "forward-looking" school, whose first great advocate was Robert H. Wiebe, maintained that the Progressives confronted head-on the challenges of the emerging "modern" American economy and society. Wiebe's Progressives emphasized efficiency, predictability, and rationality in propounding their public policy an d their critiques of society's ills. The Progressive Movement Essay -- Progressives American Political Poli The Progressive Movement (ca. 1890s-1910s) Even more energetic a sphere of historical controversy than that over the Populists is the historians' argument over the Progressive movement. The Progressives were a heterogeneous collection of reformers. Active chiefly in the nation's cities and the urban mass media (and in the legislatures of such states as Wisconsin and New York), the Progressives carried out efforts to reform American society and governance on all fronts. They numbered among their ranks social Progressives (such as Jane Addams, the founder of the Hull House settlement movement), economic Progressives (such as Richard Ely, the noted Wisconsin economist who emphasized the need to prevent great concentrations of economic power), legal Progressives (such as Louis D. Brandeis, the noted Massachusetts attorney and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and his protege, Harvard Law School professor Felix Frankfurter), cultural Progressives (including novelists such as Frank Norris and Upton Sinclair and such muckraking journalist s as Ida M. Tarbel l), and of course the great Progressive politicians, themselves making up a remarkable spectrum of Progressive variations. Occupying the poles of the Progressive political spectrum were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, each of whom developed his own brand of political Progressive theory and policy. Roosevelt's New Nationalism emphasized giving a vigorous national government the power to regulate and mediate among large, clashing economic and social actors. "Mere bigness" was no sin if these powerful institutions and organizations could be brought into a stable, cooperatige relationship with one another through the medium of government. Wilson's New Freedom emphasized using government power to knock the large economic and social forces down to size and keeping government, business, labor, and society at a human scale. Rather than concentrating on using the federal government to solve national problems, Wilsonian Progressives believed in using state and local governments as laboratories of reform. Recognizing the diversity of the American nation, they argued for the need to tailor government responses to problems to the specific political, social, and economic contexts in which they would have to operate. What held these heterogeneous and quarrelsome Progressives together as a movement was the... ... become moral, sober, and industrious by adopting and enforcing the Prohibition Amendment and legislation (the notorious Volstead Act) putting it into effect. The historians' debate on Progressivism divides between "backward-looking" and "forward-looking" interpreters. Richard Hofstadter, the founder and still the leading exponent of the "backward-looking" school, saw Progressives as middle-class Americans, small businessmen and tradesman and professionals, who yearned to restore the idealized America of their youth. Of course, Hofstadter noted in passing, this idealized America never existed, confronting the Progressives with a paradox rich in irony and poignancy. In trying to revive something that was, at best, an inspiring myth, they actually helped to transform the nature of American society, economy, and politics. By contrast, the "forward-looking" school, whose first great advocate was Robert H. Wiebe, maintained that the Progressives confronted head-on the challenges of the emerging "modern" American economy and society. Wiebe's Progressives emphasized efficiency, predictability, and rationality in propounding their public policy an d their critiques of society's ills.

