Bernini s Sculpture, The Ecstasy Of St. Teresa And...

The Baroque period saw many influential artists and sculptors, however, for the purpose of this assignment I am going to reflect on the works of Bernini and Caravaggio. Bernini’s sculpture, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa and Caravaggio’s painting, the Crucifixion of St. Peter will be what I am going to discuss. Both artists rose to prominence during the Baroque era by employing the artistic techniques unique to the era and playing into the vast influence the Catholic Church held over creativity of this period. Baroque style can be recognized through its use of vibrant colors, exaggerated movement and with a distortion of traditional shapes. With a countenance that emphasizes theatricality over conservatism, The Baroque style is a direct result of the Catholic reformation that originated in Italy. The Roman Catholic Church suffered the loss of many believers to the new Protestant movement that was jettisoned into motion by Martin Luther’s Theses’. In response to this the Roman Catholics launched the Counter-Reformation spearheaded by the Baroque style. The Baroque style began as a Catholic Revolution and eventually became a movement that carried the same influential power that ignited it. The Baroque period served a duel purpose as both a method of spreading Catholicism and a protest of sorts in response to the idealism and formality of the Renaissance. The Catholic Church was the absolute authority over what was considered acceptable art. Consequently, to be profitable, the bestShow MoreRelatedBaroque Art : Baroque Renaissance1256 Words   |  6 Pagesthe idealism of the Renaissance during the 1400-1530’s and the Mannerism of the 1530-1600’s Baroque art found itself as the dominant style of art during the decade of the 1600-1700’s. The term Baroque derives from the Portuguese ‘barocco’ term, or irregular peal or stone – It describes a fairly complex idiom which originated in Rome and became popular during the time period in which Baroque art was prominent which embraced painting, sculpture and architecture. The Baroque style quite nicely reflectedRead MoreEssay on Howard Hibbards quot;Caravaggioquot;1886 Words   |  8 Page sHoward Hibbards Caravaggio is an insightful look into the troubled mind and life of one of the most discussed artists of all time, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. nbsp;Hibbard immediately expands on his belief that Caravaggio is the most important Italian painter of the entire seventeenth century. nbsp;Furthermore, his paintings speak to us more personally and more poignantly than any others of the time. nbsp;Caravaggio is an artist whose life was far different from all other contemporaryRead MoreJohn Rupert Martins quot;Baroquequot; Essay1140 Words   |  5 PagesCarracci and supported by other artists such as Caravaggio. nbsp;Still, out of all of the artists of the time, Martin believed that Carracci was the one who rescued painting from its sorry plight. nbsp;Martin believed that Caravaggio was a great naturalist during the Baroque and he contributed to the trend of the time. nbsp;Caravaggios chiaroscuro throughout most of his works enabled him to further the idea of realism . nbsp;Still, Caravaggio is able to maintain his own individualism and style

Prostitution of Children and Child Prostitutes Free Essays

PROSTITUTION Prostitution is defined as the act, practice or profession of offering the body for sexual relations for money. (New Webster’s Dictionary 1995:802). The Encyclopedia Americana (1997) defined prostitution as â€Å"the performance of sexual acts with another person in return for the payment of a fee. We will write a custom essay sample on Prostitution of Children and Child Prostitutes or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Child prostitution is therefore, prostitution embarked upon by children who are below the age of 18 and are supposed to be catered for by their parents. It is commonly acknowledged that acts of prostitution are performed by women for men nevertheless occasions arise when the acts are done by men for men. The context of this work deals particularly with female child prostitution. UNICEF considers child prostitutes as young girls in sex trade, who are between the age bracket of 8 and 16. (Jubilee Action Report 1995). In the Nigerian milieu, prostitutes below the age of 18 are regarded as child prostitutes, since only persons above 18 years of age are statutorily regarded as adults. Child prostitution is the â€Å"sexual exploitation of girls and teenagers† (Awake February 8, 2003:6). Available data show that approximately 1. 5million children in India, 1 million in Asia, 100,00 children in United States and 500 children in Latin America are engaged in prostitution (Healy, 1995:35). Awake (February 8,2003:2) reported,â€Å"there were about 300,000 child prostitutes on the streets, in another land where drug trafficking flourishes†. According to Jubilee Action report (1995:10), up to 1 million female children join prostitution each year around the globe. However, the clandestine nature of child prostitution makes it impossible to calculate the exact number of working prostitutes, nonetheless the International Labour Organization (ILO) analysis (1993-1994), estimates that between 0. 25% and 1. 5% of the total female population are engaged in this trade. Globally, child prostitution is illegal and it is also regarded as a barbarous crime, yet it persists. Why? Child prostitution does not just happen. It is caused by a variety of factors some are perpetrated by the prostitutes themselves, while other factors are external to the prostitutes themselves. This is really a growing problem in developed world and developing world like Nigeria (Quintanilla, 1997:20). CAUSES OF CHILD PROSTITUTION IN Owerri Municipal Council 1. Misery and POVERTY: Poverty is the most common reason why most families sell the services of their female children to augment their income in order to buy food or clothes and other necessities of life. (Janssen, 2001:10). The case of child labour is a typical factor that exposes children to prostitution. The hired female children are sent out to hawk food items on the streets, motor parks, and mechanic garages thereby exposing them to rapes as well as sexual harassment s. Barnes H. C. (1959:95) observed that some females take to prostitution due to sheer destitution. Awake (February 8,2003:5) reported that some street children resort to prostitution because they see it as their only means of survival. The Awake further related an experience of a mother of 14-year-old girl who lured her daughter into this ignominious trade. The woman said about her daughter, â€Å"she was beautiful and that men would like her very much. Besides, she would earn a lot of money. † In the evenings, the woman takes her daughter to a motel where they make contacts. The mother stays nearby to receive the payments. Each night, this girl has sex with three or four men. 2. UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment of either the parents or the child results in unreliable source of income thereby forcing children into prostitution as an alternative means of income to support the family. Ironically, the International Labour Organization observes that a child’s ability to earn money is limited. It is estimated that the money earned by the child only contributes to approximately 10% of the family’s overall income and therefore has minimal effect on the family’s monetary gain (Dimenstein, 1994:12). Due to high degree of unemployment, the brothels employ some female children who serve in their drinking spots to promote their business. 3. HUMANS TRAFFICKING: Human trafficking is another evil leading to child prostitution. Human trafficking which represent the world’s third largest criminal activity following only after drug and weapons trafficking is sometimes purported to send teenagers to other countries to work. These would-be workers who sometimes end up prostitutes actually â€Å"work† and repatriate money to their respective home countries (Awake, February 8, 2003: 5). Many times, hard times hit these fellows as they are deported to come and continue this profession at home. Some of the female prostitutes come home to take some younger females to their places either to help them or to make them their servants and at the long run they get converted to prostitution, which is their boss’ profession. 4. DECEPTION ENCOURAGES PROSTITUTION: Pimps or brothel owners deceive some parents by paying them money and assuring to enlist their children in their â€Å"domestic services†, which later turns to be prostitution. These brothel owners who are termed the girl’s â€Å"owners† take control of the child’s’ activities. Moreover, these owners do everything possible to retain these girls who earn money for them to maintain their lavish lifestyle (Robinson, 2001:50) and (Dimenstein 1994:10). Apart from the pimps, other intermediaries who benefit from child prostitution do anything possible to see the act continued. Most females are led into this act of prostitution by their masters. Some of them could be anaesthetized by their masters in order to have fun with them and when eventually the woman of the house gets to know about the act she will be thrown out side to continue the act with other men including the master. 5. DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY ENVIRONMENT PROMOTES PROSTITUTION: Children of broken homes sleep wherever they see space to do so in the day, and go to the disco and nightclubs in the night. Ekejiuba I. K. (1996:13) discovered that ill treatment of children at home might make them to take to the street in order to find solace. Then the end result may be the hawking of their body to support themselves. 6 POOR EDUCATION: Some children cannot support themselves materially in view of low educational training they received, so they resort to prostitution as their only profession (Rodriguez- Garcia, 1999:55). Girl-child Education Initiative In Africa (January 2003:20) highlights the effect of poor education in the whole of Africa. In connection with poor education, peer pressure, bad association The causes and effects of child prostitution in Owerri Municipal Council and street ganging contribute to child prostitution. Identifiably, a girl may end up as a prostitute by her association, peer pressure and by running with a street gang (Okebugwu, 1989:25); Adetore, (1974:60); Oti (1984:15); and Daily Times ( May 15,1999:12). 7. AIDS SCARE PROMOTES CHILD PROSTITUTION: The high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS make customers of prostitutes to look for children who are considered to be of low risk, and most probably virgins (Robinson, 2001:13). Patrons of child prostitutes are willing to pay a great deal of money to be a girl’s first client. In the streets, brothels and drinking spots these days a lot of female children are being employed to help lure more male customers to their spots. Places like Amaram by Tetlow Road and some places in Onyeche Street in Owerri have a high number of female child prostitutes who are employed only to facilitate their business. This is because there is the fear that other older female prostitutes in the same profession could have various STDs. 8. DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION ARE PRO-CHILD PROSTITUTION The influence of drugs can subject a child to prostitution and to certain indignifying acts of prostitution which she may otherwise never agree to given her sound mind (Lewis 1980:70); and Udechi (1987:15). 9. REBELLION AND FEELING OF INDEPENDENCE This is another factor promoting child prostitutions. Some girls are shamelessly bold. What is more, they feel that the body is theirs thus they should decide what to do with their body. (Bennet, G and Robert, P. 1985:207). 10. PORNOGRAPHY AGGRAVATES CHILD PROSTITUTION: Pornography also puts viewers at increased risk for developing sexually deviant tendencies. Awake July 22, 2003:7). Pornography is identified as promoting â€Å"the rape myth† which is a belief that women cause and enjoy rape. Additionally, the repeated use of pornography interferes with the ability to enjoy and participate in normal marital intimacy. Dr. Victor Cline, who specializes in treating sex addiction claims that â€Å"deviant sexual acts results† when a viewer tries to act out the pornography-based fantasies. 11. Incestuous violation and rape in homes as a factor: Some youths were raped in their own homes, which act changed their outlook in life. Some of such ones give vent to prostitution. Two other closely related causes of prostitution are glamor associated with it and insatiable sexual urges in some females. Blag(1976:68) observed that some prostitutes take to this lifestyle because of their innate desire for glamour or that they want to maintain a standard of life, which is impossible by ordinary means of earning, a life reminiscent of Greek aether. On the other hand, Ekejiuba(1996:14) identified other females, nymphomaniacs, who engage in prostitution for the sake of â€Å"fun† or pleasure they derive from it. 2 SUDDEN EXPOSURE: Furthermore, illicit love affairs in the presence of children may subject them to early prostitution. Some parents perform extra marital affairs in the presence of their wards. This exposes the children to early sex life. The premature death of one or both of the parents has also been discovered as one of the causes of child prostitution. Because of the chasm created by such loss, a teena ge girl may be fraught with the onerous task of catering for herself and other family members. More importantly, no one may exist to give stern guideline on her. One Owerri girl who returned from Kumasi Ghana claimed that her father died when she was eight years. This demise of his father left her with the responsibility of catering for her younger siblings and her mother who hails from Kumasi, Ghana. These challenges make her to dabble into prostitution. Child prostitution is not without its consequences, some of which are seemingly pardonable, whereas others are taboo at mere mention of them. High patronage of child prostitutes by wealthy men is another factor that has caused and sustained child prostitution ( Ekejiuba 1996: 13). Some teenage girls find it difficult to resist the temptation of prostitution because of huge sum of money they receive there-from. This accounts for why some IMSU, Alvan and FUTO ladies readily avail themselves for this business. Marxist oriented scholars see prostitution as an outgrowth of capitalism. Many of these see the gradual removal of subsidy from petroleum, which is the main balance of Nigerian economy as exposing many persons to difficulty and leading to sexual promiscuity. How to cite Prostitution of Children and Child Prostitutes, Essay examples

