The Epic Of Gilgamesh, By John Emerich Dalberg Essay

Power tends to take on different forms in every culture and society, and has taken on these different forms all throughout the history of mankind. Power can come in the form of wealth, position, strength, land, or success, and it all depends on where you are in the world and during what time period you are there. No matter what sense of power one might be referring to, some say that the acquisition of power corrupts one’s character and being. In 1887, John Emerich Dalberg Action made a powerful statement: â€Å"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely†. While some may argue otherwise, I agree whole heartedly with Action. Corruption from one gaining or having power can be seen in ancient literature and through the observation of today’s world leaders and public figures. Whether it is in the fictional world of the past, or in the reality of the present, there is strong evidence that supports Action’s statement that power corrupts those w ho obtain it. In the epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest pieces of literature we have recovered and the first recorded epic, this corruption due to power is quite evident. The main character of the epic, Gilgamesh, is a great warrior who was essentially forged by the gods. As the epic says, â€Å"Two thirds they made him god and one third man† (Sandars). Being two thirds god, Gilgamesh had strength and raw power that could be matched by no other in Uruk or in the world. With this power, Gilgamesh knew he could do anything and

Citizenship in the World, Bsa Merit Badge. Free Essays

| Citizenship in the World| Counselor: Jack P. Wiiki| | | 8/26/2012| | Requirement 1) â€Å"What does Citizenship in the world mean to you, and what does it take to become one? † Citizenship in the World, meaning that one ultimately is motivated to defend and preserve human rights, and human dignity. Has an interest in an assortment of global interests, and fairness to nations other than their own and it’s allies. We will write a custom essay sample on Citizenship in the World, Bsa Merit Badge. or any similar topic only for you Order Now This person would have respect for fellow human beings, regardless of race, gender, religion, or nationality, and works to protect the world from degradation. Requirement 2) â€Å"How does one become a United States citizen, and what are the rights, duties and obligations of these citizens, and two other countries? † United States: 1. Are at least 18 years old and a lawful permanent resident (â€Å"green card† holder); 2. Have resided continuously in the United States, having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence, for five years immediately preceding the date you filed your application for naturalization, or 3. Have, after having been removed from conditional permanent resident status, based upon your marriage to a U. S. citizen, having resided in the United States for one year after the date the condition was removed; 4. Have resided continuously in the United States at all times after your application to the time and date of your admission for citizenship; 5. Have, during all periods of time referred to above, been and still are a person of good moral character; 6. Have no outstanding deportation or removal order and no pending deportation or removal proceeding; 7. Have the ability to read, write, speak, and understand simple words and phrases in English; 8. Have knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of U. S. history and government; 9. Are attached to, and can support, the principles of the U. S. Constitution and can swear allegiance to the United States. Iran: 1. the applicant should be 18 years old. 2. Five years of consecutive or alternate residence in Iran is required. 3. The applicants should have served their military service. 4. The applicants should not be convicts of any major crime or non-political offense in any country. Of course, given the revision of the nation’s Penal Code and the elimination of such terms as offense and crime, Paragraph 4 of the Civil Code Article 979 should likewise be revised. It should be noted, however, that the government might refrain from granting Iranian citizenship to aliens either on account of political reasons or for the protection of national security. The admission of such applications might, therefore, require the Cabinet’s approval. Switzerland: Naturalization Swiss citizenship can be acquired through what is called naturalization. To become naturalized, you need to have resided in Switzerland for at least twelve years, three of which occurred within the five years prior to the request. Time spent in Switzerland between the ages of 10 and 20 years counts double. The request is to be made to the Aliens Police in the municipality of residence. From there, it will then be sent to the Federal Department of Justice and Police, who will give a principle authorization if the following conditions are met: You are integrated in the Swiss community. You are accustomed to Swiss way of life and practices. You comply with the Swiss legal system. You in no way compromise the internal or external security of Switzerland. Since Switzerland is a federal country, authorization must then be obtained from the canton and the municipality. The canton and municipality of residence can add further conditions and set the cost of acquiring citizenship before approving it. Conditions vary greatly from one region to the next. Some municipalities apply rather open policies, while others will go as far as granting nationality by means of a local population vote. Cost also varies according to municipality and canton. Requirement 3) Current Event: Syrian Civil War Excerpt from CNN â€Å"The Syrian regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, launched a violent crackdown last year on activists demanding more economic prosperity, political freedom and civil liberties. This sparked a nationwide uprising and eventually a civil war with armed rebels, many of whom defected from the military. As of July, the conflict had claimed an estimated 17,000 lives, mostly civilians, according to the United Nations. And more than 170,000 people have fled the Middle East nation to seek refuge in neighboring countries such as Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. â€Å" Requirement 3A) â€Å"How a foreign country (France) is a global provider and it’s economy and global relations† Geography: The European portion of France, excluding islands and overseas territories is 211,209 sq miles. Natural Resources: Are limited, and most are either nearly exhausted, or very hard to obtain, Coal, Iron Ore, Bauxite, and small portions of Uranium. Climate Influence: The north and northwest have a temperate climate, while a combination of maritime influences, latitude and altitude produce a varied climate in the rest of Metropolitan France. In the south-east a Mediterranean climate prevails. In the west, the climate is predominantly oceanic with a high level of rainfall, mild winters and cool to warm summers, along with the very fertile soil, provides a very good growing season, and allows for the growing of many forests, and tourist attractions. Inland the climate becomes more continental with hot, stormy summers, colder winters and less rain. The climate of the Alps and other mountainous regions is mainly alpine, with the number of days with temperatures below freezing over 150 per year and snow cover lasting for up to six months. Global Partnerships: a leading member of the International Francophone Organization (OIF) of fifty-one fully or partly French-speaking countries, and World Trade Organization. Requirement 4C) â€Å"What do the U. N and the World Court do for the world? † U. N: Is an international organization who aims for facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. World Court: Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by sovereign states and to provide opinions on legal questions submitted to it by international agencies. Requirement 5) Previously Discussed. Requirement 6) â€Å"How is government represented abroad? And how is the U. S accredited to international organizations? † A government is recognized through embassies and consulates in all nations with which they have diplomatic relations. The United States government has been accredited to international organizations by signing into organizations and becoming an official member. They participate in the happenings of the many different organizations and do their best to help whatever cause the organization is promoting. Requirement 7) To Be Discussed. Democratic Republic(USA)- Star Communist (North Korea, China, Vietnam)-Equal Sign Dictatorship (Cuba, Venezuela) -â€Å"No† Symbol Monarchy (Saudi Arabia, Monaco) -X Theocracy (Iran) -Sun Democratic Republic(USA)- Star Communist (North Korea, China, Vietnam)-Equal Sign Dictatorship (Cuba, Venezuela) -â€Å"No† Symbol Monarchy (Saudi Arabia, Monaco) -X Theocracy (Iran) -Sun How to cite Citizenship in the World, Bsa Merit Badge., Essay examples

Musee Des Beaux Arts Persuasive Essay Example For Students

Musee Des Beaux Arts Persuasive Essay Musee des Beaux Arts is a complex parallel of the world of 1938. As Adolph Hitlers Death Heads were spreading the Nazi flag onto the heart of Europe, many found it easier to turn their heads and pretend they do not notice or care, than to stop and do something about the suffering of so many Europeans. Inspired by the painting of Pieter Bruegel, Landscape with Fall of Icarus, Audens brings to our attention the tragedy of humankind and its position by emphasizing the two major themes of birth and death while life follows its way and goes on. The painting Landscape with the fall of Icarus inspired from a Greek myth resembles the tragic ending of Icarus and the carelessness and ignorance of the people witnessing the sad event. Icarus was a Greek mythological figure also known as the son of Daedalus. The myth is about Icarus and Daedalus who were arrested on the island of Crete by the King, and Daedalus constructs wings out of wax so they can fly away and escape from the island. Since the wings were made out of wax Daedalus instructs his son not fly too close to the sea since they will soak into water, but also not too close to the sun since they will melt down. Unfortunately for Icarus he does not follow the instruction and flies too close to the sun and the tragedy strikes and he falls into the water and dies. As he agrees with the Old Masters, the great painters, he ironically introduces the suffering human condition as a tragic scene hile someone else is eating or opening the window or just walking dully along (line 4) the author tries to show how ignoring and selfish people can be sometimes. As a frame to integrate the events he introduces the concept of birth:How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, (5-6) and also the concept of death depicted by the drowning Icarus. Witnesses to those events the author depicts the ignorance of people: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, but for him it was not an important failure, and how the splash of the water and the cry caused by Icaruss fall into the water kept them undisturbed from their daily life activities. He associates the tragedy of Icarus and the landscape of Bruegel with the events of his time when the Nazi were slowly taking over Europe, and the striking indifference of the rest of the world towards the despair of the unfortunate few. He writes, the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. (17-21). This show that the sun does what is suppose to do so there is nothing to do about this, but us, the witnesses to the tragedy, we calmly walk away in our expensive delicate lifeboat without looking back, pretending we have not seen anything. The apathy resembled by the peoples indifference response to the tragedy of death in the painting of Bruegel, intrigues the author and forms the setting of the poem. He links the events captured in the painting of Bruegel with real life and somehow concludes that despite miraculous events like birth as well tragedies like death occur around us, we remain indifferent and cold as life goes on.

