Ensuring Health And Safety At Workplaces

Ensuring Health And Safety At Workplaces Introduction In our day to day lives, accidents tend to occur under different circumstances some of which can be avoided. Most accidents are attributed to carelessness of which it is believed just a little carefulness could avoid and in the process reduce the many serious injuries incurred and even at times death or decapitation. Accidents are unplanned and unfortunate events that results in damage, injuries or upsets of some kind. This is the same even at workplaces. Most accidents at work places are sometimes as a result of carelessness. These accidents can be avoided if the following measures can be taken at the places of work. Management is committed to safety in the work place, employees are informed about accident prevention, consultation between the employer and employee takes place on a regular basis, there is a trusting relationship between the employer and staff and employees have actual input into the decision-making process. Employers and employees attitude towards accidents also contribute greatly towards preventing them from occurring. If both the employer and the employee approach safety at places of work with diligence, then these cases of accidents will be greatly reduced and inefficiency due to lose of time from work by employees will be avoided. The best method to achieve this is through cooperation of the two main partners (employer and employee who may be represented by unions), an approach known as the shared responsibility model. Workplace and Injury Hazards Accidents at work are sometimes caused by a complex combination of unsafe employee behavior and unsafe working conditions. Several factors contribute to the complexity of managing safety in the workplaces. These factors include effects of some industrial diseases dont show up for years, employers may cover up a health or safety problem before the inspector arrives, employers may fail to monitor or disclose health risks and employees may fail to follow safety practices at the workplaces or engage in dangerous behavior while at work. It is also critical that organizations consider the safety of members of the public who enter the company property. Awareness of health hazards is very important. Employers should give thought to preparing for emergency health hazards. While the number of workplace injuries may level off, the direct cost of injuries does not. Moreover, workplace injuries result in several indirect costs such as damages, recruitment, inefficiency and reduced production. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have a time loss injury while with reference to age, younger workers are most likely to be injured. Logging and forestry, construction, manufacturing and transportation are among the most dangerous industries and the most common types of injuries are strains and sprains followed by contusions, crushing or bruises. The most likely body parts to be injured are in order back followed by fingers then legs. Health Hazards Health hazards can be classified into four categories. Physical agents exposure to physical elements. Biological agents (Biohazards) exposure to natural organisms. Chemical agents exposure to chemical compounds or harmful toxic substances. Ergonomically related injuries work environment related including stress, strain, fatigue and back injuries. Across the country there is growing emphasis on the health of younger workers who are the most injured. The most common injuries affecting them include electrocution and machine injuries yet a number of them are not aware of their health and safety rights and responsibilities at the workplace. Safety Regulations Every employee has fundamental rights which are:- The right to know about hazards in the workplace. The right to participate in correcting the hazards. The right to refuse dangerous work. A key element of health and safety laws is joint occupational health and safety committee which is required in every workplace. Responsibilities of these committees include to meet at least once a month, to ensure adequate records are kept regarding accidents and health hazards, to investigate and resolve complaints by employees, to participate in investigations of health and safety-related injuries, to regularly monitor health and safety programs, to monitor records of injuries and illnesses, to cooperate with safety officers investigating a complaint or accident, to develop, establish and promote health and safety programs and procedures and to obtain information from the employer and government agencies concerning existing potential hazards in the workplace. Some other federal laws are:- The hazardous product act whose primary objective is protecting consumers by regulating the sale of dangerous products. Its an important part of the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS), which requires that suppliers label all hazardous products and provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS), on each of them which contains hazard symbol, information on the properties and composition of the product, nature of the potential hazard that may result from misuse of the product and suggested emergency treatment procedure the employer must provide training to enable employees recognize the WHMIS hazard symbols. The transportation of dangerous goods act which makes transport Canada a federal government agency responsible for handling and transporting dangerous materials by federally regulated shipping and transportation companies. It requires that the carriers should be informed of dangerous goods which should be classified according to a coding system. The Canadian center for occupational health and safety act whose objectives are to promote health and safety in the workplace and the physical and mental health of the working populace in Canada, to facilitate consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdiction and to participate by labour and management in the relevant to the Canadian circles, to aid in the progress and maintenance of policies as well as programs tailored towards the elimination of occupational hazards and finally to serve as a national center for statistics