Todd Gitlin Summary on Media

Todd Gitlin is a remarkable creator conceived in New York City. He went to the University of California at Berkeley, where he got a PhD in human science and was vigorously engaged with the Students for a Democratic Society gathering. Gitlin is currently a teacher at New York University where he shows culture, news coverage, and human science. Gitlin’s choice, Supersaturation, or, The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling, originates from his book Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives (2001). In this determination, Gitlin portrays how private lives and local spaces have advanced from the seventeenth-century as of recently. He feels like our once private families are presently ruled by other common things as media. There are numerous thoughts in Todd Gitlin’s works that help his perspective on our media affected world, two of which, are the thoughts of â€Å"supersaturation† and â€Å"disposable inclination. † According to word reference. com the meaning of supersaturation is â€Å"to increment the grouping of (an answer) past immersion. Gitlin utilizes the word â€Å"supersaturation† to depict the way today’s world has totally assimilated the media and its relations. Society has become submerged in the tattle and pictures showed by the media. The lines between living space and working space are no longer as particular as they used to be. Gitlin states that, â€Å"the outside world has entered the home with retribution †in the bounty of media† (Gitlin 558). Identifying with this equivalent idea, Gitlin utilizes the possibility of â€Å"disposable feeling† to clarify the route individuals of today can move starting with one common picture then onto the next, one bit of tattle to another, with no worry. We can disregard them and return to them later in the event that we decide to do as such. In some of Gitlin’s research, he alludes to the compositions of investigator Raymond Williams who states, â€Å"What we have now is dramatization as ongoing experience, more in seven days, much of the time, than most individuals would already have found in a lifetime† (Gitlin 559). We have gotten insusceptible to genuine affections for singular pictures and stories, and blossom with the possibility of the following tattle that will follow. In this choice of the book, Gitlin talks about a seventeenth-century Dutch painter by the name of Vermeer. Vermeer was known for being capable to†fr[ee]ze moments, yet moments that talked about the general consistency of the world where his subjects lived† (Gitlin 558). Individuals gathered Vermeer’s artworks for show all through their homes. Gitlin considers Vermeer to be the seventeenth-century variant of the media. In that time, the pictures painted were comparative with the people’s time and private world. In today’s world Vermeer would be the proportional to a VIP picture taker or film chief. In the event that Vermeer, or some other craftsman of his time, were to see today’s families, they would find that the once private space inside the house is presently considerably more commanded by pictures of the outside world than what might have been conceivable in the 1600’s. As referenced in Gitlin’s research, insights show that, â€Å" ‘watching TV is the prevailing recreation movement of Americans, expending 40 percent of the normal person’s leisure time as an essential action [when individuals give TV there unified attention]’ † (Gitlin 560). Indeed, even the wealthier pieces of helpless universes approach a type of media. It would take somebody from an underdeveloped nation to be dazed by the way that our lives are continually depicted through TV, radio, web and different types of media. Individuals of today interact with more â€Å"information† in a solitary day than any one individual of Vermeer’s time could have ever envisioned. The media encompasses our reality in each part of society. Gitlin notes in his works that the measurements referenced â€Å"don’t consider the bulletins, the TV’s at bars and on planes, the Muzak in eateries and shops . . . nd logos zooming by on the sides of transports and taxicabs, climbing the dividers of structures, making declarations from tops, packs, T-shirts, and sneakers† (Gitlin 563). On account of the entirety of the most recent innovation and correspondence frameworks individuals can interface with the outside world at whatever point we like. In Gitlin’s end he proceeds to clarify that our sincere belief is not, at this point imperative to the world. Individuals within recent memory are adherents as opposed to pioneers, and are reliably being sucked in to how the media says we should carry on with our lives. Gitlin feels that the manner in which we carry on with our lives, â€Å"or spend it,† (563) figures out what our identity is. Our lives have gotten totally overcome with innovation and the most recent gadgets. Gitlin contends that even in our most private occasions we can't force ourselves to avoid the media. â€Å"[Our] beneficial experience has become an involvement with the nearness of media† (Gitlin 563). In seventeenth-century time this level of media reliance would be unfathomable. Dukes View In my perusing of Todd Gitlin’s Supersaturation, or, the Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling, I have arrived at the resolution that I concur with Gitlin on the matter of a staggering media nearness in today’s world. The media has become such an enormous effect on everything on society. From TV, web, and phones to boards, magazines, and papers, it has gotten about difficult to be without media. Obliging Gitlin’s supposition regarding the matter, I concur that even in our apparently private home lives, we keep on relying upon media and other electronic amusement. These days individuals are continually focused with remaining associated with the outside world through the media utilizing advanced mobile phones, messages, news, informal communities and sports. As innovation keeps on propelling we become overwhelmed by having the most recent and the best contraptions to keep us connected to media consistently. These contraptions have become some portion of our every day schedule to beware of society. Individuals feel lost when they can’t browse there messages or their status on Facebook. Supper in a home used to eat at the lounge area table and having discussions about your day yet has now gotten sitting in the front room and staring at the TV. Indeed, even kids have been influenced by this media pattern. They observe more TV than understanding books. There are TV shows to assist them with adapting as opposed to perusing books for math, science and English. Obviously the world is being overwhelmed by media. The world has developed in to a savvy, quick pace place where we need to know all that goes on, not exactly where we live and what’s going on in our carries on with yet the whole world also. We burn through the entirety of our cash on the line, costly hardware to stay up with the latest with media and common news * Technology keeps on propelling (walkman mp3 players, tapes blue beam) * Constantly focused on staying â€Å"connected† to the outside world (utilizing advanced cells to browse email, news, sports) * Has become some portion of day by day sc hedule to check for refreshes in the public arena * Even sit in front of the television while eating family dinners, tv’s in eateries, convenient PCs, ect * Faster developing interest for vocations in innovation fields

How to Get Reviews †Without Cheating

Step by step instructions to Get Reviews †Without Cheating Composing a novel is difficult work, however selling it very well may be much harder. A plenty of colossal books sit out there with small deals and immaterial audits. Dont let yours lose all sense of direction in the group. Follow these four hints to begin collecting legitimate, genuine audits thatll help your book stand apart among the rest. Before we begin, lets talk about (cheating) paying for surveys. If it's not too much trouble dont do this. Because its ethically faulty, yet in addition on the grounds that youll be squandering your cash. Locales like Amazon depend on their survey framework, and they detest counterfeit audits. You dont need to be related with such practices. With that off the beaten path, lets talk about how to nail genuine audits. Stage One: Ask For Them! This one may appear glaringly evident, yet risks are you previously botched the chance. Did you remember a source of inspiration for your book? Most creators dont, and its a serious mix-up. Add a writers note to the end your book. In it, let the perusers realize how significant surveys are, and that in the event that they making the most of your book, theres no preferable method to assist over to compose an audit. Youll be astonished what number of audits this gathers. Stage Two: Engage Readers Acknowledge you should turn into an online outgoing person, in any case. Excessively numerous authors disregard the specialty of web-based social networking, or they treat it as a promoting stage rather than a chance to discuss legitimately with their fans. Nobody needs to include a Twitter companion who ceaselessly plugs their own books. Dont be that kind of creator. Rather, figure out how to appreciate cooperating with your fans by means of web based life locales like Facebook and Twitter. Make these records, and add connects to them in the creators note toward the finish of your novel. Perusers are unquestionably bound to post audits of creators with whom they have direct contact. Stage Three: Advertise a Sale This is the place youll need to take out your wallet and go through some money. On the off chance that you need get a great number of audits, at that point youre going to need to promote. Pick a couple of days sooner rather than later when youll put your book at a bargain, either for $0.99 or free, and afterward promote the deal on a portion of the better digital book destinations. Don't just put your book at a bargain and sit back in the expectations that the world will pay heed. Odds are, it wont. You have to light the fire Look at my article, Advertise Smarter (in one weeks from now issue of FundsforWriters), for tips on which locales I use to get the most value for my money. Stage Four: Run a Contest When you begin getting a few adherents via web-based networking media, reward the ones who set aside the effort to get you out. Run a challenge offering to send a free, marked duplicate of your book to one fortunate victor (in my initial days, before I began printing books, I would offer marked spreads. I would print fronts of my book, cut them out, and sign them. Perusers cherished them!) All your fans need to do is compose an audit, and afterward send you an email telling you. Stretch the challenge out longer than a month to permit perusers the opportunity to complete the book, and you may be agreeably astounded what number of individuals do it. Just dont figure the challenge will run itself. Market it like you would your book or your appearances! Follow these four stages and youll be well en route to accumulating a noteworthy number of legitimate surveys from perusers. Good karma, and continue composing! (**see the subsequent piece to his one, Advertise Smarter, at this connection)