Global Business Strategy for Multinational

Question: Discuss about the Global Business Strategy for Multinational. Answer: Introduction It is important for any organisation to analyse the risk of entering and carrying operations in a foreign country before expanding its business over the international market. The analysis of risk and challenges helps to plan strategies that can be used to enter a new market beyond the geographical boundaries of the domestic market (Wrona and TrƦpczyÅ„ski, 2012). Currently, the increased intervention of the government and changing policies in the pharmaceutical industry makes it difficult for any organisation operating in this industry to carry on its business (Hanefeld, 2012). On the other hand, pharmaceutical industry is growing at a high pace across the globe that makes it essential for any domestic business to expand its business in the overseas market. The paper has been developed to conduct an analysis of risk and challenge of two potential overseas markets namely South Africa and China for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd. The study focuses on evaluating four risk factors such as commercial risks, financial risks, country risks and cross-cultural risks to choose the most suitable market for the company to expand its business. Furthermore, a proper justification has been provided on the choice of the best overseas market for the company. The paper also presents the market entry mode or strategy that must be used by the Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd to begin with its global operations. Background to the Company Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd is one of the most famous Australian pharmaceutical products manufacturing companies, was established by Euan and Kaye Murdoch in the year 1972. The pharmaceuticals product manufacturing firm was originally set up from Herron Industries that is owned by Perrigo in the current business scenario (Herron.com.au, 2016). Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd has featured a vast range of pharmaceutical products that is a lot more comfortable for the target demographics in Australia. The pharmaceutical products such as paracetamol and Ibuprofen combination medical drugs can be identified as the best achievements for the organisation. Largely depending on the Research and Development (RD) team of the group, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd has marketed joint pain relief formulation such as OsetoEze and an entire range of vitamin formulated medicines specifically directed towards kids. Since, the handover of the pharmaceutical corporation to Mr Murdoch in 1982, the organ isation has never looked back (Herron.com.au, 2016). At the present scenario, the organisation has been identified as one of the giants of Australian biotech and pharmaceutical industry headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. As one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of Australian pharmaceutical industry, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd deals in medication and treatment for arthritis, cholesterol, prostate insomnia, constipation, acne and other general health issues in the Australian market. The RD team of the pharmaceutical product manufacturing firm has activity working on new drug patents promoting the healthy life of the target demographics (Perri, Scalera and Mudambi, 2015). Notably, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd is a subsidiary of Sigma Pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, the Australian pharmaceutical firm wants to be globalised to serve the people of other countries as well. Analysis of Risks and Challenges In the case of the globalisation of Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, four essential risk factors such as commercial risks, financial risks, country risks and cross-cultural risks of the two identified possible target markets must have been discussed to justify the selection of the right target market. Meanwhile, in the underlying section, a discussion of the identified risks and challenges in South African and China pharmaceuticals market has been drawn. Risks and Challenges in South Africa South Africa is identified as the most crucial market for any pharmaceutical organisation in the African Continent. An analysis of the four identified risks and challenges of the South African context has been briefed herein. Commercial Risks: South Africa is a potential market for pharmaceutical organisation because of lower number of competitors in the market. It is the largest pharmaceutical market in the African Continent. It can be seen through the statistical reports that the pharmaceutical sale in the year 2015 in South Africa is around $3.4 billion. It is estimated the sales figure will grow up to $3.84 billion by the end of 2020 that will make 1.17 percent of the total GDP of the nation (Overcoming barriers to medicines production through South-South co-operation in Africa, 2013). It can be seen through market research that the current market leaders operating in South African lacks adequate funding which acts as a great opportunity for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd to expand its business in South Africa (Ziervogel, Archer van Garderen and Price, 2016). Hence, the absence of high level of competition provides a better opportunity to grow pharmaceutical business in the country. Currency (Financial) Risks: The variation in the valuation of currency is an important factor that increases the risk of business in the international market. The current market valuation shows that one Australian Dollar is equal to 10.51 South African Rand. Hence, investing $10 million in South African market will provide the business with a valuation of 105.1 million ZAR (Majumdar, 2015). Hence, a fluctuation in the currency value of South Africa will not impact the Australian investment on a high level. In other words, the financial risk reduces due to the high variation of values of currency between the two countries. Australia is on a higher side in term of valuation of currency, which reduces the financial risk for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd. Country Risks: The labour market of South Africa is at its weakest point with 26.7 percent unemployment rate. Hence, the number of unemployment population provides the company with an opportunity to hire employees at low salary scale. On the other hand, the spending of people on healthcare has increased to $28.18 billion which is expected to increase more in the upcoming future. South African can be identified as a potential market in terms of economic prospects (Rodriguez-Monguio and Seoane-Vazquez, 2014). But, considering the political instability in the country, the risk level increases for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd because of the chances in changes of political power in the country (Swilling, 2014). It is expected the changes of political power will impact the business policies that may negatively impact the pharmaceutical industry of South Africa. Cross-Cultural Risks: South Africa is a mixed cultural country that has different official languages spoken by the people belonging to different regions. Hence, the communication gap may be a potential risk for the company. But, the influence of English people over the Africans in major business regions mitigates the level of risk that arises from difference in culture. Risks and Challenges in China An analysis of the four identified risks and challenges of the Chinese context has been briefed herein. Commercial Risks: Though the Chinese drug market is a massive industry, the generics have expected to dominate the market. According to the data sources, the generic drugs revenue is increasing in a staggered pattern to RMB 614.8 billion since 2007-2015. Moreover, the domestic pharmaceutical firms have relied upon innovation patenting drugs at a significant pace (The next phase: Opportunities in China's pharmaceuticals market, 2011). Therefore, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd may find it tough to compete in the Chinese market. Also, the pricing of generics is significantly low showing the RD capabilities and government spending to the public. Hence, in near term, there are significant commercial risks attached to marketing pharmaceutical products of Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd in the China market (Luthans, Doh and Hodgetts, 2012). Currency (Financial) Risks: Understandably, the structural differences of currency can be one of the major factors in determining prices of drugs in the Chinese market. Apparently, the China pharmaceutical industry is full of domestic drug manufacturers and distributors. As a result of the competitive market scenario, at the initial phase, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd may have to suffer massive losses leading to undefined financial risks in near terms if the management selects China as the target market (Jiang, Wang and Yan, 2011). Also, the cost of licensing of pharmaceutical products and distribution will be significantly higher in China leading to further financial challenges. Country Risks: The National Drug Distribution system and government reforms can be identified as the major country based risks in the Chinese market. As the Chinese pharmaceutical industry is a well-developed market already, there are fewer chances to expand for a new organisation (Yin, 2011). First, of the all, the top three domestic pharmaceutical commerce organisations such as Guangdong Jiuzhoutong Pharmaceutical, Sinopharm Group, and Shanghai Pharmaceutical have occupied 20 percent of market share of the industry showing the tough fight among the competitors in the domestic market (Ahn, 2010). Also, the government drug reforms and health reforms promote generics at the high level that can be considered as one of the negative factors for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd operations management in China. Cross-cultural Risks: Cross-cultural differences among the Australian and Chinese population can be recognised as another vital risk in operations management (Reuvid, 2008). The language, marketing concepts, business standards and etiquette have been somewhat distinct in Australia and China. Hence, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltds management can find it difficult to manage the workforce and executives in the Chinese market. Analysis and Justification for selecting South Africa The above analysis of risk and challenges in both the nations shows that South Africa is a better market for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd to expand its business as compared to the Chinese market. South Africa is a developing nation with a higher potential to grow economically. Furthermore, the level of unemployment in the nation provides Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd with employees at lower price (Buckley and Ghauri, 2015). Hence, the recurring cost of the company reduces, if it decides to expand its business in the African market. Furthermore, the people of South Africa are friendlier to English people because of the presence of English origin people in the country. Hence, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd will receive a better welcome from the South African population as compared to the Chinese market. Considering the economic factors of the South African market for the pharmaceutical industry, it can be seen that South Africa is a growing market for pharmaceutical products. The increasing spending on health and low level of competition provides a better opportunity in the South African market (Anderson, 2010). On the other hand, Chinese people mainly use organic products in more quantity as compared to artificially made medicines. Along with that, South Africa has a well established pharmaceutical manufacturing industry that is supported with foreign investment. Hence, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd can easily enter the South African market using joint venture or directly owned subsidiary mode (Review Editor, 2012). The per capita spending of Africans on health products is higher than the Chinese that provides an attractive operating environment in the South African market. Along with that, the level of currency risk is also lower in the case of South African market as compared to the Chinese market that makes South Africa a more suitable market for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd to expand its business in the overseas market. The proposed entry mode/strategy for South Africa On the basis of South Africas social, demographic and economic context, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd has selected the pharmaceuticals industry of the country for globalisation perspective. Being one of the developed economies to a certain level, healthcare expenditure and government spending has surged in South Africa (Kyle, 2007). Understandably, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd management need to identify the most sustainable entry mode to explore the pharmaceuticals market of the target economy. Based on capitalisation, collaborative entry strategy will be more acceptable than individual effort in order to penetrate the developing pharmaceuticals market in South Africa (Vogel, 2012). By identifying the market opportunities, target demographics profile, healthcare regulations and pharmaceuticals regulations in South Africa, joint ventures with domestic pharmaceutical product manufacturers and distributors operate in South African market can be considered as the best entry mode for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd. In this way, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd management can have a better understanding of the aggregated market demand of the pharmaceutical products offered to the target demographics (Biggadike, 2009). Meanwhile, such collaborative efforts with the leading pharmaceutical companies operating in the target market can provide significant distribution and marketing channels for Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd. Evidently, the value chain of the domestic Pharma companies can be utilised by the management to evaluate the untapped potential at the highest standards. By introducing distinct distribution agreements with leading South African pharmaceutical companies such as Meda Pharma South Africa Pty Ltd, JSE Limited, and Roche Products Pty Ltd, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd of Australia can lead to extensive market penetration (Viviers et al., 2014). Moreover, the affirmative business relationship standards with the domestic companies can provide a better market understanding so that low-priced drugs can be distributed within the system. Decisively, the joint venture with domestic companies can be helpful to understand the healthcare reforms, drug regulations, IPR protection laws, tax exemption to the foreign organisation in a better process (Biggadike, 2016). Moreover, Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltds RD team can work according to the demand confront of the target market patenting new drugs effective for the target demographics. The rising healthcare consciousness and improving marketing structure in the target market can be defined according to the standards of the South African market. Herein, the joint venture and certain distribution agreements of drugs with the famous local brands can be effectively utilised by Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd to minimise the cost of marketing and product distribution (Javalgi and Wright, 2013). Also, the cost of inventory and purchasing system can be controlled in a significant order using the inventory system of the domestic corporations. Conclusion The contemporary business scenario of Herron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd has promoted the essence of globalisation for significant profitability. The functions and capital structure of the organisation have also supported the decision of the management to spread the business to another foreign market. Through the identification of the existing business environment of the Chinese and South African pharmaceutical industries, it can be said that the South African market will be so much valid for better business regimes of the firm. Moreover, in order explore the business in the target market joint venture entry mode and significant distribution agreements with local pharmaceutical companies will be adequate for improved market penetration. Such decisive decision-making can reduce the cost of management and marketing. Additionally, the joint venture tactics will share the four identified risks so that the risks will be managed in an efficient way. Furthermore, the operational management of H erron Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd in the target market will be equally supported by the market experience of the domestic firms promoting sustainable business growth model. References Ahn, M. (2010). Developing a Profitable Market Share Strategy for Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies in China.Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing Management, 13(3), pp.1-29. Anderson, T. (2010). Tide turns for drug manufacturing in Africa.The Lancet, 375(9726), pp.1597-1598. Biggadike, E. (2009).Corporate diversification. Boston: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University. Biggadike, E. (2016).Entry, strategy and performance. Buckley, P. and Ghauri, P. (2015).International business strategy. Hanefeld, J. (2012). Patent rights vs patient rights: intellectual property, pharmaceutical companies and access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.Fem Rev, 72(1), pp.84-92. Herron.com.au. (2016).Paracetamol, Vitamin Supplements More | About Herron | Herron Pharmaceuticals. [online] Available at: https://www.herron.com.au/about-us [Accessed 2 Sep. 2016]. Javalgi, R. and Wright, R. (2013). An international market entry model for pharmaceutical companies: A conceptual framework for strategic decisions.Journal of Medical Marketing, 3(4), pp.274-286. Jiang, Y., Wang, Y. and Yan, X. (2011). Chinese pharmaceutical companies: an emerging industry.Drug Discovery Today, 6(12), pp.610-612. Kyle, M. (2007). Pharmaceutical Price Controls and Entry Strategies.Review of Economics and Statistics, 89(1), pp.88-99. Luthans, F., Doh, J. and Hodgetts, R. (2012).International management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Majumdar, R. (2015). Entry Strategy of the Indian Pharmaceutical Companies in Africa, CIS and the Middle East.SSRN Electronic Journal. Overcoming barriers to medicines production through South-South co-operation in Africa. (2013).Supporting Strategic Leadership in Global Health Diplomacy in ECSA, 34, pp.1-4. Perri, A., Scalera, V. and Mudambi, R. (2015). Exploring the International Connectivity of Chinese Inventors in the Pharmaceutical Industry.SSRN Electronic Journal. Reuvid, J. (2008).Business insights, China. London: Kogan Page. Review Editor, B. (2012). US Licensing Strategy of Small and Mid-Sized European Pharmaceutical Companies.PharmaDeals Review, 2002(27). Rodriguez-Monguio, R. and Seoane-Vazquez, E. (2014). Pharmaceutical Companies Pricing Strategies After Generic Entry Into The New Zealand Market.Value in Health, 17(3), pp.A13-A14. Swilling, M. (2014). Rethinking the sciencepolicy interface in South Africa: Experiments in knowledge co-production.SAJS, 110(5/6), pp.1-7. The next phase: Opportunities in China's pharmaceuticals market. (2011).National Industry Program. Viviers, W., Lubbe, M., Steenkamp, E. and Olivier, D. (2014). The Identification Of Realistic Export Opportunities For The South African Pharmaceutical Industry.International Business Economics Research Journal (IBER), 13(2), p.231. Vogel, R. (2012). Pharmaceutical patents and price controls.Clinical Therapeutics, 24(7), pp.1204-1222. Wrona, T. and TrƦpczyÅ„ski, P. (2012). Re-explaining international entry modes Interaction and moderating effects on entry modes of pharmaceutical companies into transition economies.European Management Journal, 30(4), pp.295-315. Yin, H. (2011). Merger and Acquisition Activity in the Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry.JMCP, 7(2), pp.166-167. Ziervogel, G., Archer van Garderen, E. and Price, P. (2016). Strengthening the knowledge-policy interface through co-production of a climate adaptation plan: leveraging opportunities in Bergrivier Municipality, South Africa.Environment and Urbanization.

