How would a change in the executive-legislative relationship in Research Paper

How would a change in the executive-legislative relationship in Honduras have an outcome of more democratic stability in the cou - Research Paper Example As a function of discussing and analyzing the case of Honduras, the following analysis will be concentric upon the manner in which a change in the legislative – executive relationship that exists within Honduras would ultimately be beneficial to the democratic stability of the nation. As a function of this particular piece of analysis and research, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed and nuanced understanding with respect to the way in which this unicameral and executive led structure of government works, the means through which abuse ultimately exists, and a key prescription for growth and change that could be engaged as a means of ameliorating these issues. Rather than coming to the understanding of the fact that anyone nations democratic system is invariably better than another’s, the analysis will strictly focus upon known and measurable shortcomings that exist and means through which these shortcomings can be addressed in order t o promote efficiency, utility, equity, and fairness within the nation of Honduras. Like many nations throughout Central America, Honduras exhibit a surprising lack of diversity. For instance, the broad majority of Hondurans, approximately 90%, can be described as mestizos (a mixture between natives and European background). The remaining 10% of the population is split between indigenous peoples, Amerindians – comprising 7% of the total population, black Africans, comprising 2% of the total population, and whites – comprising 1% of the population.1 Accordingly, this relative lack of diversity creates a situation in which the minority needs of key individuals throughout society are likely brushed aside within a democratically elected government; due to the fact that these diverse stakeholders are not able to have a powerful enough voice within the nation’s unicameral legislature in order to promote the rights and interests that they deem most important. Historical ly speaking, Honduras has had, as with so many Central American nations, something of a rugged past.2 From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, a military junta held complete and total control over the internal and external affairs that this small nation exhibited. Ultimately, this junta was propped up and supported by the United States due to his the opposition to any communism or Marxist ideology within the nation of Honduras. The overall level of importance that this rugged past has had upon the development and governmental structure of Honduras is profound. The underlying reason for this has to do with the fact that individuals within Honduras have come to experience something of a shared history in which a powerful and dynamic government has defined and structured the way in which life, business, and politics have taken place. Such a collective understanding of governance is perhaps one of the causal and most definitive stumbling blocks in seeking to engender a further level o f Democratic change and representation of the people within Honduras. As described briefly within the introduction of this analysis, the current executive – legislative institution relationship in Honduras is one that places an undue level of control within the hands of a single individual; namely the president.3 Even though it is true that the president of Honduras is a democratically

The Boston Photographs Essay Example for Free

The Boston Photographs Essay The Boston Photographs Stanley Foreman, a journalist for the Boston Herald American, captured three famous photographs of a fire rescue case which reminded me of my grandmothers tragedy, displayed the themes of tragedy and anger, parallels to the movie World Trade Center, and aligns with my opinion that Foreman published the photographs rightfully. Foreman snapped the camera thinking to take heroic shots of a brave fireman successfully rescuing a woman and a child. Little did he know, he would capture the collapse of final hope as a woman fell into the gateway to death. A fire immersed a Boston building in the 1930s. A fireman desperately attempted to save a woman and a child from the inferno, and almost came to success. However, the fire escape the three stood upon crumbled from the arm of the building just before the fireman could hoist them onto the ladder of the firetruck. The fireman managed to jump to safety onto the ladder as the ledge broke. Unfortunately, the woman could not cling tightly enough to the fireman, therefore, her and the child dropped stories high onto the solid ground. The woman died immediately from impact, but the child fell onto the cushion of her corpse and managed to survive. The treacherous scene showed on three photographs and became published in over four hundred newspapers across America. Understandably, this raised controversy as the public fired back with complaints of the gory pictures. Some argued that it contributed in, â€Å"Invading the privacy of death,† while others said it took responsibility in â€Å"Assigning the agony of a human being in terror of imminent death to the status of a side-show act† (Ephron, 658). Ephron states her opinion in this essay saying, â€Å"Death happens to be one of lifes main events. And it is irresponsible—and more than that, inaccurate—for newspapers to fail to show it † (Ephron, 662). This essay brought me back to my youth with replaying images of what I imagined the scene of my grandmothers death to look like. Honestly, it fell nothing short of a horror story, especially through the eyes of a muddled, vernal nine year old. I will not go in detail regarding the exact scene, for I find it inappropriately morbid, but I feel willingly to introduce a small, surfaced outline. A fire swallowed her house, eating from the core and dispersing to the edges like a rotting apple. She lay in mid afternoon nap when awakened from the smoky air, but the fire had managed to block almost every exit. She made her way to the only door not already inflamed, but it she could not get it open. The story does not end here, but this sums up all I feel the need to tell. The casket remained closed at the funeral, so I never saw her body again. She rested at age fifty-seven, too young to leave, and too beautiful to have her body disintegrated into ashes. Why did it have to happen like that? Nine years old and having to trust in God for strength proves a hard and strange thing to do, but a life lesson some never learn, and one I would need for the journey on. Ephron wrote this essay to bring forth the readers inner emotions as well as to show the emotion felt by the characters in the story. The themes of tragedy and anger serve as two of the major themes of the essay. The bravery and hope shown to us at the beginning of the story help accent these themes. The author gives us these points to push a sense of reality into the readers, and to present a real event as well as its repercussions. Bravery showed from the fireman who risked his live to save these people. Hope came from the woman and child trapped inside fighting with optimistic longing to make it through. Tragedy and devastation overcame as the story twisted from what looked a promising victory to a deadly reality. The pictures then became published and taken offensively by readers bringing on a strong feeling of anger. The subject of reality also carries through in this essay. It pictures as quite melancholy, and therefore brings its readers to awareness of a true story with thoughts and opinions of witnesses of the scene and readers of the numerous articles of the event. This event has parallels to the events of September 11, 2001, which has been demonstrated to us through the movie World Trade Center. The movie begins by showing the attacks of the buildings and the violence it brought to those inside. It focuses in on the firemen risking their lives to save the victims, however, as the second building crashes upon them, they become  victims themselves. The firemen demonstrate the similarities of bravery and hope to make it out of the fallen building alive, and the movie as a whole brings its viewers to the tragic reality, just as The Boston Photographs does. Personally, I felt moved by the twisted feelings and solid impact of the essay. It made me have to stop to process my thoughts, because I could not believe what I read. It hit me hard with horror and disbelief. I like essays like this that bring us to a since of reality, for I feel as if they are hardly told. Most stories today become glamorized by positive attributes as dark grueling details are masked away leaving us with what our minds desire to believe instead of the harsh truth. Joy and promise turn to need and tribulation instantaneously in reality, which this essay highlights. The catastrophic story of the photographs taken of the sudden death of a woman hit me hard with a flashback of my grandmothers death and also showed the predicament of the firefighters in World Trade Center, as both of these brought the themes of tragedy and anger to the story and farther pushed my opinion that the pictures became rightly publicized. The essay exhibits sensibility and brings the readers to actuality, therefore, I feel it may stand out to readers over other essays. Real stories like this have the ability to teach us something valuable and hit our life experiences bringing a strong impact of emotion to our thoughts, which is why I feel the pictures should have been publicized. Although it displayed a horrific accident, the scene rightfully deserved telling.

Essay --

During the eleven year long Sierra Leonean civil war, reports of systematic sexual violence against women and girls during the war resulted in international concern over a potential ‘crisis’ of HIV/AIDS in the country. In order to manage the imagined impending outbreak, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) in Sierra Leone received $15 million from the World Bank to create the Sierra Leone HIV/AIDS Response Program [SHARP]. In this paper, I point to the work that the global crisis narrative of HIV/AIDS does to shape specific forms of intervention. In Sierra Leone, the global health interventions associated with HIV/AIDS are further targeted at vulnerable populations, particularly war-affected women and girls, who are often framed as both abject victims in need of care (read: at risk) and potential vehicles of HIV/AIDS transmission in need of control (read: risky). In my conclusion, I ask whether the vision of HIV/AIDS vulnerability communicated by SHARP is indica tive of an uneven or differential landscape of health citizenship in post-war Sierra Leone. The contemporary model of global health intervention is rooted in colonial and post-colonial histories of debt, structural adjustment, the devolution of the state and the rise of multilateral aid-driven health development. As Sparke (2013) illustrates, the growing global health industry increasingly relies on a ‘new Washington Consensus,’ which frames improvements in population health as integral to social and economic development in nations of the Global South. Combating ‘diseases of poverty,’ such as HIV/AIDS, global health interventions often take the form of short-term ‘technocentric’ solutions that are limited in scope and vertical in implementation (Foley & Henrixson 2... ...ent-funded initiatives act as ‘quasi states’ that produce state-like effects of control, regulation and legitimacy. The involvement of these entities in the creation and implementation of HIV/AIDS policies in Sierra Leone simultaneously disrupts national narratives of health citizenship and creates a global moral politics of intervention (Benton 2012; Kenworthy forthcoming). Through the continued utilization of a crisis model of care to address global health emergencies, the international community perpetuates the mobilization of differential forms of health citizenship that are envisioned at the global scale yet enacted and negotiated in a variety of ways at the national and local scales. In the context of the global health industry, such differential health citizenships are practiced through the prioritization of certain bodies for care to the detriment of others.