Hubspot: Inbound Marketing Essay

HubSpot is a web based showcasing programming organization that uses inbound advertising, a framework which pulls imminent clients to a business and its items. Albeit inbound advertising has been profoundly effective and the organization has arrived at its achievement of 1,000 clients, HubSpot is presently confronted with the difficulty of which course to guide towards, while thinking about the suitability of inbound promoting at a bigger scope. HubSpot must conclude whether to focus on the Marketing Marys (MM) portion, the Owner Ollies (OO) section or both. We suggest that HubSpot center around the OO fragment. Our technique is to effectively develop this market fragment, bring down the stir rate and increment the standard for dependability. By focusing on this portion, it will help HubSpot further its objective of turning into an industry head in the Leads, Analyze and Qualify Traffic divisions of the inbound advertising industry. Our suggestion depends on quantitative examination which demonstrated that the OO fragment is more productive than the MM section. Considering the $1000 obtaining cost of OOs and their present evaluating, the breakeven for this fragment is 2 months. What's more, the lifetime income for the OOs is assessed to be $1. M (Exhibit B). Interestingly, the breakeven time determined for the MMs is 9 months with an expected lifetime income of $1. 6M. Notwithstanding quantitative investigation, we likewise viewed as subjective factors in deciding our proposal. We verified that inbound promoting ought to remain the essential showcasing framework since it is an easy to use and a cost effective item and in particular, it is HubSpot’s managing reasoning. Inbound Marketing, a basic belief and quality, will keep on separating HubSpot from its rivals as it develops. In deciding to focus on the OO portion, we are expecting that OOs will keep on moving to HubSpot’s facilitated content administration framework at a similar rate. The arrangement is to cultivate the OOs through maintenance programs and an improved quality client assistance office. The organization can secure the client in a one-year contract at a rebate or offer beginning free counseling administrations. Moreover inside this time allotment, HubSpot’s salesforce will advance the benefits of moving to the CMS framework. We considered choices, for example, focusing on both OO and MM sections or concentrating exclusively on the MM portion. Be that as it may, as per the organization item timetable, it takes over 3 months to grow new items and procedures so the option of focusing on the two sections was dismissed. As another organization, HubSpot has constrained assets to support the assorted customer base, which will make item development fall behind adjusting customers’ needs. Over the long haul, this will place the organization at a less serious situation in the business. Moreover, we additionally considered focusing on just the MMs since this fragment understood the most development during the most recent four months of 2008, maybe showing long haul development potential. We dismissed this technique because of our cost breakeven examination: it takes 4 ? times longer to breakeven with MM clients than it does with OO customers (Exhibit B). At last, while we understand that the move in center might prompt loss of piece of the overall industry inside the MM fragment, we accept that the addition in OO portion will balance the misfortune over the long haul. Taking everything into account, we suggest that HubSpot focus on the OO portion. We distinguished HubSpot’s objectives as development inside the OO section, a lower agitate rate and an expanded consistency standard. HubSpot can achieve these targets by advancing the CMS framework and executing another client contract activity. As the organization moves towards achieving these objectives, it will no uncertainty become a market head in the online programming advertising industry.

Ledbury Restaurants Case Study on Business Decision Making

Questions: Situation An eatery network intends to open its second café in London. To guarantee this is a practical move, the investors are quick to comprehend the market. Thusly you are approached to do an arranged information assortment and information investigation to help the governing body in understanding the client estimating preferences.(e.g. pay value, age cost) Undertaking 1 Report on Data Collection and Analysis, In this report; Create an arrangement for essential and auxiliary information assortment with introducing the review system inspecting outline utilized Design a poll to gather information and give a support to its plan Collect information and sum up the gathered information utilizing agent esteems Analyze the gathered information utilizing proportions of scattering. You should have the option to utilize the investigation of the valuing inclinations to educate and bolster dynamic. Complete appropriate computations to reach valuable and practical inferences and give substantial proposals. Your figurings must incorporate quartile, percentiles and the relationship coefficient. Clarify how these estimations helped you to reach valuable determinations. Errand 2 Set up a Business Presentation and a proper Business Report to scatter data adequately which incorporate; The discoveries which ought to be utilized to reach legitimate determinations .You should utilize spreadsheet programming for all figurings and join diagrams and charts(line,pie,bar chart,histogram,scatter ) to plainly and viably present the discoveries. Pattern lines in charts to help with estimating for determined business data. For instance, this may incorporate people groups eating practices extra time and inclinations against occasional changes. A business introduction to spread data successfully Prepare a proper Business Report to be introduced to the directorate Use fitting data handling devices to investigate the data Plan for the undertaking, distinguishing significant CRITICAL PATH, PERT, GANNT Chart, to actualize a business procedure and the proposals you are recommending from your discoveries. For instance, a business procedure to serve clients (It is fundamental to u tilize fitting task managementsoftware) Different monetary apparatuses, for example, limited income, net present worth and IRR capacities to assess the budgetary feasibility of the proposed proposals Answers: Presentation In the contemporary business situation dynamic is particularly depend o upon the essential and the auxiliary type of research. As the ledbury is one of the main eateries who are willing on the development of its cafés chain for that the examination is been led. The examination will concentrate on the arrangement for the gathering information for the opening of new chain of cafés for the ledbury (Cleland and King, 2008). Aside from that, the investigation will likewise centers around the different type of information assortment all together indicate the practicality of the task. With the assistance of different diagram and graphs, the dynamic of the opening of eateries chain in London will be a lot of conceivable over the UK. Assignment 1 Plan for gathering essential and optional information Essential information assortment: For essential information assortment a few clients from the different eateries and the guests at Trafalgar square are being consider, the essential for of information will be gather by means of on field overview survey inside the London. Essential information assortment is a lot of required for the direct assortment of information so as to comprehend the need of the purchasers (DeCarlo, 2010). Auxiliary information: Secondary types of information are gathered by means of web inquire about, online journals, internet based life, organization yearly report and the different sources. Aside from that, auxiliary wellsprings of information is a lot of supportive in c assembling the informations about the examination which is to gather the development about the current cafés and their piece of the pie inside the business (Gido and Clements, 2012). Optional information additionally organizations of different types of diaries, paper and magazines. Study Methodology Inspecting the testing here would be utilized as clients and the director of the renowned cafés in London. With the assistance of 55 client based the 5 supervisor would fulfilled the essential research. The review approach would be sued here is quantitative and subjective type of study (Ferraro, 2007). For subjective, optional structure, information would be utilized from the current organizations and for the quantitative information is gathered on documented survey. Plan a poll to gather the information a. How regularly do you visit the eatery? Choices No of respondents All out respondents Reaction % Most recent multi week 12 55 22% Most recent multi month 16 55 29% Most recent 1 year 8 55 15% Over 2 years 10 55 18% Over 5 years 9 55 16% Diagram 1: visiting the cafés From the abovementioned, it has been discovered that, with over 23% members visits each week cafés for the eatings. Be that as it may, around 29% of respondents go eateries with consistently. The above situation clarifies that consistently every individuals visit the café for eating. London is known for the assortment of indulgences and the individuals are known or the quality eating and living (Barker and Chitty, 2009). With the ascent in the eateries business very shows that buyer are eager to taste the distinctive for the luxuries and visit casual path or for events, which in both condition fulfills the idea of eating out. b. What are the components that impacts you towards the cafés? Choices No of respondents All out respondents Reaction % Administration Quality 18 55 33% Brand Value 10 55 18% Mood 13 55 24% Cost 9 55 16% Others 5 55 9% Diagram 2: factors that impact the shopper towards the eateries Around 18% of respondents are a lot of value inclination as opposed to cost. Also feels association with vibe must be flawless and clean instead of food quality with 24%. From the above , it has been discovered that the vast majority of the client are being viewed as nature of food as their first inclination among the other in light of the fact that the individuals living in London are a lot of known for their costly way of life and their affection for quality rarities are been known around the world (Barlow, 2009). As the cafés administrator, it is a chance to offer a quality cooking rather at esteem pricings. For valuing, organization will utilize infiltration pricings. c. What sort of eating do you like? Alternatives No of respondents Complete respondents Reaction % Chinese 14 55 26% French 9 55 16% Italian 11 55 20% Conventional (British) 17 55 31% American 4 55 7% Chart 3: Type of feasting do you like Around 26% of the individuals of London are found of Chinese instead of different delights. Aside from that, the second best food, which has enjoyed my the vast majority of individuals, was French in London. This shows, ascending in Chinese treats is been one of the significant pattern which has been trailed by the world (Bates, 2009). The Chinese food was casted a ballot most best food all around by the Forbes magazines. d. What time you like to visit an eateries? Choices No of respondents All out respondents Reaction % Break quick 11 55 20% Lunch 19 55 34% Supper 25 55 46% Diagram 4: Time for visiting the cafés From the abovementioned, around 34% of the respondents are being wanted to ate out instead of eating or supper. Also, organization utilizes lunch as their departure course to visits the eateries. As feasting propensity is particularly has been known for quite a while. Feast out is one of the significant claim to fame which has been trailed by the age in English (Carpenter and Fairhurst, 2009). As contrast with different dinners, a large portion of the English love to have eaten out in light of the rushed calendars and the bustling existence of the Cockneys. e. How would you lean toward your cooking most? Choices No of respondents Complete respondents Reaction % Basic 14 55 25% Made 16 55 29% enhanced 8 55 15% Prepared 10 55 18% Bubbled 7 55 13% Diagram 5: inclination of your cooking From the abovementioned, around 29% of respondents feels should, be crafter supper join to other significant food introducing process. Aside from that, other significant eateries goers needs their food in the straightforward manner instead of seasoned. Sum up the information utilizing the qualities For quantitative type of poll, youthful grown-ups with the age of 15-45 and salary procuring of picked respondents from the 5000 every month has been decided for the undertaking at the spots like Trafalgar square and different cafés like Bread kitchen, Heston Blumenthal and Barbeoa (Entrepreneur, 2015). Aside from that, there are two significant accessible has been thought of while gathering the information first Age and second is Income before attesting the information. The gathered information will be taken by means of non-likelihood examining. The internet examining will be non-likelihood testing. Client interest will be founded on likert scale. Examine the outcomes Proportion of scatterings Age Populace Under 18 9 18-25 21 25-35 45 35-45 19 More than 45 6 Diagram 6: Total picked populace test Mean Pay = 15, 20, 21, 20, 36, 15, 25, 15 Entirety of these 8 qualities is 167, so the mean is 167/8= 20.875 The above outcomes shows that, the picked age bunch has is 15k to 36 k. The picked age g

The Federal Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and Social Control Essay