and other information relating to occupational health and safety. The center is supervised by a board of governors made up of the federal government representatives, labor and employers. Organizations are now connected electronically with the center and have access to relevant information. Safety Enforcement In the federal jurisdiction all industrial units are inspected at least once a year to confirm their safe operation. The numbers of visits depend on units accidental records and its size. During these visits, the safety may at any time enter any property of business and are given a wide range of powers as stipulated in section 14 of the Canada labour code (part 2). No law by itself can make a workplace safe. It is far more effective not to mention less costly if the responsibility for safety becomes a concern for everyone starting with top managers going down to the supervisors and lastly the employees. The top managers must set policies and make concern for health and safety of the organizations culture and strategy while the supervisors must become proficient in maintaining safety which means knowing about health and safety laws and regulations and learning communications skills in order to convey the necessary information to employees. Employees are responsible for working safely. It is imperative to train the employees so that they comprehend safety rules on how to safely operate equipment. Good safety performances should be recognized and rewarded while unsatisfactory practices be documented and corrected. Human resource professionals should ensure consistent enforcement of all safety and health rules. This is achieved through creating a safety climate in the organization and conducting health and safety audits voluntarily or as a result of being targeted by government health and safety officials. Safety climates are becoming an important factor affecting safety knowledge and motivation. Workplace Stress Workplace stress occurs where there is pressure or unrealistic job demands than the worker can deliver within the required time. It is often the conflict between the employees ability and the job demands. Senior management officials are also recognizing the importance of health issues on employee performance. Stress symptoms involve both mental health and physical health. People who are stressed may become nervous, easily provoked to anger and chronically worried about things. Exposure to stressful working conditions called job stressors which can directly influence the health and safety of employees and this is what causes workplace stress. Frequently occurring stress is known as acute stress. The general and widely recognized cause of stress is change because it requires adaptation. A substantial and prolonged stress can bring about a condition of mental, emotional and sometimes physical exhaustion known as burnout. Slight stress improves performance due to the challenge until reac hes a plateau after which it becomes too great and performance starts to decline because the employee loses the ability to cope, becomes unable to make decisions and is erratic inn behavior. Solutions to workplace stress can be curative which correct the outcome of stress or preventive which attempt to change the cause of stress. In managing stress at work, the human resource department can come up with a stress audit to evaluate the extent of dysfunctional stress hence identify the cause of stress. Organizations can also introduce fitness and employee wellness programs. These programs have a positive impact on reducing stress and absenteeism and increasing productivity. Other contemporary workplace safety issues include workplace security, sick building syndrome, workplace violence and ergonomics. The human resource managers face challenges when they have an AIDS infected employee. Its a breach of human rights laws to discriminate against AIDS infected people but just in case the other employees refuse to work with that person the employer should establish a policy and have an action plan in place before such a case arises among employees or their dependant. It must be continually stressed that top managements involvement in setting a health and safety Policies are essential and if it does not assume the leadership role, it sets example by its inaction and middle managers, first line supervisors and employees will behave accordingly. It is important to have a control process in place. Causes of accidents should be identified and eliminated, an effective training exercise should be carried out, the human resource department should use its information system to monitor for patterns of accidents or health problems and finally management should continually encourage safety awareness on the part of super visors and employees. Conclusion Occupational health and safety continues to be an imperative part of the organizations operation. It is taking the centre stage in the priorities of the human resources management. Most of the occupational health and safety acts created by the federal and provincial governments now require the establishment of safety committees in companies. The prevention of accidents is therefore key to the human resource managers, who should also focus. AIDS at the workplace is an important issue and the human resource department needs to take measures to curb severe friction among work groups or irrational actions from frightened employees that may arise as a result of HIV and AIDS cases.

Macro Environmental Forces Slept Analysis Marketing Essay