Ursula K. LeGuins The Lathe of Heaven and Science Fiction and the Futu

Ursula K. LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven and Science Fiction and the Future What will happen in a couple of days? a month ? a year? or twenty years from now? The answer is not known. Author Ursula K. LeGuin gives us the answers about the future from her point of view which can be seen through her article Science Fiction and the Future and her novel, The Lathe of Heaven. Ursula K. LeGuin believes people try to control the future they may have when in reality they have no control over the future. Every single day we see examples of people trying to control the future and see the situation fail every single time. Through Le Guins article Science Fiction and the Future, LeGuin uses examples to support her theory of not being able to control the future. First, she uses the Quechua speaking people to relate their perception of the future. The Quechua people view the future as in back of us. What does that mean? I feel that the Quechua people and LeGuins use of the Quechua as an example shows how each individual is ultimately without control. Each person can see what is ahead of them. Each person can see right in front of them consequences of actions ones have made. Each one can see who they currently have in their life. But, if you are looking straight ahead you have no idea what is behind you. Not being able to see anything is where LeGuin proves her theory. If you cant see something, how are you suppose to be able to change it? Many times in life, society as a whole likes to think of having knowledge of what the future may bring when actually the future is just predicted. I think that sometime s it is not good to try to predict the future for we never know if the prediction is really the best thing for us even though we would it... ... way Dr. Haber in The Lathe of Heaven does. Dr. Habers use of power misses the most vital point society needs: change. I prefer to go with the Quechua speaking peoples view of not being able to see your future but being able to make glimpses. I like to think of having obstacles come my way so that I in turn can become a better person. I also believe that challenges in life our good because that is when you see how strong your faith is. If there were no obstacles in the world and only what you wish for, the world is a place that I would not like to be found at. So as for now, and with the many obstacles I will have to face in the future, I will let the God that I believe in decide what my future will consist of. As far as Im concerned, I am safer with letting God be in control because I know he ultimately knows what in fact is the best for me and not my own desires.

Understanding Abuse

Recent periods of social progress and development have seen many concepts and constructs receive widespread attention to what can be described as negative behaviours and one concept and area in particular to receive this attention is abuse. Any response to find a solution to a problem whilst remaining effective and appropriate can experience various complications as there can be an inability to provide a clear and detailed definition of what it actually constitutes, provision of evidence that remains compelling and substantial and taking on board the cultural, social and political considerations and factors that are relevant to the society pertinent to the discussion will receive complications. This lack of clearness in its debate has led to the development of additional descriptions alongside abuse such as psychological maltreatment (Garbino, Guttman&Seeley, 1986), further confusing the issue and its resolution but in spite of this confusion their has been much learned from what attempts have been made in the exploration and analysis of abuse and this discussion will try to identify different types of abuse,expain why particular groups or individuals may be vulnerable ,its differing contexts,risk factors associated and ensure the impact of cultural and social factors on the range of abuse is analysed thoroughly. Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar† (Samuel Griswold Goodrich) Abuse is a term that relates itself to any deliberate calculated damaging or deteremental behaviour purposefully used to damage or harm an individual or group and can occur when a person misuses ormistreats another group or individual without any interest in their worth,dignity or well-being. It can be seen as a behaviour where the abuser is interested in the exertion of power and control over the individual and be prepared to manipulate or exploit the individual involved into submission or obedience to their will. In recent decades it has been described in various forms but the main categories to contemplate are Physical,Emotional,Sexual and neglectful and a recently highlighted phenomena of Institutional abuse,that has led to greater awareness and debate. Physical abuse was the earliest form of abuse thought to have come under public consideration in the 1960’s and was believed to be linked to child abuse until child sexual cases started to come to prominence with the Cleveland cases in 1987(Corby,B,Child abuse,1993,p86) and has been defined as â€Å"hitting,shaking,throwing,poisoning,burning or scalding,drowning,suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of or deliberately causes the ill-health to a child they are looking after. This situation is commonly described using terms such as fictitious illness by proxy or â€Å"Munchausen Syndrome by proxy†(Dept of Health,1995:5). This definition can be seen to as quite specific but does not provide any suggestions as to when such actions are deemed grave to authorise intervention and prevention of such behaviours and although it has various forms it can be the most visible, having damaging and long lasting effects. Emotional abuse and neglect has been defined according to the Dept of Health as â€Å"the persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development†(Dept of Health,1999:5-6) and relates itself to malicious †parental behaviour that damages a child’s self-esteem,degrades a sense of achievement,diminishes a sense of belonging and stands in the way of healthy,vigorous and happy development. Emotional abuse has been described as an overtly rejecting behaviour of carers on the one hand or as passive neglect on the other†(Iwaniec,D,Child care in Practice,1994). As a separate form of abuse it was only recognised by legislation in the United Kingdom in the 1980’s although it did receive recognition in the United States since 1977. Attempts have been made to define emotional abuse and neglect in a general way and five damaging behaviours have been levelled by Garbino,Guttman and Seeley(1986) as rejecting,isolating,terrorising,ignoring and corrupting with these actions being a concerted attack by an adult on a child’s development of self and social competence only being described as overtly abusive,painful and developmentally and cognitively damaging. Such behaviour can be seen as an act of commission or omission occuring â€Å"when meaningful adults are unable to provide necessary nuturance,stimulation,encouragement and protection to the child at various stages of development which inhibits his optimal functioning†(Whiting,1976). Sexual abuse in relation to children has been described as â€Å"involving,forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activites whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activites may involve physical contact,including penetrative(e. g rape or buggery) and non-penetrative acts. They may also include non-contact activites such as involving children in looking at or in the production of pornographic material,or watching sexual activites or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways†(Dept of Health,1996,6). This description of sexual abuse specifies that sexual abuse may not necessarily involve physical contact although there can be many other areas to be included when involving a definition such as what is the relation of the perpetrator of such acts and the definition put forward by Glasser and Frosh seems to be more comprehensive â€Å"Any child below the age of consent may be deemed to have been sexually abused when a sexually mature person has by design or by neglect of their usual societal or specific responsibilities in relation to the child,engaged or permitted the engagement of that child in any activity of a sexual nature which is intended to lead to the sexual gratification of the sexually mature person†(Glasser and Frosh,1988,5). This definition pertains to whether or not it involves genital or physical contact and whether or not there is a discernable harmful outcome in the short term. Child sexual abuse is a highly difficult problem and is far more commonplace than previously thought and also affects older as well as younger children(MacFarlane&Waterman,1986) although their is a greater degree of seriousness among practitioners about the urgency of intervention to protect children from such abuse. Another form of abuse that has received prominence in recent years is Institutional abuse that mainly involved children living in residential care including being under the care of a local authority with one case that rose to prominence being the Pindown Inquiry in 1991 concerning the use of a system referred to as Pindown in children’s homes in Staffordshire England. The Inquiry outlined how methods of controlling children involved techniques that could be construed as sensory deprivation and solitary confinement, were used over a large period of time under the approval of the management of Staffordshire Social Services being only described as brutal in there approach. In the following years a glut of cases came to the fore and the Department of Health responded by instigating a general inquiry in the state of residential care that came to be known as the Utting report 1991,that provided a view on the conflicting sides in care homes good and bad and making a note of the need for greater vigilance and the development of greater measures to protect the safety of children in such places of care. In situations where abuse occurs different groups and individuals can be more vulnerable to abuse than others and the need for greater research into these cases will only help to develop a better understanding of abuse and its forms.. One grouping where abuse has gained significance and shown how a group can be more vulnerable is amongst elderly individuals in domiciliary and residential settings as â€Å"behind closed doors† can be more difficult to combat as contact between victims and services can be extremely limited. Elder abuse has probably been placed in the background in its significance to such abuse as child abuse but any form of abuse is not to be tolerated as each individual has a significant sense of worth and uniqueness in life though elder abuse is often an ignored and hidden problem in society as â€Å"The voice of older people is rarely heard by those who have responsibility for commissioning,regulating and inspecting services†(Fitzgerald,G,Action for Elder Abuse). In 2000 the Dept issued guidance(No Secrets) on the protection of vulnerable adults from abuse defining a vulnerable person as one â€Å"who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability,age or illness and who is or may be unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation†(No Secrets,paras2. 5-2. 6) and although this definition was not restricted to older people it has received criticism as it appeared to exclude those individuals who do not require community care but with no standard definition of Elder abuse in the United kingdom as the term has been imported from the United States one commonly used definition is â€Å"a single or repeated act of inappropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person†(House of Commons Health Commitee,Elder Abuse,Volume 1,2004,P5). Abuse exists when a lack of care from one person towards another is present in a relationship and the thought of predicting abuse or neglect is appealing because of its ability to be preventative and adults have a sense or obligation of care in may respects of life being held to be trustworthy in the application of that duty but the more responsible the relationship the higher the chance of abuse that can exist and parental care is one context that can be seen as the primary type of relationship where abuse can occur and what does or does not be held to be adequate care can be important when making decisions about the likelihood of abuse occurring. With the Childrens Act 1989 not giving any firm statement of intent on what can be deemed adequate care and broad ideas on what care should involve such as physical and emotional responses,health,protection and cognitive behavioural development, research and evidence can be crucial in reviewing contexts and the suggestion that particular c hildren can be determined for abuse with researchers interested in the dynamics of why particular children are susceptible. Predicting abuse by observing maternal responses to new born babies is an important feature of child protection with children who are seen as not wanted or the â€Å"wrong sex† by their parents at a greater risk(Roberts ,1980) but many parents often carry into life unresolved issues from their own childhood or present circumstances that have a substantial impact on their ability to form deep and lasting relationships with their children,†The undermining effect of a difficult child on parental functioning will be lessened when the parent has an abundance of personal psychological resources ,conversely an easy to rear child can compensate for limited personal resources on the part of the parent on maintaining parental effectiveness†(Belsky&Vondra,1989,188), therefore solid connections to parent or primary care giver is essential to the child’s development and growth. Parents who experience substance abuse,domestic violence or mental health issues can provide risk factors or damaging environments where children can be open to abuse and although not all parents with these experiences can be a risk to their children,their ability to provide adequate care can be limited and damaging. Substance misuse can result in a parents ability to erform basic parenting tasks(Kroll,2004) and be generative of chaotic environments and has come to focus in many families that are under child protection enquiries even during pregnancy and early development. Mental illness can also be seen as another factor relating to abuse ranging from a parents depression to psychotic or delusional violence that can result in fatal cases. The risks can be seen as greater if the parent shows hostility or aggression towards the child,ultimately becoming a target with many children taking on a caring role themselves as parenting can be in conflict and opposition. Another factor co-exis ting and overlapping with the factors previously discussed is domestic violence. Domestic violence is common and is seen usually in the context of the male exerting power over a female and a form of controlling behaviour with violence beginning even during pregnancy increasing in severity leading to a effect on emotional and psychosocial development. With a child being witness to such behaviour anxiety and stress can result in the childs having long term effect even when physical violence is not present. So although factors can emphasise a disposition to abuse the truth is never that clear and no single event or outcome can be determined and the likelihood is that factors such as those discussed are part of a complex context and set of circumstances beginning even long before the child is involved. Social factors can also have considerable effect on abuse and links have been made between male unemployment and the physical abuse of children(Gillham,1998) and the Department of Health has also conducted its own studies finding that 95 percent of children on protection registers are from poor families(Dept of Health,1995) with children from lower economic environments more likely to be abused(Lawson,2000),nevertheless it has been argued that child abuse cuts across all social class with lower classes more susceptible to come under government investigation because of their need for more government resources with this in mind â€Å"Child abuse is strongly related to class, inequality and poverty both in terms of prevelance and severity†¦ olving the problem requires a realignment of social policy which recognises the necessity of tackling the social,economic and cultural conditions associated with the abuse†(Parton,1985,175-176) â€Å"Abuse in the form of violence against women is a normal feature of patriarcial relations. It is a major vehicle that men use in controlling women,as such it is the norm not an aberration. The widespread incidence of child sexual abuse reveals the extent to which men are prepared to wield sexual violence as a major weapon in asserting their authority over women† (Dominelli,1986,p12) Abuse can be seen as a product of a particular culture and child rearing practices are different from time to place being influenced by religion,class,sexuality etc. Culturally approved practices â€Å"such as isolating infants and small children in rooms or beds of their own at night,making them wait for readily available food or allowing them to cry without immediate attending to their needs or desires would be at odds with the child rearing philosophies of most of the cultures discussed†(Korbin,1981,p4) need to be taken into consideration when defining are certain acts abusive but that does not mean that these ideas are not to be challenged. In the vast majority of abuse cases children or women can be seen to the victim and women have been subjected to horrendous acts and ordeals through out many cultures. The challenging of old ideas as an example can be seen in the context of the rape of women in Zimbabwe being traditionally remedied by the arrangement of the perpetrator to the victim in marriage. This act can be seen as seriously and psychologically wicked in its practice but it is an example of where outside support for change can b e directed. Other cultural practices such as circumsion and clitoridectomy should be seen as widely abusive acts (Finkelhor&Korbin,1988) and as all abuse is seen in the context of power over the victim rape is another practice especially in the context of war,with the idea of dehumanising the victims leaving a state of fear,anger and hate having long term effects individually and collectively. Being able to differentiate between culturally normative and abusive behaviour without the fear of being seen as racist or stereotypical in approach can result in the protection of abusive individuals and many cases have seen elements of the failure to protect, such examples have included Tyra Henry(Lambeth,1987),Ailee Labonte(Newham Area child protection committee,2002) and Victoria Climbie(Laming,2003),so culture can be a significant factor in how abuse operates and is defined. â€Å"No one ever became depraved with suddenness† (Juvenal,AD c-60-c130) To conclude, further study and research needs to be paid into abuse, its characteristics and manifestations and greater clarification needs to be sought in many areas and inquiry within the context of abuse, peer relationships and the way they are experienced and handled having implications in how individuals relate to others in life as â€Å"Contemporaries increasingly seek one another as the primary sources of support, security and intimacy†(Mueller&Silverman,1989,p583) so many factors need to be taken into account when in discussion but as stated earlier abuse is seen as the act of power over another individual or group so the last words belong to the great Carl Jung in that â€Å"Where love reigns ,there is no will to power and where power is all pervading,Love is absent. The one is but the shadow of the other† (Carl Gustav Jung ,1917,Gesammelte Werke,Vol. 7,Zurich,Rascheter-Verlag)