Them It is more noble to die with integrity than Essay Example For Students

Them: It is more noble to die with integrity than Essay it is to compromise ones principle in order to live. Danforth: I say, will you confess yourself, Goody Nurse? Rebecca: Why it is a lie, it is a lie;; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot. Arthur Millers, The Crucible, was a play with many themes. As Rebecca shows in the above quote and Miller proves throughout the play that it is more noble to die with integrity than it is to compromise ones principle in order to live. We will write a custom essay on Them: It is more noble to die with integrity than specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Body: A. Rebecca Nurse 1. Wouldnt confess 2. Died with dignity B. John Procter 1. Wouldnt sign a written confession 2. Died With dignity C. Giles Cory 1. Got Pressed to death because he wouldnt confess 2. Died with Dignity The martyrilistic leaning of the Crucibles main protagonists works to give the play a commitment to the noble sacrifice. It draws many parables that evoke the puritanical beliefs that is still present, to some extent in the modern American. The Crucible gives us a looking glass into the shaping of a facet of the modern day American Culture. .

Why computers are useful essays

Why computers are useful essays What is a computer? A Computer is an electronic device that can receive a set of instructions, or program, and then carry out this program by performing calculations on numerical data or by compiling and correlating other forms of information. Computers have been part of this world for a very long time since 1936. The first programmable computer that was made in 1936 was by Konrad Zuse. Since the first computer was made technology has developed extremely. Computers have played an amazing role in our world. When computers started to first come out in the United States barely anybody had a computer. Nowadays almost everybody has a computer even if its in their home or in their office. The use of computers has been widely spread throughout the entire world. Computers are now so advanced that they are being used for almost everything. More and more areas are being taken over by the computer. Today the computers and new innovation like the Internet has changed the business world and ev en our daily lives. The computer has made everybodys life easier. Computers are very good because they are useful in schools, useful for making movies, useful in banks, and they are even useful for communication. One of the main places computers have been most useful in is in schools. Students and teachers in schools are now using computers for many reasons. Some of those reasons are from writing papers, researching certain information, keeping grades, and also keeping attendance. One of the main reasons why computers are being put in schools is because of the students. Computers are being put in schools so that students can do certain tasks they cannot do without a computer such as typing a paper or searching certain information for a project. One day our teacher assigned us to do a paper on a certain topic. I really didnt know much about this topic so I went to one of the computers in my school and researched the topic so that I would ...