The Road Not Taken Poem Explication free essay sample

Robert Frost is an excellent poet and will be remembered for his works for as long as they exist. Personally Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets, so when I saw this poem, I had to use it to write my explication. When I read The Road Not Taken, it really hit close to home to me. I get the sense from Frost that he is implying that he doesn’t want people to conform to society. Basically he does not want us to follow a path just because most others have chosen that path. Most importantly in the poem, Frost leaves us with the theme of having to choose a path in which we have no knowledge of where it will take us. We can all relate to this especially my self because I had the same type of decision to make when it came to picking a college. We will write a custom essay sample on The Road Not Taken Poem Explication or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Frost wants us to be different and to make decision for ourselves in life. I feel he wants us to be independent people who make our own future. Throughout this explication, I am going to explain the themes and meanings of each line of the poem and how those themes contribute to the overall meaning of being different and making your own decisions without the influence of others in which Frost implies to his readers. Robert Frost constructed this poem in four stanzas in which each stanza has five lines. He also uses the rhyme scheme AABBAAB, which you will see expressed throughout the poem and explication. From reading this poem and acknowledging the rhyme, I almost got a disgusting and sad feeling. I think Frost did these just to show how serious that his message in this poem really was. You also get the sense from Frost that he is flashing back to this particular event in his life from reading the poem. Also in my opinion, it feels like there is a somewhat somber mood or tone throughout Frost’s poem. Frost begins the poem with the line â€Å"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,† which I feel Frost is introducing us to a decision that he must make through imagery and symbolism, which in this case, the two roads are symbols for the decision that we must make as human beings in life. Frost then says â€Å"And sorry I could not travel both. † Frost is saying here that in life we have to make decisions in which we have to make a choice. It is either one or the other, and this really applied to me when it came to college because it was either go off to GCSU or stay home. But that’s just me. It also seems to me that frost wishes and feels disappointed that he could not take both roads because he says â€Å"sorry† at the beginning of the line. In the next line, Frost says, â€Å"And be one traveler, long I stood. What Frost is saying here in my opinion, is basically that he really pondered and thought about his decision for a long time. It is almost like Frost is giving us the idea that we need to take a long time to make and think about major decisions in life, so that we can make the right decision for ourselves. Frost is basically just telling us to be patient when making big decisions in life. Frost in the next line then says, â€Å"And look ed down one as far as I could. † I think here Frost is saying that he is studying one of the choices as best he can and getting as much information about this choice to help him make a decision. The next line then states, â€Å"To where I bent in the undergrowth;† Frost is using imagery here to describe the choice in which he only knows so much about this particular choice. Frost does not have a lot of information about this choice, and he expresses it very clearly in his poem when describing the road bending into the undergrowth. It seems to me that he can not see the future of this path, and that he has to take a major risk when choosing his path. In the next stanza Frost starts with saying, â€Å"Then took the other, as just as fair. Frost is basically saying that he reviewed and thought about this choice equally to the other choice. He uses the word fair to prove that theory, and although he does not go into as much depth as the other choice, he is still implying that the two roads or paths are equal. Thus leading me to believe, that Frost is basically saying that the outcomes of each of the choices are equally fair as well, but that is just my opinion. He then s ays, â€Å"And having perhaps the better claim,† in the next line. This is somewhat symbolic and ironic. This is symbolic in which the road less traveled that has the better claim and less wear is equal to the path in which is not chosen by most in society. It is somewhat ironic because it is not most traveled and successful, and Frost decides to take this road later in the poem. It is ironic because we all would expect somebody to take the most popular road because honestly life has come down to popularity. I hate it, but it is true. He took the road less traveled which was the least popular road, and I really respect him for that, but I’ll get into this more later on. Frost then describes this choice through imagery by saying in the next line, â€Å"Because it was grassy and wanted wear;† He is describing this road in which it is very grassy and there is little to no wear on this road. He makes it very clear through his imagery that this is the road less traveled. Frost again uses imagery to describe each choice when he says, â€Å"Though as for that the passing there, Had worn them really about the same. † He is saying here in my opinion that both paths or choices are almost equal when it comes to outcome and success. He also uses some diction in this instance when describing the similarity of both paths or choices. Robert Frost begins the next stanza leading up to his decision by saying, â€Å"And both that morning equally lay, In leaves no step had trodden black. † To me he is saying that in the day he made the decision both choices and paths were almost identical and that this decision could not be made primarily off of the look of both paths or choices. Also he uses what appears to be a sad, dark word choice or diction when he uses the word â€Å"black. It also could fall under the use of dark imagery because as a reader it really put me in a quiet, somber mood. In the next line, Frost says, â€Å"Oh, I kept the first for another day! † In my opinion, Frost is saying here that he took the second road with the better claim, and the road that was less traveled with the least wear. I also get the sense in this line that if his first decision does not work out for him, that he can always change paths if he fails. The next line says, â€Å"Yet knowing how way leads to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. Frost is saying here that by taking this path, other opportunities and decisions will come up, and take him to different places and times in life. I feel that Frost is using repetition by saying, â€Å"way leads to way,† because he is putting an emphasis on the fact that more opportunities are going to come up that will distance him from where he began. Because of that he feels that like he may not be able to come ba ck to the other choice and that this decision he is making is truly life altering and life changing. It is almost like he feels that there is no turning back for him. Frost begins the last stanza by saying â€Å"I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood,† Frost uses repetition and symbolism here when saying, â€Å"ages and ages hence,† to warn the upcoming generations that they will one day encounter tough decisions that are life changing, and that they will have to make difficult decisions in life and in the future. Frost uses symbolism in which he is comparing ages to ages to the upcoming generations. He puts a huge emphasis foreboding that we are going to have to make decisions in life. He also has a very soberest tone and mood in these lines. It is almost like he feels bad that everyone in their lives must make decisions like this. It almost seems to me like he feels he made the wrong choice himself, but that is not the case because Frost then says in the next line, â€Å"and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. † What I get from this line is that the line is almost symbolizing how not following the crowd really makes a difference in life, and it appears that being yourself and doing what you want to do is what really makes you happy and successful in life. This poem really hit home to me because in my opinion we must all face choices and decisions in our lives. We are all going to come upon these roads that Frost talks about. It is inevitable, and through tone, imagery, and word choices. His poem was almost spot with the decision I had to make on college. I definitely approached those two paths, and I just like Frost, took the road less traveled. In the case of my family, that would be leaving home and going off to school, but I think I made the right decision. Either choice I made, I am almost certain that my life would end up just the same as it is now. With that knowledge it was a risk I was willing to take. So with analyzing and thoroughly reading Frost’s poem, I have really learned a lot and been able to apply the situations in the poem to instances in my life. This is definitely one of my favorite poems, and I Frost’s opinion of not conforming to society and making our own choices. I love it, and I honestly feel that we are better off doing what we want to do. To me that is the only way in which we can truly be happy without any doubts.

Andorra - Learn about the Geography and History of Europes Andorra

Andorra - Learn about the Geography and History of Europe's Andorra Population: 84,825 (July 2011 estimate)Capital: Andorra la VellaBordering Countries: France and SpainArea: 180 square miles (468 sq km)Highest Point: Pic de Coma Pedrosa at 9,665 feet (2,946 m)Lowest Point: Riu Runer at 2,756 feet (840 m) Andorra is an independent principality that is co-governed by Spain and France. It is located in southwestern Europe between France and Spain and it is entirely landlocked. Much of Andorras topography is dominated by the Pyrenees Mountains. Andorras capital city is Andorra la Vella and its elevation of 3,356 feet (1,023 m) makes it the highest capital city in Europe. The country is known for its history, interesting and isolated location and high life expectancy.History of AndorraAndorra has a long history that dates back to the time of Charlemagne. According to the U.S. Department of State, most historical accounts claim that Charlemagne grated a charter to the region of Andorra in return for fighting against the Muslim Moors advancing from Spain. By the 800s the Count of Urgell became the leader of Andorra. Later a descendent of the Count of Urgell gave control of Andorra to the diocese of Urgell led by the Bishop of Seu dUrgell.By the 11th century the head of the diocese of Urgell put Andorra under the protection of the Spanish, under the Lord of Caboet, because of growing conflicts from neighboring regions (U.S. Department of State). Shortly thereafter a French noble became the heir to the Lord of Caboet. This led to conflict between the French and Spanish over who would control Andorra. As a result of this conflict in 1278 a treaty was signed and Andorra was to be shared between Frances Count of Foix and Spains Bishop of Seu dUrgell. This led to a joint sovereignty.From this time until the 1600s Andorra gained some independence but control often shifted back and forth between France and Spain. In 1607 Frances King Henry IV made Frances head of government and the Bishop of Seu dUrgell co-princes of Andorra. The region has been ruled as a co-principality between the two countries ever since.During its modern history, Andorra remained isolated from much of Europe and the rest of the world outside of Spain and France due to its small size and the difficulty involved with traveling there because of its rugged topography. Recently however, Andorra has begun to grow into a tourist European center as a result of improv ed communications and transportation development. In addition, Andorra still has very close ties to France and Spain, but it is more closely tied to Spain. The official language of Andorra is Cataln.Government of AndorraToday Andorra, officially called the Principality of Andorra, is a parliamentary democracy that is governed as a co-principality. The two princes of Andorra are the president of France and the Bishop Seu dUrgell of Spain. These princes are represented in Andorra via representatives from each and make up the countrys executive branch of government. The legislative branch in Andorra consists of a unicameral General Council of the Valleys, whose members are elected via popular election. Its judicial branch is made up of the Tribunal of Judges, Tribunal of the Courts, the Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra, the Supreme Council of Justice and the Constitutional Tribunal. Andorra is divided into seven different parishes for local administration.Economics and Land Use in AndorraAndorra has a relatively small, well-develop ed economy that is based mainly on tourism, commerce and the financial industry. The main industries in Andorra are cattle, timber, banking, tobacco and furniture manufacturing. Tourism is also a major part of Andorras economy and it is estimated that around nine million people visit the tiny country each year. Agriculture is also practiced in Andorra but it is limited because of its rugged topography. The main agricultural products of the country are rye, wheat, barley, vegetables and sheep.Geography and Climate of AndorraAndorra is located in southwestern Europe on the border between France and Spain. It is one of the worlds smallest countries with an area of just 180 square miles (468 sq km). Most of Andorras topography consists of rugged mountains (the Pyrenees Mountains) and very small, narrow valleys between the peaks. The highest point in the country is Pic de Coma Pedrosa at 9,665 feet (2,946 m), while the lowest is Riu Runer at 2,756 feet (840 m).The climate of Andorra is considered temperate and it generally has cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summer s. Andorra la Vella, the capital and largest city of Andorra, has an average annual temperature range of 30.2ËšF (-1ËšC) in January to 68ËšF (20ËšC) in July.To learn more about Andorra, visit the Geography and Maps section on Andorra on this website.ReferencesCentral Intelligence Agency. (26 May 2011). CIA - The World Factbook - Andorra. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/an.htmlInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Andorra: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107276.htmlUnited States Department of State. (8 February 2011). Andorra. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3164.htmWikipedia.org. (2 June 2011). Andorra - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra

The Scientific Definition of Mass

The Scientific Definition of Mass Mass is a scientific term used to describe the density and type of atoms in any given object. The SI unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), though mass can also be measured in pounds (lb). To quickly understand the concept of mass, think of a pillowcase filled with feathers and a similar pillowcase filled with bricks. Which has a greater mass? Because the atoms in the bricks are heavier and denser, the bricks have a greater mass. Thus, even though the pillowcases are the same size, and both are filled to the same degree, one has much greater mass than the other. Scientific Definition of Mass Mass is the quantity of inertia (resistance to acceleration) possessed by an object or the proportion between force and acceleration referred to in Newtons Second Law of Motion (force equals mass times acceleration). In other words, the more mass an object has, the more force it takes to get it moving. Weight Versus Mass In most common instances, mass is determined by weighing the object and using the force of gravity to calculate the value automatically. In other words, in most real-world situations, mass is the same thing as weight. In the example of the feathers and the bricks, the difference in mass can be described by the relative weight of the two pillowcases. Obviously, it takes a lot more work to move a bag of bricks than it does to move a bag of feathers. But weight and mass are not really the same thing. Because of the relationship between weight and mass, these concepts are frequently confused. You can, in fact, convert exactly between weight and mass on the Earths surface. But thats because we live on planet Earth, and while we are on this planet gravity is always the same. If you were to leave the Earth and go into orbit, you would weigh almost nothing. Yet your mass, defined by the density and type of atoms in your body, would remain the same. If you landed on the moon with your scale and weighed yourself there, youd weigh more than you weighed in space but less than you weighed on Earth. If you continue your journey to the surface of Jupiter, youd weigh a great deal more. If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth you would weigh 16 pounds on the moon, 37.7 pounds on Mars, and 236.4 pounds on Jupiter. Yet, throughout your trip, your mass would remain essentially the same. Importance of Mass in Daily Life The mass of objects is tremendously important in our daily lives. We work hard to reduce our mass when we are dieting. Less mass translates to less weight.Many manufacturers work to create less massive versions of items ranging from bicycles and running shoes to cars.  When an object is less massive it has less inertia and is easier to move.Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on your weight in relation to your height. Fat is lighter (less massive) than muscle, so a high BMI suggests that your body contains more fat and less muscle than it should.