Free Essays on Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

In â€Å"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy† by Douglas Adam, the main character’s, Arthur Dent, main conflict was that he was placed into a foreign situation with no idea of what to do. But first to describe Arthur Dent, he is a British man with seemingly dim wit in the beginning of the book, but this is mostly due to his own confusion. Arthur’s best friend Ford Prefect comes to tell him of the impending doom laid upon the Earth, but Mr. Dent is preoccupied with the task of warding a bulldozer away from demolishing his home. His friend, Mr. Prefect, tells him about the plans for the destruction of the Earth due to the building of an intergalactic bypass, which is ironic for that was the same reason his house was being demolished on the Earth that now laid in ruins. But because of Arthur’s friend he was on of very few survivors, but now they were held on a ship belonging to the very aggressive race of aliens known as the Vogons. With no knowledge of these people, Mr. Dent has been put in an unfortunate position. Although Arthur Dent had no prior knowledge of the universe, or the different alien races that inhabit it, he was fortunate in one respect he had an indispensable resource in his friend and his electronic book, â€Å"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.† After a short while from being transported onto the Vogon war ship, Mr. Prefect showed Arthur how to operate the book. With this he could learn all he would possible need to know in order to avoid death in the hands of the Vogons. With his friend he had one of the people who contributed to the creation of â€Å"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.† Thanks to his friendship with Mr. Prefect, he was able to learn about the most deadly weapon in the Vogon’s arsenal, the reading of their poetry aloud. Thanks to this information provided by his friend, and the book he carried, he would be able to avoid death by the Vogons.... Free Essays on Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Free Essays on Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy In â€Å"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy† by Douglas Adam, the main character’s, Arthur Dent, main conflict was that he was placed into a foreign situation with no idea of what to do. But first to describe Arthur Dent, he is a British man with seemingly dim wit in the beginning of the book, but this is mostly due to his own confusion. Arthur’s best friend Ford Prefect comes to tell him of the impending doom laid upon the Earth, but Mr. Dent is preoccupied with the task of warding a bulldozer away from demolishing his home. His friend, Mr. Prefect, tells him about the plans for the destruction of the Earth due to the building of an intergalactic bypass, which is ironic for that was the same reason his house was being demolished on the Earth that now laid in ruins. But because of Arthur’s friend he was on of very few survivors, but now they were held on a ship belonging to the very aggressive race of aliens known as the Vogons. With no knowledge of these people, Mr. Dent has been put in an unfortunate position. Although Arthur Dent had no prior knowledge of the universe, or the different alien races that inhabit it, he was fortunate in one respect he had an indispensable resource in his friend and his electronic book, â€Å"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.† After a short while from being transported onto the Vogon war ship, Mr. Prefect showed Arthur how to operate the book. With this he could learn all he would possible need to know in order to avoid death in the hands of the Vogons. With his friend he had one of the people who contributed to the creation of â€Å"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.† Thanks to his friendship with Mr. Prefect, he was able to learn about the most deadly weapon in the Vogon’s arsenal, the reading of their poetry aloud. Thanks to this information provided by his friend, and the book he carried, he would be able to avoid death by the Vogons....

race for world war 1 essays

race for world war 1 essays The Space Race grew out of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the most powerful nations after World War II. For a half-century, the two superpowers competed for primacy in a global struggle pitting a democratic society against totalitarian communism. Space was a crucial arena for this rivalry. Before a watchful world, each side sought to demonstrate its superiority through impressive feats in rocketry and spaceflight. Secret satellites kept a wary eye on the adversary. As the Space Race began, the United States and the Soviet Union were building rockets to use as long-range weapons. The United States initially favored bombers, but the Soviets preferred missiles and thus took an early lead in rocket technology. The spectacular public feats by the men and machines of two countries Racing to the Moon and Exploring the Moon thrilled the entire world with the enduring " firsts" of space exploration. At 1969, the Americans successfully landed on the moon. Ironically, the Russians shot out the first satellite to space before we made the remarkable landing on the moon. If tested on achievements, USA probably got the trophy. However, the Russians are the first to make the moves. At the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia agreed to build a space station and pursue other joint ventures in space. A contest that began in fear and enmity has become a partnership. Created in 1949, NATO's main purpose is "Let Americans in, the Russians out, the Germans down", it's no doubt, the Soviet threat was central to NATO's creation and growth. It involved a collective identity, shared at many different levels (ideological, political, economic, and social) by its members, as well as the recognition of an opposing identity that gave meaning and direction to their efforts. As an alliance NATO is highly institutionalized, with excellent decision-making procedures and an extensive supporting bureaucracy. NATO als ...