Macro Environmental Forces Slept Analysis Marketing Essay The financial crisis initiated four years ago has been the reason for purchasing cuts on all dispensable products. Bottled water has been perceived as one of them and, therefore, its consumption has slightly decreased (Mintel, 2012). Consumers are not keen any more to pay for unnecessary goods and services, especially, those which can be substituted for other alternatives, for instance, the consumption of tap water in replace of bottled water. This could suggest that the issue has influenced the consumers mind by inciting them to drink tap water rather than to spend extra money on something which can be obtained for an extremely cheap price. Thus, the companies find themselves in a position where they need to reduce the price of their products in order to keep the business afloat. According to the newspaper reporter Smithers (2009) from the Guardian, the immediate impact of this credit crunch meant a declination of 9 % on number of bottles sold in the UK. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/mar/23/bottled-water-sales-fall The companies have needed to find a reason which could motivate consumers to appreciate the benefits of bottled water and, hence, motivate them to purchase it as the economy has become an issue preventing its sales even though it is currently showing a slow improvement (The Guardian, 2012). http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/oct/25/british-economy-recession LEGAL FACTORS Specification of components and labelling requirements Bottled water companies production in the UK is restricted by laws at European and national level which not only concern with the protection of consumers but also the protection of the environment (Bottled water information, no date). The Food standard legislation is one of those regulations and it defends the rights of the consumers from being mislead when purchasing a food product (Food Standards Agency, no date). As a result, bottled water producers are obliged to state the components of the water ensuring the customers awareness of them. The labels of their products must specify these constituents. However, the requirements and rules on the positioning and labelling are different depending on the water category: natural mineral water, bottled drinking water and spring water (Mendip District Council, 2010). http://www.mendip.gov.uk/CouncilService.asp?id=SX9452-A7808400 Natural mineral waters must come from a recognised underground source and can only be subject to very limited treatments.   Any water labelled spring water must come from an underground source and meet certain exploitation and labelling requirements but does not need to be from an officially recognised source.   Bottled drinking can come from any water source and has fewer labelling restrictions than the other two categories Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (no date). The aim of this regulation is to stop the use of ozone-enriched air, in the case of the spring water, as disinfectant treatment and to ensure a better healthcare by reducing the toxic substances. The bottled water producers have to make sure to follow these rules before placing their products in the market place. Regulations to reduce environmental impacts Bottled water may be a serious impact on the environment and, for that reason; there are existing harsh rules which determine the way companies have to operate in order to maintain the impact to the lowest. Companies have to ensure they use the natural resources in a sustainable way (Bottled water information UK, no date) because the situation has come to a stage where their contribution in pollution is really significant. The production of plastic bottles and the transportation of water have actively affected the medium. Every year more than 3.5 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles come to be roadside litter, worthless material (Hays, no date, p:15)and another large quantity is burned liberating harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. Some companies have tried to improve their brand image by launching  initiatives with environmental words like plastic neutral and zero waste. However, campaigners still believe that generating and eliminate plastic bottles are catastrophic to the environment in any circumstance (Manchester Evening News, 2009). The Environmental Agency, the institution standing for the care of the environs, has dictated the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 which controls this liberation of contaminants into the air from large and multiple industrial operations (Environment Agency, no date). The bottled water producers are forced to find a way not to surpass these established limits as their infringement could lead to serious consequences. POLITICAL FACTORS This industry has constantly been affected by a succession of negative impacts as it has been seen previously. However, it has also taken advantage of opportunities which have been presented through positive factors. One of these opportunities is the health report given by the government which remarks the importance of drinking water, being hydrated .This health report is the new marketing strategy that the business needed in order to re-position itself in the market. Consumers commence to take more consideration for their health. Nonetheless, the main target that the government is intending to appeal is children as the obesity and other health issues are rapidly increasing in their sector (National Health Service Information Centre, 2012, p:24) .They want to influence them to follow a healthier lifestyle. http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/003_Health_Lifestyles/OPAD12/Statistics_on_Obesity_Physical_Activity_and_Diet_England_2012.pdf The Health Protection Agency, a department which concerns with the health issues, wants to prevent and significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality arising from gastrointestinal disorders and other health effects, by ensuring that adequate measures are taken to improve access to safe and affordable water and adequate sanitation for all children Health Protection Agency (no date). This is a clear chance for the bottled water producers to stand and succeed generating a product which appeals to this particular target audience. Different sizes of bottles which can fit in their hands or in their launch box. Moreover, it has helped to create new advertising campaigns that promote and highlight the gains obtainable from bottled water, for example, Nestlà ©s pure life 2011 advertising campaign (YouTube, 2011). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS5P9Y-ah3s SOCIAL FACTORS The bottled water industry has witnessed certain social aspects occurred in the outside world which have sometimes jeopardized its place in the beverage market. Nevertheless, some others factors have also become new doors for the business to expand. The conditions of tap water and its taste have caused a growth of tension among people. Consequently, consumers have started demanding something purer with nutrients and vitamins (McQueeney, 2012). It is then that the bottled water producers have realized the need of creating a product which suits the requests of this particular type of customer. They have understood their message by launching a range of bottled waters with different flavours widening, in this way, their choice (Jones, 2009). Volvic is clear example of one of those companies which has grasped this opportunity. http://www.beveragedaily.com/Markets/Flavour-and-function-triumph-in-bottled-water-market Another revolutionary social fact that changed the industry is the rise of body/health consciousness (NamNews, 2010). Society has become increasingly obsessed with their body shape to the point of being selective with the food and the drinks they consume. Food and drink production companies noticed that a place was being created for products low in calories which meant a new way to develop business (Public Relations Web, 2012). The bottled water market is one of the industries that considered that it was coming to be a sizeable and relevant market. Therefore, they strived to find a way to connect fitness with water (Forsyth, 2010). They created advertising campaigns where the characters (with great bodies) were involved in some kind of sport or activity. They were effective because people started to perceive water as indispensable for active life. However, there still was the need to portray that, to have the best of the bodies, the best water had to be consumed. That is exactly what Evian did. http://www.prweb.com/releases/food_additives_acidulants/fat_replacers_sweeteners/prweb10148697.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11813975 The French brand Evian recognised the growing, wider health and fitness trend and exploited it to the full by marketing their bottled water the ultimate health and wellness product Forsyth, H. (2010). Bottled water was now being included as part of the shopping list and its demand has rapidly increased as people live a more beneficial life (BBC Two, 2010). http://www.kamcity.com/namnews/asp/newsarticle.asp?newsid=41408 https://release.worc.ac.uk/watch.php?r=ZC72HMLN TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS For any bottled water company, the expense to generate its products requires constant analysis at all levels. The extensive companies keep becoming stronger, coercing the suppliers to enhance quality and productivity but diminishing costs (Pall Corporation, 2006). This could be possible with the apparition of a new revolutionary way of production that could actually achieve that: The hollow fiber membrane technology. http://d2xjwcgentlu24.cloudfront.net/pdfs/Food-and-Beverage/Bottled_Water_App_Bulletin.pdf This innovation is based on the separation of both gassy and liquid elements. It has been demonstrated that the membranes work in water treatment. As a result, its development still proceeds. Nevertheless, there are few remaining problems that need to be solved (Stanford Research Institute International, no date). The European Commission (2010, p:9) also agrees with that. For that reason, it also emphasizes the relevance of this problem which makes it point of focus in its investigation. http://www.sri.com/work/projects/advanced-hollow-fiber-membrane-water-purification http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/membrane-technologies.pdf MICRO-ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES The bottled water industry has faced some internal aspects occurring in its environment which have been harnessed appropriately in order to help the business boost its sales: competitive advantage within the soft drink market, convenience of bottled water, rise of focus on better healthcare, increase of eco-friendly interest ,etc (Mintel, 2012). COMPETITORS The successful outcome and behaviour of a company depend on the competition level in its market (Oxford University Press, 2007). Thus, companies must identify their relevant competitors in order to generate the most efficient marketing strategy to obtain profits and also help them become the leading company in their product category. The bottled water producers have made sure to achieve a developed competitive advantage which has helped them gain position (Mintel, 2012). For that reason, it is wrong to believe that tap water is the industry main competitor. Bottled water is currently occupying a high position in the market competing in the same level as soft drinks. It has maintained competitive prices by offering the minimum cost which has proved to be effective as it continues to be appealing to those customers seeking value for money (Mintel, 2012). The soft drink industry has struggled to sell its products due to the unfavourable publicity causing consumers to change their drink choices for healthier ones (Highbeam Business, 2012). This has meant a huge opportunity for the bottled water brands to gain popularity over their competitors. That is the reason why some big distributors of soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, have realized the need to also get involved in the distribution of bottled water (i.e. Dasani, Aquafina) with the interest of expanding the business (McWilliams, 2010). However, some have succeeded in this purpose more than others. Today bottled water is the fastest-growing beverage category in the world (FiberWater, no date) despite their rivals try hard other strategies to recover their losses and regain market share. CUSTOMERS The number of consumers that see their lives as time-pressured grows every day (Mintel, 2012). According to this fact, convenience becomes an important factor influencing their decisions when purchasing a drink or a food product (Wales, 2009). That explains the growth of microwave dinners, drive-thru windows and online purchasing of groceries. However, there are other reasons that make bottled water convenient. When people buy it, what they are buying it is not the water so much as the bottle, what they are buying is the