United States History, World War II through 1970s Essay

United States History, World War II through 1970s - Essay Example Nearly all continents of the world were involved in this war either direct or indirect. However, this war largely involved countries that had seen a rapid growth in their economy. The war involved two extreme sides, the allies, and the axis. The axes were the original inventor of this war while the axis joined this war to protect their interest, which was under threat from the axis. The United States was involved in this war at later stages. Initially, United States was hesitant to join the war due to its foreign policy (Willmott, H et al, 2009). America only joined this war when its interest was threatened in eastern Asia. The impacts of this war continue to be felt today. However, the impact was prominent in the period from 1945 to the 1970’s. This paper seeks to discuss the United States history after world war two through the 1970’s. There were major turning points that happened after world war two through the 1970’s. The war led to a significant assemblage o f American resources more than seen before in American history. Additionally, there was revival of major industries, and agricultural productivity improved significantly. America was able to overcome the challenges of the Great Depression that took place in the 1930’s and became one of the most powerful economies in the world. Then level of management of American economy improved greatly. Roosevelt administration focused on weapon manufacture rather than production of consumer goods. The War Production Board facilitated this level of production. Mostly, war weapons were produced such as tanks, airplanes, and tires meant for war. Major technological advances resulted due to the influence of World War II. The major historical turning points had impacts on America’s current society, economy, politics, and culture. They for a long time changed the spirit of America politically, socially, culturally, and of more importance economically. America during this period aim was to avoid war at all cost although it had military prowess. However, as various resources were mobilized at all levels, America economy grew tremendously. Consequently, America became one of the richest nations in the world and a major superpower (Willmott et al, 2009). Consumer good increased in the market at an alarming rate and hence America was able to conquer the world. Due to industrial expansion, America developed technologically and was able to land in space in the 1960’s (Willmott et al, 2009). America also developed complicated military weapons and this led it to be involved in military intervention in the world such as Vietnam War (Williams, 2004). In politics, various laws were put into place to allow for all people participation especially the women. Moreover, there was significant cultural transformation as America engaged in sports, music, and entertainment to show its prowess especially due to Cold War influence (Willmott et al, 2009). The rise of industries also led to constant migration of workers, and an increase in population in industrial areas. Americans had myriad reasons of not wanting to be engaged in European conflict that culminated in World War II in the late 1930’s. Initially, World War II did not affect America in any way. This led to lack of support of majority of the citizens. America entrance into the war gained public support after attack on Pearl Harbor (Williams, 2004). Additionally, America was recovering from the effects of depression that took place in 1930. Therefore, America did not want to involve itself with activities that would disrupt its economic growth. Furthermore, America wanted to protect the market for its industrial good. Europe provided a large base for its manufactured good, hence wanted to remain neutral (Williams, 2004). Women played

Credit Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Credit Risk - Essay Example There has to be experience to scrutinize all the credit information and interpret the same. However good the analyses may have been, the bank will be in no position to distinguish a good borrower from a bad borrower, who has no intention of repaying the loan. Despite all the caution, bad loans do creep into the banks accounts. Thus, evaluation and pricing decisions should be followed up with periodic review of the account and the credit rating of the borrower. Any fall in the rating will increase the credit risk. Credit risks persist from the time the loan is granted throughout its life period and continuous review during this period will help in the early detection of the problem loans. The above information is for monitoring the credit risk exposure at a micro level. If a broader outlook of the credit risk exposure and its position is to be determined, then a macro level approach has to be adopted. This is made possible through the use of the Capital Adequacy Ration (CAR). The capital adequacy of a bank, which is the ratio of its capital to its risk weighted assets (RWAs), provides information about the extent to which the possible losses can be absorbed by the capital. Normally, the ultimate defense against credit risk that a bank possesses will be its equity capital or net worth. If from an earnings position, it turns out into an operating losses position, it would be the equity capital account that absorbs such losses, thereby giving management time to reach to the situation. Therefore, it can be said that the higher the CAR the better it is for the financial institution. The main aim of the credit policy of a bank will be to screen out the best proposals for acceptance. The Capital Adequacy rate provides a benchmark for monitoring the risk level considering the total assets of the company. Commercial banks provide capital market related services, depository services, advises on portfolio management or investment counseling, etc. Many banks have now started offering investment services to the retail customer, which is essentially advice and execution of mutual fund investments and redemptions. CAPITAL MARKET PRODUCTS Advice on debt and equity is restricted primarily to new issues, with secondary market investments being discouraged. There are no charges for this service; in fact, customers are paid incentives/commissions for investing through them. The bank essentially gets its income from the mutual fund/broker directly and also cross-sells other banking products. Arbitrage, stock lending are products, which are beyond traditional asset management but still many banks are offering them to retain their customers ((ICMR), Commercial Banking, 2003). Portfolio Management Services offered by banks can be differentiated into discretionary and non-discretionary services. Discretionary portfolio management allows the portfolio manager to take investment decisions on behalf of his/her clients within the broad parameters of asset allocation. Non-discretionary services of the type provided by banks essentially mean that the client has to authorize, every transaction done on his/her behalf. The non-discretionary services offered by a banker can be listed as follows: Advisory services - Flexible, unbiased

The crisis of communism Essay Example for Free

The crisis of communism Essay Why did Deng Xiaoping survive the ‘crisis of communism’ whilst Mikhail Gorbachev did not? The dominant powers of communism, China and the Soviet Union, were about to face a major test to their systems of governance in the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, only one of them would survive. The ‘crisis of communism’ had its roots in the disillusionment of the people, after having been ruled for so long under repressive and clearly human rights-ignorant regimes. Deng Xiaoping managed to escape the wrath of this protest movement by, although reforming the economic system of China in various ways, clamping down on political systems, ensuring that the power of democracy bestowed on the people was not enough to usurp upon Xiaoping’s rule over the country. Gorbachev suffered a dissimilar fate. His failed economic policies of glasnost and perestroika, and the simultaneous political leniencies of his era meant that the Communist Party lost its place in the Soviet Union. One by one, the satellite states of the Eastern bloc would break away from the USSR’s control. Xiaoping became ruler of China among very difficult times, both economically and socially. The aftermath of Mao Tse-tung’s underwhelming contributions to policy was taking its toll on the people of China. Xiaoping was originally meant to be purged by the Gang of Four in 1976 during their attempted coup d’etat of the Chinese Government. One of the Gang of Four’s members was Mao Tse-tung’s last wife, Jiang Qing. However, when Hua Guofeng was appointed Communist Party chairman, he managed to turn the Red Army over to his side. The Gang of Four were subjected to a show trial and all given life sentences in prison. Consequently, the Democracy Wall was set up as a medium for which to criticise them and their treasonous crimes. With this sociopolitical relaxation in place, initialised by Huang Xiang, Deng Xiaoping rose to power. Xiaoping’s first reforms were on agricultural policy. The Great Leap Forward (GLF) and the Down To The Countryside migration movement of people from urban to agrarian communities, both bids to boost the role of agriculture in China’s economy, drew huge losses, and exacerbated the state of poverty among rural communities in China’s north and west, as the Soviet Union had predicted. To make matters worse, the communities who had been submitted to the GLF policy suffered severe droughts which decimated crops and left people hungry. To attempt to remedy these issues, Xiaoping abolished the communal system of agriculture and reissued the peasants with their private plots of land. Although the prosperity of rural Chinese communities wavered under Xiaoping’s rule, he had large support from them as a whole. China also underwent huge economic reforms under Xiaoping, which he termed ‘market socialism’. He directed Hu Yaobang, the General Secretary of the CCP, to impose most of these reforms. For the first time since the rule of the Kuomintang, China opened its markets up to the rest of the globe, in pursuit of a ‘free market’ approach to its trade. In this way, China would be able to benefit from the dollar of others, as its internal production suffered. Xiaoping also set up ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZs), such as the town of Shenzhen, which is now a city of 3.5 million people. Xiaoping’s economic policies were initially successful, but increased inflation and internal government corruption led to protest. Also, many of the party elders (most of them Maoists) opposed free market reforms and the attempts made by Xiaoping to make China’s government more transparent and open to scrutiny. When student protests in Beijing began, Hu Yaobang was criticised for being ‘lax’ by his political opponents, and was forced to resign, being replaced by Zhao Ziyang. When Hu Yaobang died, 100 000 students called for the government to reassess his legacy, and engaged in a mass protest in Tiananmen Square, demanding greater transparency of the Chinese government. Communism was being challenged by the people. Xiaoping, however, had a hold on the army, and used them to deal with the protests. This was a complete volte-face on Xiaoping’s part. Although he opened up the idea of democracy to the people of China for the first time, Xiaoping was relentless in silencing the Tiananmen protesters, even resorting to massacre in order to hold ‘peace’. When the defiance of the infamous ‘Tank Man’ was caught on tape, being seized by army officials, the Chinese government did its best to censor its release. Their attempts failed, and suddenly the whole world knew of the extent to which the Chinese government would go to maintain its hold of power on the people. Although Xiaoping was able to withstand these challenges to communism, Gorbachev could not. Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union succeeding a tide of disillusioned leaders whose ‘inertia’ in decision making meant that the Soviet Union’s economy, social tension and standard of living were starting to go stale. The age of these past leaders, due to their old age and ridiculously poor health, was termed the ‘gerontocracy’ of the Soviet Union. To rectify the inaction of these leaders and the disillusionment of the people towards the Communist Party, Gorbachev decided immediate reforms were needed to restart the economy and to regain social trust. He introduced two key policies: glasnost, meaning openness, which was make the government more transparent and allow freedom of speech; and perestroika, a political movement of Gorbachev’s which introduced demokratizasiya (democratisation of the government) and economic reforms which allowed foreign investment. Gorbachev’s perestroika movement also had other hidden side effects; it would cause the end of the Eastern bloc and the dissolution of Eastern Europe. The perestroika movement cut Gorbachev’s Communist Party into two: liberals who wanted this reform to be accelerated and ‘old communists’ who did not like the idea of reforming the Soviet Union’s systems at all. After some setbacks, Gorbachev managed to push the reforms through. However, his intention to keep a one-party system failed, as elements of a multi-party system began to crystallise. Boris Yeltsin, formerly a supporter of Gorbachev, was now independent of the Communist Party and challenging him. Meanwhile, after the international embarrassment caused by the censorship of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion, Gorbachev began releasing Soviet dissidents who had been kept imprisoned, and allowed even greater freedom of expression, rather than tightening it, as Xiaoping did. Gorbachev also supported the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, which signified the end to the repressive ‘iron curtain’ the Soviets had been ‘protectedâ⠂¬â„¢ by for nearly forty years. However, it soon became clear that perestroika was not targeting the correct areas of the Soviet Union’s economy which needed serious attention. Although Gorbachev now allowed privatisation and engagement in foreign trade and investment, much of the macroeconomic aspects of the Soviet command economy were still intact, such as price controls, and the monopolistic control of the means of production by the State. Thus, perestroika was a largely unhelpful ‘trickle-down’ policy, contrasting the SEZ policy of Xiaoping’s, which had the inverse effect. Perestroika only moved the bottleneck of the Soviet economy downwards, which failed to alleviate the continuous poverty which afflicted the country. The conservative side of the Soviet government was appalled with Gorbachev’s actions and how the Communist Party’s power was gradually being marginalised. Gorbachev also saw this, and to quell the opposition’s protest, he attempted to avert the dissolution of the Soviet Union by installing the New Union Treaty, which proposed a new confederacy named the ‘Union of Sovereign States’ which would replace the Soviet Union. But within it, the federal system would be less centralised and there would be a greater distribution of political power, which reduced the Communist Party’s control even more. Gorbachev was meant to sign the treaty on 20 August 1991, but was stopped by a coup d’etat attempt of Yeltsin’s (assisted by several others). On the day of the proposed signing, they issued an ultimatum for Gorbachev to declare Gennady Yanaev of the Communist Party the new President of the USSR, or call a union-wide state of emergency. Gorbachev accepted to do neither. He was consequently placed under ‘house arrest’ as the citizens of Moscow began erecting barricades around the presidential estate. On 21 August, tanks intruded on the Red Square, and an attack on the White House was imminent, but the tanks were barricaded by trolleybuses. When the coup was officially over, Gorbachev dismissed all members of the State involved with the coup from their positions. After this incident, Gorbachev knew that his popularity was waning. His last major political decision was to establish the Belavezha Accords, which denounced the 1922 treaty that established the Soviet Union. The Belavezha Accords were signed on December 8 1991, On December 25, Gorbachev officially resigned as President of the Soviet Union, replaced by Boris Yeltsin, and on December 26 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Conclusively, it is clear that while there were similarities between the reformation of the Chinese and Soviet political and economic systems as a response to the ‘crisis of communism’, the reason why Xiaoping succeeded this era and Gorbachev did not was because the Chinese government retained control over its people and did not allow opposition to the Communist Party. Gorbachev marginalised this power, which polarised the Soviet government. Gorbachev also relied on a ‘trickle-down’ economic policy to save the Soviet economy, which unfortunately did not achieve what it set out to do. Finally, Gorbachev’s attempts to ‘democratise’ the Soviet Union and prepare its federal system for reformation failed when it resulted in a complete dissolution of the entity.