Social Welfare Influences

Social Welfare Influences In any modern organisation, the existence of social welfare is paramount. Social welfare is in man’s nature. Social welfare is about how people and societal institutions seek to provide set basic standards as well as certain minimum opportunities for its people. It is about the quality of life that affects access to essential social services. Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Social Welfare Influences specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The survival of man as an individual is dependent on the associations he forms with others. Man cannot survive on his own and therefore forms associations with others to ensure continuity of his species. In the primitive society, traditions and customs played a major role to ensure that family ties are maintained in order to ensure cooperation for the collective needs of the society. In today’s modern society such ties are slowly fading away and the society has put in institutions of governance to achieve the same. Society through institutions in government has laid down the necessary machinery including institutions of public finance to achieve that. Under such initiatives social services such as provision of medical services, security, Public health, provision of education, child welfare, provision of education and so on. It is therefore the role of the state government to ensure that the economic as well as the social well being of all its subjects. This is premised on the principle of equitable distribution of resources in society, equal opportunities for all as well as taking responsibility for those individuals who are unable to provide the basic minimum for themselves. With the fall of communism and the society has become increasingly capitalistic there has been a greater need to amerce wealth for each individual. Advertising Looking for assessment on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OF F Learn More Money has become pivotal in ensuring social welfare. This has lead to the constant pull and push between the haves and the have not’s, the employer and his employees , the bourgeoisie and the proletariat and so on in an effort of each individual guarantying their own personal wellbeing. In the past many considered social welfare as a private concern but in today’s modern world social welfare cuts across all divides of society and has found its place in public debates. Social welfare is largely affected by global trends such as globalization. Another issue that affects social welfare too is a states aging population as well as a state decline in fertility rates. The above concerns present a challenge to state economies that continue to sustain social welfare programmes. As a trend that affects the world over Globalisation is one that o state can ignore. Any economy that would still like to compete in the global market with other states that do not have to incur the burden of social spending tax. In order to continue sustaining their economies and supporting viable projects such states must completely eliminate all social commitments. In many industrial nations their population is aging therefore most of the social welfare programs are catered for the aged. Since the aged are the majority of the population the burden is then placed on the minority population. To sustain such a burden can be an enormous task for the minority population to sustain. Industrial nations have undergone sharp declines in population growth as well as fertility rates. Very few economies such as that of the United States have maintained their replacement rates. The result of such a trend is disastrous in terms of providing support for social welfare programs

Joseph Stalin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Joseph Stalin - Essay Example Stalin, nevertheless, sought affiliation to a secret organization known as Messame Dassy whose members advocated Georgian independence from Russia. Driven by its cause, Stalin expressed his object of interest in radical activism through which he necessitated to communicate subversive political perspectives of the monarchical Russian government at the time and this led to his expulsion from school in 1899 prior to graduation. As a continuing endeavor of his young yet dynamic passion to oppose and change the system of government in Russia, Stalin fully immersed himself in the studies of communist principles, with particular devotion and credit to the views of prominent socialist figures, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Then he decided to join revolutionary underground Marxist movement in Tpilisi where his active membership to the committee of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party brought about his arrest, imprisonment, and exile to Siberia from which he managed to escape in 1904. After being caught several times and being able to evade the police authorities in corresponding number therein, Stalin thought of regarding himself as the â€Å"man of steel†, having withstood and released himself from the exile to Turukhansk, an extremely far village lying outside of the Arctic Circle. By the time he reunited with the Marxist movement in Tpilisi which split into two factions – the â€Å"hard† (supporters of Lenin), otherwise known as the ‘Bolsheviks’ and the â€Å"soft† (supporters of Martov) or the â€Å"Mensheviks†, Stalin distinguished himself with the former. Though he played no direct involvement in the October Revolution of 1917, Stalin proved useful in the Bolshevik party due to his practical yet professional application of democratic centralism, a profoundly revered ideology of Vladimir Lenin. Between 1905 and 1906, Both Lenin and Stalin initially met in the congresses of the Russian Social Democratic Worker s Party held in London and Sweden. During the revolution, many detested Stalin’s hostile methods of protest against the government of Russia which used to be consisted of the Romanov dynasty that reigned for 300 years until the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II through the February Revolution. Lenin, however, perceived him a loyal activist that this consequently took Stalin to earn the advantage of handling various posts in the government by Lenin’s approval. For Lenin, who designated him at the Bolsheviks’ Central Committee in 1912, his act of organizing bank robberies and money transport raids back in the years 1904-1905 must be justified as a means to help Bolsheviks raise funds for the revolution even if the Mensheviks treated it as rather an utter deviation from the true philosophy of revolutionary socialism (Joseph Stalin Biography). When Stalin emerged with growing control and power especially over matters dealt with by the Communist Party’s Central Co mmittee where he got appointed the General Secretary in 1922, he gradually formulated agendas that would make him acquire the most suitable path toward higher order of leadership. Upon Lenin’s death in 1924, the triumvirate that constituted him, and the other two prominent

Islam and Feminism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Islam and Feminism - Essay Example Viewed as a Western ideology, feminism has both differences and similarities between Middle Eastern Muslim feminists and Western feminists, as well as third-wave feminism. Feminism is largely triggered by cultural and traditional factors and may not be fully compatible with Islam, and many groups are split as to whether Muslim feminists are trying to achieve human rights or their feminist rights like Western women. This paper will research and discuss these aspects of feminism by analyzing Duygu Asena, who was a Turkish Muslim feminist, hence the thesis: Feminism is a Western ideology and it is not compatible with Islam. Even though there is a group that understands and advocates the rights of Muslim women, there is another that hates feminism as an ideology of the Western world that is only concerned with female superiority. It is worth noting that feminism, in the sense of a Universalist faith, gained momentum in the 19th century, with the concept emerging from the Western world. I t has links with the French Revolution, during which women wanted to be considered as having the full status of citizens. In the Middle East and Muslim world in general, feminist movements appeared as women acquired literacy. Asena become an iconic as well as controversial figure in Turkey following her calls to women to escape from oppression, which she likened to a vicious circle. She urged women to fight for their equal rights with men and seek employment as a step towards freedom (Alemdar 1). In Turkey, being a predominantly Islamic nation, this was perceived by most, particularly the authorities, as a contradiction. Her role in feminism may generally have taken a diversion from what feminism in the Middle East has been focusing on. Feminism in the Middle East has basically had an emphasis on women’s role in Islam, targeting full equality in both private and public life for all Muslim faithful irrespective of gender. The rights they advocate for are founded on Islamic law , also known as Sharia. Feminist ideologies in the Middle East are inspired mainly by faith. Although Islamic feminists in the Middle East are fierce advocates for legislative interpretations and reforms that represent contemporary understanding of gender equality, they also embrace their Islamic faith strongly. However, more recently, Middle East Islamic feminists are also applying secular ideologies in their discourses, albeit strategically, having acknowledged the role played by Islamic feminism as an integral part of the feminist movement globally. This aspect creates the underlying similarity between the ideologies of the Middle East feminism and Western feminism movements. Feminism may be viewed as a global trend, but its uniqueness to every culture must also be appreciated. Western feminist’s ideologies are fundamentally different from those of the Middle East, and indeed most other parts of the world, because of the values on which the movements are formed. Being secu lar, most of the Western feminist ideologies stem from Western thoughts, principles and traditions. Western attitudes, which are mostly Christian and

Alternate Energy Engineering - Turbine Blades Research Paper

Alternate Energy Engineering - Turbine Blades - Research Paper Example Both the types of wind turbines have the different orientation of blades. For three blade design of either VAWT or HAWT, there is a 120o angular difference between the blades. For two blade design, the angular difference between the blades is 180o and for four-blade design, the angular difference between the blades is 90o. Importance of turbine bladesTurbine blades are the most important part of the wind turbine. Conventionally turbine blades are manufactured with tensile metals which are then reinforced with ceramics, other metals, fiberglass or then some materials to enhance the durability of the blades and reduce the metallic characteristics of fatigue, rupture, and corrosion (Quarton, 6). Turbine blades collect the kinetic energy of wind and transform it into mechanical energy by reacting against the kinetic energy of the wind. The energy transferred from the wind is directly proportional to the speed of the wind. On the other hand, the reacting surface area of the wind turbine b lades also matters a lot. On the other hand, it is important to design the turbine blades in the manner that they produce no hurdle in transferring energy from the wind to the rotor. A wind turbine may have multiple turbine blades but wind turbine should have at least two turbine blades that should be properly balanced with respect to each other and with respect to the rotor of the wind turbine. Any imperfection in the wind turbine blades results in effective power loss and rupturing with continuous use.

Product Design in Cyberspace Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Design in Cyberspace - Case Study Example Games are being made on subjects that include but are not limited to sex, rape, murder, robbery, fight, theft, insult and humiliation. This paper discusses whether or not video game designers should make games that are too violent for innocent minds. It has been observed that children who have a habit or liking for playing games spend a major portion of their day playing them. This can fundamentally be attributed to the task oriented nature of the games. A vast majority of games are about striving to achieve a certain goal. Having achieved which, the player is taken to the next level. Unless all the levels are cleared, the player would keep struggling hard. The complex plots require the children to put in their maximum effort. In an attempt to conceive the game strategy and achieve the goal, children tend to memorize the plot of the game and in their subconscious, they tend to approve all that is conveyed to them through the game. This can be estimated from the fact that the abbrevia ted language children use to communicate with one another in the virtual world reflects in the speech they deliver in the real world as well. However, this is only one aspect in which the children are affected that most of us are aware of simply because it is so obvious. There are more harsh realities that many of us do not know because they do not show up as obviously as language does.