What is Black Economy

What is Black Economy What Is the Black Economy? If you need a similar essay feel free to  ask our writers for help! The Black Economy is a significant but difficult to measure part of almost every economy in the world. Depending on the source, â€Å"black economy† is taken to mean that part of the economy that involves illegal and criminal activity, such as the trade in drugs or smuggled goods. However, the term is also used interchangeably with terms such as shadow economy, informal economy, or underground economy. Whether it involves illicit activity or not, the black economy has four key characteristics: It is a cash-based economy and is isolated from the banking system. It may feature its own sophisticated system of credit. It exists outside a country’s business regulation framework. It is usually difficult if not impossible for the government to track, and therefore is untaxable. It is not reflected in the country’s GDP or GNI statistics, though it may be a very large part of the economy. How large is the black economy? For years, the International Monetary Fund has estimated that around 30% of the global economy is â€Å"informal†; the figure is higher in poor and developing countries, and lower – but still exists at a significant level – in first-world countries. More recent studies, in particular, one done by a researcher at Bogazici University (Turkey) in 2012 using several sophisticated statistical models, give slightly lower estimates of about 22%. The black economy is largest in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, accounting for between 38 and 40 percent of those economies, and smallest in the OECD countries at slightly less than 18%. The black economy is also said to be counter-cyclical, that is, growing when the formal economy shrinks; since 1960 the size of the black economy gradually declined in most of the world but began to grow rapidly again from 2008, after the onset of the global financial crisis. The Link Between the Black Economy and Poverty The black economy is obviously larger in poorer, less-developed countries, and the link between poverty and the â€Å"informal† economy was established in two important reports published by the International Labour Organisation in 1972-1973, which characterized the development of a black economy as an outcome of survival strategies by impoverished people, most often those migrating into cities in search of economic opportunities. The ILO drew the significant (for that time) conclusion that the black economy should be considered an integral rather than complementary or marginal part of the economy but considered the existence of a large black economy as still being evidence of poverty. You may be interested in: From Boom to Bust: Financial Crisis of 2008 Currency Exchange Rates and Management What is Fiat Money? Financial Rewards Are the Only Way to Gain Employee Loyalty Money Makes the World Go Around The reasoning behind this assertion is that while a black economy can grow and actually provide fairly stable livelihoods for a lot of people, its extralegal nature prevents small entrepreneurs from growing beyond a certain point, and keeps individual workers from entering the formal job market and financial system. The ILO prescription for correcting the problem of the black economy growing in countries where unemployment and low economic output persisted was to address what the organization saw as its root causes: Excess labor supply, undercapitalization of the business sector, and a lack of skills and accessible technology. By providing educational, financial, and technical resources, it was thought, much of the black economy could be transferred to the formal economy. That was a nice idea, but in most countries, it did not work. In his 2000 book The Mystery of Capital, author Hernando de Soto explains that the ILO misread the real problems that led to the growth of a black economy. In most countries, according to de Soto’s research, the informal economic sector actually has a great amount of technical, financial, and skill resources, and the evidence of it should be instantly recognizable. After all, the full spectrum of economic activity, even if only in rough forms, is represented in the black economy, which would not be possible without the existence of the very resources the ILO believed were lacking. In de Soto’s view, simply providing more resources through training programs, housing assistance, conditional cash transfer programs, health care, and similar initiatives simply adds wealth to the black economy system and allows it to flourish, making it even harder to ‘correct’. The real solution, de Soto asserts, is n ot to provide resources but to correct institutional and regulatory structures that keep black economy resources isolated from the mainstream economy by introducing legal reforms that encourage contract enforcement, statutory and tax legalization of businesses, and strong protections of property rights. To some degree, this direction is already being followed in many parts of the world. The growth of microfinance programs, particularly in South Asia and Latin America, have in the past couple decades given more people access to the mainstream financial system by providing credit and savings. Microfinance programs also have an added advantage for governments, in that they permit at least some of the people in the black economy to be tracked, accounted for in economic calculations, and taxed. Another initiative that has grown in some parts of the black economy, particularly among agricultural workers and their families, is the growth of cooperatives. While an individual small farmer or sharecropper might only produce barely above a subsistence level of output and find himself marginalized from opportunities to formalize his business, gathering many of these people together into a cooperative gives them access to a formal business structure, and as a result, credit and other resources t o help them expand their economic activity. Despite progress in some areas, however, as the growth of the world’s black economy after 2008 showed, it is still a persistent and widespread part of global society, one which is highly sensitive to changes in economic conditions. Part of its longevity can be attributed to its attractiveness; living and working under circumstances where one is not troubled by pesky laws or taxes is not an unappealing concept. So while governments will continue to strive to reduce the black economy, it is unlikely it will ever disappear entirely. Read more about it:  Hernando De Soto, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York: Basic Books, 2000.

Event Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Event Management - Assignment Example The purpose of fundraising is usually organized by an individual or a social organization for non-profit purposes. However, fundraising is also used to obtain funds from potential entities that are capable of investing money in the interests of an organization typically for financing some strategic operation in which case, the practice of fundraising indicates towards a for-profit motive. There are a number of ways in which fundraising is usually organized. The first and the foremost among them is by way of an annual endowment that is usually received from either a governmental agency or a financial institution. Such an endowment is usually given on a periodic basis whenever the beneficiary has invested money on a prior basis so as to entitle it to receive such a periodic financial return. This form of fundraising is usually adopted by non-profit organizations in order to ensure a periodic flow of income that helps the organizations to perform its yearly activities (L. Peter Edles, 2006). There is also another form of fundraising, which is different fr... For example, a non-profit entity may sell devotional books in order to generate the necessary funds. It is also not uncommon to see banners in stores which say that a part of the proceeds would go towards the benefit of war veterans. This not only helps boost sales, but ensures that the intended target audience benefits in the end. There is also another form of fundraising wherein the organization that is to receive funds, does not receive it in the form of monetary funds, but rather some gifts are donated to it, in which case it is known as an 'In-kind gift'. The practice of fundraising is nowadays being vigorously being carried out over the internet too. Thus, it can be seen that the fundraising is carried out for a number of purposes by a number of entities for both profit and non-profit purposes (Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay, 2004). SPONSORS The concept of sponsorship is another important aspect of event management, wherein it is concerned with receiving financial and other forms of support from an individual or an organization in order to organize an event. Apart from supporting events, sponsorship is also utilized for supporting individuals as well as organizations that are in need of funds and are themselves unable to generate it on their own. Under sponsorship, the individual or organizations that arranges for providing the required assistance is referred to as a 'Sponsor'. Therefore, a sponsor would either have the necessary financial backing or the requisite capability to provide support such as personnel, infrastructure etc. or a combination of both. Unlike a fundraiser, a sponsorship is an activity that is intended to benefit both the Sponsor as well as the entity that receives the funds from the

Ethical styiles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical styiles - Essay Example Ethics of care takes into consideration the effect that a decision may have on immediate individuals. As a leader I would not put into play policies or rules that may harm individuals or cause them suffering. This is because this approach is flexible and caring and it can respond to changing environments. As compared to the justice approach, it can be applied in life since once cannot use rigid rules as there are some exceptional situations that may arise. This approach can be applied in the management of a firm as it is sensitive to the consequences of decisions to individuals. In fact it considers consensus building an important aspect and it also emphasizes on people doing things out of their own interest rather than being forced (Kovac, 2012). Studies carried out previously suggest that purpose is a great motivator just like profit in any business (Landau, 2010). Therefore this calls the need for leaders to put the interests of their employees at heart. This entails not hurting them through setting rigid rules that may make them suffer. This will create a sense of belonging on the part of the employees thus they will try their level best to ensure that the business is successful as they will take it as their own. As a leader I will therefore involve all my employees in decision making process so that they pass the rules themselves. This will help them work as per the rules that they will have set on their own. It will have also put their interests in consideration as they will tend to make rules that fit their own

Biocentric Ethics Essay Example for Free

Biocentric Ethics Essay Biocentric Ethics Analysis There have been debates about GMO’s for decades. While farmers fight for their land and the continuance to produce, farmers were given the option to plant seeds that are genetically modified. The seeds in turn would grow more crops and last longer. The compulsion on the farmers to make ample crops and try to help world hunger would not just cost more for them, but it can also cause lack of trust between the suppliers and the consumers that in turn can lead to law suits, as well. Genetically engineered tomatoes helped reduce the standard methods used to prep, make, and grow crops in 1986. The method made the tomatoes resilient to various herbicides. Farmers started to use bacillus thuringiensis which is an insect killer, in the plants. This did not seem to concern the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Department of Agriculture (DOA) about the new technology. In 1990 when â€Å"Forbes article â€Å"The Lesser of Two Weevils† was released stating â€Å"that cotton farmers in the United States had put 100 million pounds of agricultural chemicals on their crop each year for the last several years† (Newton, Dillingham, Choly, 2006) the media went bonkers over this information. This caused controversy with the growers, distributors, and the media, arguing whether the altered crops will pose a threat to humans and the ecosystem. Countries we not happy with the carelessness and handling of the crops from the United States. Particularly, Germany did not agree with the United States methods. Other countries that did not use the genetically altered method reported traces of the chemicals in their crops. This transfer usually happens by the weather conditions. Changing of the seasons has many scientists believe the chemical transfer through rain and snow, possibly through insects, wildlife, and plants. When man interferes we must take into consideration of how the altered chemicals may travel and how it could be consumed by humans. Also, the ecosystem that includes the consumers, the sun, and the decomposers becomes fragile. When man changes  the DNA of plants it alters Mother Nature work and the ramifications can be irreversible, but can take many years to dis cover. Furthermore, there has been an increase of obesity that is said to be due to the modifications and hormones in the food. People become perplexed when there is a discussion of GMO’s and non-GMO’s trying to understand the difference and what can be patented. â€Å"The preferred approach of the industry has been to use compositional comparisons between GMO and non-GMO crops. When they are not significantly different the two are regarded as â€Å"substantially equivalent,† and, therefore, the GMO food crop is regarded as safe as its conventional counterpart (Arpad, 2001).† When genetically engineered bacteria was thought to enhance the hormones in cows and provide increased milk was claimed by Monsanto, the United Nations did not agree and people began to wonder if the genetically modified foods was a good thing after all. People pay attention to how much money they will make, and will try any new technology, rather than think or care about the dangers these things may pose. Stories showed on TV and aired on the radio on how many farmers lost their farms due to lack of crops from droughts, insects, and no rain, destroying crops. Many people showed empathy for these farmers knowing how tough they have it. There are songs that were made e.g., Rain on a scarecrow, for these historical moments and what our forefathers did in order to survive. There are some advantages to point out that the third world countries have with the use of genetically modified foods, such as the rice it could have more minerals and vitamins, which helps alleviate nutrient deficiencies. E.g., lack of vitamin A can cause blindness. Golden rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A) (Whitman, 2000)† was created by some researchers at an institute Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (SFIT) for plant sciences. The disadvantages of GMO’s are that there is no regulation to distribution. It is not a requirement to label the foods, so how do we know what we are eating? Without labeling or regulations how do we know if the food is safe for us to eat? This is when we have to think of health concerns like allergies because genetically modified foods potentially can cause allergic reactions in most people. Out of all the disputes on what may be right or wrong, or what should be used on the crops and or seeds, there is still a question, can the insects land the on chemically altered plants, then travel to other plants dropping any  substances that would interfere with the other plants that are not genetically modified? References Newton, Dillingham, Choly, Lisa H, Catherine K, Joanne (2006). Watersheds 4. Thompson Wadsworth. Whitman, Deborah B (2000). Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?. Retrieved from http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php Pusztai, Arpad (2001). Scarcity of Safety tests. Retrieved from Genetically Modified Foods: Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health? Retrieved from http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html

Free Essays - A Lesson Before Dying :: Lesson Before Dying Essays

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, the main character, Grant Wiggins gives a man meaning in his last days alive. Wiggins gives him a book to write his thoughts in, and helps him to realize that he is not a â€Å"hog.† He shows him that he is truly a good person, and that he should die with his head up, knowing that he led a worthy and honest life. Mr. Wiggins changed greatly through the story, from a cold school teacher to an open hearted and caring man. This helped his relationship with others as well as Jefferson. Through his changing, he became the one man that Jefferson could trust. In a rural town in Louisiana in the late 1940's a poorly educated young black man, Jefferson, is in the wrong place at the wrong time: he is in a bar with two friends when they murder the white bartender. Jefferson is unfairly convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair by a white judge and jury. His defense lawyer, in an attempt to ward off the death sentence, labels him a "hog"--and it is this label that Jefferson's godmother wants disproved. She enlists the help of a plantation school teacher, Grant Wiggins, who at first isn’t too keen on the idea of helping a crook. Wiggins agrees to talk with Jefferson only out of a sense of duty--he is an unhappy, angry man who dreamt of escape from his deprived childhood yet returned to his hometown after a university education to teach in the same one-room parish school he attended. Despite humiliation at the hands of the white sheriff, Jefferson's lack of cooperation, and his own sense of futility and uncertain faith, Wiggins forges a bond with Jefferson that leads to wisdom and courage for both. At first, Jefferson sees himself as a hog, and nothing but a hog. It takes Wiggins much time and strength to convince him that he should live his last days with pride and dignity. Jefferson looks at the entire situation as his fault and will only do what Miss Emma and Tante Lou see fit for him to do. â€Å"If that’s what they want, Jefferson said.† â€Å"No, not what they want; what you want, says Grant†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"If that’s what they want, I’m go’n die anyhow, says Jefferson.†(p.135) Wiggins begins his teaching as he has taught for years, which is not allowing it to change his life.