Fred McFeely Rogers :: Mister Rogers Mr. Rogers

Fred McFeely Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers was born on March 20, 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover between 1946 and 1948. Mr. Rogers received his BA in Music Composition in 1951, from Rolling College in Winter Park, Florida. After college, Mr. Rogers studied in the Ministry and intended to preach after he was ordained in 1962, but was diverted by television. Mr. Rogers began working for a local Children’s channel series â€Å"The Children’s Corner.† While working for this local channel, In 1963, Mr. Rogers moved to Toronto where he began working for a Canadian Broadcasting Company and had his debut in â€Å"MisteRogers† In 1966 he received the rights to move the program to Pittsburgh. Here, Mr. Rogers aired his Internationally known â€Å"Mr. Rogers Neighborhood† from 1968 – 2001. Mr. Rogers has received many awards for his television show. He received 4 Emmy awards, 1 for lifetime achievement. He received the Peabody Award in 1983 â€Å"in Recognition of 25 beautiful years in the neighborhood.† Mr. Rogers also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Contributions to childrens education. As stated by President George W. Bush at the ceremony, â€Å"Fred Rogers has proven that television can soothe the soul and nurture the spirit and teach the very young.† Not all of Mr. Rogers life was perfect. Throughout his career, Mr. Rogers has faced some criticism and even had some Urban Legends develop. â€Å"I feel the greatest gift we can give to anybody is the gift of our honest self† as put by Mr. Roger. When in fact, that is not how others always viewed him. One of these Urban Legends was the claim that Mr. Rogers had a violent past. Fred McFeely Rogers :: Mister Rogers Mr. Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers was born on March 20, 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover between 1946 and 1948. Mr. Rogers received his BA in Music Composition in 1951, from Rolling College in Winter Park, Florida. After college, Mr. Rogers studied in the Ministry and intended to preach after he was ordained in 1962, but was diverted by television. Mr. Rogers began working for a local Children’s channel series â€Å"The Children’s Corner.† While working for this local channel, In 1963, Mr. Rogers moved to Toronto where he began working for a Canadian Broadcasting Company and had his debut in â€Å"MisteRogers† In 1966 he received the rights to move the program to Pittsburgh. Here, Mr. Rogers aired his Internationally known â€Å"Mr. Rogers Neighborhood† from 1968 – 2001. Mr. Rogers has received many awards for his television show. He received 4 Emmy awards, 1 for lifetime achievement. He received the Peabody Award in 1983 â€Å"in Recognition of 25 beautiful years in the neighborhood.† Mr. Rogers also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Contributions to childrens education. As stated by President George W. Bush at the ceremony, â€Å"Fred Rogers has proven that television can soothe the soul and nurture the spirit and teach the very young.† Not all of Mr. Rogers life was perfect. Throughout his career, Mr. Rogers has faced some criticism and even had some Urban Legends develop. â€Å"I feel the greatest gift we can give to anybody is the gift of our honest self† as put by Mr. Roger. When in fact, that is not how others always viewed him. One of these Urban Legends was the claim that Mr. Rogers had a violent past.

Sudan’s Economic Development

Development is something we do to make our way of life more comfortable. If we were not to develop we would still be living in the depths of the jungle feeding on bugs and things. But we have developed to become a more intelligent and happier race. In developing we take things we have and manipulate them into things we can use and sell to help our current situation and in turn make our way of life better. The quality of life is very important. Some factors may be measured but inputs such as personal happiness, a sense of well being or self worth etc., are more difficult to measure because they are subjective. A study of development must contain both measurable objective and subjective aspects. The quality of life can be measured by other factors like infant mortality rate, life expectancy, literacy rate, GNP, and population-growth rate. The quality of life is directly linked to the state of development that a country is currently at. To be developed a country has to have at the very least the basic necessities covered for the human population, e.g. clean water and a health system. To be highly developed a country would have to be up with the cutting edge of technology and health care, plus have a good education status etc. This report will eventually draw up a conclusion of what state of development this country (Sudan) is at. Sudan is situated in Northeastern Africa, the largest country of the African continent. It is bounded on the north by Egypt; on the east by the Red Sea and has Kenya, Uganda, DRC (formerly Zaire), Central African Republic, Chad and Libya. Sudan has a total area of 2,505,813 sq. km. Khartoum is the Capital City of Sudan. Sudan has a maximum length from north to south of more than 2250km; the extreme width of the country is about1730km. Divided into three separate regions, ranging from desert which covers about 30% of all Sudan, through a vast semiarid region of steppes and low mountains in central Sudan, to a region of vast swamps and rain forest in the south. Major features of Sudan are the great Nile River and its head streams the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Sudan has a tropical climate, Seasonal variations are most sharply defined in the desert zones, where winter temperatures as low as 4.4 degrees Celsius are common. Summer temperatures often exceed 43.3 degrees Celsius in the desert zones, and rainfall is negligible. Dust storms frequently occur. In Khartoum the average annual temperature is about 26.7 degrees Celsius; and annual rainfall which often occurs between mid-June and September, is about 254mm. The primary natural resources of Sudan are water. Supplied by the Nile River system, and fertile soil. Large areas of cultivable land are situated in the region between the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Small deposits of many minerals occur. The most important of which are chromium, copper and iron ore. Petroleum was also discovered in the late 1970†³s. The population of Sudan is composed mainly of Arabs in the north and black Africans in the south. Other ethnic groups in northern Sudan include the Beja, Jamala and Nubian peoples. About 58% of the economically active people are engaged in agricultural or pastoral activities; a quarter are employed in services and less than 10% in manufacturing and mining. Infant mortality rate indicates how many infants in every 1000 die soon after birth. Sudan has an infant morality rate of 77 in every 1000 live births. In developing countries the infant mortality rate is usually high and this lowers the overall life expectancy, along with generally poor health among adults. Sudan has a limited health system; it provides various vaccinations for the population but lacks overall medical treatment. Sudan does not have a good life expectancy (52 years); this is probably due to the relatively poor health services. Only 48% of Sudan†s population have access to clean water and there are 11620 people per doctor. (Population projection graph Appendix A) (Sudan population pyramid Appendix B) Sudan†s economic situation is not all that great. GDP/capita is only at $186 US, compared to other countries like Indonesia ($671), Togo ($559) and Costa Rica ($1774) Sudan needs to do a little work to get their GDP up. Sudan imports primary foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals at a cost of 1.1billion dollars US annually. But they only export $535 million per annum in cotton (24%), livestock/meat (13%), gum Arabic (food additive in printing material)(11%). This has put Sudan into an $18 billion dollar debt. The education status of Sudan is not very impressive either. An Adult literacy rate of 42.7% and only 52% of children in primary school the population doesn†t get the education it requires to develop properly. About two thirds of Sudan†s population derives its living from crop farming or grazing, but only about 5% of the countries land is arable. Annual crop production in the early 1990†³s included; sorghum, wheat, peanuts, dates, yams and pulses. Cotton is the leading cash crop of Sudan; it is produced in large amounts in the Al Jazirah region. The livestock population in the early 1990†³s included about 21.6 million cattle, 22.6 million sheep, 18.7 million goats and 35 million poultry. The constitution of 1973, establishing Sudan as a one-party presidential Republic, was suspended following a military coup in 1985. Open elections were held in 1986, but political activities in the court were banned after another military coup in 1989. After the 1985 coup a 15 member Transitional Military Council took control. In April 1986 the people elected members to a parliamentary assembly; the leader of the majority party became Prime Minister. This shows that the government up until 1985 the Sudanese government was unstable and needed reform. It is quite clear that Sudan is not a developed country. This shows mainly in it†s economic factors, with the country being $18billion dollars in debt and having its exports much lower than its imports there doesn†t seem to be much hope of Sudan getting into or anywhere near the black. Also the majority of the population works in agriculture and only a limited number of people work in the industries. The health system provides only limited support for the population. Over 11 000 people per doctor and 48% of the population with access to clean water, it is no surprise that the life expectancy is only 52 years. (Basic demographic Indicators Appendix C) Everyone knows that it takes money to make money and Sudan has a lot of its money channelled into the military. They could cut down on the army expenses and divide that money into other aspects like education, health and technology. Sudan can be an ally with neighbouring countries and trade goods; they could combine their forces and become one force.