Case study (multiple myeloma) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case study (multiple myeloma) - Essay Example The substantial weight loss should also alert someone about a possible malignant process, as it is commonly associated. The possibility of inflammatory lower back disease also should not be ruled out, as diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis can be rarely localized to the spine as well. Weight loss can also be a non-specific finding. Thus inflammatory arthritis should be another group of disorders to be kept as part of the diagnosis. The addition of several recent infections and being short of breath despite being a non-smoker adds another layer of possibilities. Recurrent recent infections (not mentioned if they were chest infections or not) can be associated with immune suppression, which is seen in hematological illnesses. Shortness of breath can be due to a variety of causes including lung diseases, severe anemia and even heart failure, which should be investigated further. The substantial weight loss is seen in many chronic conditions and malignant conditions, which can be confirmed after making the diagnosis. The history is not classically suggestive of any illness in particular, and based on the differential diagnoses outlined in the history, clinical tests should be interpreted for accurately diagnosing the condition. In view of the bone pain, the clinical chemistry can be helpful if there is bone destruction. Calcium levels (3.48 mmol/L) are elevated, which is indicative of a possible bone destructive process, which can be seen in a variety of conditions. In addition, alkaline phosphatase is raised when there is new bone formation, as typically seen in classical hypercalcaemia seen with solid tumours invading bone. Moreover, phosphate levels are normal, which rules out hyperparathyroidism as a cause. Liver damage can also raise alkaline phosopahatase levels, but in light of the above history, is not one of our differential diagnoses. However, in this case, alkaline phosphatase is normal (94 IU/L) too , which raises the possibility that myeloma is the underlying cause. Few other causes of hypercalcaemia have normal phosphates and alkaline phosphate levels. The cause of hypercalcaemia in myeloma is however complex, and thought to be related to cytokine-driven increase in osteoclast activity.In this case we should also have done full serum creatinine and electrolytes, as renal insufficiency is common in myeloma as well as itself a cause of hypercalcaemia itself. The urea levels are increased ( 14.0 mmol/L) which is some cause for concern, as it could be associated with renal insufficiency. Infact hypercalcaemia itself can cause renal insufficiency, and up to this point that could be considered as the working hypothesis. Bone pain is seen in up to 70 % of cases of myeloma, and is an important consideration even at this stage. There are no clinical chemistry tests that can confirm the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, which can only be diagnosed with any certainty with the use of immunological markers as discussed below. Blood counts and film analysis The Hb level of 10.7 g/dL shows that there is mild anaemia, although Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) is normal (82 fl) (normochromic anaemia) and so is the White cell count (11.7 x 109/L). Mild anaemia rarely

Product Design in Cyberspace Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Design in Cyberspace - Case Study Example Games are being made on subjects that include but are not limited to sex, rape, murder, robbery, fight, theft, insult and humiliation. This paper discusses whether or not video game designers should make games that are too violent for innocent minds. It has been observed that children who have a habit or liking for playing games spend a major portion of their day playing them. This can fundamentally be attributed to the task oriented nature of the games. A vast majority of games are about striving to achieve a certain goal. Having achieved which, the player is taken to the next level. Unless all the levels are cleared, the player would keep struggling hard. The complex plots require the children to put in their maximum effort. In an attempt to conceive the game strategy and achieve the goal, children tend to memorize the plot of the game and in their subconscious, they tend to approve all that is conveyed to them through the game. This can be estimated from the fact that the abbrevia ted language children use to communicate with one another in the virtual world reflects in the speech they deliver in the real world as well. However, this is only one aspect in which the children are affected that most of us are aware of simply because it is so obvious. There are more harsh realities that many of us do not know because they do not show up as obviously as language does.

History Final Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History Final Exam - Assignment Example In return, serfs looked after the lord’s land, took care for his animals and carried out other everyday jobs to sustain the estate. Peasant women contributed in the farm labor with their husbands. All peasants whether free or serfs were indebted with particular jobs to the lord. These included no less than a few days of toil every week and a specified share of their grain. The manor was for the most part a self-reliant community where serfs and peasants brought up or created almost all that they and their lord required for everyday life. For the license of living on the lord’s property, peasants paid off a lofty price. They paid a levy on all grain pounded in the lord’s mill. Peasants also paid a tax on matrimony. Weddings occurred only with the lord’s permission. Following all these expenditures to the lord, peasant families were obligated to the community priest a tithe or church tax. For the majority of serfs, life was work and more work. Back in the 7th and 8th centuries, in the Middle East, one of the fastest growing and now the second largest religion in the world was just emerging. Muhammad, its founder, was born in roughly around 570 C.E. in the city of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula. At 40, he started to experience a succession of spiritual encounters and later taught a stringent monotheism. There is only one God and that is Allah. Proper religious conviction, as said by him, is made up solely in the surrender to Allah’s will. In a few years after his death, everything he taught were documented in Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an. Subsequently, Islam widened with boundless intensity all over the Mediterranean world starting from the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East to North Africa, the Western world and even to the boundaries of India and China. In approximately 30 after Muhammad’s death, a great split happened in Islam and was divided into Sunni and

Accounting for human behavior Essay Example for Free

Accounting for human behavior Essay In order to survive and interact with the other members of the society, it is crucial for us to understand what the other people are thinking about and what the underlying factors that contribute to their behavior are. In our daily life, people are continuously interpreting and explaining others behavior, sometimes even without aware of it themselves. How does this knowledge of interpreting the others come about? And is it a reliable method?Most people are using common sense explanation to interpret human behavior, while social scientists will explain our world by social science theories. What are they? And which one can give a more reliable and accurate account for human behavior?Common Sense Explanations are formed basing on individuals past experiences or were passed down from the last generations. It is the most basic and simple form of knowledge that helps us to survive. For instance, people understand that it will be hurt when a ball is throwing at them and in result, they will run away from it. We use the common sense to perceive the world we are living in. It is unimaginable if a person does not possess any common sense at all. See more: Old Age Problem essay Social Science Theories, like the theories in natural science, are derived from scientific methods. They are either induced or deduced from different task or experiment. But since the subject matter in social sciences is completely different from that of natural science, observation, survey and interview which sometimes involves a control group, are the methodology used to test the experimental hypotheses, instead of using laboratory experiments. Hence, social science theories are backed up by empirical studies and data, and therefore should be more widely applicable, objective and reliability to explain human behavior. Unlike social science theories, common sense is held by everyone. Therefore, people can draw on this knowledge immediately when they want to analysis behavior of the others and giving a faster response to the situation. However, the strength of common sense is also its greatest weakness. In many cases, common sense explanation cannot give us a satisfactory answer because it has oversimplified the circumstance. For instance, it is a general belief that the more violent movies a child watches, the more aggressive he will be. People may neglect other factors,  such as family backgrounds, in contributing to childrens aggressive behavior, which had proved to be an equally crucial by many social scientists. In addition, human behaviors are complex as well as unique to each individual. Different culture, race, living environment and family history will lead to the formation of different behaviors. Similarly, common sense explanation varies in different culture, society and individual, and therefore, actually is not the same to everyone in our society. How can a foreigner understand all the traditional attitudes and values of a Chinese? Likewise, it is not easy for us to comprehend all the behaviors of the foreigners. As a result, there will be bias if we rely on common sense explanation as it is too generalized and oversimplified without really investigating the underlying factors behind the scene. In contrast, social sciences theories can supplement the weakness of common sense explanation as each theory is based on a numbers of hypotheses which in turn will be tested, though the methodology used is somewhat different from that of natural science. In other words, social science theories are more reliable and valid than that of common sense explanations. Moreover, social science theories are more widely applicable as they are derived from a great numbers of data which are collected from different channels and people. Some people may argue that some social sciences theories are similar to our common sense explanations, for which is a coincident that we cannot deny since many hypotheses are formed with the basis of common sense assumptions. People can use common sense to explain or judge most things we encounter in our daily life. However, when we come to analyze more complicated matters, such as human behaviors, common sense explanation alone would be insufficient. In these circumstances, social science theories, which have been undergoing empirical researches and experiments, are more reliable. We cannot ignore the importance of common sense since it is a basic knowledge that people possessed, whereas social science theories may not be  known to most people. And in many cases common sense is the foundation of many hypotheses, and thus is the origin of a theory. But it is crucial to note that when people want to have an in-depth, comparatively reliable and valid explanation, social science theories should be employed. REFERENCE Roth (1990), Introduction to Psychology, United Kingdom: The Open University. Gross (1992), Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour, p.19-23, London: Hodder Stoughton