convenience of the package at that moment (Fisherman, 2010). If one finds himself in a situation where there is need of drinking water while being out (without availability of tap water), the first thing that would come to mind is to buy a bottle of water from the nearest store. In short, this suggests that what the industry is actually selling is the benefits of the product (portable, opportune at the needed time) which is what the customer wants, rather than produc t itself. The focus of the customers on convenience is good news for the industry as they gradually switch to the appropriateness of the beverage (Australasian bottled water institute, no date) with the extended variation of leisure activities, travelling and also the growth of life out home. http://www.bottledwater.org.au/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=ASP0003/ccms.r?PageId=5002 SEGMENTATION, TARGETING POSITIONING The bottled water companies need to recognize and describe their potential markets. They need to break them down into different segments using demographic variables, psychographic variables and/or behavioural variables. Once this step is fulfilled, they have to evaluate the relevant segments and decide which ones to target. Finally, they design the product which meets the requirements of their targeted audience (Adcock et al., 2001). The market can possibly be divided by using different variables. However, the most relevant for the bottled water industry is probably the behavioural variables: non-users, light, moderate or heavy users (E-learn portal, 2012). For example, according to Euromonitor (2002) the bottled water consumption was heavy in Italy with an average of 155 litres per person a year while it was light in Finland with an average of 14 litres per person. http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/business/consumer-behavior/consumer-behavior-market-segmentation http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_bot_wat_con-food-bottled-water-consumption EVIAN Evian is UK leading brand specialized in the distribution of bottled water (BBC, 2012). It is part of the product mix supplied by the French company Danone. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-19743806 The brand is generally aimed at heavy mineral water drinkers (Nielsen, 2009). However, on a detailed basis, Evian targets people of all ages; mums, babies, children, seniors and also people who carry an active lifestyle (Evian PET bottles), for example, students. Moreover, it also aims at restaurants, hotels and nightclubs as that explains the existence of Evian glass bottles (Evian, no date). A lot of people would say water does not offer too many opportunities. Nevertheless, Evian has achieved positioning its brand in the premium market by gaining from every parent concerned for the health of their newborns (Michael, 2012). Evian uses a unique brand communication which proves to be effective. It was clearly reflected on their advertising campaign under the slogan Live Young (Lab Brand, 2009). Brand Positioning on Emotional Benefits http://www.labbrand.com/brand-source/evian-strives-brand-differentiation-build-brand-equity EVIANS MARKETING MIX PRICE Evian wants the customers to distinguish their product as being a luxury from Mother Nature; consequently, they price it at the premium level (Fisher, 2012). This is due to the reliance they have developed over the years since the establishment of the brand. The price is what gives standard to their product line (Kapferer, 2008). The following image gives an idea of the average price of Evians product line in Tesco. Figure 1: Evian brand price at Tesco (My supermarket 2012). PLACE Evian clearly distributes its bottles through supermarkets, such as, Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado and Sainsburys (My supermarket, 2012). Similarly, they use some smaller retailers as their supply channel as it is a wider way to reach their customers. In some occasions, the brand may also be placed in vending machines as it can be seen in the picture below. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRL-LKivJKsbaGbwI7qTyEq0EG-7BkObbtFCXPi_ykx8sFpS33eoQ Figure 2: Evian bottles in a vending machine (Source: Google, 2011). PRODUCT The brand offers ranges of bottles suited to each of their different target audiences. For example, the PET bottles for sports practitioners and the glass bottles for the restaurants. It is noticeable that the firm uses different materials to generate its bottles: plastic bottles, resistant to movement, and glass bottles, more delicate, sign of sophistication (Evian, no date). In addition, Evian offers its water in bottles of different sizes adapted to the convenience of the customer. http://www.evian.com/files/contents/38/bottles_PET_BE.png Figure3: Evian bottles in different sizes (Source: Evian, no date). PROMOTION It uses different ways to communicate its message to the target audience with the interest of creating a connection between them and the product. Some of the various effective techniques they utilize to make that possible are brand endorsement and advertising through different channels. In addition, the brand is sponsor of sport icons like Maria Sharapova (The drum, 2012). Figure 5: Evians billboard advert (Source: Google 2012). Figure 4: Evians brand endorsement (Source: AdWeek 2006).http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSwg1SFW7p_fwN4mSlHvY0Pdu9WHXFWizkyTgMIYXuRCfBouuoqCYvGtj1bSA http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ9zwxjho_G7ARm8PA5qhZORnp-MylAVKZVyPCrw_cIxunvbXiKLw http://liamsmarketingandprblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/analysis-and-swot-analysis-of-one-brand.html http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8PoItiB7bicCpg=PA235lpg=PA235dq=evian-+premium+pricesource=blots=ewZc0xoEWBsig=_b3qj2975SIOafxq1j49xu89Ldghl=ensa=Xei=NO61UO_yLYiH0AW69YHoBgved=0CFkQ6AEwBg#v=onepageq=evian-%20premium%20pricef=false http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/brands/evian_in_tesco.html http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/tesco-price-comparison/mineral_water/evian_natural_still_mineral_water_2l.html