Living Alone Essay

At some point in our lives we must all grow up. Growing up usually involves moving out on one’s own and beginning one’s journey to adulthood. Amongst the many aspects of becoming an adult, with adulthood often comes living alone. Living alone is not easy but it’s a part of growing up. There are often times in my life that I wish I never had to grow up. To live alone can have both advantages and disadvantages and it isn’t the best decision for everyone. There can be many advantages to living alone. When one lives alone he/she can dictate his/her life as he/she sees fit. One does not have to consider another person’s preferences when it comes to food, chores, nor entertainment. An especially important advantage of living alone is also the fact that you learn independence and responsibility because you must remember about paying bills on time or about doing your own shopping for your own necessities. You learn to take care of yourself and not depend on others to do things for you. Despite the many advantages of living on your own there are still quite a few disadvantages. When you live alone you are actually alone. It can be especially difficult for those whom enjoy a lot of social interaction because quite honestly, living alone gets lonely. Having a place of your own requires a lot of responsibility. When you are on your own you don’t have anyone to help you. Help with chores, cooking, and especially financial needs can definitely be the deal breaker on whether or not one can actually handle living alone. Living alone is not meant for the faint of heart. There are people in society who find it quite difficult to not have companionship. Some people do not want to make any compromise and deliberately choose to live alone. I believe that anyone can adjust without companionship after some time. As a young women living on my own I find it most difficult to maintain a work, school, and social life balance. I have to work often to afford my bills. When I am not working I am attending school. There isn’t much time left for a social life. Truth is living alone is not easy. There are both good and bad sides to being on your own. A person shouldn’t move out on his/her own unless he/she is committed to being responsible. Despite all the good and the bad aspects there is no doubt that one must learn responsibility in order to live alone. One must make sacrifices and prioritize one’s life accordingly. Growing is never going to be easy but it can be worth the entire struggle.

Computer Role in Entertainment & the Arts

Computer Role in Entertainment & the Arts How will my leisure activities be affected by information technology? Information technology is being used for all kinds of entertainment, ranging from video games to telegambling. It is also being used in the arts, from painting to photography. Let's consider just two examples, music and film. Computers, the internet, and the World Wide Web are standing the system of music recording and distribution on its head and in the process are changing the financial underpinnings of the music industry.Because of their high overhead, major record labels typically need a band to sell half a million CDs in order to be profitable, but independent bands, using online marketing, can be reasonably successful selling 20,000 or 30,000 albums. Team Love, a small music label established in 2003, found it could promote its first two bands, Tilly and the Wall and Willy Mason, by offering songs online free for (Dowloading—transferring data from a remote comp uter to one's own computer—so that people could listen to them before paying $12 for a CD.It also puts videos online for sharing and uses quirky websites to reach fans. â€Å"There's something exponential going on,† says one of Team Love's founders. â€Å"The more music that's downloaded, the more it sells. â€Å"‘† Many independent musicians are also using the internet to get their music heard, hoping that giving away songs will help them build audiences/*4 The web also offers sources for instantly downloadable sheet music. One research engineer has devised a computerized scoring system for judging musical competitions that overcomes the traditional human-jury approach, which can he swayed by personalities and. olyphonicHMI and a Spanish company, PolyphonicHMI, has created Hit Song Science software, which they say can analyze the hit potential of new songs by, according to one description, â€Å"reference to a finely parsed universe of attributes derive d from millions of past songs. † As for movies, now that blockbuster movies routinely meld live action, and animation, computer artists are in big demand. The 1999 film Star Wars: Episode /, for instance, had fully 1,965 digital shots out of about 2,200 shots.Even when film was used, it was scanned into computers to be tweaked with animated effects, lighting, and the like. Entire beings were created on computers by artists working on designs developed by producer George Lucas and his chief artist. computers as a source of entertainment as well as amusement Answer The sources of entertainment has evolved down the ages. But human beings search for entertainment and things that could amuse him or her has been existing since time immemorial. One of the latest form of entertainment for the present civilization is computers.With inbuilt and loaded computer games, availability of softwares which allow you to paint, listen to music, watch videos, movies and also allow you to create mu sic or videos or movies; computer has really become a major source of entertainment for the people who are computer savvy or at least computer literate. Other than this, the obvious source of entertainment on computers is the internet which not just connects you to the rest of the world but also allows you to find your amusement right at home.Chat rooms allow us to connect with like minded people and discuss with them about our favourite topics. Messengers also allow us to connect to your friends across the world and talk to them. Websites which carry news and other matters related to entertainment become a major source. Online games allow us to play with other people who have access to that game in a virtual world, while we are all seated in our own room in front of our PCs. Innumerable examples of internet as an entertainment source can be quoted.Now with Microsoft and Google promising to built the complete virtual structures of any city in the world on the internet, people would not have to travel to those people on holidays in order to explore and enjoy the city. They just have to log on to the Google World or the Microsoft site and explore the city online where they can walk down the streets enter buildings and even make purchase while they are gossiping about the prices with the other customers in the shops. Now can there be any doubt that computers are a main source of entertainment and amusement in this generation?Computer Games & Entertainment The computer games and entertainment business is a fast growing multi-billion dollar worldwide business, with games platforms ranging from Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, mobile and handhelds including iPhone, iPad and Android phones, PC-based, and massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) involving tens of thousands of people. With ongoing strong demand for graduate computer games programmers from the UK and abroad, this MSc will produce graduates who are well positioned to get a job in this exciting wor ldwide industry.Potential employers include EA, Ubisoft, Sony, Activision, Microsoft, Cinesite, Framestore, and many more. In a wider sense, the influence of computer games programming is spreading to other digital media industries outside games, as seen in products such as Second Life, Habbo Hotel and Bebo, or as seen in other entertainment industries such as special effects for television, videos and movies. Computer games are starting to fundamentally change the way people interact with computerised systems.Computers isn't limited to the areas where we most expect to find it such as business and industry. It's also being widely used in entertainment and arts world. These are almost as Sports: If there is a perfect way to pitch a ball, execute a spin on the ice, or take off from a ski jump, computers can find it. By analyzing the motions of the best athletes, sports trainers and kinetic specialists establish profiles. Other athletes can compare themselves to those profiles and try to improve their own styles and moves. Thus computer can be taken as a crucial element now in entertainment ndustry, with more and more multimedia content being planned, and built many applications as there are entertainers and artists. People look forward to the entertainment for recreation, so that they can reduce their stress and strains of their complex machine like schedules. All our traditional entertainment utilities like music, movies, sports, games, etc. are now affected by IT, one can have all these services, sitting at home and enjoying themselves. Computers are used in entertainment to create or enhance a production or performance.The tools have become so sophisticated that it's becoming almost impossible to distinguish between the real and the artificial in the film and the photography. Movies: If you have seen Titanic, matrix, Jurassic Park or cartoons on any TV channel, can you question the importance of Computers in the film industry? With the aid of sophisticated g raphics and animation packages the special effect technicians can create any illusion. Computers help in improving productivity by automating time consuming, repetitive and monotonous processes.They give the movie makers a lot by giving them the power to create the kind of special effects they want. Computers are widely used to create special effects in Big Budget movies. They are also extensively used behind the scenes to edit film during the production process. Scanners are generally used to help create complex twisting motions. New movies are developed using computer graphics, animations etc. which resemble real life events, thus reducing cost as well as time involved in the making of such movies. Music: The use of technology in the world of music is an unavoidable fact.Any musical composition that we hear today goes through a technological process at some point. Music allows you to edit recorded music or even create your own. With the computer connected to a stereo or synthesize r, you can be your own composer and audience. Both artist and sound engineers are finding novel applications for computer in their work. There are lot of Music Composition languages that provide ways to create music on a computer   some are Music, Symbolic, Composer, Fugue and so on which run on different platforms.Animations: In earlier days, Bugs and Bunny, the road Runner, were laboriously hand drawn in the hundred of the thousands of frame needed for each cartoon but now computers are doing much of the repetitions work. The computer can create outer space, alien characters, and extinct-animals and so on without the need of creating their physical models. The filmmaker then integrates these backgrounds and characters with   the real characters seamlessly. Example is Jurassic Park. .