The Federal Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and Social Control - Essay Example By 1970s, in any case, both progressivism and populism lost their allure as independent strategies (Vito and Allen, 1981). While progressives had neglected to give an option in contrast to vague condemning, populism was viewed as something that refuted the actual intent of the law and it was proclaimed that Government judges are not receptive to the throbs of humankind. These topics commanded SRA for quite a while and finished in the improvement of Federal condemning Act of 1984 with one essential point for example to be reasonable in the motivations behind imprisonment.The US Congress played a slight and aberrant job in government condemning for about a century or so by vesting into the condemning appointed authority an unbarred caution to make sense of the proper discipline from normally an assorted ambit of potential sentences as been portrayed by law. This rendered the appointed authority to be in complete control of condemning and it was up to the adjudicator just to conceive di fferent parts of condemning the important disturbing and moderating conditions and how these all variables mutually added to the authorizing of the sentence. The legal sentences were for all intents and purposes subject to no audit on offer. The basic reason of the entire exercise depended on coercive recovery. That constantly included appointed authority choosing a broad discipline of long term and the parole board pondering discharge on the grounds of sufficient restoration. That entire framework depended vigorously on the individual circumspection of the appointed authority absent a lot of responsibility. This was normally bound to analysis likewise with issues caused because of power using resolute individual caution and seen to a great extent as foot free and extravagant free situation. Congress was intensely mindful by 1970s of the developing disquiet among the overall population and unavoidable issues in the legal framework that were radiating because of the absence of very m uch characterized parameters in sentence charging. The dissimilarity in the condemning framework lead to a careful assessment by Congress in 1984 in which it was realized that the entire framework was in the desperate need of change and had lost the vital believability required to support the open certainty to fill in as an adequate impediment to wrongdoing. It was deduced in that review the irregularity and uniqueness in the condemning framework was because of the lacking condemning application by the legal executive. Congress stepped up to the plate and change the issue by authorizing the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 is additionally usually expressed as SRA; it drew a thorough framework for rebuilding of legal condemning watchfulness that basically changed by and large the condemning in the government equity framework. The SRA's prime goal was to defeated the gap of condemning uniqueness. The initial step that Congress took was to dismiss the pervasive perspective on restoration as the chief objective of condemning. It re-imagined the objectivity of sentence as retributive, instructive, and impediment (Howell, 2004). By establishing SRA Congress tried to bring the entire legal procedure above board eventually helping it recapture the trust of masses imperative to debilitate wrongdoing, reviving the framework by altering its elements, checking over reliance on detainment and maintaining the pride and attentiveness of judges personnel. The significant points(USSC, 1991) of SRA could be summed up as follow: 1. There ought to be an unmistakable and far reaching articulation of condemning of government law alongside

Experiential Avoidance and PTSD

Experiential Avoidance and PTSD PTSD Coping Print Experiential Avoidance and PTSD By Matthew Tull, PhD twitter Matthew Tull, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder. Learn about our editorial policy Matthew Tull, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on August 05, 2016 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on June 24, 2019 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview Symptoms & Diagnosis Causes & Risk Factors Treatment Living With In Children Aleli Dezmen / Cultura / Getty Images Experiential avoidance is an attempt or desire to suppress unwanted internal experiences, such as emotions, thoughts, memories and bodily sensations. This unwillingness to stay in contact with internal experiences is thought to underlie many unhealthy escape behaviors, such as substance use, risky sexual behavior, and deliberate self-harm, and may increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people who have experienced a severe trauma. Understanding Experiential Avoidance Avoiding negative internal experiences is a natural instinct that serves to protect us from harm. However, psychologists dating back to Sigmund Freud have argued that such avoidance can also negatively impact our mental health and behaviors. In the 1990s, psychologists began referring to these avoidance and escape behaviors as experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance is seen as a coping style that may perpetuate problems or produce new ones. For example, trying to not to feel anxious may perpetuate anxiety instead of allowing it to dissipate. In 1996, psychologists from the University of Nevada wrote in an important paper that many forms of psychopathology are not merely bad problems, they are also bad solutions, based on a dangerous and ineffective use of experiential avoidance strategies. Since then, experiential avoidance has been associated with: Anxiety and generalized anxiety disorderBipolar disorderDeliberate self-harmHigh-risk sexual behaviorObsessive-compulsive disorderPanic disorderSubstance abuseSuicideTrauma and post-traumatic stress disorder  Trichotillomania How Experiential Avoidance Hurts People With PTSD Experiential avoidance is believed to increase a traumatized persons risk of developing and maintaining PTSD. For example, a study published in 2014 found that abused children were much more likely to develop PTSD if they tried to avoid painful thoughts and emotions after the abuse rather than talking about their negative feelings. Experiential avoidance strategies may in part explain why 40% of children who are abused develop PTSD over the course of their lives, while the other 60% do not. Experiential avoidance is one of three emotion regulation strategies believed to increase the risk of PTSD. The other two emotion regulation strategies implicated in PTSD are rumination and thought suppression. Experiential Avoidance, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for PTSD The opposite of avoidance is acceptance. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a behavioral psychotherapy that was developed to reduce experiential avoidance. ACT is based in the idea that suffering comes not from the experience of emotional pain, but from our attempted avoidance of that pain. Its overarching goal is to help people be open to and willing to have their inner experiences while focusing attention not on trying to escape or avoid pain (because this is impossible to do) but instead, on living a meaningful life. There are five goals of ACT: Recognizing that trying to escape from emotional pain will never workRealizing that trying to control the pain is the problemViewing yourself as separate from your thoughtsLetting  go of attempts to avoid or control thoughts and feelings  Living a meaningful and rewarding life ACT is one form of treatment recommended for PTSD and other psychological problems related to experiential avoidance. Also Known As: emotional avoidance, emotional unwillingness, thought suppression, unwillingness

The Relationship between a High-Dairy Diet and Breast Cancer in Women - Free Essay Example