Biological Psychology Essay

Biological psychology, also known as biopsychology and psychobiology, is the field of research in psychology that gives emphasis on the use of principles of biology in explaining mental processes and behavior. It emerged as a scientific discipline in the 18th and 19th centuries when philosophers like Rene Descartes proposed physical models to explain animal and human behavior as opposed to subjective, semi-mystical approach that flourished during his time. Some of the Nobel Prize winners who are considered as biological psychologists include Charles Sherrington (1932), George Wald (1967), Konrad Lorenz (1973), David H. Hubel (1981), Eric R. Kandel (2000), and Linda B. Buck (2004). Sherrington and Adrian shared the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology for their discoveries that had something to do with how the neurons work. Sherrington postulated his â€Å"law of reciprocal innervation† stating that every neural activation in a muscle is inhibited by an opposing muscle. Adrian on the other hand accidentally discovered the presence of electricity with nerve cells in 1928. Wald is best known for his work with pigments in the retina. Lorenz won the 1973 Nobel Prize together with Niko Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch for their discoveries concerning behavior patterns of individuals and groups. Hubel and Torsten Wiesel shared the 1981 Nobel Prize â€Å"for their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system.†Ã‚   Kandel won the 2000 Nobel Prize for â€Å"his research on the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons.† Buck is best known for her work on the olfactory system. Information about biological psychology can have wide applications in my everyday life. Through researches on biology applied in psychology, I am able to know more about mental processes and how I behave according to different conditions or stimuli. I am also able to understand psychological abnormalities and learn how to respond to such abnormalities. References Klein, S. B. (2007). Biological Psychology. New York, NY: Worth Publishers

The Applications of Technology in the First Decade of the TwentyFirst Century essays

The Applications of Technology in the First Decade of the TwentyFirst Century essays The Applications of Technology in the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century A quote I heard many times when I was in high school and which I now know traces back to Sir Francis Bacon, one of our earliest scientist or philosophers as they were then called, is the statement "Knowledge Is Power." Today, I believe that the fuller, more correct statement is to say, "the application of knowledge is power." The study of science, and technology subjects will broader our opportunities in life. As we continue to advance to the 21st century- now lesser than 30 days away-we are well aware that technology is possibly the hottest industrial commodity around the world today. In the years ahead, it will be an increasingly critical factor in determining the success or failure of businesses. It is the fuel many of us are looking at to help us win this race to the 21st century. To do that, we should make technology matter. In this paper I am going to share my technology forecasts. I try to focus on my new forecasts a decade into the future - the first decade of the 2 1st century, because that is how far most businesses need to be looking ahead. There has never been a neutral or value-free, technology. All technologies are power. They evoke economic and social consequences in direct proportion to their dislocation of the existing economy and its institutions. I believe that technologies such as: biotechnology and genetic engineering, intelligent materials, the miniaturization of electronics, and smart manufacturing systems, and controls, will be the hottest technologies in the next decade. I am going to put together a list of what I think as the top ten innovative products that will result from those technologies. Number one on the list is something we call genetic. There are pharmaceutical products that will come from the massive genetic research going on around the world today. In ten years, we will have new ways to treat many of ...