How to Talk Sports in French

How to Talk Sports in French Are you that fan of European sports who gets up in the wee hours to watch games in France? If you just love sports in general or simply want to know more about talking sports in French, weve got you covered. We have the names of the sports, the verbs to use with each, and the terms for  players (usually with both masculine and feminine forms), equipment, and playing fields. Its a long, useful list, so buckle up. Note that we discuss exceptionally popular French sports like soccer, tennis, and cycling elsewhere on their own pages. Many of the words below are linked to audio files. Simply click on the link to hear the correct pronunciation and then repeat it a few times to commit it to memory. Names of Sports (Noms de sports) Note that, in many instances, the French and English words are nearly identical. archery le tir l'arc baseball le base-ball basketball (specific terms below) le basket biking or cycling le cyclisme boxing la boxe diving la plongà ©e fishing la pà ªche football le football amà ©ricain golf (specific terms below) le golf (ice) hockey (specific terms below) le hockey (sur glace) jogging le jogging sailing la voile skating le patinage rollerskating le patin roulettes or le skating skiing (specific terms below) le ski cross-country skiing le ski de randonnà ©e or le ski de fond downhill skiing le ski de descente or le ski de piste water skiing le ski nautique soccer le foot(ball) swimming la natation tennis le tennis volleyball le volley(ball) wrestling la lutte The French Verbs Used With Sports In French, playing or doing sports is normally expressed with  jouer au  or  faire. Sports That Use Jouer au 1. Jouer au  (to play): Just add the name of the sport after the verb, like this: to play golf   jouer au golfto play hockey   jouer au hockey to play... jouer au... baseball base-ball basketball basket soccer foot(ball) football football amà ©ricain golf golf hockey hockey tennis tennis volleyball volley(ball) Sports That Use Faire 2.  Faire  (to do):  The verb  is usually followed by de article noun, like this: to swim   faire de la natationto do archery    faire du tir  Ã‚  larc ​There are exceptions where just the noun is used, without the partitive and article. For example: to hike faire  une randonnà ©e Some sports also have their own verb, which is a one-word verb form of the noun. Those are listed in the right-hand column below. For example: to wrestle   faire de la lutte  or  lutter Notice that le golf can use either jouer au or faire and is on both  lists. to do... faire... or this to box de la boxe boxer to ride a horse du cheval to bike du cyclisme or monter sur bicyclette rouler to golf du golf to jog du jogging to wrestle de la lutte lutter to swim de la natation nager to skate du patin(age) patiner to inline skate du patin roulettes or du skating to dive de la plongà ©e plonger to ski du ski skier to downhill ski du ski de descente or du ski de piste to cross country ski du ski de randonnà ©e or du ski de fond to water ski du ski nautique to shoot archery du tir l'arc to sail de la voile to hike une randonnà ©e Anomaly: la  Pà ªche Uses Aller But,  la  pà ªche uses neither of these verbs and goes on a separate list with aller, as in  aller   la pà ªche (to go fishing), or its used with its own verb  pà ªcher (to fish). to go... aller... or this to go fishing la pà ªche pà ªcher Basketball (Le Basket) If you like basketball, youll enjoy learning essential basketball terms.  You can practice these words while playing or watching your teams. Learning a language is like sports: The more you practice, the better you get. Basketball  Team basketball team à ©quipe de basket basketball player basketteur (m) or basktteuse (f) guard arrià ¨re offensive player attaquant jumper sauteur Basketball Equipment   equipment matà ©riel basketball ballon de basket court terrain de jeu basket panier opponent's basket panier adverse rim, ring anneau backboard panneau Basketball Action to catch the ball attraper le ballon to block bloquer to dribble dribbler to steal the ball intercepter le ballon to handle the ball manier le ballon to guard a player marquer un joueur to pass passer Golf (Le Golf) You could practice this vocabulary the next time you hit the links. Golf Players golfer joueur de golf or golfeur (m)joeuse de golf or golfeuse (f) foursome quatuor The Golf Course golf course terrain / parcours de golf greens fee droit de jeu driving range terrain d'exercice fairway allà ©e grass bunker fosse d'herbe sand trap fosse de sable waste bunker fosse naturelle water hazard obstacle d'eau green vert hole trou Golf Equipment   equipment matà ©riel golf bag sac de golf caddie cadet(te) cart chariot, voiturette de golf golf ball balle de golf ball marker repà ¨re golf glove gant de golf set of clubs jeu de bà ¢tons de golf golf club club, crosse, canne (de golf) wood bois iron fer driver bois n ° 1 pitching wedge cocheur d'allà ©e sand wedge cocheur de sable putter fer droit Golf Action to golf faire du golf or jouer au golf tee tà © tee marker jalon de dà ©part handicap handicap golf stroke coup de golf swing à ©lan backswing montà ©e half swing demi-à ©lan chip approche roulà © pitch approche lobà © divot motte de gazon The Golf Score score card carte de pointage par normale birdie oiselet bogey boguey double bogey boguey double eagle aigle double eagle albatros hole in one trou d'un coup The Golf Ball ball trajectory trajectoire de balle hook crochet de gauche slice crochet de droite draw là ©ger crochet de gauche fade là ©ger crochet de droite Hockey (Le Hockey) Ice hockey, a popular sport in French-speaking Canada and elsewhere, has a special set of terms. Notice that when we speak of hockey players, French-speaking Canadians tend to use a different word than the French do. Both terms will be understood in both countries. Hockey Players hockey player hockeyeur/euse (France)joueur/euse de hockey (Canada) goalie gardien de but opponent adversaire The Hockey Rink   rink patinoire goal but or cage goal crease territoire de but Hockey Equipment equipment matà ©riel hockey stick crosse de hockey puck palet helmet casque protecteur face mask protecteur facial glove gant skate patin Hockey Action to play hockey jouer au hockey to check mettre en à ©chec to clear the puck dà ©gager le palet to score a goal marquer un but to shoot lancer or tirer Skiing (Le Ski) Skiing is another popular sport in many French-speaking countries. Types of Skiing and Skiers to ski faire du ski or skier cross-country skiing ski de fond downhill skiing ski de descente or ski aval cross-country skier skieur de fond or fondeur downhill skier descendeur forerunner ouvreur de piste freestyle libre classical classique jumping saut downhill descente giant slalom slalom gà ©ant slalom slalom super-G super gà ©ant Skiing Equipment equipment matà ©riel hat bonnet headband serre-tà ªte or bandeau goggles lunettes glove gant ski pole bà ¢ton de ski skis skis boot chaussure coverboot surchaussure binding fixation On the Hill ski course parcours de ski trail piste marked course piste balisà ©e hill tremplin or piste de saut start platform plate-forme de dà ©part length of the trail longueur de la piste flag fanion or drapeau jump tremplin mogul bosse finish time temps l'arrivà ©e control point poste de contrà ´le gate porte

Power Definitions and Examples in Sociology

Power Definitions and Examples in Sociology Definition: Power is a key sociological concept with several different meanings and considerable disagreement surrounding them. The most common definition comes from Max Weber, who defined it as the ability to control others, events, or resources; to make happen what one wants to happen in spite of obstacles, resistance, or opposition. Power is a thing that is held, coveted, seized, taken away, lost, or stolen, and it is used in what are essentially adversarial relationships involving conflict between those with power and those without. In contrast, Karl Marx used the concept of power in relation to social classes and social systems rather than individuals. He argued that power rests in a social class’s position in the relations of production. Power does not lie in the relationship between individuals, but in domination and subordination of social classes based on the relations of production. A third definition comes from Talcott Parsons who argued that power is not a matter of social coercion and domination, but instead flows from a social system’s potential to coordinate human activity and resources in order to accomplish goals.

Video Sharing on Social Media Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11500 words

Video Sharing on Social Media - Dissertation Example Users have the option to restrict viewership but when the video owners seek mass audience they would not bother to protect their videos and music under copyright laws. Thus, with the aim to establish that public videos are posted aimed at cooperation and sharing, three objectives were set at the beginning of the study. Qualitative primary and secondary data was gathered after extensive literature review on the subject. Through qualitative analysis, all the study objectives have been achieved. The study highlights that the most popular video-sharing site is YouTube and its promotion can be enhanced by sending out tweets on the video. However, Facebook also appears to be a popular social networking site for sharing pictures and files. Users share files with different motivations which could be either the desire to individuate or the desire for self-enhancement. Users also derive satisfaction is letting others know who they are. However, sharing of videos require some amount of expertis e in the use of social media. This gives rise to issues of copyright and privacy. The study finds that users are aware of privacy issues but when the intention is to share, the issue of privacy does not arise. At the same time, with the intention is to share and attract a mass audience it is pointless getting the files copyrighted. Social networking sites offer the facility to maintain privacy if required. When information is shared, others merely ‘see’ the information but derive no shared experience, vision or meaning out of it. Therefore, even if they share videos, they can maintain privacy, they remain individuated. The study concludes that sharing of videos on social media does not compromise on issues of privacy, and it is up to the users to maintain their privacy and remain individuated.

Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman - Essay Example This gives Wal-Mart the benefit of huge economies of scale, which they enlarge to lower prices. Because of the size of the retailer, this puts Wal-Mart into a position of a monopsonist extracting rents from their suppliers, and then acting as a near monopolist in the final retail goods market. A few companies such as Dial do over a quarter of their commerce with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart dictates the terms, and those suppliers that wish to stay in the game, comply with the mandates (Martin Vander Weyer, 2006). The Arkansas-based sequence, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, is not just the chief private-sector boss and the major holder of trade market share. Its cheap plan, so all-encompassing that additional stores follow suit still when they are not straight contestant, plays a main role in holding down US price rises; its persistent demand for short prices from suppliers has been a main driver in the sell abroad of US developed jobs to China and elsewhere (Michael C. Keith, 2004). According to the expert analysis the impact of that cost on American grocery bills and consumption behavior, on the financial system of Chile and on the biology of a far-away corner of the soothing polluted by manufacturing amounts of fish foodstuff and faeces, is what Fishman calls the "Wal-Mart effect". It is, in his sight, neither completely bad nor entirely high-quality but it is very, extremely big. Wal-Mart is a power in America's financial life to a far extra important degree than its adjacent British equal, Tesco, over here (Pallabi Gogoi, 2007). Charles Fishman neatly sums up the monopsonistic power Wal-Mart has over its suppliers: No doubt, when it reaches bottomless within the operations of the companies that provide it and changes not merely what they sell, but also modify how those products are wrap up and obtainable, what the lives of the plant workers who make those products are similar to it even from time to time modify the countries where those factories are situated. 450 of Wal-Mart's suppliers have opened up offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, to be close to Wal-Mart's headquarters. These suppliers tout that if they didn't open up an office near Wal-Mart, their competitors would. That's Wal-Mart's effect on suppliers. Suppliers try to make themselves as pliant and accessible as possible for the retail giant. The Wal-Mart squeeze is a well known phenomenon to suppliers. Each year, for consumer products that don't change, Wal-Mart will approach their suppliers and say, this is what you sold us the product for last year, this is what we can get it for from a competitor, and this is what it will cost if we use our private label. Wal-Mart looks to drop the prices of products by 5% a year, every year.3 Wal-Mart's pressure to produce products cheaply has many suppliers going overseas, which reduces some companies from firms that designed, produced, and packaged their own products simply to importers of products (Theresa Howard, 2006). Negative Effects There are other serious repercussions to these lowest possible price points. Wal-Mart's constant