Recent studies have demonstrated that 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives being that breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women (American Cancer Society, 2018). Since 2000, the rates of breast cancer have been declining and researchers posit this may be due to better screening processes or possibly due to the decrease in hormone replacement therapy because it was associated with increased risk of breast cancer (Breastcancer.org, 2018). Although breast cancer has been linked to genetic inheritance, lifestyle factors such as diet and hormone levels also play a role in developing the disease (American Cancer Society, 2018). One study indicates that dairy, specifically in the Western world, is pumped full of estrogen and progesterone hormones, which may link a diet high in dairy to breast cancer rates (Ganmaa Sato, 2005). Estrogenic hormones are more common in fats, so there may be a critical difference between the effects of high-fat dairy products, such as whole-milk compared to the low-fat version referred to as skim milk (Pape-Zambito et al., 2010). Research suggests that there are conflicting results in regards to the association between high-dairy intake and breast cancer (Hunter Willett, 1994; Boyd et al., 1993), which makes it important to study the methods and possible explanations behind this controversial evidence. In this paper, I will analyze two research studies that provide opposing results in regards to the relationship between breast cancer and a high-dairy diet in order to understand why researchers may have found these varying outcomes. Kroenke et al. (2013) hypothesized that a high-fat dairy diet, compared to a low-fat dairy diet, is more associated to breast cancer recurrence and mortality rates. To test this hypothesis, a team of researchers conducted a prospective cohort design and studied 1893 women that were a part of larger study (LACE) who already had early stage invasive breast cancer. These women previously went through cancer treatment and exhibited no evidence of recurrence or other types of cancer. The number and type of recurrences were assessed by health status questionnaires obtained annually, and mortality was measured using the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry (KPNC) data sources or using information from the participant’s family. Researchers collected data at two time points that encapsulated the women’s diets, measured by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Food Frequency Questionnaire, at baseline and at a 6-year follow-up. This measure asked women how o ften they ate dairy foods in the past year by specifically asking the participants to describe their daily, weekly and monthly eating habits. The questionnaire displays a medium size portion as an example and then asks the participants to indicate the size of their own dairy servings (small, medium, or large). In order to evaluate fat content, the participants were asked the type of fat levels they usually consumed, such as percentage of fat in their milk, cheese, yogurt and dessert products. They gathered the total number of servings of dairy per day and classified certain types of dairy into high or low-fat groups. In their statistical analyses for high and low-fat dairy intake, the researchers adjusted for possible confounding variables such as age, smoking, menopausal status, race, education, BMI, and reproductive factors. For analyses on breast cancer outcomes, researchers controlled for confounding variables such as disease severity, treatment type, and behavioral factors such as other diet components (i.e. red meat consumption, sugar), exercise, alcohol and smoking behaviors (Kroenke et al., 2013) The results of this study demonstrate that overall, dairy consumption levels among these women were low, and women were consuming more low-fat dairy than high-fat dairy products. Kroenke et al. (2013) also found that high-fat dairy intake was not related to cancer recurrences, but it was positively associated with mortality. Although this study found a link between high fat dairy intake and mortality from breast cancer, they did not find an overall relationship between dairy and breast cancer. Previous research suggests that breast cancer causes may be linked to calcium and Vitamin D (Lipkin Newmark, 1999), but these results showed no relation between these vitamins and cancer outcomes (Kroenke et al., 2013) Since a high-fat dairy diet is related to an increase in estrogen, it is important for researchers to further study the impact of estrogen levels on cancer. If these results were to be replicated, it would be valuable to advise women with breast cancer to cut back on high fat d airy products, since it may impact their survival. One of the strengths of this study was that they adjusted for different factors that could have effected breast cancer severity such as stage, nodal status, tumor size, and lifestyle factors such as SES, exercise, demographics and reproductive history. Since this was a correlational study, we cannot confirm causality, but the study’s adjustment for third factors does strengthen their observed effects (Kroenke et al., 2013). One major limitation in studies regarding diet is the tendency for people to underestimate their food intake. Some of the women responded that they didn’t know what type of milk they were consuming or how much they had daily, so it was difficult to categorize dairy products into high or low-fat groups accurately. Previous research suggests an inverse relationship between dairy products and breast cancer outcomes in samples of premenopausal women (Shannon et al., 2003); however, the current study was mainly postmenopausal, and they did not have a larg e enough sample of premenopausal women to study the differences in menopausal status in regards to diet. Another limitation of this study was its inability to accurately identify estrogen/progesterone receptor status of the reported products since researchers suggest the effects of estrogen may contribute to higher mortality rates in women with breast cancer (Kroenke et al., 2013). In a second study, Knekt et al. (1996), the researchers hypothesized that there is an inverse relationship between dairy intake and breast cancer. This was a prospective study that followed 4697 healthy women (free of cancer) for 25 years. The population of women in the study were from Finland, which is significant because Finland has one of the highest levels of milk intake among anywhere in the world. Once the women were screened for cancer, the researchers conducted a modified dietary history interview that analyzed the women’s diet in the last year. Dietary assessments were repeated every 4-8 months after the initial interview. The model assessed for food eaten each day, week, month and year and had participants estimate their portion size similarly to the previous study, Kroenke et al. (2013). The participants also completed a mailed questionnaire to gather information such as residence, occupation, parity, and smoking to be assessed as covariates. Cancer incidence was ob tained through the nationwide Cancer Registry along with death certificates from the Central Statistical office of Finland over the 25-year period of the study. This study found that the rates of developing breast cancer were highest among women over 50, who had never married or had kids, and had a white-collar job. They also found that milk intake was dependent on location and occupation and was higher in western agricultural areas. There was an inverse relationship between milk consumption (as opposed to other dairy products) and developing breast cancer after controlling for age. Previous research suggests a relationship between high saturated fat and breast cancer outcomes, (Boyd et al., 1993; Hunter et al., 1994); however, the present study found no relationship between total or saturated fat and breast cancer (Knekt et al., 1996). Another finding was that higher levels of calcium are related to lower breast cancer incidence in the study, suggesting that calcium may play a protective role in breast cancer prevention. Researchers indicate calcium’s protectiveness may be related to its ability to protect the binding of fatty acids and bile acids when processing dairy products. However, past studies have not found a significant relationship between calcium intake and breast cancer incidence (Katsouyanni et. al 1988) and after adjusting for calcium in the current study, the relationship between diary and breast cancer still existed. A strength in this study was their ability to follow healthy women to see who developed breast cancer after initially collecting diet data. This study also had a large sample of 4697 women, which increases the study’s power and researchers followed them for a significant period of time (25 years), which allows them to account for long term effects. Researchers also used a comprehensive survey of food consumption compared to previous studies that used a simpler measure for diet (Knekt et al., 1996). A limitation of this study was its inability to control for some health and behavioral factors such as alcohol consumption; however, few women in Finland are heavy drinkers, so this possible confounding variable most likely did not impact the results of the study (Knekt et al., 1996). Since reproductive factors and hormones may play a role in breast cancer (Kelsey and Whittemore, 1994), these confounding variables may have impacted their results since the researchers only obtained r eproductive information regarding the women’s number of births. Although these two studies indicate different associations between breast cancer and dairy intake, it is important to note that they are studying very different populations of women. The first study described involved a population of women who already had breast cancer while the second study focused on women who develop breast cancer out of a sample starting with healthy women. It is possible that this difference in timing of disease occurrence accounts for some of the difference in results. Also, the Knekt et al. (1996) study was more focused on milk products specifically, while the Kroenke et al. (2013) study was more concerned about high vs. low-fat dairy products. There were also more postmenopausal women in the sample from the Kroenke et al. (2013) study compared to the Knekt et al. (1996), which may have played in a role in interactions between hormone levels and dairy products (Shannon et al. 2003). Menopausal status is especially relevant because the results from the Knekt et al. (1996) study only demonstrated the inverse relationship after controlling for age. Since dairy intake was associated with cancer mortality, it is possible that the fat in dairy cells negatively interacts with cancer cells, but not healthy cells (Kroenke et al., 2013). In the case of the study in Finland, the dairy production process may differ from the US and thus, alter the levels of estrogen in milk. Also, since milk is very common in Finland, it is possible that this population is more tolerant to its effects on hormone levels. Another major difference between the two studies is their amount of data collected on diet. In the Kroenke et. al (2013) study, they gathered assessments of diet at two time points, one at baseline and the other at a 6-month follow-up, while the Knekt et al. (1996) study interviewed people regarding diet every 4-6 months for 25 years. Considering that diet recall is grossly underestimated (Kroenke et. al, 2013), these differences in diet data collect ion may suggest why the studies are producing different results. It would be beneficial to have future studies examine the specific nutrients and hormone levels in dairy products consumed to understand why dairy can be both positively and inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer. Research suggests that some cultures place more value on milk-oriented diets in comparison to others (Cramer et al., 1994), perhaps because of cultural differences and views on dairy product’s health benefits. Future studies should examine dairy consumption cross-culturally to assess whether dairy production differences and metabolism differences among certain groups contribute to the relationship between dairy and breast cancer. Additionally, a major problem with diet research, is that it is usually gathered at one time point (Kroenke et. al, 2013) and researchers need to have more frequent questionnaires to accurately gauge the types of nutrient intake and total consumption. Although these studies both used a detailed questionnaire for food consumptio n, participants may have been inaccurately showcasing their overall diet patterns, or they may have changed their diet habits after the questionnaire was completed, which could have impacted their breast cancer outcomes. Also, future studies could focus more on differentiating between high and low-fat dairy since Kroenke et al. (2013) and Knekt et al. (1996) were unable to accurately measure these differences. Since menopausal status and age were important factors in the relationship between breast cancer and dairy products, future researchers may want to expand on these findings and study how age may impact the relationship between dairy products, estrogen levels, and breast cancer.

Gun Violence And Gun Control - 1043 Words

In the past decade or so, Americans had experienced epidemic level of gun violence taking place in every corner of country. Actually owning gun is legal in the USA, it’s actually our second amendment; the right to bare firearms. Approximately 300 million Americans held gun in their homes. Gun violence has centered in our community as major issue. Gun violence and gun ownership have been in the news lately due to numerous shooting taking place at Movie theatre, Offices, , colleges and even elementary schools. The gun issue discussion were even discussed in a national court, but due to intense controversial opinion from both side, the case is still unresolved. Many civilians believe that laws regarding owning gun should be stricter and if possible ban civilians from having guns. On the other hand, some say it is our right to own gun as it is guaranteed in our second amendment. But second amendment was written in 1970s and we are in 21 century now with cases of innocents being killed in gun shoot frequently. Therefore, it is not wrong to claim that gun ownership are responsible for rising death number in America, First, banning gun shot will exceptionally decrease the number of deaths. Unarmed citizens were killed and injured during most gun shoot incidents. Nowadays, G un shoot cases are shown in news channels and internet every now and then. For example, the gun shot that happened in our neighbor nursing college in oakland; Oikos University. It took away the lives ofShow MoreRelatedGun Control And Gun Violence1054 Words   |  5 PagesGun control generally refers to policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms (Wikipedia). This is an important definition for citizens, lawmakers, and gun lobbyists to follow over the debate on gun control. As well as the Second Amendment in the constitution which states, â€Å"The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed†. There has been a debate on whether that specifies within the home or outside of the home. For more thanRead MoreGun Control And Gun Violence1172 Words   |  5 Pagespeople depart from this earth due to gun violence in the US every day. From school children, to victims of domestic violence, to people going ab out their daily lives, this status quo is unacceptable. On Tuesday January 5th, 2016 President Obama announced that he would send proposals on reducing gun violence in America to Congress. His spokesman, Jay Carney, mentioned that this is â€Å"a complex problem that will require a complex solution.† The ability to own a gun is considered by some a birthright ofRead MoreGun Violence And Gun Control726 Words   |  3 PagesI have read were â€Å"Connecticut School Shooting ‘An Attack on America’† by Ted Anthony and â€Å"The Price of Gun Control by Dan Baum. All around I believe these articles were both very interesting and both took different perspectives on the issues of guns in America. Both Anthony and Baum illustrated the different problems that we have in America and our communities with gun control and gun violence. But, they both brought the text together to relate it on a personal level. I enjoyed reading both textsRead MoreGun Violence And Gun Control1007 Words   |  5 Pagesshootings and various other methods of gun violence, tens of thousands of people die every year. These gun-related deaths primarily originate from murder and children accidentally shooting themselves. Although those in favor of gun control tend to believe that guns should be terminated completely, the second amendment prevents lawmakers from being able to do so. Therefore, in order to combat these causes, alternative gun control solutions must be made for each one. Gun-related murders can be decreasedRead MoreGun Control And Gun Violence1226 Words   |  5 PagesViolence is everywhere in the world. In every country, city, town and village there is some form of violence. In my lifetime, there have been countless deaths and injuries due to gun violence. We happen to live in a country where gun violence is among the most prevalent in the world: The United States of America. Today, gun control and gun violence has become a controversial issue in Americ a. The issue for gun control has been debated for a long time, probably ever since they were invented. It isRead MoreGun Violence And Gun Control1406 Words   |  6 Pages Gun violence in America is a huge topic of discussion. Many people have heard about this topic on the news or in the newspaper, but have very little knowledge on this ongoing topic. Those who have a lack of information on gun control tend to not feel strongly towards guns or people owning or carrying guns. People that have never been around guns are often scared of them, but the truth is a gun is nothing more than a hunk of metal. For a gun to go off the gun needs a shooter, so should the realRead MoreGun Violence And The Gun Control1253 Words   |  6 PagesGun Violence in America According to CDC, One person is killed by a firearms every 17 minutes, 87 people are killed during an average day, and 609 are killed every week†(CDC). That means gun violence is out of control, and you can be next. In fact, there s been an increase of mass murders occurring everywhere due to guns. Which has brought our attention to the gun violence in our nation. They say guns are for protection, but in reality there seems to be more murder associated with it. There sRead MoreGun Violence : Gun Control And The Violence Essay1241 Words   |  5 Pagesissue in American society would be gun control and the violence it brings. We live in a time where technology allows news to spread rapidly and every week gun violence crimes seem to be in the news. These crimes start to divide us as a society. â€Å"Each year for the last decade in America, more than 30,000 people have died due to firearms† (Swanson, 2015). From 1968 to 2015, we had about 1.6 million deaths due to firearm related deaths (Swanson, 2015). Gun violence only seems to be getting worse asRead MoreGun Violence And Gun Control Essay1301 Words   |  6 Pagescaused by gun violence this year. This is an alarming statistic, especially when you consider that 354 mass shootings have contributed to the body count. 1952 of these deaths have been labeled accidental, which is almost as startling as the death toll itself. (@GunDeaths) Gun violence is a problem that is not going to go away unless there is action taken to combat it. A lack of gun education, weak gun regulation, and government indifference towards gun violence in the country has allowed gun violenceRead MoreGun Violence And Gun Control1166 Words   |  5 Pagesmany people as the Land of the Free; a Land of Opportunities. There has always been a gun culture in America; however it has also been a gun-control culture. Whenever a devastating mass shooting occurs, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, a deliberation about gun violence follows suit. Depending on whom you discuss this with, that case is not always true. There are those that are for gun control and those that are against. There are also conspiracy theories that claim that the events