http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Evian+bottles+in+a+vending+machineum=1hl=ensa=Ntbo=dbiw=1366bih=653tbm=ischtbnid=Ut337L89YKN7rM:imgrefurl=http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/folder/archive/France-South-Nice-Aix-en-Provence-DiScala-Wedding-Chateau-Grimaldi-Best-Western-2011-7.htmldocid=Wxlz77d416FJLMimgurl=http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/photos-2011/Nice-France-June-2011-176.jpgw=640h=480ei=SOu5UJXeGcLF0QWAqIHIAwzoom=1iact=rcdur=399sig=113099667739855397104page=1tbnh=143tbnw=212start=0ndsp=23ved=1t:429,r:22,s:0,i:157tx=131ty=95 http://www.evian.com/en_GB/54-evian-PET-bottles James Blake is cool, but can he heat up? http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=evian+billboard+adsstart=185hl=ensa=Xtbo=dbiw=1366bih=653tbm=ischtbnid=Op4ec1VRnuLuXM:imgrefurl=http://www.artrick-playground.com/article/Evian-T-Shirts-Are-Back/3247/1024811docid=4RFzSZrgBnMPyMimgurl=http://www.artrick-playground.com/static/images/3247/Evian-T-Shirts-Are-Back_1024811_profile.jpgw=440h=330ei=XuO5UP2CGqrQ0QWln4GgBgzoom=1iact=hcvpx=1066vpy=301dur=485hovh=194hovw=259tx=147ty=66sig=113099667739855397104page=8tbnh=149tbnw=214ndsp=34ved=1t:429,r:78,s:100,i:58 http://www.thedrum.com/news/2012/06/28/evian-extends-sponsorship-deals-maria-sharapova-and-wimbledon

Armour :: Essays Papers

Armour Armour in chivalric ages was truly one of the most important aspects of life. A family could spend all the money that they had arming one of their boys. The modern day equivalent to a fully armoured knight would be a tank for the United States Army. A knight's armour was important for a number of reasons. He needed it to be good looking, protective, and well maintained. Armour could take on several forms not just the typical metal suit. It came in the form of hardened leather, chain mail and hanging metal. Chivalry could not be upheld if it were not for Armour. Armour was a key tool of the chivalric period because a knight could not uphold the code of chivalry without it. A knight was judged by the armour that he wore and how he appeared in it. There were strict rules as to how the armour was to be applied to the knight and what the squire was supposed to bring to the field of battle. This is clearly evident in the following passage taken from the SCA web site (http://www.sca.org/chivarts.html ) entitled To Arm A Man GRAFICAS First you must set the sabatons and tie them to the shoe with small points that will not break. And then the greaves and cuisses over the breeches of mail. Then place the taces upon his hips. And then the breast and back plates, the vambraces and rerebraces {the arm defenses}. And then the gauntlets. Hang the dagger on his right side, his short sword upon his left side in a round ring that it may be lightly drawn. And then put his cote upon his back. The bascinet follows, laced to the cuirass in front and back that it sits just so. And then his long sword in his hand, a small pennant bearing the figure of Saint George or Our Lady in his left hand. Now he is ready to take to the field. What an Appellant shall bring to the field:

Violence Essay -- Handguns Firearms Essays

Violence Skills & Science of Doctoring By now images of horror and shock like the one of students and teachers crying at Buell Elementary have become all-too-common. As we reel once again from the terrible thought that an innocent life has been taken and it was a child who pulled the trigger, we should be vigilant for the next event, which is becoming equally predictable†¦ As public health professionals, we are trained to ask important questions so we can treat both the symptoms and root causes of a sickness. We will give a child medicine for a fever, but also antibiotics for the microorganism causing the illness. The question to ask when diagnosing this tragedy is a simple one: Where did a seven-year-old boy get a loaded gun? (â€Å"Physicians†) Many physicians feel that they do not have a direct influence on preventing violence. Yet, as patient advocates, it is often physicians who have the best opportunity to intercede on the behalf of patients in potentially violent circumstances. Numerous paradigms of violence exist, and it may be difficult for the physician to cover the range of issues productively and efficiently in a single visit. Instead, the physician may wish to confront these topics over a series of visits to best assess the patient’s willingness to discuss these issues and act in the recommended manner. This paper serves not only to bring to light issues of violence with which a physician may be presented, but also provides a model for discussing these issues with patients to best provide preventative techniques. Historically, violence has been dealt with by local communities and governmental agencies. However, recent studies show that the propensity towards violence begins in one’s childhood. Specifically... .... Aug 1998, 152(8): 749-56. Kaplan, Sandra J. MD Family Violence: A Clinical and Legal Guide. American Psychiatric Press, Inc. Washington, DC 1996. Newberger, Eli H. Child Abuse. Violence in America: A Public Health Approach. Oxford University Press. NY 1991. â€Å"Physicians for Social Responsibility: Violence Prevention.† [online:web]. www.psr.org â€Å"Public Housing Drug Elimination Program; Gun Buyback Violence Reduction Initiative.† Join Together Online. [online:web]. www.jointogether.org â€Å"Research Reveals Links Between Substance Abuse and Gun Violence.† Join Together Online. [online:web]. www.jointogether.org Rosenberg, Mark L. & Mercy, James A. Assaultive Violence. Violence in America: A Public Health Approach. Oxford University Press. NY 1991. â€Å"Stop Handgun Violence.† [online:web]. www.stophandgunviolence.com

Business Is Booming Essay