Oil Exploration And Production Companies Management Essay

Oil Exploration And Production Companies Management Essay The oilfield service industry is a sector which mainly provides services to the oil exploration and production companies. Schlumberger is the leading name in the oilfield servicing market which has lots of stake in the highly competitive market environment of the Middle East. This report is basically an in depth understanding about the behavior and performance of Schlumberger in the highly competitive environment. The initial analysis of the report would focus on the qualitative aspects of the oil field service industry. It would provide an overview of about the current trends prevailing in the industry which would help in getting a better understanding about the issues and the current matters taking place. It would provide an in-depth analysis of how the oil and gas prices are affected by the demand in industry. In order to run a successful business, every company should have a competitive advantage in the market. This aspect would be analyzed through Porters five force model, which will identify the sources of competitive forces Schlumberger would face in the market in the future. The later part of the analysis would focus on the strategic approach of Schlumberger and the positioning of the company in the market with regards to its competitors which are Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Weatherford. The strategic approach identification of each company and the market position would be done by utilizing Porters framework of competitive analysis and will help in analyzing the position of the companies through its competitors array. This report will provide insights into the speed with which the competitors in Middle East are able to acquire the market share and also analyze Schlumbergers value-creating strategy which would determine how long this competitive advantage will last. List of figures: Figure 1: Revenue of the Oilfield Service Industry in Billion $ Figure 2: Upstream Capital Expenditure from 2001 2013 Figure 3: Average rig Count according to Baker Hughes International Figure 4: Porters five force model Figure 5: Production of crude oil in the Middle East Figure 6: Production of natural gas in the Middle East Figure 7: Revenue of Schlumbergers competitors region-wise Figure 8: Estimated percentage of merger and acquisitions in next 2 years. List of Tables: Table 1: Baker Hughes International Rig Count displaying the active rigs. Table 2: Relation between WTI crude oil price, upstream CAPEX and avg Rig Count Table 3: Impact of each force on the oilfield service industry Table 4: Key success factors of the oilfield service industry Table 5: Global and Middle East revenues of Schlumbergers competitors in Middle East Table 6: Comparative analysis of Schlumberger and its competitors Table 7: Competitors array of Schlumberger Table 8: YTD revenue of Schlumbergers competitors Contents Introduction: The oil and gas industry seems to have recovered from the slump in 2008-09 due to the economic crisis as we can see that the oil and gas prices are rising for the past three years. The oilfield service industry which is an integral part of the petroleum industry was no exception to this phenomenon. The oilfield service industry which provides services to the exploration industries has witnessed increase in the profitable quarters over the past three years and it continues to grow despite the current Eurozone crisis and all the challenges faced by the service industry due to economic situations such as the BP Deepwater Horizon incident. Schlumberger, which is the leading oilfield service company all across the globe, enjoys a major market share over other companies and has been one of the most profitable companies amidst all these hardships. As of December 31, 2011, the company had more than 113,000 people of over 140 nationalities working in approximately 85 countries. The companys revenue touched $39.54 billion in 2011 crossing the highest revenue by any company in this sector. Schlumberger is located in various geographic areas such North America, Latin America, Middle East/Asia, Europe and Africa. In the Middle East/Asia region, Schlumberger does have a competitive advantage over others but no competitive advantage is permanent. Thus the company has to keep a constant check on its existing competitors and the new players to the oil field services industry. Given the industry context mentioned above, the main aim of this business report is to analyze the current trend in this industry and also to analyze Schlumbergers competitors in the Middle East to sustain its competitive advantage. The primary objective of this report is to ensure that Schlumberger is aware of the changes going on in the Middle East that is affecting its ongoing strategies and business plans and also to keep a close eye on its competitors new strategies and the advancements they are making. It is also to ensure that their current strategies are in line with the business environment and if not, what changes can be brought about in order to keep it at par with the other competitors within the industry. The main findings of the project will assist Schlumberger not only in maintaining their strong position within the industry, but will also help them in evaluating and forecasting about the changes in advance and develop their business plans accordingly. Chapter 1: Literature Review: Porter five forces Model: There are a number of management tools which analyze the industrys profitability despite the existing competitions and changes in the economy. This section will help us in getting an understanding about the appropriate strategies to gauge industry analysis. For getting an understanding about the proper strategic analysis of an industry, there are a few management tools and theories such as SCP Paradigm, Porter five forces model and Value Net model. The Structure Control Performance framework is derived from the Industrial Organization (IO) economics and it studies the market based on the three elements and also tries to draw a connection between them, (Fu, 2003). Mason (1939, 1949) and Bain (1951, 1956, 1959) as cited in (Goddard, Wilson and Lipcztynski, 2005, p6) had developed the SCP paradigm. It correlates the relationship between the market structure, company conduct and company performance (Ajlouni, 2010). According to this approach, the structure of a market influences the conduct of the firms operating in the market, which in turn influences the performance of those firms. (Goddard, Wilson and Lipczynski, 2005, p6). Thus the SCP paradigm analyses the industry in three steps. First, the structure analyses the basic framework of the market which is required by the company for conducting business. It involves the buyers and sellers, barriers to entry, product differentiations, vertical integration and diversifications. Second, the model analyses the behavior of the firms to get an in depth analysis about the business objectives, pricing policies, research and development, acquisitions and mergers. The third, performance describes the parameters required to measure the performance of the industry through profitability, growth and increase efficiency. The SCP Paradigm is based mainly on empirical research than on theoretical aspects and it was one of the dominant models till the early 1980s (Slade, 2003). Thus there were many criticisms about the model because of its dependence on the empirical researches and one of the main problems of the paradigm was to analyze many of the variables in each factor of the paradigm. The further growth on the Industrial Organization witnessed the introduction of Porters five forces model. One of the well-known and an important framework is Porter Five Forces Model. Porters five forces is heavily influenced by the SCP Paradigm as one the Structure of the paradigm is basically the Porter Five Forces model and the other Performance is outcome of Porters model which is the profitability (Goddard, Wilson and Lipcztynski, 2005, p16-18). Micheal E.Porter (1979) developed this model which attempts to handle the main forces which affect the industry structure. Porter five forces model tries to explain the industry structure and the competitive conditions by evaluating the following forces: the risk of new entry in the industry, the degree of rivalry among established competitors, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers and the threat of substitute products. According to Porter, the presence of stronger forces of the model, make the business environment of the industry to be more challenging and is less attractive to the investors. On the contrary, if the forces are weak, then the companies seem to be in a more profitable condition as there would be less competition in the market. According to Kevin Coyne and Somu Subramanian (1996) as cited in The McKinsey Quarterly(2001), this model is built under three essential assumptions: Firstly, the buyers, suppliers, substitutes and competitors are not related and do not interact with each other in the industry. Secondly, more capital will be available to the companies that have a structural advantage over their competitors and potential entrants. Thirdly, there is much lower risk involvement which let the companies in the market to plan properly and prepare a strategy accordingly. According to Mintzberg (1994), Porter assumption that future of the industry can be predicted based on the present market conditions is being discarded by Mintzberg. He explains that a company cannot forecast future market conditions precisely owing to economic changes and also technological innovations. Every model has its limitations and criticisms and Porter Five forces model is no exception to it. The limitations are: Firstly, the model was based originally on the economic situation of the eighties when there was a strong competition and relatively stable market structures. Second, it does not focus on the different challenges that a company faces as it enters international arena. The challenges faced by them in other nations are extremely different in comparison to what it faces in its own nation. Third, Porter takes into consideration only the industrial factors, whereas it overlooks the company resources available to the industry without which the profitability of the industry cannot be determined. Finally, as and when the companies expand, they diversify themselves into various other markets and other regions and thus the model does not concentrate on role of expansions and various acquisitions (Parnell, 2004, p50-51). Brandenberger and Nalebuff (1985) as cited in Unknown (n.d.) too identified an important flaw in the Porter model. In the book, Coopetition (Competition + Co-operation), has been discussed but the model ignores the strategic alliance which exists between some industries and which in turn helps each other to bring out a finalized product. These are mainly known as complementors in business terminology. Thus Brandenberger and Nalebuff in addition to suppliers, consumers and competitors introduced a new force namely the complementors. This was known as Value Net. This is basically an extension of the Porters model and is known by the name of Value Net model. Porters five forces analyze what are the challenges in the face of their growth opportunities whereas Value Net model analyses threats and opportunities available to the industry (Unknown, n.d.). Porter admits that developing a strategy in a new emerging industry or in a business undergoing revolutionary technological change is a daunting proposition (Downes and Mui, 2000, p60). According to Downes and Mui, Porter explains that the new digitalized and high tech world comes with a lot of complexities and developing a full proof strategy is a daunting task and this does not mean that the old rules are invalid. But if we look around in todays work environment, we will find that every industry is heavily dependent on the new technology. Thus Downes and Mui introduced three new forces to the Porter five force model namely Digitalization, Globalization and Deregulation (Downes and Mui, 2000, p64-67). These are the driving forces which steers the modern business houses in the right direction and amongst these the most important force is Digitalization. Thus the setback with the Porters framework is the absence of the digitalization force which has revamped the industries with the introduction of modern technology. Though from the above discussion it may appear that Porter five forces is outdated as it does not consider digitalization. But if we consider both its assumptions and limitations, it is one of the effective management tools that can be used in business and can easily be understood by the managers. Porters Competitive Framework: There are different strategic frameworks available which would be helpful for doing a competitor analysis. The most prominent among them are Porters Competitive Framework and SWOT analysis. Porters Competitive Framework is a management tool which is used to analyze the industry on four basic elements namely: future goals, current strategies, assumptions and capabilities. Future goals discuss what drives the competitor, current strategy discusses what a competitor is doing or can do, assumptions focus on the supposition made by the firm about itself and the industry and capabilities discuss about the strengths and weaknesses of the firm (Porter, 1980). This is one of the most prominent frameworks but a lot of researches are based on assumptions about competitor analysis which is discussed below. A lot of scholars have defined what a competitors analysis is but the most difficult part is the evaluation of the competitor at a firm level (Tsai, Su and Chen, 2011). A number of studies have been conducted on how a competitor could be analyzed at a firm level. Porac et al, 1995 presented a cognitive model which is developed on the basis of the observation the firm makes about its competitors actions and reactions and then decide on its strategy. Also, Baum and Lant (2003) as cited in (Tsai, Su and Chen, 2011) illustrated that resemblance in geographic location, price and size are sufficient for a firm to have an idea about their competitors. Chen in 1996 gave a different perspective of competitor by introducing the two-firm concept explaining that a competitor analysis is mainly based on market commonality and resource similarity. But many researchers found the two-firm concept to be difficult to relate with the competitor analysis. Competitors analysis is necessary for every enterprise as because there may be certain gaps which the company might not foresee while making competitive decisions. Zajac and Bazerman(1991) discussed the relation between the strategic decision making process and competitive analysis and named the gap between them as competitive blind spots. They discussed how a wrong assumption by a firm about its competitor may result in blind spots. Rothschild (1979) too discussed on where the companies many miss the link and what are the questions to be posed for a proper competitor analysis. Tsai, Su and Chen, 2011 gave a different perspective with regard to the competitor analysis by introducing the concept