The Impact Of Technology On Education And Education Essay

Education has evolved tremendously over the past centuries. From one room school houses, segregated schools, to public and private schools, forms of education and how we receive it are always changing. In the past decade, technology has become a large part of education and schooling. Views on types of schooling and education are changing rapidly. Videos and articles can be found all over the Internet on basically any subject you can think of. Much of today’s schooling is done through online classes. Due to the increasing popularity of technology in education and the availability of the service, how schools are run will change and the need for teachers and staff will lessen. In the near future all schooling will be done by and through technology. The use of technology in schools and education has been increasing rapidly over the past decade. Classrooms have gone from paper, pencils, and chalkboards, now to laptops, smartboards, and online homework. Much of the homework students do is now turned in online, where it can be graded instantaneously and the results given right away to the student. This also saves teachers time from not grading each paper individually and allows them to focus on what is next in the lesson. Online school work allows students to share files and documents, work on group projects where everyone can edit a paper at the same time, and work on papers any time or place where technology is available. Note taking and studying have become much more efficientShow MoreRelatedImpact of Technology on Education1146 Words   |  5 Pages------------------------------------------------- Positive Impact of Technology on Education Technology plays a very important role in the field of education, especially in this 21st century. In fact, computer technology has become easier for teachers to transfer knowledge and for students to obtain it. The use of technology has made the process of teaching and learning more convenient. Talking in a positive sense, the impact of technology on education has been extraordinary. Using Internet and computersRead MoreThe Impact Of Technology On Education802 Words   |  4 Pages The use of technology expanding broadly in different aspects of our lives and technology plays a significant role in modern society. The technology used globally and it impacts our lives daily for instant: government, businesses, schools, workplace, environment, and household. The technological evolution led humanity from the dark ages to enlightenment and agriculture to industrial. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of technology means â€Å"the practical application of knowledgeRe ad MoreThe Impact Of Technology In Education1533 Words   |  7 Pagesof constructivism appear on the fringes of education, there is a polarizing argument about what place technology has in schools. Students are coming to school with computers in the form of phones, tablets, or laptops in their pockets and backpacks. Some schools are leading the charge with BYOD (bring your own device) or BYOT (bring your own technology) initiatives. However, there are still districts, schools, and teachers who will not allow technology into their classrooms. Many schools and teachersRead MoreImpact Of Technology On Education829 Words   |  4 PagesImpact of Technology on Education The way we teach students in the modern classroom has massively changed throughout the years. One major changing factor is the development and use of technology. Before, classrooms were filled with paper, pencils, crayons, and all things needed to be completely hands on with our education. Now, most classrooms have replaced these things with tablets and laptops and smart boards that students get to spend all day staring at. Technology has the potentialRead MoreThe Impact Of Technology On Education And Education1820 Words   |  8 PagesMay, 2017. The Benefits of Technology in Education According to Thomas Jefferson, â€Å"If the children are untaught, their ignorance and vices will in future life cost us much dearer in their consequences than it would have done in their correction by a good education†(Vasudeva).Technology has impacted every aspect of most people’s life and education is no exception (Purdue). The education process has evolved as more people make use of technological devices and so education no longer starts or ends inRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education985 Words   |  4 Pagesthis decade, technology has significant influence in many areas of society especially for improving education, language acquisition, support learning, and it is a great way to access to information. In fact, nowadays students depend on their machine such as computers, laptops, mobile phone to study in the classroom or outside the class. In addition, they use the internet to communicate with teachers and to help them do research for information they n eed to do homework. Although, technology is a substantialRead MoreThe Impact of Technology on Education4413 Words   |  18 Pagesï » ¿The Impact of Technology on Education 16 Introduction Higher education is undergoing a radical shift from localized, teacher-centered, face-to-face courses to student-centered online and hybrid courses offered by global universities. The traditional delivery of education is being supplemented and replaced by digital education models. The proliferation of information on the Web, the proliferation of instructional systems vendors, and the burden on faculty to design hybrid courses threaten theRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education2762 Words   |  12 Pages Technology advancement has really provided new platforms for various disciplines leading to great improvements in the education process. Furthermore, education has been thoroughly lightened as a result of technology being applied to education. Actually, technology can be thought of as the application the scientific knowledge and approaches for the different purposes and in this case, education approaches like learning and teaching. In almost two decade technological approache s have been done andRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education1134 Words   |  5 Pagesfact that United States of America’s education program is a far stretch from futuristic in most districts; application of technology has undoubtedly showed itself to be a critical factor in most high performing schools. Technology not only improves the learning environment to better fit the student, but also offers previously inaccessible learning material to students. If seen as an investment by the schools for the benefit of the students, private technology assigned to each student would betterRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education904 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"Technology may empower, but to what end will that power be used?† said Levine in I Surf, Therefore I Am (224). The empowerment of technology simply comes down to the way it is used. More recently; however, the Internet has become some sort of replacement in the way students learn today. With the use of the Internet and little to no interaction with physical books, people can become uneducated rather easily. In today’s society, most everyone has access to the Internet; however, it is the way we