The Forensic Consultation Corporation

The terrorism threat to the US and the US interest worldwide remains significant years after the 9/11 attacks. According to the counter terrorism center, terrorism incidences against the US homeland have reduced considerably in the last three years. (Court TV Crime Library) The primary threat has been and remains the Al Qaeda network, as well as other terrorism activities sanctioned by such countries as Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Iran. The government through intelligence agencies has doubled efforts to increase the information on terrorism and terrorists. Additionally, there have been reviews of the existing techniques of profiling terrorists. This follows the fact that some of these techniques have failed in providing effective models of profiling terrorists. Profiling models for terrorists consist of analyzing different persons and using the information gained to determine identities of potential terrorists or perpetrators of terrorism activities. Some of the technology used in the detection of terrorists is intrusive and violates the privacy issues (Turvey, Brent, 1998). Therefore, it has been difficult to distinguish between criminals and innocent people. Additionally, some state of the art technologies and profiling techniques are difficult to use by non-technical people. HOW PROFILING THECHNIQUES SHOULD CHANGE According to security experts the US as well as the world at large is at an increasing threat of terrorist attacks that are worse than the 9/11 attacks in terms of loss of life and property. There is increased innovation and sophistication in the operations in the modern terrorist. The destructive potential of the weapons used today, has also increased significantly (Turvey, Brent, 1998). It is therefore imperative that some changes be implemented to ensure that the techniques are able to meet the threat of terrorism not only in the US but also else where in the world where such a threat exists. Some of the recommended changes include:  ·   Professionals especially psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists have an ever increasing role in the practice of terrorists profiling.   Through behavioral analysis, documentation, and skilled interviewing; as well as proactive questioning techniques, it is possible to sift persons with criminal motives from innocent citizens so that security personnel can further scrutinize them. (Court TV Crime Library) The FBI academy, behavioral science unit, is a step in the right direction.  ·    Developing analysis support systems that can separate terrorist activities from innocent activities.  ·      Raising awareness among the general public, so they can be able to take note of innocuous activities, which could be indicative of terrorist activities.  · The importance of new technology in the fight against terrorism cannot be over emphasized, especially development of systems that allows surveillance without violating on people’s privacy.  ·   The progress that has been made to move beyond the guilty by association and model should be consolidated so as to eliminate or reduce errors associated with it.  ·   Due to the constant changes in terrorist behaviors and operations the profiling techniques need to be constantly changing, revised and research on different models should continue with greater tempo.  · Important security personnel such as airport, airline and sea port security managers, representatives from various embassies and consulates, security managers, police officers and finally the government personnel involved in critical infrastructure protection should be thoroughly trained so as to be attentive to strange behaviors that could be an indication of terrorism intents. ROLE OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS Due to the increased threat of terrorism in recent years and events such as the anthrax scare that followed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC, the work of forensic psychologists became critical and more critical though is forensic techniques. This involves the application of both personality and criminal profiling theory towards the psycho-behavior profiling of terrorist and their leaders/commanders. Profiles of these types of figures would serve multiple purposes. They would suggest how an individual is most likely to proceed on their terrorism endeavor, how they would respond to a particular action by the profiler’s allies or how persistent the individual is at obtaining particular goals. For instance, saddam Hussein and Bin Laden could have two contrasting traits in that Saddam is tyrant in nature while laden is a highly rebellious character. These profiles help the forensic psychologists to identify and track the terrorists to identify and track the terrorists together with their associates hence greatly impacting on thE terrorism rate. PROFILE OF A TYPICAL TERRORIST Comparative and Theoretical Aspects.  ·      The typical terrorist is unmarried. Many terrorists are ready to die for the cause and they have no faith in the future. Many remain unmarried because they wish to avoid long-term commitments (Schneier, Bruce. 2004).  ·      Religious. Most terrorists are Muslims and although not all Muslims support terrorism, there is a strong historical link between Islamic and terrorism which cannot be overlooked.  ·    Considerably educated. The terrorist of today are most likely to be well educated, meticulous in their planning, and knowledgeable in the use of modern communication equipments and methods.  ·      Subscribes to radical and revolutionary ideologies. The man or woman who is ready to die for a cause is either a nationalist/patriot or a â€Å"psychopath† who more often than not has a poor family background and seeks recognition in a bad way. However the modern terrorist is really not mentally ill, but rather has been deeply brainwashed with very narrow â€Å"ideologies.†  ·    Could be male or female although there is a bias for male terrorists.  ·    The age of probable terrorist is twenties or early thirties.  ·    Family connections.   