Instagram Influencer Marketing How to Get it Right in 6 Steps

Instagram Influencer Marketing How to Get it Right in 6 Steps Why tell the world how wonderful you are when you can get someone else to do it and make 1000 times the impact? Big name department stores have fashion bloggers on their payroll because their target market is influenced by the say-so of the people they engage with daily. They’ve recognized that people’s purchasing behaviour has changed. A  Nielsen survey  found that only 33 percent of people trust advertisements while 90 percent trust peer recommendations. And Instagram is where peer recommendations are happening more than ever. Instagram influencer marketing  may just be the golden ticket that provides your business with access to a huge pool of potential customers. If you follow the right strategy†¦ Instagram Influencer Marketing: How to Get it Right in 6 Steps by @acquireconvert via @ Table of Contents: Whats In This Post? What Exactly is an Instagram Influencer? How Powerful is Instagram Influencer Marketing? STEP 1: Define What Success Looks Like to You STEP 2: Identify the Right Influencers to Partner With STEP 3: Refine Your Pitch to Influencers and Increase the Chances of a Response STEP 4: Design and Optimize Your Influencer Campaigns STEP 5: Follow Best Practices and Maintain Transparency STEP 6: Track the Success of Your Strategy How Much Does It Cost? Who Should Be Using Influencer Marketing? A Problem With Instagram Influencers (And a Solution) What You’re About to Discover†¦ When the retailer Lord Taylor  enlisted the help of 50 influential names in fashion on Instagram, its strategy involved all influencers wearing the same dress which promptly sold out by the end of the weekend. How can you start getting a piece of the action? Instagram influencer marketing is more challenging than most marketing strategies on the platform especially if you’re just starting out. Everyone  wants a ‘piece’ of the influencers that’s why they’re influencers! Your efforts will fall flat on their face without a strong guiding strategy. But the potential rewards are huge. You’re probably not ready just yet to ask Prince Harry and Meghan to endorse your brand.  But that’s OK. Any size business can use influencer marketing. The main question is: how do you get the right influencers sitting up and taking notice? That’s what I’ll take you through here. As well as clearing up a myth or two about influencers, you’ll learn why Instagram influencer marketing is so powerful, what it costs, and what types of businesses it’s for. Most importantly, I’ll take you through a series of six practical steps covering: How to create an influencer marketing strategy that can be measured Who you should be trying to partner with How to approach influencers and actually get a response The types of influencer campaign you can run: Best practices transparency and disclosure Tracking how your campaigns are going Before we get into the practicalities of your strategy, let’s understand a little more about Instagram influencer marketing and why it’s so powerful†¦ Make @instagram influencer marketing easier with these free templates What Exactly is an Instagram Influencer? When you think ‘influencer’, do you think ‘celebrity’? If so, you’re only partly  right; celebrities ARE often influencers but not all influencers are A-listers. In fact, most aren’t like this chap: So let’s not restrict ourselves to Ronaldo, Beyoncà ©, Taylor Swift, and Jay-Z. As well as celebrity A-listers or ‘top tier’ Instagram influencers, you have: ‘Macro’ influencers  - those who have built up a very large Instagram following in their specialist area (generally 10,000 plus) ‘Micro’ influencers  - those who have built up a smaller but highly engaged Instagram following (generally 1000 - 10,000 or more) For our purposes, we’ll focus less on the celebrities and more on the two other types of influencers - because we want results, not pipe dreams. Only 3 percent of buyers are influenced by celebrity endorsements in their purchase decisions, according to a 2016 Collective Bias survey. And, according to Google, The Top 25 YouTube stars attract 12 times more comments than traditional celebrities. We’ll get into who exactly who you should be targeting in STEP TWO  below. For now, it’s enough to recognize that Instagram influencers have significant networks of followers and enough ‘pull’ to be able to sway opinion amongst followers. By engaging these influencers in marketing initiatives, we tap into their ability to build favorable sentiment towards us and our products. Curious to know what #Instagram influencer marketing is all about? Check out this guide from... How Powerful is Instagram Influencer Marketing? Ever since brands started hiring celebrities to wear their trainers, carry their designer bags, or endorse their sports gear, the power of influencer marketing has been no secret. It’s why you see David Beckham collections in HM stores. That it has come to Instagram should be no surprise. Everyone from YouTubers to Tweeters, Facebookers and Snapchatters have been dabbling in it in recent years. In 2016 for instance, Twitter reported  that: Nearly 40% of users claim to have made a purchase as a direct result of a tweet from an influencer Elsewhere, the Collective Bias survey mentioned earlier reported that: 70% of millennial consumers are influenced by recommendations from their peers in buying decisions Instagram as a marketing vehicle has been on a sharp upward trajectory over the past few years. As a result, Hashoff reports  that 91.9 percent of 150,000 influencers chose Instagram as their number one platform. With 800 million active users, the potential is obvious. But standing out from the crowd has become ever-more challenging when all the smartest kids on the block are marketing the hell out of Instagram. Instagram influencer marketing can set you apart. Let’s go†¦ Recommended Reading: The Best Guide on How to Use Instagram For Business STEP 1: Define What Success Looks Like to You All the best marketing strategies are measurable. Set out with some expectations, goals, and KPIs in mind. This will help you decide not only which influencers you partner with (STEP 2) but what type of campaigns you run (STEP 4) and what you will end up tracking (STEP 6). Here are a few of the most important questions to consider when working out your goals: Do you want to increase brand awareness in general? Do you want to simply gain more followers and more engagement? Do you hope to expand your reach? By how much? Are you hoping to increase click-throughs (store traffic)? Is the main aim to increase sales of a particular product (like the Lord Taylor dresses)? Do you hope to raise revenue in general? If so, by how much? Are you looking to increase conversion rates? Do you want to raise awareness about a particular event? Do you need help making a splash with a startup launch? Is the main aim to find brand reps to work with on an ongoing basis? If there's a way to add a fun illustration to represent each goal, that'd be cool if time allows. Identify precisely what you want to achieve and then how you’re going to measure success. This will help decide the types of engagement levels, reach, and traffic you need from your partner influencers, as well as how much you’re willing to spend. Here's how to decide the engagement levels, reach, and traffic you need from your Instagram... . STEP 2: Identify the Right Influencers to Partner With If there’s one golden rule for Instagram influencer marketing it would be this: make sure you find the right influencers. It’s easier said than done: two-thirds of marketers consider finding relevant influencers their biggest challenge, according to a joint study  by Tapinfluence and Altimeter. It’s made easier by a wide range of tools  specifically designed to identify influencers that suit you. Find out more about these tools here  but let’s assume that you’re trying to work it out without their help. Where do you start? What should you be looking for in an influencer? Firstly, let’s return to the three basic types of Influencers: Celebrity influencers ‘Macro’ influencers ‘Micro’ influencersHere are three different types of Instagram influencers to knowWhy Focus on Micro-Influencers? The vast majority of small businesses should focus on micro influencers and perhaps a few macro influencers. Most can forget about celebrities. If you’re a food brand, you might think ‘Jamie Oliver’ at first but you need to get more realistic. Besides, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that aiming smaller is more effective. The Collective Bias survey referred to above found that 30 percent of consumers were more likely to buy a product recommended by a non-celebrity blogger  whereas only 3 percent were influenced by celebrity endorsements. (Note: this applies to influencer marketing in general rather than just Instagram.) People often find it hard to relate to celebrities. While they may dream to be like Beyoncà © or LeBron James, it’s a fantasy world. And always at the back of the mind is the question: â€Å"Are they just saying that because they’re getting paid for it?† The opinions of people a little closer to home are more trusted  and believable. The best Instagram influencers may be experts in their field; they are influencers because they’ve earned it and risen through their niche; but they’re mainly people like you and me rather than big-name actresses, singers, or sports personalities (i.e. from another niche or even another planet!) There are exceptions but the general rule is to find influencers who are prominent in the specific niche that you play in. Their audience is the same as yours so it helps you get really targeted and in front of the right people. For instance, if you sell women’s shoes, it makes sense to target micro-influencers in ‘women’s shoes’ rather than ‘women’s accessories’ or ‘women’s fashion’. Some micro-influencers may not even consider themselves as an ‘influencer’ until you approach them - even better! They’re more likely to be authentic and won’t have an Instagram feed full of product endorsements; so their support of you will seem more selective. Ten posts from well-selected micro influencers will normally be less of a risk and may be more effective than one from a celebrity. Ten posts from well-selected micro influencers will normally be less of a risk and may be more...Their recommendations appear like authentic recommendations from friends. This encourages more engagement between the influencer and the audience - which is better for you. With limited budgets, multiple posts from micro-influencers are also good for increasing the amount of content out there about you and your brand - especially if content is simultaneously published by several influencers. Suddenly this has the effect of making your brand look ‘bigger’ and more ‘buzzy’. Recommended Reading: Everything You Need to Know About Instagram Analytics to Smash Your Goal The all-important metrics to look out for OK, so you’ve decided on targeting micro influencers. What metrics should you be looking at? The wrong influencers can be expensive mistakes, remember. So invest time into the prep work. Here are the most common metrics to pay attention to: Industry niche - usually there must be an intersection between their niche and yours. If you specialize in yellow hats, make sure they have a strong connection to yellow hats too. Engagement levels of posts - are followers deeply engaged with posts - liking, commenting and sharing? (At least 2-4% and ideally higher). Use tools like Iconosquare,  Tapinfluence  or  Sprout Social  to help calculate engagement levels. Follower numbers - this has become less important than engagement as Instagram’s algorithm has changed. Follower quality -  does the influencer’s audience reflect the quality of potential customer you’re looking for? A good example of follower makeup/quality trumping everything was when HP Australia  partnered with 20 Instagram fashion influencers  to promote the HP Spectre laptop. While they play in very different niches, HP wanted to reach a young audience that was well-aligned to the fashion influencers. The results? 62,943 direct engagements with campaign content and almost a million consumers reached. Traffic - how much web traffic does the influencer generate? Post costs - how much do they charge for posts? Does it realistically fit within your budget? You probably can’t afford what Kim Kardashian West charged for this one†¦ Location - is the influencer’s location important to you and your followers or for marketing your products/services? Are you going global or hoping for more of a local uptake? In general, go for balance. Raw follower numbers are a poor yardstick to use on their own because the temptation to go for huge follower numbers may ignore a lack of engagement. Celebrities may have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers but low engagement levels.  A survey by Markerley  of over 800,000 Instagram accounts with over 1000 followers found that: Influencers with 10-100,000 followers were most effective at providing a balance of engagement and reach; Influencers with fewer than 1000 followers get their audiences to like their posts 8% of the time and comment 0.5% of the time Instagram influencers with 10 million+ followers get their audiences to like their posts 1.6% of the time and comment 0.04% of the time. In most cases, target micro influencers who already have a strong affinity with your niche and who, preferably, are experts in the field. And while lower follower numbers may limit your potential audience initially, it may help your case for building a strong influencer partnership. You should also tailor this advice towards your target market. According to Twitter, youngsters 13-25 lean heavily towards social media influencers while people over 45 tend to prefer established, household names. Beware!   It’s not unknown for some unscrupulous influencers to buy followers to boost their appeal to businesses. Some may even artificially boost engagement rates with automated comments. Do your homework on influencers and avoid those with questionable followings or repetitive or bland comments. If something seems fishy, it probably is! Final tip:   Don’t limit yourself to human influencers! Get creative: pet care companies often partner with ‘influencer animals’: cute dogs, cats (or raccoons) with large followings (1.5 million) for instance: STEP 3: Refine Your Pitch to Influencers and Increase the Chances of a Response So you’ve boiled it down to a shortlist of influencers you want to target. What next? Before we look at how you contact them, let’s get into the mind of an influencer a little. Why are they doing what they do and how can you demonstrate the right approach to working with them? Are there any approaches that will increase the likelihood of successful outcomes? Influencers won’t necessarily agree to work with you just because you pay them. In fact, you want your influencer to be choosy because it means they’re authentic and interested in alignment and quality, above all. So here are some basic ground-rules to follow: Ensure that you make it easy for your influencer to understand how your brand aligns with their own values: Crowdtap found  that influencers value work that is aligned to their own; create an easy-to-read one-page overview of what your brand represents. Here’s how Fast Company does it on their website: Show respect to influencers you approach - as you would any potential publisher of your content: this was considered vital to influencers interviewed by Crowdtap in their survey. Guarantee the freedom for influencers to express themselves creatively - don’t try to dictate terms to them; it’s their audience and they know their followers better than you. If you’ve selected the right influencer and are well-aligned, trust them to talk to their target audience in a way that will get your own message across and produce win-wins. Keep it authentic - trying to fake it with influencers won’t work. They’ll see through you - and they won’t jeopardize their relationship with their followers for you! â€Å"...when working with influencers, brands have to let go and allow influencers control of the narrative to preserve the authenticity of what is being communicated.† Priyanka Dayal, content marketing manager at Centaur Media PLC. Work directly with the influencer rather than going through a marketing agency- they just prefer it  that way. Tracking Down Your Influencers Now- how do you actually find and get in contact with your influencers?   Fortunately, the Instagram search engine makes it relatively easy to search for influencers. Here’s what you do: Search for hashtags that relate to your industry. For a men’s shoe store you might look for #mensleathershoes: Identify more hashtags by clicking on posts in the search results and exploring what other hashtags they use. Try each of these hashtags - they needn’t all contain the word â€Å"shoes†. They can be closely related to shoes. The posts with the most engagement are listed at the top - these are usually from influential Instagrammers: Examine the accounts of leading posts with these hashtags. Check for content, frequency of posting, engagement levels, follower quality, etc. Really do your homework before identifying them as candidates. Have you found a potential influencer? Beyond this, there are several tools that you can use to make life easier with finding and contacting influencers. These are covered in some detail here. Recommended Reading: Instagram Marketing Strategy: How to Build One the Best Way Outreach to Your Influencers Understand that you’ll be most effective if you look to build a relationship  with your influencer. One direct message is not going to cut it. Use your communication and relationship-building skills rather than treating it as a single ‘transaction’. Assuming you don’t use one of the influencer search engines included in the tools mentioned above, expect to contact your influencers multiple times by direct messaging (DM) or email. For DM-ing: tap  Ã‚  in the top right of FEED. From there, you can  send messages and manage received messages. For email, you can ask for an email address, if it is not listed on their bio. Note that DM is not available on the browser versions of Instagram. You’ll need to download the desktop app to use on a PC; it is however included in the mobile versions of the app. You’re ready to start your outreach to your influencers: 1. A very brief initial introduction message  to test the water and to pop your head up on their radar. Make sure you’re knowledgeable about your influencer and sincere. You don’t want it to sound like spam! Something like this: â€Å"Hi Melanie! This is Jon from XYZ here. Your Instagram content is pretty inspiring and aligns closely with what we’re trying to do. I see quite a few similarities with your values and ours - particularly your XXXX and your XXXX. We’d love to work with you. If you’re interested in making that possible, let me know and I’ll call at your convenience.† 2. Follow up according to their response: if NO - thank them and point out that the door is always open. If YES - email or call to discuss details (what you’re trying to achieve, what your budget is, etc.) 3. Even after you have run the campaign, stay in in contact with your influencer  and share their content if it’s of use to your followers. Who knows when you can hook up again? STEP 4: Design and Optimize Your Influencer Campaigns There are many creative ways to set up campaigns once influencers agree to work with you. Start to collaborate to create more brand awareness, promote certain products or services, or achieve other goals defined in STEP ONE. Before you get going, you might like to create and share a mood board  with your influencer, as a guideline for the content of posts. This can help the creative direction of posts - though typically, remember, influencers like their own freedom of expression. So play this one by ear. Some of the most common types of influencer campaigns are: Sponsored Posts This is when influencers provide exposure for particular products or services by creating a post that you pay them for. Contests Give your Instagram contest a boost by getting an influencer to either run it on their account or to promote it to their followers: Branded Content Work with your influencer to weave your brand name or products into their content in informative or entertaining ways that engage their followers- and get your message across: Reviews A thorough review of your product or service can educate and inform your target audience, building trust through a peer recommendation from an influencer. Brand Rep Programs Brand reps are influencers that you send free products to; enthusiasts in your field who may appreciate the quality of your products and communicate it to their followers†¦ Influencer Takeovers Some influencers will agree to take over your Instagram account for a day. This will be appreciated by your existing followers and should attract the influencer’s followers to your account, expanding your potential following: Campaign Optimization Tips Create branded hashtags:  For each campaign, decide on a hashtag that suits your products or brand. Then all influencers can use this hashtag, helping to build identity and consistency for your brand. Get promoting yourself:  Just because you have an influencer in charge of posting content for a while doesn’t mean you can sit back and watch the sales roll in. Do your own promotional stuff too.

Restuarent Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics and Social Responsibility - Essay Example The company also owes the duty of care to every single person or region that it operates from thus bringing in the issue of corporate social responsibility. This paper aims at assessing the ethics and corporate social responsibility at Starbucks Corporation. Ethics and Social Responsibility: The Case of Starbucks Farmer Loans According to Washington (2010), Starbucks coffee processer understands the financial positions of its collaborate farmers, which at times lures the farmers into borrowing high interest loans to finance their activities. Starbucks also understand that financial shortage could make farmers opt for premature harvest of coffee that they sell at lower prices thereby cutting their profit margins (Washington, 2010). To cushion the collaborate farmers from the effects of financial depravity, Starbucks has established pioneering programs designed to provide access to credit to help farmers in managing risks and stabilize business. In 2008, Starbucks offered $12.5 million as loans to collaborate farmers. In 2009, Starbucks coffee company launched Small farmer Sustainability Initiative (SFSI) in collaboration with the TransFair USA and Fair-trade Labeling Organization International with projections to help in thriving of small scale farmers (Washington, 2010). ... Starbucks relies on water for making coffee beverages and washing of containers. In that line, Starbucks coffee processors have prioritized measures to introduce new water conservation strategies. Starbucks have set strategies of sanitizing the coffee handling equipments to reduce excessive wastage of water (Washington, 2010). In 2008, Starbucks made clear their intentions to reduce water consumption in their operations. Starbucks coffee processors have set targets of reducing water consumption by 25% by the end of 2015. So far, Starbucks have made commendable achievements after having managed to reduce its rate of water consumption by 4.1% during its financial year 2008 to 2009 (Washington, 2010). Statement and codes of ethical responsibilities of Starbucks Company The operation of Starbucks coffee company recognizes and embraces diversity as an essential component o its business activities. Starbucks Company also operates under the vigils of providing ample working environment by s howing abundant respect of personal dignity to all of its employees (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2007). In addition, Starbucks Company operates with the basic missions of providing high quality coffee under fair prices. Starbucks coffee company operates towards all time satisfaction of its customers’ expectations. Moreover, Starbucks missions and objectives entail positive contribution to community and environmental protection. Starbucks also recognizes the purpose of operation as basic profitability for future survival. Starbucks accountability on ethical and social responsibilities Starbucks have an established Business Ethics and Compliance program that provide guidelines that help partners in ensuring the business operates