Masculinity in Rap and Hip Hop Essay - 626 Words

Tasia Walker Masculinity in Rap and Hip Hop Today in Hip Hop every rapper has to portray themselves as being hard, having a lot of girls in their circle and having money. Since the beginning of the American society being considered a real man was to be able to protect their families. When television came around western films portrayed men as either strong or weak and defined their masculinity as being the stronger man because of their guns. For example in a western movie during a draw two men would be about twenty feet away from each other and whichever man shot the other man first won the draw and was then considered the dominant male and very masculine. Therefore what goes on in rap†¦show more content†¦The person who has to bring someone else down by criticizing their upbringing and manliness only shows that they are insecure about theirs and become a bully. The lyrics that are in rap songs are not only listened to by African Americans but by many other cultures, cultures who know nothing about them. Different cul tures listen to rap music to get to know a culture and all the violence and explicit lyrics within rap creates stereotypes. To other cultures they see African Americans as violent pimps, which is not the case at all. Not to mention African American women in rap videos, even the men in the same culture consider them to be b***** not sisters. During the documentary a scene was shot at BET’s Spring Bling and a young male pointed out that women are determined to be b****** or women by the way they dress. Sexism is an issue that to society is not seen as important compared to the large number of black males incarcerated. The issue should be just as important if not more because one in four African American women is raped after the age eighteen. Most women who are called a b**** or another demeaning name think that it wasn’t referred to them, and either way is still unacceptable. Hip Hop is not being represented by men, which is why the decision of their lyrics is said the way that theyShow MoreRelatedEssay about Hip Hop: Beyond Beats Rhymes523 Words   |  3 PagesHip Hop: Beyond Beats Rhymes is a documentary created and produced by Bryon Hurt. The documentary challenges the dominant discourses of hyper masculinity and the misogynist treatment of women in commercialized rap. Of the many mainstream phenomenons that are discussed by Bryon in the documentary, the issue of hyper masculinity in Hip Hop is questioned greatly. Throughout the film, the producer was able to show the wide acceptance of hyper masculinity not only in Hip Hop but also American cultureRead MoreWomen Of Hip Hop Culture Essay1723 Words   |  7 PagesWomen have decided to consume hip hop regardless of the sexism and machismo of their rap artist spouses. Historically, black women who have sex with other women haven’t been recognized in the Black community. Also, the expectations are the same in hip hop culture because men reject lesbians. An example is the murder in 2003 o f Sakia Gunn after she declared her lesbian identity to a group of males. We all know that in hip hop culture men predominate and precisely masculine. Women can achieve a higherRead MoreMisogyny Hip Hop W Sources Essay1571 Words   |  7 PagesMisogyny in Hip Hop | 3.5.2012Dr. Tshombe WalkerAFR 1503 | Tina Marie | Misogyny in Hip Hop culture refers to lyrics, videos, or other aspects of hip hop culture that support, glorify, justify or normalize the objectification, exploitation or victimization of women. Misogyny in hip hop music instills and perpetuates negative stereotypes about women. It can range from innuendos to stereotypical characterizations and defamations. Overt misogyny in rap and hip hop music emerged in theRead MoreMisogyny Of Hip Hop : The Solution1564 Words   |  7 Pages’Kayla Morgan Jeffrey Baggett English 102 April 25, 2016 Misogyny In Hip Hop: The Solution In today’s society many individuals listen to music. With so many different genres to choose from in the music industry, one of the most popular genres of music is Hip Hop. With the constant urge for new artists, lyrics, and rap styles, it seems as though Hip Hop is the holy grail of music. One of the main problems with Hip Hop is the misogyny of women. Adams and Fuller (2006) define misogyny as the â€Å"hatredRead MoreHip Hop : The Commodification Of African American Women1717 Words   |  7 PagesHip-Hop Music: The Commodification of African-American Women Since its emergence in the 1980s, hip-hop has taken the world by storm; it has impacted and revolutionized the way people behave, dress, and think. Hip-hop music enables people to connect in a way they would never be able to with any other genre of music. Although, hip-hop has swayed different generations over the years, its influence has not always been positive. In the past, hip-hop focused more on current events in society, personalRead MoreRap Music Is Not The Only Type Of American Music Associated With Sex And Violence1508 Words   |  7 PagesRap music is not the only type of American music associated with sex and violence. The history of Rock’s Roll for example, is a good example. The same arrangements, with white people at the top, uplifted an entire American generation on sex and violence in other types of music. Now they are doing the same with rap music (Roberts, 1994). Rappers have thus been forced to abandon the stated goal of their humble beginning to conform t o the marketable aspects of their crafts. (Rebollo-Gil Moras, 2012)Read MoreThe Bronx Of New York City990 Words   |  4 Pagespoverty-stricken area that was comprised of primarily Black and Latino residents. As a response to the systemic racism that these communities faced, young black men became vocal about their communities’ issues through the use of hip hop music. Thus, it was during this time that hip hop became a rising platform; and was predominantly influenced by the Black power movements which promoted black nationalism, liberation and empowerment as a response to systemic anti-black racism. This platform allowed many youngRead MoreBlack Masculinity Essay795 Words   |  4 PagesThis is more of a personal question, but how do you define masculinity and more specifically black masculinity? What does it mean to you? In our earlier reading for black masculinity, we learned about different definitions of black masculinity through different lens. For example, authors s uch as Byron Hurt and Kathleen Brown state that black masculinity can be rooted in many from expressionism to violence. With every reading and every discussion in class, I consistently have to return to these questionsRead MoreHip Hop : The Root Of Black Culture1877 Words   |  8 Pages Hip-hop is the root of black culture. Hip-hop is the insight to black communities and was created in the ghetto (unprivileged black communities in North America). It was a will response to systematic violence in the community. To better understand hip-hop and the issue of gender one must question â€Å"at what point did violence, sexism, and homophobia become primary components of a subculture that once was founded on refusal of gang violence and the harmful side of street life and when did black womenRead MoreMasculinity in American Society and Hip-Hop Essay766 Words   |  4 PagesMasculinity in American Society and Hip-Hop Never cry or show any emotion, when things happen take it like man, do not get mad, get even. These along with many other rules are makeup â€Å"the Guy Code† believed to shape what masculinity in American society. â€Å"’Bros before Hoes’: The Guy Code† by Michael Kimmel discusses a set of epigrams and analyzes American masculinity. These ideals of what is takes to be a â€Å"man† are often portrayed by hip-hop artists in today’s mainstream music industry. Kimmel

Essay about Gerrymandering - 886 Words

Gerrymandering When I thought of the topic Gerrymandering, I thought perhaps it would be too far-fetched when it came to the Rubric designed in a women studies class. But, on further review of the subject matter I realized how important this practice is to study, and how it can be used for both good and evil concepts in the political scheme of things. Gerrymandering is a form of boundary redistricting, in which the boundaries of an electoral district or constituency are modified for electoral purposes, often producing a contorted or unusual shape. The resulting district is known as a Gerrymander. Gerrymandering is used as a potential way to achieve desired electoral results for a particular party, or may be used to†¦show more content†¦By placing high percentages of members of a racial or ethnic minority group in one or more districts so that minority voting strength is artificially limited to those districts and is minimized in neighboring districts. This leads to Racially Polarized Voting, which creates circumstances in which the voting preferences of a racial or ethnic group consistently vary from those of other racial or ethnic groups, particularly when the different voting r=preferences are based on the race of the candidate this also is referred as Racial Bloc Voting. Undercount is a common practice in the error in census data that results from the failure to count some people in the census, which is done every ten years. This proves problematic as certain groups, such as members of racial or ethnic minorities, have been disproportionately undercounted by the Federal Census, either by voter registration ineffectiveness or the migratory nature of the poor in attempt to find work. Congressman John S. Tanner has proposed a bill which would limit the drawing of congressional boundaries to once per decennial census period, and require the approval of a new district boundary by an independent commission. The most absurd district in the nation is the district of Illinois #4. They have two halves held together by a thin strip of land at its western edge that is a median strip along Interstate Hwy 294. The idea behind this wasShow MoreRelatedThe Detrimental Practice of Gerrymandering1004 Words   |  5 Pagesgreatly harm the American public. One of these dangerous practices, known as gerrymandering, occurs in nearly every state. While some claim that the practice helps America, in reality gerrymandering harms American democracy and safety. Gerrymandering greatly affects society, and must become illegal to insure fair representation, the democratic processes in America continues, and America continues to thrive. When gerrymandering occurs, a political party draws the boundaries of an electoral district inRead MoreShould Voting Be Outlawed? A Cornerstone Of America?1859 Words   |  8 Pagesagree that gerrymandering should be outlawed but where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how to stop it. Whereas some are convinced that the responsibility falls upon the judicial system, others maintain that the courts are ineffective in managing gerrymandering and so turn to other solutions. Despite gerrymandering being a big problem in the United states, many do not even know what it is or that it even exists. There is no simple definition for gerrymandering. In generalRead MoreVoting Rights Act of 1965 Essay1082 Words   |  5 PagesThe history of â€Å"gerrymandering† started during the term of Elbridge Gerry, the Governor of Massachusetts, when he approved an obscure redistricting plan ahead of the 1812 elections that helped Republicans hold on to power in the legislature. One of the redistricted districts that primarily consisted of a one party defendant was shaped as a salamander, which later gave rise to this political term (Keck, 2010). The term relates to the drawing of the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that givesRead MoreEssay on Gerrymandering1064 Words   |  5 Pages English 1101 January 22, 2014 Gerrymandering Gerrymandering is defined as the establishment of boundaries of voting districts with the main objective of determining the partial or complete outcome of elections. Gerrymanders are designed with the main objective of insuring the defeat of specific individuals or electing political allies. There are a number of objectives of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is usually carried out in order to allow for the reelection of incumbents or for the partyRead MoreGerrymandering Reflection951 Words   |  4 Pagesway, let’s get to it. Mission Two and Mission Four really develop and strengthen my general understanding on the topic of â€Å"gerrymandering†. I am going to be completely honest, before that day in which we discussed it in class, I didn’t have a single clue to what gerrymandering pertained to. I feel like the videos you provided me helped develop a sense of why â€Å"gerrymandering† is bad and how it affects politics. The redistricting game helped sho w me how ridiculously one party can take control of theRead MoreThe American Political System Is The Most Effective Constitution915 Words   |  4 Pagesmany issues we see today. Why would chosen leaders choose gridlock over working things out? At the heart of the gridlock is Gerrymandering. When the voting districts are made to represent a certain demographic its leader will represent their constituents. Therefore, in order to continue to be reelected the leader must say what the constituent wants to hear. â€Å"Partisan gerrymandering is not an ingenious aspect of the American system, meriting pride. It undermines democracy. It creates a situation in whichRead MoreThe Concept of Political Representation Essay2655 Words   |  11 Pagesdifferent types of constituents. Researchers could also expand Miller and Stokes’ study to look at levels of responsiveness in different issue areas over a longer period of time. In addition, there appear to be inconsistent results on the effect of gerrymandering on representation. This is an important issue that should be explored in more detail. Read MoreGerrymandering: Election and Politicians1235 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Gerrymandering The term gerrymandering refers to the practice of altering voting districts in order to achieve electoral results favorable to one person or party, usually the incumbent politician or party creating the new voting regions.1 This term, dating back to 1812, is an established method for incumbent politicians to improve their heresthetical â€Å"defense,† by manipulating the dimensions of the political landscape.2 This tactic is extremely common in the United States and a prime exampleRead MoreGerrymandering: Plurality Voting System and Redistricting Game1887 Words   |  8 Pagesdistrict court (3). In concluding the Partisan Gerrymandering simulation, was my party successful in re-districting to meet all of the Supreme Court, State Legislature, Governor’s and Courts ruling requirements? Our nations reliance upon winner-take-all elections and single member districts for Congressional elections without national standards has left our voting process open to the abuses of unfair partisan gerrymandering. In the Partisan Gerrymandering simulation game I played, I found that itRead MoreHow Gerrymandering Is The Leading Problem Facing America Today?936 Words   |  4 PagesFurthermore, the most distinct problem that the United States handles today is gerrymandering. Throughout this essay, it will be made clear that gerrymandering is the leading problem facing America today because it harms the equality of citizens. Before delving into the reasons for eliminating gerrymandering, it is first necessary to establish a definition of gerrymandering. According to Mike Stankiewicz, â€Å"Gerrymandering is a redistricting tactic that is used to increase the influence and power of