of competitor acumen. It illustrated about the relationship between the different firms in the same industry and also the extent to which a firm can understand its competitors. Every researcher mentioned above has challenged the Porters framework but none of these have the same prominence as Porters framework. However, there exists a challenge which in the Porters framework that cannot be ignored. Porter does discuss about the fact that when a competitor analysis is done, a firm should know both its direct (current) and indirect (emerging) competitors. However, it does not discuss whether a firm should consider all its competitors or only the top three or four or just a bunch of them. Thus the firm has to analyze the industry first, identify its competitors and then go for competitor analysis (Rao, 2011). The SWOT analysis focuses on the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats which a firm faces and its advantages in comparison to other competitors in the marketplace. SWOT analysis has a lot of advantages, for example its framework is extremely simple which helps a firm to identify its focus and can be applied to many intelligence reports like market intelligence. The analysis has a drawback as well. It can be too private and disconnected from the realities that are impacting the company (Evans, n.d, p7). Since Strength and Weakness part is been covered in the Capabilities part of the Porters framework and Opportunities and Threats are also discussed, it is an important competitor analysis tool despites its limitation. Chapter 2: Oilfield Service (OFS) Industry and its trends: 2.1 Background of the Oil Field Service Industry The energy sector comprises of the petroleum (oil and gas industry), electric power, coal, nuclear power and the renewable energy industries. The petroleum industry plays an important role in this sector as crude oil and unconventional natural gas account for a large percentage in worlds energy consumption which is around 56% (BP, 2012). Thus, the work of the petroleum industry is primarily classified into two main activities namely- upstream and downstream activities. The upstream activities in this industry are the exploration and production activities. The exploration activities include locating of the hydrocarbon reserves, such as oil and gas reserves, which can be done through desk study, aerial survey and seismic survey. After locating the reserves, the next step is to drill the surface and pump the hydrocarbon out of the reserves. This can be done both on the onshore (water) and offshore (land) through drilling rigs. After the drilling and getting an idea about the size of the oil field, the next step would be production and development activity where the oil and gas is produced through various techniques and services. After the oil and gas has been extracted from the reservoir and brought to the surface, it is then taken to the refineries where the downstream activities begin. The downstream activities in the industry include refining and processing of the oil and gas products and then further distribution of these products through various distribution channels like the retailers, distribution companies, chemical plants etc. The important industry which supports the upstream activities is the oilfield service industry. The oilfield service industry provides equipment and services which are utilized in the exploration and extraction of the hydrocarbons mainly oil and gas. This industry is thus the backbone of the oil and natural gas industry providing various services and equipments for the proper running of the industry. (Etechinternational, n.d.) 2.2 Demand for the oilfield service industry: The demand for the oil field services industry in the market can be measured in terms of the revenue generated by the industry over the years. Given below is the revenue generated by the industry in USD billion over the years from 2007-2011 and it also states about the forecast of the industry for the next five years till 2016. (Source: MarketLine, 2012) Figure 1: Revenue of the Oilfield Service Industry in Billion $ The global revenue of the industry increased till the 2008 where it reached the highest point of USD 361.9 billion. Then there was a decrease in the revenue in 2009 to USD 256.9 billion where the revenue declined by 29.1% mainly due to the global economic and financial crisis resulting in the drop of the oil price. The WTI Crude Oil Price for past few years (refer Appendix 1) indicates that the oil price was once at its peak in 2008 at $145.16/barrel (Yahoo Charts, 2012) and then there was a sudden drop in the oil price and this price drop did sustain in the industry for quite sometime. This drop in the price of the oil led to loss of billions of dollars due to various macro and micro-economic factors in the market (Hamilton, 2009). But later on after the financial crisis, the industry started to improve its business and now since the market has been stabilized and it seems to be rising and expected to reach global revenue of $638.4 billion by 2016 (MarketLine 2012). Knowing the basics of the oilfield service industry, gives us a brief idea about the indicators which is extremely useful for understanding the growth of the industry and the factors influencing its growth. 2.2 a Upstream Capital Expenditure: The growth of the oilfield service industry also depends upon the capital expenditure of the companies in the upstream industry. The companies in the upstream industry is basically segregated into large integrated super-major oil and natural gas companies, international independent oil and natural gas companies which are also known as the International Oil Companies(IOCs), and the national or state-owned oil companies known as the National Oil companies(NOCs). Thus the upstream expenditure will result as a combination of all these three types of companies. The upstream capital expenditure appears to be rising over the past few years and is expected to be profitable over the next few years as well. The total capital expenditure was estimated to be USD 450 billion in 2011(Brown, n.d), which was at an all time high over the years and the oil field service industry seemed profitable at this juncture. The oil and gas exploration and production capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the past decade and for the next few years is shown below. (Source: Combination of WoodMackenzie Corporate Analysis Tool and Upstream Service cited in Brown,n.d and Energy Equipment and Support Services Oilfield Services Sector Report, 2010, please refer Appendix 2 and 3) Figure 2: Upstream Capital Expenditure from 2001 2013 In the above figure we see that the upstream capital expenditure does not include the exploration and appraisal spend. In this graph, we see that the expenditure was increasing until 2008, after which there was a dip in 2009 due to the global economic and financial crisis. 2.2b Rig Count: There are many indicators where the investors of oilfield service industry can gauge the growth or the demand of the industry. The upstream capital expenditure is one of the principal indicators which provide insights on how the industry is generating the revenue but the major concern with the upstream capital expenditure is that the figures are not released on a timely basis as it is shown in the quarterly or the annual report. So it is difficult to have updated information for a particular period of time like weekly or monthly about the industry. Thus, to have timely updates about the industry, another important indicator which helps the investors to know about the global demands of the industry is known as the rig count. The rig count indicates the number of rigs which are currently active in the industry and this shows the number of active rigs, and the specific areas has more demand indicating the demand for more labor. It is very easy and the quickest way for accessing the growth in the oil field service industry. It is used by many companies, analysts like for example Wall Street analysts use the rig count for profit projections from the oil field service companies (Sprehe, 2004). There are a number of rig counts available to serve the industry like the Baker Hughes, Smith Tools but the most commonly used rig count is the Baker Hughes (BHI) rig count as it is one of the oldest rig counts in the industry. Baker Hughes Rig count gives a weekly update on the North America rigs and a monthly update on the International rigs. Area Last Count Count Change from Prior Count Date of Prior Count Change from Last Year Date of Last Years Count US 17-Aug-12 1914 -17 10-Aug-12 -60 19-Aug-11 Canada 17-Aug-12 326 +27 10-Aug-12 -160 19-Aug-11 International Jul-12 1264 -21 Jun-12 +114 Jul-12 (Source: BHI Rig Count as on 20-Aug-12, Baker Hughes Investor Relations, Rig Count) Table 1: Baker Hughes International Rig Count displaying the active rigs As we see in the above table, it shows the update on the active rigs in America, Canada and in the International arena as well where we can see that the last count for the America rigs is on the 17-August 2012(weekly) whereas for International it is July 2012(monthly). This table also analyses the changes in the active rig count from the date of prior count. This table also presents before us a clear picture on how the industry has grown comparing from previous years figures (Baker Hughes Investor Relations, Rig Count, 2012). The Baker Hughes rig count measures the number of rigs which are actually being drilled at a give point of time on a weekly (North America) and monthly (rest of world) basis. This indicator also provides additional information like rig count in different states, or whether the rigs were used for drilling the oil or the natural gas from the surface. A lot of products and services are required for an active rig and thus the use of these products and services show the demand for the services provided by the oilfield service industry (Brener, 2008). An increase or decrease in the rig count also shows the fluctuations in the job market of the oilfield service industry. Increase in rig count increases the job opportunities in the oilfield. The BHI count considers the count of active rigs which means the rigs which are actually drilling holes on the land or the sea to extract the oil or the gas. Therefore, if a rig is being transferred from one location to another, or is being involved in non-drilling activities like casing or completion and production activities, then Baker Hughes does not count the rig as active, even if the activity is still being performed at the field by a number of suppliers and outworkers. Though the rig count provides us with a brief idea about the drilling activity, it does not show many other important factors. The factors which the rig count does not focus on are production activities, depth, cost and location (Brener, 2008). The chart shows the average rig count worldwide from 2000 to June 2012 and we can observe that number of rigs have been on the increasing trend apart from when there was a dip during the financial crisis which hit the industry adversely. (Source: Baker Hughes Investor relations, Rig Count 2012). Figure 3: Global average Rig Count (Oil + Gas + Misc) according to Baker Hughes International The average rig counts for 2011-present from various geographical locations is shown in Appendix 4 where we observe that North America has been leading all the way and that is where the companies generate the maximum amount of revenue. 2.2c Current Industry Trend: The trends of an industry help us to understand what are the current issues and their effect which help us to speculate the likelihood of its impact in the future. There have been many other micro and macro factors which affect the industry trends like government rules and regulations, the oil and gas demand and supply etc which ultimately are the main reasons for the fluctuations in oil and gas price. Thus the trend of the industry can be known from the fluctuations in the oil and gas prices. High prices are beneficial for the industry and vice-versa. The following table shows the relation between the WTI oil price, upstream capital spending and the rig count. Avg. oil rig count Int. N.A. Canada Avg. WTI Oil Price 2007 768 297 127 76 2008 814 379 161 87 2009 764 278 103 55 2010 825 591 199 80.5 2011 897 984 278 95.5 2012(August) 946 1344 260 93.5 (Source: Avg.WTI Crude Oil Price Average WTI crude oil price Yahoo Charts. Upstream CAPEX Combination of WoodMackenzie Corporate Analysis Tool and Upstream Service cited in Brown, n.d and Energy Equipment and Support Services Oilfield Services Sector Report, 2010, please refer Appendix 2 and 3. Average oil Rig Count Baker Hughes Investor Relations) Table 2: Relation between WTI crude oil price, upstream CAPEX and oil Rig Count The above table shows the main trends in the industry indicating that the its demand is dependent on the Upstream CAPEX and Rig count which depend on the WTI crude oil price. This shows that when crude oil price increase, there is a tendency for the investors to invest more in this industry. We see a dip in 2008 due to the economic crisis but in this year we saw that the highest price was $145.16 per barrel in July and the lowest was $30.28 per barrel in December. The average rig counts has also seen a dip during the year 2009 from 2008 indicating that there was less demand of labor during that year. Thus we can suggest that the Rig Count depends on the Investment in the Upstream Industry which in turn is dependent on various factors such as crude oil and gas price fluctuations. Having known the trend in the industry we need to analyze how a company will maintain its profitability in different economic situation which holds good for the future as well. This can be analyzed in the next chapter using the Porter Five Forces Model. Chapter 3: Porter five forces analysis: In order to know the profitability of an industry, the corporate strategists suggest using the Porter five forces model as it is the best way for anticipating the competitive environment. Porter (2008) said Understanding the competitive forces, and their underlying causes, reveals the roots of an industrys current profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition (and profitability) over time. The Porter 5 forces are: Rivalry among existing customers, Threats of substitutes, Power of suppliers, Power of buyers and Threats of new entrants. The impact of the forces on this industry is shown in the following table: Forces Impact Rivalry among the existing competitors HIGH Power of Suppliers MODERATE Threat of Substitutes LOW Power of Buyers HIGH Threat of New Entrants LOW Table 3: Impact of each force on the oilfield service industry (Source: 12manage, n.d.) Figure 4: Porters five force model 3. a Threat of new entrants: If we consider this particular industry, then one thing that is pretty clear is that the competitors have been operating in this sector for many years and giving them a tough challenge is not an easy task. An ideal new entrant tries to enter and capture the market share and put pressure on the competitors directly by applying new technology and new ideas. The impact of the new entrants in the oilfield service industry is low. The presence of