The Broadway Cafe needs to take advantage of e-business strategies if it wants to remain competitive. Create a document that discusses the many e-business strategies that The Broadway Cafe could use to increase revenue. Be sure to focus on the different areas of business such as marketing, finance, accounting, sales, customer service, and human resources. PROJECT FOCUS: * Explain how understanding e-business can help you achieve success in each of these areas. A few questions you might want to address include: 1. What type of e-business would you deploy at The Broadway Cafe? 2. How can an e-business strategy help The Broadway Cafe attract customers and increase sales? 3. What types of metrics would you want to track on your e-business Web site? 4. How could you use an e-business strategy to partner with suppliers? 5. How could a portal help your employees? 6. Would you use Kiosks in the cafe? By implementing the e-business strategy into broadway cafà © I believe that this would help us more to success in our small business. Referring to the e-business strategies I would deploy both the B2B and the B2C strategies. The B2B strategy is definitely a helpful tool that we will be used to deal with all our suppliers. This strategy makes communication between organizations easier.it will help us to keep track of our orders , make our data entry easier for our employee, helps to keep track of our shipment and orders.it will help us to have a good management plan as well.another plan that we can count on is the electronic data interchange EDI by implementing this we would be able to exchange private message between our business and other organizations. From another side we have the B2C strategy and it’s the relationship between our cafà © and its customer.by implementing this strategy in our coffee shop we will allow first all internet users to have access to our coffee sh op and have an idea what’s broadway cafà © is all about and second we’ll allow our customer to have access to their preferable coffee shop. This strategy will allow our customer to make online orders in a small or large quantity and it will make our base of customer larger than before. The e-business strategies in our broadway cafà © will definitely play a big  role in the marketing of our cafà © it will definitely help our customers to meet our new products and to stay attached to the old ones and at the same time it will introduce our product to some new customers . the e-business will definitely help in reducing cost through both strategies the B2B and the B2C.these strategies will allow our customers to have access to their products 24/7 and that help us to increase our sales. A portal is very important for our employee, it makes things easier to understand and clear and allow them to make any important changes that has to be done and showed to public.and from another side kiosk will help our customer to get all information they need online,any events or changes or how to use coupons for discounts etc.

Cultural Globalisation Through Japanese Culture

Cultural world-wideization is the rapid traversing of ideas, hostile influences, technologies, spread of language, markets and values crosswise guinea pig borders. It non only increases freedom of choice, simply also revitalizes assimilations and pagan artifacts with interconnectedness and interaction between muckles of diverse market-gardenings and ship canal of life. In the article Japanese fashionable Culture by Nissim Otmazgin explores the dissemination of Japanese culture products through come out of the closet atomic number 99 and southeastward Asia by various modes and analyses the expansion of normal culture through Steger readings.Does worldwideization direct people around the world monotony or differences in global culture? One effect is that it promotes greater pagan homogeneity. Sometimes common demands, common consumer preferences, and broad bodies of common information can exercising up to the blending of cultures and the erosion of heathenish diffe rences. It is a myth that globalization involves the imposition of heathen uniformity, rather than an explosion of heathen ex wobble. But, cross-cultural exchange can spread greater diversity as advantageously as greater similarity.People everywhere incur more choice, that they often collar hold of similar things. For instance, Amazonian Indians wearing Nike shoes, denizens of Southern Sahara leveraging Yankees baseball caps, Palestinian youths displays Chicago Bulls sweatshirts in Ramallah and eating fast-foods at Mc Donalds ( Steger, 73) shows thriving of American products in a large outstrip. These worries cultural pessimists as closely as optimistic hyperglobalizers that the rise of an increasingly homogenized hot culture nether Western culture industry ( Steger, 72).It seems that topical anaesthetic cultures and internal identities are dissolving into a crass of American consumerism. That cultural imperialism is express to impose American values as well as produ cts, promote the money qualification(prenominal) at the expense of business profits, and substitute(a) superficial pleasure for deeper satisfaction. Peoples culture in the sense of their dual-lane ideas, beliefs, knowledge, inherited traditions and art may simplely be eroded by mere commercial artifacts. The profound cultural changes affirm little to do with Western ideas.Sociologist Roland Robertson points out that global cultural flows reinvigorate local cultural niches (Steger, 77) resulting cultural loanblendity increases diversity inwardly societies but at the expense of making them more alike. It is noted from the article that the cornerstone of Japanese culture in East and Southeast Asia in an unprecedented scale is due to Asiatic fragrance which resonates with the local consumers (Otmazgin, 2). For guinea pig, Japanese telly dramas and animations Hello Kitty, Ampan universe and Poke mon are seen everywhere in the Asian city.In this way, Japanese take offular culture is gradually adapted and interconnected into local gobble upular culture through translation. Iwao Sumiko concludes that Japanese popular culture products settle modern ideas that consumers strategically choose (Otmazgin, 3). This believes that globalization is not globalizing western sandwich culture and western cultural icons. Therefore, Asian people no longer consume the West, but rather a Japaneseindigenized or hybridized product (Otmazgin, 3) reinforcing the concept of local as mediated of global culture and impertinent influences as mediator to global culture.Does globalization make national personal individuality in global culture out(p)? Its hardly. Individual choice is fragmenting the enforce