Case Walter Hundhausen Gmbh Free Essays

Size up Germany’s foundry Industry? Is WH well positioned in it now and in the future? The beginning of the new millennium has presented Walter Hundhausen (WH) with a big hurdle to jump. The German economy is experiencing economic stagnation, an aging population and a German labour market that is filled with many intrusive government regulations. The German economy has been growing at an average rate of 0. We will write a custom essay sample on Case: Walter Hundhausen Gmbh or any similar topic only for you Order Now 6 percent per year for the last 4 years; making it one of the slowest growing economies in the Euro Zone. However, study’s suggests in 2004, the domestic economy is expected to grow above 2 percent. Moreover, one-third of Germany’s economy is comprised of exports. In performing a Pest Analysis (see Diagram 1 below), there are many macro factors affecting the German Foundry Industry. MACRO FORCES The acronym stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological concerns that could affect the strategic development of the casting foundry industry in Germany. By identifying PEST influences it helps gage the external environment in which the casting foundry industry operates. Political Strict Layoff Regulations: Government regulations had strict policies in place on how organizations could layoff employees. Before employees were laid-off, management had to advise the Works Council and they had to agree to the nature and timing of the plan. In addition, the management team had to develop a social plan for each employee on how the layoff would affect them and what remedies the organization would put in place for them. If a  social plan was not presented, employees could claim for compensation through the courts. This could prove to be costly in time, money and reputation. National Bargaining on Wages: The current German industrial relations policy was based on a duel model. One part dealt with the collective bargaining, while the other dealt with codetermination. The collective bargaining agreement dealt with minimums and maximums, with respect to wages and salaries and working hours. Codetermination was an actual Act or Law that provided labourers in Germany with three levels of representation; Supervisory Board, Works Council and Labour Director. However, in the end, all collective bargaining agreements could be adjusted and then ratified through this process. Social Market Economy: The political climate in the country is based on the social market economy, where employers and unions worked as partners to better the organization as a whole. However, in reality, the balance of power lay in the hands of the union. Unions negotiated national and regional wages and hours of operations; in addition, they also negotiated paid time-off. In 2004, the average individual worked 1,542 hours. The standard legislated work week was set at 60 hours with a minimum paid leave of 24 days. That translates to 2,832 hours per year. Despite the legislation, the average individual worked 54 percent less than was legislated in 2004. Ordnung Principal: This is Germany’s version of the Triple Bottom Line, where economy, society and the government all participate in the mechanism for workers democracy. New Environmental Legislation: The government imposed a new ecological tax in 2000 that focused on waste reduction as opposed to waste recycling. This added costs in the form of time and money to the WH casting process. From an economic perspective, the government wanted the industry to focus on the externalities and reduce them or remove them totally. Economical Domestic Growth: The last three years (2001 to 2004), the German economy was growing at an average rate of 0.6 percent per year. Germany had been experiencing the slowest growth in the Euro zone. This affected many organizations in Germany, particularly mid-sized companies that were not big enough to fully utilize economies of scale. Future Growth: The economy in Germany has been slated to grow around 2 percent for the year 2004. This represent an increase of 1.4 percent over the previous year and that may not  seem big, but relatively speaking that is a 233% increases from year over year. Increase in Value of the Euro: Another concern at the macro level is the appreciation of the Euro against other currencies, most notably the American dollar. As the Euro increased, the cost of WH’s products also increased. However, the opportunity to purchase at a lower price scrap iron and steel from non-European countries has also increased. As the Euro appreciates in value, it can now purchase raw materials at a lower cost. Social Aging Population: The current labour shortage in Germany is creating a nightmare in the casting industry. In order to attract and retain employees, organizations were paying a premium over scheduled tariffs. These costs were substantial, as many companies were running multiple shifts in order to keep up with demand. Reduction in Full-Time Employment: The current macro environment suggests a reduction in the number of full-time resources, because of the high labour costs. However, because of the aging population, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified workers. Sounds counter intuitive; a reduction of full-time staff to cut costs, but many companies in the industry are paying premiums over scheduled tariffs in order to keep their current workforce. Strong Social Employment Contracts: The Germany foundry industry has a strong employment contract system, where employers are responsible for the well being of their workers. The contract is enforced by the Works Council and the Labour Director who is part of the origination. Their main objective is to resolve disputes through intensive informal contacts. Strong Union Presence: The dual model in the industry consists of a collective bargaining agreement and codetermination. This dual system gives the unions a strong position within the foundry industry. Their presence has lead to numerous bouts of conflict with management when negotiating collective agreements and in some cases these disagreements lead to long and bitter strikes. Technical Above Average RD Investment: RD is a major competent in the casting foundry industry. RD creates better products and above all reduces costs through the automation of the casting process. Moreover, by being a Tier 1 supplier, customers are expecting better products and lower costs year over  year. Frequent Technology Changes: In the casting process, technology changes occur frequently, in order to maintain lower sand-to-metal ratios and scrap ratios. Largest European Foundry: Being the largest casting foundry in Europe, economies of scale can have significant cost savings, as the organization can purchase large amounts of scrap iron and steel. Close Proximity to Clients: By being close to customers, shipping costs and delivery times are reduced substantially; giving the local casting foundry a cost advantage over their long distance competitors. Efficient Sand Casting Process: The casting process is highly integrated and labour intensive. By having a disjointed process, the cost of the process will be high and the products produced would be of an inferior quality. A process that is tightly controlled and automated will reduce unnecessary waste and cut costs in the form of wages and raw material. MICRO FORCES Below are the specific micro forces that will influence how WH reacts to the environmental issues assessed above. Supply The cost of raw materials was increasing 23 percent year over year (see Diagram 2 below). Raw materials have been the single most expensive cost to WH. Diagram 3 below, illustrates the cost of raw materials to revenues and the cost of wages and salaries to revenues. As for wages and salaries, they have been holding steady. Moreover, the trend seems to be downward sloping (see Diagram 3, below). Total revenues have been increasing steadily since 2001; with a significant increase occurring in 2004 (see Diagram 4, below). Year over Year Increase in Revenues 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total Revenues 97 99 103 117 2.06% 4.04% 13.59% However, in 2004, the index price of scrap iron and steel has been averaging around 191.00, that is a 43 percent increase, year over year. The trend seems to be heading higher, potentially breaking the 250.00 barrier (see Diagram 5, below). Average 81.25 99.91667 99.91667 111.5 133.75 191.25 Competition Competition from non-OEM organizations was growing. However, customers today are more sophisticated and understand that quality plays an important role in the decision to purchase a product versus purchasing a product on price alone. The real threat will come from organizations in the casting industry from Eastern European that will eventually become tier 1 suppliers. One of the challenges facing WH is the current workforce in Germany. WH has been experiencing a high degree of absence due to leaves and sick days. The above graph (see Diagram 6) illustrates by department where the greatest number of absences are occurring. The stars indicate the average per department and in 2004, there was an increase in the number of absences in Core Marketing, Finishing and Heat Treatment. Finishing can be explained because of the nature of the work itself. It is one of the most difficult  parts of the casting process. Some of the other notable information to mention, is when the automated casting process is operating efficiently, sick days and leaves are kept to a minimum. For example, pouring and melting in 2003 experienced numerous mechanical problems, thus the department experienced a higher level of absences as opposed to 2004, when the process was operating with little interruptions, sick days and leaves decreased substantially. Moreover, for the first 6 months of 2004, the average cost of the total days off work amounted to 3.39 million, which represents 8.7 percent of the overall company’s revenues (see Diagram 7, below). Demand The biggest threat facing WH is their ability to reduce costs. Their customers are demanding lower prices and the organization has been responding, by investing heavily in RD to improve the casting process. However, if they do not get the costs of the casting process under control, they will not be able to meet the increasing demand from the motor vehicle industry. The motor vehicle industry in 2004 purchased a total of 68% of the total industry’s output. Diagram 8, below illustrates the percentage increase or decrease year over year by industry and the tonnage sold by industry. Clearly, the industry that has been adding value to WH has been the motor vehicle industry. On average, over the last three years, the motor vehicle industry has increased 13 percent. If the motor vehicle industry continues on their current growth path, by the end of 2005, WH will have reached plant capacity of 95,000 tonnes per year (see Diagram 9, below). The forecast includes a 13 percent increase in motor vehicle tonnage per year and holds the other two industries with no growth or decline in tonnes required. PEST Conclusion The rising cost of scrap iron and steel, a stagnate Germany economy, the German labour market and its regulations are proving extremely difficult for WH to deal with. In addition, WH is reaching plant capacity and they have not been able to control rising costs to date. For the last three years, wages and raw material purchases have been well over budget. SWOT ANALYSIS A SWOT analysis was completed for WH to evaluate their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (see Diagram 10, below). The analysis identifies the key internal and external factors that will hinder or help WH achieve their stated goals and objectives. One of the key factors to WH success was their ability to understand their customer’s business needs and create new products for them. This was one area in the casting foundry industry that separated WH from their competitors; WH was and still is â€Å"Best in Class†, when it comes to product innovation. One area of improvement would be to eliminate or reduce the number of products that have low margins. By producing these low margin products, WH is tying up valuable resources both in time, money and material. One of the greatest threats WH will encounter is the surging casting foundries from Eastern European countries, such as Spain, Turkey and Poland. Currently, many of the Eastern European organizations either small or big are not OEM rated. However, with time and additional investment dollars, these organizations will be able to compete against WH on price. PORTERS FIVE FORCES One final assessment was completed to determine the profitability or attractiveness of the casting foundry industry in Germany. By utilizing Porters Five Force model, a more realistic assessment of the competitive rivalry that exists in the market can be determined. This will give WH insight as to the attractiveness of the industry and determine what course of action (if any) is required. The analysis clearly