Finance Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finance Principles - Essay Example An investor will thus, take care of the rate of return to expect and the risk level exposed in the capital market in making a decision on stock and bond allocation. Equity and bond portfolio investment in U.S capital market: Equity investment; An equity investment is supposed to provide long term value growth and the possibility of dividend income. The value of shares can at some time become volatile by being either declining or a rising trend in the overall market period. The stock market index in U.S has being declining in the recent past due to the financial wrangles being witnessed in Europe. The future economic growth of the country is promising to be positive which is a clear picture that in future the prices of the stock will raise. Thus, as a fund manager the current stock prices are in the best lowest prices when I should consider buying for future profit making from sale of the shares in the future. Also, with an economic growth prospects the shares are likely to generate d ividends which will be of benefit to the investor’s economic potential. Bond investment; A bond investment represents a fixed income investment because it attracts a fixed rate of interest and a known maturity time4. The value of a bond investment is determined by the movement of the market interest rates. If the interest rates are high, the price of the bond is low and at the time when the rates of interest are low, the bond price will be high. The interest level of a bond represents the risk level of a bond. The bond market in U.S assessment shows a challenge to fixed income investors because of the way it is associated to the European market which is facing a debt crisis5. This is because the performance of the bond in U.S capital market in the time to approach is likely to be determined by how the events will unfold in Europe6. There has being development of discouraging news from the European market of possible government default in paying back loans, bank crisis and the possibility of euro break up. This has lead to investors demanding a flight to quality on U.S treasury bonds and a poor performance on high yield bonds and emerging debt markets. The flight to quality response by the investors has resulted to the fall of 10- year note to record lows of 2011 with its price rising. This mean of seeking safety has outweighed prospects of earning meaningful long term returns7. Investing in U.S treasury is thus, pegged on a deteriorating of the European market. The expected economic growth in 2012 poses a risk to treasury bonds due to the inflation uptick that may rise which has a negative effect on bond prices. Investing in high yield bonds currently has an unknown future interest earning due to the debt crisis in Europe which can only get better if the crisis are solved to the fullest. Asset allocation; As an investor deciding to invest in the equity and bond market in the American market, the return level and risks associated with two assets due to t he global economic events needs to be allocated with care. From the assessment of the two assets investment opportunities, investing in the stock market is more favorable to an investor than in the bond market for future returns of the investment8. Market performance of any asset has usually being uncertain towards how in future the returns from the assets investment will perform9. This means that an investor has to come up with a portfolio arrangement that will try to caution massive losses from investing in only one asset that seem to have positive future returns. The portfolio investment need to allocate much percentage to an asset that has