Cause and Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Cause and Effect - Essay Example Nevertheless, the greatest brunt of it is felt mostly in developing countries. The poverty levels also differ from one region to another, mainly due to inequitable distribution of national wealth. This is mainly apparent in developed countries where poverty is rife only in secluded areas. However, the effect of poverty in developing nations is felt almost everywhere. Royce (2009) reported that an individual may be born in a society where poverty is already rife or be overcome by poverty due to unfortunate occurrences, such as job loss, disease, and bankruptcy among others. Nevertheless, many studies have been conducted in an attempt to unearth the causes and effects of poverty all over the world. This paper will explore the causes and problems that result from poverty. Background Poverty is a social crisis which affects every part of the society and culture. It pertains to a situation where an individual or a society has low income, resulting in illiteracy due to the lack of proper a ccess to education, health care, markets, and decision making authority. Its effects also include lack of communal facilities, such as proper sanitation, transport system, water and roads, and proper communication links. It is reported that more than half of the world is poor, with people living on less than 2.50USD a day. This figure is put at over 3 billion people. The same report also reveals that out of the 3 billion people affected by poverty, over 1 billion are children. The statistics found out that about 640 live in dilapidated shelters or have none at all; 400 million are not accessible to safe water while 270 million cannot access health services. In Hobson and Boll (2004) it is also revealed that more than 10.6 million children below the age of five succumbed to poverty in 2003. Areas with high levels of poverty Economic research shows that poverty is rife mainly in developing countries of the world. The areas which are mainly affected include Africa, India, South Asia, a nd South America. This does not mean that developed countries as the US are not affected by poverty since even these countries do have destitute people who live under deplorable conditions due to poverty. Royce’s survey (2009) also shows that its effects are mainly felt in the rural areas. Causes of poverty Poverty is caused by several factors in economy. One is overpopulation, in which very high number of people competes for few sources available. This is one of the reasons why a country like India ranks among countries where poverty rates are high. For instance, the population of India is said to be over a billion people. However, the available resources are not able to sustain this entire population thereby rendering others poor (Hobson and Boll, 2004). Corruption. Corruption has also been singled out as a major cause of poverty. This is because it leads to unequal distribution of national wealth. In addition, it leads to mismanagement of public funds which only goes to th e hands of a few leaving many other citizens poor. Royce (2009) emphasizes that this has been witnessed in many countries, such as Nigeria which ranks top in terms of corruption. Unemployment. High rate of unemployment is also a leading cause of poverty across the world. Employment is one way of creating wealth in a country. This means that when there are