uniformity of national cultures. New hybrid cultures are emerging, and regional ones re-emerging. National identity is not disappearing, but the bonds of nationality are loosening and they continually shape and reshape cultural scenes and lifestyles (Otmazgin, 8). By and large, people choose the clean ways because they are more pertinent to their needs and new opportunities. Lets consider an example of interpenetration of cultures from medical specialty, television and language products.In television, MTV in Asia promotes Siamese pop stars and play rock music of various artists and bands from unlike countries that are vocal in Mandarin. The television and music return favors localizing content and broadcasting in Asian languages, creating new cultural genres and introducing local as well as international pop music to its audiences (Otmazgin, 10). Countries like Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai consider Japanese, Korean and Chinese dramas, read cosmic books and animation series that are translated or in the original language.If these individual people choose to watch different cultural products that doesnt mean they lose their incorporated national identity. These cultural forces can quick become domesticated, changing national and socio cultural styles, but not destroying it. An separate example around the globe English language. talking to is often at the heart of national culture and a common global language would certainly be a big plus. English is considered as internationalization comp atible with diverse languages.Since not all languages use the same alphabet, one goal is to get a standard based. Because of English, many other languages are becoming extinct is not true. Nowadays, the internet has given all its users the office to speak and write to people from immensely different cultures and languages. Therefore, globalization promotes true global community that supersedes the concept of state or country, and language become glocalized as well as more diversified so as to cater to different tastes.Likewise, the branch of a music industry, under moving-picture show to foreign influences, has not led to the quenching of regional music, for instance the lyrics are in Japanese and the music follows Western pop/rock standards. The upshot of all this change is that national cultures are fragmenting into a kaleidoscope of different ones. New hybrid cultures are emerging. regional cultures are reviving. Individuals are forming new communities, conjugate by shared interests and passions that cut across national borders emphasis on general homogenization.

Cask Of Amontillado Essay

When the tunnels come to a dead give notice, Mentors chains Fortunate and buries him in the e catacombs. The literary elements of foreshadowing, symbolism, and badinage help to create a tale of horror or found in the short story The Cask of Amontillado written by Edgar Allan Poe. To build suspense in the story, Poe often employs foreshadowing. For compositors case e, when Fortunate says, l shall not clear of a cough (Poe 66). Mentors replies, mat rue .. J (Poe 66), be subject he knows that Fortunate testament in fact die from dehydration and starve ion in the crypt.He reshows proximo crimsonts by employing the topic of stopping point into the conversant ion. On the some other(a) pop off, Mentors description of his familys coat of arms in any case symbolizes future eve ants. The shield features a human hoof it crushing a tenacious serpent. In this image, the home represents Mentors and the serpent represents Fortunate. Although Fortunate has hurt Mentors with biting inns Its, Mentors will ultimately crush him. The conversation about Masons also foreshadows Forth antas demise. Are not of the masons. Yes, yes, I tell yes, yes. You? Impossible A mason? A m son, I replied. A sign, he said. It is this, answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my require (Poe 68). When he declares that he is a mason by showing his trowel, he substance t hat he is a vocal st anemason and that he constructs things out of stones and mortar, namely F rotundas grave. Popes use of symbolism describes each character. The man wore motley. He had on a tight fitting predestine dress, and his psyche was surmounted by the conical bonnet an d bells. I was so pleased to beguile him, that thought should never have done wringing his hand (Poe 63). His face covered in a overleap silk mask, Mentors symbolizes hidden things.In this case, the mask sys embolisms Mentors hidden thoughts to kill Fortunate. On the other hand, Fortunate dons the mot electrode costume of the coquet fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Mentors masked mot eves. The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunes death sentence. Using symbolism such h as the setting of the dark and dank catacombs, Poe uses the gloomy purlieu to symbolize death a ND majestic things to come. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the dam p ground of the catacombs f the Mentors (Poe 66).The clappers in the catacomb symbolizes that Forth NATO would soon be one of them. Using irony, Poe further uses literary elements to create a tale Of horror. Using g dramatic irony, Poe reveals the means of death that Fortunate is heading to. Fortunate is head Eng towards death but ironically does not even question the suspicious Mentors until the last mom .NET. It mustiness be understood that neither by intelligence agency nor deed had I given Fortunate cause to duo bat my good will. Continued, as was my wont, to pull a face in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the Hough of his immolation (Poe 63).Fortunate doesnt know what will run across to himself but both the audience and Mentors knows that the story will end with Fortunes death. Another example Of irony is the situation irony of Fortunes name. He had a weak point-?this Of rotunda-?although in other regards he was a man to be regard and even feared. He prided him elf on his virtu in wine (Poe 63). Fortunate, Italian for the fortunate one, ironically means t he exact arctic in this story, representing situational irony. Instead of the fortunate one, Fortunate comes the unlucky one, dying from the hands of Mentors.