Rural Development In India Construction Essay

Rural Development In India Construction Essay India is a country of villages and about 50% of the villages have very poor socio-economic conditions. Since the dawn of independence, concerted efforts have been made to ameliorate the living standard of rural masses. So, rural development is an integrated concept of growth and poverty elimination has been of paramount concern in all the consequent five year plans. Rural Development (RD) programmes comprise of following: Provision of basic infrastructure facilities in the rural areas e.g. schools, health facilities, roads, drinking water, electrification etc. Improving agricultural productivity in the rural areas. Provision of social services like health and education for socio-economic development. Implementing schemes for the promotion of rural industry increasing agriculture productivity, providing rural employment etc. Assistance to individual families and Self Help Groups (SHG) living below poverty line by providing productive resources through credit and subsidy. Rural employment schemes National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development External website that opens in a new window, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) External website that opens in a new window is the flagship programme of the Government that directly touches lives of the poor and promotes inclusive growth. The Act aims at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojna The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) was launched on 25 September, 2001 by merging the on-going schemes of EAS and the JGSY with the objective of providing additional wage employment and food security, alongside creation of durable community assets in rural areas. The programme is self-targeting in nature with provisions for special emphasis on women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and parents of children withdrawn from hazardous occupations. While preference is given to BPL families for providing wage employment under SGRY, poor families above the poverty line can also be offered employment whenever NREGA has been launched. The Gram Panchayats can take up any work with the approval of the gram sabha as per their felt need and within available funds. Fifty per cent of the funds earmarked for the gram panchayats are to be utilised for infrastructure development works in SC/ST localities. 22.5 per cent resources must be spent on individual beneficiary schemes meant for SCs/STs out of the resource share of District Panchayat and Intermediate Panchayats. Contractors are not permitted to be engaged for execution of any of the works and no middlemen/intermediate agencies can be engaged for executing works under the scheme. The programme is regularly monitored. The programme is being evaluated through impact studies conducted by reputed institutions and organisations sponsored by the Central/State governments. National Food for Work Programme The National Food for Work ProgrammeHYPERLINK http://india.gov.in/outerwin.php?id=http://rural.nic.in/nffwpguidelines.htm was launched in November, 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country, identified by the Planning Commission in consultation with the Ministry of Rural Development and the State governments. The objective of the programme was to provide additional resources apart from the resources available under the (SGRY)HYPERLINK http://india.gov.in/outerwin.php?id=http://rural.nic.in/book01-02/ch-2.pdf to 150 most backward districts of the country so that generation of supplementary wage employment and providing of food-security through creation of need based economic, social and community assets in these districts are further intensified. The scheme was 100 per cent centrally sponsored. The programme has since been subsumed in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which has come in force in 200 identified districts of the country including 150 NFFWP districts. The Act provides 100 days of work guarantee to every rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Rural infrastructure development Bharat Nirman Bharat Nirman is a time-bound business plan for action in rural infrastructure. Under Bharat Nirman, action is proposed in the areas of irrigation, rural housing, rural water supply, rural electrification and rural telecommunication connectivity. Rural Roads To upgrade rural infrastructure, the Government has formulated a proposal for providing the road connections to more than 38,484 villages above 1000 population and all 20,867 habitations above 500 populations in hilly and tribal areas. To achieve the targets of Bharat Nirman, 1,46,185 kms. of road length is proposed to be constructed by 2009. This will benefit 66,802 unconnected eligible habitations in the country. To ensure full farm to market connectivity, it is also proposed to upgrade 1,94,132 kms. of the existing Associated Through Routes. A sum of approximately Rs. 48,000 crore is proposed to be invested to achieve this. The main thrust of research and development (RD) in the roads sector is to build a sustainable road infrastructure comparable to the best roads in the world. The various components of this strategy are improvement in design, modernization of construction techniques, introduction of improved material conforming to latest trends, evolving better and appropriate specifications, encouraging development and use of new technologies etc. The dissemination of these matters is done through the publication of new guidelines, code of practices, instructions/circulars, compilation of state-of-the-art reports and seminars/presentations etc. The research schemes sponsored by the Department are generally applied in nature, which, once completed, would enable them to be adopted by user agencies/departments in their work in the field. The areas covered are roads, road transport, bridges, traffic and transportation techniques etc. The Department takes the help of various research institutions, academi c institutions and universities to implement the schemes. An outlay of Rs 600.00 lakhs has been provided for RD in 2007-08. Some of the ongoing major schemes are as follows: Roads: Development of GIS based National Highways information system; Guidelines for soil nailing techniques in highway engineering; Pilot study on effect of overloading on road infrastructure; Investigation on field performance of bituminous mixes with modified binders; Bridges: Creation of complete range of independent testing facility at Central Road Research Institute (CRRI ), New Delhi. Rural Housing Housing is one of basic requirements for human survival. For a shelterless person, possession of a house brings about a profound social change in his existence, endowing him with an identity, thus integrating him with his immediate social milieu. The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) with a view to providing financial assistance to the rural poor living below poverty line for construction of pucca house. The details of the scheme along with its performance are given below: Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) The Government of India is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) since the year 1985-86 to provide financial assistance for construction / upgradation of dwelling units to the below poverty line (BPL) rural households belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled Tribes and freed bonded labourers categories. From the year 1993-94, the scope of the scheme was extended to cover non-Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rural BPL poor, subject to the condition that the benefits to non-SC/ST would not be more than 40% of the total IAY allocation. The benefits of the Scheme have also been extended to the families of ex-servicemen of the armed and paramilitary forces killed in action, 3% of the Houses are reserved for the rural Below Poverty Line physically and mentally challenged persons, from 2006-07 onward, funds and physical targets under IAY are also being earmarked for BPL minorities in each state. Under the scheme, financial resources are shared between the centre and the states on a 75:25 basis. Since, reduction of shelterlessness is the primary objective, 75% weightage is given to housing shortage and 25% to the poverty ratios prescribed by Planning Commission for state level allocation. For district level allocation, 75% weightage is given again to housing shortage and 25% to SC/ST population of the concerned districts. On the basis of allocations made and targets fixed, district Rural development Agency (DRDAs)/Zilla Parishada (ZPs) decide Panchayat-wise number of houses to be constructed under IAY and intimate the same to the concerned Gram Panchayat. Thereafter, the Gram Sabha selects the beneficiaries, restricting its number to the target allotted, from the list of eligible households from the Permanent IAY Waitlists. No further approval of the higher authority is required. The ceiling on construction assistance under the IAY has been enhanced w.e.f. 1.4.2008, Rs. 25, 000/- to Rs. 35,000/- per unit in the plain areas and from Rs. 27,500/- to Rs. 38,500/- in hilly/difficult areas. For upgradation of kutcha house, the financial assistance has also been enhanced from Rs. 12,500/- to Rs. 15,000/- per unit. In addition, The Reserve Bank of India has been requested by the Ministry of Finance to include IAY houses under the Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme for lending upto Rs. 20,000 per unit at an interest rate of 4%. Further, the dwelling units should invariably be allotted in the name of a female member of the beneficiary household. Alternatively, it can be allotted in the name of both husband and wife. Only in case there is no eligible female member in the family, the house can be allotted in the name of an eligible male member. The Sanitary latrine and smokeless chullah and proper drainage are required for each IAY house. Latrine could be constructed separate for the IAY house on the site of beneficiary. The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary. Engagement of contractors is strictly prohibited. No specific type design has been stipulated for an IAY house. Choice of design, technology and materials for construction of an IAY house is the sole discretion of the beneficiaries. About 181.51 lakh houses have been constructed under IAY since inception of the Scheme with an expenditure of Rs. 36900.41 crores (upto 31/5/2008). Performance during the year 2007-08 During 2007-08, the Central allocation for Rural Houseing was Rs. 40,322.70 crore. The target for construction/upgradation of IAY houses was 21.27 lakh. Against this target, 19.88 lakh houses were constructed/upgraded by incurring an amount of Rs. 5,458.01 crores (including State share). Performance during the year 2008-09 The Central allocation for 2008-09 under the IAY is Rs. 5,645.77 crore for the target of constructing/upgrading 21.27 lakh IAY houses. Out of this, an amount of Rs. 1,694.48 crore has been released as part of first instalment and 85,879 houses have been constructed so far, (upto 31/5/2008). Irrigation Under the Irrigation Component of Bharat Nirman, the target of creation of additional irrigation potential of 1 crore hectare in 4 years (2005-06 to 2008-09) is planned to be met largely through expeditious completion of identified ongoing major and medium irrigation projects. Irrigation potential of 42 lakh hectare is planned to be created by expeditiously completing such ongoing major and medium projects. There is a definite gap between irrigation potential created and the potential utilized. Under Bharat Nirman it is planned to restore and utilize irrigation potential of 10 lakh hectare through implementation of extension, renovation and modernization of schemes alongwith command area development and water management practices. There are considerable areas in the country with unutilised ground water resources. Irrigation potential of 28 lakh hectare is planned to be created through ground water development. The remaining target for creation of irrigation potential of 10 lakh hectare is planned to be created by way of minor irrigation schemes using surface flow. 10 lakh hectare of irrigation potential is also planned by way of repair, renovation and restoration of water bodies and extension, renovation and modernization of minor irrigation schemes. Telephone Connections Telecom connectivity constitutes an important part of the effort to upgrade the rural infrastructure. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, it will be ensured that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), shall be covered. Out of the above villages, connectivity in 14,183 remote and far flung villages will be provided through digital satellite phone terminals. Assistance for both capital as well as operational expenditure for these VPTs will be met out of the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF). Rural Water Supply To build rural infrastructure, Bharat Nirman has been launched by the Government of India in 2005 to be implemented in a period of four years from 2005-06 to 2008-09. Rural drinking water is one of the six components of Bharat Nirman. During Bharat Nirman period, 55,067 un-covered and about 3.31 lakh slipped-back habitations are to be covered with provisions of drinking water facilities and 2.17 lakh quality-affected habitations are to be addressed for water quality problem. While prioritising the addressal of the water quality problem, Arsenic and Fluoride affected habitations have been accorded priority followed by Iron, Salinity, Nitrate and other contaminants. To ensure that habitations once provided with drinking water supply infrastructure do not slip back and face drinking water problem, sustainability of drinking water sources and systems has been accorded high priority. To achieve drinking water security at village/ habitation level, conjunctive use of water i.e. judicious use of rainwater, surface water and ground water is promoted. To enable the rural community shoulder the responsibility in management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems at village level, decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed approach in the form of Swajaldhara have been adopted. To further strengthen community participation in the drinking water sector for sustainability, National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Surveillance programme has been launched in February, 2006 under which 5 persons in each Gram Panchayat are to be trained to carry out regular surveillance of drinking water sources for which 100% financial assistance including water testing kits, are provided. Rural Electrification Ministry of Power has introduced the scheme Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidhyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) in April 2005, which aims at providing electricity in all villages and habitations in four years and provides access to electricity to all rural households. This programme has been brought under the ambit of Bharat Nirman. Under RGGVY, electricity distribution infrastructure is envisaged to establish Rural Electricity Distribution Backbone (REDB) with at least a 33/11KV sub-station, Village Electrification Infrastructure (VEI) with at least a Distribution Transformer in a village or hamlet, and standalone grids with generation where grid supply is not feasible. This infrastructure would cater to the requirements of agriculture and other activities in rural areas including irrigation pump sets, small and medium industries, khadi and village industries, cold chains, healthcare and education and IT. This would facilitate overall rural development, employment generation and poverty alleviation. Subsidy towards capital expenditure to the tune of 90% will be provided, through Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), which is a nodal agency for implementation of the scheme. Electrification of un-electrified Below Poverty Line (BPL) households will be financed with 100% capital subsidy @ Rs.1500/- per connection in all rural habitations. The Management of Rural Distribution is mandated through franchisees. The services of Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSU) are available to the States for assisting them in the execution of Rural Electrification projects. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) External website that opens in a new window was launched on 25 December 2000 as a fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity to all the eligible unconnected habitations of more than 500 persons in the rural areas (250 persons in the hilly and desert areas) by good quality all-weather roads. Under Bharat Nirman, goal has been set to provide connectivity to all the habitations with population of more than 1000 in the plain areas and habitations with a population of 500 or more in hilly and tribal areas in a time-bound manner by 2009. The systematic upgradation of the existing rural road networks is also an integral component of the scheme. Accordingly, an Action Plan has been prepared for connecting 66,802 habitations with 1,46,185 km of all-weather roads. This Action Plan also envisages upgradation/renewal of 1,94,130 km of the existing rural road network. Subsequently, based on ground verification by States, 62,985 habitations were found eligible to be connected under the programme, out of which 3421 habitations have been connected under other schemes. Thus, the revised target is to connect 59,564 habitations. It is estimated that an investment of about Rs.48,000 crore would be required for achieving the targets under Bharat Nirman. The implementation strategy focuses o n quality, cost management and on time delivery. Up to July, 2008, project proposals amounting to Rs. 81,717 crore have been approved against which a sum of Rs. 38,499 crore has been released for 86,146 roads covering a length of 3,31,736 km. Against these, 52,218 road works having road length of 1,75629 km have been completed with a cumulative expenditure of Rs. 35,295 crore. Rural Housing Housing is one of basic requirements for human survival. For a shelterless person, possession of a house brings about a profound social change in his existence, endowing him with an identity, thus integrating him with his immediate social milieu. The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) with a view to providing financial assistance to the rural poor living below poverty line for construction of pucca house. The details of the scheme along with its performance are given below: Indira Awaas Yojna (IAY) The Government of India is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) since the year 1985-86 to provide financial assistance for construction / upgradation of dwelling units to the below poverty line (BPL) rural households belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled Tribes and freed bonded labourers categories. From the year 1993-94, the scope of the scheme was extended to cover non-Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rural BPL poor, subject to the condition that the benefits to non-SC/ST would not be more than 40% of the total IAY allocation. The benefits of the Scheme have also been extended to the families of ex-servicemen of the armed and paramilitary forces killed in action, 3% of the Houses are reserved for the rural Below Poverty Line physically and mentally challenged persons, From 2006-07 onward, funds and physical targets under IAY are also being earmarked for BPL minorities in each state. Under the scheme, financial resources are shared between the centre and the states on a 75 : 25 basis. Since, reduction of shelterlessness is the primary objective, 75% weightage is given to housing shortage and 25% to the poverty ratios prescribed by Planning Commission for state level allocation. For district level allocation, 75% weightage is given again to housing shortage and 25% to SC/ST population of the concerned districts. On the basis of allocations made and targets fixed, district Rural development Agency (DRDAs)/Zilla Parishada (ZPs) decide Panchayat-wise number of houses to be constructed under IAY and intimate the same to the concerned Gram Panchayat. Thereafter, the Gram Sabha selects the beneficiaries, restricting its number to the target allotted, from the list of eligible households from the Permanent IAY Waitlists. No further approval of the higher authority is required. The ceiling on construction assistance under the IAY has been enhanced w.e.f. 1.4.2008, Rs. 25, 000/- to Rs. 35,000/- per unit in the plain areas and from Rs. 27,500/ to Rs. 38,500/- in hilly/difficult areas. For upgradation of kutcha house, the financial assistance has also been enhanced from Rs. 12,500/- to Rs. 15,000/- per unit. In addition, The Reserve Bank of India has been requested by the Ministry of Finance to include IAY houses under the Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme for lending upto Rs. 20,000 per unit at an interest rate of 4%. Further, the dwelling units should invariably be allotted in the name of a female member of the beneficiary household. Alternatively, it can be allotted in the name of both husband and wife. Only in case there is no eligible female member in the family, the house can be allotted in the name of an eligible male member. The Sanitary latrine and smokeless chullah and proper drainage are required for each IAY house. Latrine could be constructed separate for the IAY house on the site of beneficiary. The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary. Engagement of contractors is strictly prohibited. No specific type design has been stipulated for an IAY house. Choice of design, technology and materials for construction of an IAY house is the sole discretion of the beneficiaries. About 181.51 lakh houses have been constructed under IAY since inception of the Scheme with an expenditure of Rs. 36900.41 crores (upto 31/5/2008) Performance during the year 2007-08 During 2007-08, the Central allocation for Rural Housing was Rs. 40322.70 crore. The target for construction/upgradation of IAY houses was 21.27 lakh. Against this target, 19.88 lakh houses were constructed/upgraded by incurring an amount of Rs. 5458.01 crores (including State share). Performance during the year 2008-09 The Central allocation for 2008-09 under the IAY is Rs. 56.45.77 crore for the target of constructing/upgrading 21.27 lakh IAY houses. Out of this, an amount of Rs. 1694.48 crore has been released as part of first installment and 85879 houses have been constructed so far, (upto 31/5/2008). Source: National Portal Content Management Team, Reviewed on:05-05-2010 Eleventh plan (2007-2012) The eleventh plan has the following objectives: Income Poverty Accelerate GDP growth from 8% to 10% and then maintain at 10% in the 12th Plan in order to double per capita income by 2016-17 Increase agricultural GDP growth rate to 4% per year to ensure a broader spread of benefits Create 70 million new work opportunities. Reduce educated unemployment to below 5%. Raise real wage rate of unskilled workers by 20 percent. Reduce the headcount ratio of consumption poverty by 10 percentage points. Education Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52.2% in 2003-04 to 20% by 2011-12 Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary school, and by regular testing monitor effectiveness of education to ensure quality Increase literacy rate for persons of age 7 years or above to 85% Lower gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage point Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the present 10% to 15% by the end of the plan Health Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 and maternal mortality ratio to 1 per 1000 live births Reduce Total Fertility Rate to 2.1 Provide clean drinking water for all by 2009 and ensure that there are no slip-backs Reduce malnutrition among children of age group 0-3 to half its present level Reduce anaemia among women and girls by 50% by the end of the plan women and Children Raise the sex ratio for age group 0-6 to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by 2016-17 Ensure that at least 33 percent of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of all government schemes are women and girl children Ensure that all children enjoy a safe childhood, without any compulsion to work Infrastructure Ensure electricity connection to all villages and BPL households by 2009 and round-the-clock power. Ensure all-weather road connection to all habitation with population 1000 and above (500 in hilly and tribal areas) by 2009, and ensure coverage of all significant habitation by 2015 Connect every village by telephone by November 2007 and provide broadband connectivity to all villages by 2012 Provide homestead sites to all by 2012 and step up the pace of house construction for rural poor to cover all the poor by 2016-17 Environment Increase forest and tree cover by 5 percentage points. Attain WHO standards of air quality in all major cities by 2011-12. Treat all urban waste water by 2011-12 to clean river waters. Increase energy efficiency by 20 percentage points by 2016-17.