In the Eyes of Our Youth :: essays research papers

In an empty parking lot, night streetlights shining in the back ground. She looks simple, like you’re next door neighbor. Wearing jeans low on the waist, with a small tank top, showing her midriff. A young woman, about 20 with her arms crossed, and a look on her face that says she’s tough, she can take it. Her looks are appealing to the casual observer; She seems to be waiting for something, or someone, as she slightly leans on the back of the only car in the lot. â€Å"Dangerously Low, LEVI’S low-rise jeans,† says the ad, there are many things odd about it. In many ways this add sticks out from the rest, most commonly ads contain perfect looking girls with their makeup done, and hair, in model perfection. But her look is simple and everyday, she would not stick out in a crowd. There are mixed messages in the ad, some are more obvious then others. Its an ad based on common ground, the obvious message, is that any girl can wear Levi's. But why stick her in an empty parking lot, at night with streetlights shining in the distance, mostly likely because that's what young people do when their bored hang around parking lots. This ad is aimed at young girls, not any specific age really but mostly geared towards 14 year olds and up. But why say dangerously low, in a way its telling us if you want to be dangerous, wear low-rise jeans and you too will look like her. Sexy and vulnerable. A young women alone at night, makes her more dangerous, and â€Å"cool†. Especially in a parking lot, which can be one of the scariest places for women, alone at night. They chose her look to be simple, she doesn’t intimidate you, and she’s not based on perfection. Just an ordinary night out on the town, it’s the kind of shot that doesn’t look professional, but more random. You could just imagine having seen a girl like that in any parking lot in America. Even her jewelry is common, in fact you barely notice the jeans, until your reminded it’s a Levi’s ad. Her arms crossed betrays her tough look, basically any girl alone in a parking lot at night is vulnerable. The very fact that young people consider, just being out driving to be fun, its assumed by the advertisers that every girl at least in some point in there lives has been out cruising. In the Eyes of Our Youth :: essays research papers In an empty parking lot, night streetlights shining in the back ground. She looks simple, like you’re next door neighbor. Wearing jeans low on the waist, with a small tank top, showing her midriff. A young woman, about 20 with her arms crossed, and a look on her face that says she’s tough, she can take it. Her looks are appealing to the casual observer; She seems to be waiting for something, or someone, as she slightly leans on the back of the only car in the lot. â€Å"Dangerously Low, LEVI’S low-rise jeans,† says the ad, there are many things odd about it. In many ways this add sticks out from the rest, most commonly ads contain perfect looking girls with their makeup done, and hair, in model perfection. But her look is simple and everyday, she would not stick out in a crowd. There are mixed messages in the ad, some are more obvious then others. Its an ad based on common ground, the obvious message, is that any girl can wear Levi's. But why stick her in an empty parking lot, at night with streetlights shining in the distance, mostly likely because that's what young people do when their bored hang around parking lots. This ad is aimed at young girls, not any specific age really but mostly geared towards 14 year olds and up. But why say dangerously low, in a way its telling us if you want to be dangerous, wear low-rise jeans and you too will look like her. Sexy and vulnerable. A young women alone at night, makes her more dangerous, and â€Å"cool†. Especially in a parking lot, which can be one of the scariest places for women, alone at night. They chose her look to be simple, she doesn’t intimidate you, and she’s not based on perfection. Just an ordinary night out on the town, it’s the kind of shot that doesn’t look professional, but more random. You could just imagine having seen a girl like that in any parking lot in America. Even her jewelry is common, in fact you barely notice the jeans, until your reminded it’s a Levi’s ad. Her arms crossed betrays her tough look, basically any girl alone in a parking lot at night is vulnerable. The very fact that young people consider, just being out driving to be fun, its assumed by the advertisers that every girl at least in some point in there lives has been out cruising.

Mass-Observation, Microscopy, and the Everyday Essay -- Essays Papers

Mass-Observation, Microscopy, and the Everyday The everyday is an assimilation of fragmented happenings that are interwoven to manifest society. A general stereotype of society can not be drawn from a single fragment, but must be created through an examination of the relationships between individual pieces. Every fragment, no matter how banal, contributes to the understanding of the everyday. In order to study the everyday, the use of microscopy and Mass-Observation are essential because they provide a way of viewing the everyday in a way that is unfamiliar. Every minute atom is part of a whole intricate system of operations. Though the atom is minute, the way it interacts with the objects around it is important. Whether it is transmitting information, relaying information, or interacting with another atom, these inner-workings combine to create a functional system. In the everyday, the smallest of fragments is important to understanding society and what drives it through time. Interactions of fragments give insight into the general environment in which the fragment belongs. Formally, examiners of the everyday focused on studying society through large social structures. Simmel, one of the major theorists in German philosophy and social science around the turn of the century, views the everyday differently. He believes that the everyday can not be studied on the macroscopic level, but instead should be viewed at the microscopic level (Ben Highmore 37). Simmel emphasizes using microscopic investigations of interactions between fragm ents to gain insight into the everyday (Highmore 37). His project of ‘microscopy’ allows for the fragments of the everyday to be studied in a way that generalized society as a whole. ... ...nd analyzed. Though social microscopy it used to study the social aspect of the everyday, every fragment is important. Simmel stated â€Å"Even the lowest, intrinsically ugly phenomenon can be dissolved into contexts of color and form, feeling and experience which provide it with significance† (Highmore 39). It is through microscopy and Mass-Observation that the everydayness of society is studied in a way that is made unfamiliar. Works Cited - Bancroft, Angus. â€Å"Georg Simmel.† Introduction to Sociology. (Nov. 1998). 8 Nov. 2004 . - Baudelaire, Charles. Paris Spleen. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1970. - Highmore, Ben. Everyday Life and Cultural Theory. London and New York: Taylor and Francis Group, 2002. - Kafka, Franz. The Trial. New York: Schocken Books Inc., 1998. Mass-Observation, Microscopy, and the Everyday Essay -- Essays Papers Mass-Observation, Microscopy, and the Everyday The everyday is an assimilation of fragmented happenings that are interwoven to manifest society. A general stereotype of society can not be drawn from a single fragment, but must be created through an examination of the relationships between individual pieces. Every fragment, no matter how banal, contributes to the understanding of the everyday. In order to study the everyday, the use of microscopy and Mass-Observation are essential because they provide a way of viewing the everyday in a way that is unfamiliar. Every minute atom is part of a whole intricate system of operations. Though the atom is minute, the way it interacts with the objects around it is important. Whether it is transmitting information, relaying information, or interacting with another atom, these inner-workings combine to create a functional system. In the everyday, the smallest of fragments is important to understanding society and what drives it through time. Interactions of fragments give insight into the general environment in which the fragment belongs. Formally, examiners of the everyday focused on studying society through large social structures. Simmel, one of the major theorists in German philosophy and social science around the turn of the century, views the everyday differently. He believes that the everyday can not be studied on the macroscopic level, but instead should be viewed at the microscopic level (Ben Highmore 37). Simmel emphasizes using microscopic investigations of interactions between fragm ents to gain insight into the everyday (Highmore 37). His project of ‘microscopy’ allows for the fragments of the everyday to be studied in a way that generalized society as a whole. ... ...nd analyzed. Though social microscopy it used to study the social aspect of the everyday, every fragment is important. Simmel stated â€Å"Even the lowest, intrinsically ugly phenomenon can be dissolved into contexts of color and form, feeling and experience which provide it with significance† (Highmore 39). It is through microscopy and Mass-Observation that the everydayness of society is studied in a way that is made unfamiliar. Works Cited - Bancroft, Angus. â€Å"Georg Simmel.† Introduction to Sociology. (Nov. 1998). 8 Nov. 2004 . - Baudelaire, Charles. Paris Spleen. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1970. - Highmore, Ben. Everyday Life and Cultural Theory. London and New York: Taylor and Francis Group, 2002. - Kafka, Franz. The Trial. New York: Schocken Books Inc., 1998.