A likely candidate could have family relations with people who have been involved in terrorism or those who sympathize with terrorist activities. PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS  ·    A modern day terrorist is ready to die and is not very interested in planning for an escape route.  ·    A terrorist is ready to forfeit concerns about personal security in order to break the barriers of defense that may exist.  ·    The goal of the terrorist is to make a statement that advances their cause and is mentally convinced they are doing not only the right thing but the â€Å"honorable† thing. CONCLUSION The threat of terrorism is very real today and governments all over the world should collaborate and work together to ensure they reduce their collective and individual vulnerability to terrorist activities. Measures should be put into place to protect the US homeland. However, it should be noted that all terrorist activities are difficult to eliminate; and profiling terrorist remains an uphill task for security experts and personnel. Research and regular review of and revisions of techniques should be made in the area of terrorist profiling, to ensure the techniques utilized are constantly up to date and able to keep up with the dynamics of modern terrorist operations. References Schneier, Bruce (2004). Behavioral Assessment Profiling. Retrieved on June 19, 2007 www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2004/11/profile_hinky.html Turvey, Brent, (1998). Deductive Criminal Profiling: Comparing Applied Methodologies   

Develop Positive Relationships with Children, Young People and Others Involved in their Care Essay

1. Explain why positive relationships with children and young people are important and how these are built and maintained Positive relationships with children are paramount as a child enjoys being with you and feels valued will respond better. They are more likely to enjoy both playing and learning and in turn are more likely to show signs of positive behaviour. Building a positive relationship with children begins with considering their own individual needs and adapting the way in which you work to meet them as effectively as possible. Each child should feel valued, nurtured and acknowledged although as a practitioner the way you go about this will vary according to each child’s personality and age. With babies for example, physical contact is important, while with slightly older children talking and playing, especially on a one-to-one basis with a key-worker, is a solid building block. Getting the parents involved from the very beginning with several visits so that the child can familiarize themselves with both the practitioner and the setting is key. Consistency is important. The child needs to be confident that they way in which you respond to them and their needs is consistent. Having a key-worker who is only there (whether literally or metaphorically) only half of the time is not going to inspire confidence in the child which in turn is going to affect their relationship with you. Observing, listening and responding to and respecting a child’s needs at whatever age is key; understanding that every child is an individual and will respond to different approaches needs to be considered at all times. 2. Demonstrate how to listen to and build relationships with children and young people 3. Evaluate own effectiveness in building relationships with children or young people. While there is always room for improvement, I feel that personally one of my biggest strengths is my relationship with the children in my care, in particular my key children. Feedback from parents has brought to mine and my colleagues attention that I have built up fantastic relationships. My children are happy to be dropped off on a morning and parents have informed me that their children regularly talk about me at home. By spending time with the children in groups and  individually I have learnt what each child needs and responds to. We have a mutual respect for one another and by going out of my way to settle the children when they initially started in the room laid down the foundations for building strong bonds which have lasted even after they have moved on upstairs. Outcome 2 Be able to build positive relationships with people involved in the care of children and young people The learner ca n: 1. Explain why positive relationships with people involved in the care of children and young people are important Because you are working together with the same goals in order to help the child, having a positive relationship with others you are working with is important. Your everyday colleagues and yourself should have strong working relationship as children are very intuitional and can pick up any tensions around them, effecting their behaviour and development. Working as a team to provide all the children in your care is an absolute must and it makes everything a lot easier for everyone (adult or child) if all involved have a strong relationship. If you and your colleagues have poor relationships, communication begins to break down and you may be working towards different outcomes which are both confusing and unproductive. It is equally important that any outside agencies involved in the care of a child, such as a Speech, Language and Communication Officer, is able to build up a good working relationship with yourself. Knowing the child best you need to be able to pass on any observations an d personal judgements to be able to give the agencies an idea of what needs to be done. You will be helping one another to work with the child the achieve their full potential and if not reading from the same hymn sheet so to say, you will be hindering as opposed to helping, holding the child back at best. Carers and parents are probably the most important people to build a relationship with, second only to the child themselves. A good relationship means that you can pass on information effectively. They are able to inform you of how the child has been outside of the setting; they can pass on any wishes, such as when to begin potty training, knowing that you will be working with them to achieve the goal; they are, most importantly, comfortable leaving their child in your care on a regular basis.