demonstrated that the industry is highly profitable (see Diagram 11, above). The Barriers to Entry are high, making it difficult for organizations to enter. Entry requires a high initial capital investment and ongoing RD dollars. Moreover, the bargaining power of the Buyer is Low, because switching costs are high. Substitutes products are available, but in the motor vehicle industry highly unlikely to be used. The  bargaining power of Suppliers is strong, because there is strong union presence and the raw material is based on world supply and demand prices. In short, the competitive rivalry within the Casting Foundry Industry is high, suggesting that the industry is profitable. Furthermore, with high exist barriers, because of the high fixed costs, it makes it extremely difficult to exit the industry, and thus remaining organizations will continue to suffer and lose more market share. Question 1A:  Is WH well positioned in it now and in the future? Not with their current casting process. Clearly, WH’s core competency lies in their ability to produce exactly what the customer needs and then takes that knowledge one step further by producing new products that customers ends up wanting; WH creates demand for their new more profitable products. Moreover, WH links their internal logistical and informational systems with their customers. Basically, WH becomes an extension of their customers. The future for WH would be to outsource some non core activities of their value chain to 3rd parties in the casting foundry industry; perhaps in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, where wages are less and employment is more bountiful. In conclusion, with the current trends in the casting foundry industry, where growth is expected to increase 2% per year in tonnage and 3% per year in value, WH does not have the current structure to capitalize on this growth opportunity. Pricing has also become an issue and they are trying to go head to head with their customers and asking them to pick up the additional surcharges on the price of scrap steel and iron. Moreover, with the additional investment in RD, costs have not decreased. Revenues have been steadily rising, but so have costs and costs have outpaced revenues. This is evident, as WH is expected to lose 6 million in 2004, making it the worst loss in the company’s 4 year history. Question 2:  Is the alternative that WH’s management called â€Å"strategic change† really strategic? Justify you answer. In order to justify the answer, one must first define what strategic change is. According to Joseph N. Fry, one of the authors of Strategic Analysis  and Action he suggests that it is a tool for building, communicating and maintain the direction of the business. As for Lawrence G. Hrebiniak, he suggests that strategic change is all about execution. In his book, Making Strategy Work, he suggested that without a careful, planned approach to execution, strategic goals cannot be attained. Albeit, in both examples above, little reference is made to the actual strategy, but in reality both authors agree that the strategy is important, but the execution of the strategy is key to success. An analogy that can be used to illustrate their point of view would be a golfer that needs to fade a shot around a tree. The strategy has been set, the trajectory of ball flight has been visualized; wind and all other factors have been taken into consideration. What’s left is the actual striking of the ball. However, if the golfers’ core competency is to hit a draw, rather than a fade, the strategy has little to do with the result of the execution. One of WH alternative is to shut down Line 2, reduce employment by 114 workers and increase sales through a radical marketing campaign that started in 2003. However, the radical marketing campaign emphasizes a differentiation strategy as opposed to a price strategy as indicated by Klaas. The key to their current success is WH’s ability to understand their customer’s business needs and create specific casting moulds for them. In addition, WH has been able to develop new products with higher margins for their customers and then sell those products back to their customers; push marketing. By adopting a low cost strategy, rivals in the industry will eventually out price WH and take market share away from them. One of the reasons why WH can be out priced in the market is that their main competitors from Eastern Europe, such as Poland, have a much lower wage structures. To conclude, WH’s alternative does not fit the traditional definition of a strategic change. After reviewing the data and the definition, the answer remains a resolute no. The reason for the decision is that strategic change must take into consideration other aspects of the organization. The changes suggested by Klaas will not delivery the strategy in a controlled manner that is efficient and effective to implement. Strategic management is not about delivering one single project or addressing one particular issue, but a process that governs the entire organization and how the entire  organization is affected by the strategic change (see Diagram 12, above). The so called alternative â€Å"strategic change† in the end will not deliver any real value to the organization, thus further suggesting that this is not a strategic change. Strategic change at the end of the day must deliver real value, not perceived value. In Germany that value takes on the form of a stakeholder, rather than a shareholder. Thus, by simply focusing on profits and ignoring the human costs of the layoffs, WH will not execute this strategy with any conviction or success. Both Fry and Hrebiniak realize that the process is complicated and contains many moving parts. In short, there is no magic bullet. Simply cutting workers and installing automated processes does not guarantee costs reductions and increased revenues. Question 3:  How much â€Å"flexibility† did the company have in dealing with its problem? The reality of the situation is that WH only had perceived flexibility. With economic stagnation, an aging population, tight employment regulations and a shortage of workers, WH has limited flexibility in being able to deal with the problem. Moreover, with the increase in tariffs, raw materials and energy, WH has even less flexibility in addressing their current problem. WH was able to negotiate concessions with the Works Council; however, the concessions came with a hefty price. The Works Council’s goal was to save jobs in the short term for the promise of better pay in the long term. Thus, WH was able to negotiate special agreements to break the current collective agreement. WH negotiated for more free hours, less pay and forgone holidays and vacation pay, but had no control over dismissal’s and working exemptions; the Works Council held the balance of power in these two categories. For example, if employment dropped below 570 permanent employees, the regional tariff rates would come into effect and they did. The Works Council’s position for long term better pay may present a problem with a few of the alternatives being suggested by WH. The Works Council may not approve any of the alternatives that involve significant layoffs and pay reductions. These alternatives are in direct conflict with their own goals and objectives. In conclusion, perceived flexibility is much different than actual flexibility. WH may think they can suggest an alternative that  makes sense for them, but the reality is that without buy in from the Works Council, the strategy will surely fail to execute. Question 4:  What could management do to address the problem? WH management must develop a Strategic Management Process. The new strategic management process is to be undertaken by the executives at WH and GMH. The executives will review and interpret the Germany foundry industry and determine the direction for WH. At this point in the process the executives will set the Corporate Strategy (strategic direction) and priorities, while understanding and taking into consideration resources and budget constraints (see diagram 13, below). The seconds step is to create the â€Å"right† Corporate Structure with the proper incentives and controls to ensure that the Corporate Strategy can be achieved. The final step is to ensure that the Business Units understand the objectives set forth and have the necessary resources in place to achieve their goals and objectives. It is the business unit who is responsible for ensuring that they have the correct skills and capabilities in place in order to achieve the Corporate Strategy. Once the strategic management process has been developed, the next critical step in the process is to formulate a well defined plan that has clear and focused goals and objectives. These goals and objectives must be measurable, attainable and realistic. Moreover, the plan must address how these achievements will affect the overall organization, but more importantly, if the goals and objectives are not meet, what are consequences to the organization. This process must be open and transparent that will ensure that buy in will occur quickly. In conclusion, the execution of these key activities is the heart of any successful strategic management process. In addition, WH must ensure that the Works Council understands that the long term success of WH is in everyone’s best interest. The Works Council’s long term goal is for better pay for its workers, without WH, their goals and objectives will never be realized. Question 5:  What had management done so far? Management has accomplished a lot to date. They sold WH to GMH who had experience in purchasing distressed companies and providing them with fresh equity and motivating their work force. In addition, in 2003, WH implemented a radical marketing plan that increased revenues by approximately 13.6 % in 2004. WH invested heavily in operations, by trying to automate the sand casting process. WH believed that they could further reduce the operating costs by automating a lot of the high touch processes. WH has also outsourced the finishing process, as this is one of the most costly processes in the sand casting process. WH hired a consultant by the name of Knight Wendling who was hired to improve productivity and reduce costs. His first mandate was to get customer to pay a scrap surcharge and eliminate unprofitable products. By the middle of 2004, 91 percent of customers were paying the surcharge and he eliminated 5,000 tonnes of products that were generating low contributions. Finally, in 2004 WH made some major changes to their current management structure and sent out a new message to their workers, that management was looking for fresh ideas that would make a difference. Question 6:  What actions were left open to WH’s management and would they make sense? One action that was left open was continuing with the Radical Marketing Plan that WH started in 2003. The marketing plan would continue to increase sales by 8.2 million and contribution by 5.2 million in 2005. However, one of the major issues with this action was that costs were also increasing and the increase in revenues and contributions was being offset by the rising cost of scrap iron and steel and wages. The rising costs, coupled with WH’s increase in prices were opening the doors to some of their direct competitors in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. This plan would only make sense if they could get the Works Council to increase the number of hours that employee’s could work and reduce the minimum number of workers required, before tariffs are enforced. Moreover, this approach would make sense, if WH could convince the Works Council that their short term objective to keep as many employees as  possible is actually going to hurt their long term goal of better pay for their workers. If WH and the Works Council could overlook their short term objectives and focus on their long term objectives, everyone would be better off. Question 7:  How could it pursue the remaining actions? WH could simply divest the entire operations and payout the 15.3 million owed to the workers ( 25,000 * 612 workers). However, this may not be in the best interest of the entire organization as an environmental assessment must be completed before the land gets rezoned. Worst case scenario, if the land is contaminated the purchaser may request that the seller clean the land before title change and this could cost GMH considerable money. The opportunity cost of closing down the plant would be the 15.3 million, thus the company could take that money and reinvest it into WH. Currently, WH is losing 6.2 million per year, if they continue losing this amount of money, that would buy them 3 additional years and then WH could simply sell the business. WH would have to create a strategic plan that takes into consideration all the options associated with investing additional capital. More so, they will need buy in from the Works Council. Without their buy in strategic plans will prove useless. How to cite Case: Walter Hundhausen Gmbh, Papers