Oldtown Expansion Strategies

Oldtown Expansion Strategies The OldTown Groups (OldTown) was established in 1999 by Executive Directors, Mr. Goh Ching Mun and Mr. Tan Say Yap, who formulated OldTown own blend of 3-in-1 instant white coffee. (OldTown, 2012) OldTown commenced their business as a classic coffee shop of 3 in 1 instants white coffee in Ipoh, Malaysia under Old Town White Coffee brand name since 2005. At the following years, OldTown is divided into two segments of food services which are fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and food and beverage (FB). At the end of year 2011, Old Town has 196 cafà © outlets in different countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China. These 196 cafà © outlets are comprised of 79 fully owned cafà © outlets, 18 partially owned cafà © outlets, 96 franchised outlets and 3 licensed outlets. Besides, Old Town has manufactured the beverage products and exported to worldwide countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, USA, and Canada. (OldTown Annual Report, 2011) According to OldTown (2012 ), the latest updated information showed that OldTown has expanded to 205 cafà © outlets. The goal of OldTown is to let everyone enjoy every slip of authentic Malaysian Ipoh White Coffee, anytime, anywhere. (OldTown, 2012) Therefore, OldTown will continue to launch the high quality products to customers for collective vision of creating to be Asia Pacifics Leading White Coffee producer in providing high quality product to customers globally. (OldTown, 2012) The mission of OldTown is to promote their Unique Malaysian Taste- the authentic Ipoh White Coffee and continue White Coffee Legacy through continuous improvement and innovation that exceeds customer expectations. (OldTown, 2012) On the other hand, according to the OldTown (2012), the core values consist of consistency, continuity and growth, originality and creativity, respect diversities and traditions, as well as ethics and integrity. Besides, they adopt integrated business strategies and focus on five key components. The first component is to build up strong brand equity and keep customer loyalty by strengthening a nd promoting OLDTOWN brand name. Second component is to continue in expansion of cafà © network through franchise programmed locally and internationally and rely on establishment of their fully owned outlets. Third component is to strengthen the position as an operator of a major cafà © chain. Fourth component is to continue in development of a new and innovative product. Last component is to establish high standards of the quality products and services consistently to exceed the benchmark standard of quality and customers expectations. (OldTown Annual Report, 2011) 2.0 Current expansion strategy OldTown adopts different expansion strategies such as franchise, licensed, partially-owned and fully-owned strategies in different countries which include Malaysia, Singapore, China and Indonesia. (OldTown Annual Report, 2011). OldTown more focus in adopting franchise strategies since this strategy brings more successes to expand cafà © network either locally and internationally in spite of fully relying on the establishment of fully-owned outlets. (OldTown Annual Report, 2011) OldTown is implementing export of the products to other countries. Exporting allows OldTown to gain competitive advantages which are increasing the products sales performance, market shares as well as profitability (Piercy, Kaleka and Katsikeas, 1998). OldTown exports the beverages products also can expose the brand name and attract more customers from different regions. On top of that, exporting also allows OldTown to expand the customers base in global market. (Kaleka, 2011). On the other hand, exporting requires high transport fees. The cost of shipping may be a serious issue for OldTown. Shipping costs can make exporting uneconomical especially when the products are export in high volume. Furthermore, OldTown is depending on the fluctuation of transportation costs. The transport or shipping fees keep on increasing nowadays in exporting goods due to economic downturn, inflation and financial crisis. Ultimately, OldTown should be more concerns about this issue since this could be a drawback for export sales. According to Combss study (2004), in franchising strategy, an agreement is held by two independent parties whereby franchisor grants the right to franchisee to run the business in return of annual loyalty in monetary form (as cited in Miles, Aaron, Jeremy, Kelly and Di Wu, 2011). In other words, franchising is a legal regulation activity and requires compliance with federal and state franchise laws. According to the Buckless study (2011), franchising allows the franchisors to gain opportunity to entry the new markets by attracting the potential franchisees. OldTown chooses master franchise as its form of franchising is due to franchising is the most popular mode of entry into distant and cultural dissimilar market in Asia. Franchise model also provides scale to the company. OldTown currently owns 85 franchised cafà © outlets and one licensed cafe outlet in Malaysia. Revenues from these franchised outlets are earned through the initial franchise fees (RM 80k), the sales of Old towns produces, the royalties (5% of revenues) and the AP fees (3% of revenues). (Oldtown Berhad, 2011). OldTown is required to work with well-experiencing franchise lawyer to successfully establish the franchisee strategy. In order to reduce the business risks, OldTown internationalizes the business by expanding the cafà © outlets to the close countries (Aliouche and Schlentrich, 2011). Previously, OldTown is expanded from Malaysia to Singapore which is physically close to the home country. Singapore has the similar cultures with Malaysia. Cultural factors might increase the risk to the developing corporation in foreign market in accordance to Broutherss study (2002) (as cited in Aliouche and Schlentrich, 2011). The franchisors normally prefer to expand the businesses that have geographical and cultural similarities to the host country (Aliouche and Schlentrich, 2011). According to Aliouche and Schlentrich (2011), the corporation will then move gradually to the distant ones after successfully internationalize to the close country, as OldTown has. OldTown has successfully standing in Singapore with the good reputation of the products and services. After that, OldTown targeted the China and the Indonesi a market. OldTown White Coffee is definitely successful in locals where it earns Industry Excellence Award in Malaysia which organized by Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) as at 24th March 2011. Besides that, at the same year and date, OldTown also received Product Excellent Award organized by MITI, Putra Brand Award 2011 and 2012 (people choice special mention) in 2011 and 2012, and so forth (Old Town Annual repor, 2011). All these recent evidences had showed that OldTown is quite successful in locally. Based on the evidence from the study (William and James, 2009), franchising and fully-owned strategies could help in reducing costs of finding and monitoring the outlet manager. In the words of Bradach (1997), the fully-owned strategy aids in standardization; franchising gives a strong motive to locals managers (franchisee) and they are motivated to keep on improving the cafà © outlets to make it as profitable as possible (as cited in William and James, 2009). In other words, OldTown does not need to oversee the franchisee closely in protecting the franchisors image and reputation. In short, franchising allowed OldTown (franchisor) to expand and minimize the monitoring cost (William James, 2009). Besides, franchising strategy also helps to expand number of OldTown customer with faster pace (Edwards, 2011). OldTown grants the right to franchisee to operate in different countries. Therefore, by expanding the cafà © outlet in other geographical areas, this also helps OldTown to raise the customer awareness. In addition, OldTown always emphasize on brand equity. Hence, OldTown is promoting the brand name OLDTOWN through the expansion strategies. These strategies might help OldTown to gain the customers loyalty and successfully build up the brand equity, not only in Malaysia but also in other countries for instance, Singapore. Aside from these, franchising also helps OldTown to enhance competitiveness in food and beverage industry (Holmes, 2003; Joseph, 2011). Franchising spreads the risk through other people investment in different locations. Franchisee normally is the one who responsible for the loan, debt and so on, and hence, OldTown basically can minimize risk in expanding the businesses. OldTown has better expansion networks for the cafà © outlets since 2005, from a small, humble coffee cafà © to 196 cafà © outlets chain. Thus, OldTown generally could obtain the advantage of loyalties and raise the brand recognition through the ease of this type expansion strategy (Chris, 2011). By the same token, there might have a few of risks that could be faced by OldTown in adopting the franchising. The main disadvantage for OldTown in using franchise strategy is that it can be considered quite costly for the potential franchisee. Once it is implemented, franchises fee charge and ongoing royalties would cut the profits of franchisees (Sim, 2008). Besides the initial fee for agreement, original franchise fees, annual royalties, as well as a percentage of franchises business revenue, franchisees also required to pay the extra monthly fees for the franchisor (Adrian, 2010). As part of the continuing franchise agreement, on-going fees are needed to pay to the franchisor for the support, training and development which are provided by the franchisor. In the long term, it will become a restriction to the amount of profit for the franchisee. Besides, the franchisor also may charge additional fees for services provided to the franchisee, such as the cost of advertising (Ward, 20 12). Besides that, franchising also will cause the lose control right problem when the new franchisees become part of the franchise system. Sometimes, the franchisees are forced to make their own decisions in the uncertainty situation, and they might need to change the policies without make the earlier notification to the franchisor. In fact, franchisor only owns limited power to control the franchise branch and how the business runs. Furthermore, the established rules and the part of the franchise agreement, for instance, the ways of the business operation are already set up by the franchisor, it is rarely for a new franchisee to operate the business outside of these borders (Adrian, 2010). Hence, the franchisee will likely to follow the majority practices of OldTown to run the business. As a result, franchising limits the creativity of the franchisee (Sim, 2008). By adopting franchising, the issue of communications gap may arise between the OldTown and franchisee. Franchisees must follow the correct directions in order to maintain the brands image, the high level of service and so forth. If the franchisor and franchisee did not communicate well, franchisee may have misunderstanding and run the business without the proper direction. Moreover, if the franchisee unable to run the business with good quality or proper funding, it could curtail success and it will create a very unfavourable business environment as wel l. The actions and decisions of franchisees are very important because these will definite affect the OldTowns reputation, image, profession, as well as customer preference. The franchisee would rely on the brand of the business to bring a bunch of customers but OldTown is the one who need to undertake the risk. If the franchisee harms the OldTown image by serving the poor quality foods and services to the customers, it will knock on the effect of the own business. Ultimately, this could potentially damage the sales and overall profits (Adrian, 2010). According to the OldTown Annual Report (2011), the OldTown products such as beverages are more focused on the market segment which comprising professionals, managers, businessman in the age group between 30 to 50 years old. Most of the people concern with healthy conscious nowadays, Old Town also introduced healthier choices of beverage products into the marketplace, such as 2 in 1 No Sugar Added and 3 in 1 with Natural Cane Sugar coffee products. However, due to different countries have different needs, OldTown cannot oversee and control all the businesses includes the franchise outlets. Last but not least, franchise outlets need to invest in various promotion tools such as advertising, promotional and marketing campaigns to increase the OldTowns brand image as well as to enhance its brand equity value in the marketplace. These promoting activities will need a huge amount of money in order to attract the customer and retain the old customers. 3.0 Future Expansion Strategy There are some recommendations for OldTowns future expansion strategies. OldTown can continue the current strategies (franchising and exporting) and the new recommend strategies (joint venture and strategic alliances). 3.1 Franchising OldTown is using the franchising as the entry mode strategy to achieve the rapid and low-cost market expansion, either in locally or internationally. Franchising allows OldTown to get the inflow of franchise fees to expand its markets. All of the premises, equipment and all other working capital that are needed to establish a franchise unit are invested by the franchisee. Besides, OldTown also able to receive the royalty fees from the franchisees. (OldTown, 2012) OldTown is relieved of many of the costs and risks through this entry mode. OldTown can achieve global presence quickly and reduce the risk and cost of doing business via franchising, as McDonalds has. Thus, this strategy should be continued by OldTown since it had good achievements with this entry mode. (OldTown, 2012) Furthermore, OldTown would establish as master franchisee in other markets. Master franchising depend the quality of the local partner to success in another nation. Thus, OldTown should find the right local partner and sell the master franchising rights. For instance, McDonalds, KFC and others are established a master franchisee in particular country or region. (Daszkowski, 2012) Master franchisee of OldTown will oversee the management and reduce the quality control challenge in other new markets. Other than that, master franchisee also can monitor the performance of the franchisees. In fact, there are many laws and regulations implied on franchising. Different nations have different requirements in this mode of entry. The franchisor shall satisfy the 2+1 requirement in order to develop a franchise in China. The requirement means the franchisor need to own two outlets of the franchise business for more than one year. (Philip, 2010). Franchising is a new business concept in Kazakhstan and is not leveraged to its full extent. It is an opportunity for the OldTown to franchising the brand to this country. The Kazakhstani entrepreneurs find it easier to work with Russian franchisors instead of other countries franchisors. This is due to both Kazakhstan and Russian share the same language and similar tastes, ultimately reduce the localization costs in setting new franchise. (Parshina, 2009) This would be a threat for OldTown to expand its franchise into Kazakhstan. OldTown should able to justify the benefits, risks and costs before enter the particular nation. 3.2 Exporting OldTown is pursuing the exporting as the one of the mode of entry to expand to other countries. OldTown is success to expand its brand through this strategy and OldTown is encouraged to continue this mode of entry. OldTown commenced the first export of OLDTOWN brand of 3-in-1 instant coffee mix to Singapore in 2001. The following years, OldTown success to expand the export markets to over 13 countries. (OldTown, 2012) Exporting allows OldTown to increase sales and profits by fully utilize the use of existing capacities. Besides, exporting also allows OldTown to gain new knowledge and experience about the foreign countries technologies, marketing techniques and foreign competitors. (Tekle, 2007) In Malaysia, OldTown distributed the coffee mix through major hypermarkets and supermarkets (OldTown, 2012). OldTown may consider using this type distribution channel in other countries. However, OldTown needs to handle all the logistic of the transaction and spend extra costs to export the products since the transport costs are high. (Delaney, 2012) Besides the transport costs, OldTown also need to pay attention on the costs from high tariff barriers which set by the particular nation. (Hill, 2011) Additionally, OldTown obtained the HALAL certification from the Islamic Religious Department of Perak for the Groups beverages in 2002. The beverages of OldTown are complied with the Islamic Law. (OldTown, 2012) This certificate also provides extra opportunity for OldTown to export the coffee mix to Islamic countries. 3.3 Joint ventures OldTown can use joint ventures to enter a foreign market other than using franchising market entry mode in expanding the business. Joint venture is the establishment of a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms (Johnson, 2000). OldTown can joint venture with Chatime in Australia in penetrating their first new market in Western country. Chatime had operated in Australia since 2009 and now has over 30 stores Australia-wide (CHATIME Autralia, 2011). Moreover, Chatime are growing fast in term of opening one new store each month on average (CHATIME Autralia, 2011). Based on Chatimes record in successful penetration to foreign market, OldTown can penetrate to Australia by joint venture with Chatime. Joint ventures will help OldTown in getting local partners knowledge regards the host country competitive condition, language, cultures, political systems, and business systems. If OldTown expands their business without further exploring to the particular country history, competitive condition, political systems, business systems and cultures, OldTown will face lots of barrier to entry to the new market. This will also cause OldTown to have a wrong timing of entry or loss the opportunity chance in penetrating to the particular foreign market. (Hill Hernandez-Requejo, 2011) In addition, joint venture is good to be practiced by OldTown due to the costs and risks of opening a foreign market are shared. It can help OldTown in reducing the necessary costs such as initial capital requirement, transportation costs, advertising costs, operational costs, and extra cost charge by the certain local government for set up a new business in country. Therefore, by having a partner in reducing the costs, OldTown will face lesser risks for setting up the business in new market at foreign country. (Hill Hernandez-Requejo, 2011) Other than that, joint venture also allows OldTown to learn about a new market environment. If OldTown can success to become an insider in the country, it may help OldTown to increase the level of commitment and exposure in future. This will help OldTown to improve the image and reputation. Besides, OldTown also can penetrate to other foreign market in future with easier way and reduce lots of entry barriers. (Keegen Green, 2011) From this point of view, by joint venture with Chatime, it will help OldTown in building up their brand name. Although joint venture may cause the company do not have the tight control over subsidiaries that it might need to realize the experience curve or location economies. But, due to OldTowns management team is led by professionals and founders who have more than 20 years experience in the particular industry, it is believed that OldTown management team is more than capable and passionate to anchor OldTown towards more successes in the future. (Kenanga Research, 2012) 3.4 Strategic alliances The changes in political, economic, social cultural and technological environments make strategic alliances have the relative importance for a company to choose as an entry mode to foreign countries (Keegen Green, 2011). China businesses are stable and growing (OSK Research, 2012). OldTown intends to replicate the popularity of its coffee brand from Hong Kong to China with promoting the OldTown brand (OSK Research, 2012). OldTown found that the FB business in China is well carrying by having average spend per customer of 40-50% higher than the businesses in Malaysia (OSK Research, 2012). Other than that, demands of OldTown FMCG products remain tough. In addition, with the new added menu such as soup, OldTown found that China prospects seem capable at this point in time for penetration (OSK Research, 2012). OldTown believe that its business in China have to expand more rapidly than its competitors to ensure its company foundation can be strongly build (OSK Research, 2012). OldTown is setting up a new food processing centre as part of its expansion in penetrating Chinese food and beverage market in China (Ho, 2012). OldTown can use strategic alliances as their entry mode in penetrating to China, forming a strategic alliance with Secret Recipe in China. Secret Recipe had successfully established its brand name in China by virtue of its fine quality cakes, fusion food and distinctive service (Secret Recipe, 2012). This strategic alliance also allow OldTown in gaining extra knowledge from Secret Recipe regards the culture, political, and economic system in China without carry out a costly detailed research in China (Keegen Green, 2011). There are several advantages of using strategic alliance as the entry mode for OldTown in penetrating to foreign country. The advantages are sharing benefits of alliance as well as control performance of assigned tasks, long-term strategies is formed between two companies, and retain national and ideological identities when competing in markets not covered by alliance. (Hill Hernandez-Requejo, 2011) 4.0 Conclusion There must be reason when local coffee shop like OldTown able to success in highly competitive market. OldTown do not bond itself in its current expansion strategy, like franchise, fully-owned outlets and export the products. Meanwhile, depending on 1 expansion strategy is less flexible and too risky. OldTown current strategies had lots of advantages as well as drawbacks. Firstly, Franchising is a popular mode of entry to local and the foreign market. OldTown master franchise because of high revenues get from initial franchise fees, royalties, sales and AP fees. Next, export the products could gain competitive advantages by exposing their brand name and attract more customers from different regions by raising customer awareness, expand the customers base in global market. While, both franchising and fully-owned strategies, has advantage OldTown in reducing costs, attract for recruitment and attract potential franchisee. In the other side, Franchising also bring drawbacks like franchisee has limited freedom and creativity was limited by franchisor. There may be communications gap between franchisor and franchisees in decisions making and it could ruined the name of franchisors. Normally, company will be choosing to expand to close countries first because of the similarity in terms of geographically and culturally. OldTown needs to have product creativity to fulfill different country needs, and customer in different segments. It is good to continue the franchising and exporting strategy for OldTown since both strategies bring lots of positive outcomes, gains and profits. Both strategies had relieved many of the costs and risks, both strategies should be continued by OldTown since it had good achievements with this entry mode. Between Joint Venture and Strategic alliances is the potential of OldTown to expand to foreign countries, Joint venture could reduce the barrier to entry, reducing the necessary costs such as extra cost charge by the certain local government, in the mean time, increase the level of exposure of OldTown in that particular country. Strategic alliances enable OldTown to have long term strategy business in other country. Business nowadays is not only need to focus on customer and service, OldTown needs to follow the latest business trend and be flexible in showing high adaptability to changes. Besides, OldTown has seen the importance of contributions to the community, environment and its investors, as well as the business ethical for its well name or reputations.